Tormented love

Chapter 15

This was the first time I'd been away from Zach in weeks and we'd be gone for nearly a week. I begged Zach to sign up for the class this semester and he didn't want to. Now here I am in France, without Zach.

At least Ally is here.

The thing or more like the person that was here in which burned me to my core, was Jake. Along with Jake were Rohan and Tyler. Ally and I weren't the only two who despised the particular group. Amber and Shawn were also with us. Unfortunately we didn't get along with them either. Honestly we hardly got along with anyone but each other. We did need more friends.

We'd just got off the bus when he bumped into me. Shawn nudged his way into me on purpose. I regained my balance and reached for my luggage bag. "I can't stand him." I mumbled to Ally. He was always walking around trying to be a dick for no damn reason.

"Then watch where your going bitch." Someone had calmly stepped off the bus and shoved Shawn to the side of the curb.

"Watch where your going bitch, shove me next time. A man. Not a lady." The all too familiar voice made me shudder and he turned to grab his bag. I was staring at him and for the first time in over a month he called my name and it wasn't with ill intention. "Anna?" I looked away from him. I nearly turned around when he reached for my wrist. "I'm sorry Anna." I yanked my wrist away from Jake and walked to meet Ally who'd witnessed the entire thing. I could hear Tyler consoling Jake as I stormed away. I didn't care if I'd hurt his feelings. He didn't have to stand up for me, I didn't ask him to and I didn't need him to. I didn't want him to, not ever again. The amount of pain he has taken me through and now he wants to defend me? Why had he waited until we were this far away from home? I don't want to talk to him now.

"You okay?" I ignore the statement at first. I didn't want to talk about Jake. I didn't want to admit I almost just forgave him for all the hell he's put me through. I didn't want to believe it much less admit it. "Anna?"

"I don't want to talk about it." The cold and stern statement made her look away from me. The rest of our walk to the hotel room was in much appreciated silence. Silence says a lot more than people realize. Today it just said I'm done talking about it. I don't want to hear about it and I'm ready to move on. Despite whatever the hell Jake has planned while we're away from him. Fuck Jake.

Shawn shoving me or bumping me or whatever a bystander would label it was completely and utterly uncalled for. Then again Jake defending me and calling my name and apologizing was the same. If not worse.

It was sweet and caring.

No, actually it wasn't. It was confusing and out of line which is exactly why I should call him out on his stubbornness today. Ally is lounging around on her double bed inside our hotel room when I grab my purse. "Hey, going somewhere?" I nod my head as I go to unlock the door. "Need me to come." I hate being so rude to her but I need to deal with this alone. I don't need anyones help. I'm not a child.

"No." I shouldn't be so cold with her, she's done nothing. At the moment though I am pissed. Raging. I walk down to the lobby hoping that's where he'll be so I can call him out in front of an audience, embarrass him even. He's not though. I walk out of the lobby and toward the double doors to see a strongly built figure sitting on a bench, smoking a cigarette. If he's out here atleast there will be a type of audience. I smirk to myself and look around to see if I spot him. I don't.

Then the man on the bench turns his head and blows away the remainder of the smoke in which he did not inhale. The strongly built man has the blondish hair of Jake and his face resembles that of Jake. His personality has changed, his looks are changing and now, Jake is smoking. Great. This is great.

I don't know what's going on with the guy I used to know, but it seems to me he's being eaten alive by this strange man. "You had no right." His head turns to me and he sighs, he puts out the cigarette and dumps the butt of it into a large black ashtray beside me. "I knew what was going on and I'm well aware how to defend myself." He smirks.

"Right." He makes an 'ok' sign with his fingers. "You were handling it so well." His eyes have the scream of a deep sarcasm and his voice almost sounds as though it's laughing. "I never should've intervened. You could've handled it. Right after you picked yourself up and dusted your ass off right?" He smirked.

"Nothing is funny. I can defend myself and I don't need you apologizing to me." He stood from the bench and nearly hovered over me.

"I didn't apologize. I won't apologize. I honestly don't even know why your talking to me right now. Where's Zach?" He lets a sharp laugh escape and talks again before I can. "I bet I could tell you." I raise an eyebrow at him, confused. "But it's none of my business, so I won't." Tyler rounds the corner and makes his way to us.

"Oh did you guys forgive and forget?" Jake let's another sharp laugh out and I reply to Tyler sternly.

"No." Jakes eyes slit through my own before I turned to walk away. I thought maybe he'd watch me, or apologize again. But he sat back on the bench with Tyler and they began to talk.

He lit another cigarette.

What did I honestly expect out of coming here? All honesty I didn't want to return to the hotel room with a waiting Ally. She'd want to know the entire scoop, whats just happened and I wasn't ready to tell her that. So I picked up my phone and called Zach. "Can't forgive and forget when Jake is an entirely different person." I turn to walk away from the two. "Damn asshole." I mumble.

"What was that sweetheart?" He confronts me. I continue walking, ignoring him.

"Where are you?"

"In bed, you're not?" I could hear the sleep in his voice.

"I couldn't sleep."

"And why not angel." He really seemed tired and I felt bad for waking him, but I did miss him.

"Shawn shoved me today."

"What?"  His sleepy tone changed to alerted. He was wide awake and he was mad.

"And then Jake defended me and apologized to me, but says he didn't apologize. I called him out, basically told him I didn't want his apology."

"Good." He sighed into the phone, he wanted to be here.

"Do you need me to come?" I did.

"No." I lied.

"Try to get some sleep baby. I love you."

"I love you Zach."

After talking to him I did feel slightly better and I walked back to the hotel room. "You okay?" Ally was already showered and laying in bed when I crawled into the bed with her and cuddled up to her. "I'll take that as a no." She wrapped her arms around me and didn't say anything else for a while, neither of us spoke. She just let me cuddle her until I felt slightly better, but not much.

I climbed out of her bed after a while and unzipped my bag. "I'm going to shower and Ally?" She pulled the cover away from her face. "I'm sorry I was so rude earlier. I thought I could handle Jake alone. He's not the Jake I had." She offered a small smile which I returned before making my way to the shower.

After my shower sleep didn't come for hours. Not until nearly one in the morning.

"Anna?" I turned over in my sleep and tried to drown out the noise calling my name. "Anna?"

"What?" I whined.

"Move over." I slid across the bed in which I was sprawled across as a person climbed into bed with me and wrapped their arms securely around me.

"Go back to sleep love. I just wanted to come make sure you were okay." He whispered into my ear as he kissed my shoulder.

"Zach?" I wanted to cry out his name, but I didn't want to startle him. So it was only a soft call.

"Yes baby, go to sleep." No more questions, no more thoughts. Blissful sleep.