College Chronicles Ep. 16

I tossed my hair, ran my fingers through it, shaking a little but because I was brimming with energy. Stepping out behind the man was easy, just like raising my voice in a light peal.

"Oh my god, you own a bar??"

The man stopped for a second, as if questioning the target of my exclamation. Then he spun, and as another man next to him did the same, I realized my mistake. He had a friend; balding and almost gaunt, with skin marked frequently by bumps that could have been acne or some sort of ugly rash. Then the first, the blond, revealed an absolutely awful smile-- a leer so chilling it sapped the excited energy from my muscles, replaced it with the uncontrollable spasms of a continuous shiver.

Fuck. They definitely weren't nice guys. I had just wanted to flirt with someone long enough for Jaxx to come back and see, maybe get a phone number to taunt him with. But it was out of control, even before the balding one spoke.

"Fuck yeah we do, gorgeous."

His voice was dry and grating, like an insect crawling through a pile of leaves. He smiled, but it was in no way appealing; more like a lecherous baring of yellowed teeth. I quickly realized my mistake was even worse than I thought as they came to stand uncomfortably close.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

I didn't want to answer, knowing that it would just encourage them, exacerbate my ill-fated cry for attention. But at the same time, they seemed the type of men who could flip from those vaguely threatening smiles to much more explicitly dangerous at the drop of a hat. In the city, on a bustling sidewalk, I'd never felt so alone, or so keenly regretful of Jaxx's absence. Where had he gone? I needed him.

"Uhm... Sami..."

The blond one grunted slightly, and when I turned to him his eyes were taking their time crawling up my exposed skin, my suddenly embarrassing outfit. His balding friend spoke again.

"I'm Dwight. This fucker is Tommy."

He patted the blond on the back, but his eyes never left me, trying to convince me he was looking at my face. In contrast with the unabashed lust of their expressions, his tone was careful, like he was talking to a child or a skittish animal.

"How old are you Sami?"

"Uhmm... I'm... Uhm..."

I probably should have lied. Or just not told them anything, changed the topic, maybe ran away. But I wasn't capable of mustering the courage to even imagine a lie.

"Eighteen..."

Tommy whistled like he'd heard something impressive, and Dwight blinked a second of unbelieving surprise before he caught himself. Then a perverse look of lust slid into his face, much worse than before.

"Oh that's old enough, sweetheart. Come back to our bar! We'll let you drink for free..."

He reached out, and I jumped. Neither of them addressed it, but both smiles widened with cruel humor after a second. Dwight's hand slowly went up next to my face, brushing a few strands of hair aside, stroking my cheek lightly with the hairy outside of thick, rough knuckles.

"...If you're nice."

Tommy was nodding in vehement agreement, but from both of their faces I could tell that drinking with me wasn't their only intention. Tommy spoke, and I was surprised to hear the almost noble voice out of a mouth capable of such explicit and threatening smile.

"Come on, Barbie, come back to the bar! Our car's just around the corner..."

Barbie? Where had that come from? I was no Barbie, and just hearing him say it sent a chill of disgust down my spine.

"It's... I'm..."

"It's SAMI, fucking idiot!"

Dwight swatted the back of Tommy's head, hissing in venomous anger that startled me again. He turned back with a simpering smile, recomposed and trying a different tact.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, he's not too smart."

His smile, aiming for soft and genuine, was even worse than before; a rictus grin with a hint of insanity, like something the Joker might leave on his victims.

"Come with us, sweetheart. You won't have to talk to him, just me and you."

I don't know how he thought that was a more tempting offer, but he reached out again, this time to grab my wrist, his thick hand wrapping around my dainty arm easily. I was caught, worse than handcuffs, and I realized that I was going to have to mount some defense.

I tried to pull my arm back, but just yanked him closer. My voice was a tiny squeak, a scared child's.

"I'm... I'm w-waiting f-for... a... friend."

I stumbled over the words, first struggling to speak, then to think. Was Jaxx a friend? Kind of, depending on the day. But it wasn't the time, and Dwight didn't give a shit anyway.

"Are you saying we're not friends? I'm hurt!"

He tugged my arm gently, but I was off balance enough that it pulled me forward, uncomfortably close to Tommy, who showed me another chilling smile.

"Ever been double-teamed, Annie?"

