Pieces of Love

Chapter 13

"Sorry guys, I really need to use the bathroom," Rosa said sheepishly as she pulled her car to the side of the road and hopped out. "Get out of the car. I trust you Emma, but it's Jacob I'm worried about. Who knows what he can do with the car?" she popped her head back in and gave Jacob a stern look but her eyes were filled with mischief. Jacob rolled his eyes and sighed, before ushering me out of the car with him.

I shivered slightly in the cold, rubbing my hands vigorously and blowing air into it. Jacob, however, was standing with a bored look on his face. How he doesn't feel cold will forever remain a mystery to me. I admit, he can adapt to the weather real fast. Just yesterday, he was complaining to me about the cold! We were standing in a shady part of town, and Rosa had rushed into the pub across the street. Secretly, I was hoping she would hurry because I was starting to get nervous by the old man staring at me in the corner of the alleyway we were standing in.

"I'll just go and check up on Rosa. Be right back," Jacob murmured to me, breaking the silence between us. "Wait!" I insisted but he was already crossing the road. "I don't want to be alone" I muttered to myself, feeling unnerved by the old man still staring intently at me. Feeling self-conscious, I wrapped my arms around myself, senses on full alert. My heart was racing wildly when I suddenly realised that the old man and I were the only ones there.

"Come on Jake, hurry up," I whispered anxiously under my breath. I started pacing, all the while making sure to never let the old man out of my sight. I whipped out my phone for something welcoming to do, scrolling through my messages with Jacob and chuckling every few seconds. One thing you should know about me is that although I may be book smart, I am definitely not street smart. That is why a few minutes later, a hand that smelled strongly of smoke is immediately clamped over my mouth, preventing me from breathing.

In a state of panic, I naturally struggled under the person's grab which made things worse. Another hand snaked around my middle and squeezed tightly, making me have a choking fit. I was scared out of my wits and almost had a breakdown in the middle of the street. Strangled noises came out of my throat as I tried shouting for help, but the hand over my mouth prevented me from doing so. After several failed attempts of trying to break free of the person's strong grip, I gave up and hung loosely in their arms. My phone had long since dropped to the ground, probably containing a crack or two by now.

The person then began to slowly drag me into the shadows of the alley, making my eyes widen in panic. With a twist of my head, I finally caught a glimpse of my captor. Not surprisingly, it was the old man. What was surprisingly though, was his strength. He slammed me against the wall and my head throbbed from the impact. The old man leered at me, showing his set of mismatched teeth and ran a finger across my jaw.

"Pretty girl was left alone by her boyfriend huh?" he whispered, a slur in his voice showing that he was drunk. "Don't touch me!" I snapped at him. I figured that if I couldn't escape, I would at least put on a strong front. The old man only chuckled. He leaned in dangerously close to me and whispered something in my ear that basically left me in a pure state of terror.

"I could do things to you that your boyfriend wouldn't like," he murmured, his stubble brushing against my cheek, making me flinch. My breathing was coming out in rapid breaths and in the spur of the moment, I kicked him hard between the legs. The old man buckled and his face was contorted in pain. He let out a stream of curse words and pointed his deathly glare at me.

"Oh you are going to regret that," he threatened, his voice full of rage. The old man reared back his hand as if he were about to slap me. I squeezed my eyes shut and a second later, his hands flew down and smacked me across the face, leaving me falling to my knees. My cheeks stung and I brought my hands to them.

"Get up! Get up now!" the old man barked at me, his spit flying. Just when I thought that I was going to be that helpless girl, an almost animalistic growl echoed across the alley, making the old man pause from his actions.

"Leave her alone!" Jacob bellowed. He was standing at the entrance to the alleyway and boy, he looked livid. His eyes were full of fire and I pitied whoever who had received the full force of it. In a blur, Jacob had gone to the old man's side and threw a powerful punch to his face and I swore I heard a crack.

"My nose!" the old man exclaimed, clutching his nose as blood poured out furiously. I watched on, shocked, as Jacob threw in punch after punch at the old man, till the point in which he was on the brink of unconsciousness. That was when my senses kicked in.

"Stop! Jake, stop!" I screamed at him, continuing, "He's drunk! He doesn't know what he's doing!" I tugged furiously at Jacob's arm until he paused, staring down angrily at me. I flinched under his angry gaze and suddenly felt like an insignificant person. His tone is of pure disgust. "Emma! He basically wanted to molest you and here you are defending him!" I noticed his use of my full name instead of my usual nickname and I stood there stumped, shocked at his attitude towards me.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't realise..." I tried apologising, and my voice cracked at the end. I hung my head in shame, letting my curtain of blond hair shield my face from view. I sounded defeated and Jacob must have realised his mistake for shouting at me, for he went over and pulled me into a hug. He sounded panicked at making me feel bad and stroked my hair soothingly, pressing his lips to my hair.

"I'm supposed to be the one to be sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you. I was just...really worried. You weren't standing beside the car and I see you being held by some drunken dude. I was so scared for you Em," he explained, his hands never leaving me.

That was when I couldn't take it anymore. The night's events had really made me tired and tears started slipping out. Before I knew it, I was full on sobbing, slightly traumatised. Jacob squeezed me tighter to him and he made hushing noises, to try to calm me down. My body shook with sobs and I buried my head into Jacob's chest, feeling safe in his arms. Tears stained his shirt but he didn't say anything, just holding me in his arms.

Eventually my sobs subsided and I withdrew Jacob's hands from around me. In the process, I noticed that his knuckles were bloodied and bruised. Although it wasn't surprising, judging from the number of punches he threw, I still let out a gasp at how bad it looked. "Jake..." I managed to whisper out, being so grateful of what he had to go through to help me. "We have to tell Rosa about this," I stated, massaging his knuckles gently, making him suck in a breath.

"No Em. Nobody is to hear about this. They'll make too much of a fuss," Jacob said firmly. "Come on, Rosa told us to wait for her in the car. I said that you were feeling cold," he continued. With a swing, he put his arm around my shoulder protectively and guided me into the warmth of the car, where I felt safe again.