*Elle*

Elle, please answer me. I know how it must have come across the other day when you told me, but I need you to know I would never think of you differently because of what I know about you now. If anything, it's made me like you even more because you are so strong. If you're not going to answer my calls or talk about it then at least let me know that, don't just ignore me, please. J x

I lock my phone and sigh after reading the message I just received from Jaime. This is the 4th time he has texted me today, and it's only 1:30pm.

"Is that Jaime again?" Rose asks me. I nod and she looks at me sympathetically. "Maybe you should just talk to him."

"You didn't see his reaction before, Rose. He looked so disappointed..."

"But he is obviously regretting the way he came across to you if he keeps messaging you like this. He has told you he likes you and that he wants to speak to you again, you should at least see what he's got to say and then make up your mind whether you think it's right to carry on seeing him."

I contemplate her words and smile when I realize she is right. "What would I do without you, Rose?"

"I don't know, but you're never going to find out." She smiles and winks at me.

"Okay, I'm going to call him." I say and she nods understandingly. I dial his number and hear the phone ring only twice before he picks up.

"Hey, Elle. Look, I'm so sorry about the way I reacted in the café that day, I-"

"Be at my place in 20 minutes?"

"Oh...yeah. Of course. I'll see you soon."

I hang up and take a deep breath. "I don't know if this is the right thing to do..."

"Well, go and find out." Rose says.

"Okay. I'll call you later and let you know what happens." I say and she nods. I stand up and so does she, and I give her a hug and we quickly exchange goodbyes before I walk out of her apartment and head over to mine.

---

I hear the intercom buzz and I don't need to check who it is before I press the button to let Jaime in. I open the door ready for him and go back into the lounge and sit on the couch, tucking my legs beneath me and waiting.

"Hey..." I hear him say and then the door shuts. He walks into the lounge and sees me, then takes a few steps and sits down on the couch opposite me.

"Hi." I say rather bluntly.

"Can I explain?" He asks me and I nod slowly, looking down at my hands. "Okay, first of all, I just want to say that I am so sorry. I know how badly I reacted when you told me and I had absolutely no right to do that - you were opening up to me and I didn't respect that. Secondly, you have to know that what you told me doesn't affect the feelings that I have for you. I really like you, Elle. And the fact that you drink and take drugs doesn't change that. I have spoken to Rose about everything and she has told me that you're trying to recover."

I look up at him. "You've spoken to Rose?"

"Yes, and she explained to me that there are reasons behind what you told me. She didn't tell me the reasons, but she made me realize that I shouldn't have been so quick to judge you. I guess all I'm trying to say is that I want you to give me another chance."

I process all of his words and then think about his previous reaction. "I like you too, Jaime. But it really hurt me when you acted like that..."

"Please, Elle... Just let me make it up to you."

"I want to, but..."

"But what?"

I feel tears pricking the corners of my eyes and I stand up and get ready to walk into my room to hide my emotions like I always seem to do. Everything he is saying is making me want to be with him so much but I just can't deal with it if he is going to judge me again once he finds out more about me.

I am stopped from walking away as Jaime stands up and grabs my wrist gently, not enough pressure to hurt me but enough to stop me from walking away from him. I stand still where I am and look down at the floor, letting my tears hit the carpet beneath me.

"Look at me." He says quietly and softly, lifting my face gently with his hand when I don't listen to his command. "Don't you believe me?"

"I want to, but it's just hard for me to trust people." I manage to choke out and he looks at me sympathetically, looking into my eyes, and I can't seem to draw my gaze away from his.

"You can trust me." He almost whispers, and my heart aches for him. I think he really does like me, and for him I am nothing but trouble. I like him a lot too and I am dying to just accept his apology and start over, but there is something pulling me back.

"I don't want you to get hurt." The truthful words slip out of my mouth before I can stop them and he furrows his eyebrows slightly.

