Damaged Goods

Chapter 11

TJ was waiting anxiously for Lyla's arrival. He watched expectantly for her and almost didn't recognize her when she approached him. She was wearing loose fitting jeans and a large hoodie sweatshirt that covered most of her features, and even with the bulky clothing, she somehow appeared smaller than he remembered her.

"Hi TJ," she said, walking toward him. "Thank you again, I really can't express how much I appreciate you letting me come out here, on such short notice."

She wasn't the tall and confident woman he had met leading up to their wedding day, but appeared to be a scared and timid, withdrawn version of that woman. His immediate response to seeing her that way was to reach out for her and give her a hug. But as TJ reached out to her, she shrank back and stiffened at his touch.

"Um yeah, definitely, no problem" he faltered, trying to recover from the embarrassment of the awkward hug moment.

"I'm parked in the garage. It's this way. Do you have any luggage?" he asked.

"No, just my bag. I didn't want to have to check anything" Lyla responded.

"Can I carry your bag for you?" he asked.

"That's ok, it's not heavy, thank you though."

TJ wanted to ask what was wrong, as something had obviously happened. He noticed the bruise on the side of her face as well as a cut at the top of her head. He knew something pretty bad must have happened, to account for such a dramatic change he saw in the woman walking beside him. TJ decided not to ask any questions, at least he planned to wait at least until the morning, after she had a chance to rest.

Lyla appreciated TJ's silence. She had been dreading the potential questions he would have for her upon her arrival, so when he didn't ask any questions, she was relieved that she would have a little more time to decide what, if anything, she would tell him about what happened. But she knew that if she told him about what had happened just a few hours ago, that would only lead to more questions and she would have to tell him more about her past. Something she really didn't want to tell him. Things she hadn't really confided with anyone other than Katie, and even the information she gave Katie was censored and minimal. Lyla felt damaged and broken, and that's now how she wanted TJ to see or think of her.

They exchanged a few comments about Lyla's flight, the temperature in the car and TJ asked if Lyla was hungry and wanted to get something to eat, but for the most part, they sat in silence for a majority of the car ride. They arrived at TJ's condo about 20 minutes later, and he walked her inside.

"Well, this is it" he said. "It's not huge, but I've got a guest room and the main bathroom that I never use, so make yourself at home."

He walked her around, showed her the kitchen and the room she would be staying in, pulled a spare key out of a drawer and handed it to her.

"I'm sorry, I don't have much food in the house. I'll have to go to the store some time tomorrow" he said, "but there's a convenience store around the corner to the left, when you leave the building, if there's anything immediate you need."

"Thank you, TJ" she said quietly.

"Um, yeah so, I'm going to go ahead and go to bed. I'll probably leave here around 7 tomorrow morning for work, but definitely let me know if you need anything. Feel free to call me or text or anything. So, yeah, I'll leave you to it. Goodnight."

"Goodnight" she responded. "TJ" she said as he reached the door, "thank you... for everything."

TJ nodded at her and smiled and headed to his own bedroom for a sleepless few hours before he had to get up to get ready for work.

*****

"Good morning" TJ said, as he came into the kitchen in the morning. He was surprised to see that Lyla was awake. She was sitting outside on the balcony, on the other side of the kitchen dining area, sipping a cup of coffee. She looked much more like the woman he had come to know, and barely resembled the scared figure he brought home with him last night. She was barefoot, with calf-length leggings, her glasses and an oversized t-shirt, with her hair in a messy pile on the top of her head. The only thing that didn't fit with the lovely figure he saw, was the dark bruise on the side of her face.

"Morning" Lyla said, turning to TJ and smiling.

"Feeling better?" He asked, not really sure how to address the events of a few hours ago.

"Yes, very much. Thank you again. I'm still really embarrassed, and I really appreciate your hospilitality" she said.

"You're very welcome. Feel free to stay as long as you need. Just make yourself at home."

"Would you mind giving me your wifi password?" she asked, "I need to get in touch with work and send over some things I have on my computer."

"Of course" he said, as he grabbed a notepad and a pen from a drawer in the kitchen, and wrote down the information she requested.

"I'm sorry I can't stay, I have to go to work" he said. "But, call me or text me if you need anything. I should be back probably around five."

When TJ left, Lyla called her office. With as little explanation as possible, she let them know she would be working remotely for the time being. Fortunately, as most of her job was digital, this wasn't a huge inconvenience for her boss, but she did have to make plans for video conferences as needed for the meetings she would be required to be a part of.

After that she called Katie, and letting her know where she was, and that she was ok. They talked for almost an hour. Lyla didn't tell Katie everything, but she was the only person she had to talk about her past with, so she told her enough. Katie promised to keep an eye on Lyla's apartment, and get her mail. Other than that, there was nobody else left to contact. Lyla's circle was pretty small, so there wasn't really anyone else that would be concerned about her sudden absence.

After spending a few hours getting some work done, Lyla ventured out of the apartment to get some necessities. She had left in such a rush, she hadn't packed much. She also needed something to eat. While TJ's condo was lovely, with a gorgeous beach view, it was definitely the home of a man who spent little time there. There was very little food other than some frozen burritos, cereal and milk.

Lyla found a drugstore nearby and bought some personal items as well as some large sunglasses and makeup. The bruise on her face would probably show for a few more days, and she wanted to cove it as much as possible. She then continued on to a grocery store and made some purchased enough food for the next few days, before heading back to TJ's condo.

She went out one more time, because she neededto buy some clothes. She hadn't brought much with her, and she didn't plan toreturn home right away, so she needed thing to keep her clothed for at leastthe next few days.