I was totally unprepared for that; his immediately using the wrong name again, plus the lewd question, posed with innocence like he wasn't talking about gang-banging me with his gross friend. My eyes fled to the sidewalk, and I began to crumble, losing the will to resist the two horrible men.

"I... I--"

"--Ay! Back the FUCK up!"

My heart soared as Jaxx's gruff shout cut through, and Dwight released my arm with instinctive fear. I took a few scurrying steps backwards, until I collided against a solid wall of concrete. No- as an arm reached around and pushed me back behind him, I placed the concrete wall as Jaxx, advancing angrily, spoiling for a fight. Underneath my relief, something else flared; he was so strong, so sure, so impressive, so... Alpha.

"Walk away."

The flare ignited an inferno as he dismissed the two dangerous men with two calm words. But they didn't move, becoming argumentative as they realized they'd been intimidated by a younger man. Tommy took a half step forward, squaring up against Jaxx as Dwight spoke.

"What's your fucking problem?"

But Jaxx only stepped forward further, until there was less than a foot between his and Tommy's faces. Yet he didn't look at Tommy, focused on Dwight, a clear sign of total disrespect.

"She's busy."

His tone was hard and flat as the concrete we stood on, implying violence if he had to repeat himself. Dwight was smart enough to sense it, and put one hand on Tommy's back to pull him back, as the other raised in the air defensively.

"Woahh, big guy... No big deal. She called us over, anyway."

Something about Jaxx changed; his posture, the air crackling with energy around him... But that tension didn't relent, just changed nature. Even Dwight and Tommy could tell. And then he turned to one side, and three pairs of eyes swung to me, no more protection.

"Oh, really?"

Jaxx spoke with amused disbelief, and I was stunned speechless, helpless to explain, especially with the two older men watching.

"Uhm... I... It... I--"

"--Alright Sami, do what you need to do!"

He stepped back until there was equal space between me and him, and me and them. My inferno was doused, and all of the men stood with small smiles, like all violent intent had dissipated and the only thing left was watch the show.

I flushed bright red, totally in disbelief at Jaxx. How could he do that to me? I didn't know what to say, there wasn't even a question to answer! I didn't want to risk saying the wrong thing, still didn't really know what he was capable of, how he might fuck with me even more. Would he let those creeps take me away to their car? Maybe... I'd kind of brought it upon myself. I needed to be as clear as I could, give him no room to make me squirm. Totally, 100% submissive. Even if I knew I'd regret it.

"J-Jaxx... I... I'm... Sorry..."

I stepped close, body awkwardly half angled away from the other two, like I was trying to tell him without letting them know, trying to run without fully turning my back. I mumbled the words, blushing even hotter red as I stumbled and paused, unable to meet his smirk so staring into his torso with big sad eyes and a downcast, pitiful look. My only choice was to play on any sympathy he had.

"Please, PLEASE... Take me with you..."

I took the final small step in, so I was against his broad chest, and mustered just enough courage to look up into his riven-slate eyes. His solid presence made me notice I was shaking like a leaf, and my voice was a tiny whisper, barely even audible to me.

"...Daddy..."

For once, he didn't wait to put me out of my misery, responding with a booming laugh, wrapping an arm around me and spinning us, strolling away down the sidewalk towards the magically present limo. He taunted my would-be tormentors, not bothering to look back.

"Sorry guys, change of plans."

I could hear their grumbles, couldn't resist the temptation of looking over my shoulder, finally safe. And they just stood, no pursuit, though I faced forward in a hurry when Dwight caught me looking and gave a last toothy, disgusting leer.

Then Jaxx was swinging the limo door open, nodding me inside, and when it closed behind us I finally felt my shoulders relax, the tension of my fear start to release. But there wasn't an absence; anger poured in, filling me with tumbling, hot thoughts.

What the fuck was wrong with him? How could he do that to me? And what the fuck was wrong with ME? Why had I done that? It was so stupid, such an impulsive, dumb thing to do. Of course they were gross, all men were gross.

Even Jaxx. Especially Jaxx.

In my haste to get in, I'd forgotten to slide away on the bench seat of the limo, so we were close to the door, right next to each. He hadn't said anything, or done anything... But I knew it was only a matter of time until he made a comment about my mistake, some little mean joke. Or more likely, he would make another pass at me, touch me, try to get me to touch him in some new, embarrassing way.

