• Jack •
I placed Nova down on the bed and handed her my shirt off of my body, she clung to the fabric as though her life depended on it. I needed a minute to process what was happening so I simply laid on the bed next to her, rubbing my hand up and down her back, gently soothing her.
'Do you want to go to the hospital? Or the police?' Her head shook no vigorously and she quickly shot up on the bed, turning to face me.
Her eyes were incredibly swollen, cheeks slightly bruised and lip split open.
Who the fuck did this to her!?
'It's my own fault, I should have just waited for Mason or Dec to come home with me' unbelievable she was really blaming herself for this, I wanted to tell her how wrong she was, how it wasn't her fault at all and that she was perfectly innocent but I could see she clearly was not in the head space to hear that right now.
I brought her into my body and gave her a tight hug, relaxing slightly as she hugged me back and burrows her head into my chest. Pressing a gentle kiss to her head I watched as she lifted her head up, locking eyes with me and pressing her nose to mine.
'I'm sorry' my words were whispered as I spoke gently to her, a comfortable silence filling the room in between my words.
'I'm sorry for earlier, I'm sorry for the way I acted, I love you Nova' she smiled gently, it was the first time I'd seen her smile since she came back and it relaxed me a lot.
It's fair to say I was taken back by the actions that followed. She pressed her bruised lips to mine, gently pushing me backwards on the bed as we kissed. She lay in between my legs, my arms gently placed around her waist keeping her feeling safe. She pulled away from me and rested her head on my chest, closing her eyes with a deep sigh.
'I love you Jack' that was it, she'd finally said it back and my heart skipped a beat, the biggest smile spreading across my face and my arms squeezing her abit tighter.
'Come on, I'll run you a cool bath' I removed her tired body from mine and headed to the bathroom, turning on the taps and adding in some bubble bath I made sure the temperature was just right before helping Nova in.
Her entire body was covered in bruises from head to toe, a clump of her hair had been pulled out, a red gash replacing where the hair once was. My hand traveled up and down her back as she lay in the bath inbetween my legs.
'That's nice' she hummed, I continued to trickle the water droplets down her back, allowing her to relax.
Gently I began to massage her shoulders as she turned her neck slowly from side to side, relaxing into my touch even more. There were so many nots in her shoulders, so much tension that I did my absolute best to ease.
Something in the atmosphere shifted as she sat up, turning around to face me whilst taking a deep breath.
'First time it happened I was 8' my stomach dropped, she was finally telling her truth, her story in her own words.
'Carried on happening until I was 18 when he finally went to prison' it was as though I could see the stress leaving her body as she spoke, like telling her narrative was getting rid of the trauma.
'Come on' I stood from the bath, wrapping a towel around my torso and holding my arms out for her, she climbed out and into my arms as I wrapped the towel around her.
'I'll cuddle you until you feel better'
***
'Shhhh, come on' Nova had woken up in the middle of the night, screaming, sweaty and terrified.
She sat with her arms around my shoulders and legs around my waist as I rocked her back and forth, stroking her hair as she took in deep breaths. I pressed a gentle kiss to her shoulder as she crawled out of my lap and back into bed, laying down and bringing her into my chest once she was calm.
'I'm s-sorry'
'Don't you ever apologise for the way you and your body responds to this, it is not your fault' I could feel her nod against my chest, her hand running up my shirt and tracing patterns on my bare skin.
After a few minutes she had fallen asleep again and I lay in bed staring at the ceiling wondering who the fuck did this to her.
