Chapter 2

The apartment door was unlocked, again. Her heart beat in her throat as she poked her head in and tried to listen for any sounds of movement. The dark apartment was mostly quiet. The babbling sound of the fish tank in the living room was all that filled the space. Zira tried to reassure herself that no one was in there. It was just Erin being reckless like usual.

Zira slid inside and locked the door behind her. She went straight into her room. Once she saw that it was still in the organized state of chaos that she left it in she stripped. The borrowed clothes were tossed into the hamper and forgotten.

Her mouth had never been drier in her entire life and a headache was threatening to split her skull. It was the hangover of the century. She pulled a bottle of water out of the mini-fridge. The ibuprofen was in her backpack, she had to empty the whole thing onto her floor just to fish them. After popping the pills in her mouth and washing them down her eyes landed on the dress.

It was shredded. The fabric was barely holding on. If she hadn’t known what it was before she would have never recognized it in its current state. Just looking at it sent a shiver through her. What kind of man could do something like this? She walked over to her full-length mirror and looked for evidence of the previous night on her skin. Surely with damage like that to her clothes, there had to be something horrible on her body.

As she looked over her light brown skin there was nothing. Aside from the old scars that littered her smooth skin, she was blemish-free. Part of her wanted to see them again. The curiosity was killing her. But that wasn’t what she was there for. Boys were fun but she ran across the country to hide from her family and her ex. Zira wanted to get through school and find the perfect place to plant roots and hide.

The first school she tried was way too close. It was the first time she had ever been on her own and honestly, she was afraid of being away from her family. When her father found her he drug her out of her bed in the middle of the night. If campus security hadn’t gotten involved she probably would have been beaten within an inch of her life and chained to the cellar wall for the rest of her life.

Resisting the urge to shake at the memory, Zira rushed to the bathroom to take a shower. The steaming hot water poured over her melting her anxiety and pushing her mind further toward the night before. She remembered some things. The burning need she felt for them to put their mouths on her. The feeling of stubble against her skin. The large rough hands explored her body. She started mimicking the memory when a thud came from the other side of the bathroom door.

She had been so distracted she completely forgot that she was afraid. With shaking hands, she turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. A glance around the bathroom for a weapon only left her with two options: a bottle of shampoo to throw or a toilet plunger. Still telling herself it was just her imagination, Zira tip-toed down the short hall with the toilet plunger in hand.

Things were quiet. The locks on the door were still in place. She peered into the dark kitchen. There was nothing there except a few dirty dishes in the sink. The last place to look was the living room. Zira and Erin hadn’t done much to make it a communal space. There was a couch and a few chairs but neither of them wanted to spend the time or money decorating it. Looking at it she was glad. There was nowhere for anyone to hide.

Feeling a little ridiculous, Zira tossed the plunger back into the bathroom and went to her room. She dried her hair with a microfiber towel and headed straight for her closet. Kady would be out of class soon. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to move in anymore. Between the drunken night, she barely remembered and the random texts, she let herself get worked up over nothing.

Zira shuffled through her closet until she found the short v-neck dress she was looking for. The sheer black lace was the most comfortable thing she owned. She threw the towel at the hamper as she left the closet adjusting the dress so nothing was falling out. It took a few minutes of sifting through the pile of shoes on her floor before she found the boot she was looking for. She stood up, triumphantly holding her prize.

“You have to be kidding me.” The smile fell from her face when she heard the words. She spun around toward her bedroom door but it was still closed. Her eyes fell to the chair in the corner of her room. Keiran sat there glaring at her. How long had he been there? She didn’t even see him move when something slapped against her face. Zira stumbled back in surprise and pulled a t-shirt from her face.

Not just a t-shirt. The t-shirt she got from her fling. Confused she looked at the chair but Keiran was no longer there. Hands wrapped around her arms and suddenly the room was tilting.

“I told you. You don’t belong here. Now I understand how you got in.” Zira was on her back on her bed but she couldn’t move. Keiran was an enormous man, easily 6’4” with almost two hundred pounds and every single one was top Zira.

“What the hell are you doing in my room you fucking creep.” It was difficult to put venom in her voice when the air was being forced out of her lungs. Keiran grabbed the t-shirt and held it to her face again.

“Who all did you fuck to get accepted? Was it just them or did you take care of the old man too?” he leaned back and tore the shirt in half. The sound of the fabric shredding snapped Zira out of her shock.

“Keiran, get the fuck off me now. The only person’s bed you should be worried about is your girlfriend.” His girlfriend being the insufferable Erin. The two of them together were the main reason Zira couldn’t stand being in the apartment. Keiran harassed her every chance he got while Erin made her life hell because of it. Just the feeling of his breath on her skin was enough to make her stomach turn.

“You don’t deny it. You did fuck them! Slut.” His face grew closer to hers as he spoke.

“Sounds like you’re just mad I’m not fucking you!” she managed to free her hand and attempted to swing at his face but Keiran was fast. Much faster than her. His large hand engulfed her wrists and held them down over her head.

“It’s okay. My dad is on the board too. Treat me right and you might now have to worry about tuition.” His mouth went to her neck. Panic bubbled up her throat as tears poured down her cheeks. Keiran had never gone this far before. His free hand traveled up the bottom of her short dress.

“No!” she screamed in his ear. He chuckled and nibbled her neck right where Mason left a scar. The panic overwhelmed her and she bucked and screamed and thrashed under his weight.

