𝐵𝓁𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝑀𝑒

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 23

Pilly and Solar are waiting for me outside the American literature classroom, and as I was expecting, the first thing Pilly notices is the plaster sticking to forehead. “Oh my god, what happened to your head?”

Solar notices something else, instead. “Who cares! Look at her, she finally got laid.” She snickers. “Was it the vampire? I’ve heard they’re godlike in bed.”

I can feel myself blush. “I did not get laid.”

“You most definitely did” she replies, a knowing smile curving her lips. “And the dick was apparently really good. Look at that smile!”

“Shhh!” I shush her, frantically looking around. The hallway is packed with people, but nobody seems to be paying attention to us. Still.

I’m not really into sharing my sex life with a bunch of strangers. “Not here” I say, adjusting the strap of my bag. “Let’s go somewhere else.” We head to the cafeteria for lunch, but since it’s quite early, the place is almost empty.

“So, was it him?” Solar asks, as we make our way to our usual table. “The vampire?”

“He has a name” I mumble, placing down the tray. “jungkook. And… Well, we didn’t go all the way, actually.”

“But you did do something.” Solar flashes a grin and elbows Pilly, sitting next to her. “Finally we found someone to show her there’s a whole world beyond shitty Ben.”

I can’t help it: at the sound of his name, I flinch. For a while it was easy to pretend nothing happened, especially while I was in jungkook’s arms—safe. But now the memory is so vivid I have to stop and remind myself he can’t hurt me anymore.

“Hey, you okay?” Pilly asks, her voice soft.

I consider not telling them. It would be useless, since he’s in jail and can’t get to me anymore, but at the last moment I decide against it. I really need to get this off my chest.
“It was him. Ben.” I point at the plaster, then I roll up my sleeves to show them the bruises staining my skin a deep purple. “A couple of days ago. A security camera recorded him… attacking me, so he’s in jail now.” I roll the sleeves back down. “I was in the hospital for around a day, they had to monitor me for twenty-four hours because of my head, but I’m sturdier than I look.” I force out a small laugh. “After class I have to go to the police to give a statement… You know, about what happened. Jungkook is taking me.”

As expected, my friends invest me with questions and curses directed at Ben, which I totally support. I try to explain everything in detail as we eat, and I find that letting it all out is kind of freeing.

I describe what happened when he showed up at my place, how jungkook intervened and begged me to go to the police, and how I regrettably ignored him. I tell them about the night of the attack outside the Lust at first bite,
the fear I felt in my bones, the thought I wouldn’t make it out alive, how I blacked out not because of my injuries, but out of tension and fear leaving my body when I saw Jungkook’s driver waiting for me.

“I’m glad you’re okay” Pilly says, even though I can tell she’s kind of mad at me for not taking any measures against Ben. She keeps it to herself, though, and I’m grateful about it. I don’t think I’d be able to endure a lecture, even if I know damn well I deserve it.

“And I’m glad that scumbag is in jail” Solar adds, lifting her water flask as if she were making a toast. “May he rot in there for all eternity.”

“Amen to that.” Pilly leans forward and clinks their bottles together, then she turns to face me. “So… You and Jungkook. Is this serious?”

I shrug as I feel my cheeks heat up. “Sort of. I think. I mean, I really like him, and he likes me too.” I lower my gaze. “He’s proved it to me. I want to take things slowly, though” I add, piling the empty dishes in my tray. “Dating, getting to know each other a bit better…”

“Letting him rearrange your insides” Solar chimes in, barely holding in a snicker. “Yeah, we know the drill.” Pilly playfully shoves her, then turns to me with a small smile,
pushing her big curls away from her face. “I know I said some pretty bad things in the past, and I still kind of feel that way toward vampires, but… you seem happy. And as long as he doesn’t do anything to harm you, I’m happy as well.”

The conversation turns to our trip to New York, which is happening sooner than I thought: we’re leaving in a couple of days. I’ve totally lost track of time in the past few weeks.
Luckily the trip is happening on the weekend, so we don’t need to worry about class. I only have to ask for leave at the club… and tell jungkook about it.