from Pain to Pleasure (Gainesville Book 1) (28 page)

* * *

When they arrived at the campus, after the three-hour journey, it was almost 9:00 Sunday morning. Nathan pulled everyone’s bags out of the trunk while Carol parked their rental in the next spot. “Alex, what room you in?”

“218,” Alex whispered and lifted Danielle out of the car.

Nathan looked at the pile of backpacks and duffel bags. Then he grumbled to himself, “Great, had to be the second floor, huh?” He put on a backpack and threw two straps over his shoulder before Carol grabbed the other two.

“We can help, you know.” Carol looked at him with bags under her eyes. She was exhausted. One bag in each hand, she headed for the dorm building.

Sara put a hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “You did good today. Relax.”

Nathan gave her a half-smile. “Thanks.” He glanced at Alex, who climbed the few steps to the front door. “He really grew up these last few months. Didn’t he?”

“Yep.” Sara watched Alex carefully open the door. “If anyone told me last month Alex would fall in love, I would’ve laughed. She’s his whole world now.”

Alex lay Danielle on his bed and cocooned her in the blanket. His phone had gone off twice while he carried her. He pulled it out and saw Marie’s picture. Quickly, he called her back.

“Oh my God, Alex. What fucking happened?” Marie was frantic. “I just saw your mom, and she was crying. Your sister told me Brian was here, and Danielle was in the hospital. Why the hell didn’t you call me?”

Alex pulled the phone away from his ear as she went on about how worried she was when he didn’t come to the party. “Marie, chill out,” he said, a bit louder than he expected. He waited for her to be quiet, and then continued, “Brian broke into our room.”

Nathan stopped at the door when he heard Alex’s voice. He nodded to Carol and Sara, who also stayed in the hallway.

Alex glanced at Danielle and took a deep breath, glad Brian didn’t have her too long. “He beat her and tried to kill her.” His anger built again. “The dickhead threatened to kill the baby, too. She’s OK, though, for the most part.” He noticed the crowd at the door and waved them in.

Marie let out the breath she held in. “You stopped him, I’m guessing.”

“Yeah, and then security hit him with Tasers.” Alex grinned, when he remembered Brian’s screams. “They arrested him, finally.”

Logan woke up to the noise. “Who’s on the phone?”

“Alex.” Marie covered the mouthpiece. “Brian came back and tried to kill Danielle.”

Eyes open wide, Logan sat up fast. He grabbed the phone. “Do you need me? Anything I can do?”

With a sigh, Alex replied, “Just come back to school. She’s in bed now. The fucking asshole was gonna rape her again, man.” He struggled to keep his emotions in check, but he was always able to open up around Logan. “He tried to kill my Danielle. I want to kill him.”

“OK, calm down.” Logan kept his voice even. “Where is he?”

“Jail.”

Logan let out a long breath. “That’s good. What’d you do to him?” He expected to hear his best friend was about to be arrested for attempted murder.

“Not what I wanted.” Alex seethed within. “I broke his hand and his nose, maybe a rib or two.” He glanced at Danielle, who was sound asleep. “When you see her, it’s gonna shock you.”

Nathan put a hand on his shoulder when his brother put the phone down. “You gotta stop thinking about it.” He looked at Carol, who moved closer to Danielle. “We need to take a walk. Come on.” He forced Alex into the hallway. “She’ll be fine. You, on the other hand, need to blow off some steam.” They went out of the room.

Danielle awoke with a groan. Then she realized she was in bed. “Alex…”

“He’ll be right back.” Carol sat on the bed. “Nathan took him outside.” She brushed Danielle’s hair from her face. “Knowing my husband, they’re going for a run.”

Sara sat on the other side of the bed. “Can I get you anything?”

Danielle’s eyes closed, and she mumbled, “A drink, please.”

Carol looked around the room. “I heard Alex talking about a refrigerator.” She double-checked the far wall, and then saw it. It was used as a TV stand. “There.” She pointed it out. “He should have something for her in it.”

* * *

Nathan and Alex ran, just as Carol thought. Alex pushed himself, which meant Nathan was near his breaking point. He didn’t run every day like his younger brother did.

“God…” Nathan gasped for air. “Need… Break… Please…” He panted heavily, desperate to ease the pain in his limbs. When Alex finally slowed, Nathan collapsed to the ground. “Damn, you got fast.”

