Chosen (Damiano David & Victoria DeAngelis)

Chapter 31

After what seemed like hours, they returned to the hotel. Victoria was desperate...she had no idea what to do to make him feel even a little better. She guided him to the bathroom, holding him by his waist to support him as he was still shaking. Who could blame him? She didn't let go of him while she started preparing a bath to get him cleaned up...she was scared of losing him if she let go for even the shortest of seconds. While the hot water was running into the bathtub, she turned around, to face him. "We'll have to take your clothes off...I know that is probably the last thing you want right now but it's necessary.", she did her best to sound strong and conceal how broken she was from what she had seen but her voice was still quiet and shaky. He shook his head slightly, avoiding her gaze: "Don't...please..." His voice was barely hearable, only a shaky whisper. "I'm sorry, Angel...I have to...", she apologized and carefully lifted his hoodie over his head, taking it off. He looked so fragile...tons of old scars and fresh wounds on his arms...some on his upper body as well. She was scared of the next move as she didn't want to overstep boundaries, so she gently placed one hand on his hip bone to show him it was okay while she started opening his jeans with the other hand. He tensed up...she could feel that but he didn't protest...he probably didn't have the energy to do that. Lastly she pulled his boxers down, not looking though...she didn't think it was her place to look at those parts of him...she did notice some marks on his thighs though, but they looked different than the ones on his arms...more like burning marks, maybe.

She kept her shorts and shirt on when stepping into the bathtub with him. It was quite spacious so they could both sit comfortably and the bubbles she had put in gave him some privacy. "Lean back, okay? I'll take care of you...you're not alone.", to her surprise, he actually did that, now sitting between her legs, his head resting on her chest. He wasn't crying at the moment which was surprising to her as she herself was still struggling to hold the tears back. She gently brushed through his hair, making it wet with the hot water, also wiping his face with her hand in order to get rid of the tear streaks. That's when she noticed a bruise that was forming on his left cheek...probably from the slaps she had heard earlier that night. He didn't speak but at least he seemed quite calm...even when she began to carefully wash his arms, making the water turn red.

After she had cleaned and patched up his wounds, they were laying in bed, still not speaking. The lights were out and she thought he was already asleep, so she finally let her own tears out. She had never thought that something like that would happen to her best friend and she hadn't even noticed how hard it had hit her. She blamed herself...she blamed herself for not noticing anything earlier. She didn't know for how long that had been going on but it had to have been a while. She bit her lower lip to silence the sobs but it was already too late. She didn't want to wake him up...he was already exhausted enough. But when she felt two strong arms around her body, she knew he was still awake. She held onto him, quietly crying into his shirt, listening to his heartbeat...everything about him felt calming and comforting...the way he held her, his scent, the sound of his heart beating against his chest...and even his quiet sobs. Carefully, she also wrapped her arms around him, trying to calm herself down while also being there for him. Once again, no words were spoken...they were just embracing each other, crying quietly in the dark. She was glad she knew about everything now...but it also made it even more clear to her that getting him better would be a long and painful journey for both of them. But she was willing to commit to that...she would fight for him until the bitter end.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey ;)

Sorry, there will only be one chapter today because I was at school all day long but I hope you like it anyway. I promise, there will be more on the weekend :)

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite chapters so far.

Let me know what you think and thank you so much for your support :)

Thanks for reading.

- Thalia