B R U I S E S
"Yes Jordan," I say pulling a chair in front of him as I sit down. "We do have a problem."
He looks away then back at me, waiting for me to continue.
"Let's get one thing straight. You're my best friend and no guy is gonna come between that, no matter what. Got it?" I ask and he nods. "No I don't think you do," I shake my head. "I get it now, he shows up out of no where and suddenly it's as if I'm leaving you out but I'm not. Antonio and I are... well friends. Nothing more."
"Yeah, whatever Nirah," he shrugs his shoulder. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."
"It's seems though I do. I hate that there's this weird tension between us. I have too much on my plate right now for you to be mad at me too."
"I'm not mad at you," he says and I sigh.
"I told you that Madeline fake tripped to spill coffee on a customer but only ended up spilling it on herself and you said 'Is she okay' instead of 'Did you record it' so yes. I do think you're mad at me."
He softly chuckles, shaking his head.
"Did you?" he blankly asks and I smile, pulling my phone out.
"Of course I did. I knew what was coming as soon as she nervously walked towards the customer."
He looks away and I smile.
"I'll show you if you forgive me and stop being mad at me," I say moving my phone and he looks at me.
"Send it and all if forgiven," he says and we both chuckle.
"You're evil," I narrow my eyes at him.
"Says the girl who recorded it instead of helping her," he narrows his eyes back at me.
"Fair enough," I nod and we both stand up. "He might be good looking but he's not Jordan Pierre good looking," I press my lips into a thin line.
"I'm glad you know," he gives me a single, serious nod and I snicker.
He grabs my bag and I put on my coat as we both head out. I said goodbye to Silvia and Jordan headed out to the car.
"We're cool now," I nod and she smiles.
"Good," she nods. "What about... well you-know-who?"
"What about him?" I smile in confusion. "He's just another customer/friend," I shrug my shoulder.
"Yeah... of course," she suspiciously says and I hug her goodbye before heading to the door.
I slow down as I see Antonio at Silvia's table, talking to another women. He tucks her hair behind her ear and she shyly smiles. They exchange a few words and he gets up, finishing his drink.
I feel this pit in my stomach as I tear my eyes away from them, heading out.
I've never seen her before.
Snapping myself out of it, I walked through the doors and onto the sidewalk. I looked left and right, not seeing Jordan anywhere.
I took a step to my right, standing against the wall as I searched for my phone.
A large, strong hand wrapped around my throat, shoving me back against the wall.
"Getting me kicked out of your little club? Not very nice," Sylvester grunts, choking me harder.
"Sylvester," I managed to get out as my arms came up to grip onto his forearms. "Let go," I choke out.
"Now you listen here. You ran. I chased you. It was fun. But play times over so you're gonna get in that car with me and you're gonna talk. Understand?"
"Fuck you," I groan, trying to pull his arm off and he chuckles.
"Wrong answer sweetheart," he squeezes my throat and I choke, barely breathing.
I feel my throat tighten and my lungs burn. My legs go numb and my eyes grow weak. My vision blurs and Sylvester grins, watching my eyes nearly roll back.
Fuck...
A huge breath of air fills my lungs as Sylvester is ripped off of me. I hear a loud thud as I fall to my knees, coughing.
My hands hug my neck as I cough out, looking up.
Jordan rushes over, helping me up.
"Are you okay," he asks and I nod, breathing heavily. "This him?" he asks nodding towards Sylvester and I nod.
"Let's just go, please," I beg and he stands up straight, letting go of me.
"Man," Sylvester chuckles, getting up. "How many men do you spread your legs for?" he asks, dusting off his hands.
Jordan walks over, grabs his collar and pushes him up against the wall.
"Nirah get in the car," he firmly says and I shake my head.
"Let's go-"
"Get in the damn car!" he demands and I slowly walk backwards. "You think you can touch her and get away with it?" Jordan angrily asks.
"And what are you gonna do about it?" Sylvester challenges him.
Jordan pulls him back, smashing his head against the brick wall.
