Blindsided

Part 21

"Thankyou Melly." With my back turned, my head nods subconsciously, no words able to exit my mouth successfully.

"I'm sorry, as well." Against my better judgement, I turn back around, our eyes locking. 

"For what?" A nervous giggle escapes the depth of my throat, my heart beginning to race.

"For not being there yesterday, to help you. For not telling Green to fuck off yesterday... for... for..." he stands from my bed, walking towards me slowly.

"It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine. Don't worry about it." Our eye contact drops as I avert my eyes, his intense stare becoming too much.

"No, everything isn't fine. I can tell. What's wrong?"

Everything, I want to say. Everything is wrong.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I just..."

"Talk to me Mel." he has a finger tucked under my chin, forcing our eyes to meet. I swallow the large, prominent lump in my throat, squinting to block the hot, heavy tears behind my eyes from escaping.

"I'm embarrassed." My voice fills the room before I realize I've even spoken. 

"Why?" Bailey's voice softens, the tension in his forehead falling away. 

"I'm embarrassed, being fucked over by someone I don't even like. I'm embarrassed that I'll now forever be tied to him when I press charges, which I 100% intend on doing. I never liked Jamie, you need to know that. I never had any intentions of going out with him. I only got coffee with him because..." I catch my rambling just in time, before I can blurt out the whole truth. How I only went out with Jamie to make Bailey jealous, to get him to leave me alone. 

Well, look how that turned out.

"You shouldn't feel embarrassed. He's a psycho, and I think we can all agree that we never expected him to do anything like this. It's not your fault Mel, and everyone here, your friends, know it isn't. He should be the one embarrassed to show his face in public, knowing what he did." his thumb moves along my cheeks, drawing soft circles across my skin. His words are soothing, more so than I'd ever imagined.

"Oops, sorry, I thought you'd be done by now I'll just..." Biting back another round of flowing tears, I spring back from Bailey at the sudden voice. Persephone's standing in the door warily, although I know a smile is growing beneath the façade. 

"No, it's okay, come in." My arms find themselves wrapped around my body once again. Although, the preventative measure didn't seem to work last time. 

"Uh, did you want to go and see Coach now or wait a bit?" Bailey asks as he stands awkwardly beside me, looking flustered. The thought almost makes me blush, but I'm able to conserve it without giving anything away. 

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you later Pers." Persephone nods, shooting me a wink before I can escape her careful eye. I shake my head, grabbing my phone and new set of keys, throwing them into the pocket of my sweatshirt. I slide on my crocs, bidding Persephone a final goodbye. Bailey's soft footsteps follow behind me down the hallway, and for some reason, the knowing that he's here, right beside me, makes me feel at ease. Stops the bad thoughts from swirling around in my brain, impacting each and every thought I possess. Even for just a while. 

He holds the door open for me as we walk outside, cold air hitting my exposed face. I shiver, cursing myself for not grabbing a coat before I left. 

There's only 2 weeks until winter break, where I'll be going back to San Francisco. With all that's happened, and the looming mid-terms, I really have no idea how I'll survive.