In Disguise

Chapter 16

"I'll meet up with you guys in a few minutes, I have to grab something from my room first." Three weeks had passed had passed since the party. I gave Alex my own number, and he had been texting me everyday since. However, I still haven't gotten any closer to telling him. I know it's bad, I know. As soon as I found my phone charger, I made my way back to the cafeteria from my room. 

The walk is silent, as expected until I hear a bang of a locker behind me. I spin around and come face to face with a guy I've never seen before.

"Can I help you?" I'm really trying to hide my fear right now. This guy is so close. 

"Yeah, actually you can." He gives me a smile, but not a nice one. It's scary and mean looking. 

I practically whisper, "What do you want." 

"Well, I heard your conversation a few weeks ago with Grayson. I've been worried to ask for a while now, but will you have sex with me?" I gasped and backed away from him. A frown immediately made its way to my face. This guy was a creep. 

"No sorry. I have to go." I turned to walk away but he grabbed my arm, yanking me back in the process. 

With my back pressed against him he whispered in my ear, "you're not going anywhere." He pushed me into a locker full force before throwing my on the ground. 

I punched him in the face and began kicking as hard and fast as I could, but it didn't stop him. He straddled me and grabbed my arms, putting them above my head. 

"Get off me." I yelled. It was loud enough for him to hear but no one else. I knew for a fact that if I screamed he would spill my secret right away. 

He crashed his lips down on mine and began ripping my shirt, so I bit on his lip causing a metallic taste to make its way into my mouth. He yelled out in pain and pulled away from my mouth, but he still held my hands down with one of his own. 

"If you're going to be uncooperative, maybe you shouldn't be awake." My eyes widened. 

He grabbed my head with his free hand and slammed it against the floor. I felt dizzy and could feel blood dripping from a cut on my head. I cried out in pain and closed my eyes. I thought I was done for until I heard the cafeteria door open. 

"Ev's been gone for like 20 minutes," one voice said.

"Yeah, finding a charger shouldn't take that lo," I couldn't see the figures clearly, but I recognize the voices easily. Alex and Grayson. 

In a matter of seconds, the weight of the guy was lifted off off of me. I tried my best to focus on what was happening, but all I could make out was a guy getting beat up. 

"God you're head is bleeding. I'm gonna bring you to the nurse, just tell me if you need me to put you down. I'll try not to shake you too much. Oh and don't fall asleep okay. You're okay now, you can stop crying." I hadn't even realized that I was crying. 

"Thanks Alex. I love you." My eyes widened and I gasped after realizing what I just said. From what I could see, Alex didn't seem fazed though. I was confused until I realized I was still Evan.

"I love you too man." He picked me up gently and slowly began carrying me away from the scene. 

"I'll make sure no one knows about this," is all Grayson said. To Alex it probably just meant that no one would know I got my ass beat, but to me it meant so much more. He would keep my secret safe. 

Nurse Snow rushed over to me the second I was carried into her office. I was sort of out of it, so she talked to Alex about my condition instead. Apparently going to the hospital would be unnecessary because the cut was too small for stitches. She just cleaned it and wrapped it up. I also made out something about a severe concussion. Alex volunteered to stay with me for a few hours because I wasn't allowed to fall asleep. 

Now we were sitting in the nurses overnight room. The same one we had shared the day we were out in the ocean. Well he was sitting, I was laying down with my head on a pillow facing him. My headache was slowly fading and my focus was coming back too. 

"You scared me there Ev." He looked at me with genuine concern, "I don't even want to think of what would've happened if Grayson and I hadn't found you. You'd probably be dead." He shivered in his seat. I don't think he realized the guy was trying to rape me. 

I answered honestly, "I was scared too. So scared." 

"What did he even have against you? Do you even know his name?" 

"No, maybe he was just mentally insane." Alex rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah that's pretty obvious Ev." 

Hours later, Nurse Snow reentered the room telling me it was okay to sleep. My eyes were droopy and by this point it actually hurt to stay awake. It was 2 in the morning and Alex had spent almost thirty minutes telling me funny stories from his childhood. My favorite was the one about the first and only time he got drunk when he punched a tree for stealing his cat. He didn't realize until the next morning that the animal he saw in the tree was actually a squirrel, and he didn't even own a cat. His hand was apparently swollen for 3 weeks though, which made the hilarious story not so funny.

Alex let out a deep breath and closed his eyes in the chair. I didn't expect to do this, but in the spurt of the moment it just came out of my mouth without thought. 

"Alex there's enough bed here for the two of us." I scooted over to make room for him. He thought it over before hopping in the bed. His body heat immediately warmed me up. There was nothing I wanted more than to cuddle up next to him, but I couldn't. Sleeping in the same bed would suffice though. Lucky for me, a student's bed broke the other night, so the other bed in the nurses' office was moved there until a new one gets shipped in. 

With Alex next to me, I closed my eyes and let sleep finally take over. As I faded from consciousness, the last three words to consume my thoughts were 'I love you.'