Chim - Lights Out

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

I grabbed Kimberley’s hand as we walked back, neither of us said anything, I didn’t  need to, I knew that as soon as we were in our room, Kimberley would break down and I would have to be there for her as best I could. I gave a quick text to Nadine from Kim’s phone saying that we had gone home, I didn’t say the reason, it was too complicated over text, so I thought I would leave it for the morning.  Sure enough as soon as I opened the door to our room, after we had climbed in and gone through the empty, dark common room, Kimberley rushed into the bathroom and started hysterically crying, with me out here and her in there, I had to try and get her out to help her.

“Kimberley!” I pleaded from the other side of the door, “Please come out, you don’t have to do this on your own,” 

She didn’t say anything, her crying still drowning out all other sound in the room, until the lock on the door slowly turned and she appeared from behind the door, mascara and tears all down her face. I held out my arms and she fell into them, sobbing hard on my shoulder, I rubbed her back, nothing I could do or say the moment would make any difference, instead I just tried to soove her as best I could,

“Ohh Kimberley, he really isn’t worth it, you can do so much better,” I said softly into her ear, the only response I was getting from her was sobs, but that was okay until she was ready to talk.  After a while wrapped in our embrace and after her sobs had died down a little bit, I gently guided her to her bed and sat her down, she brought up her legs to cross them and I climbed on to the bed, sitting opposite her, reaching out to hold both her hands. 

“Kim please don’t cry, I hate seeing you cry,” I said softly once again.

She didn’t say anything for a while, she just sat there clutching my hands and looking down at the duvet on her bed, silent tears pouring from her eyes. “I just don’t understand why he’s done it, again,”

“Again?” I questioned. 

She tried to hold back the tears again, “Again,” she repeated, “he promised it would never happen again, that he could never hurt me and that I was all he wanted,” She cried hard again, I tightenend my grip on her hands, letting her talk. “I guess I just wasn’t good enough, what did I do? Am I that awful? That he has to keep doing it behind my back?” She asked me, to which I had no answer to except,

“Kimberley, please never talk or think like that, of course it wasn’t your fault, I’ve known you two weeks and already you are one of the nicest, funniest girls I have ever known. Your sweet, caring, stunning and he must be the biggest twat in the planet to risk you more then once,”

She shook her head in rejection to my words, “It’s true, it all is I promise,” I whispered.  She shook her head again, 

“If it was true, then why would this happen?” She asked me again.

“Because, he is a guy, who is greedy and doesn’t realise a good thing when he has it,” I kissed both her hands lightly and climbed down from the bed, she watched me walk away in to the bathroom. I collected some make up wipes and tissues from inside and brought them back in where I joined her on the bed again. I handed her a tissue where she wiped her nose, making me smile a bit, a smile which I’m happy to say she returned, even if it was weak.  I took a make up wipe from the packet and began wiping away her unruly mascara, she closed her eyes as I began wiping away the make up that was still on her eyes, “all done,” I smiled as I finished up.

“Thank you,” She whispered.

“Pyjamas now babe,” I said softly, searching on her bed for them. They were neatly, as always , folded underneath her pillow, I held up her big pyjama t-shirt and she pulled off the top she was wearing, I placed the t-shirt gently over head, which she wriggled in to. She stuck out her legs from the bed in a cute way and pulled off her leggings, I bunched her bottoms up and put them over her feet for her, she managed to pull them up herself. 

“Put yours on then,” she smiled weakly, nodding towards my pyjamas that had been discarded onto the floor next to my bed. I did as she ordered and slipped into my pyjamas, when I was done she patted her bed and I crept on, leaning against the wall she rested her head onto my chest and I stroked her arms.  We sat in comfortable silence for a while and I did wonder whether she had drifted off, I realised she obviously hadn’t when she asked,

“What happens now though?” 

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well I’m going to be so alone now, I need him Cheryl, I thought – I loved him, I thought – thought he loved me,” She started crying again.

“Kimberley, you don’t need anybody, especially not him! You are a strong girl, you don’t need anybody to get to where you want to be. And anyways, you have the girls, you have me,”

“I don’t want the girls to know, they warned me against him and they don’t even know about what he did the first time,”

“Babe, they aren’t going to judge you, all they want to do is help you, make sure your okay, just like I do,” I said, still stroking her arms.

“I’ll think about it in the morning, tomorrow will be horrible,” she sighed.

“You – we’ll get through it Kimba,”

“Promise?” She wanted reassurance.

“ I promise, I told you Kim, I don’t back out of things and I don’t break promises, ever.”

This seemed to satisfy her and we sat in silence again for a while, I made my way to climb out of the bed and tuck her in, when she tugged on my arm,

“No, please, stay with me tonight,” Her eyes begging me, I couldn’t resist.

“Okay babe, if you’re sure, I’ll just turn out the light,” 

When I had turned out the light, I made my way back over to her bed and climbed in, she waited for me to lie down before resting her head on my shoulder, I wrapped my arm around her and gave her a light kiss on her head, taking in her hairs scent. 

“Tell me this will get better Cheryl,” She whispered into the darkness.

“I promise this will get better babe,” I whispered back.

"Oh and Cheryl?"

"Yes baby?"

"Nice right hook," 

I kissed her head again.