Chapter 56

MILA

What the hellam I supposed to do here?

There are a lot of things I've done in my life. There are times when I can be really mean.

But…

I process it as quick as possible.

That I'm standing with my back to Jax. I'm naked.

He's naked.

My body is aching and dripping with him. From him. Because of him. It's me and him…

And he's just sitting there on my couch with his amazing cock still half hard, tempting me to just sit right back down, put him back inside me, and keep things going.

I can't do that.

That's not who I am.

"I have to go," I blurt out. I look back and down. "I need you to just understand this…"

"What the hell is it?" Jax asks.

"I'll tell you later, I swear. It's an emergency."

"Emergency?"

"Jax, I'm not messing around. This is literally life and death…"

I walk across my dorm. Naked. I'm not sure how flattering I look at the moment but I really don't have time to care.

In my room I grab panties and jeans.

I hurry to dress myself.

I reach for a bra on my dresser and I see Jax in the reflection of the mirror.

A towel around his waist.

I put the bra on and jump toward my closet for a hoodie.

It feels weird right now with Jax. A good weird. Like we're comfortable with each other.

Except that, oh, right, my fucking ex is threatening to end his own life…

I race toward the bedroom doorway and I basically push Jax out of the way.

"I swear, I'll call you as soon as I can," I call out.

I find a pair of slip-on shoes and I'm out the door and running.

A voice in my head is screaming at me to call the police. Or an ambulance. Call for help! Why am I the one taking this burden on?

A part of me wonders if Ward is just fucking around though. Looking for attention. I can't picture him actually…

I shiver and my stomach turns.

I've already texted him twice that I'm on my way.

Halfway across campus he replies to my texts.

OK

At least I know he's still alive, right?

I feel panic creeping through my body when I arrive at his building.

I race down the hallway and open his door.

Thankfully it was unlocked…

"Ward!" I call out. "Ward, it's me! I'm here! I told you I'd be here. Where are you?"

I freeze up, taking in the situation.

I really don't know the seriousness or severity of what Ward texted me.

I don't know if he has a weapon or…

"Mila?"

Ward's voice is coming from his bedroom.

I take a deep breath, then take my chances and run to his bedroom.

I push the door open and find Ward sitting on the floor.

His back against his bed.

I look around for any obvious signs of trauma.

It's just him and a bottle between his legs.

Fuck. He's trying to drink himself to death…?

"You showed up," Ward says. Or I should say - slurs.

"What are you doing, Ward?"

"Checking out. It's time to go. This isn't working for anyone."

"If you're even remotely serious…"

"This is my second bottle," he says. "Second one, baby!" He snorts. "I'm not as smart as you, Mila. I can't do the math on how much to drink until… you know…" He puts his head back and closes his eyes. "I could just go the way like rock stars do. Crash on my back and hope that I-"

I walk up to him and kick his left foot. "Asshole! What the fuck is wrong with you!"

Ward's head bobs and he looks at me. "I… I just wanted to say goodbye… I mean, you showed up in person, Mila. That's wild. Hey, maybe we still have a shot at this…"

Yeah, Ward. Sure. As I have another man's cum gently easing itself out of me.

That makes me feel guilty, as though I've done something wrong. When I haven't. I have done nothing wrong here.

"Who else were you with tonight? Which assholes gave you the booze?" I ask.

"Running solo tonight, Mila. Can't get you out of my head. This whole thing… my life…"

"You can't talk crazy, Ward," I say. "You're scaring me."

"I'll be gone soon," he says.

He twists the cap off the bottle and starts to drink.

I fall to the floor and grab the bottle from him.

I throw it across the room, making sure when it hits the wall, it shatters.

Ward coughs and spits whiskey at me.

"What the fuck, Mila?"

He falls forward and flops to the floor, then reaches for the shards of glass.

All I picture now is him accidentally ingesting glass and hurting himself.

I grab for his arm and pull.

His stomach makes a terrible sound and he starts to cough.

He's going to die… right in front of me…

"You need to get to the bathroom and puke," I say.

"Fuck you," he mumbles. "Traitor."

"Yeah, well, this traitor is going to make sure you see tomorrow."

I reach for Ward's mouth.

I cringe at the thought of shoving my fingers down his throat. But I really have no choice in the matter here.

Unless I just call for help…

Not sure if I want that scene though.

It doesn't matter, Mila! He needs…

I grab his mouth and Ward tries to bite me.

I pull my hand away.

He pushes himself up on his hands and knees and turns toward me.

He's beyond drunk, obviously.

He looks possessed. Evil and mean.

Unpredictable.

"I dare you to try that again, you cunt," he growls.

Panic hits my body again.

I can't waste any more time here.

I inch back and swing my left foot, hitting him in the face.

He lets out a yell I never heard come from him before.

"Now I just might have to kill you first," Ward says.

That's when I finally reach for my phone…