Caden

Eight.

Valentina made a pit stop at the aftercare room to pick up some ice for Caden's cheek. As more time passed, the bruise was getting more prominent and her cries and heavy breathing only agitated it more.

There were a few people laying down in the room when they walked in. Despite her worries, Caden's sniffles didn't disturb them at all, they barely looked up at her.

Unlike the hardwood floors of the showroom, there was a velvety soft carpet in the aftercare room. The walls were painted a pale yellow and there were large leather couches where the two women laid. A countertop ran the length of the far wall with shelving underneath that stored medical supplies as well as food and water.

Valentina gently sat Caden down on an unoccupied couch and rushed to gather an ice pack and a box of band-aids. Val lived by the notion that it was always good to have a couple bandages around.

Just when she was about to rush back to Caden and corral her into Mr. Fletcher's office, the far corner of the room caught her eye. Should she? Would Caden appreciate it or just be insulted?

Quickly, she made up her mind and snatched the object up.

"Come on, Sweetheart," she cooed. "His office is just down the hallway. Not much farther. This door right here, yup. Let's get you settled so we can start icing your cheek."

Valentina had two conflicting sides to her. She was used to being in charge and enjoyed mercilessly teasing a submissive (usually a man) until they were begging in between moans and cries. But there were also a select few who could bring out the nurturing, motherly side of Valentina: the soft spoken ones with big trusting eyes and a splintered heart, who always tried to do everything right.

Like Caden.

She didn't deserve to be in this situation, but here she was, relying on Valentina— a practical stranger— to hold her together.

And hold her together Valentina would. The bastard who hurt her was going to pay. If he didn't rot in prison, he would most certainly become friendly with Valentina's fists and pointed heels.

Once in the office, Caden was guided to sit in the large spiny chair behind the cluttered desk.

"It's the comfiest seat," Valentina reassured her. "Mr. Fletcher won't mind a smidge."

Taking the ice that was handed to her, Caden observed the room. It was evidently an office. There were piles of papers stacked up on the wooden desk, shelves of thick books, and filing cabinets filled with color coded folders. It was astonishingly well organized for how overwhelmingly busy it appeared.

With her cries subsiding, Caden took a deep breath, savoring the comforting smell of paper and something else she couldn't put her finger on. It was... it smelled... of a man.

Valentina's soothing voice coaxed her out of her daydream, "I'm not going to lie to you, the ice is going to sting on your bruise. But it'll make it stop getting bigger."

Caden brought her hand up to her cheek and lightly poked it. "Ow."

"I got you something in the aftercare room. I thought you could squeeze it when the pain got too much," Valentina held out the object like an offering, still a little unsure if she made the right decision in snatching it up.

Caden nearly started crying again.

It was a small brown teddy bear. She hadn't had a teddy bear in years and no matter how many times she asked Anthony for one for Valentine's Day, he refused.

"What are you, two?" He would say. "You're in college, Caden. You don't need that shit."

Caden disagreed. It didn't matter how old you were, it's comforting to have something soft to cuddle.