Loves a Fight

Chapter XXI Kains P.O.V

As I drove I couldn't help but steal glances at the only girl I have ever cared for.
She rested her head against the seatbelt and was slowly falling asleep.
I drove slowly and avoided bumps so she could sleep.
As I've come to notice, Noel doesn't sleep very well.
Or very long for that matter.

The last time she fell asleep in my car she woke up and  instantly started crying.
I know she replays her painful memories when she shuts her beautiful eyes.
All I wished was for some sort of way to put her to peace.
Everyone deserved a little sleep.

The rain falls as the night drags on.
We arrive at my house but I continue to drive.
Noel was asleep and I wasn't going to wake her up.
Not when I knew how hard it was for her.

As I drove past the house a third time she jumped in her sleep.
Her hands latched onto the console and arm rest.
Her eyes wide and frightened.
Her frantic orbs snapped to mine, and she visibly relaxed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked expecting Noel to mutter out a quick no.
I was pleasantly surprised when she agreed to tell me.

"I dreamed of one of the times my father hurt me..." Noel spoke looking at the side of my face as I drove.
My jaw clenches in anger.

"I always have nightmares..." Noel sighed leaning her head against the head rest.
Her eyes look up as she holds back the tortured tears.

"Well I guess they aren't nightmares if they actually happened right?"  Noel laughed an empty/void laugh.
I don't want her living in her past forever.
Noel needs to see that I'm there for her in the future.

"What happened in it?" I ask even though I know I don't want to.
She glances at me from the corner of her eyes.
A solemn expression settling upon her troubled features.

"Well… um, it was when I was about sixteen. I think..." Noel spits out sounding like a robot.
I try to picture a younger Noel.
She was probably just as beautiful as she was now.
The beautiful black hair and green eyes.
Absolutely stunning...

"This was about a year after my mother died, and the time where my father was the most violent..." My brows furrowed.
He was even more of a prick before he tried to kill Noel...
Knowing that made my blood boil.
He deserved so much more than death.
He deserved to be tortured.
He deserved to feel all the emotional trauma he placed upon his one and only daughter.
The only piece of his wife left...

"My father had locked me in the basement for a few weeks. He would come down and let steam off. He... He would punch me. He would whip me. This was when he... carved, those words into my back. I dreamed of the time when he carved murderer into my back. The burning pain... My screams were all too real. It felt as though it was happening all over again..." Noel looked to me and then down to her shaking, bruised hands.
She locked her hands together and squeezed.
The pain reminding her that this was real.
That I was real.

Tears slowly drip down the sides of her cheeks and I watched them while my heart grew heavy.
I couldn't imagine the pain she faced.
I would never be able to sympathize with this shattered girl sat before me.
There was no way for me to offer any sort of comfort.
All I could give was reassurance that she was ok.
Noel was free now.

"I…" Noel stopped when a cry broke through her shattered words.
Her hands shot up and wiped the tears away angrily.
Angry that she let these memories get the best of her.
Angry that she couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"It was just all too much..." Noel slid off her shoes and folded her legs up infront of her.
Her feet rested on the seat and her arms wrapped around her legs.
Her head rested on her knees as she muffled her cries.
Even in a complete mess she still took her shoes off to ensure she didn't damage my truck seats...