A/N: Trigger warning for brief mentions of sexual abuse. Please do not read the second half of this story if you don't feel comfortable.
To Beca, time seemed to move at twice its regular speed after that night. For the past two weeks, every dreary day had been the same: she would wake up, go to class, hang out with Jesse, and then (try) to go to sleep. Jesse insisted on spending every free minute around her, an act she found incredibly suffocating, but she didn't argue with him. The only exception she made was that she insisted on going to the Bella's rehearsals, claiming that Aubrey would have her murdered if she stopped going. In reality, she went mostly to see Chloe. Beca hadn't spoken to the red head since the argument in Jesse's dorm room, but every once in a while she would feel Chloe watching her from afar. Beca desperately wanted to talk to her, to apologize and beg for her forgiveness, but she refrained. As much as her heart ached from Chloe's absence, Beca knew that it was for the best. She constantly reminded herself of the hurt she had caused Chloe and told herself that Chloe deserved better than Beca could ever give. Beca was too closed off, too eager to push people away the second life got hard, and Chloe didn't need that in her life. Chloe didn't need Beca or her problems. Or at least, that's what Beca had convinced herself.
Beca sighed unhappily when she saw three texts and a missed call from Jesse at the end of practice. Aubrey had kept them later than usual and she knew Jesse would be angry, despite the fact that it wasn't her fault. She quickly replied with an explanation, and packed her stuff up quickly. Unfortunately, in her haste, she turned and ran directly into another body. The two girls fell in a tangle of limbs and fiery red hair.
"Oof! Beca! Are you okay?" Chloe sat up, concern evident in her eyes as she watch Beca rub a sore spot on her arm.
"Yeah. Sorry about that." Beca brushed the dust off of her clothing and got up quickly. She looked around, sighing in relief when she noticed that most of the Bella's had already left the auditorium. Only Aubrey remained, shooting her an accusatory glare that Beca chose to ignore. Beca noticed that Chloe was still on the ground and a feeling of worry and guilt overcame her. "God, Chloe, are you okay? I'm so sorry! I was rushing and I wasn't looking where I was going and –"
"Beca, I'm fine. Really." Chloe chuckled at Beca's awkward rambling. Chloe gratefully accepted the hand that Beca offered, pulling her onto her feet. "So, what's got you speeding around like a natural disaster?"
Beca immediately turned red. "I uh… It's nothing. I'm just supposed to meet Jesse." An instantaneous flash of hurt appeared on Chloe's face before she covered it with a fake smile. If it was possible, Beca hated herself even more.
"Oh. How is he doing?" Chloe's fake happiness made Beca want to throw up.
"He's okay."
Chloe looked up, and bright blue eyes looked deep into Beca's duller ones, searching for the truth. "You know, you're a pretty good liar. That is, to everyone except me." Her façade dropped for a second before returning. "Well, I've got to get going. I'll see you around, Beca."
Beca watched Chloe leave, feeling a pang in her heart when she remembered the days when Chloe never failed to hug her goodbye. She didn't let herself reminisce for long, though, remembering that she had to meet Jesse before he got really pissed. Jesse. She ignored the way disgust filled her stomach at the thought of him. It's not right. This is not how a girlfriend should feel about her boyfriend. Beca ignored the inner voice inside her head, having stopped listening to it weeks ago.
Beca was right. Jesse was pissed. After confronting her at her dorm room, an argument that ended in him unfairly accusing her of cheating, he had stormed out in a rage. Strangely enough, though, Beca felt relieved instead of guilty. This was the first afternoon in two weeks that she was able to spend by herself and Beca was going to take full advantage of it. She changed into her comfiest pair of sweatpants and crawled into her bed with the hope of finally being able to work on new mixes. Jesse didn't like it when she mixed while they were hanging out, claiming that she became too focused on the music and forgot he existed. After a couple of hours, she was beginning to feel a bit like her old self again and even considered texting Chloe, Jesse be damned. Just as she picked up her phone, the device buzzed in her hand, signaling a new text message.
Jesse: Becaww! I'm sorry for our fightttt! I want to make it up to you;) Come to Bumper and Donald's!
