Childhood Crushes

Chapter Thirtyseven - Found

Bale

All day I had been counting down the moments, waiting for that blonde ray of sunshine to come bursting through the door of the tackle shop. When I dropped her off at the tailors she said Harry would drop her off, here, about an hour ago. I frowned at the clock while I counted todays profits; losing count every time I looked up.

"What's wrong?" Michael chuckled, realizing what I was doing.

"Annabelle was supposed to be here a while ago."

Michael frowned too, "Did she call and say she'd be late? Try callin' her dad."

I picked up the phone and dialed her house phone. It rang a couple times before Hazel picked up, "Hello?"

"Hi, Hazel, it's Bale. Is Annabelle there?" I asked.

"Oh, no. She left a while ago, but didn't tell me where she went..." She replied, obviously upset about something.

"Everything okay, Hazel?"

Michael looked up at me, his eyebrows knitted together like mine, asking with his eyes what was going on.

"No..." She replied after hesitating a moment. "Annabelle said she was attacked, but I don't really believe her..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa - attacked? What happened? By who? Is she okay?" I panicked. I could feel my heart beating a million times faster. Where was Harry when this happened? Who would attack Annabelle?

"When I came home, she was sitting in the kitchen floor crying. Her whole left cheek is bruised and swollen; it looks like she got punched or something."

I closed my eyes, wishing I was hearing wrong. Images of a crying Annabelle filled my mind.

"She told me she was attacked in an ally and then all if a sudden took off on Juliet." She continued.

"Okay, thanks, Haze...I'll find her." I said before hanging up the phone and grabbing my truck keys.

"What happened to Belle, is she okay?" Michael asked.

I shook my head. "Someone attacked her. And I have a good idea who." My hands developed into fists at my sides. "That son of a bitch was with her all day, and he thinks he can get away with this?"

Practically jogging out the shop door and sprinting to the truck, I hurried through the motions, wanting to find Annabelle as soon as possible and hold her, find out what really happened. This is too nice of a town; there hasn't been a mugging or anything in years.

I pushed on the gas pedal and raced down the roads, looking for any sign of Annabelle. I tried to imagine where she'd be, but came up empty-handed. Maybe Ashley's house? Does Ashley know he did this to her? I shook my head; Ash would have called me and told me to comfort her.

That's when it hit me; the one place she'd be. I made a U-turn in the middle of the road and sped off in the opposite direction.

Annabelle

I stared into the deep black water, listening to the crickets sing around me. Juliet was wandering around, grazing the grass every now and again. I hugged my knees to my chest, thinking about the previous hours. My cheek didn't hurt as badly as it did before, but I could still feel it was swollen. What happened? I thought I knew Harry, I thought he was my friend. Then he kisses me, the night before his wedding, and hits me to shut me up. What if I told everyone at the wedding tomorrow what happened? Would he do worse? Would he hit Ashley?

That last thought has been racing through my mind all day. What if he's abusive to Ash when they're married? I hugged myself a little tighter at the thought.

Behind the trees, I heard tires skid to a stop on gravel, followed by two feet jumping down from a truck and racing towards the lake. I didn't bother moving; somehow I already knew who it was.

"Annabelle," A breathless voice said, stopping just feet away from me. I turned slightly to look at him, fresh tears welling in my eyes. In the light of the moon his eyes found the mark on my cheek and sorrow filled his worried face.

Bale kneeled next to me and pulled me into his arms, "Babydoll, I'm so sorry..." He said into my hair.

"Why are you sorry? I was atta-" I began, but Bale loosened his embrace to look me in the eyes.

"Don't give me that bullshit - tell me what happened." He demanded.

My eyes widened; I've never seen him like this. He looked more vicious than a wild bear, but his gentle, yet protective, hold on me was the same familiar best friend Bale. My boyfriend Bale. My love Bale...

Tears rolled down my cheeks as the walls began to crumble. As quickly as it had happened, I began to spill. "Harry told me he would take me to the tackle shop, he said he'd take me to see you after we had a celebratory drink at his house. We had some to drink, and he deliberately gave me more wine than he was having and got me to loosen up. When he thought I was drunk he kissed me." I sobbed, begging with my eyes for him to understand this wasn't supposed to happen.

The emotions racing through Bale's face were hard to keep up with. From sad, to angry, to worried, but mostly angry. With me? With Harry? With himself?

"I tried to fight him off! I did!" I hurriedly added. "But he wouldn't get off of me. When Ashley walked in he acted like nothing happened and offered to take me home. When we were outside I told him I would tell Ashley and he hit me. He hit me!" I cried, trying to wipe the falling tears on my arm, but they would just come back, and it would hurt my cheek.

Bale shook his head and pulled me close, laying my head on his chest. "Baby, why didn't you come to the shop? I would have skinned him alive." He gritted the last part through his teeth.

I sniffled before answering, "I don't know...Ashley didn't believe me, and I thought you might not either."

Bale let go of me, only to sit down and slide me onto his lap. He cradled me like a child, wiping stray tears away with his thumb. "Now, I know you're smarter than that, sweetheart."

I closed my eyes as he kissed my forehead. I buried my face in his chest and breathed in his scent of woods and saltwater. The smell of his skin relaxed me, making my eyes remain closed. The hours of crying had finally hit me and fatigue took over.

Bale continued to kiss my forehead as we sat on the bank of the river where we first kissed. This spot had already collected so many summer memories.

"I love you, Annabelle Sage." Bale whispered in the night.

A smile crept over my mouth - this river just collected another memory. "I love you, too, Bale Hax..."

I looked up to him, only to receive a deep and emotion filled kiss, lasting longer than any kiss we've shared. I kissed back, wanting this moment to last forever. Suddenly, today didn't seem so bad. I'd take all the bad today; the slap, the awful kiss, Ashley not believing me - all for this moment.

"I love you." I repeated, wanting to make up for the lost time.

"I love you, too." Bale muttered into my neck, kissing the skin tenderly. Butterflies filled my stomach, knowing I'd remember tonight for the rest of my life.