Impressing Ms. Mills

Four

You tell me it gets better, it gets better in time
You say I'll pull myself together, pull it together, you'll be fine
Tell me, what the hell do you know? What do you know?
Tell me how the hell could you know? How could you know?

Till it happens to you, you don't know how it feels, how it feels
Till it happens to you, you won't know, it won't be real
No, it won't be real, won't know how it feels

You tell me hold your head up, hold your head up and be strong
Cause when you fall you gotta get up, you gotta get up and move on
Tell me how the hell could you talk, how could you talk?
Cause until you walk where I walk, this is no joke

Till it happens to you, you don't know how it feels, how it feels
Till it happens to you, you won't know, it won't be real
(How could you know?)
No it won't be real
(How could you know?)
Won't know how I feel

Till your world burns and crashes
Till you're at the end, the end of your rope
Till you're standing in my shoes
I don't wanna hear a thing from you, from you, from you
Cause you don't know

Till it happens to you, you don't know how I feel, how I feel
How I feel
Till it happens to you, you won't know, it won't be real
(How could you know?)
No it won't be real
(How could you know?)
Won't know how it feels

Till it happens to you
Happens to you
Happens to you
Happens to you
Happens to you
Happens to you
(How could you know?)
Till it happens you
You won't know how I feel

I collapsed on Regina's porch, my breathing heavy and my chest burning. The tears burned my cheeks and I couldn't catch my breath. I curled into myself, trying to keep my breathing together and I realized it was 3 am on a Saturday morning. She's probably asleep. More tears fell down my cheeks and my breathing got heavier. I spent the night at Regina's on my birthday. Ruby covered for me. And then I spent today with Ruby. And then i decided to walk home because it was late and I didn't want Granny to have to get up. It was 12 when I left Ruby's. Then... It happened. My tears turned into sobs as I crawled to the door and tried to knock. I managed to hit the door a few times and then I couldn't muster up the energy to move. I just laid there sobbing. After a few minutes, the front door opened and I heard a small gasp. "Emma!" She said and pulled me up, into her arms. I sobbed into the crook of her neck and she held onto me. "Come on love. Come on." She said, quietly and pulled me inside. "Emma, you're bleeding. What happened?" She asked, sounding concerned. I couldn't stop crying. "Come on love, let's go upstairs and I'll clean you up." She said, quietly. I couldn't move. She picked me up in her arms, bridal style, and carried me up the stairs. "Emma, sweety, there's blood coming through your shirt. Come on. How about a nice warm bath?" She asked, quietly. I nodded and she kissed my forehead. "We're gonna get you all cleaned up and I'm gonna take good care of you. I promise." She whispered. My sobs went away but I couldn't stop shaking. You can't tell her what happened. She'd never want to see you again. And it's not like anyone would believe you anyways. He'd get himself out of it. "You okay, love?" She asked as she walked me to her room. I bit my lip and she set me down. "Here love. Lay down on my bed until I get the bath ready. Okay?" She said and kissed my forehead again. I nodded and she helped me lay down. I winced in pain and she frowned. She brushed some of my hair away from my face before thumbing a spot on my forehead. "Love, did you hit your head?" She asked, quietly. I shrugged and she frowned again. "You can tell me what's wrong Emma. You can." She said, staring into my eyes. I nodded and she waited a minute before going to her ensuite bathroom. I curled in on myself and pulled the blankets over me. More tears streaked my cheeks and I closed my eyes. His image appeared, causing a sob to rip from my dry throat. His actions kept replaying over and over in my mind, causing my sobs to rip my body apart. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and I recognized the warmth. "Shh. It's okay." She whispered, kissing my head. "Come on. Let's get you in the bath love." She said and I nodded. She helped me up and we walked to her bathroom. "D-don't l-leave me. P-please." I stuttered, my voice low and raspy. "Never." She said, staring into my eyes. I nodded and she helped me undress. "Emma oh my gods." she said, surging forward as I cried. "Baby, you have to tell me what happened." She said. I looked down and noticed cuts on my stomach. There are cuts all over my legs and my knees are both scraped up really bad. Then, I saw all the bruising and I looked down at my boobs. There are bruises all over them and I looked in the mirror, seeing definite hand prints around my neck and on my collarbone. There's a large road burn on my forehead and a cut under my eye, surrounded by a bruise, then a cut on my swollen and bruised bottom lip. "Your back is even worse. Emma, honey. I need you to tell me what happened." She said, quietly. I turned around and