New Beginnings

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter 22:

Alex woke up sore and even more tired than when she first fell asleep. Light was shining in through the cracks of the blinds, so she knew it was later in the morning. She sat up slowly with her head pounding from dehydration searching for Kelley with no such luck. Alex eventually noticed that full water bottle, two advils, and a note next to her.

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm not here but I have a midterm this morning so I had to leave. I'm always here if you wanna talk about it. I'm worried about you. I told Tobin the code and told her to come check on you this morning. - Love Kelley"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Alex mumbled to herself wondering if Tobin would actually stop by. She didn't want to tell her, she was still mad at her for god's sake. She could always lie but quickly rejected idea remembering that Tobin lying was the whole reason she was mad at her. Looking for her phone, she saw that it was almost noon so she thought she was clear with Tobin since it was well past the morning.

********

Tobin woke up at the crack of dawn since she fell asleep so early the night before. Seeing that it was only around 7am, she decided to go on a light run to think out some things. All she wanted to do was apologize to Alex because she understood that she lied and she should have been better and more trustworthy. As she went around campus, she paid attention to the smaller things like the birds chirping, the trees swaying in the wind, and the waves crashing in the distance. Before Tobin knew, she had ran around four miles and the time was just after 7:30am. She headed back to her dorm, tossing off her clothes that were drenched in sweat and took a quick shower. When she got back into her room, her phone dinged. She snatched it up hoping it was Alex but it was just Kelley.

Kelley O'Hara: Hey, I have a midterm to get to but Alex came home crying super hard with a deep bruise on her arm. I don't know what happened or why she didn't go to you but I'm super worried. If you could check on her this morning, that would be great. The code is 4293, she has water and painkillers next to her. Let me know if you need anything.

Tobin Heath: Oh shit, alright. Um...Alex and I are actually in a fight right now, she left my mom and I at dinner last night so I don't know where she went and I don't think she wants to talk to me.

Kelley O'Hara: I don't care what fight ya'll are having, all I know is that she bawled her eyes out and wouldn't say a word to me so obviously something major happened. Now go be her fucking girlfriend and make sure she's okay.

Tobin sighed, pocketing her phone knowing that Kelley was right. Alex needed someone for her right now. Walking down two doors, she stood in front of their dorm and punched in the code before she chickened out.

The sight broke her slightly. Alex was still in her clothes from last night with tear stains down both cheeks. Her hair was in a high bun that was falling out. Tobin approached her slowly to make sure she didn't stir her. Pulling the desk chair over, Tobin sat gingerly as Alex turned in her sleep. She studied the girl, the way her mouth was slightly ajar with a small amount of drool falling out. Her freckles reflecting off the early morning sun making her look so soft yet so broken. The pieces of hair that had fallen out of her bun scattered around her face almost framing it. Tobin had to resist reaching out and brushing them away. The tear stains were now dry but did not take away from her beauty. Tobin's eyes continue to examine the sleeping forward and she eventually spotted the giant bruise from the night before. The bruise had spread across most her forearm but it was still easy to make out the grip print. A fury sparked inside Tobin's eyes, she knew someone grabbed her, someone did this to her. It took all her strength to not try to hunt down who did this but she knew that was physically impossible with no description or location or time. She brought her lips gently to the bruise, scattering kisses across it.