A sense of relief flooded my whole body and I just wanted to sit down. My body gave way and suddenly I was on the cold, concrete pavement. Something sharp was jabbing at my ankle but I didn't care. I needed to sit down.
"Hey!" He came closer and leaned down. My hair had come undone and now shielded my face from view. Even though I had seen him, the shadow of the next building shaded me. Did he know who I was? "Are you alright?" I could see through my veil of hair that he wanted to reach out to me and make sure that I was okay, but he hesitated. I wanted him to do it, I wanted him to tell me that everything was okay. A tear rolled down my cheek as I let the reality of the situation sink in. Whimpers from the fallen Jesse echoed in the silence of the alleyway. I turned my head at an angle to see his crumpled silhouette. He was cursing now, muttering insane accusations at Kaiba.
Kaiba looked over at him and then at me. "Hey, don't worry, he's not going to hurt you. But I need to know, are you hurt? Do you need me to call you an ambulance?" His voice was soothing and a rush of something familiar ran through my body and I welcomed the peace.
"Kaiba." I finally said. Even through my tears I knew I was smiling. It was an insane reaction I knew, but that's just how he made me feel. I stared at the pavement, shards of glass from broken beer bottles twinkling as bits of street lights from nearby hit them.
"Yes, I'm Kaiba, but wait… how do you know my name?" When I didn't answer, Kaiba mustered up the courage to push my hair back. As he did that, I brought my face up to finally look at him. I saw the initial shock in his eyes turn to a feeling of warmth as he looked at me.
"Serenity!" He exclaimed. More tears emerged out of my eyes when he spoke my name. How long had it been since I heard him say it? High school, I think. "What are you doing here?!" He demanded to know. This time, he didn't hesitate to touch me. He put his hands on my shoulders and slightly shook me.
"I came out with a couple of coworkers, the man you just beat up? He's my boss." We both turned to look at Jesse who was now staring daggers at us.
"Hey! You! Who the hell do you think you are coming at me like that? Son of a bitch, you're going to pay for that!" Jesse yelled. He had regained his posture and was now standing tall in the shadows. Fear began to overwhelm me and thoughts of him hurting Kaiba and me ran through my mind. Jesse was no joke. He had quite the record. He started off as an intermediate cop in Detroit before joining the army. He rose in ranks quickly but was called back to the U.S. and was given a job as an FBI agent. After that, he had started studying Law at the age of 25 and after passing his bar exams in New York, he got a job as an assistant attorney like me at NYC's best private law firm, Brown and Ledger. When the head attorney retired, the post went to Jesse. Long story short, messing with Jesse was bad news. I guess Jesse went down so easily because he was intoxicated and Kaiba must have crept up on him.
Even in the dim light I saw Kaiba's face go blank. His shoulders stiffened and he forced me to stand up with him. He then stood in front of me like a protective barrier and looked Jesse in the eye. "I don't need a formal introduction from you to know who you are. You're a coward and a low life piece of filth that has no place in a civilized society." His voice had somehow changed and his words rung out in the alley, proud and dominant.
"What the hell did you say?" Jesse came at him and I yelled. I froze as Kaiba brought up his hands and stopped Jesse's attack mid way. I had to do something to stop this. Jesse looked shocked and I could tell he was evaluating Kaiba. Kaiba looked back at him with equal severity. It was like two tigers waiting to pounce on each other. But Jesse surprised me. He took a step back and Kaiba let go of fist he had stopped.
Jesse gave him a wicked smile and simply said, "It is good to know that men like you exist. I am sure I will have a good time toying with you."
"You are wrong to assume that you have what it takes to go toe to toe with me." Kaiba said.
"Oh is it? But you know nothing about me. That little description you just gave? You're not even close to knowing who I am or my extent of power." Jesse bragged. He adjusted his suit jacket and pulled out a cigar from the inside pocket. The lighter he used momentarily lit up his face and I saw a bruise starting to form where Kaiba had punched him.
"It doesn't matter to me who you are. You do not get to hurt Serenity and get away with it." Kaiba curled his fingers into a fist and I was scared he might hit Jesse and the whole altercation would become worse than it already was.
