Twenty-five

Blake wears what appears to be a police uniform; a bulletproof vest with a black T-shirt and a weapon belt. He keeps his gun pointed at Alex while men, who are dressed like him, rush in from the doorway. A couple of them slam the joining room door open and begin shouting. Two other men handcuff Alex and guide her out the door.
My head still aches as my vision blurs off and on. I exhale a relief while resting my head against the railing. I'm just glad that I can go home now.
Blake walks up to me while sliding his gun into his belt. His eyes watch me with concern as he unlocks the handcuff.
My eyelids weigh down forcefully. I swallow hard, trying to push the dizziness away. My head is fuzzy, causing me to feel like I've been struck by hammer. It's painful. I also feel super peculiar, like I'm floating in air.
Blake grabs each side of my face. "Hey," He snaps. "stay with me."
He quickly lifts me off the bed from under my knees and arms. I hang my head back as my eyes close.
He carries me outside. I can feel the air against my bare skin. It's freezing.
"How is she?" A familiar voice panics.
I open my eyes as Blake stops to meet the man.
Dean's eyes glance down at mine. He's breathless with anxiety. "My God." He mutters while examining me.
"She's going to be alright." He assures while laying me down on a stretcher that the paramedics brought. "You helped us a lot today. You saved her life." He nods his head at Dean.
Dean saved me?
"We saved her." Dean places his hand on Blake's shoulder.
The stretcher begins to move back towards the ambulance. I close my eyes.
I'm going to live.
* * *
The first sound I hear is the heart monitor beeping steadily. I open my eyes to recognize that I'm in the emergency room.
My eyes draw down to my ugly hospital gown from under this blanket. My arm is beside me with an IV needle taped to my wrist.
"Hey." Dean's voice startles me.
I turn my head left to see him in a chair, his elbows resting on his knees while his joined fists rest under his chin. He sits up with a grin. "How are you feeling?"
I suck in my lips. "Like I've been drugged and betrayed by my best friend." I chuckle softly and sigh.
He turns his head away. "I'm sorry." His voice mutters.
I frown. "Don't be sorry for anything." I push myself up so that I sit. "You didn't do anything wrong."
His eyes meet mine. "I just feel like I could've stopped it."
"No, Dean. You didn't have any idea about this. No one did." I explain softly.
"Actually," He inhales. "I saw them take you."
I swallow hard, hoping for a good reason. "What?" Please don't tell me he's betrayed me too.
"I was in the parking lot. I planned on talking to you, until they snatched you. I ran to stop them, but they sped off." He shakes his head at the ground. "I failed."
My shoulders slouch with relief. I sigh. "Just because you didn't get there in time, doesn't mean you failed. I'm alive, Dean." I pause to see him grin.
"I'm grateful that you are." He declares gently, his expression warm and full of relief.
I think about what Blake said to him earlier, about how he saved me.
"Blake said you saved me. . .how?" I tilt my head at him.
"It wasn't just me." He admits while leaning back in his chair. "After they took you, I immediately got in my car and followed them. Unfortunately, I had lost them. I was frustrated, but lucky enough to memorize the license plate. That's when Blake called." He explains and pauses. "Except, I didn't know it was him. It was from an unknown number. I thought maybe it was the men who took you, so I answered it. Blake asked if I had seen you at all. He said that you two were on the phone when you screamed suddenly. He was worried." He sighed. "So I gave him everything I knew, including the license plate. Then we-"
"We got in my car to follow you." Blake steps in the room from the blue curtain. He folds his arms. He still wears his police uniform, it has FBI on his sleeve. "I tracked down the license number to where you were at until we found you."
I bite my lip. "You. . .you're a cop?" My head tilts at him.
He stares down at the ground and nods his head. "FBI." He corrects.
My eyebrows press together. "I don't understand. How?" I huff. "You went to school with me."
"I actually never went there." He admits. "I was undercover." He steps forward and adds, "I was trying to catch the person selling the drugs, which happened to be Alex."
I sigh at the sound of her name. My throat begins to dry out. She tried to kill me, when all this time, I thought we were friends.
Dean gets a sudden phone call. He glances at the screen, then at me with a nod. "I'll be back." He exits the room.
"So," I exhale while watching Blake walk towards me with his hands in his pocket. "you're a cop." I shake my head while trying to process the given information. This can't be real. Any of this.
"FBI agent, but sure." He shrugs.