I wasn't going to do it, to let him bully or coerce me again. How dare he? How could he have hung me out to dry like that, after everything else he'd done to me that day? The more I thought about it, the more I WANTED him to try something; drape his arm over my shoulder, whisper in my ear, kiss my neck. Then I could turn on him, release my righteous indignation, tell him exactly how I was feeling.

But even that release, he denied. He didn't make a move the whole drive. And before long, that started to bother me, his inaction, his infuriating way of never playing into my plans. And then that pissed me off more, that I wanted him to and he didn't and how pathetic and small and needy it made me feel.

Before long, I'd worked myself up so much I started crying. At first I could suppress it to a few sniffles, secret wiping at my eyes. But after a minute, Jaxx sensed something was wrong.

"What's wrong now?"

It took me a few seconds, but I got enough control over myself that I could manage words, a question that I needed him to answer.

"... Wuh-... Were you going to... let them... take me?"

I wasn't looking at him, staring at the other side of the car, so when he was silent for a second, the impact of my words didn't register. Until he spoke, and voice sounded surprisingly earnest.

"Wow... Really?"

I looked up slowly, and found him watching me with a strange expression I'd never seen before. Like he was actually impacted by my words, maybe for the first time.

"You really think I would do that?"

Did I? Not really, I knew Cindy would kill him... he was always so mean, it felt believable. But I couldn't say that to him, so I grasped for words, my mouth opening and closing helplessly until I just gave up with a helpless huff. He chuckled and turned to his phone.

"You know, you're too cute for your own good."

'Tell me about it.' I wish I'd said it out loud; instead I sat quietly for the rest of the ride, a storm of emotions raging inside me, just ready to be back in my own space.

But I should have known, 001 wasn't our destination.

*

When the limousine stopped, I assumed we were back and fidgeted impatiently as he got out, then launched myself up and out the door, expecting to run through the quad gates and back towards our room.

Instead I found the unwelcome sight of more bustling city sidewalks. When I turned to tell Jaxx off, I was stopped cold by the sight of the building before us.

We stood in the shadow of a grand and ostentatious entryway to a very fancy hotel, 'Elite.' It looked prestigious and pretentious-- far beyond anything I'd ever experienced, with pairs of spinning doors on each side of the massive main sliding door, just like in the movies. So I hesitated a second as Jaxx strode towards the door, uncertain of the building, and of blindly following his lead. But his presence also paradoxically gave me a sense of security, fading with each inch of distance; I quick-stepped after him without much delay.

The lobby was even more over-the-top and absurd than the exterior, with marble floors, a rich red color scheme and a massive fountain at the center of everything. Jaxx didn't approach the desk, just waved to a beautiful woman in a formal uniform standing behind it, who returned his gesture with a smile. He didn't look back at me either, confident I was still following behind. It made me so angry that he was right, as I rushed behind him.

Directly across the lobby from the entrance was a wall lined with elevators, which Jaxx made a beeline for. I hurried to keep up with his long strides, anxious not to be left behind feeling so out of my element.

The elevators, in keeping with the fancy setting, were almost entirely glass, so I could see other occupants as they went up or came down; men in fine suits, refined women, and uniformed hotel staff, all totally unconcerned with my way-too-casual outfit. Yet I managed to also paradoxically feel like everyone was looking at me, though I knew it wasn't true. Jaxx stepped onto an elevator with conveniently open doors, and I rushed in after him, putting my back to the farthest wall of the glass-and-steel box, so I could watch and be in his shadow.

He stood in front of the panel, slid a small key into a little slot and pressed a button; the door slid shut, and we began to rise smoothly. He didn't say a word, and I followed suit, though my mind buzzed with inquisition. 'Where are we going? What are we doing?' I didn't want to break the silence with weak, nagging questions. I'd been to hotels before, but never amy that fancy, or that impressively massive, so I couldn't hold in a gasp as we ascended higher and higher, until the people crossing the lobby became ants. I stared down through the floor, fascinated by the sight. How far up were we going?

Then the elevator went dark, and I jumped, not expecting the sudden change. But when I looked up, I found we had just gone inside an opaque part of the elevator shaft, still climbing, Jaxx still standing stoically before me, back turned and total enigma.