"Why does it matter to you what I do with Serenity? We were having quite a pleasant time until you came along." He looked at me and I shied away behind Kaiba. Kaiba noticed the slight movement and gave me a look from the corner of his eye and reached out to hold my hand. He gave it a soft squeeze and that was all the reassurement I needed.
"I'm sure Serenity will say otherwise. Scram before I call the cops." Kaiba said.
"Serenity." Jesse said and I peeked at him from behind Kaiba and was appalled by the smile he gave me. It was sinister and disgusting and I just wanted to get away from Jesse. "I'll be seeing you again and hopefully next time, there won't be any interruptions." Jesse took another puff of his cigar and gave me and Kaiba one last look before turning around and walking back into the bar.
Kaiba didn't go after him and I stared at the closed door. What had this night come to? My head was feeling heavy and a buzzing feeling resonated through my body. I needed to get my purse from inside and head home.
"Serenity…" Kaiba had started to say but I cut him off. I couldn't talk right now, not about any of this. Not about what happened, not about seeing him.
"I'm going inside to grab my stuff." I stumbled towards the door and almost tripped over a bottle but his strong arms caught me in time. He brought me up to a standing position and I looked at my savior.
"I'm coming in with you. That creep might still be inside." Kaiba wanted to protect me and as much as I loved the gesture, I was a big girl now, I would protect myself.
"It's okay. You've already done enough, thank you." I said.
"Serenity." He grabbed my hand in his and swung the door open and club music spilled out as he dragged me along. I struggled along with him, reluctant. I found a passed out Shanaya and Ethan at the bar but no sign of Jesse. The others would be able to get home just fine. I grabbed my jacket and my purse and together, Kaiba and I walked out of the club.
"Thanks." I said once we finally got outside. My head was ready to burst and I yearned for my bed. "I can get a cab from here." I looked left and right. It was weird. It was a Friday night in NYC and I was in front of a club, there should have been at least one taxi. A car pulled up to us and I waited for it to move.
"Come on, I'm taking you home." Kaiba said.
"No thank you. I can get a cab from here. I've troubled you enough." I was very grateful to Kaiba for what he did but my sense of pride didn't want me to take any more favors from him.
"Serenity, stop being so stubborn. Get in the car!" He said and opened the door to his limousine. I stood my ground and looked down the oddly empty road, hoping a cab would show. I could feel Kaiba glaring at me and what he did next surprised me. He pushed me into the car and quickly climbed in after me. I sat there awkwardly splayed out in my dress.
"Hey! What the hell Kaiba!" I yelled at him. I turned around to look at him just as the door shut and he turned to look at me.
"You were being stubborn as usual, so I had to use force." He shrugged.
"This is kidnapping!" I said, straightening up, trying to preserve whatever dignity I had left.
"I guess it is. Where do you live?" He asked. I ignored him and looked out the window at the city passing by. The windows were tinted and not much light showed through.
"I asked you a question." He said, the irritation in his voice growing.
"367 Bellmount Towers." I said. I had no energy left in me to argue with Kaiba. We rode on in silence and soon my eyes got heavy and I drifted to sleep.
When I woke up, my headache was gone and my body seemed so much more relaxed. I kept my eyes shut as the memories flooded back. What time was it? Where was I? I didn't feel like opening my eyes. Maybe I'll just go back to sleep. That's when something felt weird. I was laying on something. Kaiba's car couldn't have soft cushions like this could it? My eyes flew open as I bolted upright, looking around.I was in my room! I scurried out of it and looked around wondering how I got there? Was I that drunk that I didn't remember how I had gotten to my room?
I was still wearing the dress from the night before and I looked down to see my heels were lying on the floor next to my bed. How did I get here? Where was Kaiba? Had he come in and I forgot?
I was thinking about this too much and I shook my head. My eyes fell on the alarm clock on the side table. It was well past nine! I was late for my yoga class! I stripped quickly and rushed into the bathroom and took a quick shower. The warm water caressed my body and I scrubbed down hard, trying to wash away any filth and memory from the night before. Any normal girl would have been traumatized, but I was well past that. Whatever happened, happened, and I would face it all straight on. I brushed, put some light make up on, got dressed and grabbed my gym back before heading out into the living room. I stopped in my tracks as I saw who was lying on my sofa, lightly snoring.
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the story so far. More chapters will follow based on the reviews I get. Once again, thanks for reading.