Sylvester pushes Jordan's arms off of him, swinging a punch. Jordan punches back harder and I hear a crack. He has Sylvester up against the wall, smashing his head back twice and when his head pulls back, there's a spot of blood.
"Oh my God, Jordan stop," my eyes grow wide but he throws another punch. "Jordan!" I yell and he stops, heavily breathing.
Jordan holds Sylvester up straight, taking his face in his hand.
"If you touch her again I'll put you six feet under myself," he threatens Sylvester who simply glares back at Jordan with a bloody mouth.
Sylvester could barely keep his eyes open and I could tell the knocks to his head was going to cause some damage.
"Whatever you say," Sylvester mocks Jordan and his jaw clenches.
"Jordan, come on," I say and he lets go of Sylvester.
Sylvester weakly smiles and Jordan walks over to me. He throws his arm over my shoulder, taking my face in his hands.
"I'm fine," I frown, taking his hands in mine as I examine his bruised knuckles.
We got into the car and drove back silently. My throat still hurt and I pulled out the vanity mirror. I saw bruises as I slightly turned my head side to side.
Jordan drove us to his place and I didn't argue.
I immediately grabbed the first aid kit and sat him down in the kitchen.
"Ow," he groans as I apply rubbing alcohol to his bruised knuckles.
"Ow is fucking right," I say and he looks up at me. "You can't loose your temper like that again, Jordan," I say and he scoffs, shaking his head.
I walked over to his sink to pour him some water.
"He hurt you Nirah."
"Yeah, I know," I softly say, tracing my fingertips over the bruises on my neck. "It's my shit to deal with and I don't want you getting involved," I say turning around but he's already in front of me.
He gently lifts my chin between his fingers as his eyes linger on the bruises.
"This does not look like fine Nirah," he frustrating says. "I should've killed him-"
"No. You shouldn't have," I interrupt him. "Please just don't hurt yourself like that again," I say brushing his hair back off his forehead. "I can't bare seeing you like that..." I softly say biting down onto my quivering bottom lip. "Please," I whisper and he pulls me into his arms.
"No, don't cry," he says holding me and I squeeze my eyes shut.
"I'm so sorry Jordan- so fucking sorry," I whisper and he gently rubs my back.
"You have nothing to apologize for," he assures me and I shake my head.
"I dragged you into my shit and now-"
"Hey, hey, listen to me," he says taking my face in his hands. "You didn't drag me into anything and I'll do that again if I have to, you got that?" he says looking into my eyes. "I'll fight any guy that lays a finger on you even if it means getting hurt because Nirah... I don't care what happens to me when it comes to you."
"Don't say that," I shake my head.
"I mean it," he firmly says. "No one hurts you and gets away with it," he says resting his forehead against mine. I close my eyes and his thumb gently caresses my cheek. "God I love you," he breathes, pulling me into his arms and my heart drops to my feet.
My eyes shoot open as he holds me.
He, loves... me.
___
I woke up feeling awful.
My head was pounding, my eyes were swollen and I felt my throat hurt. I got up and walked into the bathroom. I looked how I felt. Awful.
I brushed my teeth and washed my face before heading back into the room that I always sleep in when I spend the night.
I got dressed and my mind kept thinking about last night.
After Jordan's 'I love you' bomb I tried to be gentle by letting him down but he simply told me not to comment on what he had just said. He understood that I didn't feel the same and that was okay.
He could handle being my friend as long as I was in his life.
I came to the room, leaving him in the kitchen.
I had left some clothes here the last time I spent the night which I was thankful for.
I threw on some sweatpants and a hoodie before grabbing my things. I wrote a note to him saying I'd be going back home.
I can't face him right now and I know it's a coward thing to do but I just can't.
Not while I'm confused.
I walked through the cold and mean streets of New York, making my way back home.
The walk was long but I used the time to reflect on everything.
You got this Nirah.
You always do.
____
HI EVERYONE<33
okay so jordan said the L word... how do we feel?
and who was mr antonio getting all comfortable with *rolls eyes*
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!!