Chasing Jenna (6 page)

Katie disliked my take on it as much as I did hers.

The elevator doors jerked opened, startling me back into reality. I tucked all of my Cale daydreams away so I could focus on my day. Like the follower I was, I mindlessly trailed behind the line of students heading toward the front door.
Focus, I needed to focus on school. That’s why I was here. Not for all of this other silly stuff.

An unexpected tap on my shoulder startled me and I spun around. Cale jumped back with his arms crossed in front of his face.

“Cale!” I said with a playful slap in his direction.
Goodbye focus
.

“Didn’t you learn your lesson last time?

“Excuse me Miss, but it looks like you’re lost,” he said pointing at my map.

“You
know
I’m lost.” I snapped back, not realizing until it was out of my mouth how stupid it made me sound.

He laughed out loud and it was a wonderful sound. I laughed with him while my heart thumped hard against my chest, reminding me of Saturday and what happened when he was near.

“Would you like an escort to your first class? I don’t have to be in class until 8:30.”

“Really? That would be wonderful. My first class is beginning journalism. It’s in the communications building, room 346.” I held out the map and tried to point out the building.

“Jenna,” he softly said as he pushed the map down. “I know where that is.” He lifted his eyebrows playfully and smiled.

“Okay college boy, let’s go then.”

I followed him out the doors and into the foggy, fall morning. The heaviness of the air penetrated my clothes and made everything thick and cool. I knew the weather was fickle this time of year and it would be warm by the afternoon, but that didn’t help me now. I trembled and wrapped my arms around myself. The sun was making a pathetic attempt to warm things, but seemed to be just for show.

“Would you like my sweatshirt?”

“Well,” I said, hesitant to take it. He stopped and stripped it off before I could say anymore.

“Jenna, I can see you shivering.” He held it up, making it easier for me to slip into.

I was suddenly surrounded by his warmth and scent. It was heavenly. He watched as I folded up the cuffs.

“You’re so tiny.” He said under his breath and started down the path again. He cleared his throat like he was about to say something but kept walking.

“Yes?” I asked, trying to encourage him to speak. He stopped and turned toward me, running his hand over his face while a frustrated growl escaped his mouth.

“Awkwardness doesn’t suite you.” I teased as I pushed on his hard chest just enough to make him sway. “What do you want to say?”

He smiled and looked away, obviously trying to choose his words. When his eyes returned to mine, his expression turned serious.

“I’m really sorry about Saturday night.”

Oh shit. I almost choked on my own tongue; or maybe I had unknowingly swallowed a tennis ball because that’s what it felt like. Was he really going to talk about this? Right here? Now? I might die if this conversation continued. I looked anywhere but directly at him, hoping to develop a quick escape plan – maybe fake a heart attack.

He continued, even though I internally begged him to be quiet. “I really didn’t have any intentions of trying anything … out of line.” He sighed nervously, it was adorable. My insides instantly softened. This magnificent man was standing in front of me, offering something I’m sure, he rarely offered to anyone, an apology.

I tilted my head and smiled, recognizing in this moment, a small-town girl that stood a good eight inches shorter than him, might have a little power over Cale Davis, once again.

“Really?” I linked my arm around his and started walking. “You mean you didn’t intend to sweep into my life like Prince Charming with the intention of stealing my purity?”

He bumped me with his elbow, leaned in and whispered into my ear, “I said that wasn’t my intention, but once I got there and saw you in those sexy sweatpants, well, every guy has his limits.”

He was teasing, his voice low and sensual making my whole body tingle. I glanced up at his lips–remembering how soft they were and quickly looked back down. Power shifted back to the rightful owner.

He chuckled at my sudden shyness, untangling his arm from mine and throwing it over my shoulders like he owned me.

Guiding me into the building, we stood just inside the main entry. The sea of people coming and going from class parted and moved around us as we stood our ground.

“Your class is on the third floor,” he said as he pointed to the stairs. His eyes were focused on me, concern crossed his face. My heart swelled in my chest, loving the feeling of having someone worry about me.

