The Immaculate Misconception

Chapter 15

The next morning.

"So where's Eve now?" Ryan asks.

"She's in the shower." Chris says, "She woke up in a lot of pain this morning. She wanted to see if it would help her relax."

"Is she really that badly hurt?" Balz asks.

"I didn't think so last night, but now I know she is. Her bruises are worse this morning, and everything is hurting her worse." Chris says, "And - this is pleasant - all of the gashes on her back scabbed over during the night while she slept and when she tried to move this morning, they broke open and she started crying because of the pain and..." Chris trails off before rubbing his eyes, tiredly, "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"We need to get her to go to the police." Ricky says.

"I will, but not now. With all that she's been through and with how overwhelmed she is by all of this, the idea of going to the police now will just scare her." Chris says, "My hope is that the art studio will be theraputic for her and will help her recover faster; mentally at least. We'll get to the police before the band leaves for tour, but I don't know when exactly."

"Why don't you just do it on your own?" Ghost asks.

"We've discussed this - the police can be dicks sometimes. I'm just not sure they're going to believe the tattooed guy with weird eyebrows when he tells then that a pastor is up to no good. Even if they do, they're going to want evidence and they'll want to bring Eve in for questioning and so much other shit. I don't want to go behind Eve's back and force her into something she isn't ready for."

"That's fair; but you do realize that you're pretty much Eve's lifeline until then, right?" Vinny asks.

"Absolutely."

Eve then walks out. She was once again in her black sweater and a pair of Chris' boxers. Her damp hair was put to the side over her shoulder. She must have had her contacts in and her bandages were removed.

She looked so. Much. Worse.

She moved very slowly when she walked. Bruises covered her arms and legs and neck and chest. Almost her entire right eye was swollen shut. She used her hair to cover that part of her face. She looked down at the floor and played with the ends of her hair. Some of her nails were broken, and her knuckles were red.

Chris walks up to her, "Hey baby." He says quietly before gently kissing her hair, "How you feelin'?"

Eve just shrugs.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee?" Chris asks.

Eve shakes her head 'no'.

Chris nods and sits Eve down on the couch. He sits on the arm of the couch next to her and takes her hand.

"Everything is gonna be alright." Ricky chimes in.

"We're gonna help you; we all are." Ryan says.

"How long until your dad figures out you're gone?" Balz asks.

Eve swallows, "Well," She starts, finally finding her voice. It was hoarse though, "He's going to be too hung over to even move today. He'll know Sunday for sure though."

"We'll keep you safe, baby." Chris says, lightly squeezing her hand.

"What are you two going to do?" Vinny asks.

"I actually would like to go out tomorrow." Eve says.

"What?" Chris asks, shocked.

"That's probably not a good idea, Eve." Ghost says.