secrets

eight

-SIMON-
______

Just by the desperate look on her face, I know her heart is aching. I know she's afraid. I know she's broken in a way no one ever should be. Trying to be as careful as possible so I don't accidentally touch another bruise, I pull her close to me.

She buries her head in my chest, tears smearing his mascara and leaving a wet trail as they cascade down her beautiful face.

With my thumb, I gently brush the tears away and place a section of her hair behind her ear.

Without looking at me, she says, "I was beaten." I clench my jaw, not saying anything and just comfortingly running my hand up and down her back. She continues, "Alex came over a few weeks after the incident with Laura. Your girlfriend told him she didn't love him, and he was still so angry at Laura for humiliating him in front of all those people and he took it all out on me." She shudders in my arms.

"What d-" I stop and close my eyes, not ready to hear her answer. "What did he do to you?"

She doesn't answer for a while, as if she doesn't really want to revisit such a traumatic memory. After a long minute she says, "He grabbed me really tight by my shoulders and yelled at me. Then h-he just started beating me."

Anger builds up rapidly inside of me. "Where did he hurt you?"

"My shoulders, my back, my stomach." She pauses again. "My heart."

My own heart breaks. "Has he always treated you unfairly?" I ask, already planning out what I'm going to do to him.

She nods. "I just always thought it was normal."

"Did your father treat your mother like that?"

"I didn't grow up with my father."

That explains everything. That's why she was so surprised that someone held a door open for her. She's been used to men mistreating and neglecting her all her life. She's used to feeling useless. She's used to receiving no respect. She's used to loss. She's used to being broken. And of all the women in the world, she's the one who least deserves it.

I pull down the loose sleeves of her sweater, revealing the mean purple hands still imprinted on her skin. I don't even want to see her other bruises.

That man is about to get it.

I stand up, brushing away her tears. But the fear is still so prevalent in her big eyes.

Grabbing my things, I begin to walk towards the door. Adele stands up and follows me. "Where are you going?" She worriedly asks.

"I'm going to make sure Alex doesn't even think about you anymore."

______

"And how do you treat bruises like that?" I ask.

She hands me a type of cream. "This should relieve pain and help it heal faster. But the best remedy for abuse victims is love."

I nod, my heart aching. A woman like Adele should never be the victim of abuse. "I've got plenty of that to give her."

The lady smiles. "Thank you for turning that man in. It's one less bad person out there."

I smile and walk out, ready to heal Adele as best I can.

______

By the time I had taught Alex a lesson and made sure he was behind bars, it was dark and cold outside. I head to Adele's house, ready to help her.

She had left the door unlocked, so I quietly step in and see her sitting on the couch with a blanket across her lap and Love Actually on the TV.

"More Christmas movies?" I say to her, trying to make her laugh.

Much to my joy, she releases a laugh and says, "It's my favorite!"

I laugh with her and sit down. She lays down and rests her head in my lap. I play with her hair, trying to relax her.

"What happened?" She asks me after a minute.

"He's in jail now, you don't have to worry about him ever again." I say calmly.

She sits up, her eyes wide. "Jail? What did you do?"

"I did what I had to do. Are you mad at me?"

She shakes her head. "Of course not, I just can't believe you would do that for me."

"Are you kidding? I'd do anything for you, baby."

She smiles and slowly blinks. Then she lays back down in my lap.

"I talked with a doctor about your bruises. She gave me something to put on them to make them heal faster." I tell her.

"That was sweet of you." She turns her head and looks up at me, and for the first time all day, there is a light in her green eyes. There isn't a drop of fear, and it's one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen.

I gently play with her hair and rub her back. Before I know it, her breaths become slow and even and her eyes are closed.

She is a sleeping beauty, and I cannot believe that she is my sleeping beauty.

I can't wait to show her what a relationship with a real man is like. And I especially can't wait to change the word love for her.