"Audrey," a voice said softly, shaking me gently.
I blinked my eyes open and gathered my surroundings. I was in the living room, still wearing Nathan's hoodie and sweats. The events of last night were almost forgotten until they hit me like a tsunami. "It wasn't a dream, was it?"
Darian shook his head slowly, his eyes sunk to the floor. "I'm sorry, Audrey."
At his words, I crumble and Darian jumps onto the couch, wrapping his arms around me. "It'll be okay, I promise."
I let out a sob. "I was so scared, Darian. I didn't think he'd come here. What should I do?"
My roommate wiped my hot tears and looked me straight in the eyes. "Now, you are going to live your life Audrey Holland." I nodded my head but continued to cry on my friend's shoulder. Darian held me, in an effort to comfort me. "It's going to be okay, I promise."
We stayed in that position for a few minutes. I continued to cry and I felt a twinge of regret because I knew I was ruining Darian's sweater. However, my roommate seemed to not care, his sole focus was to soothe my disgusting sobs. Letting go briefly, he reached over to the coffee table and plucked a few tissues. Starting to wipe my face, he said, "In a few months or even a few weeks, you will realize th-" He stopped cleaning my tears. "Is that Nathan's sweater?"
I looked down and looked back up at Darian's wide blue eyes and then let out a sob. "Now is not the time!"
I began to cry harder, feeling like Darian was judging me for wearing his brother's clothing. He probably thought I was slutting it up last night and that's why Kieran was so mad at me, that I deserved what happened. Feeling disgusted with myself, I threw the hoodie off of me, but luckily, I had put on a tank top under it last night. When I looked over at Darian, his eyes widened, staring intently at my arms. My tears stopped pouring and I looked at my friend. "What are you staring at?"
"Audrey," he said slowly, almost as if he were worried I'd run away. "Kieran did that to you?"
I looked down at my arms and winced. My arms were my typical olive colour until you got past my elbows. Dark bruises were forming in gruesome colours. Feeling my face drained of colour, I said, "H-He was really upset."
And just like that, I fell apart all over again.
Darian looked pained and unsure what to do. He brought me back in for a hug and began to soothe me again. After a few minutes, he stopped rocking me back and forth and looked me in the eyes. "Did Kieran do stuff like that often?"
I shook my head quickly. "No. I mean, sometimes."
Darian pulled me in for another hug. "I'm sorry, Audrey. You didn't deserve that - no one deserves what you went through."
"You know, Nathan said something last night that really caught my attention," I said, thinking about our conversation that took place the night before.
Darian cocked a blond brow. "What did he say?"
"He said, if Kieran really loved me, he wouldn't have hurt me in any way," I licked my lips, tasting a slight hint of salt from my dried tears. "I never said this out loud but ever since our break up, I thought he was more in love with the idea of me than he was with me as a person."
Darian nodded his head in understanding. "I didn't think I'd ever say this, but Nathan is right, even though he is God awful when it comes to love."
I let out a little laugh but paused for a moment. "Where is Nathan? Did he get to work on time?"
My roommate shrugged, expressing very little concern for his brother's whereabouts. "I'm sure he did, I saw him this morning and he seemed to not be in a rush, he told me what happened.'"
"I hope so," I said, chewing my lip slightly. Maybe I should just get him something to make up for the crap he went through last night. He didn't deserve to be put in the middle of my and Kieran's problems, nor did he deserve to stay up all night when he had to work in the morning. Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked up at Darian. "Do you think he's mad at me?"
Darian full-on laughed. "What? No way, honestly, I think he was pleased he could finally punch Kieran without you getting upset."
We sat in a settling silence for a few minutes and all the memories of Kieran and his drunken rage came back to me. Suddenly, all I could see was the negative aspects of our relationship. The fights, the lack of trust, lack of communication - even when I was in Trillium, we struggled with communication.
My roommate let out a subtle cough, breaking me from my thoughts. "I don't mean to open old - less than twenty-four hour - wounds, but who is Abigail?"
"Don't get me started," I said with a heavy sigh but by the look on Darian's face, he was not letting the question go that easily. I rolled my eyes, trying to look anywhere but Darian's gaze. "She was my best friend back home. But when Kieran and I were just starting to get together, out of nowhere she decided she had a crush on him. He obviously turned her down, but part of me knew she'd never get over it. I guess my being away encouraged him to go after someone he knew had feelings for him."
Darian simply scowled, his eyes looking more like a stormy grey than his typical bright blue. "Man, I want to kick his ass so much."
I gave my roommate a look. He and so many want to kick Kieran's ass. But despite him being a dick, Kieran is strong. I doubt anyone could truly kick his ass - with the exception of Nathan.
