Never Bend

Chapter 5 : Surprise, surprise

Hope you enjoy this chapter! XD

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Because we are stronger
When we face our fears...
MJ1
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Annie POV

Still out of breath, I can't comprehend his reaction. Someone molested me back there. Soiled me, touched me, but in his twisted mind I was endangering him? Was the ego of that repulsive person l more important than my well being? Tom. That guy was a misogynist. Suddenly the car felt smaller and overcrowded. My ragged breathing remained, but for once it wasn't spiking up.

Placing my hand between my feet, I grab my purse and fight over its contents, trying to find my inhaler. As always, I never seem to find anything when I need it most. Frustration flusters my mind. I am sure that I had one in my purse. After agonizing minutes, I find it and finally inhale the medication.

Relief washes over me as I put my hand to my chest. My eyesight gets clearer, the sweating diminishes and my breathing returns to normal in a matter of minutes.

His hand grabs my face and his mesmerizing hazelnut eyes meet mine as if I had done something odd. An o escapes my mouth surprised by his audacity.

"What's that thing?" He asks me while sending a wince to my inhaler still in my hand.

I jerk to the side and slap his hand away, glaring at him.
"Keep your eyes on the road!" I blurted. "It's called an inhaler, genius. Those are medications." I finish, happily noticing that my voice has returned to normal.

Tom's eyebrows arch as if he is doubting my answer. His jaw clenches. Angered by the mockery of his attitude, I turn my face away, only to be surprised by the muffle sound of my stomach.

A sandwich lands on my knees, catching me off guard. Hum. This guy puzzles me! Nodding silently, I devour it without even looking back at him.

The car hums breaking the silence. There is nothing to say. What could I say?

The reality of the situation catches up with me. With a full belly, my head tends to roll into the next problem at hand. A fact was that I didn't know anything about this guy and we were about to be roommates for a few years. Worse, Mom could settle with Richard making him my...  suddenly the light on the road seemed to blind me giving me a headache.  Yea. Mother implied that it was a probable future. I close my eyes tight. She wanted far away to settle into a new life. Was she doing that because I spoke about dad every here and then? Was it my fault?

My heart grows heavy again. Those words are burned in my mind. She rid herself from me.

"I acted like an idiot earlier," Tom said, the twitch in the corner of his lips showed me how uncomfortably he was. "Can we start over?" He asked.

Seriously? I was expecting something more elaborate after acting like an idiot earlier. I cross my arms. At least one of us is trying to break the ice. It wears me off. I am not trying.

His hand found its way to the back of his head and scratched it. "Well, as I said, we got off to an inauspicious start. Since we are going to spend a considerable amount of time as roommates, we should at least know the basics." He looked in my direction and I nodded in response, eager to know more, well I try to show that I am. "My nickname is Tom, but my real name is Thomas, but I hate it because it means innocent and naive." He huffed as if the whole exchange was being too much for him. Was he also awkwardly social? Because I was and I don't even know how to hold my hands. "I am 20, I will be attending Grey-hill College and I hope to make great memories while we live there."