Emerald Eyes

32 - Shaken

As soon as Toby was gone, the tears returned to my eyes and I was shaken. Julian wrapped an arm around my shoulders and helped me to get out of the bar, away from all the people. He brought me to his car and made me sit down on the passenger seat. "Shhh.. Don't cry. You're safe now.", he tried to calm me down. I was still sobbing, when he asked: "That was the guy from the club, right? Anna mentioned him, he was your ex, wasn't he? Toby? What in the world were you doing, Line? I mean, Martijn and you... You can't just treat him like that." "Please don't tell him.", I begged, "It's not what you think it was. Please, Julian." "Line, it's not as easy as that. Martijn is like a brother to me and you know that! I will have to tell him. I saw him suffering so much when his last relationship ended, I can't let him be hurt again.", he explained in a calm voice. I leaned my head against the cold glass of the window of his car and said: "Julian, please. Can I explain?" He nodded his head: "Alright, go ahead." Under my sobs, I started to explain the situation to him. He didn't interrupt me for a second, was just listening to me without saying a word. "And then he forced me to go on this date with him. Or else, he would make Martijn's address public.", I sobbed. "And what happened today? I saw the scratch on your chest.", Julian remarked. "That was him.", I explained, "I'm so scared. I don't want Martijn to pay for my stupid life decisions. Just cause Toby is my ex, Martijn shouldn't get hurt. It's not his fault. Julian, he really is my everything." Julian leaned over to give me another hug: "Calm down, okay? Martijn will understand if you tell him what you have just told me. But you will have to tell him. And he has a professional team to his side. They know how to handle issues like that, I promise." "But I....", I tried to say. "No. You are gonna tell him. Listen, I'll give you a lift to his apartment now. I know he's home. You can do this, okay? Martijn is on your side.", Julian interrupted me. "Alright.", I said under tears, "If you say so?" "Yes. I know he will be there for you. He fell for you, head over heels. There's nobody he cares as much about as he does about you." Then Julian started his car and took me to Martijn's house. During the short drive, we didn't talk, but when we arrived, he took his phone, wrote a message and then said: "Okay. So I told him to come pick you up down in the lobby. You'll be alright, girl. Don't let this asshole of an ex scare you." "Thank you, Julian. For all you've done. You're a real friend.", I replied. "You're welcome. Just promise, you'll be honest to Martijn?", he said. "Yes, yes I promise. Thank you so much. Good night, Julian.", I said back. "Good night, Line. Be strong!", he said and gave me a little smile. Then I got up and out of the car. With weak knees, I started to walk through the darkness towards Martijn's house. I entered the lobby and found Martijn already waiting next to the elevators. When he saw me, he came running towards me. It was hard to read his face from the distance. As he got close, he wrapped me into his loving arms: "Baby? What happened? Have you been crying?" And instead of an answer, my emotions once again overwhelmed me. Martijn acted quickly and ushered me into one of the waiting elevators, pressing the button for his floor. He gently kept caressing my back and then led me into his apartment. We took off our shoes and he grabbed my hand, leading me to the bedroom. Martijn made me sit down on his bed and gave me a blanket to cuddle up in. Then he sat down next to me and just held me in his arms until I had the courage to speak up.