Open Your Arms

Chapter 67

October 26, 2005

I leave Jake alone to sleep. He needs it. After what happened last night, I just know that he's really exhausted. 

I'm in still in disbelief that last night even happened. There was the man that was hitting on me and wouldn't stop, Jake getting into the fight, Ville telling me that he got abused by his fiancée, then telling me that he regrets letting me go. 

Even if he asked me out again, I wouldn't say yes. I'm perfectly happy with Jake. I've gotten to where I want to be. 

I walk into the kitchen and find Ville laying down on the couch with his eyes wide open. He looks at me and smiles, so I smile back. I know what he's doing. He doesn't want to get up just yet since Missy and April are the only ones in the kitchen. 

He sits up and stretches out his arms while yawning, acting as if he just woke up. 

"Well look who's awake," April says and then her eyes land to me. "Oh my Hell, Larissa I heard about what happened. Are you okay?!"

Ville rises from the couch and walks over to the kitchen, so I do too. I lean over on the island counter. 

"I'm okay," I lie. My arms are throbbing profusely. Out of curiosity, I lift up one of my sleeves and see that there's a purple handprint on my arm. 

"Oh my God!" Missy gasps. 

I look at my other arm and the same handprint is there, too. 

"Did he do that to you?" Ville asks as I pull down my sleeves. 

"The man at the bar, not Jake," I say, then turn to April. "I'm never going to a bar again. This is why I don't drink."

"Can I give you a hug?" She asks me. 

I nod and she wraps her arms around me. I rest my head on her shoulder and begin to cry, not fully over what happened. 

"You're so lucky Jake was there to help you," She says. 

I pull away from her. "Yeah, I don't know what I would've done with him." I shudder at the thought of where I might be. I could be in that man's house right now and he could've raped me. 

"I'm sorry we left you alone," Missy apologizes. "I just--"

"This is not your fault," I tell her. "It wasn't anyone's fault. I don't want you to think that it is."

"You're really lucky to have found Jake," Missy takes a sip of her tea. "Bam would've never done that for me. He would've ran away with me, trying to avoid him as much as possible."

"Jake works out," I explain. "He was just in a war movie, too, and he has to get muscular for certain movies, so he knows what he's doing. I just got lucky."

"I was scared he was going to kill that man."

"I wish he did," I mutter, then smirk. 

Ville chuckles. "I think we all do."

I shake my head, then make eye contact with him. 

I haven't been able to let go of what he said last night. Of course he only said that because he was drunk, but drunk words are just sober thoughts. He wouldn't have said it if he didn't mean it. 

Missy sighs. "It seems like the two nicest people ever were the ones that got beat up."

Ville laughs obnoxiously, making me laugh. I haven't heard him laugh in so long. He's rarely even smiled. Now I know why. Now I know that that cunt probably broke him and he'll never be the same again.