"You never were a student. You never were in my class." I stop. "Is Blake even your real name?"
His lips press into a hard line. "No. . .it's Aaron."
I sigh with my eyes closed. I'm trying to convince myself that he had to lie in order to keep his cover, but I still feel ridiculous. Both of my friends were not who I thought they were. Is Dean even a professor? What's next?
"How old are you?" I test.
He claimed that he was a sophmore. Let's see if he is even that age.
"Twenty-four." He replies and sits down where Dean was.
I exhale. "Of course. I just don't understand. You took me to an under-aged party when we met." I shake my head.
He chuckles. "I was trying to bust the drug dealer. I thought if I brought you, you could loosen up a little." He shrugs before his expression falls.
I know what he's thinking about. He's reminded of when those boys almost took advantage of me. It's obvious he still feels guilty about it.
"Bla-Aaron," I pause.
Man, I really need to get used to that.
"I'm glad for every moment we spent together." I smile. "You've been an amazing friend, and there's nothing I would change. Plus, you helped save me tonight. Thank you."
He grins at his lap. "I'm glad we had the chance to meet. You're a pretty rad person." His eyes meet mine.
I smile.
Dean opens the curtain gently and allows himself in. He grins at me while sliding his phone in his pocket. "Sorry, that was work." He stops at the edge of the bed with his lips in a hard line.
Blake rises from his seat while uttering, "I'll leave you two alone." He pushes the curtain slightly so that he can leave.
"I talked to your doctor." He steps closer. "He said you're free to go." His hands grip the bed railing by my feet.
I smile. "I'm so glad to hear that." My character softens as my gaze draws down to my lap.
I'm afraid to go back there. Last time I was at that college, I was kidnapped and drugged. There's no way I can sleep tonight, not while I'm there.
"You don't look glad." Dean tilts his head.
I swallow hard. "It's just. . ." I begin. "I'm scared to go back. . .back to my own crime scene." My fingers massage my face.
Dean walks over to the counter and fetches a stack of clothing. He sets them down on my lap.
I observe it for a moment quizzically. It's a pink, floral shirt with a white skirt. A pair of white wedges lay on top of the folded stack.
"I got you clothes while you were out." Dean answers my unspoken question. "Apparently, yours were left at the motel."
I glance up at him.
"Come home with me." He lowers his gaze to mine, his fingertips lifting my chin up.
I jerk my gaze away. "Dean." I huff. "I don't deserve this. I don't deserve. . .you."
He sighs while crouching down beside me. "You deserve the world. Don't feel like you're some bad person. You're truly amazing, which is why I'd feel better knowing that your safe with me." His hands grab mine.
"Don't you remember what I told you?" I whisper sympathetically.
Last time that I saw him, I told him that I don't love him. I know that it left a mark on him. It's awful.
He nods his head with pain in his eyes. "Yes. And as awful as it was, I'm not willing to let you go. Not yet."
"Dean," I whisper at my lap painfully.
"Listen, I'm not asking you to have sex, I just want to be sure you're safe with me. . .just for tonight." He persuades.
I sigh slowly while watching him. "Thank you, but I can't." I pause. "And. . .I'm sorry."
He tilts his head.
"I'm sorry for how I left things between us. You didn't deserve that. Truth is. . .I don't know if I love you or not. I don't know if I should be feeling something or not already. These things are new to me and I just don't know how to deal with them." I explain gently.
He nods. "I understand. It's okay to not know the answer to everything. You don't have to know what you feel. Just let what you feel tell you, otherwise, don't overthink it." His lips kiss the back of my hand. "As much as I want to be with you, I want you to be happy."
I grin. "I want the same for you, Dean. I'm just afraid that I won't be able to give you what you want." My eyes draw back to our laced hands. "For now, just give me time to process all of this. Maybe I'll know by then. Until then," I remove my hands from his. "we're friends."
He slowly nods his head while exhaling. "Got it. Just friends."
* * *
"Rosie!" Julie sprints toward me frantically when I enter our dorm. She wraps her arms around me tightly. "I was so worried."
There's a knot in my throat now. Julie was the only friend that really stuck around without bringing me down. She never betrayed me. She's been my best friend all along.
I begin to cry while holding her. The tears just keep falling uncontrollably.
"What happened? I heard you got kidnapped." She releases me so our eyes meet. She then gasps at my vurnable expression. "What's wrong?"
"I'm just glad to see you." I choke out.