Chapter Six: ** Vanilla **

 AJ knocked on the door again, impatient. He ran a hand through his already messed up hair and tapped his foot on the carpeted floor.  He could have sworn he’d heard Debelah walking across the room a second ago but she wasn’t answering the door.  He asked himself again why he was here. The logical part of his brain told him it was because she was a friend and he worried. That would have been true if he just thought of her as a friend.

 When she still didn’t answer, he knocked again and finally heard her voice call out with a touch of anger and strain,” Dave, I said I’d see you tomorrow. Just please…go away.”

 He stood there for a moment, contemplating her words before he spoke, "Debelah, it’s me. AJ.”

 She was silent for a moment and his ears strained for any sound. The sound of her light footsteps was heard as she walked towards the door as well as the slow click of the lock as she unlocked it. The door finally opened but she had left the chain on the door, giving him a view of but two inches. Her big brown eye peeked around the side of the door and he didn’t miss the tear stains on her cheek or the weariness in her eyes as she look at him.

 He stared at her, a mix of emotions running through him. He was confused, because he didn’t know what was going on and he was still angry at that Dave guy who hurt Debelah.  He was hurting inside because she was hurting and he just wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be alright.

“Can I talk to you?” AJ asked quietly, shoving his hands in his pockets and hoping she would say yes.

Debelah bit her bottom lip, now knowing what to say. She’d been a total wreck ever since she’d gotten back to her hotel room- she’d started crying as soon as she could reach the bed to throw herself on. And now AJ came. But why? Why wasn’t he at the club still? Why did he care about what happened to her? Dave never did but she still knew in the back of her mind that the guys weren’t like that.  And AJ seemed to really care about her, more than the rest of the guys did.

Debelah had finally picked back up her life after Dave, had succeeded in looking positively at everything but she’d been thrown into a whirlwind when Dave had reappeared. She felt herself being thrown back to before, when she had been with Dave and had lost all hope. And here, AJ was at her door, asking if he could talk to her. He wanted to help her. That lifted her heart and she made her decision.

“Is there anybody else in the hall?” Debelah asked, wanting to make sure Dave wasn’t around. A flicker of confusement flashed over AJ’s face but he checked both ways thoroughly before he answered.

“No.”

Debelah hesitated for a second before she shut the door and he heard a scraping sound as she removed the chain from the doorway. She opened the door again, wide this time and motioned for him to come in, moving out of the way. He walked past her, heading towards the bed to sit down and she couldn’t help but inhale the smell of his cologne as he passed. Shaking her head at herself, she quickly poked her head out of the room to make sure there was no one in the hallway.

The door shut and she turned around to see AJ sitting on the edge of the bed, serious eyes staring straight at her. She suddenly felt insecure as he stared at her, and she wondered if he could read her thoughts. If he knew how scared she was of what Dave could do or how determined she was to win her back life again. If he knew how much she was starting to fall for him, even though she’d only known him for two days.

“Do you want to sit down?” he asked.

Debelah wrapped her arms around her stomach and slowly shook her head, wondering if she should tell him the truth or not. AJ watched as she fidgeted as she stood by the closed door, still wearing the clothes from the club, now wrinkled. He wanted to find out what was going on, to protect her, but he had to make sure she trusted him.

“Why don’t you take a shower before we talk to relax you? I’ll wait out here for you,” he suggested. He desperately wanted to talk now, but he also hoped she would feel better after a hot shower and be more comfortable around him. Like before.

Debelah shifted to her other foot and looked at him,” You’d wait?”

AJ nodded, "For as long as it takes as long as you feel better about whatever happened when you get out.”

He said this so honestly, so caringly, that a small genuine smile graced her lips. He treated her so nicely, like she mattered. With no other thought but that in her mind, she walked over to him without hesitating and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. He sat there in shock for a second before returning it strong, closing his eyes and breathing in her sweet scent of vanilla. He thanked God for her and for bringing her into his life. He kissed the top of her head before reluctantly releasing her and smiling gently at her.

Debelah, with the smile still on her lips, grabbed a pair of shorts and a jersey from her bag before making her way to the bathroom. She had almost made it when she turned around, walked back to AJ and gave him a kiss on cheek and whispered, "Thank you.” She walked back to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her quietly. AJ listened as the water in the shower started and then lay back on the bed with a sigh, closing his eyes. He hoped that she would trust him enough to tell him what was going on, which seemed to have affected her greatly. He hoped he could help her through.