Destroyer

16

Everyone had a breaking point, and Jason was slowly working his way up to his as he watched his wife struggle with the effects of reaching the limits of her powers. In such moments, when a person is so desperate that the only thing he can think about is how to end his suffering, everyone tried to find something that would remind him why he lives and what keeps him afloat.

Jason turned out to be her beacon, guiding her to the shore where she was to find herself. The problem came at night when she fell asleep and everything came back. "I'm here, love, I'm here!" he held a screaming Cassidy, trying to hold back her panic attack and protect her ribs and the wound in her lower back. "It's okay, it's over, it's gone," he whispered in her ear, rocking her back and forth like a baby, sitting cross-legged and holding her in his lap, legs around his waist and arms around his neck, as if she released, he would melt into thin air and disappear.

During the day she acted normal, masking the fear of what had happened, but now that she was enveloped in darkness, as the shadows played in the moonlight streaming through the windows, her fears took shape and she clung to Jason, using him as an anchor that kept her grounded in reality. "Make him stop, Jason, please, make him stop!" her body was shaking uncontrollably and the cold floor was sticking his t-shirt to her back.

"Look at me, Cassidy!" he cupped her face and brushed the hair away from her face, wiping away her tears with kisses. "I'm here Cas, look it's me, just me" he raised his voice slightly, something that made her focus on him. Her breathing sounded like sea waves, a short intake of breath and a sharp long exhalation that suffocated her. "Is he gone?" he shook his head and kissed her forehead and cheeks again. "Only me, love, only us, no one else" her wide eyes, darkened by terror, slowly began to lighten, throwing off the diaper of the nightmare.

Jason began to breathe in and out, slow and tight, and Cassidy imitated him until her breathing calmed down and her body stopped shaking. "I'll kill him!" Jason swore, clutching Cassidy to his chest. His sleep fled, every time he closed his eyes, he saw her there on the floor in the studio, covered in blood, the pictures he saw in the doctor's office. Cassidy was dying of fear and Jason was burning with anger. It was so hard for him to hide his other side, while he was looking at her like this, he wanted to destroy, to assure her that her brother would pay.

Her bruises and cuts were slowly disappearing, but that didn't lessen Jason's anger. Christina and Maya also told him that the nightmares would subside, but that didn't calm him either, everything inside him screamed from pain and thirst. He needed to make sure Cassidy was okay before he went hunting, and when he caught his prey, he would experience her every scream, every tear she shed, every nightmare she experienced, every tremor in her body.

He was slowly losing control. Cassidy acted as a leash for him. Happy, loving, dedicated and smiling Cassidy. She was flaunting the man Jason was with her, she was holding the man he was supposed to be for her, but now that she herself was lost, that leash was loosening and Jason could feel the monster trying to overpower him and take him over. And he struggled, at least he tried, he couldn't leave her alone, if he did, she would break down, and he needed to vent the accumulated tension.

"Jason?" he gently kissed her forehead, humming. "Love me" his body stiffened and a lump lodged in his throat. "What?" his voice was a strained sigh that made a strand of her hair flutter like a breeze. "I need you,Jason" she looked up at him and he gritted his teeth. "Cassidy, you're still not able to..." she shook her head and buried her fingers in the hair on his neck, pulling his face to hers. "Are you also going to tell me what I should and shouldn't do?" Cassidy whispered against his lips and Jason gritted his teeth.

"You know I would never refuse you anything, but..." she jerked away and tried to get off his lap. "But you don't find me attractive anymore" Cassidy finished for him and Jason gave her a startled stare. "What the hell are you talking!" he grabbed her and pulled her back onto his lap. "Truth" Cassidy lifted her t-shirt and pointed to the bruise on her ribs. "This" then her face. "And this!" her eyes filled with tears.

"You already know my secret and you're pulling away like everyone else" Jason gasped and held her close. "I'm not backing down Cassidy, I will never leave you, no matter how many bruises you have, no matter what your brother does" she sobbed into his neck and Jason felt the beast in him rear its head again. "You are beautiful Cassidy, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and no one can change that" he made her look at him. "I'm mad,Cassidy" she blinked her wet blue eyes and sniffed against him.

"I'm mad and I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to be the next man in your life to do that" he pressed his lips to hers in a deep and passionate kiss. "I want to be the one to stay and love you even when you're down" she sobbed again, tears streaming down her face. "I want to be the one you come to when you're in pain, when you need help or just feel lonely. I want you to trust me, but I don't want you to be afraid of me, my love" he frankly admitted and leaned his forehead against hers.

"I don't want to be next Cassidy, I want to be the last" he kissed her again, taking her hand and placing it on the bulge between his legs. "You think I don't want you?" she looked at him guiltily. "There's nothing stopping me from wanting you, love, but I know you're not ready, and don't ask me to be the reason you can't look at yourself in the mirror tomorrow, because you'll realize you used me, to forget for a moment. You're not like that, Cassidy" she sobbed even harder and he hugged her tightly again, pulling her to lie next to him.

Jason gently pulled her to him, wrapping her body in a secure embrace. "I love you,Cas,and I promise,I'll do everything in my power to make sure no one ever touches you again. Now sleep and when you wake up I'll be here, always" she sighed deeply and snuggled into his chest more entwining her fingers in his. "I love you,Jess" Cassidy murmured tiredly and he smiled softly into her neck.

He wasn't sure if he should be grateful or angry at the men Cassidy had been with before him. On the one hand, if they hadn't abandoned her, now the only woman he ever loved and would ever love wouldn't be falling asleep in his arms. But on the other hand, what kind of cowardly jerk claims to love such a gentle and kind creature and when she needs him, he leaves? After all, what kind of man leaves a woman who makes you feel at home anywhere?

Jason buried his face in her neck and inhaled her scent deeply. This woman was driving him crazy, making him feel like the hero when in fact he was the anti-hero. She brought to the surface what he had been repressing for most of his life and left him no choice, disarming him with her love. He couldn't help but wonder if his grandfather knew what awaited him, if this was the feeling of having a real family.

"Jason?" her voice was sleepy and quiet and she let out a small sigh, turning in his arms and laying on his chest. "M?" he adjusted, giving her the chance to drape a leg over his hips, something Cassidy adored, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "I want a baby" his hand that was drawing circles on her shoulder froze. "What?" he looked down at her in surprise and she looked up with half-opened eyes. "I want to have a baby" she repeated and lay back on his chest, drifting off to sleep as his heart was ready to shoot like a cannonball.