Alex laughed as his brother whined. “You’re just slow…” He paused as he watched Nathan struggle. “…and old.”

With a scowl, Nathan swatted at Alex’s leg. “Fuck you!” He was glad the run had gotten his mind off the past few hours. “If I played football, I’d be as fast as you.”

“Hell no, you wouldn’t.” Alex jogged in place, still full of energy. “Get up. Let’s go, old man.” His mind was clear for the first time in several days. Working out usually helped him. “Come on. I can’t be gone too long.”

* * *

When Alex arrived at the door to his room, he glanced down the hall. His big brother panted and slowly followed him. With a huge smile, he turned the knob. Then reality hit again. The cuts and bruises on Danielle’s face reminded him how bad their night had been.

Immediately he lay next to her and caressed her cheek gently. With a hand in her hair, he softly kissed her lips. “I love you, babe.” He looked up at Carol and whispered, “Did she sleep the whole time?”

“Basically.” Carol looked to Sara. “I had to give her more pain pills. She said the aches are pretty bad.”

Sara quickly added, “She’ll heal fast, Alex. Don’t worry.” She knew her baby brother would smother her until she was well again.

“Maybe we should get going.” Carol stood. “You guys don’t need us around anymore.”

Nathan walked in and held onto the door. “I… need… a… nap… Shit!” He gulped air and didn’t continue until he could keep his voice steady. “You girls drive. I’m sleeping in the back seat.”

Alex got up and hugged them all. When he held his brother, he gripped him tightly. “Thanks for being here for me. I couldn’t have gotten through it without you.”

Sara put her arms around them both. “Call us if you need anything.” She kissed Alex on the cheek. “Give me an update on her later.” She worried her little brother would be lost alone with what had happened. “When’s your roommate coming home?”

“They’re on their way.” Alex took a deep breath as he stepped back from everyone. “I’m glad you all came back with us. If she wasn’t asleep, I’d show you around or something.”

Carol put a hand on his back. “We understand.” She smiled when he turned to her. “Next time, it’ll be under better circumstances.”

As soon as they were gone, Alex sighed. Unable to leave her alone, he stripped off his sweat-soaked clothes, rubbed his body down with a dry towel and crawled under the blanket with her. He was exhausted, mind and body. After he carefully wrapped his arms and legs around her, he finally let himself relax. She was safe and his. All his.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” Alex asked as he stood behind Danielle.

She looked into the dresser mirror at him. “Yeah. I feel a lot better.”

“But it’s only been a week.” Alex slid his hands over her abdomen. “Hell, it’s not even a week yet.”

Neither of them had been to class that week because Dr. White recommended bed rest for the baby’s sake. Alex took that to mean he was to trap her in her room unless she had to use the toilet. Even then, he stood outside the stall. She was so sick of the smothering, she called Carol, who told him to back off. That had been Wednesday.

It was Friday night, and Dave wanted to host an end of the season party. It was tradition, even though they would still play Alabama in the SEC Championship game the next day. Danielle just wanted to get out.

“I’ll sit on the couch the whole time, if it’ll make you feel better.” She stared at her image. Her face healed quickly. Thankfully, Brian had done more damage to her body than her face.

Alex pulled her hair back and winced. The dark purple ring around her neck had faded to yellow and brown, but it was obvious. “You sure you wanna face the questions?” No one but Marie, Logan and Gary had seen what Brian had done to her. Only Alex had seen what wounds lay under her clothes, most of which were almost healed as well. “Not everyone knows what really happened.”

That was true, but only the hermits on campus had not heard how Danielle was taken away in an ambulance during the party that night. Rumors spread like wildfire that Alex attacked her. Most of the students knew of his MMA past and the death that happened at his hands. He didn’t acknowledge them, but the whispers were annoying.

“I won’t go, either,” he insisted. “We’ll watch a movie.”

She frowned and put her hands on her hips. “I’m tired of being cooped up. I wanna go. I’ll wear a scarf, if it’ll make you feel better.”

He sighed with defeat. “Fine, but if you get tired, we’re going home. Got it?”

“Yep!” She excitedly searched her top drawer for a scarf that matched her outfit. She wrapped a white one with a red rose print around her neck. “Let’s go.” She grabbed Alex’s hand and gently pulled him to the door.

