"Tim! Leave me alone!" I screamed. My boyfriend Tim stood before me, drunk and disorderly. "No. Come to bed." he slurred. "I don't think so. You're way too drunk. Just go, get away from me. I hate you when you're like this!" He reached out and grabbed my arm. I pulled away. "I said, let's go to bed. Come on baby." I wrestled free from his grip. "No! I hate you when you're like this! You're so disgusting. You won't let me sleep, eat, drink- I can't even go to the bathroom without you being nasty or being overly clingy!" Tim's expression darkened. "Whatever bitch." I'd never been called that by Tim. I instantly got angry. "What'd you call me?" I asked, indignantly. "A bitch." Tim replied, sipping on another beer. Tears welled in my eyes. I was tired of dealing with his binge drinking sessions. Tired of trips to the jail and the hospital to deal with him. Tired of him. "Fuck this. Fuck this, I am done." Tim wasn't even concerned as I brushed past him, but when I had a duffle bag packed, he reached out and punched me. That sped up my leaving. I dashed out the front door of our house and immediately got in my car. I held my hand over my eye, trying to get the pain to stop. I sniffled a few times before starting the car. I saw Tim watching me from the window. I shook my head at him and flipped him off. I swore I wasn't coming back, but I didn't know where to go. I pulled into a vacant parking lot, periodically checking for police. I hadn't been depressed in a long time, but this time, I was. I drew my knife from my purse and slashed my arms up a bit. It made me feel better. I let the blood trickle down onto my lap for awhile before speeding off, trying to think of where to go. I passed through downtown, thinking of who I knew in the area. Mark was in Ohio...my best friend was on her honeymoon...there was always Dark. I put him out of my mind. I couldn't bother him, he probably wouldn't care anyway. I kept driving until I saw his building on the horizon...maybe I could just stop in. I tried to wipe my tears away, but they just kept falling. I looked in my mirror. My eye was definitely beginning to swell. I just wanted to hole up somewhere for a night.
I knocked on Dark's door gently. I waited for what felt like an eternity before I heard a yawn and shuffling feet. Dark opened the door and peeked out. "(Y/N)?" he asked, opening it all the way. "Hi." I said, shivering from being wet from the rain. "What's up?" I had my hand covering my eye. Dark immediately grabbed it and pulled it down. He narrowed his eyes a bit. "Get in here." he said, stepping back. I hung my head a bit and walked in. Dark shut the door behind us and stood with his arms crossed, mad at me. "Why (y/n)?" he asked, flatly. "I-I don't know." I sniffled. Dark had warned me a long time ago to stay away from Tim. "I warned you about that guy. He's got problems. Always drunk, ranting, raving...and hurting you. Then he turns around and has the audacity to blame you for it." Dark was perfectly right and I knew it. "I...he begged....I dunno." I broke down. Dark slipped me into his arms and gave me a tight embrace. "(Y/N), I'm not so great with comforting people." he murmured. I squeezed him tighty. "It's okay. I don't want comfort I want protection." I released him and his eyes darted to my arms. "You're bleeding. Why?" he asked. I pulled my sleeves down. The rain had streaked my blood all over my arms. Dark looked at me and asked me again. "I..." he already knew. "Come here." he said softly. I followed him. He sat me on the couch and drew his cold hands over my wounds, healing them like they never existed. I looked Dark straight in his eyes. "Never do that again." he said. "There's a lot of people out there who should kill themselves. They're awful people. You aren't one of them." he rose from his kneeling position in front of me and sat down next to me. "You need some protection now. When your idiot boyfriend sobers up, I'm sure he'll be looking for you. Hell, when you go to get your things from that house because you ARE leaving him, he'll want to fight. What do you want me to do?" I didn't know what to say. "I...I don't know." Dark peered at me. "I'll handle it." he said. "First thing tomorrow, we are getting your things and you are coming here. I'll help you find somewhere to go." I threw my arms around Dark. He nuzzled my neck. "You're colder than I am. Why don't you put something dry on?" Dark escorted me to his room where I changed into a different outfit. I watched the rain on the window panes and shivered thinking about being out on the streets in it. I was thankful for Dark. I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. "Go to sleep (y/n)." Dark said. I crawled into his bed, feeling awkward. It wasn't my bed...I'd never been in Dark's bed before, but it was so comfortable. It smelled like him...soft, sweet cologne with a hint of cigarettes. Dark slipped in next to me. My eyes widened in shock. "What? It is my bed and I don't want you sleeping alone...I almost forgot. Close your eyes." I did. I felt a bit of pressure on my eye...and before long,the throbbing pain had stopped. Dark looked satisfied. "Much better." he said, laying back. "Come on, you can lay on me." he said, rearranging the covers so I could move over and lay my head on his chest. I very cautiously moved over towards him and laid my head on his chest. He tangled his fingers in my hair, humming lightly. I hugged him tightly. "Fall asleep." he said gently. "You're safe with me." I listened to his slow heartbeat and closed my eyes.
