Saving Boston (Rewritten)

The Man Hit Her Hard Enough To Fracture Her Cheek Bone

Every morning, I watched the surveillance footage. It wasn't that I worried Trevor couldn't do his job, but he wasn't the only person working for me. All of my employees knew I watched the cameras to make sure everyone was doing their job, and because of that, I never had to worry. Nothing ever changed. Most of it remained the same.

I leaned back into my chair, sipping from the mug of coffee as the video continued to play. My eyes looked over the paperwork Trevor turned into me. Numbers have been steadily rising. The increase in percentages made it clear that business was only getting better. The team I had made recommendations that could help us, and it was proving to work.

Before pushing away from my desk, my eyes caught movement from behind the bar that caught my attention. I felt my lips part as I stared at the curly-haired girl trying to pull Trevor away from his job. My friend turned to Dan before following Bo toward the spot everyone danced. A smile stretched across his face as she held his hand, twirling herself around.

My eyebrows furrowed as a heavy sigh left my lips. Without makeup covering her face, I could see the scar on her cheek through the shitty resolution of my camera. It made me wonder how much worst it would be to see her in person.

"Hey," my office door flew open, revealing Trevor. "Shit, was I interrupting something?"

I hit the spacebar on my keyboard, pausing the video. "No. What do you need?"

"Before you watch the footage from last night, I need to tell you -"

"I already saw her," I cleared my throat. "Don't worry about it."

His head moved up and down as he stared at the ground. There were things he was keeping to himself. My elbows rested on the desk as I leaned forward. I cocked an eyebrow, wondering what made him silent. I didn't need his pity, though. If he was worried about me being upset, he could stop.

"I am fine -"

"She is drinking really heavily," he blurted. "It got to the point where I had to stop serving her."

My head dropped into my hands as I raked my fingers through my hair. "What are you talking about?"

"She cannot sleep anymore," he sighed. "She doesn't want to go home anymore. Her law firm is trying to get more security, but since she won't say anything about who did it, they can't help her."

"What do you mean they can't help her? That doesn't mean anything just because they don't know who did it -"

"It doesn't matter, she is scared," he snapped. "No amount of security is going to heal that."

"Why can she come to you guys, but she won't see me? She knows I can protect her -"

"Because this isn't about you."

"I never said it was -"

"She came to us because we are the closest thing she has to normal," he stated. "She doesn't have a family anymore, Kinnick. And when she didn't have anybody before, we were there for her. We are all she knows."

"Miles lives with her -"

"You killed her mom," he pointed at me. "We didn't say anything about it. There is a massive difference between those two statements. It is beside the point anyway. She is terrified of whoever it is that hurt her, and for whatever reason she has came to us for it."

"Has she told you anything?"

"Other than a few occasional things, no."

"Like what?"

He motioned toward his cheek. "The cut on her cheek, she said the man had hit her hard enough to fracture the bone -"

My breath hitched as I sucked in the air. The desk in front of me nearly tipped as I shoved away from it, standing to my feet. Who would want to hurt my Bo? Her whole life has been a series of kindness and being treated poorly. I couldn't understand why anybody would want to cause her pain.

"It is a hairline fracture," he continued cautiously. "She doesn't need to see a plastic surgeon. The doctor told her it should heal in less than four to six weeks. That is why the vessels in her right eye are broken."

"Someone hit her hard enough to fracture her cheekbone?"

"She is a small woman, Kinnick. I can't imagine that it would be hard -"

"What else did you find out?"

"The nerve running through her cheek is bruised," he cleared his throat. "So, parts of her face are numb. She said sometimes it is hard to drink because she cannot feel the corner of her lip."

I paced my office. "What does she need, Trevor?"

"She needs to feel safe -"

"Okay," I nodded. "Then you do whatever you have to. Just make sure it happens. If she needs somewhere to stay, I'll pay for it. Whatever it is, let me know. I'll take care of it."

"We need to do something about her job -"

"I'll hire someone for security," I shrugged. "Just don't tell her I am a part of any of this. I don't want her to say no."

He nodded. "For sure. I would never."

"Where is she staying when she is not at home?"

"I'll find out," he promised.

"Okay," I sat back down, rubbing my face.

Before he walked out, he turned back to me. "No matter what happens to her, she always asks about you."

When I found out about Warren, I wanted to do anything to kill him. Whatever I could do to prove to her that he would never hurt her again, I would do it. Yet, the whole time, I did what I could to suppress my anger. Every chance I had to put my hands on him, I would take it. Despite everything I did to him, she was still hurting. No matter how many times I hurt him, it would never help her heal. So, now I am trying to learn from those mistakes.

I couldn't be the Kinnick who went after the people who hurt her because I needed to feel better - it was never about me. I would start putting her first. Everything she needed, I would give it to her. In the end, she needed to be okay with herself. No one could heal her; she had to do it herself. I just had to support it, and I never did. So, now I am trying to change even if she doesn't see it.