The Beginning of Us (249 page)

“I’m sorry,” I say as I look down at her. I’m still pissed, but I need her to understand I’m pissed at myself, not her. “Angel?” She doesn’t respond. “Angel, come on. Get up. Let me help get you cleaned up in the shower.”

She shakes her head lightly. “I just want to go home,” she mumbles into her legs.

“I know you’re hurting. Please, let me take a look at you.” I hear another sob and I bend down to kneel in front of her. I reach out and grab her arms, thinking maybe she needs help standing, but she jerks away with a cry of pain. “Sorry,” I whisper.

I wish I could take it away. I hate that she is hurting and won’t let me help her. How could I have let this happen? How could I have put her in this situation?

She stands slowly, not looking at me. I don’t know if she’s scared of me now, or just mad at me. I don’t blame her if it is both.

“Angel, at least talk to me. What hurts?” I ask as she walks past me.

“Oh,
now
you want to talk?” she screams as she turns to face me. “How dare you talk to me like that! I’m done apologizing for trying to help your ass out.”

“Angel, I—”

She sobs again, cutting me off as her anger fades away. “Just stop, Slade.” she says as she cries, shaking her head. “Please, just leave me alone.”

I stand back, giving her some room. Her face is red and wet from the tears running down her face. I go to reach my hand out to her; I want to pull her into my chest and hold her to prove to myself she’s ok, but she turns and heads into the bathroom.

I decide giving her space is probably the best thing for her right now. I did just scream at her and punch a hole in the door fifteen minutes ago. I sit on the edge of the bed.
Fuck, how did this night get so bad in a matter of minutes?
I run a hand through my hair. I listen closely, but don’t hear her crying anymore. Actually, all I can hear is the shower. I stand up to go check on her.

“Angel?” I say lightly. She is standing in front of the shower with her back to me, still dressed.

“If you’re going to scream at me, you can just forget it. I don’t want to listen to anything you have to say.” She keeps her back to me, but she didn’t raise her voice.

“I’m sorry for screaming at you. Look, you scared the shit out of me. You said you were worried about me? Well, I was terrified.” I sigh “Terrified something was going to happen to you. You have to understand. I’ve never known that kind of fear before. I admit I was wrong for screaming at you, but I was just so terrified you were going to get hurt. Then I saw you punch Matt, and I was proud that you had the courage to do it, no matter how dumb it was of you. But when I saw you lying on the ground outside…I couldn’t keep my anger in anymore.”

She still has her back to me, so I walk up to her, put my hands on her shoulders, and slowly turn her around. Her heartbreaking look has vanished, replaced by a look that says she’d rather I be dead than talking to her. Her mouth is set in a hard line, and her eyes look dark as they bore into mine. I reach up and rub what’s left of the tears and mascara off of her face.

“I was so worried about your safety. I was never mad at you. I was mad at myself.” I cup her cheek in my palm. “I just found you, Angel. I was afraid that I was already going to lose you.”

Her face relaxes as she pushes her body to mine and hugs me. I feel instant relief. I hug her back gently, not wanting to hurt her. This night could have ended very differently. I’m just glad she is safe in my arms.

“I’m so sorry for yelling at you and punching the door. So very sorry, Angel.” I kiss her hair gently, then pull her away from me and look in her green eyes. “You know I would never hurt you, right?” I feel the need to say that again before she can answer. “I would never hurt you, Angel. Never. I was just so mad, and I wanted to hit Matt all over again.”

“I know you wouldn’t,” she says as her green eyes look into mine.

I let out a long breath. “Promise me that if something like that ever happens again you’ll run?”

She nods her head.

“No, say it.”

“I will run to get help.”

I pull her back to me, knowing she will never run. She’s a fighter, and I can’t change that. She may look small, and feel small when I hold her in my arms, but she is very brave and strong. And as much as I was scared, I also love that’s she’s not afraid to stand up to someone.

“Come on, let’s get you out of these clothes. I want to see where you hit your side.” She nods and pulls away from me. I begin unbuttoning her shirt without waiting for her permission. I keep my eyes on hers as I undo all the buttons, then I put my hands on her shoulders and slowly slide her shirt down her arms. I catch sight of bruises on her arms, and I feel all the air leave my lungs as if someone just punched me.

“How did you get these?” I ask in disbelief. I run my fingers lightly over them; they are a deep red color in the shape of finger prints. They are located just below her shoulders, an odd place to have bruises if you ask me. Maybe I gave them to her when we were pushed down.

“Matt,” she whispered.

“What? That can’t be right.” I shake my head.

“Before you tackled him in the hallway. When he pushed me up against the wall,” she whispers.

My anger comes back full force. My jaw is clenched so tight it makes my teeth ache.
That fucking bastard is D.E.A.D.

“I’m sorry,” she says softly.

I place her face in my palms as a single tear falls down her cheek. “Don’t be sorry, Angel.” I shake my head. “None of this was your fault. Turn around.” As she turns, I see a bruise has already formed on the right side of her back. It’s also a deep red color that runs diagonal across her side onto her back. “Is this where you hit the concrete barrier?”

“I guess. I didn’t see what I hit.”

Other than those three bruises, her upper body doesn’t look too bad. “Come on, let’s get your pants off.” She turns back to face me and allows me to undo her pants. I gently slide them down her legs; she has scratches and dried blood all the way down to her ankles. “I’m so sorry.” I can’t tell her enough how sorry I am.