Alex lifted her hand and kissed it while they walked down the hallway. It was the first time they went anywhere without her fear that Brian could discover them. It felt good to be completely open about their relationship. He pulled her closer, and then draped an arm around her shoulders.

She felt secure even though Brian was out on bail. He was home in Fort Lauderdale, and she had a restraining order against him. He knew if he broke it, things would be much worse. With an ankle monitor, she was sure he wouldn’t leave Broward County.

On the other hand, Alex did
not
trust him for a second. Brian might no longer have a right to Danielle, but he was not about to give up, either. Alex had extra security on campus since the restraining order was issued. His parents paid for it. He also didn’t leave her alone for more than a few minutes. The guard posted in the hallway of their dorm was his doing as well.

Once in the car, Danielle smiled. She was relieved they could act like any other couple. When Alex sat down next to her and patted her hand, she looked at him. “It’s really over. Isn’t it?”

“He can’t get away with it, babe,” Alex assured her. “He got caught this time. There’s witnesses.” He started the car. “The detective said he would testify to what he saw, too.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. A police witness would add to the testimony of the security guards who came to her rescue. She said, “I hope he gets stabbed in prison or something.”

Alex’s mouth dropped. She never spoke like that, even about Brian. Maybe the end of the terror made her relive the last few years. “Babe, don’t think about it. Please.”

“OK.”

She had rehashed the past in a deposition and tried to count how many times Brian had raped her for the District Attorney. They also wanted her medical records, since she had to seek a doctor when he tore her vaginal wall several times. The memories made her angrier with him and fueled many nightmares that week. Thankfully, Alex was always there to ease her mind.

“Babe.” Alex lifted her hand when she shuddered. “It’ll be over soon.”

He hoped she could handle the stress of the trial, which was on the fast track since his mom had put her two cents in. She also encouraged several women’s groups to protest Brian getting bail. They did not use Danielle’s name; they only said she was a college student and abused for many years by the man. Anyone who knew Brian knew who his victim was.

By the time they arrived at Dave’s house, they had both let it go. With a smile, Alex led her up to the house, her hand in his again. Never again would he have to hide his love for her.

“What’s up, my man?” Gary greeted Alex at the door. He gave a light fist-bump. “Nice to see you two out and about.” He leaned toward Alex. “Got it covered. I’ll text if anyone spots him.”

Alex could not leave anything to chance. “Thanks. You’re the best.”

“See you later.” Danielle waved at Gary.

Gary watched her ass sway as she walked away and whispered, “Damn, fine ass.” He wondered if she liked black men and if Alex still shared. He said to himself out loud, “Bet she has some prime pussy, too.”

Oblivious to the comments, Alex closed the front door behind them. He kept an arm around Danielle’s shoulders, so she stayed close. Several girls stared as they passed. They saw the marks on her face. They had only been there fifteen minutes before the first accusation flew.

“You beat the shit out of her, then flaunt it at a party?” a young woman neither had met before shouted at Alex. “You need to drop his ass now, girl!”

Danielle was about to reply, but then Alex shook his head and pulled her away.

“Hey!” another girl called to him. “We’re not gonna let you do it to her again!”

Alex looked around. People started to stare. They all assumed he did it. There had been something on the college message boards that Danielle’s boyfriend roughed her up. It was not common knowledge she was technically with two men at that time.

A woman said, “You should be in jail, shouldn’t you?”

Dave saw the commotion from outside. He watched Alex pull Danielle close as others crowded them. “What the fuck’s going on?” he growled loudly. “Leave them the fuck alone.”

“Did you hear what he did to her?” a young man nearby said to Dave. He pulled Danielle’s scarf loose. “He
did
try to kill her.”

Someone tried to yank Danielle out of his arms. “Hey. Careful with her!” He didn’t want to announce she was pregnant, too. “You’re gonna hurt her.” He held onto to her tightly.

“He didn’t hurt me,” Danielle defended him to the crowd. “Someone else did.”

A shout from across the room, “They said your boyfriend did it. Alex isn’t your boyfriend?”

She wasn’t sure what to say. She looked up at Alex, but he looked confused also.

“You broke them up. Didn’t you?” Alex recognized Sherri when she spoke. He had screwed her at a party, right under her drunken boyfriend’s nose. He woke up just as Alex pulled out of her and tossed the condom. “Just like you ruined my relationship with Antonio.” She claimed to be drunk at the time, but Alex knew otherwise.