You Can't Be Too Careful [Star Trek/Leonard "Bones" McCoy Love Story]

[4.] Shattered Glass

[4] Shattered Glass

I quietly made my way back to the room, keeping one hand near my throat where Jordan had yanked on my shirt and the other resting on my elbow. Despite the fact that I had appeared annoyed, I was honestly scared. No one had ever threatened me before. I tried to tell myself that he wouldn’t really do anything to hurt me…that he was just saying that to scare me, but something deep within me knew that he wasn’t kidding. If I continued to excel in my classes, he would find a way to seriously damage me. And something told me that it wouldn’t just be an immature reputation thing; it would be legitimately bad. But at the same time, I knew I couldn’t just stop doing well in my classes. There was no way.

I sighed. Astrid will know what to do, I told myself. Don’t worry.

Upon reaching the room, I pulled my key out of my bag and unlocked the door. Stepping inside, I took a deep breath and prepared myself to tell Astrid about Jordan. But as soon as I saw her, I stopped. All thoughts of telling her about the threat melted away. She was sitting on the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest, and her strawberry blonde hair fell around her so that only the top of her face was showing. Her ocean blue eyes were bloodshot and puffy; she had been crying. Tissues littered the fabric around her. It took me a moment to hear it, but there was loud music blaring out from her headphones.

“Astrid?” I said softly, coming and sitting on the bed with her.

She took her headphones out of her ears and merely stared at me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Mom n’ Dad,” she sniffed.

I quickly remembered the date: September 1.

Without another word, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around her. She immediately buried her face in my shoulder and began to sob. I closed my eyes and gently stroked her hair.

“It’s been a year, Catherine,” she cried.

“I know, sweetheart,” I murmured. “I know.”

“Why did it ‘ave ta be them? Why couldn’t it ‘ave been me?”

“Shh, don’t even say that.”

“I jus’ wish they were still ‘ere with me…”

“I know. I know.”

She pulled back and wiped her eyes.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Don’t apologize.”

She sighed. “I hate feeling like this.”

“I know.”

“They didn’t deserve ta die.”

“I know.”

“I miss them.”

“I know. We all do.”

“They really were good people, even if they did fight.”

“Yes, they were. And they will always be remembered as such.”

“I jus’ wish there was some way I could notthink abou’ it. It hurts too much.”

I thought for a moment. “How about this: we’ll go out tonight. Go get dinner and see a movie or something. Just to get your mind off of things.”

She smiled. “Sounds good ta me.”

“Great. When do you want to leave?”

“Ten minutes? I’d like ta freshen up, if that’s a’right.”