Grown ish: Zoey and Aaron's Story (BOOK 1)

Part 19: Compromised

Trigger Warning. (Abuse.)

Zoey narrates.

That morning, Luca ignores me, all through class, until I finally catch him on the way out.

'Hey, Luca? Can we talk?' I say, grabbing his arm.

He shakes his head.

'Zoey, there's nothing to talk about.' He says, folding his arms.

'I just wanted to say I'm sorry. And I hope you understand why I did what I did.' I say.

His face softens.

'Honestly Zoey, it's cool. I get it. You guys are good together.' He says, with a faint smile.

'So does that mean we're good?' I ask, with a hopeful smile.

'Don't take this the wrong way, Zoey. But I'm going to need some time. I hope you can respect that and just give me some space?' He says.

I nod.

'Yeah...sure.' I say, though a little upset.

'Cool. We're all good, kid.' He says, before giving me a quick smile, and leaving.

I sigh, but then Aaron comes up behind me and spins me around, as I laugh.

'Hey.' I say.

'Hey. How'd it go?' He asks, about Luca.

'He said he needs some space, which I totally understand. But I feel better already.' I say, smiling.

'That's good. Now you could make me feel better, by coming to my dorm, so we can...you know....' He says, in between kissing me.

I laugh.

'I would love to, but you know it's Ana's birthday party tonight, so I need to go and help the girls prep.' I say, frowning.

'Oh, right, I almost forgot. I'm going to meet you there later though, I kinda don't want to be around people for too long. Just you.' He says, kissing me again, as we finally pull apart, and walk on.

_____

So, that night, after the house had been decorated for Ana's birthday, the guests started to filter in. There was music and drinks and the overall vibe was so great. I'm taking shots with Nomi, when I see Jillian walk in, as I wave at her frantically. She comes over and gives me a hug.

'Hey! How are you?' I ask.

'I'm good! How are you, miss styler of the stars?' She replies.

'I'm great, actually. And look, I wish you'd come sooner. I wanted to talk to you about Lu...' She cuts me off.

'Zoey, it's so fine. It's not your fault. Like, at all. You're one of my best friends, I could never be mad at you!' She says.

'Thank you. That means a lot.' I say, hugging her.

We continue chatting with Nomi, as a tall guy approaches us.

'Oh hey!' Jillian says to him.

'Hey!' He waves at us, as Nomi and I wave back confused.

'Guys, this is Daniel, one of Luca's friends.' She says, as he offers his hand to shake, and I reciprocate.

'It's nice to meet you!' I say.

'Yeah, you too!' He eyes me up and down.

'This look is fire, man!' He says, as I laugh.

'Thanks!' I respond.

'Hey...do you, uh, want to dance?' He asks.

'Sure!' I say, gesturing Nomi and Jillian to come too.

We all head on to dance, and a few minutes in I feel like Daniel is honestly too close to me, for a friendly dance.

To avoid awkwardness, I start to dance and move away from him simultaneously, but he follows me, as I suddenly find myself backed into a corner, alone with him.

'We should get back to the dance floor!' I say, nervously, as he ignores me and inches closer to me, as I walk backwards, until my back is against the wall.

It was at this point that I was either too drunk to fight him off, or too scared of what he might do, so didn't respond, as he trapped me, placing both hands on the wall beside my head, and breathing into my neck. He started kissing me all over my neck, and his hands wander my chest, and I think a sudden nerve in my body kicked in, as I started to push him away and shout.

'Get away from me!' I shout, though no one could hear over the music.

I try to push him off of me, by the shoulders, but he's too strong, as he grabs my wrist and goes to kiss my lips, as I close my eyes, scared and distressed.

However, before he could approach, I hear a shout.

'What the hell, man?!'

It's Aaron. He punches Daniel's face and pushes him onto the ground, as people start to gather, having heard the commotion. Aaron doesn't stop there as he kneels to the floor and continues to beat him up, not long before Doug and Vivek run over and stop Aaron. Meanwhile, I'm in tears, from the shock of what just happened, and the compromising position I was in.

The girls huddle over me and protect me, as Aaron resists Doug and Vivek's attempt to hold him back, trying to get to Daniel again. Everything's a blur. I hear Aaron shouting lots. I can't make out what. The noise is too loud.

'How dare you?!' He shouts, as Doug holds him back and Vivek grabs Daniel by the collar to take him out of the party. Aaron brushes Doug away, as he finally looks at me, realising that I'm crying.

He comes over to me, as the girls move out of the way, and try to divest the crowd, back to the party. He holds me tight in a hug, as I cry into his chest, shaking, and shivering, from the anxiety.

What on earth just happened?

_____