Beaten By Love

Chapter 13

                  

"I'm sorry"

A voice stirred me from the deep sleep the medication had put me under. I slowly opened my eyes to see Jace sat in the same arm chair, leaning forward, elbows on his knees and his head leaning into his hands, covering his face.

"Mmm...what?" I croaked, scrunching my eyes up as I sat up in the bed.

"I said...I'm sorry" He kept his head in his hands. That was when I realised he was only wearing a pair of sweatpants, his chest bare.

I noticed his scars then, covering his back in shiny silvery marks, but they were no longer a mystery to me.

"What..." I groaned. The painkillers were still affecting my system. I could barely keep my eyes open. "What are you apologising for?"

He looked up at me then, a confused expression on his face. It was as if he hadn't realised he'd even spoken.

"Um...for um...for getting you involved in this mess. It's my fault, and I'm sorry"

I smiled gently at him, through half open eyelids.

"It's okay, Jace. I figure you have your reasons for fighting and wanting the money. But you can just set them right, tell them I'm not what they think I am. That I don't mean anything to you"

He watched me for a few seconds before answering. "It's not that simple anymore. I made a mistake by bringing you here. I should've known! I don't let anyone up here apart from Bran, so to bring you here obviously rang alarm bells for them. But...those notes they gave you - I couldn't just leave you there, unprotected. No matter what I did, you were involved in all of this the moment I saved you that night and brought you home. And I wouldn't change what I did, I don't regret it. It's like no matter what I did, you were going to end up in this situation the whole time. It's my fault"

I just stared dumbly at him. He'd rambled on, just a little.

"But..." I started. I didn't have much of an answer to what he'd just said. "But I can't keep staying here. I need to go home, Oscar needs me. I need to go back to school, I've already missed two days! I'm sorry but I have to go. I can't stay here"

I pulled the covers off of me, and pushed myself off the bed. I was instantly hit with a wave of nausea, my head spinning. I put an arm out in front of me as I began to fall, but then I felt Jace's arms wrapped around my body, catching me.

"Easy. The meds are still in your system" Jace murmured softly.

It took a moment for the nausea to ebb away, but my legs still felt like jelly. I felt Jace's breath on the top of my head, tickling my hair. My arms were clinging to his bare back, and without thinking, my fingertips began tracing the bumps and dips of his scars, causing Jace to sharply gasp, and his body went rigid.

I pulled my head up off of his chest, lifting it so I could look at him. He held my gaze, as we stood there, our bodies tightly pressed against each other. The heat from his body was warming me, relaxing me every second that passed.

"I'm not letting you go" Jace whispered.

I was taken aback. "W...what?"

Jace suddenly blinked a few times, and shook his head slightly as if coming to his senses. He stepped away from me, his arms falling to his sides.

"Um...I meant I can't let you leave. Not yet. It's Saturday tomorrow, you won't be missing any school. Please, just stay one more night. I need to go and talk to some people. Try and get names other than Ray and Simon as to who wants to hurt you. But I don't want to leave you here alone, especially after last time. I may ask Bran to come over and watch you"