looked at my back in the mirror. There are large road burns and bruises on my back I winced and looked away. "Come on." She said and led me to the bathtub. She helped me in and I hissed in pain as the warm, soapy water stung my open wounds. "I'm so sorry Emma." She whispered as more tears fell from my eyes. You can't go home. Hah, home. You should've known you'd never have a real home. I felt Regina's hand slide into mine and she intertwined our fingers. We had ended up having sex on my birthday. So, this isn't the first time she's seen me naked, luckily. "What am I going to do?" I murmured, staring at the wall. "Why don't you start by telling me what happened?" She asked, quietly. I shook my head and she sighed. I looked at her and she's sitting in the floor beside the bathtub so she can hold my hand. This is the first time I've actually looked at her since I got here. She's in a silk nightgown and her hair is mussed from sleep. But she's never looked more beautiful. "Why are you staring at me?" She asked quietly, squeezing my hand. I looked away and looked at the water, now stained red from the blood washing off my body. "Because you're beautiful." I mumbled. She squeezed my hand and I looked at her again. "You're beautiful too, Emma." She said, quietly. I shook my head. "Yes, you are. No matter what happens. You will always be more beautiful than you know." She mumbled. I looked into her eyes and they were full of... I don't know. But I like that look. She squeezed my hand again and I looked away. "Oh, honey. There's blood in your hair." She said, quietly. Then she carefully took my hair out of the messy ponytail I had put it in before and dropped my hand. "Stand up." She said. I frowned but did as told, wincing as the water dripped down my body. "Out." She said and grabbed my hand. I stepped out of the bathtub, onto the bath mat. She took off her nightgown and I furrowed my eyebrows. She walked over to the shower, pulling me behind her and I bit my lip, wincing in pain. She slid open the glass door before turning the shower on. She closed the door and turned to look at me. "Is this okay?" She asked, quietly. I nodded and stared up and down her naked body. She slid open the other glass door and we stepped in. She slid the door closed behind us and she gently nudged me forward so I was under the stream of warm water, mostly. I felt her hands on my shoulders and I closed my eyes. Then, she pulled me back against her and I smiled a little. "Are you okay?" She asked, quietly. I shook my head and she wrapped her arms around my waist. I stared forward and tried not to think about what took place almost an hour ago. I closed my eyes and his face reappeared, causing me to wince in pain. "Come on love. Let me wash your hair and then we can go lay down. Okay?" She asked, quietly. I nodded and she pulled away from me. I opened my eyes and watched as she grabbed the shampoo. Then she squeezed some into her hand and set the bottle down. Her hands were quickly lost in my hair and I moaned softly at the sensation. "You're safe here, Emma." She mumbled as she washed my hair and I nodded. I felt her hands leave my hair after a few minutes and I frowned. "Rinse baby." She said, her voice barely above a whisper. I nodded and stepped under the water, rinsing my hair out under it. Once all the shampoo was out, I stepped out from the water and she cupped my cheek in her hand. "Can I wash your body for you?" She asked, softly, as she brushed her thumb across my cheek. Why did she ask? Does she know what happened? No. Surely she just wants to ask. I nodded and she grabbed the body wash. She squeezed some into her hand before working it into a lather. She immediately started rubbing it in my body, gently, and I bit my lip softly. I pulled away abruptly as she went to wash between my legs and I began shaking, more tears coming to my eyes. Recognition flashed across her face and she pulled me into her arms. "Oh, my Emma. Who did this to you?" She asked, her voice cracking. I sobbed in her arms and she rubbed my back softly. After a few minutes, I calmed down and she helped me rinse off. Then she turned the water off and we got out. She wrapped me in a towel before doing the same to her own body. Then she picked up her nightgown and grabbed my hand in hers. We walked back to her room and she dropped her nightgown in her hamper, then grabbed my clothes and put them in her hamper as well. She dropped my hand and grabbed my towel, drying me off. Then she went to her closet and grabbed 2 pairs of sweatpants, 2 tank tops and 2 pairs of boy shorts. She laid one set on her bed before coming towards me with the other. She helped me get dressed and I mumbled my thanks. Then she got dressed and got in bed. She motioned for me to come to bed as well, so I shifted awkwardly before walking over and getting in on the right side. My side. I got in and she pulled the covers over us before wrapping me in her arms. "Get some rest, my love." She whispered, pulling me close. I nodded and bit my lip as she turned off the light.