Bruises (Luke Hemmings fanfic)

~Lucas Hemmings~

I lay Diana in my bed, watching her sleep. She's s bruised... why didn't she tell me she was hurting? Why didn't she come to me when she was hurting? What happened? Why...

She murmurs my name, and I lean closer. "I'm right here, Diana... I'm here..."

Blood is soaked through her jeans and mine, and some on my shirt. I held her while she cried herself to sleep.  I carried her to my bed once she'd cried herself out and fell asleep. Calum went with Michael to get pizza and Ash said he'd clean up my mess. 

Watching Diana, I realize this might have been a bad idea. Maybe the 5SOS Fam will be the death of her... not all of them are friendly... 

I gently slip the jeans off her legs, pulling the drying blood from the wounds on her legs. They're deep and dark, and bleeding heavily. I can't believe I broke them open when we were playing... I never meant to hurt her.  A whimper comes from her lips as I clean them, trying not to get upset over it.

"Diana... little penguin, why would you do this to yourself?" I whisper, tracing the edges of the clean, jagged cuts with the tip of my finger. "You don't deserve this... nobody deserves this..."

She shifts her body, turning to her side and curling into a ball, pulling my stuffed penguin into her arms and clinging to it. Another soft mumble slips off her lips, and I lean close to hear. 

"You gotta tell me these things... I'd walk off stage if I knew you were hurting. I'd never leave your side. But you have to tell me, love. You have to tell me this stuff..."

I gently wrap her thighs and slip a pair of my shorts over her hips, turning her and lifting her tiny frame off my bed to get them on. She murmurs and squirms, and when I set her down her hands move across the bed, looking for something to cuddle. I realize the penguin fell off the bed.

I reach for it, but her hand finds my arm and tugs it gently, barely anything, more of a question than a demand for cuddling. I smile a little bit and lay beside her.

"Alright, little one. Just rest, dear." I pull her onto my chest and hold her waist gently, cradling her. She stretches her legs out between mine, arms folded cutely between us.

"That's it, little one, rest... You're safe now, and I won't ever let you get hurt again..."

A soft, scared noise leaves her throat, and she buries her face against my neck.

"I got you now... I got you."

Her body relaxes, and I cradle her into mine.