Between a Rock and a Hard Place // c.h.

13 - Fight Back

Calum's POV
***

'I'm gonna kill that fucker.' Was the only thought in my head. Of course, I didn't show Cara how I was feeling. She was already crying again, and when I finally convinced her to tell me who was on the other side of the line she told me about her relationship with the guy. His name was Danny. He wanted Cara back, but he had threatened her to get her. Knowing about her depression had made me worry, and knowing she'd cut herself again, it scared me. I loved Cara and I didn't want her to be hurt in any way, especially the way Danny was hurting her. She cried herself to sleep, and I held her the whole time, telling her I loved her. She had traced my visible tattoos, then dozed off. When soft snores had slipped through her lips, I quietly slipped away. I wrote her a note in case she woke up before I got back.

Had to handle some business, I'll be back before morning. Sleep well.
Love you, Cal xx

I had found Danny's Facebook, he had been stupid enough to post the address of the bar he was going to that night. I punched the address into my GPS, and drove in silent anger to the bar. When I got there I kept my head low, searching for a particular asshole. I waited in my car, watching the exit for him. When he walked out, it was easy to identify him. I got out of the car, closed the door, and walked over to him. "Are you Danny?" I asked. He looked at me with a confused expression. Then it turned to anger.

"You're the Aussie jackass who stole my whore of an ex-girlfriend." He glared at me. I wasn't prepared for what came next. One minute I was standing at least two inches taller than Danny, the next I was on my knees with a stinging pain radiating through my face. The vision in my right eye was distorted, I saw black and blur, nothing else. A sudden force hit my side, knocking the air out of my lungs. I fell on my side. 'I've got to fight back.' I thought to myself, I reached my hand out, grabbing what I assumed was Danny's leg. Once I got a grip I pulled, hard. He fell to the ground next to me, immediately scrambling to stand again. I stood, despite the dizziness that plagued me. Danny swung at me again, but I ducked out of the way. "You'd better leave her alone, Hood." He growled, taking a step back. I swung, as blind as I was, I had to swing before I was swung at. My hand connected with something soft. Danny jumped back, doubling over while clutching his stomach.

"I love her, and I won't leave her alone so you can make her hate herself." I choked out. Blood trickled from my nose, down my face, and onto my shirt. Danny looked at me, shock on his face. He turned and ran down a long alley next to the bar. I got in my car, half-hazardously driving back to Cara's. Her parents would likely be home, considering it was two in the morning. I didn't know much about them, but Cara had told me they were religious, and didn't like boys to spend the night. 'Thank god. Her bedrooms in the basement.' I shook my head, hoping she had left her window unlocked. I walked around her house to the window of her room. Testing, I pulled on the plexiglass surface. It gave. I crawled my way into her bedroom as quietly as I could. I closed and locked the window, fumbling my way to Cara's bathroom. I closed the door, careful to not make noise. Turning on the light, I gasped when I saw myself. My nose was bleeding, not fast, but still continuously. I shoved a tissue up my nose and removed my shirt to examine where I'd been kicked. A dark black and purple bruise spread from the top of my rib cage to my abdomen. It was sensitive to the touch. I had a small cut on my bottom lip, which stung, but was nothing close to the stinging pain in my head.

I turned on Cara's sink, using the water to wash the blood off my face. I didn't know how I was going to explain my condition to her. Even with my face washed, there was a light purple bruise on my face, which covered most of my nose and some of my eye. A sound from my side made me jump. Cara stood in the doorway of the bathroom, her hair a mess and her beautiful blue eyes questioning. By the time she had comprehended what was wrong, I pulled her into an embrace. The top of her head barely touched the bottom of my chin, she was so small, and I felt like I could protect her. She breathed deeply, her face pressed to my chest. God, I loved her. I loved her so much more than I had ever intended to. I held her against me, one of my hands on her shoulder, the other around her waist. She had her arms draped around my neck like she did. She relaxed into me, and I kissed her temple. When she looked up at me, I smiled bravely at her. She tip-toed so that her lips were level with mine, and we gave each other a small kiss. She smiled meekly, running one of her hands through her hair. I carried her back to her bed, dropping her gently onto the pillows and sheets. She thee a blanket over herself, then looked at me expectedly. I stripped down to my boxers and climbed under the blanket with Cara. She cuddled up to me, resting her head on my chest and tangling her legs with mine. I thought she was asleep and was beginning to drift off myself when her voice shattered the silence of the room. "You know how you asked me what my biggest fear was?" My mind went back to our first date, when I'd started falling for Cara. She held me tightly and whispered. "I've decided it would be losing you." She slept after the words left her mouth.