Coffee Shop Conversations | ✓

20

i laugh and gently push him in the direction of his friends. "i'll hold you to that, harper."

he holds his drink up as if to say "cheers" and i'm left standing alone in dawson's kitchen once again. 

my phone buzzes.

"jack":

you look so beautiful. holy shit.

sent 8:38 pm

i smile at my screen, suddenly not feeling so alone anymore. 

amelia:

i'm sure you look great yourself. whoever you are.

sent 8:39 pm

i know i told him that i wasn't going to speculate anymore, but crossing finneas off the list isn't speculation, right? it's just because he wasn't at the party, i was sure.

just as i text cam the news, graham steps into the kitchen, consuming all the air with his cologne. it wasn't bad smelling...it was just a lot. 

the timing of the party was seriously weirding me out. 

i think graham is heading for the cooler, but i realize he's already holding drinks. he hands me a beer. "i wanted to thank you for helping me with that lab. i would've failed if it wasn't for you."

i smile and accept the drink, but place it on the table. i wasn't so dumb as to accept a drink from a stranger.

"drink, i brought it for you," he says, nodding at the bottle.

"i'm good, really," i tell him. "thanks though."

i think i see a frown cross his face, but he replaces it with a smirk as quick as it comes. "so, are you here alone?"

"i'm here with cam and boyce."

"hm," is all he says. then, after a painful moment of silence, he bends down, grabs either side of arms, and kisses me.

"whoa, whoa!" i shove him off me gently. "are you drunk?"

"no? i just want to kiss the girl i like. i thought you totally liked me back."

i blink at him and his lips are on me again. once again, i shove him off.

"wait, wait. are you jack?"

"jack? i-" he pauses. "yeah."

this time he kisses me and i let him.

i ignore the uncertainty and confusion in his "yeah" and just accept it because i have been waiting too damn long for it to NOT be graham.

graham roughly pushes me down the hall and against a door. from under my shirt, he reaches higher, towards everything i wasn't ready for him to touch.

"no, not there," i say. but he doesn't hear me. or maybe he doesn't care. either way, he doesn't stop. 

he reaches higher and higher. his innocent smiles are suddenly filled with a carnal desire that makes me cry and trash.

he's huge and built and there is absolutely nothing i can do when he drags me to a bedroom with a hand clamped on my mouth.

he hadn't done anything yet, but i know he's close to.

i'm on the verge of sobs when the door flies open and graham is ripped off my body. the other guy pushes him out the door and slams a fist in his face.

by the time i'm out of the door, graham's bloody face is unconscious on the ground. 

when i look down the dark hallway, i am met with the unmistakable fleeting blue eyes of tucker elliot.

i leave the party with my dress ripped and mascara running down my eyes.