Falling for You

Chapter 33

'Nick, what the hell are you doing in here?' I asked in a harsh whisper.

'You're a bitch, Jennifer Lawrence,' Nick growled at me.

'Why?' I asked. 'What have I done?'

'Don't play dumb with me, Jenn,' Nick almost yelled. 'I know you were sleeping with Josh before we broke up.'

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. 'Look, Nick,' I said. 'Yes, what I did was wrong and I'm terribly sorry, but do you really think it deserves a reaction like this?'

'You cheated on me, whore!' he yelled.

I could tell that Nick was a little drunk. He slowly staggered towards me and I became aware that he wreaked of booze.

'Nick, I'm sorry!' I said. He was standing awfully close to me and he was starting to scare me. 'I felt awful, and I didn't mean to do anything with Josh before I broke up with you. It was an impulsive mistake. However, despite my wrongdoings you shouldn't have gone about this the way you did.'

'Stop making excuses!' Nick yelled and grabbed my arm.

I tried to yank my arm out of his grip, but he was too strong.

'Nick, let go of me,' I demanded, semi-confidently. 'Why don't we have a rational conversation about this when you're sober.'

Nick twisted my arm and pulled me closer to him. My eyes began to fill with tears.

'Nick, leave me alone,' I wailed quietly.

'Jenn?' I heard Josh's voice through the door. He knocked. 'Jenn are you alright in there?'

'Josh!' I cried out.

Josh cracked the door open a little and peered through. Once he saw what was going on, he pushed the door open and rushed into the bathroom.

He practically ripped Nick off me and punched him squarely in the jaw, knocking him to the floor. I screamed. Josh then turned to me. 

'Jenn, are you ok?' he asked, his voice was laced with concern but his dark eyes burned with rage.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' I said, wiping the tears form my eyes and rubbing my arm where Nick's iron grip had held me. 'He was getting angry at me because he knows.'

Nick groaned from where he lay on the ground. He tried to get up, but his efforts were inhibited by the amalgamation of his drunkenness and a possible concussion. 

At that moment, a waiter entered the bathroom to see what the commotion was all about. Josh explained to the waiter what had happened, and the waiter rushed off to inform the manager and to call the police. 

Josh gently put his arm around my shoulder and guided me out of the bathroom to where the manager of the restaurant led us into another room where we could get some privacy. The room was a badly-lit office with a desk and a couple of chairs. I took a seat on the desk and let my feet dangle over the edge, occasionally tapping my foot on an ugly plastic plant that sat next to the desk.

'Jenn, are you really ok, or are you just saying that?' Josh asked, seeing through my apparently-calm exterior. 'What did he want?'

'I don't know,' I said honestly. 'All he did was accuse me and call me names. But I suppose he had every right to call me those things.'

'Jenn, no matter what you did or what mistakes you made,' Josh said, grasping my hands. 'You don't deserve this. He could've gone about this in a much more professional and mature way. Instead, he chose the boozy and troublesome approach.'

'But, who can blame him?' I said, tears forming in my eyes again. My shoulders slumped and I leaned my head on my hand. 'I cheated on him. I deserve everything that comes my way.'

I sounded exactly how I felt; defeated. There was nothing to excuse the fact that I cheated on Nick, and his actions were completely justified. 

Josh just looked at me with sad eyes. 'Jenn, it was a mistake, ok,' he said. 'Yeah, you should've broken up with Nick before we slept together, but that doesn't mean he can just barge back into your life and start threatening you and assaulting you. In fact, this whole situation is just as much his fault as it is yours and mine.'

'Josh,' I said, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. 'It isn't your fault at all. I know you think you're partially to blame, but it was my wrongdoing. I was fully aware of what I was doing.'

Josh sighed. 'That's not true, but since you're so stubbon, I'm not even going to bother arguing with you.'

I looked down at my feet. I felt vulnerable and weak, and I think Josh could sense that because he sat next to me and put a consoling arm around my freezing shoulders.

'It's going to be ok, Jenn,' he whispered, as if not to frighten me. He leaned in and kissed my forehead before the door opened. The manager entered with a tall male police officer at his side. 

'Sorry Josh and Jennifer,' the manager said. 'Officer Johnson, here, is going to have to ask you a few questions and get a statement before you leave.'

The Officer Johnson pulled up a chair and sat opposite us. He asked a few questions about what had happened and asked about what could've provoked such an event. I was forced to spill the secret of my adultery but Officer Johnson swore that the information would remain fully confidential. Finally, we gave our statements and then we were allowed to leave. 

I later found out that Nick was going to be arrested on assault charges. I couldn't help but feel awful that Nick's reputation and possibly his career could be detrimentally damaged by this situation.

I felt sick all the way back to the hotel as Josh drove us home. When Josh parked, he led me up to his room. He insisted that I have a shower and get into a fresh pair of pyjamas, insisting that I'd feel better. As he'd predicted, I did feel a lot better after doing this. 

Eventually, I climbed into bed where Josh lay, awaiting my company. When I pulled the blankets up over my torso, I felt Josh's arms snake around my waist and clutch me tight. We didn't say anything, but nothing needed to be said. We had some unspoken connection which allowed me to get the best night's sleep in a long time.

Hey guys, thanks for 19k reads! I'm over the moon! Anyways, if you like this story, you should definitely check out my other Joshifer fic, "Just Friends". Not sure when I'll update this again, but it should definitely be within the next week! Hope you're enjoying reading my fics as much as I love writing them. Thanks!

- JS