Enchanter (A Grant Gustin FanFiction)

13. Restrained

Allegro

I am handed my plate of hot, steaming white sauce pasta by Grant. I don't care to wish him a thank you, I am already famished. Grabbing the fork, I pick up a piece of the pasta and a vegetable, mix it with the sauce and put it into my mouth. The heat immediately makes my insides melt. The pasta tastes so damn delicious, and a small moan escapes my mouth. Grant looks at me and smiles.

"What?"I ask, my mouth full. "I'm famished."I say and take yet another bite of the food.

**************************************************************************

The doorbell rings and I hear Tom's voice.

"Where are you people?" Tom's voice sounds through the corridor and I peep out. Grant rushes downs wearing another pair of blue jeans and white t-shirt. From where the hell does he get so many of them? Grant had gone to take a shower. I had offered joining him, but he rejected. Yes, he rejected Allegro Cassidy. But surprisingly, I did not mind. It was okay to have a boy who could challenge you.

Tom's eyes fall on me and he smiles, a fatherly smile. The image of an unruly man, hitting my mother with a belt comes to my mind and shake it off. What's wrong with you, Allegro? You have already left that behind.

"Hey there." Tom says before crossing the room and pulling me into a hug. I hug him back gladly, he is not much of an interfere. "I hope Grant didn't annoy you too much."He says and I look at Grant, glaring at his father. Memories of us flush back into my mind and my smirk steadies itself on my face.

"No. He was a very good boy indeed." I say and Tom laughs.

*********************************************************************

We get into the car. Grant holds my hand. When my eyes travel to our hand, I notice two tattoos. Did I miss them earlier? I make up my mind about asking him about them later and get into the car.

"So, how was the day?"Tom asks and I look at Grant, who squints his eyes and his cheeks turn reddish. I silently laugh at the adorable Grant. Why is he so shy? We just had it. Many people have it.

"It was good. Grant has been an excellent companion." I say and Tom nods. He tells me about Grant as a small kid. I hear the happiness in his voice, as a father proud to raise up a good son, just by being one single parent. I bet if you look into his eyes while he speaks of Grant, you can see them shining with the pride. Grant flushes more and more with every passing second and I laugh at Tom's jokes in the between.

Slowly, Tom's words start fading and I realize he is losing his energy. Putting the stories to an end, he leans the forward chair backwards and rests his head on the head rest, closing his eyes. I tighten my grip on Grant's fingers and rest my head on his shoulders. He doesn't complain. In fact, I am greeted by a melodious hum.

"You sing?"I ask.

"Yeah, not much. Don't you like it?"He replies back and pushes a strand of hair off my face. I stiffen a little. But my subconscious reminds me it's Grant, not him. That was a mistake Al. It is okay. My body immediately relaxes and I place my head on his shoulder again.

"I love it. Keep on going."I say and I watch the darkness seep into the evening. We drive past the trees and forests, our windows down and the smell of the wood filling our car. I close my eyes, and I imagine today's day. It was so good.

I feel happy. I have barely felt happy over the last 3 months.

I match my breaths with the rhythm of Grant's hum and before I even realize, I am drifted off to a sleep.

*****************************************************

"Dad, please don't" I cry as he walks in with a long, sleek belt into my mother's room. My mother was crying today, she said her chest had been aching. I had made her a sandwich and she had fallen off asleep after taking some milk too. She had kissed my forehead and told me to be a good girl and make daddy some sandwiches when he returned home. Dad pushes my hand off his arm and opens the door with a large sound. Mommy will be awake, Dad, I think. She does in fact. Her eyes widen when she sees the belt in his hand. She looks at my crying face and smiles.

"Allegro, Daddy and I will talk now. Go back to your room."She says. But I am not leaving her tonight. I know what happens every night. My father beats my mother. He beats her till she has bruises in the morning, but then acts as if he doesn't know anything. But i know he is lying, he will do the same thing every night.

"No, I won't." I say and dad grabs my small braid with his hand and yanks it.

"Don't be stupid. Just shut your goddamn ugly face and go to your room!"He yells.

"I won't." I say, trying not to be afraid of him. I let Teddy slip down my hand for a moment.

My father smiles. "Fine then. You can stay and watch."He says and crosses the room before slashing the belt against my mother's pale skin and she yelling out in pain.

"Calm down, it's okay."I hear a voice say as my eyes jolt awake. "Shh...Am here." The voice says again. It takes me a second to realize the voice. Grant. I sit up and he pulls me into an embrace, gently pacing back and forth and his words trying to console me. He saw me, the weaker, unconditioned part of me. Shouldn't he be leaving then? Now that he knows who I am? And how will the nightmares go on? Forever? I can't take them. But, why is he still there? Most of the time it is Willa, waking me up, not Grant. She knows me, the deepest and untouched part of me. But she stayed. Because she loves me.

"Calm down, Allegro. It's just a nightmare."He says and I realize that my whole body is trembling. I need him right now. I feel much more secure in his arms. What is he doing here anyway? I can't ask that question. What if he leaves after that? He pulls back and looks me into my eyes. I look down, unable to meet his eyes. I don't fear his reaction. I only fear his questions. I slowly take a deep breath.

"Do you want me to get you some water?"He asks and stands up. No. I grab hold of his hand.

"Stay. Don't go anywhere."I say, still not looking him into the eyes. I'm afraid that they will contain pity in them. I don't want him to feel sorry for me.

"Look at me. Do you-"He begins, but I cut him off.

"No, not now, please."I say and look up at him. His eyes have pity, but they also hold pain, and doubts.

"Let's go back to sleep."I say and lie down. Grant lies down beside me and pushes a stray hair away from my face.

"It's okay if you don't want to share. But, just, know that am there."He says, his hand running over my bottom lip. I look into his eyes and see the look. It holds pity of course, but also pain and worry and permission. His eyes ask my permission to let him in. But, I can't do that. If I do, my demons will swallow him, eat him up like a prey. I can't let him see my dark side. I know he will run away after that.

"Okay."Is all I manage to say before closing my eyes. I won't give him permission.

Am so sorry, darling. My walls have been built up too high.

Thank you for reading!!!! Dont forget to vote/ comment if you liked it. Deepshikha :)