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“I’m fine. He just punched me, took my phone, and left. It happened so fast that I didn’t have time to react,” she mutters the explanation as her gaze gets lost for a second. Bree puts the glass of water on top of the table, and I notice her hands trembling without control. “I’m sorry. I know that I’m a mess right now, I shouldn’t have come—”
“Don’t apologize,” I cut her off abruptly before her mind wanders to a place that it shouldn’t. She gulps, biting her bottom lip. I hold her hands between mine. “You know that you’re always welcome here. How can we help?”
“Can I use your phone?” she asks in a whisper. “I need to call my parents.”
I glance at Ryder.
“Can you bring me my phone? It’s in my room,” I tell him.
I don’t want to leave her alone while she processes what happened to her.
Thankfully, he doesn’t hesitate and disappears from the room. I take advantage of the opportunity to gather the rest of the details. If she’s here, I can only assume that she didn’t call the cops, and I don’t want her to forget the details if she decides to file a complaint.
“Where did it happen?” I interrogate cautiously. I don’t want to pressure her, but I need to know what happened and why she came here first.
“A couple of blocks from here.”
“Why were you alone?”
It’s not a problem that she was alone, and I’m not blaming her either, but I know her. Bree doesn’t go out often without her friends. It’s midnight, and the city is not the safest place to be during the late hours. These things happen during the day too, but it sure didn’t help her that’s dark.
“I was doing a group project. Malcolm only left two minutes before it happened,” she mumbles her response, and her sight drops to her lap. “I got distracted for one minute, Stan. I swear, it was only a minute. I’m always careful when I’m alone in the street. It was just a minute.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and my heart drops. I hug her tightly, trying to make her feel safe while she’s in a vulnerable state, processing a horrible night. I admire her strength. I can’t even think of how I would react in that situation.
“It wasn’t your fault, Bree,” I assure her in a soft tone. “Why did your partner leave?”
I’m interested in that fact to know who was the dumbass that left her on her own in a dark street. Only an asshole wouldn’t think about the risks that women face every day in the world. It wasn’t a safe space for her, and he should’ve known better. Would it have happened anyway? Maybe, but at least that way she wouldn’t have faced it on her own.
“I told him to leave. I thought I would be okay,” Bree replies, and I’m shocked by the fact that she’s defending him.
He shouldn’t have left her alone. I would’ve stayed with her until I knew that she was safe.
“I’m still going to kick his ass,” I inform her.
That makes her laugh between tears.
“You’re the best, Stan.”
I shake my head, putting away a few strands of her hair that are getting in the way.
“I’m glad that you’re okay,” I say, keeping her close to me.
Bree doesn’t pull away. Her body stays close to mine, being comfortable with my presence. Slowly she stops shaking, letting me know that she feels safe here.
Ryder enters the living room, holding my phone and hands it to me. I unlock it, suspecting that he took longer than necessary to give us some privacy to talk. It doesn’t take five minutes to find a phone when it was literally on my bed. However, I’m grateful that he decided to do it because it gave me time to speak with her.
I give her my phone.
“Call whoever you want.”
I stand up from the couch to give her some privacy to make her call. I don’t think this is going to be something that her parents are going to take lightly. After all, they’re going to receive the notice that their daughter got mugged. I don’t go away that far. Instead, I take a position in the kitchen where I can still see her and hear what she’s saying, but not what her parents are saying.
“I have a question. What are we going to do if Carter comes back and sees her?” Ryder asks in a whisper.
“Carter can go fuck himself,” I reply bitterly. “Bree is more important than him.”
“I know that, but Bree has made it very clear that she doesn’t want to stumble upon him,” he reminds me.
