Sometimes Things Fall Apart

Chapter Eleven

       Letting out a small whimper, I heard somebody call my name. They were in the living room while I was held captive in my dining room. "(Y/N)? Are you in here? I thought I heard something." I was too terrified at the moment to be able to place the name, but I heard footsteps heading towards the kitchen, the opposite direction of the dining room. I opened my mouth to call for them but a hand was placed over my lips before I could make a sound.

       "Shut it," his voice was an angry whisper as he gripped my throat hard and let go again.

       "(Y/N)?" Please. Please, I'm in here. The footsteps began to advance in my direction as I was pulled beneath the table. As the newcomer entered the dining room, I stuck my foot out from beneath the table, just far enough for them to notice the subtle hint. I knew my assailant was too dumb to figure it out.

       My hope died when the footsteps retreated and went upstairs. "They better go quick, or I'll have to take care of them, too." At this point, the man was seething with rage and impatience. The footsteps came back downstairs and made their way to the front door. The sound of the door opening and closing killed any remaining hope I had of being found. The man stepped out from beneath the table first before dragging me out by my leg.

       "Almost, slut, almost." He ran a finger down my jawline, "I always get my way." I was shoved to the floor again as he buried his face in my neck, leaving long trails of spit as he licked me. One hand was keeping mine in place again while the other made its way to my chest.

       Tears spilled again and I began to choke on my whimpers. It sounded like a coughing dog more than a crying female.

       "I think it's about time you got your sorry ass up and away from her."

       Standing behind the man, holding a gun to the side of his head, was Rick. The gun was unlike anything I'd seen before, but I didn't doubt its effectiveness. The man laughed at Rick as he pulled out his own gun, pressing it to my forehead. "You might wanna put that down, unless you wanna see your girl here lyin' dead."
       Rick sent me an apologetic look as I was unable to stop the flood of fearful tears. He began to lower his gun, making the man release his hold on the trigger, an action most wouldn't notice. Still looking at me, Rick mouthed the words 'close your eyes' before I shut them as tightly as I could.

       I flinched when I heard a shot fire, the weight and hold of the man completely disappearing. "What you did under the table was smart. Sorry I didn't help sooner, I needed to get him off guard. Don't open your eyes yet. Trust me." I sobbed harder than before, curling into a ball on my side as Rick laid something over me.

       "Okay, you can open them now." Rick was crouching directly beside me, looking closely. The man was gone, as well as any trace of his being there. "D-Did he do anything other than hit you?" His eyes were full of worried curiosity, but I knew better than to believe it. He was nothing more than a narcissistic ass.

       Avoiding his gaze, I shook my head. "You promise?" He doesn't care. Tomorrow he's going to be the same ass as the first day I met him.
       "Yes." Sighing, Rick stood up. "Here." He had laid his lab coat over top of me and had now wrapped me in it, picking me up and carrying me over to the couch. "Do you need anything?" I could tell he was going to keep worrying more and more, but the worry would dissipate into nothing as soon as he grabbed his flask.

       I ignored him, not moving as I kept my eyes shut, trying to stop crying. "Please say something. Where's your bracelet?" I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. "It's i-in the bathroom."

       Rick stood up and made his way upstairs. He was there for a very long while before he finally returned, racing down the stairs. "You can hate me all you want. It's nothing new, a lot of people do. But I'm still going to help." With that, he secured the lab coat around me again before picking me up, leading me back upstairs.
       He brought me to my bathroom. The tub was filled with bubbles galore and smelled like flowers. "Trust me, alright?" He pulled the lab coat away and put me in the warm water, soaking the sleeves of his sweater in the process. I looked at them and felt sorry. I was gonna cry again. "Don't worry, it's fine. Just urp calm down, okay?"

       I nodded and lifted my arms, staring at the bubbles that covered them, a small smile on my face. "There we go." He scooped up some bubbles and placed them on my head, "Praise the bubble queen."

       A sad smile took the place of his wide grin after a moment.

       "I'm really sorry. I didn't see him go inside. I just... I heard something and it just didn't sit right with me. When I came over, you didn't open the door. I thought you were mad at me, so I was gonna go home. But I heard you cry. You were crying. And it didn't sound like you were crying over a movie or anything, it sounded eugh like you were completely terrified. And I didn't pull you out as soon as I saw your foot. But I knew what he was going to do if I did. He would've killed you before you were halfway out. I had to throw him off. I'm s-... I'm so sorry."
He looked like he was actually about to cry, tears welling up in his eyes. He put his face in his hands and his shoulders started to shake. "Don't hate me. Don't..."

       I pulled my arms back into the water, staring at the mountain of bubbles before me. I grabbed a big ass armful and lifted it to his head, "Hail the bubble king." He sat up, sniffling, as he touched the bubbles. He wiped at his eyes and laughed softly.

       Rolling up the sleeves on his sweater, he knelt in front of the tub and scooped up more bubbles, putting them all in my hair. I laughed, trying to get them out, "No fair!" Rick laughed when I got a big handful of bubbles and blew them into the air, watching as they all landed on him.

       We sat and played with the bubbles for the better part of an hour before I decided it was time to get out of the water. Rick was kind enough to grab a towel and wrap me in it before draining the tub while I went to put on pajamas.

       I sat on the edge of my bed, brushing my hair, when Rick walked into my room. "I thought you went home."
       "I can't leave you alone right now. Not urp after that. It happened twice already. A third and we might lose you forever." I set my brush on the nightstand, "I'll be fine. You already saved me twice."

       "I might not get there in time if it happened again." He looked genuinely worried, "Even if I have to sleep on the floor, I'm staying here. You can't make me leave urp now."

       "Rick, I-"

       "I already told you, you can't make me leave now." He walked into the middle of my room like he was trying to decide where to sleep. "Your sweater is soaked, Rick. Don't you think you should just go and change? I promise, I'll be fine."
       "That," he pulled his sweater over his head and held it in his hand, "is easily remedied. I'm not leaving."

       I let out a frustrated sigh, "Fine. But are you sure you'll be fine on the floor?"
       "Psh, it's not the worst arrangement." He set his sweater on the back of my desk chair for the time being, "just throw a pillow at me."

       "Oh my God, Rick. The only way I'm letting you stay is if you use my bed." I pulled him over to the edge and shoved him, making him fall and sit on the edge. "I'll sleep on my own damn floor, you stubborn ass." I reached over for one of my pillows but Rick tugged my arm, making me fall onto my bed. "Dude, really?" I spoke into the mattress before pushing myself up.

       "Lay on the damn bed. Don't make me get Beth to come yell at you." He put him arms up in mock surrender, "Not the warden."
       "Now behave." He crossed his arms, practically pouting, "yes, ma'am."

       I stood at the edge of the bed, trying to grab a pillow again, when Rick laid down, pulling me with him. "You can sleep on the bed, too. It's bigger than mine. You can have more room."

       "Fine." I rolled over onto my side, "Only because of the bath."

       "I knew that would help." Rick put an arm around my stomach, "I promise nobody's gonna hurt you again."

       He's gonna be an ass tomorrow. All of this will be a distant memory. But it's nice to know that, somewhere deep down, he can be a good guy. I suppose all I can do is make the best of it.

       I moved closer to him, making him chuckle. "Goodnight, (F/N)."

       "Goodnight, Rick."