“It’s not your fault. Plus, I look pretty good compared to you.” She gives me a small smile that I can’t help but return.

“How does your hand feel?” I gently take her right hand in mine and examine it.

“It feels fine.” She opens and closes it a few times for me.

“Angel, you don’t have to lie to me. If you hurt it, I want you to tell me.”

“Honestly, my hand doesn’t hurt. It actually hurts the least.” She stares down at her hand. I know her side is giving her the most discomfort. She doesn’t have to say it; I can tell by the way she is holding herself. “The water is probably getting cold. Why don’t you go ahead and get in? I’ll be right behind you.” I kiss her forehead and open the shower door before she can argue.

I walk out of the bathroom and see the pieces of wood from the door on the floor. I look to the hole then back to the floor.

Fuck.

I want to hit it again. What the fuck was I thinking? I ball my fists up at my sides, ignoring the pain.

I take a deep breath as I step back in the bathroom. I see her bra and panties lying on the floor outside the shower door, and with shaky hands I get undressed. I’m not nervous about seeing her naked, but I’m nervous how I will react when I see her bruised body. I don’t know if I can take it.

I step in the shower and she has her head under the water, facing me. When I shut the door, she opens her eyes and walks over to me. Before she can get too close, I grab a hold of her hands and hold her arms out, looking over her body. Now that the water has washed away the blood and dirt, I curse softly. She is covered in bruises, the worst of which are on her thighs and knees.

“I’m okay. A little sore, but it’s not too bad.”

“Maybe I should take you to the hospital.”
What if she has internal injuries?

She shakes her head. “I’m fine. I just want to clean up and go to bed. When I get out, I’ll take some Tylenol. I’ll be okay.”

I want to argue with her. She is going to feel like shit tomorrow, and her body will be stiff and sore as hell, but we have fought enough already tonight. So I let it go. I hold her for a few minutes just letting the shower head soak our bodies. I look down and see dirt and blood flowing down the drain.

I need to get cleaned off and out of here before I lose my mind!

“Come on, let’s get cleaned up.” She nods and turns to face the shower head.

“Was that your first time hitting someone?’’ I ask as I begin to wash her back.

“No...” she answers cautiously.

“What?” I say in a high pitch voice. “What other times have you hit someone?” I pick some gravel out of her shoulder.

“My dad taught me to fight at a young age. Said every girl should know how to protect herself. I don’t start fights, but that doesn’t mean I back down when one presents itself.”

I turn her around to face me, and place my hand on her hips. “I don’t care how many fights you’ve been in, or how well your dad taught you to fight. Next time you run.”

She stares at me for a few seconds before she finally nods, but her eyes are telling me she is lying.
God help me, this women is going to be the death of me!

We finish up in the shower and get out. I hand her a towel so she can dry off as I go and grab her one of my t-shirts. I need her to get dressed as soon as possible because every time I look at her, my anger rises. Not towards her, but towards Matt.

“Are you allergic to any medications?”

“No.” she shakes her head slowly. I walk out of the bathroom and go to my nightstand to get the pills she will need for her pain. I run to the kitchen to grab her a bottle of water. “Here, take this. It will help with the pain.” I hand her the pills and water. She takes them without any questions.

I unwrap the towel from my waist, throwing on a pair of boxers. I finish up in the bathroom and crawl in bed, snuggling in beside her. She is already asleep, so I pull her gently into me and kiss my angel good night. I close my eyes and smile, knowing she is safe here with me.

She screams out my name, but I can’t get to her fast enough. My hands are clammy, and my heart is racing. I’m scared and angry at the same time. I can see the horror in her big green eyes and the tears run down her face. Matt has her by the arms as he shakes her. She struggles to pull away, kicking and screaming. He lets go of her, shoving her to the ground. She lands facing down on the concrete, she tries to crawl away from him, but she’s not fast enough. He comes to stand over her and pulls her up by her hair as she screams out in pain. He pushes her up against the wall, and start yelling in her face…

I sit straight up in bed, covered in sweat and trying to get my breathing under control. I look around frantically for a moment until I realize I’m in my bedroom, and Angel is sleeping like a baby next to me. I get my racing heart to slow and my breathing back to normal as I lay down next to her.

“Just a dream.” I whisper laying down, rubbing my hands over my eyes. Fuck, where the hell was I? Why wasn’t I helping her? I place my hand on my chest and feel my heart pounding so hard my chest feels tight, and it’s soaked from sweat.

I shove the covers off and get out of bed, walking to the bathroom. I turn on the sink and start throwing water on my face. It doesn’t help, it’s not helping cool me down. Placing my hands on the counter top I look up at myself as water runs down my face.

Matt had told me he was going to make her pay for hitting him. Once Josh had taken her out the exit, he started screaming all the things he was going to do to her. He got a few hits in on me as I had been looking at Holly. She was terrified as she stood there wide-eyed at Matt’s words. I yelled for her to leave and to get Angel to a safe place.

I look down and fist my hand that I had punched him with. That fucker deserved a lot more than what he got. I close my eyes taking a few deep breaths. It’s all over. I rinse off my face one more time and then dry it off. I walk out of the bathroom and crawl in next to Angel. I let my eyes wander over her body. When we were in the shower earlier, all I could do was try to tone down my anger every time I looked at a bruise or scratch. Now my body wants her. She is lying on her left side, facing me. Her left arm is stretched out under her pillow, her right arm is lying out in front of her, with her hair wild on her pillow.