Darian shook his head and crossed his arms. "I could totally kick his ass."
***
"When do you think you'll begin dating again?" Samara asked me as we walked to our class. It had been a week since the Kieran incident and I was trying so desperately to forget about the whole thing.
I gave her a pointed look. "After Kieran, I don't think I'll ever date again."
My best friend shrugged. "It might do some good to have a few casual dates here and there. But I'm not rushing you, I'm just curious."
I laughed a little. "Yeah, you're totally not rushing."
Samara gave me one of her dazzling smiles. "I'm excited. I know that sounds wrong but we're both single and both extremely hot. Double dating could be our thing."
I burst out into laughter. "Maybe in a couple more weeks. I need to have my head completely clear before I get back out there again."
"Understood," she nodded her head in finality and we continued to walk in a settling silence. But after a few moments, Samara faced me. "I know what you're going through. I've had a similar breakup."
I snapped my eyes up at her. "Really?"
My friend shook her head. "How about we skip class for today and I'll tell you all about it."
"Sounds good to me," I smiled. We linked arms and changed our direction. "Ed's sound good?"
We walked into the pub and very few bar stools and booths were filled. Ed leaned against the counter, staring absently at the television that hung on the wall.
When he heard us come in, his head whipped to mine and Samara's direction, his wispy white hair following as he did so. "Hello, girls! Good to see ya', take a seat anywhere you'd like."
I gave Ed a sweet smile. He wasn't much of a talker, but with Samara and me, he had a tendency to join in our conversations. "Thanks, Ed. Is Nathan in today?"
Ed shook his head and started wiping the counter down with a cloth. "Nah, not until six. Why are you starting to fancy him?"
Samara let out a small laugh but quickly covered it with a cough. I shot her with a glare before I looked back at Ed. "No, just curious."
"Well," the pub owner said with a shake of his head. "That's too bad because I think he fancies you."
Ignoring his comment, Samara and I head to our usual booth near the back of the pub. She sat across from me, staring at me as I looked at the menu. I looked up, feeling irritated by her gaze. "What?"
Samara shrugged, giving me a slight smile. "I'm just thinking maybe you should ask Nathan on a date."
I let out a laugh as I rolled my eyes. "No way. He may flirt but he doesn't want to be with me in that way."
Now it was my best friend's turn to roll her eyes. "Please, he wants you."
I shook my head adamantly. "Samara, he brings home girls like I bring home books."
She squinted in annoyance and started muttering under her breath. "Well, I didn't know that."
After giving the menu more of a glance, Samara and I decided to split an order of nachos. Ed brought the food and then quickly brought us over two cherry shakes. "On the house ladies."
Samara and I gave him thanks and my friend began to dive into the nachos before she spoke. "His name was Garreth and we had grown up together."
She had a faraway look on her face as if she wasn't completely here. "His parents struggled with substance abuse problems and once he hit high school, he quickly followed suit. Soon, it was like he was a different person. I was too scared to leave because I didn't know what he'd do."
"So, I begged for him to stop, I even offered for him to live with my parents and I so he could at least get away from their influence, but he didn't want to leave his family," she nibbled a bit on the chip in her hand and her eyes started to glaze over. "He had a horrible temper when he was high."
"The night we broke up, he gave me a black eye and then told me he had been cheating on me essentially the whole time we were dating," as she spoke, her voice never seemed to waver. Her demeanour was strong, hurt, but strong. "When my parents found out he was the source of my black eye, we decided to press charges against him. I haven't seen him since thank God."
I shook my head and reached my hand over to Samara. "You are so strong, Sam."
She nodded her head in thanks and then gave me a stern look. "Thank you, but you need to know you are too. You will never truly get over what Kieran had put you through but you can get over Kieran as a person."
"He hurt you, just like Garreth hurt me. And yes, that will stay with you for a long time, but you will overcome it. The important part to remember is that not all men are like Kieran and Garreth. It took me a long time to come to terms with that," her words seeped with passion and fire as she spoke. My best friend was stronger than I had ever known. "One day, you will find a man who will treat you right, who will treat you like the princess you are. I promise you that, Audrey Holland."
Blinking back tears, I nodded my head and gripped Samara's arm. She was right, I will overcome this and I deserve someone who treats me right, just like Samara deserves someone who will treat her right. If she can move on from Garreth, I can move on from Kieran.
The tears stopped pouring and I gave my friend a determined smile. "From this day on, I Audrey Holland, refuse to give Kieran a second thought."
My best friend gave me her award-winning smile. "That's my girl."