Title: Alternate Realities: Chapter Eight, Not Right
Rating: R/NC-17
Warning: violence, language, sexual nudity

Author's note: Feel lucky you got this chapter. I've packed quicker than I expected and have some time on my hands.


 


It was the stuff stalkers were made of. He was certain of it. But he couldn't help himself. After dropping off Jane and making sure her bike was out of his SUV safely, Adam had lingered. And then watched her disappear into the building. And still stayed. He finally forced himself to turn around and head back to his car, but once inside Adam couldn't bring himself to start it. Instead he sat there, glancing up at the building, wondering which apartment was hers for far too long. Long enough to start wondering where her boyfriend was, who her boyfriend was.

And then decide he was going to stay right there and see who the competition was.

Definitely what stalkers were made of. And yet despite those thoughts, Adam didn't start the car and leave. He remained just where he was, watching people arrive and depart the building. Only two men did so without someone else, so clearly one of them had to be her boyfriend. Considering the first one had white hair and looked older than Adam's dad, he was hoping it was the second. Though had the old man been her boyfriend, Adam was certain he could win Jane over. Afterall the old man would have needed viagra to get it up and Adam certainly needed no help in the bedroom at all. That thought chased a smirk across his face before his eyes saw a younger man, perhaps early 30s, heading into the building with a paperbag with some restaurant's name on it.That surely had to be Jane's boyfriend.

Eyes on the man, Adam wished he had a notebook to jot in. Appraising the boyfriend he decided that the man was probably upper middle class with a decent education. Seemed to have some sense of authority about him, possibly a teacher like she was. He was taller than her and Adam supposed he was good looking. But nothing really screamed threat to him at all. He could best the man for Jane's heart. He was sure of it.



Turning on her side, Jane pulled her pillow close to her, squeezing it as Jayden dressed. One of the cats, Booger in all likelihood, jumped up onto the bed, cuddling with her. She didn't look at her boyfriend or even her cat. She couldn't and couldn't really explain it. So she just lay there silently, her back to Jayden, her eyes closed.

Leaning across the bed, he kissed her bare shoulder, "I'll see you at school, sweet."

The slight nodding of her head was her only response before he headed out of her bedroom and then the apartment. Waiting for a few minutes for no known reason, Jane slowly uncurled herself and slipped out of her bed. Her body was already beginning to throb and not in a pleasant way at all. Jayden had expected sex after dinner and after her afternoon with Adam leaving her filled with guilt, she hadn't objected. Only her body hadn't responded well to his touch and she was practically bone dry when he attempted to enter her. Maybe if he hadn't been wearing a condom he would have noticed the resistance right away. But he hadn't and now she hurt like hell. She was hoping a soak in the tub would ease away her pain, but she certainly didn't count on it at all.

The cats seemed to sense that something was wrong and followed their naked human into the bathroom. Neither left when she turned on the water, filling the bathtub with hot water. Instead one jumped on the toilet for a better view while the other chose the counter. Pausing briefly, Jane scratched both of them before easing herself into the hot water. The hot water stung her skin, seemingly attacking her swollen sex like a million stinging bees. Bottom lip trembling, she willed herself to relax and allow the water to do what it should.

As she lay in the water, tears glistening in her eyes, Jane tried to convince herself that what had happened that night with Jayden wasn't wrong. But her heart, soul, and mind fought it completely. If he loved her, then he would respect her. And if he respected her then he wouldn't have more or less forced sex on her. But if she didn't put out, would he leave her? And how would that effect her at work? Would the creepy janitor start hitting on her again? Would the kids think less of her? 

Adam would never treat her that way.

That sudden thought from wherever it came from shocked her. Her eyes instantly widened and she looked at her cats.

"I'm with Jayden," she declared.

Booger looked at her for just a moment, jumped down, and walked out of the bathroom, his tail flicking with disdain. Jane watched him for a moment, before looking to Aristotle. He too flicked his tail at her, but didn't jump off the counter and walk away. Instead he just stared at her unblinkingly.

"I'm with Jayden," she repeated.

The cat's stare seemed to belie his belief that he didn't think that was going so well. He had noticed his human's mood when she returned with the smell of someone he didn't know on her. And he was just as certain that the human who had brought his human food and then made her cry was bad. But Aristotle knew she had to figure that out herself. Which apparently she was fighting.

"You think I should call him?" she asked, before getting out of the tub and wrapping a towel around her wet body.

