The remainder of the week went on as normal. 3 days of blissful thinking that my ordeal had been over. Despite Jessie's arguments, she had surrendered into allowing me back to class, astounded by my willingness to return. In the 2 days I had been back to school, I was thankful I hadn't missed anything further. I had fallen behind, but was determined to get back on top.

However, my boss at work, hadn't given up as easily as Jessie had, not even close.

Al was an old friend and colleague of my dads at the observatory. The second he'd heard of my incident, he had replaced me for a week. I tried my very best to sway him, but it was useless. He was a gentle man, but on his decision, he was firm. I was the one to give up first.

Sunday morning, I was curled up on the lounge, reading over my novel 'A brief history of time' by Stephen Hawking when my phone beside my feet began to ring. I had been deep inside the words of my book that the sound made me jump, my heart reacting loudly with a solid thump against my ribs

'Camille' it read, I'd known her for many years, a friend from high school. We were close, but it was the kind of friendship that flicked on and off. We would spend some nights at the bar together, talking and laughing like we spent every hour of every day together, and then not speak for weeks on end. It was a strange friendship, but somehow it worked.

She was a year older than I and lived an hour away with her fiancé and their pet bulldog 'Bane', her job as a cook for her parents busy restaurant kept her busy and focused. She hoped to one day run it.

At first, I glanced at her name and then back to my book, I bit my bottom lip, and then picked the phone up, pressing it to my ear

"Hey you" I greeted

"Hey you too Jasmine Blair" She happily responded, her voice somewhat distorted

She was driving her car, speaking through Bluetooth. She'd gotten the weekend off, I could already hear it in her voice. This wasn't the first time it had happened. On occasions she would get the weekend off and do a spontaneous trip to my city to take me out.

"So guess where I am.." She drew her sentence out

I couldn't help but smile and roll my eyes, closing my book and setting it down on the coffee table

"Oh I have no idea" I began "Italy? No wait, Japan?"

I could hear her lightly laugh "I wish Girlfriend, I wish"

"What time will you be here?" I asked, wondering how much time I had left to tidy my apartment and prepare myself for the ultimate question.

Did I lie? Was I truthful? Regardless, she was going to undoubtedly notice the healing cut on my forehead, she was going to ask. I needed to decide if she needed to know the real savage truth or not.

"Half hour, so get ready, I'm taking you out for the day, we're doing a movie, lunch, dinner and drinks, it's on me" She ordered, as usual

I gave a sigh "It doesn't always have to be 'on you', you know? I work, I can pay for things too, you shouldn't be spending your hard earned money on.."

"Okay" She cut me off loudly "I'll be there soon Jasmine Blair, like I said it's on me, as usual, just stop being a pain and get your gorgeous ass ready, okay? Okay! I'll see you soon" And with that, she was gone.

I didn't mind spending time with her, she was great company, but I was a home body, and I supposed that's why she did what she did. If it hadn't been for her, I probably wouldn't even have ever left the house other than for the necessities. Camille was extremely social, she knew how to talk, she was articulate and charming and I admired that.

Standing, I placed my phone down on the coffee table and moved towards my bedroom. I collected some 'going out' clothes, which consisted of a light cotton black dress that reached just above my knees, loose and comfortable with decorative buttons from my rib cage upwards to my cleavage. Once showered, I added a denim jacket over the top, guarding my shoulders and bare arms. I kept my hair out, naturally waving around my face, unbothered with makeup.

Staring at the clock in the living room, I tapped my fingernails against my phone. I still hadn't decided what to tell Camille about my forehead, the mark that would leave a permanent reminder of my ugly unforgettable experience.

By the time Camille had pressed the intercom, I knew I would have to improvise.

For once, I became nervous when I opened the apartment door to greet her.

"Hello there" she smiled, glamorous whitened teeth

"Hey" I smiled into her long black straightened hair, the scent of coconut rushing up my nose, stunning as she was

Once pulled apart, I turned as quickly as I could, heading into the kitchen where I began to make her a coffee. I knew I couldn't hide it forever, so when I pushed her steaming mug towards her on the other side of the island counter, I lifted my head.

Instantly, while her hands cupped her mug, her eyes found the ghastly injury. Her mouth gapped, her eyes trained on the long gash

"Jasmine, what the hell?!"

My fingers instinctively lifted to the cut "Oh, this, yeah" I mumbled "I uh, I had an accident.." A lie began to brew "But don't worry, it's sorted now, the landlord fixed it up straight away, and he apologised religiously"

"What are you taking about?" She narrowed her dark eyes on me "What happened?"

