Silence

8

It had taken me almost twenty minutes last night to get back to Wolfe's apartment, but I was glad that he had left the door unlocked for me. I had hauled my bag to my room and then raided the freezer for several ice packs. Before I went to bed, I took two pain pills, hoping that my ribs hadn't been broken.

Wednesday morning came and I was up before Wolfe. I had spent an hour icing my side, and took another pain pill. By the time that Wolfe joined me in the kitchen, the pain had settled to a dull throbbing and it was easy to ignore. "What time did you... What in the Sam Hill?" I looked up to see a very concerned looking Wolfe staring hard at my face.

Immediately, I knew what he was looking at. I had seen it when I stepped out of the shower this morning. There was a huge, dark bruise on the left side of my face, covering my eye well. Looking back down at the breakfast I was trying to make, I chewed myself out for not covering it up before I stepped out of my room. Warm fingers softly gripped my chin and lifted my face back up. "What happened to you Amanda?"

Knowing that if he knew the truth, he'd try to find the men who had jumped me last night, and put himself in danger, I lied. "I was leaving the gym last night when a guy tried to get a little fresh with me. I floored him in one hit." He nodded once, his fingers still holding my chin. "Can you give me a lift to school this morning?"

"Sure. Is something wrong with your bike?" Wolfe asked as he finally let my face go, but the moment his fingers left, I wanted them back. Shaking my head a little, I hand him his breakfast. "There's nothing wrong with it, but I have the fight tonight. I didn't want to leave it at the gym. I mean, that is if it's alright with you."

His laughter filled his apartment and I grinned at him. "I don't mind driving you anywhere, Amanda." We ate in silence and left. I made sure to keep my body straight so I wouldn't jostle my side. Guilt washed over me as Wolfe drove me to school. I had told him all of my dark secrets, and here I was lying to him, even if it was to keep him from doing something stupid.

He managed to get me to school with ten minutes to spare. Giving him a smile and a wave, I slowly hurried inside, my mind already on the fight tonight. "Hey Stone." Bobbie called out as he slung his arm over my shoulder. I tensed and sidestepped him, making his arm drop away.

There was a good change that if I fought and won tonight, the five men would beat me so bad, I would die. Even though I wasn't over his betrayal, I couldn't face that with things unsettled between my brother and I. "Hey Bobbie."

I watched as my brother's whole face lit up and I knew I had made the right move. "Are you alright?" He asked as he motioned towards my shiner. "Oh this?" I ask laughing softly. "Yeah, I just had a rough practice last night."

"Oh, you have a fight this weekend? Can I watch?"

"Um, it's tonight. I don't know Bobbie. It's gonna be pretty rough."

"I can handle it. Please, I just want to be to support you." I sighed softly and rubbed my neck. "If you come Bobbie, you can't bring Dad. I don't want him to see me fight. This fight is going to be different from my others. And once it's over, you have to leave right away. Deal?" Bobbie grinned at me as he gave me a bear hug.

I bit my lip hard to keep from making a sound. He pulled away and I quickly blinked the tears away. "Thank you. I promise I'll leave right after." Shaking my head, I watch him hurry down the hall. Realizing that the bell was about to ring, I get my things from my locker and head towards my first class; tonight never far from my thoughts.

Wolfe's POV

I watched as Amanda walked inside the school. Waiting until the door shut behind her, I quickly pull out of the parking lot and head towards the gym. I had fallen asleep on the couch last night waiting for her to walk in, but I didn't even hear her opening the door.