do you believe in god? | $crim

4. the_evil_that_men_do

the sunlight glared in through the windows of the bedroom, forcing me awake. i groaned, rubbing my eyes.

i flinched at the unfamiliar surroundings, forgetting what had happened for a moment.

"sleep okay?" scott asked, who i now just realized had been sitting in the corner of the room.

i jumped again, not expecting him to be there. "hey, sorry i didn't mean to startle you. i also just got here, i wasn't being creepy. swear" he said

"no, no it's okay. sorry. i just forgot" i said, starting to wake up from my daze.

"oh fuck, i'm so sorry" i quickly panicked, realizing i had fallen asleep in my makeup, leaving stains all over the white pillowcases.

"where's the laundry room in here? i'll get it out. i'm sorry" i said in a panicked frenzy.

merrick would have killed me. i was expected to never cause any sort of issue, and always be perfectly together.

i took care of the house, and the cooking and cleaning for him and his boys, in exchange he took care of me. at least that's what he said. i'm not really sure what exactly he was taking care of.

he always said he had to 'keep me safe' and what not, but the only reason that was an issue was because of him.

are these guys who he was "protecting" me from? i basically had been kidnapped and scott had taken better care of me in a day than merrick had our entire four year relationship.

"it's all good sweetheart, it's just sheets. don't worry about it" he said nonchalantly

"are you sure? i'm really sorry. i won't do it again" i apologized, innately i was awaiting the verbal lashing i would have received from merrick.

i guess scott had noticed that my anxiety had been induced, he looked at the apparent rise and fall of my chest while i breathed heavily.

"gab, are you okay, like actually?" he asked

he called me gab, it was cute.

tears began to spill over my waterline, unable to hold in my emotions.

scott came and sat next to me on the now half stripped bed. "talk to me" he said.

"please, i don't want to go back to him. please don't make me" i began to sob.

"can i?" he asked, reaching to hug me. i nodded.

i collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.

"please, please. he's awful. please, he's gonna kill me when he sees me again. it's gonna be my fault" i cried.

scott let me cry, rubbing a circle on my back.

-

scott's pov

i held the girl while she cried. i was caught off guard for a moment.

i expected her to be mad at me, be scared of me, anything of that sort. instead, she was begging me to protect her from him.

i'd started to realize the severity of the whole situation, the cuts on her shoulders, her reaction to this morning, what did he do to her?

"you don't have to, i got you. it's gonna be okay" i told her

i could basically feel the the target on my back, taking her even just for a few days was risky enough, but stealing his girl? ruby and i are dead if he gets ahead of us.

i wasn't going to make her go back to him though. i couldn't.

"will you protect me? please? i can't go back to him" she asked

"you're safe with me, with us" i told her,

"thank you, scott. you saved me and you don't even realize" she said, finallly beginning to collect herself a little.

no matter the consequences, i knew i had to take any means necessary to protect this girl. she was mine to take care of now.

"thank you" she said again, throwing her arms back around my neck. i pulled her close to me, holding her tightly. neither of us spoke, but we both knew how important we'd just become to one another.

"why don't you get ready, come downstairs when you're ready. ruby and i will get some food?" i asked her.

"okay, thank you" she smiled, "bathrooms just over there, there should be towels and stuff. i guess if you're staying we can go to the store, get you whatever you need" i offered. i know women need their entire drugstore of products.

"that's nice of you, thank you" she said, i knew she was just being polite, we really had just met, hopefully she'd loosen up soon enough, shoot the shit with ruby and i.

he wouldn't have an issue with it, but even if he did she was part of our family now.

"i'll see you downstairs" i said, leaving her to do whatever she needed to do

-

"ruby" i said, walking into the kitchen. "what's up man?" he asked

"were keeping her, well, not keeping. she's staying with us. over my dead body are we letting her back with that abusive, pathetic excuse for a man" i told him.

"say no more" he said, he understood.

"what happened?" he asked

"a lot dude, her backs all scraped up. i don't think she's telling me the whole truth about that. she said he doesn't 'really' hit her. she's terrified of him. she completely broke down this morning, begged me not to make her go back to him" i explained

"shit dude" he shook his head, "yeah, that's our girl now" he said.

i knew what he meant, like that's our family, but something weird twitched in me when he said our girl. i felt very protective of her already, like she was my responsibility. she was my girl.