Shoot me down

Chapter 2

Chloe shook her head trying to convince Beca that the wound on her face was merely down to clumsiness, but she knew it was hopeless. The two girls were sitting cross-legged on the sofa now, relaxing in each other's company. Two small tears sped down Chloe's face and she winced as one of them reached the cut on her cheek. Anxiously she wiped her face and tried to change the topic to dinner. "You're not a vegetarian are you? I probably should have asked before..." Ignoring the question Beca moved close to Chloe on the sofa and took her face in her hands, wiping more tears away with her thumb. "You can tell me anything," she said soothingly, "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Her hands retreated to her lap as Chloe sniffed and began, "My... my dad. He has a... a temper." She took in a shaky breath and another tear spilled out, so Beca reached out and clasped their hands together supportively. Chloe continued, "I went over my parents' house this afternoon and they were fighting. He's always manipulated her, fought her... hit her. But today I couldn't take it any more - my mom's protected me all these years but now it's my turn. As long as he's hitting me, he won't be bothered with my mom."

Beca wiped away the new tears spilling from those beautiful blue eyes that she loved and said, "He can't do that and get away with it. You have to tell someone, the police - they can help you and your mom." The fear that appeared in Chloe's eyes made Beca's heart sink. She hated seeing her friend so scared, so hurt. She wanted so badly to ease the pain, to somehow banish the fear and agony that Chloe felt but she had no idea what to do. Unsure if it was the right thing to do, Beca hesitantly she placed her hand under Chloe's chin and pulled her forwards. She looked down at the beautifully shaped, soft, pink lips then back up to the piercing blue eyes searching for any sign that she should stop.

Finding no hint of resistance in Chloe, Beca leaned forwards closing the distance between them. Their lips met, and Beca felt her whole body melt. She had been waiting for this moment for so long and now she finally felt the soft, sweet touch of Chloe's lips against her own. Reluctantly they pulled away after a few seconds, both smiling and forgetting any earlier pain. Beca rested their foreheads together and had her hand at the back of Chloe's neck, gently stroking her hair. "I won't let him hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you." They sat there for a while finding comfort in each other's eyes until their thoughts were interrupted by the timer sounding in the kitchen.

Chloe jumped up and hurried to the kitchen, determined not to let anything burn. "Take a seat at the table, I'll bring it over in a sec," she called out. Beca did as she was told and sat at the table: it was neatly laid out but nothing special, the only ornament being a small tea-light candle in the middle. She looked around the apartment, admiring the size of it compared to her tiny dorm room which she had to share with the antisocial Kimmy Jin. Her attention was drawn to the kitchen when she heard Chloe singing 'Titanium' to herself as she put dinner on a plate, and Beca's mind cast back to the day in the shower. If anything she admired the confidence of the ginger that had stood before her whilst she cowered in the corner trying to hide every visible inch of her body.

She brought herself back into reality when Chloe stood before her, fully clothed, placing a delicious plate of food on the table. "This looks great, you must be a really good cook," Beca said. Chloe laughed and responded, "The only talent I have is piercing the lid and putting it in the oven. But if you want to think I'm actually a good cook then go ahead." Beca spent the next few hours at Chloe's apartment, eating, laughing, and talking. It reached 11pm and Chloe said, "Aubrey will be back soon. Maybe you should go before you make her spew everywhere in shock." She walked Beca to the door and backed her against the doorframe before leaning in for a kiss. Beca found her hands rising to Chloe's waist as their lips met and both girls felt their hearts catch fire when Chloe ran her fingers through the brunette's hair. Moments passed, and Beca said, "I'll see you tomorrow," as she forced herself to break off the kiss. Chloe waved her hand as Beca walked out the door and back to her own dorm.

The next day at rehearsals was the same as any other: Beca zoned out Aubrey to stare at Chloe as usual, but this time Chloe would glance every now and then to wink back at her knowingly. In attempts to hide the painful cut on her cheek she spent most of the time sitting down and resting her face in one hand which she strategically used to cover her cheek. However the plan didn't work to well when Aubrey insisted on another cardio session around the auditorium chairs. "Chloe, what the hell is that on your face?" Aubrey asked, not out of concern but out of annoyance that her friend was bringing down the appearance of the Bellas.

"It was a um... a car door swung open and caught my face," Chloe explained smiling, hoping to avoid any other questions. "Doesn't look like a car door did that," called out Fat Amy, and Chloe felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she panicked to find further explanation. Then, she heard Beca's voice speak up, "It was my fault. I was in a taxi and Chloe bent down to speak to me through the window, but I opened the door and it caught her face."

The rest of the Bellas seemed to believe it; they figured if Beca was there when it happened and supported the story then it must be the truth. As Aubrey led the girls in a jog she began saying how important maintaining a good, clean appearance was, but neither Beca nor Chloe heard her. They made sure to run at the back of the group, and anxious not to let anyone overhear Chloe mouthed, "Thank you." Beca smiled understandingly then faced eyes front, not wanting to distress Aubrey any more. If she couldn't ring the police to get Chloe's dad locked up, she was glad she could at least help her in little ways like this.

For the first time in her life, Chloe felt warm and loved: someone actually cared about her enough to protect her and lie for her. She wanted nothing more than to hold Beca's hand, but unwilling to let their relationship become apparent to the rest of the Bellas she settled for just running really close together so every now and then their hands would brush together. Chloe couldn't help but smile, because even an action as small as that brought her a world of comfort.