“Thanks. I’ve got this.” I said while readjusting my bag on my shoulder. “Will I see you later today?”

He was quiet. His eyes slowly scanned my body like this was the first time he had seen me. He closed the distance between us. I placed my hand on his chest, just to touch him, not really understanding why I needed it.

“I’ll be fine.” I looked up at him, trying to conjure up a look of confidence.

“Maybe I should walk you to your class.” He grabbed my hand, pulling me behind him.

“Cale, I’m a big girl and I can find this room on my own.” I said politely as I held my ground. I wasn’t some young girl on my first day of high school. Even if his concern was sweet, I needed to do this by myself.

“Of course you can …”

“Hey Cale, what’s up?” A low voice from behind me interrupted us.

Cale released my hand, reached past me and shook someone’s hand. “Hey little brother,” he said, “Do you have class in this building?”

I turned slightly to make room for Cale’s friend to step in closer, smiling as I glanced toward him. My breath caught in my throat, I turned quickly back to Cale.

“Yes sir, beginning journalism.”

Oh no ... no, no.
I held my breath, preparing for what I already knew was coming.

Cale patted him on the back and relief washed over his face. He smiled down at me.

“Jenna, this is Ryan Kitson, he’s a first year in our house. Ryan, this is Jenna.”

Silently cursing my inability to hide my emotions I braced myself to look at him again. I knew I was biting my lip, but didn’t care. I looked over my shoulder to greet him, smiling timidly. Ryan nodded in my direction.

An awkward silence stretched out between the three of us. This Ryan guy was hot … super-hot. I suddenly wondered if there was a secret lab somewhere here, producing beautiful alpha males. If there was, I wouldn’t tell.

Where Cale was perfection, Ryan was rough and hard. Cale was Khakis and polos, this guy was baggy jeans and fitted tees. Even though the normal time to shake someone’s hand had passed, I turned and stretched my hand out to greet him. He gave it a quick glance before he gently wrapped his large hand around mine. The second his rough hand touched mine, I was sorry I had offered it. My face was burning and my stomach doing flip flops. I said a quick prayer that Cale could not read my thoughts. They were not something a nice girl would think and I was pretty sure Cale thought I was a nice girl.

“Very nice to meet you Jenna.” His deep voice touched somewhere deep inside of me. A well-spring of emotions flowed through me. I fought off a small shiver. “I think I’ve heard Cale mention you a time or two.”

“Oh?” I said with a quick glance toward Cale. I’m not sure what emotion crossed Cale’s face.
Oh no, he can read my thoughts
. He would have superpowers like that.

Cale cleared his throat. “My class is across campus. Do you mind if Ryan walks you to class?”

He looked at Ryan, “She has the same class as you, could you make sure she gets there?” Ryan smiled and without hesitation said, “Sure.”

Cale turned toward me, “I will talk to you later, okay?”

“Sure. I’ll be around.”

He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, turned and left without saying anything else. I was stunned. I stood there following him with my eyes.

Ryan let out a low laugh, “You may want to close your mouth.”

I snapped my mouth shut and looked in his direction. “Did you see that?” I asked him, pointing in Cale’s direction. He laughed again and shook his head. “Come on, let’s get to class.”

>CHAPTER SEVEN<

The doors to the classrooms started opening as the earlier classes began to get out. The new flood of students made it even tighter in the hallway. I took a step closer to Ryan, hoping to avoid being swept into the passing crowd. He looked down at me with a smirk, “Cale was right, you are little.”

I tried to take a step back but there were just too many people coming and going through the entryway to get much distance between us. “Ever think that you two are just built like linebackers?”

“Maybe,” he said as he maneuvered behind me, guiding us through the crowd to the stairwell. “But you’re still little.”

I stepped onto the first step, waiting for the people ahead of me to move. When he leaned in to talk to me from behind, his warm breath rushed over my skin.

“It won’t be this crowded in a few weeks. People will drop classes or find different ways to get to where they’re going.”

