Unexpected

31

I don't move, and can't process what's going on. I'm so confused right now. Am I asleep again? I bring my fingers to the skin on my arm, and pinch it. It hurts, I can feel it. I'm not asleep, this is real. I can't move, I can't speak. I think I stop breathing for a little bit.
Her hair is up in a messy bun, that looks like it was once her infamous bun. Her clothes have some blood on it, and are torn up a bit. Old makeup is smeared on her face. She's carrying her shoes in her hands. Bruises are spread through out her body. But Miley's here, and she's alive.
"Miley?" I say, my voice quiet.
"Justin, I'm so happy you're okay," Miley's voice is almost inaudible.
I set the pills in my hand down on the bedside table, and push myself up. I walk over to her, and bring her into my embrace. I give her a squeeze, and she winces.
"Ow," I hardly hear her say.
I immediately soften my grip around her. I look down at her, and see her face wet from fresh tears. I didn't realize she was crying.
"Sh, you're okay, baby. I won't let them hurt you again," I try to sound calm.
I have so much emotions running through me, I don't know what to feel. I feel ecstatic that she's alive, and that this is real. I feel sad to see her in this state, and know that if it weren't for me she wouldn't have ever been in the situation she was in. I feel angry because I want to kill Cody for making me believe she was dead, and for having people put her through this pain.
"I thought that I'd never see you again, they told me you were going to die," Miley says with her raspy voice.
I realize that she's lost her voice. I imagine her restrained and screaming for help. It makes me shudder. I give her head a soft kiss before looking back down at her.
"Baby, you really think they could get me?" I joke.
She doesn't look amused. I frown and move some loose hair out of her face.
"Justin, I'm serious," she frowns.
"I know, I'm sorry, that wasn't funny," I murmur. "Let's go get you washed up, okay?"
She nods, and places a soft kiss on my lips. She removes herself from me and slowly makes her way into the bathroom. I let out a deep breath, and run my fingers through my hair. Miley walks back over to the bathroom door, and looks at me.
"Will you come in with me? Please," she asks.
I nod and walk into the bathroom with her. I close the door behind me, and watch as she makes her way to the shower, turning on the water and feeling it with her fingers. She walks away from the shower, and slowly takes off her clothes one by one. I can tell she's being gentle with it. I get us some towels and hang them beside the shower before taking off what I have on. I follow Miley into the shower, and watch as she lets the water hit her skin. She winces at first, but her body relaxes after a little bit. I notice a lot more black and blue bruises on her stomach and back, and there's some spread through out her arms, legs, and chest. Her face has one bruise, and besides for that it's just messy from crying. What really sticks out to me is her neck, and the large mark around it. I know she's been choked.
She moves out of the way to let me rinse my body off, and I do.
I watch as she gets shampoo and squeezes it onto her hand, and massages her scalp with it, forming white bubbles through out her hair. Her eyes are closed, and she looks like she's enjoying the feeling. I grab a loofah and squeeze soap onto it. I bring the loofah to her skin, and gently start to rub it on her body. Her eyes shoot open, and her body tenses up. I stop what I'm doing.
"Does it hurt?" I ask.
"A little," she answers.
"Do you want me to stop?"
She shakes her head no. I start to rub it on her body again, but this time a little more gently. Once I clean the front side of her, she turns around to give me access to the back side. All I can think about is what I could have done to prevent this. Its my fault.
She rinses off her body and her hair, and goes to put conditioner in her hair. As she lets it sit, she starts to wash off her messy face. She's starting to look more like herself, besides for the bruised body. She rinses the wash off of her face, and then the conditioner out of her hair.
"Do you want me to wash you?" She asks as she rinses out her hair.
I nod, forgetting the fact that I just showered. She grabs my loofah and puts my soap on it. She walks over to me, and starts to rub it on my chest, and as she goes down to my abs, she stops. She wets her hand with water and brings it across a part of my abs, eliminating the bubbles from the soap. I look down and notice her examining my scar from when I got stabbed. She looks up at my shoulder, and notices where I had gotten shot. Her mouth forms a frown.
"I'm fine," I say reassuringly.
"What happened?" She sounds worried.
"I'll tell you later, I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm just happy you're here," I murmur.
She lets out a deep breath, and continues to wash my body. Once she's done, I rinse off the soap. She places a kiss on my chest, and wraps her arms around me. I hold her in my arms, and it finally hits me. This is real, she is real. She's here in my arms, and she's alive.