XO - I love you like

25. THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM.

Stella Olivia Russo

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Holding my phone firmly in my hand, I paced around the stone paving, weaving in and out on the concrete bollards, the street lights slowly turning themselves on as night fall began to arrive. I had no idea what I was doing. Exactly seven days had passed since the disaster that was parent teachers conference night. Seven days of me ignoring my parents and avoiding Frankie in school. Also, it had been seven days since Tyler told me he needed to speak to me, and I asked him if he still needed to talk to me exactly six days ago, and he told me it was fine, then changed the subject to whether not I had fun ditching school with Justin.

Each day that has passed I have found myself sitting up in the middle of night, wondering how I could possibly protect Justin from his father when I couldn't even protect myself from my boyfriend. I saw the bruises, the black eye he tried to pass off as an accident. I saw the side of his torso when he pulled his top over his head, the deep purple bruises on his rib cages. I didn't even have to ask how he got them, because I knew, I knew instantly.

Baby, you don't need to do anything – you don't need to protect me.

He has told me so many times that he is fine, that he can handle it, it's been happening long enough that he is simply used to it. But how can I leave him to endure it alone when I know he would do anything to protect me when it comes to Frankie? So much so that he picks me up on the corner of my road every morning before school, and drops me back off in the same place every day after school, kissing me on the cheek and telling me to get home safely even though it's a six second walk from his drop off point to my house. He didn't even let me attend Lacrosse practice, he told me no, Frankie will be there and the last thing he needs is Frankie to make a snide remark about me.

Although, I get a sweet satisfaction every lunch hour in the cafeteria when I see Frankie sat around a completely different table with the likes of Annie and Hanna Pipes, Jason and Aiden, all of them creating a ruckus, gaining eye rolls from the rest of the school, while the entire student body secretly wonders what has happened for me not to be clung to his hip, for me to be sat around our usual table, only with Justin, Tyler and Ethan. I know what people must think, oh my god, she broke up with Frankie and now she's a whore but I'm not. I don't even sit beside Justin, or flirt with him. Nobody even knows about us, but I know they know about the break up. Even though it hasn't been confirmed, they know.

Now here I am, stood outside of a building so high and wide that even the sight of it makes my stomach churn, the way the double doors slide open slowly and a suited male walks out, glancing at me as if I hopped off of the short bus. Of course I had sweating palms and nervous knees, the glossy metal letters above the revolving doors, the etched white letters on the glass, all reading the same thing.

B&C INC.

I assumed the B stood for Bieber, and the C stood for Co.

Or, maybe it stands for bastard and cocks, who knows – all I know is that the moment Jeremy walks out of the doors with his tailored suit and finest leather brief case, his luxury car key in his hand, expecting to just hop into his cocaine white Lamborghini but instead he would be greeted with the sight of me, and something tells me he won't be all that pleased to see me.