Save Me (Roger Taylor FanFiction) [Wattys 2019]

15: Like a Sister

*13th December 1971*

"HOW'RE YOU FEELING?" ROGER asked when I woke up the next morning. I sat up and he sat on the side of his bed that I'd slept in. He looked rough from sleeping on the couch but he assured me he didn't mind.

"Meh," I replied. Now that all the shock was gone from my body, I could really feel the damage that had been done to
my face. I was in a lot of pain but I didn't want to tell Roger; he'd worried enough for us both.

"Your nose is a little swollen and bruised and your cheek is just bruised but you should be fine," he told me, running his thumb over my tender cheekbone.

Neither of us said anything for a few moments and I felt an overwhelming load of tears and pain hit me. I didn't cry though. My time for crying in front of Roger was last night when I first came to him. It was now time to suck it up.

"Are you alright?" He asked me, taking his hand off my face.

"I should be fine soon, yeah," I replied, gesturing to my face.

"No, I mean inside. Are you alright in your head?"

I knew what he meant and I knew what the answer was but there was no way I was telling the truth.

"Yeah, you know me, Rog," I forced a laugh but the problem was, he did know me. He knew when I was lying. But thankfully he didn't push it.

Again, a silence fell on us and I didn't know what to do but stare at my hands in my lap. Suddenly that silence was broken by the ringing of the doorbell. I jumped at the sudden noise, obviously still jumpy from my experience last night.

Roger sprung up and swiftly left the room to answer the door, probably glad that there was an excuse to leave the room. The tension between us could be cut with a knife.

I suddenly heard the very loud and recognisable voice of Freddie Mercury echoing through the house. He seemed to be here to talk about band stuff with Roger but when his voice dropped low to match Roger's, I knew they were talking about me.

I didn't blame Roger for telling Freddie about what had happened and he would have found out anyway just by looking at my face. One thing was for sure though: Freddie was going to kill me.

I knew I had to face him so I decided I'd go to him. I stood up and suddenly realised I must have a bruise on my back from when I fell on the floor because a dull pain had shot up my spine.

It was cold so I grabbed a white shirt of Roger's that was lying around and pulled it on over the t-shirt I was wearing from last night. Although Roger was not tall for a man and quite skinny, the shirt still drowned me but the familiar smell of Roger was intoxicating.

The smell sent my mind reeling through all the times Roger held me in his arms, every time we kissed and every time I thought he was the most perfect man I'd ever met. Too bad men weren't very reliable.

When I walked out the room and into the kitchen where the two men stood, I instantly felt ashamed of myself. I really didn't want Freddie to see the state of my face and I wished I'd thought this through a bit more before I left the safety of Roger's bed.

Roger looked surprised to see me wearing his shirt but looked even more shocked when he saw my face in the cold light of day. The blinds had been shut in his room so he clearly didn't get a good view of my face before. Now there was nowhere for me to hide and I felt naked.

Freddie followed Roger's gaze and turned around to face me. At the point, his jaw dropped and he rushed over to me.

"Julie! Oh my god, look at what he's done to you," he lifted my chin with his fingertips to get a better look at my bruises. "Oh, my darling," he cooed as tears started to well in my eyes.

Damn my uncontrollable emotions. I didn't want to cry in front of people, especially not Roger but seeing Freddie and feeling the comfort his voice brought to me, I couldn't help it.

He wrapped his arms around me tightly and pulled me towards him. My arms circled around him and I rested my cheek without the bruise on his chest. I sobbed hard which just made him rub my shoulders.

"I told you to call me if you even suspected anything bad was going to happen to you," he told me. "I told you he wasn't good for you, I told you,"

I closed my eyes and sobbed audibly which seemed to make Roger's ears prick up. Freddie had his back to Roger but from the angle my head was at, I could see him. He looked like he was in pain.

"I'm sorry Freddie, I should have listened to you, I was so stupid," I sobbed which prompted Freddie to kiss the top of my head sweetly.

"I love you so much, Julie and I can't believe that bastard did that to you. The thought of it makes me sick," his heart was speeding up at the intensity of his words.

"Roger and I will kill him for you, how does that sound?" He joked (at least I think he was joking) and placed his hands on my shoulders to push me back a bit so he could look at me. He wiped my tears away with the pad of his thumb and kissed my forehead.

"You're like a sister to me, I love you,"

"I love you too, Fred,"

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A/N

Short little filler chapter today just to break up the drama. In the next chapter though (which I will probably post today) all will be revealed about what's going on with Roger and Jules.

Make sure you keep an eye out for that chapter, you're going to want to read it!

Is anyone actually enjoying this story? Is anyone reading it? Please just drop a little comment to let me know or even just to say hi! I'm so glad that the story has just over 500 reads now! It's crazy!

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