Saving Ryder

Ryder

Moments later I got a phone call from Shaleigh. "Hello," I answered.
"Julian, not tonight I'm tired." I think she butt dialed me. Right when I'm about to hang up I hear someone get slapped, then Shaleigh crying. That motherfucker hit her. I need to find out where she lives and now. I called Miles who happens to be a FBI Agent, and asked him to look her name up and tell me where she lives, and to call me back. Three minutes later I receive a call, and I get in my car and speed over there.
As soon as I get to the apartment I knock on the door and get no reply. Dammit. He fucking took her somewhere. I need to make sure anyways. I kick the door open, and there she is lying on the floor. Her face is bleeding, she has a black eye, and you can tell her nose is broken. I need to get her to the hospital fast. "It'll be okay, I'm taking you to the hospital."
"Ryder?" She almost says in a whisper.
"Yes, I'll explain all of this later. Stop hurting yourself." I know I shouldn't be here, but I feel like I need to protect her. Let me find that bastard, and he'll be in a lot worse pain than what she is right now.
I manage to get to the hospital in five minutes flat. I slam my door, and go to my back seat where I laid her down. I pick her up and basically break out into a sprint inside the building. A doctor takes her out of my arms and rushes her to the back. Another one comes back and asks me what happened, and I explain to him what I heard on the phone. Once the doctors writes down everything I say, I decided to call Miles and get him to get Layken to the hospital. I left them together, and she ended up going back to his house. They sure hit it off. As soon as I hang up the phone a doctor comes out.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Hayden. Are you Mrs. Adam's husband?" I know if I'm not related to her then I won't be able to hear what's wrong with her.
"Yes, I am." I say with no hesitation.
"She suffered from a major concussion, and has a broken nose. As for the rest of her, she's severely bruised, and she will be sore for a while." He states.
"When can I go back to see her?"
"Well, she just woke up. You can go back there now though."
"Thank you so much." I walk back there, and I'll admit I'm kind of nervous. I want to kill Julian. If I ever see him around I swear it'll be the end of him.
"Hey." I say giving her a half smile.
"You shouldn't see me like this, Ryder." Her voice sounds heartbreaking.
"I don't care what you look like." I see a smile dance upon her lips, but it goes away quick.
"Why are you still with him, Shaleigh?" She's playing with her hands refusing to look up at me. I go and sit beside her on the hospital bed, and pull her chin to look up at me.
"Please tell me." She breathes heavily, hesitating in between.
"Our relationship use to be amazing. The first year was great, but then after that he became so violent. It started out as pushing and shoving, then slapping, all the way up to punching and kicking. I deserve it though. I led him to do that." Did she really just say that?
"Don't you ever say that. No girl deserves to be hit by any guy. I don't care what you did, Shaleigh. He had no fucking right to put his hands on you. I don't care about the circumstances. Why do you stay with him?" I ask giving her my full attention.
"Because, I believed I loved him, and he told me if I ever left, he'd kill me." I'm going to kill this bastard. "Come stay with me." I say a little too quickly. She looks at me confused, and I want more than anything to take back what I just said.
"We just met." She says with a little giggle.
"Look, I know we just met, but you do not deserve what you're going through at home. You can come live with me, and I'll protect you. We don't have to be anything more than friends, but I want to keep you safe." I say being completely honest with her. I don't know why I have a sudden urge to protect her when I just meet her tonight.
"I don't want to be a burden." A burden? She thinks she'd be a burden?
"Oh, that's the last thing you could ever be." She looks up at me, and goes to speak, but stops herself.
"Come on, it would be fun." I say playfully.
"Fine, but just as friends." Did she just say yes to me? I feel like a little kid going into a candy store for the first time.