TWO: The attack

~JUNE~

My day off meant two things, laundry and rejection emails.

I hauled my overflowing basket down the narrow hallway of my apartment building. The machines in the basement groaned to life after I fed them my last few quarters, and I stood there for a moment, staring at my reflection in the scratched metal surface.

Twenty-three, with tired honey-colored eyes and my long auburn hair was braided in two messy pigtails that I usually kept them in to avoid wasting too much electricity curling them.

My own personal DIY heatless curls, I guess…

By the time I got back upstairs, I had my laptop open on the tiny kitchen table that doubled as my desk. The fan inside it hummed like it was seconds away from dying.

I refreshed my email.

‘We regret to inform you…’ I swallowed thickly, resisting the urge to cry out in frustration.

I had dropped out of college when the bills started piling higher than my GPA. Tuition or rent. Books or groceries. The choice had been obvious then. It still haunted me now.

So, I applied for every secretary, receptionist, assistant job I could find. Anything steady, anything safe that could help me gather enough money to pay my debt.

A knock at my door made me jump. No one visited me. My heart leapt straight into my throat. I moved slowly, cautiously, and peeked through the peephole.

Relief flooded me.

“Gav?” I opened the door.

Gavin Powell stood there in a hoodie and baseball cap, eyes hidden behind dark circles of sunglasses today. He looked wrecked, not hungover, but heartbroken.

“Hey, Junebug.” He greeted softly.

He only called me that when he was vulnerable. I stepped aside immediately. “You could’ve texted.”

“Didn’t wanna be alone.” He shrugged, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

He walked in like he had a thousand times, not caring that my apartment which was small, cracked and peeling, wasn’t a downgrade from his marble-floored penthouse.

He tossed his cap onto my couch and ran a hand through his hair. “I went home after practice and it was just… quiet.”

I shut the door behind him. “You hate quiet.”

Gavin nodded. “Yeah…”

I moved to the kitchen. “Coffee?”

He made a face, scrunching his brows in disgust. “You know I don’t drink that.”

A short laugh escaped me. “Hot chocolate, then.”

He smiled, that stupid dashing smile that always seemed to get my heart rate going. “That’s why you’re my favorite person.”

I smiled, cheeks heating up like a school girl. “I’m your only person who knows you still sleep with the lamp on.”

He pointed at me accusingly with a playful frown. “That was one time. During a thunderstorm.”

I sent him a dry look. “You were seventeen.”

He groaned, covering his face with his hands and dropped onto the couch. And just like that, the air felt easy and relaxing, just like it’s always been whenever we hung out.

We ordered takeout which was cheap Chinese from the place down the street and ate cross-legged on my living room floor like we used to in high school when he came over at my place.

He told me about practice. About the reporters swarming him this morning. “They kept asking if I saw it coming.” He muttered, shoving noodles into his mouth. “Like I’m supposed to predict my girlfriend dumping me through a PR statement.”

“She blindsided you?” I asked gently.

He nodded with a pout that I found cute. “She said she needed someone more… established.”

I stiffened, frowning slightly with a raised brow. “You’re literally the rookie of the season.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m not a veteran yet. Not a franchise name, not enough connections.”

Not her father’s level, that’s for sure…

He stared at his hands. “Was I really that stupid, June?”

“No.” I said immediately, maybe too fast. “You loved her. That doesn’t make you stupid. It makes you real.”

His eyes lifted to meet mine. There it was. That look. The one that always made my pulse stutter. “You always know what to say.” He murmured.

Because I’ve been in love with you for twelve years…

The words sat on my tongue, trembling. I could say it right now when he was vulnerable and broken…

“Gav-” I started.

He leaned back against the couch, exhaustion settling into his features as he patted his stuffed belly filled with noodles and dumplings. “I don’t know who I am without her right now.”

And there it was.

My chest twisted painfully at his words. My confession died in my throat, so instead, I did what I’d always done.

I chose him over myself. “You’re still you..” I said quietly. “The idiot who cried when we found that stray kitten. The guy who stayed up all night helping me study during high school. The one who still calls me when he can’t sleep.”