Seemingly shrugging, the older cat jumped off the counter and headed into the bedroom. Seeing her cell phone on the desk, he jumped up there, sitting next to it. His human was smart and would figure it out. Besides he wanted to meet the smell that made her smile, see if he was worthy of her.

Padding towards her cat, her brown eyes glanced at her cell phone. Itchy fingers reached for the device but stopped just before touching it. Why would she call Adam in the middle of the night? It didn't seem right to call just to say that her boyfriend fucked her and now she was certain her body would hate her forever. Nor did 'just to talk' seem like a good enough reason to hear his voice.

"Ugh."

Her hand dropped the final inches and picked up the device. With very little thought she dialled the number she apparently had memorized from his earlier voicemail. Any other time she would wonder about that, but instead she sat on her bed, her heart racing more with each ring. But then it stopped. Because he answered.

"Hello?"

"Um, hi," she muttered. "Did I wake you?"

"No, not at all. Is this Jane?"

She flushed, not that he could see it, "Yeah."

"I was just thinking about you actually. Shouldn't you be sleeping, Miss Schoolteacher?"

"I... uh..." her eyes went to the floor, finding both cats sitting there staring at her. "I'm not going to go to work tomorrow. Do you think maybe we could... nevermind. You're probably going to be sleeping soon yourself."

"No no. What were you going to ask?"

Jane took a deep breath, "Could you maybe come over? I don't want to be alone right now."

There was a pause as if he was trying to read the emotion in her voice.

"I mean it's okay if you can't. I can just—"

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."



Standing at the bottom of the stairs, Adam looked up. He had no idea which apartment was hers, which definitely made it difficult to be her knight in white shining... clothes. But he was afraid if he called her she would talk him out of coming up. Eyes flicking to the mailboxes, he wished for the old days where names were printed on the boxes. While that clearly wouldn't be safe, not even in a security controlled building such as this (he had to slip in the door when someone else was slipping out), it still would have made things a bit easier. But seemingly the only option was to pull out his cell phone and call her.

It only rang once before she answered. She didn't even say hello, just a number and hung up. How she knew what he was going to ask was beyond him, but Adam didn't question it. Instead he bounded up the stairs, skipping one with each step. Eyes darting to each number as he headed down the hall, Adam nearly passed her apartment. Suddenly stopping, he turned and lifted his hand to knock. Before his hand even touched the door, it opened. His eyes met Jane's and every single protective nerve in his body alit. He took two steps forward and embraced her, slowly easing her back into the apartment so he could close the door behind them.

Two cats circled the embracing pair, rubbing against the human's legs, pausing to sniff Adam before rubbing on him. Some other time he might have considered what that meant, but he certainly wasn't thinking about how her cats received his presence at all. His main and only concern of the moment was why Jane was shaking like a leaf in his arms.

"Jane? What happened?"

"He... Jayden... my boyfriend..."

Adam leaned back, looking directly into her eyes, "What did he do to you?"

Her cheeks turned red and she tried to pull away from him, but he wasn't about to release her, "We had se... he had sex with me. And... and..."

Anger flared in his eyes, "Did he hurt you?"

Without even thinking, Jane nodded. She instantly noticed Adam's jaw clench, felt his body tense with her confirmation. Without another word his arms pulled her close again, her shaking ceasing with his touch.

"If he loves you, he would never hurt you, Jane," he muttered softly.

She suddenly snapped away from him. Without a word she paced over to the couch, seemingly intent on sitting down. But she didn't, pacing away from it. Her cats settled down, watching her, seemingly as confused about her movements as Adam was. She refused to look at him, stepped over the unmoving cats.

"Jane?" he muttered.

Stopping mid-pace, her eyes flicked to his. She shook her head and continued to pace. Clearly she was trying to work something out in her head, something that needed the action of her pacing to figure it out. But neither the furry animals nor the man had any idea what that was. Slowly Adam approached the couch himself and sat, still watching the schoolteacher pace in her living room.

"I think you should leave," she suddenly stopped, looking at Adam, "but I don't want you to."

He nodded slowly, not fully comprehending what was going on at all.

"It was," Jane spoke softly, approaching him, "almost like being raped."

His eyes snapped to hers with that statement, "Jane, what really happened?"

Her bottom lip trembled and she broke eye contact, "I... I..."

Adam's hands went to hers, pulling her gently onto the couch next to him. Without a word his arms encircled her again. His lips touched her temples, a gesture that was unexpected yet felt so very natural. Her body was still tense, but more from unfamiliarity than anything. 

Why should she be trusting this man she barely knew? Why had she even invited him over? What was wrong with her?