10 Chapter 10- The Panic

"Tell them to come in." Jennifer responded politely. Adrian and James entered the bedroom, hands in their pockets. They sat at a comfortable distance, very sure not to make Jennifer uncomfortable. Jennifer spoke first. "Thank you Adrian and James. Thank you for saving me." "It's okay. A friend in need is a friend indeed." James said smiling. "Jennifer, you don't need to act strong in front of us. You can cry all you want. We will be there for you." Adrian spoke trying to make eye contact with her. He was the only one who understood the fear behind the strong face put up by her. After all, she was a girl. She was scared. It was night and only about an hour ago that she was close to being raped by her boyfriend. Even now, she was with two boys. Panic was justified. Jennifer was shocked. "How can he understand me so well? We have just spent an evening together…" she thought.

Anyways, she replied "No Adrian. I'm fine. And thank you for the dress. It's pretty." "My pleasure." Adrian said. "Would you like to go for a walk in the fresh air outside? It'll help you feel better." James said. "I would love to but before that can I ask you a question?" Jennifer asked. "Yes." Adrian and James both said in unison. "How did you both know where I was?" James and Adrian exchanged a smile, then James replied "We were in the same club. We came there to spend some time with each other and then Adrian noticed you being pulled into the hallway by Winston. We ran to see if everything was okay and luckily, came to your rescue."

"Now come. Let us go outside." Adrian said as he got off the bed and unlocked the door. James and Jennifer also followed him outside but some voices caught their attention. Jennifer frowned, and they followed the source of voices and it led them to Adrian's mother's room. Adrian and James exchanged a serious look while Jennifer was still clueless. Slowly, Jennifer opened the door and saw Mrs. Rains making out with someone. Jennifer gasped but put her hand over her mouth to stifle the sound at once that came out of her throat. On the other hand, Adrian was suddenly furious. It felt like he was giving off burning heat. He cleared his throat loudly to catch their attention. Mrs. Rains and the man with her went into sudden panic mode and tried to cover their naked bodies with the duvets. "What was happening right now?" Adrian thundered. The man stayed silent but Adrian's mother spoke. "There's a thing called knocking, Adrian." "Don't try to change the topic. Are you cheating on my Dad?" "As you have seen, yeah. So what? What are you going to do now? Going to tell your dad? Go ahead and tell him. I would like to see you try it and make a fool of yourself." The woman smirked. Adrian couldn't take it anymore. He left the room without another word. James caught Jennifer's arm and ran behind him. When they got back in their room, James hugged Adrian tightly. Adrian let out a long sigh.

Jennifer stayed in the corner of the room, trying to process everything that just happened. Her parents loved each other dearly. Although, initially it was an arranged marriage, they both had fell for each other harder than they thought they could. Cheating on each other! They never even thought of hurting each other. They both were really lovebirds. All in all Jennifer's parents were soulmates. So to Jennifer, situations like these were 'not so common.'

Even though she was chilled to the bone marrow, Jennifer took a step and another and another till she was face-to-face with Adrian. He was hugging James. She stood there for a moment, till the time they broke their hug and then she stepped forward and held Adrian's hand. She brought him to the bed and engulfed him in a warm hug. Adrian's eyes left a few tears unconsciously. She kept running small circles on his back, trying to calm him down. She wiped away his tears. To Adrian's, even the slightest touch by Jennifer was enough to snap him out of his misery. When Jennifer hugged him he felt completely at peace. They both were so engrossed in comforting each other that they did not notice James leaving. "Where's James?" Jennifer was the first one to come back to her senses. "He must have left." Adrian said. "Even I should get going now." Jennifer said while rising from the bed to grab her purse.

Adrian held her wrist. "Please don't go, I need you." that was all he could say. Jennifer wanted to refuse as she didn't want to seem like a burden but then Adrian spoke with such genuinity that Jennifer was not able to deny. "But .....Ummm…" She tried to form words. "No buts, it's too late to let an angel like you to go home alone and moreover I might need company. So please stay." Jennifer finally gave in. "Then let me inform my parents".

Jennifer turned out to reach for her phone " Oh my god! I think I left it at the club." "You did." Jennifer turned around to see Adrian holding her phone. "You dropped it when Winston was dragging you. James found it on the way back." Adrian explained.

Jennifer took her phone and turned it on to see multiple texts and missed calls from her parents. "They must be really worried." she thought to herself while dialing her father's number.

Ring….Ring….Ring…

Jennifer's father picked up the phone instantly. "Sweetie where have you been? It's late and you are not home yet." He spoke, panic evident in his voice. "Dad I'm okay . I called to tell you that I will be spending the night at a friend's house" Jennifer replied. "Okay, stay safe." Her father said.

"Dad, can you do me a favor? Please talk to mom for me. I know she'll be really panicked right now and I don't want to be scolded. So can you please give her my apologies for worrying you both". Jennifer joked. "Yeah sure." Her father replied. With that Jennifer's father disconnected the call. Jennifer kept her phone on the beside table.

She settled herself on the couch. "Come here on the bed. We will keep distance". Adrian patted the empty half side of the bed. "No, I will sleep here" Jennifer said. "Don't you trust me. I will never even think of touching you without your consent." Adrian said trying to make Jennifer trust him. His only intention was to make her comfortable for the night. Jennifer was convinced. "If he had some ill intentions, he wouldn't save me from Winston". She thought and then moved to the bed.

As she got comfortable and room was engulfed in silence, she heard her stomach grumble. "Hungry...eh?" Adrian joked. "Yeah, I haven't had dinner." Jennifer tried to explain. In the same moment Adrian's stomach grumbled. Jennifer burst out laughing. "I guess we both could use a mid night snack." Adrian got up from the bed and headed towards the kitchen. Jennifer also got up and made her way to the kitchen. They both grabbed some snacks and come back to the room. They settled on the bed and started eating snacks.

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