His lips twitched. “That’s why you’re my best friend.”

Best friend.

My smile tightened to hide the pain the tittle inflicted on me emotionally. He yawned loudly, eyes watering the process as he rubbed them.

“You wanna crash?” I asked.

He nodded, already curling slightly on my couch. “Just for a bit.”

I grabbed the spare blanket from my room and draped it over him.

“June?” He murmured, eyes already closed.

“Yeah?”

He yawned again. “I really loved her.”

The words pierced straight through me. “I know…” I whispered, then stood there for a long time, staring at him.

Night settled quickly.

Gavin was still asleep on the couch, one arm hanging off the side, breathing steady with light snoring. I sat at my desk in my room, my barely functioning laptop open to an online graduate certificate program I couldn’t afford but was determined to try anyway.

If I could just get certified, If I could just get a better job, then I’d be able to pay them off and have them off my back.

A loud crack exploded through the room causing glass to shatter across. I screamed as shards rained across my bed and floor.

“What the hell?!” I gasped, scrambling back.

A stone rolled across my carpet. My heart pounded as I rushed to the broken window, fury rising with a known guess that it was probably those teenage kids that hung around the neighborhood.

“Are you serious-”

The words died in my mouth as I sighted who exactly it was. Three motorcycles idled in the alley below. The same three men from last night.

My blood ran cold.

One of them looked up and grinned menacingly. “Where’s our money?!” he shouted.

My stomach dropped. “No…” I muttered.

Not here. Not with Gavin here.

The engines roared louder, echoing between the buildings, enough to wake up sleeping residents.

Behind me, I heard movements. “June?” Gavin’s sleepy voice drifted down the hallway. “What’s going on?”

Panic flooded my system, I turned back with wide eyes.

He walked into my room, rubbing his eyes, and froze at the sight of the broken glass. “What the hell?-”

Adrenaline kicked in. “You have to leave.” I whispered urgently, grabbing his arm. “Right now. Gav, please, just go-”

He resisted and it wasn’t exactly easy to pull a 6’2 athlete with pure muscle. “June, what’s happening?”

A thunderous crash split the air and my front door splintered off its hinges, causing me to scream loudly.

Boots pounded against my floor as they marched inside with hurried movements with metal bats and knives in their hand.

Gavin stepped in front of me instinctively. “Stay behind me.”

I was shaking with fear, already sobbing hard. “No!”

Three against one was such an unlucky fight and they didn’t hesitate to attack. One swung at Gavin. He blocked the first punch, landed one of his own, but another slammed into his ribs from the side. He grunted, stumbling.

I tried to reach him, but a hand fisted in my hair and yanked me back so hard I cried out.

“Stay still.” A voice snarled.

Cold metal pressed against my throat. It was a knife and it dug into the delicate skin of my neck, enough to sting and draw blood.

I felt warmth slide down my neck.

“Please!” I sobbed. “Please stop!”

Gavin roared, trying to break free, but one of them pulled out a metal bat.

“No!” I screamed.

The man swung hard and a sickening crack echoed through the room. Gavin’s scream followed, raw and agonizing as he collapsed to his knees, clutching his shoulder.

They laughed, pointing to Gavin who rolled in pain then, landed another kick to his ribs sent him sprawling across the floor.

“Next time.” one of them spat, tightening his grip in my hair, the blade pressing harder. “You pay.”

Then he slammed me to the nearest wall and they ran out, engines roaring followed by the silence swallowing the apartment. I fell to my knees and crawled to Gavin.

“Gav!” I sobbed. “Oh my God, Gav.”

He was shaking, clutching his shoulder, face pale with pain. “Fuckk…” he gasped.

“I’m calling emergency.” I choked, fumbling for my phone. “Stay with me. Please stay with me.”

Guilt tore through me.

This was my fault, the star rookie of the season had just been assaulted. Injured because of me. And as I pressed my hands against him, trying to steady his shaking body, one terrifying thought kept repeating in my head-

They knew where I lived.