And STILL the elevator kept climbing, even higher, until a shaft of light pierced the darkness. I looked up again, only to be fully blinded by the clear blue sky, directly overhead. Were we outside? Why would an elevator lead to the roof of a building this high? But it didn't feel like outside, no wind or change in temperature.

And then we came to the apex, a fully clear dome, nowhere else to go. That was because we were at the top of the building, in a grand open space with a large round skylight in the ceiling overhead. Jaxx stepped off, and I stumbled after him, pulled by invisible forces and barely able to control myself as I looked around, awestruck.

It wasn't just a room, it was a beautiful suite. But even that doesn't describe it, like something you saw in movies. It was two stories, with symmetrical broad marble staircases leading up to a second floor with symmetrical shadowed hallways that curved away. The first story was almost completely open, with implied rooms separated by little half-walls: a kitchen, a dining room, what must have been a bathroom with actual walls in one corner. Just off center was a little living room, with a pair of massive flat screen TVs and a sunken square with built in sofas around the edge.

But my eyes were drawn to one sight most of all. Opposite the elevator doors an entire wall of the room was floor to ceiling windows, revealing an endless horizon of serene blue, marked only by the occasional idly drifting cloud. I approached slowly, and my jaw dropped as perspective revealed the rest of the city stretched before us. Other buildings towered near us, but only a few taller, and I could see all the rest, arrayed out like little toy versions of reality. The river snaked away into the distance, and I could even see campus, one or two familiar buildings visible from our great height.

I was absolutely riveted-- I'd simply never seen a view like it. It was the highest I'd ever been; maybe not technically, considering the times I'd ridden planes... But you couldn't see from there, view obscured by cloud cover. It was definitely the tallest building I'd ever been in, the highest up a building I'd ever gone.

The soft sound of Jaxx's footstep alerted me to his presence, walking up behind me as I stood enraptured by the panorama unfolded before me.

"Pretty cool view, right?"

"Y-yeah it's..."

I stumbled, trying to explain why I was so affected, justify it somehow.

"...I've... I've never been in a... A skyscraper..."

I reached for words, unsure of how to describe where we were. When Jaxx snorted in amusement, my hot blush of shame cut through my amazement and brought me back to reality.

"It's not a skyscraper, it's a high rise."

"Oh... I..."

Why couldn't he just be nice to me? Just let one instance of my ignorance pass without comment? I knew I should speak up, but I was so overwhelmed. Then he interrupted my slowly coalescing thoughts with cool invitation.

"--Come on, I'll give you a tour."

He turned without waiting for any confirmation, and after a moment's hesitation I followed him again, looking around in wonder as he began to explain the incredible setting.

"Here's the living room, obviously... The whole thing is basically my Dad's personal suite, so we use it whenever. And the kitchen; watch this."

He pressed a button in a counter and a table rose magically from the formerly seamless marble floor. I was impressed, but he continued to walk and talk, blase about the absurdity around us.

"...So that's pretty cool. And the bathroom, if you need to cry again..."

I almost defended myself, but he swung the bathroom door open and I was distracted by more finery. A bathroom larger than my bedroom at home! A broad jacuzzi in addition to a spacious glass shower stall, and a toilet so golden it looked fit for the rooms of a certain former president. When words came to mind, they were delayed; a response to one of the first things he'd said.

"Why..."

My eyes swept over the bathroom, checking that I was actually seeing what I thought. Jaxx, in the middle of the main room, turned back as my eyes kept sweeping, double checking my impressions of the rest of it before I spoke.

"...Why does he have a... personal suite?"

The answer came quickly with no fuss, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"He owns the hotel."

He said it like it was nothing, but I was shook. His dad owned the whole hotel? That absurdly fancy massive building was his? I knew Jaxx and his family were rich, obviously... But to be in the property, experiencing the ridiculous splendour was even more real than when Jaxx promised my tuition. That was money, not cash; theoretical. In the hotel it was all very concrete.

"Come on, let me show you the second floor."

That time he reached out and grabbed my hips, pulled me to him then pushed me lightly towards the stairs. I was so rocked by the reveal I barely reacted, let him guide me to the wide stairs. He had such a broad, genuine smile... it made me want to give in, trust him, let him do what he wanted. But there were always alarm bells going off. I knew I just couldn't trust him. Right?