SHE AIN'T LIKE A SISTER NO MORE

Chapter 66 ~ "Justin, someone is at the door..."

JEN

I wake up in the arms of an angel, and there is no doubt (not that there ever really has been), that this is exactly where I want to wake up, every single day for the rest of my life.

His fingers are gently tangled in my hair, his other arm wrapped around me tight, and it's only here-with him-that I feel completely safe. Our limbs tangled. Held tight within the arms of my very own safety barrier, who I know, would die just to keep me safe.

I take a deep breath, inhaling his masculine scent mixed with the frightening smell of petrol and fire.

----

He's there.

I can see his feet shuffling around, as I lay face down on the carpet, in too much pain to move. Not just physically broken, but emotionally too. I drift in and out of consciousness.

One side of my face is burning; I assume its carpet burn from the friction that was created against my will.

Everything goes quiet.

He's gone.

He's left me here to die.

----

"Baby...Jen!" Justin's voice snaps me out of the memory as he tries to lift my chin from his chest.
I lazily lift my head to look at him, and he gently wipes the tears from my face with the pads of his thumbs.
"It's over now baby, I promise." He whispers, sadness taking over his beautiful features.
"He just left me there J...he just left me there to die." I whisper, my throat burning.
"Ssshh, it's okay now. I've got you." He replies, pulling me against his chest which has suddenly become hard as stone, his breathing slow and heavy.
He lifts my hand and moves it a little, and it's only then that I realize my nails had been digging into his hip.
"Fuck, I'm sorry." My fingertips, which were already in pain are now numb, and I can't even imagine how deep the crescent shaped marks are that I've left on him.

We lay quietly, and it's exactly what I need; to feel him against me. It must be hours later, after multiple visits from doctors and nurses, that he finally breaks the silence.

"You're going to tell the cops who it was...right baby?"
"I'm not ready yet." I reply eventually.

I know they'll want every tiny detail. Every miniscule moment that took place of every millisecond. I'm not ready for that. Not just yet.

"But you will..." He presses.
"Yeah. I will."

There's a knock on the door, and a doctor walks in, closely followed by Leila. Leila looks Justin and I over with a warm smile on her face, but when the doctor begins to speak, her smile soon fades.

"Jen, I'm Doctor Monroe. We'd like to speak with you about a few things before we discharge you."

I nod, but I feel Justin tense up beside me and a horrible feeling comes over me.
Instant nausea.
Leila watches Justin's reaction, continuously fidgeting, shifting her weight from one leg to the other before finally speaking up.

"Justin, if you don't feel comfortable-"
"I'm okay." He quickly replies, sitting up and pulling me closer into his side. "I want to be here."
"J, I'll be fine if you want to step out for a moment." I tell him softly.
"No, I'll be okay." He nods.

"Okay. Firstly, with your agreement, you've been tested for any sexually transmitted diseases. However, that being said, I still advise that you use a condom for the next month, until we can do further tests to confirm that you do not have any std's."

My blood runs cold, and I'm sure I tense up, because Justin's hand runs over my arm, smoothing the goose bumps away. Sex is the very last thing on my mind.