Beca sighed. She knew that he was at a party and drunk, Bumper and Donald's apartment being the go-to place for Treble parties. She really didn't want to deal with a drunk Jesse at the moment, but she wanted to deal with a drunk, angry Jesse even less, so she sent a quick reply stating that she would be there in ten minutes. She grabbed the first pair of jeans she saw and change out of her sweats before heading out into the brisk spring night. She took the long way to the apartment, hoping to buy some time, but still ending up arriving much faster than she wanted. She pushed aside the feelings of déjà vu and walked through the doorway with minimal hesitation. The party was in full-swing, music blasting and bodies grinding against each other. She crinkled her nose in disgust as a drink was passed to her, an indistinguishable concoction of multiple different alcohols inside one cup. She deposited the drink on the counter as she moved through the crowd, looking for Jesse.
"Becaw! You came!" Jesse found her first, and he drunkily stumbled towards her. He roughly grabbed her shoulders, using her small frame to keep himself upright. "I missed you!" He said, sloppily capturing her lips in a wet kiss. Beca recoiled, tasting alcohol and God knows what else.
"Jesse, I don't want to do this. Not now and not here, in the middle of a loud party. Let's just talk about it tomorrow."
"It's okay, we can just find somewhere more quiet." Before Beca could protest, Jesse was pulling her up the stairs with a surprising amount of strength and coordination. After first opening the door to a room already occupied by a couple ("Oops. Sorry!"), Jesse found them an empty room and pulled Beca inside, shutting the door behind her. Beca shuddered when she realized that this was the exact same room he had taken her to two Fridays before.
"Jesse, I'm really tired. I should –"
"Sit." Jesse interrupted, roughly pushing her onto the bed.
"Jesse, what are you –" The rest of her question was swallowed by Jesse's mouth on hers. He began pushing them backwards until they were both fully on the bed, Jesse straddling Beca's waist. Panic immediately filled Beca when she realized she couldn't get away. "Jesse, stop!" Beca's small hands pushed against his shoulders as she tried to get his body off of hers.
"Relax." His hot breath on her ear sent shivers of fear down her spine. "You're going to enjoy this way more than last time." Beca froze, the meaning behind his words hitting her full force. A deep sense of panic came over her body as she lost control, reality mixing with memories, her arms and legs beginning to thrash wildly. Jesse leaned in to kiss her again and she bit down hard, tasting blood almost immediately. With a cry, Jesse recoiled, giving Beca the opportunity to slip out from under him. She crashed to the floor with a thump, not slowing down for a second as she ran out of the room, down the stairs, and out the door, the night air hitting her like a brick wall. She kept running, gasping for air, only stopping when her vision began to go hazy. She sat down on the curb near her, warily looking at the apartment far behind her, before puling her phone from her back pocket. She desperately searched for the name of the one person she needed at the moment, blurry vision making the task more difficult than it should have been. She pressed call and anxiously waited, sighing in relief when she heard a familiar voice answer.
"Beca?"
"Chloe…" Beca managed to rasp out between gasps.
"Beca, what's wrong? Where are you?"
"I…" Beca tried to get the words out of her mouth to no avail. "I can't…" Her vision was beginning to fade, only making Beca panic more.
"Becs, I need you to focus on your breathing, honey. Like we did that night you had the panic attack. In and out. Come on, do it with me. In and out." Beca's breathing slowed down, more controlled but still a little rapid. "Can you tell me where you are, hon?" Chloe used a soft voice, as if she were speaking to a scared child.
Beca nodded before realizing she needed to speak aloud. "Yeah. I'm a couple of blocks down the street from Bumper and Donald's apartment."
Beca heard the sound of keys jingling and muffled speaking, as if Chloe was holding the phone against her chest. Her voice returned back to full volume after a couple seconds. "Okay, I'm on my way. Just stay there, okay? I'll be there in a couple of minutes."
"Okay." Beca whispered, feeling a sense of calm washing over her. Chloe was coming.
A/N: I decided to post another chapter to make up for the heartbreak in the past two chapters. YAY Chloe to the rescue! We can all breathe easy now, okay? To the reviewer that asked how many chapters this story will be, I don't have a set answer for you. I'm kind of writing it as I go, so I don't have it really planned out. My rough estimate is maybe 4ish more chapters, possibly 5 or 6. I don't want it to get too long, but I also want to leave you readers with a sense that the story is fully completed. I'm not a fan of open-ended... endings, if that makes sense. Please review! I like to know that you guys are still hanging in with me through this story. Nothing but love for you all! Until next chapter!