Jaelyn was sick. She stood beside Bryan, the tension emanating from him so palpable she could have scooped it up with a spoon. How had this happened? She glanced at him; blood had pooled on his left eyebrow again and she glared at Keith who actually looked a lot worse than Bryan, his nose had already begun to swell and was dripping scarlet blood onto his white tee shirt, he was breathing rapidly as if in those moments he'd been pinned to the wall by his throat, he thought he'd never breath again, and in his current situation that rapid breathing was probably causing a world of other pain.
She'd thought he'd never breathe again. Her throat was raw from screaming Bryan's name repeatedly, screaming for him to let Keith go. She'd walked in all smiles but the smile disappeared immediately when she saw Bryan smash his fist into Keith's face. She knew they were fighting over her. She knew she shouldn't have screamed like that, it was like yelling at a child for standing on a counter, or crossing the street -- it caught him off guard -- but she had been so shocked.
Theoretically they didn't do much, yet it was the most brutal fight she'd ever seen, probably because of all of the blood. Probably because people she knew - Bryan the man she loved, and Keith her ex - were involved. And because of the cruel use of the pool stick. When she saw Keith hit Bryan with that pool stick she lost it. She screamed and was running after Keith herself but Adrianna and Kim caught her before she could reach him. She never wanted to feel that way again, so angry and afraid. So fucking helpless! But what Bryan did with the dreaded stick had horrified her. As a result of Keith's cowardly move, Bryan's eyebrow was split and she could see his flesh quite clearly, he would need stitches for that. Keith's nose was definitely broken, and she most likely would never be able to erase the image of him struggling for air, his face a horrid purple from her mind. She'd seen Bryan angry only once in the two years plus that they'd been friends and it had scared her, but she never thought he was capable of such violence, and when she'd screamed his name it was like he didn't even hear her. A chill went up her spine. She looked back up at Bryan who was staring straight ahead watching the Campus Security officers cut through the crowd. More than two years and she didn't even know who he was.
She wanted to hold his hand, to comfort him, kiss him, but the image of him so intent on cutting all oxygen from Keith's lungs kept invading her mind. She abhorred violence. If there was a phobia for violence, she was probably two steps from having it. She didn't know what to do, she knew she should stand by his side, support him, be there for him, but right now it seemed as if she didn't even know who "he" was. He'd turned into a stranger as she'd watched the horrible scene unfold before her, a stranger who hadn't even recognized her agonized voice. She watched the two officers approach the scene. What could have been so important that he would jeopardize his future, his education, his career, his relationship with her? Maybe she was being dramatic, but the feelings washing over her were so real. She turned to Bryan and brushed his side with her hand.
"We're gonna go," she whispered solemnly, unable to use her voice. The look he gave her almost made her stay, more than vulnerability, she thought she'd glimpsed fear in his eyes -- but she knew he wasn't afraid of the Rent-A-Cops, though he probably had every reason to be. He'd just committed assault - and maybe even attempted murder if anyone took it that far. Nothing to laugh at there, she thought, chewing her lip. When she'd continued to stare into his eyes though, he completely shut away all emotion and curtly nodded his head. She glanced at the girls behind her and motioned her head to the exit. They stared at her in confusion and then followed her out the door. When they were in the car Adrianna spoke.
"Don't you want to see what's going to happen? This feels so wrong to just leave him like this -- and he's not even my boyfriend," she stated pointedly.
"I know, I know," Jaelyn said, tears pooling in her eyes, "I've never seen him like this," she continued softly. "It scared the hell out of me," she admitted. Yet Jaelyn couldn't seem to start the car. Every bone in her body told her that if she left like this she would be making a big mistake. She asked herself if the fight hadn't been about her, if she and Bryan hadn't been intimate, would she have deserted her best friend like that. The answer was hell no.
"Stay here," she told the girls and then hopped out of the car and rushed back into the building. What she saw stopped her heart. Bryan and Keith were handcuffed and were being escorted out the door. What had she expected? They weren't in high school. These were two grown men who had inflicted fairly significant injuries to each others' bodies. What they had done was wrong. Bryan looked up at her and she saw a flicker of relief in his eyes before he looked down. She ran to him and kissed him hastily on the mouth.
"Don't I get a kiss?" she heard Keith say and was shocked. Evidently it was Keith's mouth that had gotten them in this situation, yet he still hadn't learned to shut up? One glance from Bryan seemed to take any remaining words from his mouth, however. The officers didn't miss that exchange.
"Step away young lady. We'll fix them up fine but your friend here is in for a long night -- if not more," said the male officer forebodingly. She obediently stepped away but not before shooting Bryan a glance.
"Love ya," she said quickly, unable to say what she really wanted to say. Bryan looked into her eyes.
"I love you," he replied before he was escorted out of the building. Her heart crumbled. What a coward she was. /Before our relationship changed we said 'I love you' to each other all the time/, he'd said. She followed them outside and watched them put Keith into the second Campus Security car that was lined up on the curb. "Bryan!" she yelled, he turned to look at her. "I love you too!" she said hastily.
"I know," he said cracking a smile. She watched as the officer put him in the back of the first car. She knew she was being too emotional, she didn't really think he was going in for life or anything but this could possibly affect his continued education at the university and if he got kicked out, she didn't know what she would do without him. He'd been her backbone since freshman year, when she'd strolled across campus alone and confused. He just had to be with her the rest of the way through. Jaelyn couldn't stop the tears from falling from her eyes.
~
Bryan looked at the clock. 5 a.m. This just might be the first time he'd ever hear Jaelyn cuss; and she'd be cussing him out. He chuckled at the thought. He listened to the phone ring in his ear, absently tapping his foot.
"Hello?" Her voice was groggy with sleep.
"Good morning sexy. So you gonna come pick me up or what?" At her silence he smiled, she probably had a few choice words to say to him after that.
"I'll be there in about twenty minutes," was all she said. They said their goodbyes and hung up. Bryan walked into the lobby and chatted with the officer at the desk. Within twenty minutes Jaelyn was there, looking sexy as ever in just a tee-shirt and sweats, a bandanna on her head. She walked up to him, hugged him and gave him a kiss. It was the sweetest kiss he'd ever had, and he grabbed her in a bear hug and kissed her neck over and over again. She smelled like vanilla and strawberries. "Not here, come on," she said to him.
They left the building and got into Jaelyn's car, the ride to the club was quiet and Bryan wished he knew what she was thinking. She pulled into the parking lot of The Pub.
"I'm going home with you," Jaelyn said to him. She pecked him on the cheek and watched as he got out and got into his car. Damn he wished she'd stop being so cryptic, though he had to admit the mysteriousness sparked his curiosity. He didn't know if she was mad at him or what, but he couldn't wait to get home and figure out so he could get whatever it was out of the way.
He pulled in front of his apartment building and watched in the rearview mirror as Jaelyn pulled up behind him on the other side of the parking lot. It had started drizzling and Bryan got out and waited patiently for her to walk over to him. She took her precious time. Finally they got into his apartment and Jaelyn still hadn't said a word to him. Then he heard:
