apartment 23 // mitchel cave

27

angeline's p.o.v.

i attempted moving through the living room, pushing through people, but found my attempts unsuccessful. loud music blared in my ears as people danced around me, red cups of booze in their hands. don't get me wrong, i was having a great time. i hadn't been able to have a proper party in the apartments and just socialize, especially with the constricting amounts of free time that college provided. the only frustrating part was not being able to find mitchel anywhere and it didn't help that they practically invited the whole city of los angeles. "go big or go home" they said. they definitely went big.

i pushed myself through the mass groups of people, trying to find a familiar face. unable to successfully do that, i walked over to the island and refilled my cup with some of the drinks clinton had bought earlier. i knew i probably shouldn't have been drinking but i really didn't have anything better to do other than stare at the random faces shuffling randomly through the room.

deciding i needed some space, i headed upstairs and stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall as i sipped on my drink. there were only a few people up here; luckily mitchel had locked our door so we wouldn't have to worry about random people having sex on our bed. i cringed at the thought of that. a group of girls dressed in barely anything walked past me, giving me a dirty look. by now i had gotten used to the reactions people had towards me. most girls who knew of mitchel got very "defensive" of him, hence the dirty looks and rude comments plastered through my instagram page. some of the comments hurt, especially since they were coming from random people i had never even met in my life, but i had grown used to them. i knew it was simply because i was with mitchel.

i felt someone come up next to me and i looked over realizing it was another man. he was tall, had short blonde hair, and wore light wash jeans and a black shirt. i looked away and continued to sip on my drink, trying to ignore his presence. he must have scooted closer to me because i felt his arm brush against mine, startling me a tiny bit.

"whatcha doing up here, beautiful?" he asked, attempting to be seductive. i rolled my eyes, still avoiding eye contact with him. i wouldn't have been attracted to him even if i wasn't with mitchel.

"oh come on, you're really gonna play like that?" he asked, being a bit more aggressive this time. he obviously wasn't getting the hint that i wasn't interested.

"what do you want?" i said frustrated.

"just trying to talk to a pretty lady like you," he said. i huffed and moved away from the wall but before i could go far he grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, pushing me against the wall. i felt my head hit hard.

"-what the fuck!" i yelled as he pushed his body against mine, my wrists pinned against the wall. i could feel myself becoming extremely nervous.

"listen baby, i'm gonna get what i want. now why don't we go have some fun?" he said, his face way too close to mine. his breath reeked of alcohol; it was suffocating. i felt like i couldn't move my body. i saw people rush past us down the hall towards the staircase; why weren't they helping me? his breath was hot against my neck as i tried to pull my hands out of his grip. he was a lot more muscular than i had thought before and his grip on my wrists was way too tight. i could already feel them start to ache.

no one ever prepares you for situations like these. your parents never tell you when you're younger how it feels to be trapped in the grip of a man much bigger than you. they tell you to run and fight, but in reality, i felt immobile. my legs felt like iron weights, keeping my feet glued to the floor beneath me. my head felt cloudy; it was like my brain was completely shutting down on me. this man could have done anything to me; i was powerless. and the alcohol in my system definitely didn't help my situation.

suddenly, as if my prayers were being answered, i heard the voice i had been longing to hear. the person who i had been looking for all night; mitchel.

"what do you think you're doing?" i heard mitchel yell. i hadn't noticed the hot stream of tears begin to fall down my face. the man groaned and rolled his eyes when he realized he had been caught.

"get the fuck off of her," he yelled again. the man's grip eased against my wrists and i took this as a perfect opportunity to yank my wrists out of his palms. i pushed him off of me and ran towards mitchel. mitchel gave me a sympathetic look but his angry demeanor returned as he stood in front of me, facing the other man.

"get out of here, now," he said sternly. the guys walked briskly past us, realizing he wasn't going to get to me anymore.

"whatever, i wouldn't want to fuck that bitch anyways," he spat at me and mitchel before heading downstairs and, hopefully, leaving our loft. mitchel immediately turned around and hugged me tightly. i returned the embrace, tears still falling down my face.

"don't cry, baby. it's okay now," he said soothingly as he held my head against his chest. i nodded and tried wiping away the tears. i knew i probably looked like a mess at this point; my eyes felt puffy and my face felt hot.

"here, let's get you cleaned up," he said, guiding me towards the bathroom. he knocked a few times and once there was no response, he opened up the door and ushered me in, closing it behind me and locking it.

i looked in the mirror and i was correct; i looked like a mess. mascara had run down my face and my hair was disheveled. mitchel grabbed a small washcloth and ran it under hot water. he lightly wiped away my ruined makeup, leaving me with just a puffy and red face.

"i look like shit," i said, trying to lighten the mood. my tone came out a little sadder than i had planned. mitchel gave me a sad look and cupped my cheek with his hand. his thumb lightly grazed back and forth over my cheek.

"you're always beautiful to me," he said softly. i placed my hand on top of his. his eyes widened, causing me to give him a confused look.

"angeline, your wrist," he stated, staring at my wrist. i quickly pulled it away and looking down at them; there was a purple ring around both of them from the pressure the man had placed on them. i could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes at the sight of the bruises.

"i'm so sorry, angeline," mitchel said quietly.

"it's really not your fault," i told him. i didn't want him to feel guilty about anything. it wasn't his fault.

"i should have stayed with you all night, i shouldn't have left you alone," he said, looking down at my wrists again.

"mitchel, please. don't beat yourself up about this. it's not your fault," i insisted. he nodded silently. i knew he probably wouldn't forgive himself for this.

"i think i just want to go to bed now," i mumbled quietly.

"let's go," he said, leading me out of the bathroom. we walked to our bedroom and mitchel quickly unlocked the door, locking it behind us once we were in. i changed out of my shirt and skirt and slipped on sweatpants and an oversized t shirt. i avoided looking at my wrists; i knew that by looking at them, i wouldn't feel any better about the previous events. mitchel slipped out of his clothes and put on his grey sweatpants. he smiled lightly at me before slipping into the covers. i got under as well, curling up against mitchel. he wrapped his arms around me lightly.

"thank you for earlier," i mumbled.

"i won't let anyone do that to you ever again. i swear," he said as he rubbed my back. i smiled, tucked my head in against his chest.

"goodnight, mitty."

"goodnight, my love."