Author's Note: Thanks for reading; enjoy the new chapter :)
The only thing Ainsley hated about her apartment was the building buzzer.
She didn't mind that she was on the thirteenth floor; there were two elevators plus a freight to make up for it. It didn't bother her that two of her neighbors were absolute dude-bros who had been hitting on her for the past four years; the fourth neighbor Jen was always up for an evening of mocking the guys at either end of the hall. She couldn't even be upset about her gargoyle of a landlady; the elderly Mrs. Freedmont, after all, never failed to take her side when Ainsley complained about the couple upstairs. Everyone knew Kevin and Lisa Johannes and what a couple of psychos they were. At least they weren't on Ainsley's floor.
That buzzer though...it was enough to cause a jump scare from even the most devoted of horror fans (which Ainsley most assuredly was not.) So when that freaking buzzer went off half a dozen times in rapid succession, it was no surprise she panicked in a way that had her falling out of bed and crashing to the ground.
After orienting herself to what was happening and where she was, Ainsley reached up to grab her glasses and her phone from her nightstand. Seeing the time, she clenched her teeth in anger. 1.47am.
"If someone isn't either dead or dying, they're about to be…" she muttered. Ainsley fought her way out of the mess that was her bed sheets and marched through her apartment - not bothering to put on any pants. They were hardly a concern when her REM sleep had just been so violently interrupted.
Aggressively pressing the button on the intercom, she growled. "What?"
"Annie? It's Jocelyn…" Ainsley froze at the sound of her friends quavering voice. Was she crying?
"Joc - what's going on? Hold on, I'll buzz you up."
As Ainsley waited for Jocelyn to make her way up what suddenly seemed like an infinite number of floors to her apartment, her mind started to wander. She had watched Jocelyn give an amazing, albeit a bit handsy interview on Adam Cain's show. She had seemed fine then - elated even. Had something happened after the show? Ainsley remembered that Cain was going to take Jocelyn to dinner. Maybe he was mean to her? Maybe he didn't like her book at all and took the chance to let Jocelyn know. Dick.
Ainsley prepped herself to listen to Jocelyn smack talk the famous talk show host when she heard frantic knocking at her door.
She pulled open the front door and immediately stepped aside when Jocelyn pushed her way through. Ainsley stumbled, taken aback by the sudden movement. She moved to close the door behind her friend and turned to face her. "Joc Sweetie, what's going -"
Ainsley froze. She felt her eyes grow wide and her stomach drop. Aside from Jocelyn's red eyes and lightly torn clothing, there was a thick, dark red mark wrapping its way around her otherwise pale neck. Ainsley glanced at the floor by her front closet where a belt from one of her jackets had fallen; it was very nearly the same width. She turned her gaze back to Jocelyn and tried to slow her breathing.
"Joc. What - what happened?" Ainsley moved toward her friend who was now looking at the floor, confusion etched on her face. "Come on, let's sit," she urged softly.
Jocelyn nodded and allowed Ainsley to lead them both to the sofa where Ainsley sat across from her on the coffee table.
"Joc," Ainsley started again. She didn't want to push Jocelyn; she looked on the edge of shock if she wasn't there already.
"He - uhh, he wouldn't stop," Jocelyn whispered, finally looking up and meeting Ainsley's eyes. Ainsley nodded and squeezed Jocelyn's hand.
"Okay...yeah, okay. Who wouldn't stop?" Ainsley had a pretty good idea about whom Jocelyn was speaking. She was, after all wearing the same outfit she had worn for her interview. But she needed to say the name.
"He - God, Annie...I was so scared. He kept pulling it tighter and tighter. It hurt so bad."
Ainsley saw the tears forming in Jocelyn's eyes and nodded. "Okay, you're okay here with me," she assured her. "But Joc Sweetie, I need you to tell me who did this. Can you tell me who he was?"
Both women were quiet as Jocelyn tried to hold herself together. Finally, Jocelyn lightly shook her head and sighed. "Adam Cain...God he was so nice at dinner - and funny and charming and…" She cut off and Ainsley pulled Jocelyn in for a hug.
"Come on," she murmured. "I'll drive you to the hospital -"
Jocelyn pushed away from Ainsley and looked genuinely confused. "What? Why?"
Ainsley furrowed her brow and bit her lip. "You're hurt," she replied, looking again at the marks on Jocelyn's neck. "I mean, that could be really serious. We need to get that checked out."
Jocelyn only continued looking confused. "What?"
"You've seen your neck right?"
She put one hand to her neck and winced before rising to her feet and making her way toward the entryway mirror a few feet away. Ainsley shook her head. How had Jocelyn not noticed…
What the fuck?
Ainsley's gaze went to the dark red splotch that had appeared on her sofa. Glancing over her shoulder toward her friend, she felt bile rising up through her throat and into her mouth. There was a similar red splotch on the back of Jocelyn's skirt. Ainsley forced the sick back down with a grimace and quickly moved to cover the spot on the couch with a pillow. She didn't want Jocelyn seeing the bit of blood left behind after standing up.
While Jocelyn fixated on her neck wounds, Ainsley found a longer jacket in her front closet and draped it around her friend, wanting to cover the back of the skirt. Jocelyn jumped forward, caught off guard by the sudden contact.
"Sorry!" Ainsley stepped back as Jocelyn shrugged the coat on and shook her head.
"No, I'm sorry; I'm fine." Ainsley hesitated before opening the front door and guiding Jocelyn out into the hallway as quietly as possible. This was going to be a hell of a night, and Ainsley didn't need anyone hearing them and coming out to investigate. Investigate...she would call Olivia when they got to the hospital. Ainsley had no clue if Jocelyn even wanted the police involved, but she could decide that later. For now, all Ainsley knew was that her friend had been hurt, and even though Jocelyn wouldn't admit it...Ainsley knew it was her own fault.
As the pair sat in made it to the street and waited for a cab, it took Ainsley every ounce of willpower she had not to completely lose her mind to panic. Ainsley's guilt didn't matter...if Jocelyn could keep it together, Ainsley could damn well do the same. For now.