I was startled back to reality with Tyler's comforting hand in mine. I held on to it, silently borrowing some of his strength.

"I don't know what happened next exactly. I woke up at Ashley's house the next day... broken and beaten up. Ashley told my parents that I'm having a sleepover at her place. Max was in the hospital, needing a few stitches across his shoulder." I sighed and continued, "Avi was convinced that Max had spiked my drink. If he really did it, there was no way to prove it."

"But Neil, Avi, and Ash saw you. They saw everything that happened! " he spoke for the first time in a while.

"They didn't see everything. Also, who would believe them? They are my best friends, they will always side up with me. And the strangers who did see us that night, for them it looked like we were drinking together, then I asked him to take me to a room and he happily obliged, " I said with a sad smile.

"And I'm sure Max went with that story."

"Yep. Apparently, I was so devastated regarding Paul and Heather, that I got myself drunk out of my mind. Then lured him into a room saying I needed help finding a bathroom. Later, I tried to have sex with him. But he refused because I was drunk, we got into a fight and in a fit of rage, I smashed a bottle on his shoulder." I sighed and looked out the window into the now busy street.

"Bastard," Tyler muttered.

"It's not all bad though. I didn't shut my mouth about it either. I told everyone who asked me about it, the truth. People in our school already hate him so it wasn't difficult to make them see who was the victim in the situation. But still, there are a few who believe in his version."

I was never afraid, to tell the truth to anyone but I was always afraid of the pity people showed me after knowing the truth. I don't want pity, I don't want anyone to handle me with care or alter their behavior towards me because I'm carrying some huge emotional trauma. I mean yes, it was one of the worst nightmares of my life but I'm pretty proud of how I handled myself.

I want to keep the memory as something that will remind me of how strong I am. Not something that will make me feel sorry for myself.

Apart from not wanting to worry or scare my parents, unwanted pity and sympathy were one of the reasons I never told them anything about it. It was also the reason why I was now avoiding to look into Tyler's eyes.

"You are the strongest girl I have ever met, " Tyler suddenly said pulling me out of my thoughts.

I looked at him in surprise, and that's when I saw that his eyes held no sympathy or anything else I feared it might. It was full of awe and wonder. He had a small smile on his face, "I mean I'm not only talking about that night but also about how you have handled yourself so far. Even back in the cafe earlier, you didn't show a sign of fear or get intimidated by him. Because you have no reason to be. You should be proud of yourself. And you already do realize that, which makes me happy. "

Now it was my turn to look at him in wonder. He just said everything I always wanted to hear from someone, and he didn't even realize it. I couldn't help myself when I leaned across my seat and hugged him. "Thank you, " I whispered.

He didn't say anything but just held me tight. A single tear slipped out of my eye which I quickly wiped away.  I finally pulled away from him and laughed, "Oh my God, my donuts are cold now!"

He just stared at me for a second, probably surprised by the sudden change in topic but went along with it anyway. "I'm sure they still taste great, we can come back for some warm ones another day."

"Sure. We should get going, it's already pretty late and I don't want to miss my first class."

"Yes ma'am, " he said and started his jeep, munching on a donut.

I checked my phone and it was on mute again. I had two missed calls from Ashley. She was surely going to lecture me about that again.

I quickly texted her to wait for me at the parking lot and that I'll be there in 10 minutes or so.

When we entered the campus we were met with a lot of curious stares. I mean sure some girls stared at anyone who even stood next to Tyler, so that wasn't a big deal. But I wasn't used to this attention. 

I glanced at Tyler but he seemed unaffected by it all as he pulled into an empty parking space and we walked together towards my car where both of our group of friends were waiting.

"Where were you guys?" Ashley was the first one to speak.

All of them were looking at us with puzzled expressions. Geez was it so weird that Tyler and I came in together? 

Okay, maybe it was.

"We skipped the extra class in the morning to get some breakfast, " I answered.

"You skipped a class? You?" Neil questioned clearly surprised.

I rolled my eyes at him and said, "I did. Besides I was really hungry."

"And extremely grumpy, " Tyler quickly added and I shot him an annoyed look.

"Did you get into a fight?" Jace asked Tyler in confusion.

"How did you know?" Tyler questioned.

"Your nose is slightly more crooked than usual." Ryan grinned.

"It was Max, " Tyler simply said and all the boys nodded. Everything was suddenly clear to them.

"Are you okay?" Avi looked at me with concern.

"Yeah, perfect." I smiled.

Just then Sam walked over to us and asked Neil to come along with her to help her with something. As soon as they were out of earshot, Avi began to tell us about the plans for tomorrow.

"Ash, V, and I are going down to the beach house early tomorrow morning to clean the place and get it up to date." He motioned towards Tyler and the other guys, "You guys could join us in the morning or later in the evening it's your choice. I'll send you the address later. Sam will get Neil over later in the evening and it will be a surprise. "

"Sounds cool, anything you want our help with?" Ryan asked.

"No nothing yet. I'll let you know if there is something, " Avi answered.

"This is going to be one hell of a weekend, I can already tell, " Ash practically squealed with excitement slightly jumping up and down like a kid on a Christmas morning. We laughed at her, all of us equally excited.

***

A/n - Thoughts?

          Are you as excited as I am for this little getaway?