Dorm Room Affair

Chapter 17:

"Oh my god. My baby girl." She sobbed and then looked at me. "I'm so sorry, Crystal."

"It's not me you need to apologize to. She's at my parents house." I said before she nodded and ran off. I leaned against my car and sighed then dug around in my purse until I found what I kept hidden. A pack of cigarettes. I pulled one out and put it between my lips and lit it and took a long drag.

As I blew out the smoke I glanced around and saw someone staring at me. I took another drag and moved and sat down on my hood and just smoked and stared down at the blank screen of my phone.

"Hello there." Someone said and I glanced up and instantly thought I saw Drake. I put my cigarette in my lips and rubbed my eyes but he still stared at me and if I didn't know Drake was dead I would have thought it was him.

"Hi." I said around the cigarette and took a drag before just holding it between my fingers.

"Are you alone?" He asked and gave me a crooked grin.

"I am. So?" I said and took another drag.

"You got an extra one?" He asked and motioned towards my cigarette. I held the open pack to him and he took one and pulled a lighter out of his pocket and took a drag. And my god, the cigarette between his lips was doing something interesting to my lower lips. "So what's your name gorgeous?"

"I'm Crystal. You are?" I asked and leaned back on the hood, staring up at him.

"Derek. I know you." He said and stared intently into my eyes. "Oh god."

My eyes widened as the name finally hit home and I tossed my cigarette and was about to get in my car when his arms circled me and jerked me away before he slammed me into the metal of my car.

"You killed Drake." He snarled and his eyes pierced into mine. My breath came out in little gasps and I struggled to calm my heart.

"I didn't kill him! He protected me!" I said and tried to shove him away from me. But he was all muscle, just like Drake was.

"Bullshit! You lying birth! You killed my brother! And now you're going to die!" He yelled and suddenly a switch blade was in his hand and coming towards me.

Before I could even scream Derek was off of me and I was shielded by someone. He stuck something in my pocket then he nudged me to get in the car and I obeyed and started it and sped out, glancing back at my savior and saw ice blue eyes with a mop of black hair. He smiled then walked to a pick up truck and I stopped my car before the freeway and let the tears fall again.

"Hey!" Came a voice and I looked out my window at the guy in the truck. "Check your pocket and follow me!"

I nodded and dug around in my pocket and found the piece of paper he must have stuck there. It was a phone number and I programmed it into my phone and hit call.

"Hello darlin." Came the voice and smiled softly.

"Hello. Thank you for saving me." I said and placed my phone on my lap as I followed his truck onto the freeway.

"It's no issue, honey. Now what do you say to me buying you some food?" He asked and turned on his blinker and I did the same and followed him into a small town.

"Sure. Sounds good to me." I said and heard the click that said he ended the call and he pulled up in front of a diner and I parked next to him. As I was about to get out he showed up and opened my door for me. I grabbed my phone and purse and got out and walked next to him into the diner.

"Jackson! Long time no see." An older woman said as she came up, all smiles. She glanced down at me and grinned even more. "And who is this pretty little flower?"

"I haven't even properly introduced myself to her, Martha. I found her at the truck stop about to be assaulted by some guy." He said and looked down at me.

"I'm crystal." I said and held my hand out to the woman. "I'm trying to find a place to stay."

"Well i need some help around here. If you don't mind. There's an apartment up above that you can stay in. Fully furnished. I'm Martha. But you can call me mama." Martha said with a wink and I blushed. "Aww! She's so sweet. How old are you deary?"

"I'm 18." I said and saw her eyes widen.

"You're just a baby! Thank god you saved her Jackson!" She said and placed her hand on his arm. Which was quite large. "Protect this one, jack. Don't let her past hurt her."

My eyes widened and I excused myself and found the restroom and locked the door. I sunk to the floor and cried for a minute before I got up and composed myself. After touching up my make up I walked back out and found Jackson sitting at a booth. He waved me over with a smile and I sat down across from him.

"Well, I'm Jackson Matthews. Pleasure to meet you." He said and shot me a crooked grin.

"Crystal Love." I said with a smile of my own. "The pleasure is all mine."

"Welcome to Rivers Edge. With you, population 128."