"I'd risk it for you." His words hit me like a ton of bricks and I yearn for him to hold me. I want to feel physically as warm as he is making me feel emotionally and I look up at him and see the same feeling hidden in his irises. It's been so long since someone has wanted me in their lives romantically and I miss it badly.

It feels like we are looking at each other for hours on end before he leans in and presses his lips gently to mine. I accept the gesture and deepen the kiss, closing my eyes and relaxing against his muscular frame.

He lets go of my hand and holds the side of my face, pulling me a little closer to him and breathing deeply through his nose, the warm air blowing gently against my face. His other arm wraps around my waist and pulls my body against his and I rest my hands on his chest, losing myself in his kiss.

When we pull away from each other, it dawns on me that this is what I want - that Jaime is what I want - and I rest my head on his chest and let him hold me in his arms for a while.

---

*Rose*

I hear a knock on the door a few minutes after Elle leaves and I wonder who it could be. It can't be Vic as he would have texted me, the same with everyone else who usually comes round here.

I walk to the front door and hold the intercom button and ask who it is. "Who is it?"

"Hotel worker, I'm coming to check your meter." The voice crackles through the small speaker and I groan to myself. I hate it when these people come round, but I have to answer it now that they know that I'm in. I buzz them in and wait by the door ready to let them through.

I hear a loud knock on the door just a minute later and it makes me jump. I answer the door and my heart drops into my stomach when I am faced with the man standing at the door.

"Hello, Rose." Charlie's best friend, Rob, stands before me and smiles creepily. I am at a loss for words and I just stand there, my breathing shallow and my mouth hanging slightly open. "Aren't you going to let me in?"

"Fuck you." I say and make an attempt to slam the door. I look down at the floor when the door doesn't shut and I see his foot wedged between the door and the door frame. Shit.

"Let me in, Rose. You will regret it if you don't, you're already in big trouble with Charlie."

That makes me release my weak grip on the door and he steps in, his presence knocking me a few steps backwards. He slams the door behind him and anger controls his features, scaring me half to death and forcing me to stand against the wall and cower away from him.

He looks at me intently, noticing the fear that is evidently there on my face and he laughs. "What's wrong, Rose?"

"Stay away from me, Rob." My words are shaky and nervous, no matter how hard I try to make them sound confident. I am determined to not let him hurt me again, but so far I am not doing a very good job as he stands in front of me and grabs my hair from the back of my head, pulling my head back and looking at me aggressively. I whimper, my voice laced in pain, but his expression does not falter.

"Are you going to make me?" He asks me through gritted teeth and I shake my head, though my actions are restricted because of his steel grip on my hair. "I didn't think so."

He lets go of my hair and I feel immediate relief and I move my hands to the sore spot on the back of my head, tears threatening to spill over the edges of my eyes.

He turns around and starts to walk towards the lounge and I follow him cautiously, my hand still gently rubbing the back of my now aching head. "What are you h-here for?" I stutter weakly.

"It seems that we need to have a little chat, Rose. You've not been behaving very well, have you?" My stomach churns and I feel the bile rising in my throat when we reach the lounge. He takes a seat and starts to look very relaxed. I look at him, confused, and he waves a hand at the couch opposite him. "Sit."

I do as he commands and I sit down, trying my hardest to look him in the eyes without throwing up. "I don't understand why you're here, Rob."

"Let's just say me and Charlie both know what you've been up to. And seeing as he can't come and sort you out himself, he has asked me to."

I swallow down the huge lump in my throat and do my best to regulate my breathing. I fiddle with my hands nervously and I know that he can sense my fear. I don't doubt that he is going to hurt me, he has done it before so he will definitely do it again if he has to. "I don't know what you're talking about." I am surprised at how confidently the words fly out of my mouth and I feel quite proud of myself - maybe I can get through to him enough before he does anything else to hurt me.

"Don't lie to me." He says calmly and evenly, pushing my thoughts of reassurance to the side. "Where is this new man of yours, by the way? I would love to meet him and let Charlie know what you have replaced him for."

