Emerald Eyes

34 - Never Again

The strap of Line's dress had slipped down a little, revealing a dark red scratch on her right shoulder. Why had I not noticed that when she first arrived? Something must've been terribly wrong. How could I not have seen this? If Toby had hurt her... I swear to god, I wouldn't be able to contain myself. I decided to wake Line up. I just had to know the real truth. Gently, I kept caressing her back: "Hey, baby. I'm so sorry. Baby..." Slowly, Line opened her eyes. "Martijn? I... I'm so sorry I hurt you.", were the first words she got out in her sleepy voice. "Baby.", I said and wrapped her into my arms, "Shhh.. Don't apologize. It is all my fault. I didn't even listen to you when you were in my arms crying. I'm a horrible boyfriend." She sat up in bed and I pointed to her shoulder: "Baby, what is that? Did that asshole hurt you?" When she nodded her head, a world broke into pieces for me. She came to me to seek love and to be protected after he hurt her, and I screamed at her and left her all alone. I felt horrible to say the least. "Oh no, baby... I'm so sorry. Does it hurt?", I tried to find out. She shook her head. "Can you tell me the whole story, please? I want to know what happened.", I asked her. "Of course.", she said and started to explain: "So he followed me to your house. I thought I had seen him in the first place, but then I thought I was crazy and it couldn't be real. So I didn't give it any further thought. But the next morning, when I returned to campus, he waited for me and basically... He was going to make his promise come true that you would have to pay for my mistakes. He threatened to publish your address. I was so scared for you, it was the one thing you ever asked me not to do. I was also scared that you would hate me for it if Toby really did this... So I agreed." "Line, baby, don't be scared okay. I am so so sorry for my overreaction. All you wanted to do was protect me. I love you, alright? Don't you forget that. And don't ever do something like this again.", I asked her. Line nodded her head and then continued: "And then, he took me to this bar, where we used to go when we were still a couple. It was as if he was stuck back in that time. I tried to tell him, that I was taken and that this wouldn't work out, but then he started to touch me. It was so disgusting..." Then she started to cry again at the sheer thought of it. I felt so damn helpless. All I could do was hold her and say that it was gonna be alright. But I could feel how deeply she was still traumatized by this asshole. "He is gonna pay for it. For everything. He will never hurt you again, sweetheart.", I promised. The next thing she said was: "And then, on the dancefloor, I stumbled into Julian. Tijn, he saved me. He was so quick to understand the situation. And he was such a good friend to you. I didn't want to tell you at first, but he made sure I did. He cares a lot about you. I just wanted you to know that." Thank god, Julian was always there when I needed him to be. Like a brother. And then she added, just barely loud enough to understand: "I understand if you want to end this. All I'm bringing you is trouble. Now you will have to make sure that he doesn't leak your address and everything. Only trouble. I understand if you don't want that. I really do. And I'm so sorry." It hurt like hell to hear her talk about herself that way. She was so vulnerable. All I wanted to do is protect her. It was my responsibility to make her happy again. I god damn hated it to see her cry. "Don't be scared.", I whispered into her ear, "I'm here for you. I will make sure we are gonna fix this. And I promise, I am not going to leave you alone. You're all I care about. Understood?" Line cuddled up in my arms, slowly calming down. Then she had another small wish: "Tijn? Can I have one of your shirts? I want to get out of this dress that he touched me in." Quickly, I got up and grabbed one of my shirts from the wardrobe. I handed it to her and she changed her clothes. "Thank you. I feel better now.", she said. Then, we cuddled back up under the blanket and it took her only seconds to fall asleep in my arms. And I? I promised myself that we would fix it all the next morning. I would speak to my team and I would also help her get the support she deserved. Toby should not ever be able to lay a hand on her again. Never again.