The Coach's Daughter

Chapter 23

Two days later I was released and my parents took me to my dorm after I told them I didn't want to go to my dads house. I asked Alex to stay with me and he agreed to thankfully. "if you need anything call us" my mom told me as Alex helped me inside "I will" I told them before leaving. He helped me up the stairs because my legs hurt from when I fell. I had bruises on my butt, my hips, my arms,  and my thigh from Bentleys grip. My knees and shins were bruised from the fall. Whenever the door opened. Brooklyn, Mason, David, Jack, and Madison were inside in the living room. They all stared at me as I went to the bathroom after getting new clothes and a towel. I spent over an hour scrubbing my body trying to get the feeling of Bentley off of me. I don't know how long I was in there before I started crying.

Whenever I pulled myself together I threw my clothes at the bottom of the hamper to throw away later. I got dressed in night pants and a long shirt. I slowly made my way into my room and shut the door. I curled up into a ball and cried again. A soft knock was at the door shortly after. "it's me" Alex said "come in" I told him. He slowly made his way in and knelt beside my bed. "you have to eat" he told me "I'm not hungry" I told him "stazie you can't keep missing meals" he told me and pulled out his phone. He ordered my favorite sushi from my job. "just eat a little bit please" he begged "did you tell them?" I asked quietly and turned over to face him. "I'm not going to" he told me "thank you. I don't want them to look at me different" I told him "they wont" he put his phone away "they will. You do" I stated and he took a deep breath "I'm in love with you Anastasia. I should've been there faster. I hate myself. I can't look at you and not see where he hurt you, where I let him hurt you" he started to cry. "you couldn't have stopped him" I said as tears formed in my eyes. "I could have" he looked away "I'm so sorry" he said and buried his face. My hand ran itself through his hair. I don't know why. I've been so distant lately but Im touching him. He was surprised as well and looked up. I cleaned his tears and then I noticed what I was doing "sorry" I told him and pulled away. "it's ok" he told me. A knock was at the door. "who is it?" Alex asked "Brooklyn" she said and a cheerful voice. I fanned my face and told him to let her in. "why's your face red? What's going on in here?" she laughed "wait, are you two" she started "oh gosh" she said "no we're not" Alex told her. "then why-" she started "I don't want to know" she said. "anyway did you guys hear about Bentley getting arrested?" she asked "he raped some girl at a party" she continued "I feel horrible for her" she finished. I froze. When did he get arrested? Alex was silent as well. "where'd you two go anyway?" she asked "Jack told me you guys left town for a few days" she said and i looked at Alex. "we went to see her mom" he said staring at me. "lucky" she laughed "you two are acting really weird right now" she laughed and left the room. "thank you" I quietly told him "I'm not telling anyone I promise" he rested his hand on my mattress as he moved to sit on the floor. "I'm so happy he's gone" he spoke up after a minute "he deserves everything" he mumbled "thank you" I spoke up  confusing him "for what?" he asked and furrowed his eyebrows "everything" I started "helping me, saving me, saying here" I told him and wrapped up in the blankets "you don't have to thank me" he told me "I want to" I replied "well then I'll thank you too" he smiled "why?" I asked "for you just being you" he told me and laid on the ground. "alex" I whispered but he looked at me "don't lay there" I told him "why?" he asked "lay here" I said and sat up. "no, you rest I'll be fine" he smiled "please?" I asked knowing he'd do anything I asked him to. He groaned and stood up and fixed his clothes. "you can shower if you want" I told him "I probably should, shouldn't I?" he asked "I'll go pack a bag. I'll be back in 30 minutes" he told me and I nodded.

Exactly 30 minutes later Alex walked into my room. He held the bag of sushi along with a bag of clothes. "I showered so you cant yell at me for smelling bad" he smiled which made me smile a little bit. He started to sit on the ground but I glared at him. He sat next to me on the bed and we ate. I had less than half of my sushi before I was full. Alex clearly wasn't happy about how much I ate. I laid down tangled in my blanket with him sitting next to me. "do you want to try mine?" he offered "no" I told him. He opened his mouth as If he wanted to say something but he didn't. He left the room and put the food in the fridge threatening everyone so they wouldn't touch it.

He walked back into my room and laid on the bed. I sat next to him occasionally talking but mostly sitting in comfortable silence. I started to get tired after a while so I laid next to him and he tensed up. I could tell he didn't want to do anything I wasn't ok with. "Alex, please relax" I asked "what?" he asked and looked at me "you're nervous and worried I can tell" I started "you're pretty much falling off of the bed. I'm fine with sharing" I told him "but I don't want to-" he started "If I didn't want you here I wouldn't have asked" I told him "I'm comfortable around you. Even after everything, I trust you" I told him "That means so much" he confessed. "Alex?" I asked a few minutes later "hmm?" He replied "who were those girls?" I asked "what?" he looked at me "the ones you were kissing" I spoke up and my heart hurt "they were nobody" he told me "I want to know" I confessed "I didn't have any sex, if that's what you're wondering" he told me "I couldnt stop thinking about you and they threw themselves at me but it wasn't the same" he confessed "I didn't like them" I told him "I know" he smirked "I didn't like those guys you were hanging out with either" I smiled at his words. "were you jealous?" I asked "100%" he told me and I turned over to face him. I looked at his face and his hair. I leaned in and kissed him. He was surprised but he leaned up onto his arm and kissed me back. His hand held my chin softly. Memories flooded back of that night. I pulled away fast and almost hit my head on the wall but he caught me just in time. "I'm sorry" he told me "no it's not you. I can't stop remembering" I looked into his eyes. "whenever he kissed me I pictured you" I told him "but then he-" I chocked on my words "you don't have to explain anything to me" he told me and laid down. "I knew it wasn't you but I was hoping it was. But he started touching me and I knew it wasn't and he just wouldn't stop" I told him. He looked hurt hearing my memory "I hate him" he sighed. I laid my head on his chest and hugged him. "stazie" he started "please just stay with me" I asked "always" he replied.