I woke up to Dark, wrapped tightly around my body like someone was trying to steal me away from him. I stretched and felt him stirring a bit. "You awake?" he whispered. "Yeah." I yawned. "Good. You can take care of that damn phone of yours then."I snapped awake. Tim. Dark tossed my phone onto the bed and I immediately started going through texts. Of course they were all blaming me. He was trying to make me feel like I'd done wrong by him. I know good and well that I am not perfect. I've had episodes, I've done regrettable things, I'm a person- but whenever I fucked up, I made things right. Tim didn't. He was simply too arrogant. Everything was someone else's fault, he can do whatever he wants, the whole 9 yards. I felt tears welling up in my eyes. Angry tears. "Don't start (y/n)." Dark said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "This guy is an asshole. Believe me,I know assholes...I'm an asshole myself, but I'm fair about it." I laughed. It was true. "Look, let's just get your things and go. I'll be right behind you the whole time. If he tries something funny, I won't hesitate to kill him. I could make the whole thing look like a big drunken accident." As much as I really wanted something awful to happen to Tim, I couldn't be a part of a murder. I reminded Dark of that. He shrugged. "Just understand, I'll protect you." he said. I got out of bed and Dark followed me to my car. I sighed nervously. I hadn't made a habit of getting confrontational, but it had to happen. We headed over to my house. Tim was standing outside, almost like he knew I was coming back. "Don't speak a word to him." Dark told me under his breath. I gave a nod and we both got out of my car. Dark locked eyes with Tim and held his glare. "Who the fuck are you?" Tim asked. Dark continued to look at him. "Don't worry about it." he said, standing between me and Tim. "Get your things (y/n). Be quick about it. I really don't like this guy." I heard Tim bickering with Dark as I struggled to pack my things quickly. There were a lot of things I wanted to take that I knew I couldn't haul. The gaming chair Mark had given me...my old lava lamp collection...perhaps some time Dark and I could return. I heard something from outisde. It was Tim crying for help. I had to look. Dark had Tim pinned down on the ground and was growling and hissing at him. "Get off of me!" Tim cried, trying to push Dark away. "It's no use, Tim. He's stronger than anyone on this planet." Tim looked over at me. "So this is how it is? You're such a slut that you've gone out and replaced me in under 12 hours? Already boasting about your new man...I remember you saying that kind of stuff to me. How long is this one going to last? 2 days? Weeks?" I felt anger rising in me, but I kept my mouth shut. The look on Dark's face indicated he wanted to kill Tim. "Shh." Dark said, looking at Tim. "Your silence ensures your life." Tim swung at Dark who easily dodged the blow. "Hands to yourself, child. I'm expensive...you can't afford to touch me." Tim cursed and threw more punches. Dark dodged them all...except one. I saw Tim's fist clip Dark's nose. My blood ran colder than Dark's at that moment. I'd never seen anyone draw blood from Dark...but I knew it wasn't good. Dark put a hand to his nose and saw his black blood on his fingers. Tim had a look of confusion on his face. "What the hell is wrong with your blood?" he asked, disgusted. Dark had a calm, psychotic smile on his face. "Nothing. Let's see if there's something wrong with yours." he said, balling his fists. Black streaks developed around his fingers. He twirled them around and sent shards of black energy directly into Tim. I had to turn my head. I finished packing my bags, pretending that there wasn't a demon murdering my ex in my front yard. When I finished...well, Tim was gone. "Dark?" I asked. Dark very casually turned to me. "He started it." he said flippantly. "Is your nose okay?" I asked, reaching out to cup his face. Dark just smiled. "It's fine. Better than ever...let's get out of here, okay? Don't worry...nobody saw...it looks like an accident. It'll blow over quickly...nobody is gonna miss this guy." I looked at the corpse. Dark had done a good job at setting things up. I shuddered a bit as I climbed into my car. I looked over at Dark. "It's alright (y/n). You have nothing to worry about. He cannot hurt you anymore." I felt guilt, but satisfaction at the same time. I drove us back to Dark's house and we sat on the couch together. He squeezed me as I stared off into space, unsure of what to do next. "Don't worry. You'll be alright. You have a friend here." I looked up at his haunting silver eyes. "Promise?" I asked. He leaned in and kissed me. "You have more than that if that's what you want." he said. I blushed. I leaned onto him and he wrapped an arm around me. "Stay here as long as you want." I nuzzled him a bit and he held me tightly.
