effervescent | m. hummels & r. lewandowski

[ chapter seventeen ]

Last updated : 21st September, 2018.

Don't worry, I'm not going to abandon this story. I'll finish it for you all,for everyone who has read, voted, commented and at some point, anticipated an update of this book. This goes out to all of you.

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( M A T S )

"Mr Hummels, I want you to know that my officers and I will do everything in our power to bring your fiance's abuser to justice. My men and I are patrolling the city and I'm sure we'll hear good news soon." the deputy officer told me with a firm grip on my hand as he shook it. I merely nodded at him, too scared of thinking consequences at the moment. Robert had vanished over night and it was very imporant that he was found in under two days so I could hold him against the crime he had committed. We needed to catch him before the traces of his abuse completely vanished.

"Doctor, when can I take her home?" I adjust Clara higher on my shoulder so her head is supported against my shoulder blade, she's passed out, exhausted. Maybe the white walls of the hospital made her feel that way, after all, we'd been here for too long now, at least too long for my liking.

"I'm really sorry but she has to be here for at least another day so we can run the final tests and make sure that she's doing a hundred percent fine before she's out on her own." The woman in the white coat gives me an apologetic smile, I think of any reason to be angry but I can't, these people were helping.

"Thank you." I tell her instead, suppressing my anger. Anyone who helps to make Ara better is a friend at this point, the onky enemy we all had was Robert. He never deserved her, I only wish I would've done something to stop this.

Taken her away from that damn bastard.

Suddenly, I'm aware of a child stirring in my arms, wriggling to set herself free from whatever she was caged into. Clara is shaking and she has tears streaming down her closed eyes, she's crying without even knowing that she is. Silently, I wipe away her tears and comfort her sleeping self by wrapping her petite body tighter on my arms, I don't set her down, just keep rocking her back and forth until she's not shaking anymore.

When I was a little kid, I always saw my mother comforting the younger children of the family, she always repeated the same motion, hushing from her lips and rocking the small form around her arms back and forth, at first, I didn't understand why some quick motions of movement would stop the crying baby, but surprisingly, it did, very soon.

Never had I imagine myself doing it, for the matter, though.

Yet, here I was. And I didn't mind it one bit, even if she wasn't my biological daughter, Clara still held an important place in my life, yes, she had an abusive father but that wasn't her fault, she was so fragile herself to take any step to stop it.

The thought of holding my own, once girlfriend's baby, may terrify people but it didn't, to me. To me, it felt complete and home, just like Ara.

Kissing the top of her head, I set her down on the sofa right next to the wall of the small hospital room. There were minimal things here: apart from the patient's bed and all other medical machines and stuff, there was a small white sofa for any visitors, and a simple chair right in the corner of the room. I pulled the chair and set it right next to the sofa. The sofa fitted Clara's small body in it perfectly as she curled into a small ball as her chest heaved up and down from her soft breathing.

I could never fit in this thing, not even if I chop off my legs.

Instead, I slumped into the uncomfortable chair, twisting and turning until my muscles gave out and my heart was a mess, brain, distraught.

I turned my head slightly to look at Ara who looked so peaceful, now that she was away from that monster of a husband of her's. Both girls were heavily sleeping, and here I was, thinking, thinking whether or not this will continue? Or is it the last time I see their faces? What if the police doesn't catch Robert? What if he comes back for Ara or even tries to take custody of Clara by dragging her to court? And what about me? Whay horrible things has he planned to do once he gets a hold of me?

The last thing I remember before drifting off into an comfortable slumber was kissing Ara on the forehead and murming an 'I love you'.

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When my eyes reopened it was somewhere around seven in the morning, Clara was still sleeping peacefully when I looked at her, soft breaths leaving her mouth without a worry in the world.

But when I turned my head toward Ara, she's wide awake, her eyes are not blinking and she is breathing heavily, like she's gasping for air in her lungs. Without a second thought, I run towards her and grasp her by the shoulders, "Ara, breathe, please, just breathe." I don't know else to tell her, I don't know what else to do except hold her.

"Robert— in my dreams—I," she's breathing slightly but soon, her pupils dilate and she's frantically getting uo from the bed and moving around before I have the chance to pin her down. "He's going to take her away from me! He's going to take her away from me! He was— choking me, I need— I need to go..." she's screaming and Clara jolts awake, only before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep again but the mere motion of her stirring catches Ara's eyes and she visibly relaxes, she looks at me and her face softens.

I see her pad over to me and wrap her arms around my neck and breathe into the crook of my neck, her hands move tantalizing slow up from my neck and down to my torso. I close my eyes and savour this bittersweet feeling of us holding each other like that. To think that Robert had caused her so much mental damage to actually give her nightmares made my fists clench, that bastard would pay for this shit, all the shit he had put Clara and Ata through.

"Mats." she breathes softly onto my skin.

"I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere, nor is Clara." I kiss her lips by pulling her chin close, it's soft, bittersweet epiphany and reeks of longing, of being close to each other, it's everything we have.

"Go back to sleep, you still have a couple of hours before we leave this awful place." I chuckle and she remains passive, then, she nods her head and goes back to the sheets, only this time, looking at me in the eyes when I tuck her in.

"Sleep tight." I kiss her forehead and push away some hair stands from her forehead. I turn around but my hand is held back. Looking back, I see Ara holding onto it like her dear life depends upon it.

"Sleep with me?" she looks distraught from the lack of sleep and the constant trauma she's been tlout through, yet, she also looks absolutely beautiful, I wonder how that's possible, to be this gorgeous and messy at the same time, but then again, this was Ara, she was always so beautiful in whatever she did.

As a repsone, I slide into the bed right next to her, her head on my chest like the good old fashioned way and my hands playing with her hair. Sleep didn't grace me that time, only, it made my heart much peaceful this time.