How He Saved Her

Chapter Nineteen

Aurora

I wake up looking at hazel eyes so familiar they warm my heart. Within a second, it comes back to me.  "He came back", I whisper my eyes frantic and my hands going around his neck. I cling to him and he pulls me into his chest. I move onto his lap and hold on to him tight. 

"He told me he would be back", I say and pull away. When I look up at him, I see his expression so sad I feel like crying. "He told you that?" 

I nod,"In my dream." I watch as his face morphs into confusion, eyebrows downcast, brows furrowed. 

"You've been having nightmares?", he asks and I nod. "Every night." 

"Every night?", he questions and looks past me. I look back to find his parents sitting down on the other couch, worried looks on their faces. His dad looks at me and says,"Are they bad?" 

I play with the hair on the nape of Oliver's neck and say,"I wake up in sweat and my heart doesn't calm down until after I get out of bed and walk into Oliver's room." I don't even feel ashamed at the fact that I mentioned how I walk toward his room. How I look for Oliver for a sense of peace.

"You need to be medicated", his father says ignoring my previous comment. I nod at him and his mom starts crying. 

"Victoria, no", I say but I watch as tears slip down her eyes. Her husband puts a supporting hand around her shoulder and I watch her sob against him. "Tell me", she says,"Tell me the whole story." 

"Mom", Oliver says, trying to protect me so I didn't have to tell the story. I look at him. He gives me a small smile and I lean up and kiss his lips. 

I turned back to Victoria,"The night he attacked me I had just gotten back from a party I went with Oliver. It was around one a.m and when he saw me walk into the house, he grabbed me. His hands made their way down to the zipper of my hoodie and he pulled it down to reveal my corset top. It was revealing." 

"No", his mom says and I feel Oliver stiffen under me. He must feel guilty knowing he wanted me to wear that. But I don't regret it. It made me feel confident and I even got to talk to a few girls who complimented me. It was a memory I cherished.

"He said that my mother used to wear clothes like these in Italy and that she used to", I stop take a deep breath and say,"Seduce younger guys and let them do whatever they wanted to her. He said she used to sleep with a different one every night." 

"To you?", his father asks and I nod. 

"And then he said that I was the same. He said that", I stop and look at Oliver. His eyes are already on me and I look away. "He said that I let Oliver do whatever he wanted with me." His parents look at me with horror at the assumption that their son would do a thing. I shook my head,"I objected. Wait, my memory is bad. This was before, but uh and then he moved on and said that my family left me because I wasn't worth it. He said that Frankie, my sister, left me and wasn't going to come back. and I also objected to that and he said it was true. And then he started talking about my mom whoring around again and I said he was lying." 

"He pushed me so hard I fell on the ground and then he kicked my ribs a few times, laughing. I told him to stop once I was throwing up blood, and he came down and asked me what I said. I said stop again and he looked at me, and for a split second I saw my father again. I saw it in his eyes how much he used to care about me." 

"Principessa", I hear Oliver say to me and I look up at him. I smile,"I really did. I saw all our memories together and I prayed that it would bring him back. Back to the days where he would wait for me after school to hug me. But", I stop and hiccup. "That all was that: hope. He blinked and then slammed my head against the ground. I threw up again and that gave him satisfaction and he kept going. Over and over again. Fisting my hair in his hand and slamming it against the floor until eventually I passed out." 

I stop and take a deep breath in,"God knows what he did next." 

"What do you mean?", three voices ask me at the same time and I close my eyes. I didn't want to think about it but it could've happened. With him, anything could have happened. 

I look down on the floor when I say,"He uh sexualized me. He would touch me and stuff. I would stay in my room when he would drink so he wouldn't touch me. But I wasnt able to do that at all times."

"That motherfucker", Oliver whispers in my ear and I nod. I take a deep breath in and say,"Once he got mad at me for being with Oliver that he, well, he kissed my neck. He kissed my neck continuously until I got a hickey." 

My nickname and my names were said in horror and I shook off the memory, it was one that haunted for every night.

"He branded me so I wouldn't stay around Oliver. It was well", I stop talking and instead place my hands back on Oliver's neck. I bury my head in his chest and feel his heart beat rapidly. He runs a hand on my back and I feel myself calm down. 

"I'm going to kill him", he whispers to me and I sob. A loud, ugly sound. We stay like that until I eventually pick up my head and look at his parents. They both have horror on their faces and I attempt a smile to them. 

"Rory, you know none of that was your fault?", Victoria says. "Your clothing never should've made him put a hand on you. I'm sorry." 

"No, I know. I know that it wasn't entirely my fault. I was just the last person in my family left for him to terrorize", I say. 

"He did it to Frankie?", Oliver asks and I nod. "He was sexual with her way before he was with me. When she was here all I saw were the little comments but when she left for college, he started treating me worse. Touching me. I then realized she went through it too." 

"Oh my God", his mother cries and I can't help by cry with her. 

"She's in Italy now. She won't come back. she's safe." 

"She left you", Oliver says and I turn to him. "I'm sorry, but she left you. How could she? She knew you were going to be next." 

"She had to protect herself", I say. 

"She would've taken you with her", Oliver says anger dripping off of him at the fact that there was nobody there to protect me. 

"She wasn't strong enough", I say and Oliver nods. He pulls me into his chest again, only this time pulls me up until our heads meet. 

"I'm sorry, la mia principessa", he whispers to me and despite his parents watching us, he connects his lips with mine. I melt into his kiss but he lets go way too early. He connects our foreheads together and says,"I promise to never leave you. Ti amo." The phrase in my native language makes my heart melt. 

He loves me. He loves me. 

"Ti amo?", I ask him and he presses a kiss on my forehead. "Ti amo, Aurora." 

" I uh", I say and he shakes his head. 

"Not for me. You don't have to say anything. I'm saying this for you. I'll love you for the both of us. Ti amo", he repeats and I feel a tear slip down my cheek. 

A cough distracts us from our silent confession and I look back to see his parents standing. His mom nods at me and says,"Rory, I'm calling the police right now." 

"Wait what?", I say and then say,"I can't give my statement right now." It was hard enough sharing this with the three of them, but in a room with adults? Without being in Oliver's lap? I couldn't do it. 

"No this is for a restraining order against him", she says and I nod knowing that this is the one thing I need. One thing that might keep me away from him, safe.

His parents leave and I look up at Oliver. "Can I fall asleep on your lap?", I ask and he nods. "Any day", he says and I lean up and kiss him on the lip before leaving one on his neck. 

"Thank you", I say to him and he nods. I place my hand in his and hold it to my heart. Oliver didn't know it, but he was the reason I was still holding on and I had to thank him for that.