"There was maintenance going on with the elevator, so I took the stairs to go get groceries and one of the railings was broken, I leaned on it a little too heavily and I just.." I rolled my fingers around each other, attempting to be as convincing as I could "I fell.."

"Wow, that looks big too!" She leaned forward, lightly running a fingertip over its length "You could sue them over something like that Jasmine"

I gave a small laugh "No, no I couldn't do that, Lucas is a decent guy, and he was super good about it, he's been great about a lot of the complaints and suggestions I've made.." That part was honest, he was, and he had been.

Again, her eyes were narrow as she took a sip of her coffee "He's cute too.."

"Ew Camille, no, he's in his forties and he's married with two kids!" I clicked my fingers at her

We both let out a laugh, and once she had finished her coffee, we set out for the day.

Being with Camille always made me feel free. She was a sassy spirit with loads of bright energy and entertaining humour. It wasn't often that my mind wasn't on school or work, but when I was with her, I forgot about those things, I could laugh, I could be young and have fun. She brought something out of me that no one else could.

By 6pm, as the sun began to set and the night took its hold on the city, Camille and I sat inside the popular bar 'Carter's', Camille with a beer and myself with a vodka cocktail. Couples had descended on the booths, ordering dinner, whilst the typical regulars gathered by the bar, eagerly watching a boxing match on the flat screens behind the counters.

"I've missed it here" Camille sighed, seated beside me at the bar, her eyes upwards

"It's good to see you, always is, you know that" I told her, nudging my elbow into hers on the bar top

"I like seeing you happy, it makes me happy, you deserve to be happy" She smiled

"I am happy" I tried

"I hope so, you've been through a lot Jas, you really have, and it sucks, but you're so strong and, I know your mum and dad would want you to be happy, they'd be proud" She was becoming sloppy, and it wasn't because of the beer, she knew her limit

I nodded and finished my glass of alcohol with once quick tilt back. I didn't know how to respond. Would they be truly proud of what I'd accomplished since they'd been gone?

Suddenly Camille gave a suppressed laugh, covering her mouth with her hand

"What?" I questioned instantly

She hid her amusement behind her fist, glancing at me "There's a guy.. he keeps looking at you" She mumbled subtly

My heart jumped, and for a moment I became curious, but it was quickly replaced by fear when I remembered what the previous days had brought me, threats and all.

Was it a flirtatious man looking for a good time, or was it something more sinister? I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"What does he look like?" I mumbled back to Camille

She quickly gave the man a once over behind me, returning her eyes to me "Tall, dark hair, light eyes, a little bit of stubble.. he's alright..."

I toyed with the empty glass beside me, facing her, too afraid to move. I had no idea who this man was, or who he could have been.

If he was a friend of the men that had Tony killed, I wanted him to know I knew his face too. I needed to know who I was up against. I couldn't hide, and I was confident if he was a threat, he would be of no harm to me in front of all the people within the bar.

Slowly, with courage and nervousness, I turned, searching for the face, landing on it within seconds.

Thankfully, the eyes were not of either of the men that had been directly involved with Tony's death. But he was a stranger, he was someone I knew nothing of, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to mess with that under my recent circumstances.

"Not tonight" I told Camille, shaking my head

"Not tonight?" She repeated

I shrugged "It's happened one too many times"

It was true. I'd made a habit out of spending nights with men, me being the one to disappear afterwards. I couldn't do commitment, I couldn't do dating and the awkwardness of meeting up after the first encounter.

"When are you going to settle down Jasmine?" She sighed, her usual tirade if questions beginning

I didn't know the answer, so I took a long drink of my vodka, preferring the sting as it slithered down my throat over answering her. I was focused on school, my studies, men weren't a big part of my life, but I had needs, needs that every woman had.

"Fine, fine" She sighed, throwing her hands up in defeat "Let's find a table, eat before I head off home" Her smile returned, standing

I appreciated having Camille very much, even if it were rare that we were able to spend time with one another. A small part of me wanted to confide in her about my ordeal, but throughout our night together I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I tried to decipher why, was it out of embarrassment that I had fallen so victim? Was it because I was doing my best to move forward and talking about it would only drag me backwards? Perhaps it was many different things, so it remained buried, exactly where it belonged.

By 10pm, I was sauntering to my apartment building. I felt tired and my head was beginning to hurt for a reason other than my injury. The alcohol had begun slowly taking its toll throughout my bloodstream, delaying my inhibitions. I was ready for bed.