That's when it hits me.

"It's you who has been watching me." I whisper. A sudden surge of anger takes hold of me and for a moment I don't care what he could do to me. I stand up and take a few steps in his direction. "Did you think I wouldn't know?! Who do you think you are?! You can't just follow me around and expect to get away with it, you fucker-"

I feel the wind get knocked right out of me and an immense wave of sickness washes over me. The extreme stabbing sensations in my ribs spread to my throat and my head, and I throw up from the pain and have to use all of my inner strength to stop myself from falling weakly onto my knees.

"Don't fucking test me, Rose." He says through gritted teeth, his face close to mine and his breath hot on my face.

"Fuck you." I manage to get out. I don't know why I am putting myself in this dangerous position, I just feel like I have to stand up for myself right now. I realize how much of a bad move that was as he drags me up and shoves me against the wall by my hair, the spot where he pulled it previously still raw and aching. He grabs my face in his hand and glares at me.

"You never listen, do you?" He asks me rhetorically and I struggle against his tight grip on my jaw, obviously getting nowhere. "You're going to do something for me, Rose. And you're not going to say no. Have you got that?"

I don't answer him and he squeezes on my jaw, causing me to cry out in pain, and I nod my head briskly, a single tear falling and rolling down my cheek. "Yes."

"Good. You're going to call this new boyfriend of yours, okay? And you're going to tell him that it's over between the two of you. And then you're going to pack your stuff and come with me, where you will wait for Charlie to get bail. And you will tell no one else, got that?"

I feel more and more sick with every word he says as I realize I will have no real choice in this. "And what if I don't?"

"Ha. Well... You will find out that part if you don't." He releases his grip on my face and I stumble forward, grabbing the arm of the sofa as support for my weakened body. "Do it." He orders and hands me my phone off the table next to him.

I take it off him, my hands shaking violently, and I scroll through my contacts until I find Vic's name. My thumb hovers hesitantly over it and I wonder briefly whether I can make a run for it. I look at Rob for a second and see that he is blocking my only possible way out of here that would mean him not catching me.

"Call. Him. Now." He growls at me and I press call on Vic's contact through my fear. "Put it on speaker."

I do as he says and try to calm myself down as I hear his mobile start to ring. I pray silently for him to not pick up, but I am let down when he answers after the first few rings.

"Hey, Rose. What's up?"

My heart breaks at how happy he sounds to talk to me, and I don't know whether I can go through with this - it will kill him as well as me. But it will also kill us both if I don't go through with it, so I speak. "Uh, hey, Vic. We... We need to talk." My voice is shaky as hell and I am sure that he will notice the emotion in it.

"Okay, Rose... Are you alright?"

I can't get any words out and I start to cry quietly. Rob nudges me roughly, urging me to carry on. "Yes. I..." I trail off, the lump in my throat making fluent speech very difficult, and I come up with a plan. "Vic...?"

"Yes? Rose, you're scaring me. Can you please tell me what's going on?"

I take a deep, steady breath. I am going to have to do this quickly. "Okay, you have to listen to me, Vic. He's got me, in my apartment. You need to get here now-" I shout and Rob knocks the phone out of my hand quickly, and I can almost see his blood boiling angrily in his veins.
"You stupid bitch! I warned you!" He screams and grabs me by the throat, pinning me up against the wall. I struggle against his strong grasp but my attempts just get weaker and weaker as I feel the life slowly leaving my lungs.

I try and catch my breath, but no air is either entering or exiting my body, and my brain begins to tell me that this is the end - I'm going to die.

And then everything turns black.

Notes

Dun dun duuuuuuunnnnn!!! What do you think has happened? Will Vic make it to Rose's apartment in time to help her? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Also, I thought I would update another now and I might be updating again tomorrow because I know that I won't be able to update for a week or so after that because of christmas and family time etc im sure you understand bc you're all fab.