Enigma

Fight or Flight

After putting the phone down, Tracie took a shower and got dressed as Albert slept peacefully in her bed. She was so stressed out she contemplated day drinking, but drinking had already gotten her in enough trouble, so she chain smoked by her window for a while until Albert began to stir.

Once he'd peeled his eyes open, he looked at her and quickly pieced together what must've happened. He nodded approvingly at himself and then looked back over to her. "Good morning." he said in that undeniably hot husky morning voice guys usually have. Tracie cringed at herself for finding it attractive.

"Morning." she answered bluntly, flicking away a cigarette butt.

He caught sight of her tear stained cheeks and his eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

"No." she said in a harsh tone.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No." she said again in the same tone, but this time, walked over and fell onto the bed.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asked as he slipped on his shirt that was on the floor.

She shook her head. "We're going to Nico's."

"Oh...okay." Albert nodded, putting on the rest of his clothes. "Do you...regret all this?" he said, motioning to the messed up bed.

Tracie sniffled. "No."

"Then..?"

"That's the thing. I wanted it." she turned to him, clenching her jaw. "I have a boyfriend, Albert. He's going to freak the fuck out when he finds out! Who knows what he'll do..." Tracie didn't want to cry in front a guy she barely knew, but she just couldn't help it and found herself hugging her knees tightly to her chest as soft sobs escaped her throat.

Albert's eyebrows knitted together as he watched her shake. He crawled over to her and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He took a deep breath in before asking his next question. "Does he hurt you, Tracie?"

Tracie squeezed her eyes shut tighter and said nothing, but leaned into his touch. Albert also decided it would be better to say nothing, and the two just sat together in silence for a while until Tracie decided they should get to Nico's place.

"Please don't tell anyone about that." she said as they walked outside. "Especially Nico."

"Why not?"

"She always tells me Rob's no good for me, and I don't wanna give her the satisfaction. I hate nothing more than an 'I told you so!'"

"Jesus, Tracie! She's your best friend!"

"I know...I just," she stopped to sigh. "...I don't like seeming weak, y'know? It's not my shtick."

"I get what you're saying, but this is no laughing matter." he said sternly. "You're gonna break up with that dickhead, okay?! And if he lays a finger on you, I'll fuck him up!"

Tracie smiled at Albert. She was beginning to like him quite a lot.

The two teenagers approached Nico's house and Tracie walked right inside, Albert following close behind her. The two walked in on Nico and Julian eating breakfast.

"Jules!" Albert yelped, surprised to see his friend there.

Julian greeted him with a nod. "Hey, man."

Nico looked over at Tracie. She looked awful. "C'mon, Trace...we'll talk upstairs." Tracie nodded and followed her into her room.

"So I heard you got laid." said Julian with a smirk. "Why's the chick look so miserable though? Were you that bad?"

Albert sat next to his friend with a heavy sigh. "The sex was great. She has other problems though." He took a bite of Julian's toast and sighed once more. "Don't tell anyone I've told you this, but I think her boyfriend hits her."

"Woah...that's heavy."

"Yeah..." Albert seemed to be lost in thought. He looked very concerned. "But I guess it isn't really any of my business, so I'll just...drop it, I guess."

Julian said nothing and shrugged. He didn't know what to say.

A few minutes later, the girls came back downstairs and Tracie looked to be feeling a bit better. While she hadn't told Nico what she'd told Albert about Rob, she still felt better after confiding in her friend and would deal with her personal problems later.

"So, any plans for today?" Nico asked no one in particular. "I've regretfully ditched school again, so please can we do something to make me forget about it." she said with a frown. "And it better include absolutely no alcohol."

"I think we could manage that." Julian said with a soft chuckle.

"I think I should work on breaking up with Rob." Tracie said, her lips trembling. "I'll meet him at the mall or something. He's always there."

Albert jumped up. "I'll come with you!"

Nico looked at him with complete puzzlement. Why would he be accompanying Tracie to an event like that?!

Albert cleared his throat and awkwardly looked around. "Because, like...my house is on the way, so...yeah."

Tracie couldn't help but to smile at him adoringly. She'd pretty much only just met him and he was already willing to protect her.

"Am I missing something here?" asked a skeptical Nico as she noticed the glances Albert and Tracie were sharing.

"Nope!" Tracie shook her head, grabbing Albert's arm. "Let's go, Albert."

Nico watched with a frown as they both raced out the door. She turned back to Julian and he shrugged.

"So...what now? Are we hanging out?" she asked. "Like, would you have to go home 'cause your parents could be freaking out or anything?"

Julian shook his head. "Nah." He knew his mother would be worrying a little, but she was used to him being out all the time, and his dad would just be too busy to care.

"Maybe we could go to yours anyway..? I'm sick of my place." she said with a sigh.

Julian almost choked. He played it off as clearing his throat and shook his head. "It's boring...trust me. How about we see if Fab and the others wanna hang out?"

Nico looked at him knowingly. Without a word, she placed her hands on her hips and frowned at him until he began feeling uncomfortable.

"What?" he said, avoiding eye contact.

"I haven't known you too long, but I know somethings up with you, Julian." she said sternly. "If you wanna talk about it, I'm here and I always will be, but if not, that's okay, I respect that."

Julian swallowed the lump in his throat and looked at the floor. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Does it have something to do with your dreams?" she asked. "I'm sorry if I'm being nosy, but I've noticed you have really bad nightmares." Her expression softened as she sat beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can talk to me, Julian."

Julian froze. A wave of mortification washed over him. She knew about his dreams? How?! Were they so bad that he physically reacted while he was asleep? Did it happen while he was drunk? Probably.

He coughed again and stood up. "I've gotta get home, actually. Thanks for letting me crash here."

"What?" Nico's brow furrowed as Julian strode over to the front door with a frown. "Julian, wait! I'm sorry!" She jumped up and sprinted over, grabbing his arm before it could reach the doorknob.

Julian turned to her, still frowning. "I've gotta go."

"I shouldn't have said anything, I'm sorry." she sighed. "But I just wanna know you're alright...and I want you to know you can talk to me at any time, okay? If not now, hopefully someday."

"Sorry, I just...can't." He opened the door and backed out of it. The distraught look on Nico's face pained him, but he couldn't stop himself from leaving. He wanted to talk to her...he really did, but something in him triggered his fight or flight response, and he was jogging home before he knew it.