“It’ll be warm in a few minutes.”
It’s not until she says that that I realise I’m shivering, wrapping her hoodie around me as if it’s the thing that will literally keep me together.
“Thank you,” I whisper, tightening my hold on my legs that I’ve pulled up to my chest.
We emerge from the underground garage and into the torrential rain that has started since we disappeared inside.
It just about sums up everything about my night as the huge droplets crash against the windscreen so fast the wipers can barely cope.
“Where are we going?”
“Oh… um…”
I can’t get my brain to process where we are enough to even consider giving her directions home.
Tapping the screen between us, she finds the search screen on her GPS.
“Postcode?”
Thankfully, I’m able to rattle it off without even thinking, and a few seconds later, the map shows my street and I have nothing to distract myself from what happened up in that flat only minutes ago once more.Grief and disbelief wrap around me, their icy claws digging into my skin, making my body tremble harder.
“What did he do?” she asks after long silent minutes. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me. But I will go and kick his ass for you.”
Looking over at her, I blink a few times as I register her accent.
“You’re American,” I blurt.
“That obvious, huh?” she deadpans.
“I’m sorry. I’m… uh… not really with it.”
“I know Alex can be a pr—”
“Alex?” I question, a frown creasing my brow as I consider the fact that his manipulation has gone so deep he hasn’t even given me his real name.
“Yeah… was it not Alex you were running from?” she asks hesitantly, her eyes darting between the road and my tear-stained face.
I’ve no idea what she reads in my silence, but suddenly she gasps. “Holy shit. Are you Jodie?”
I startle at the fact that she knows my name.
“Uh… yeah.”
Her lips purse as her grip on the wheel tightens with anger.
“What did he do?” she grits out, her tone completely different from when she was asking me about whoever Alex is.
I shake my head. “I just want to go home and forget that the past few weeks, especially tonight, have happened.”
Her attention burns the side of my face, but I refuse to look up at her as I wipe my cheeks with the back of my hand and blow out a shaky breath.
“I’m sorry he was a dick. When I get back, I’ll make sure he hurts for whatever he’s done,” she assures me, her voice full of hurt and venom.
“I don’t need you to fight for me.“
“Who said anything about needing to.”
Finally, I risk another glance over at her. Gone is her concerned expression from when she first saw me, and in its place is a hard, furious mask, one that is actually quite terrifying.