“Keiran, babe are you here?” That was the first time Zira ever felt relief at hearing Erin’s snobby voice. Keiran’s hands paused. He gave her one last bite on the shoulder and he quickly let her go. Enraged, Zira slammed her fist against his jaw. He staggered back, clearly not expecting that.

“You bitch, Erin is right there.” He hissed at her.

“Perfect. Let’s go talk to her together.” She was proud of how level her voice was. He glared at her for a moment before rushing out of the room. A moment later the toilet flushed and he called out to his girlfriend as though he had been in the bathroom the whole time. Zira looked at her shaking hands. Deep purple bruises were already surfacing on her skin.

The shreds of the shirt lay on the bed beside her. She held them in her hand while questions flooded her mind. Why was he going through her hamper and how the hell did he know he know whose shirt it was? She didn’t even know whose shirt it was.

“To hell with this.” She wiped her tears and darted around the room throwing a few things into her backpack. “I’ll sleep in the library before I sleep here again.” She hated the idea of putting Kady out by asking her to come back with her if she when needed to pick anything else up but it was a chance she would have to take. Keiran’s moods ranged from pure hatred of her to pure lust for her. She didn’t want to risk being on the receiving end of either. With her bag on her back, Zira rushed out of the room fingers furiously tapping against the glass screen of her phone.

“You’re still here?” Erin sneered at her from the kitchen while Keiran leaned against the counter. Zira rolled her eyes at her as she continued toward the door. “Guess it was too much to hope you puked to death in the bathroom. Oh well. Good content for my social media pages.” Zira paused with her hand on the door. Tears stung her eyes. She was frustrated and humiliated. All she wanted to do was punch Erin right in her stupid face so she could have matching bruises. Just feeling Keiran’s eyes on her froze her muscles. Unable to turn herself around she swung the door open and ran out.

Living in a small college town had its advantages. There was no real need to own a car. Everything Zira wanted or needed was a short walk away. As she walked down the street her stomach growled reminding her just how long it had been since she ate anything. A few blocks down the road, Zira slipped into a diner. It was the closest thing to a home-cooked meal she had since she left home. Sure, her mother taught her all about cooking and preparing meals. She had to learn to be a good wife. But every time she was in the kitchen it made her think of the life she left. She was happy to leave those memories in the past.

When the bell dinged overhead it seemed every set of eyes in the building turned to look at her. Redness bloomed on her cheeks as she wondered for the first time what she must look like after her encounter with Keiran. She slipped into a booth and tried to gauge the damage by looking at her reflection in the window. Her phone buzzed nonstop as Kady tried to coordinate with her. Finally, Zira decided to call her.

“Just meet me at the diner on main. I won’t have time to go to your apartment before I have to work.” Kady groaned.

“Who actually works?” Zira rolled her eyes. She loved Kady but she was so entitled at times.

“Me.” Kady’s laughter burst from the speaker.

“Fiiiine. Taylor and I will meet you at the diner. Can you order for us?” Zira fidgeted with the laminated menu.

“Maybe. The waitress is ignoring me again. You might just have to order for me. Again!” despite saying it under her breath Zira didn’t miss the dirty looks the waitress shot her as she walked by.  It couldn’t be a coincidence that this happened every time she came into a restaurant alone she either didn’t get to order or it took far too long for them to get to her. If it weren’t for a large amount of diversity in the people on campus Zira would have thought it was a skin problem. She was left with the assumption that the small town just wasn’t kind to outsiders. From what she heard it was next to impossible to get into the university without a personal connection.

Banging on the window snapped her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Kady making funny faces at her.  Her long black hair was pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head. It was impossible not to giggle. Zira hung up the phone and stuck her tongue out at her friend. Taylor walked up behind her and pulled her by her waist toward the door. As close as Kady and Zira were it was rare for her to see Taylor. He was a busy guy.

The two of them slid into the bench across from her and the waitress finally made her first appearance. They rattled off their orders and Kady took care of Zira’s without being asked. She knew what she liked and they had eaten together enough times for her to have seen firsthand what it was like for Zira sometimes. Just being around her friend was helping her forget her earlier trauma. The whole day had been one giant shit show but at least she finally stopped shaking.

“Now, let’s talk about this work bullshit. How can I talk you out of it?” asked Kady as she took a big drink of orange juice.

“Let’s not because you can’t. I think I need to start looking for my own place. I’m going to need the money.” Zira rubbed the bite mark on her neck without realizing it. Taylor sniffled a few times. It sounded like he was struggling with allergies. His eyes went wide and his hand reached out and pulled her hand away from her neck.

“What the hell happened?” Kady slapped her hands against the wooden table as she stood up. Outrage etched into her face. If Zira didn’t know better she would say Kady was about to kill someone.

“Kieran did this to you?” Taylor’s voice was low and serious. He still had a hold of her wrist but his grip wasn’t painful. Still, it flooded Zira with the uncomfortable memory of being trapped. She snatched her hand away and tried to hide the shaking. Just then the waitress showed up with the tray of food. As soon as she walked away Zira slid to the end of the bench.

“I think I was wrong about what time I’m supposed to clock in.” She pulled money out of her boot and tossed it on the table.

“Zira, please…” Kady tried to follow her but Taylor’s large frame was blocking the way.

“Don’t worry,” she leaned over the table and grabbed the syrup, and poured it all over her waffles, “I’ll talk to you later.” She picked up her hot plate of waffles and back and tossed the contents of her fruit bowl on top before she shouldered her backpack and rushed out of the diner.