Her Memories

CHAPTER 4. Her Savior

"Hi girls!" Stephy cried, giving Asia and Maggie a warm hug.

They're in the school cafeteria for their break time, having some snacks.

"Don't forget that we will have our girls' night tonight!" Stephy cried excitedly.

"Of course! So, have you already decided where to go?" Asia asked, looking between her friends.

"Yeah! Don't worry about it. I knew a place." Maggie assured.

"Sure! Anywhere! As long as there are cute guys around." Stephy said, giggling.

"Asia might find someone to be her first-ever boyfriend there, finally." She added and winked in her poor friend's direction.

"Come on, don't say that. Besides, I'm still enjoying my life being single, and I don't want someone to interrupt my enjoyment," Asia said while munching her sandwich.

She suddenly got a glimpse of Joaquin on the counter. This morning in their shared class, he didn't even greet her when she smiled at him. She was supposed to return the jacket he offered to her last night but didn't get the chance to come close to him, so she put the jacket back in her locker instead. It's like he suddenly becomes a totally different person when he's in school.

Asia got confused about his behavior.

'Maybe that's just the way he really is. I don't want to bother him anyway; I just want to return the jacket.' She told herself.

"Hey! You suddenly become quiet. What happened? You can't say no to this. We already planned this!" Stephy interrupted her silence.

"Of course! Have I said anything yet? Of course, it's a yes!" Asia cried cheerfully.

"I'm certain that this night would be so fun!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Why don't you guys come to me at my apartment after class? You can borrow any dress you want in my closet, and since it is the nearest place from here, we could take time for preparing ourselves," Asia offered them enticingly.

"ahhh!" They cried together.

"Thanks, Asia, you're the best!" Maggie cried, hugging her tightly.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in her apartment, trying out clothes for the fun tonight. Asia is wearing a strappy crop top and jeans, also paired with three-inch heels stilettos.

They arrived at the club at seven. The place looked so exciting with the loud music rumbling the whole place and the colorful lights that beam the whole place and crowd. Everyone enjoys dancing and drinking while approaching everyone like they know each other.

"Hi, ladies." A tall and handsome smiling man approached the ladies.

"Hello, I'm Stephy." She introduced herself while offering her hands to him.

"Zach," he said and received Stephy's hand and turned to Asia.

"Hi." He greets her. She was stunned while the other girls were giggling beside her while slightly pushing her to the handsome man.

"Hi, I'm Asia, and this is Maggie," she said, introducing her other friend.

"Hi Asia, mind if I asked you for some drink?" He asked.

She looked at her friends, who quickly signaled her to accept the offer.

"Sure," she said, smiling.

He guided her to the bar and ordered tequila for them. She doesn't mind drinking since she has a high tolerance for alcohol. Though she's a good and sweet daughter of her dad, it doesn't mean that she can't have fun with her friends and learn some not so silly stuff.

"So, tell me, do you always hang out like this?" Zach asked her while looking straight into her eyes.

"Not really, just on weekends and if we don't have an exam for the next week." She replied while taking a sip.

"Glad that you don't have an exam next week." He told her, smiling.

They talked for a few minutes until he asked her for a dance.

"Can I ask you for a dance? Look at your friends. They seem to enjoy the night already." He said, looking in her friends' direction, dancing in the middle of the dancefloor with some stranger.

"Sure! I would love to." She agreed, and with that, they go through the crowd and dance to the rhythm of the music. Until she suddenly felt his hold on her waist get tighter.

"What are you doing?" Asia was alarmed, but he didn't give a response. Instead, he forcefully pulled her towards a dark corner.

"Let go of me!" She cried while wagging her arms off of his.

He didn't listen. Instead, he abruptly pushed her into the wall. She hardly tried to fight him, but she is no match for his strength. She tried kicking him also, but he only stopped her legs with his. He's holding both wrists above her head while forcefully kissing her. She never experienced this kind of humiliation in her life before, and now she felt so helpless.

'Did I do something wrong to get into this situation?' She asked herself.

She starts crying while he keeps on forcing her when suddenly someone abruptly pulled him off her. She gasped deeply and saw a man angrily throw a punch at Zach; it was Joaquin. When Zach hardly slumped on the floor, he quickly pulled her out of the club straight to the parking area and pushed her gently to his car.

"Get in." He demands when he opens the door on the passenger's side.

She has no strength to fight, so she just let herself in. She is still in shock at what happened and keeps herself quiet. She doesn't have any idea where he is taking her, nor does she not want to ask either. After a while, he stopped at a boulevard beside the seashore.

"Are you okay?" He thoughtfully asked, which she only nodded.

"Wear this." He said, handing her a navy hoodie.

"Thanks." She said in a soft voice.

"And thank you for saving me." She added before she started sobbing.

She is so scared about what just happened. She even can't imagine what would possibly happen if Joaquin didn't come to save her. She cried her heart out and just stopped when she felt like there were no more tears to cry out.

"Feeling better?" Joaquin suddenly asked, and she only nodded.

"Are you hungry?" He asked again, but she only shook her head negatively.

"Okay, do you want to go home already?" Again, he asked, which she nodded.

Asia was still shocked about what happened and didn't want to talk about it, she felt like wanting to be alone, but she can't just tell that to the person who saved her.

He drives her back to her apartment, and again the journey is surrounded by silence. When they arrived in front of her apartment, he helped her to get out of the car.

"Asia, I don't think I can leave you in that kind of state." Joaquin feels uncertain.

"Thank you, but I'm fine, don't worry about me. I just wanted this night to be over." She told him with a little smile.

"Alright, if you say so." He let her.

"Don't worry, bad experiences are meant to be forgotten." He added with a smile, trying to cheer her up.

"And will always leave you with some lessons as well," he suddenly said while smiling warmly, but he made her chuckled with his words and say,

"Are you trying to lecture me?" With a raised eyebrow at him. He also chuckled and scratched the back of his neck unconsciously.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be grumpy." He shyly said.

"But it's nice to see you smiling before I get to leave." He added seriously. Asia was stunned by his gesture and felt something foreign inside her.

"Thanks, and again, thank you for saving me."

"Don't mention it. I'm glad that I get to help." And with that, Joaquin left, leaving her with a smile on her face.

When she gets inside her house, she suddenly remembers the jacket that she's currently wearing.

'Seriously! Is it collectibles?' She thought, smiling.