VOLKO

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Half asleep, my hand lazily tapped for Dean's warmth. When it only connected with the bed, I rolled over to find him gone. In his place, my phone. Well a new phone, one that hadn't been smashed to pieces.

I pretended not to notice the disappointment of Dean not being here. If it wasn't for the ache between my legs and stain of blood on the sheets, I'd have thought I'd dreamed it all. Did we act like everything was normal? Like we hadn't screwed twice last night.

Propping myself up onto my elbow I surveyed the room. Any evidence of what had happened vanished. Even the bedding was cold, telling me Dean had left a while ago.

Had he dropped the phone off or had someone else? Did they see me naked? The thought instantly made me pull the sheet up to my neck, hiding myself away.

Lying in bed I thought of every possible interaction I might have with Dean today. They mainly consisted of him telling me it was a one time thing. I practiced shrugging it off, trying to find the least humiliating way to be rejected.

I jumped out of bed, feeling more energized than I had in days. The memories of last night were still vivid. What would I do about the sheets? I could say I started my period. It felt wrong to lie but I bloody wasn't going to tell everyone I lost my virginity last night.

What if Dean already had? Isn't that what men did? Told their sex stories to each other in graphic detail. The idea gave me an unsettling feeling.

I'd really entered into a world of the unknown. What if I walked downstairs and everyone knew? I'd just be another notch on Dean's bedpost, the idea alone made me want to stay upstairs and hide.

Luckily, the vibrating phone on the bed gave me an excuse to delay going down, for the moment.

"Megan, I'm literally about to get in the car to come see if you were okay. What happened yesterday? Someone called to say you were no longer able to come?" Jay's panicked voice brought back everything from yesterday like a bucket of cold water.

Calmly, I recalled the events of the previous day. Maintaining my cool composure for the majority of it. Only when I got to the part about bolting from the car and Dean shooting the man did I break.

My head had been so filled with the events from last night, only now did I notice the many cuts on my arms. Standing in front of the full length mirror for the first time I scanned over myself. Not to bad for someone who nearly died less than twenty four hours ago, I thought cynically.

One thing which did stand out above all the others, a large bruise that nearly covered my entire left cheek and the deep cut line in the middle. Probably where I'd hit my head, I suspected.

"Fucking hell, that's... that's some fucked up shit. Are you okay?"

Good question, was I? My hands still trembled, and the mere thought of what happened sent burning tears to the back of my eyes.

Yes, was the simple answer. I confess I'd never been through something as quite dramatic as yesterday with Helen. Her slaps had never resulted in two people dying. Sadly, the years with her had taught me to suck it up. I then realized, I didn't want to cry for me, that part had died a long time ago. No, the sadness was for the two men I'd never spoken to, but lost their lives protecting me.

"I will be, just really shaken right now. Can you not tell anyone right now. It's your mum's birthday and I really don't want to take the attention away from her". I said more for my benefit than Mrs C's. Of course I didn't want to ruin her birthday, but I also didn't want the seven hundred questions right now either. So why I was telling Jay was beyond me.