I followed the crowd because I didn’t have much choice. There was only room for two streams of people – one going up, the other coming down. People weren’t shoving but there were too many people in too small of an area. You couldn’t help but feel like you were on top of each other. I kept my eyes down on the steps. The noise of the crowd was deafening, the sound from the upper floors spilled down to the bottom. It was total chaos.

I stepped onto the first landing and waited as the crowd paused, not noticing the shift in the mood until it was too late. The yells quickly became more intense. People in front of me started backing up, but the people behind me didn’t know that. The entire crowd shifted and I was caught in a wave of people. A firm hand grabbed my arm, helping me regain my balance. Suddenly the realization hit. There was a fight happening right in front of me and I was trapped. Panic took over. I started pushing back; I had to get out of here. I frantically searched the crowd, looking for any break between people to make a run for it. But there were too many people – too many bodies. There was no way out. I could hear fists connecting with flesh. Dull thuds, followed by struggles to get away. The sound of violence was something you never forgot. I covered my ears and closed my eyes tight. I could envision the blood. My mom’s blood. My blood.

Grabbing me, Ryan pushed through the crowd and shoved me into the corner of the small landing. He pinned me against the wall holding me with one hand up against his back, while he watched what was going on. I grabbed two handfuls of his shirt and buried my face, tears streaming down. No, not here, not now.

I just needed to be quiet, I needed to be a good girl and this would all go away.

Ryan turned and glanced at me. His eyes squinting at me with concern when he saw the terror on my face. “Hey, I am going to get you out of here, okay? You’re safe with me.”

I couldn’t respond. I just stood there, holding onto his shirt, shaking like a child.

He turned to face me, blocking everything out of my sight. I laid my forehead on his chest. The feel of his arms around me calmed me for a second but panic surged when I realized he had turned his back to the threat. “You can’t see, you need to see him!” I yelled.

“Everything is going to be fine, I won’t let anything happen to you. Hold on to me and don’t let go.”

He turned once again toward the fighting crowd and reached behind him with one arm, hooking me around the waist. He inched his way along the wall keeping me shielded with his body.

We moved slowly along the wall until we reached the stairs. He used the arm he had around me to push me to the stairs. I sprinted up them pushing people out of the way until I made it to the hallway.

My vision narrowed to a pin point down the hall. Everything around me blurred into stretches of colors; helping to focus on the goal of getting as far away as possible. Each step seemed to require every ounce of my energy. I knew I was crying from the ache in my throat, but the only sound that registered was the rapid beating in my chest. My entire body burned from the surge of adrenalin. I had no idea where I would end up but I needed to be away from there ... away from the violence. It’s what I’d been running from most of my life.

I frantically scanned the hallway looking for any escape. The girls’ bathroom sign caught my attention and I ran toward it. I rushed in, past the girls standing at the sinks and into the stall at the end. I was all too familiar with what was happening and I didn’t want anyone to see it. I leaned my back up against the wall and tried to slow my breathing as I lowered myself to the floor. I closed my eyes, pushing my palms into them until it hurt.

I sat in the corner watching him. He thought I was playing with my Barbie, but really I was watching him. It was always a good idea to know where he was when his walking got unsteady. He dropped into his chair.

“Rose!” I cringed at the way he screamed her name. “Get me another beer.” She didn’t respond, where was she? He didn’t like it when he had to repeat himself. I panicked and looked toward the kitchen where she should be. Stupid! I knew better. If I didn’t move, he forgot I was there. But it was too late, he had seen me.

“What are you looking at brat?” I looked back down at my doll, tears filling my eyes. The chair creaked, oh no, he was trying to get up. I gripped my doll tighter as my body flooded with fear. I focused on the floor in front of me, hoping he was drunk enough to fall over before he got to me. My shoulder burned as he ripped me up from the floor, twisting my arm behind my back. “I’m talking to you, you stupid little bitch.” The slapping noise rang out before I felt the burning pain on my face that always followed.

“Put her down!” she screamed, running into the room. He dropped me and my bare knees hit the wooden floor, scraping the skin. I grabbed my Barbie and jumped up.