Watching Her

chapter 34: trust

"I-, well, I guess I'll go to bed then, thank you anyways." I turned around, ready to leave the bathroom, embarrassed and sad all at once. I just wanted to find my sleep again, but I knew it would not be this easy. It felt like I was back at my home suddenly. Just without the screaming in the background. 

I felt him grab my arm, just as I was about to reach the door, his firm hand on my wrist. Tingles went up that arm, up to my chest and soon, my neck. I had to blink twice, hard, to notice what actually was going on, but at the same time, I felt the pain from where he was holding me. I pulled my arm back, out of his grasp, and turned around to look at him. He must've noticed my flinching just as his touch had met mine, and I did not dare meet his eyes. 

Questions flooded my mind. Why had he stopped me from leaving? Was I reading too much into this? Had I forgotten something? 

"Where does it hurt?" I heard him ask, but I was too scared to answer him at first, shaking my head. I did not want him to find out that this was not because of my sudden sickness, this was more, than he could understand. More than he could ever find out. I saw his feet move a step towards me. 

"Where does it hurt, princesa?" He nudged my chin with his index finger, making me look up to him. I knew he saw the tears forming in my eyes. Everything. Everywhere. It hurt everywhere and it did not stop. 

"Everywhere." I gasped out, desperate for anything to make this stop. Now, I saw the fire in his eyes again. But it was a kinder, smaller flame, not an aggressive one. He was slightly confused as well, I did not blame him. 

"What do you mean, everywhere?" He actually needed to look down, to see me, and it made me feel small. I wiped a tear away that was about to slide down my cheek. He really did look like he cared. 

"I can't," I muttered, scared of what my parents were going to do once they found out. "I can't tell you." I felt like a child, having to keep a secret from her friends, even though this was so much more. I wanted help, I really did, but this was bigger than him. Bigger than he could ever solve or fight against. He had no power in this and that was why I did not want to unnecessarily pull him into this. 

"Okay, fine." He grunter, only accepting it right now. I knew that someday questions would follow and that I would not be ready to answer them. He walked over to the bathtub, and I watched him silently. His hand flipped the round switch that was one of two attached to one side of the tub, making the water go off. 

It started filling the bathtub and I could have sworn that I felt the heat to where I was standing, at least two meters away from it. He was leaning over it, to test the temperature, once the water reached half of the tub and I saw his shirt straining against his back. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his tattoos. I desperately wanted to ask what they meant and why he had gotten them, but now was not the time. 

Shaking off the excess water on his one hand, he walked back to me, his eyes fixated on mine. 

"Sometimes baths help soothe the muscles," He answered my confusion quickly, earning a nod. "Maybe if you'll take one it'll get better tomorrow." 

I muttered a quick thank you to him, before he left the bathroom. 

Now, I was standing here, hearing the water splash. To say it had been an awkward encounter would have been an understatement, but nevertheless, I was thankful for what he had done. He had not asked about my bruises, about my pain. He just found a solution. And a tiny part of me was also grateful that it did not involve any painkillers, as I was still scared to end up like... Never mind. 

I started with trying to get the hair tie out of my messed up hair, managing to get it down a little bit, but not enough. I stopped once I realized I would tear out a huge ball of hair if I would continue ripping it away. Huffing in annoyance, I took the end of my sports top, to try and raise it over my shoulders and get it off. Just that the fabric was practically sticking to me and that my ribs and arms were not thanking me for it. My mouth escaped a grunt.