Knock, Knock

Sixty-seven

Casey

Despite the many bruises covering her body, I couldn't deny how attractive this woman is. My eyes scan over her nude body with a smirk as I lay on my bed. She finally picks her head up, brown eyes finally found their color. She looks rejuvenated now that she was away from Rai.

It had only been a week since I brought her here and she was slowly turning into the Kathryn I know and love. Though this version is just as attractive. She was eating again and her weight filled in, her skin regained its color and that gleam returned to her beautiful eyes. 

She runs her hand through her hair, "Stop looking at me like that. I'm ugly" she mutters, trying to hide her beauty. I can only smile at the woman, if only she could see what I was seeing. 

I knew her self-esteem was low especially since she had to deal with that self-absorbant narcissistic abusive piece of shit. He degraded her and made her think that she wasn't good enough. Constantly called her fat when in reality her skin was sticking to her bones. Told her, she didn't compare to his looks.

Which I claim a flat-out lie. 

Kathryn looks better than half the goddamn people on this Earth. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on" I find myself saying as I sit up. "I wish you knew that. You are so damn gorgeous."

The blush rising on her cheeks causes me to smirk. I approach the woman, who was starting to get her glow back. I take her hands in mine, my eyes crawling over her bruises that were beginning to fade. 

"I know you might be struggling with your image, but I promise you, the Kathryn Howard that I know and fell in love with 3 months ago is right in front of me and you are just as beautiful as you were then. Maybe a bit more beautiful now that you had to experience such a terrible event. These bruises and scars, they don't define you baby."

Her brown eyes melted my heart the moment she glances up from the ground. She sighs and moves away from me causing me to frown. I watch her carefully, waiting for her to voice her thoughts.

"I know, believe me, I do. But I need time. I need time to get over this. Casey, this man... he took something from me that's going to take a while to recover. I feel humiliated and broken."

I nod my head, understanding her need to process everything and for things to fall back into place. "I get it" I smile softly approaching her. 

She shakes her head, her eyes landing on me sadly. "I don't think you do Casey," she stops and puts distance between us, "I can't act like things are fine between us. You clearly felt some kind of way and I know that this situation was a huge factor but some of the things you said sounded like it'd been brewing in your heart for a while."

I clench my jaw. We let the silence settle between us for a few seconds before she speaks up again. "I think it's best we don't jump back into our relationship. At least not while Rai is still on the loose. I have things I need to figure out and we need to pace ourselves."

The words this beautiful nude woman was speaking, was breaking my heart but she was right. We didn't need to jump into this relationship while Rai was on the loose. I understood her needs. There's a knock on the door causing the brunette to move towards my closet. I walk towards the door, cracking it and coming face to face with Cassandra.

I sigh and let her in. "Gee Casey, I'm not even dressed" Kathryn groans. Cassandra frowns at the bruises on Kathryn's body. She looks away from the woman to give her, her privacy. "I heard about everything from mom and dad. Are you two okay? I'm always here if you need anything."