My mouth bobbed up and down trying to come up with something to say but in the end. They need to know, I am not going to show them my scars anytime soon.
"Hey Haven Lara is here with the bandages to switch them out" I sigh and nod. I get up telling the boys I'll be back.
"Why do we still have to do them?" I ask Lara as I walk up to her. "They're almost healed anyway"
"Let's go to the bathroom" She sighs opening up the door. Mirrors and sinks lined the right side and four stalls on the left. I lifted my shirt and turned to her. I hated this, and she knows it. I prefer to try and do it myself.
"Look as happy as I am that your wounds are healing, and the ones up higher have healed but the ones on your lower back haven't. I know you haven't told anyone about your back but-"
"When I am ready"
"I know... I am gonna remove the bandage" when she touches my back I flinch hard. I start to feel sick to my stomach as tears reach my eyes. "They look good, maybe a week more before we can stop doing the bandages. Doctor said when they start to..." she stoped herself for a moment. "When they start to scar we can take them off" I nodded as I couldn't say much at the moment.
The tears we're falling violently and I couldn't stop them. Lara rubbed the ointment on my back, my body flinched and convulsed away from her and twitched the entire time.
"If the boys take the offer for protection you will have to have them-"
"I can do it myself." Lara sighs heavily.
"Okay, I'll pack everything in a bag for you. Your brother is packing your stuff. Regardless of whether or not they take the offer you are going. You have to be protected and safe." I nod she fastens the wrap and I turn around letting my shirt down.
A tear slides down my face and she looks at me pitifully.
"Don't do that" I sniffle.
"Don't do what?"
"Pity me" I whisper and she looks at me again giving me a hug. I flinch when her hands touch my back but thank her silently for the hug.
I wipe the tear not giving myself much time to cry and getting back to business.
"I need to go back, I decided to tell them the truth, it's all I can do at this point. Since I am the reason they're in this mess" I sighed. "I am not ready for this" I laugh awkwardly. I am not ready to talk about it. I can barely say the words out loud to my therapist. I am not going to lie and say I'm comfortable moving in with two strangers but I will do what I have to, to keep my family safe. Even if that means sacrificing myself in the process.
"Can I have a minute alone?" I ask her and she hesitates for a moment. "Please" my voice breaks and she nods.
Lara leaves and I breathe out deeply, I lean forward looking in the mirror. "What are you doing Haven?" I whisper to myself. I don't know what I'm expecting, some kind of life altering epiphany I guess? a direction? I don't know...I just don't. I have to tell the guys something.
"Oh hi, I know we just met and you don't know me but I was physically abused by my father... and now a friend of my dads is hunting me to settle a debt he owes my father. In turn for being around me you are also being hunted...sound good? sorry for uprooting you, but you'll be okay" I shrug...right.
I walk out of the bathroom and take a deep breath making my way back to the waiting area where the boys are. I take another long breath approaching the door. "Here goes nothing"
***
"Hey" I mutter catching their attention. They seemed to be having quite the heated discussion. "Am I interrupting? I can come back..." I ask.
Westley goes to say something but Easton interrupts him.
"Nah Art Girl you're fine" he pats the part of the couch that is in between the two of them and I sigh sitting in the chair across from them.
"Westley?" I ask him looking in his eyes questioningly.
"Yeah" he says halfheartedly. I continue to look at him and he snaps back like a rubber band.
"Yeah yeah, I'm listening" he rebuttals.
"How did this start?" Easton asks but I hold up my hand.
"We will get to that later I think its best I start from the very beginning."
"What like 'AT FIRST THERE WAS NOTHING AND THEN THERE WAS THE SUN' like that?" Easton jokes and while Westley glares at him I give him a half smile.
"My mom and dad met at the library. My mom was a music teacher for the local high school and my dad was a Chef with a love for reading. My mom made a comment when telling me about how 'All that glitters is not gold'. She made comments like how she loved my dad all the time. Then I just thought how much she must love him to not be able to stop saying it.
Now, I know she was trying to convince herself with a lie. 'The grass isn't always greener on the other side love, remember that'. I had no idea what she meant. One day when I was about 13 my brother left for college. My mom sat me on the couch and said she was going to get the croc pot from my aunt and that she'd be back in time to take me to the movies, 'wait for me and the minute I get back we'll go just you and me' She'd said. She planned to take me to the movies to get my mind off of my brother leaving for college.
I nodded and told her to be safe and that I loved her. She was crying then and I couldn't understand why. You'd think I would've been smart enough to sense a goodbye. A few hours after she left I got ready for the movies and sat on the front porch and waited for her to show up...she never did...and then-" My voice died out and I played with my fingers. I am telling 2 strangers my entire past and suddenly their gazes were confining.
"Are you okay?" Westley asked me his stormy eyes filled with concern.
"Yeah, this is just heavy and no offense but I don't feel comfortable unpacking all of my baggage to people I just met. But I guess I don't have a choice. You guys are being hunted and it's my fault I might as well" I sigh my hands are shaking with nerves that wiggle through my bones.
"Alright, if you need a minute just let us know" Easton nods.
My hands shake and I feel nauseous. "I don't think I can go into all of the details right now. I'm just not ready to talk about it. But I will give you the gist. My dad used to hit me...and this guy that's chasing me, is a bounty hunter hired by my dad to kill me and anyone I care about, I am guessing that he agreed to it because he has a few scores to settle on his own. The money was just an added benefit." I say barely able to look either guy in the eye.
Westley makes the move first. His arms wrap around me from my left side, I lean onto his left shoulder taking solace in the soft moments his thumb makes on my right shoulder. Easton leans forwards and grabs my right hand softly stroking the back of it on my hand.
Where do I go from here? It's not like I have my mom to ask, but for once I wish I could pretend that I had a mom that stayed and I could ask her what to do.
Too bad pretending makes you realize everything you don't have.
YOU ARE READING
Her Breaking Point
RomanceHe had rules for a reason, or thats what he said. I did something wrong I got punished. I spoke out of turn, I got punished. I looked at him or ate without permission, I got punished. Haven thats what they named me funny isn't it? Ironic really. The...
