A Twist Of Magic

Chapter Twenty Five

I slid my back down the door and sighed in relief as I pulled my knees up under my chin. That was a close encounter, I should have known better than to try and hurt Graham, I should have known that he would punish me. He had no right to be angry after what he'd done to me. I gently rubbed my neck, wincing slightly at how sore it was. Once again I'd been hurt by his hand, but at least I was safe behind this locked door.

I jumped and remained silent as I heard a knock at the bathroom door behind me.

"It's okay, it's me." I heard Daniel's voice.

"Danny." I whispered, relieved to hear his voice.

"Yeah I'm here, can you let me in?" he asked.

I fell silent for a moment, even though I knew that Daniel would never hurt me, I was afraid to open the door.

"Are you alone?" I asked.

"No the others are here, but they won't be coming in." he explained.

Even though I didn't want to open the door, I couldn't deny that I wanted to be in Daniel's presence right now so that he could make me feel safe. I sighed and unlocked the door. As I peered around the door, I quickly grabbed his tie and pulled him into the bathroom, quickly locking the door behind ourselves.

"What's gotten into you today?" he exclaimed in shock.

"Long story." I replied as I sat on the floor and leant my back against the door. He sighed and sat next to me.

"Why did you scream?" he asked.

"Because Graham grabbed me." I whispered. I couldn't bring myself to lie to him any longer. Even though I knew Daniel would be hurt when he discovered the truth, I needed to be honest with him and I was done covering for Graham.

"What?" he frowned.

"What's he even doing here Daniel?" I sighed.

"Mum and him are getting married apparently." he said quietly.

"She can do better than him." I said.

"He's not too bad I guess." he replied.

"Anyway, stop changing the subject, why did he grab you?" he asked, seeing through my charade.

"He got angry and grabbed me." I said quietly.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked.

"My neck is a little sore, but it's fine, I just panicked I guess." I sighed.

He nodded, reached over and took my hand, squeezing it gently. I smiled at him as he placed my hand on his lap and gently played with my fingers.

"You seem very afraid of him." he said thoughtfully.

I shrugged and looked away from him, both of us returning to our thoughts.

"You're shaking." Daniel announced as I shuffled towards him and rested my head on his shoulder. He sighed and rested his head against mine.

"Amelia?" he questioned.

"Umm." I said quietly.

"It was him wasn't it." he said gently.

"What?" I asked, gazing up at him.

"It was Mr Winters that abused you wasn't it?" he said.

I nodded slowly, warm tears rolling down my cheeks. He sighed and gently brushed them away with his thumb. As I stared into his eyes I could see that he was growing angry. His nostrils flared and his breathing became deep as he quickly stood up.

"Stay here." he told me sternly.

"Danny don't." I whispered.

"I have to do this." he replied.

I quickly walked over and stood in front of him, placing my hands against his chest and gazing into his eyes in a desperate attempt to calm him down.

"Danny please don't." I pleaded.

"Stay here." I repeated.

I watched in horror as he opened the bathroom door and walked into the room.