Tough Love

Chapter 23

Riley's POV

"There you are!" The man shouts at me as he gets out of the car. Jason.

Jason was Josh's brother. I met him. before and he even beat me up a couple times as well or helped Josh do it. He was older than Josh, and I found him extremely creepy. Like when Josh wasn't around, he would wrap his hands around my waist or stomach and try to kiss me, and things like that. When I refused to do anything, he would beat me.

"Your the reason my brothers in jail!" He yells at me.

"Jason, calm down." I say softly. He doesn't respond. He starts hitting, punching, shoving me.

He throws me to the ground, kicks me repeatedly as I start to sob. Tears form in my eyes and roll down my cheeks. Through the tears, I see him get something from his car and he hits me with. I let out one more cry of pain, and than he stops. No more words said, and he gets in the car and leaves, like nothing happened.

I pull myself up from the ground and attempt to stand up.

"Ahhh!" I scream but bite my lip to try and muffle it. I look around to try and process where I am again. I was closer to James's house than my own, but I didn't want to bother him. But I was in so much pain...

To late, I'm already walking, or make that limping, in the direction of his house. I knock on the door, hoping that it's him who answers instead of his little sister. The look of me would probaly give her nightmares. Someone opens the door. James, thank God!

"Hey Riles...Oh my God!" He grabs me, trying to get a better look at me. I wince and bite my lip. He gets the idea and holds me more gentle. "Riley, what happened to you?" He asks, his eyes filled with concern.

"Well, um...C-can I sit down? It hurts to stand up." I tell him.

"Yeah, of course. Come here." He scoops me up and brings me upstairs. He brings me to the washroom and sits me down on the countertop. "Let me clean the blood off of you first." He says, taking a damp cloth and makes an attempt at it. He starts with a cut leading from the corner of my eye, and down my jaw. It stung, but felt better when it was cleaned up.

"Tell me what happened." James says as he continued to clean me up.

"I was out walking, when a car came up beside me and almost hit me. The driver turned out to be Josh's idiot older brother Jason. He started blaming me for Josh being in jail and started hitting me and beating me." I tell him.

"So, you knew him?"

"Yeah." I sigh. "He had helped Josh beat me up and beat me up a couple of times too. And he would try to kiss me and stuff when Josh wasn't around. He was a total perv." I told James. He doesn't say anything until he finishes wiping the blood. He still doesnt when he takes me off the counter and hugs me.

"It's alright baby. Your safe with me." He mumbles in my hair. I nod and pull away, about to kiss his cheek when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

I looked terrible. Cuts and bruises. It was a mixture of just hideous and scary. I start to cry.

"You alright?" James asks quietly. I shake my head.

"No. How can you love me when I look like this? I look terrible!" I sob. He stays silent for a minute before replying.

"I can love you because I still have that image in my head of that beautiful girl underneath the scars from the day I truly fell in love with her. And I know that she's still there." He says sweetly. I smile up at him. He presses his lips to my forehead.

"Thank you. For everything." I say.

"No problem. You can stay here tonight if you want." He suggests.

"I don't know. Your whole family's home and I don't want to be in the way..."

"No, don't worry about that. I want you here and that's all that matters." He grins at me. I smile back.

"Alright than." He picks me up again and carries me to his room.