Take your time or I'll take your Heart

Chapter 27

A few days had passed and Ren was released from the hospital. In those few days, my mother contacted me to tell me when the court date was. It was going to be a week from when Ren was released from the hospital. Scarlet was excited to see him when he came from the hospital. The doctors advised him to not wear a shirt to bed since it could mess with the stitching. The whip went deep enough to cause stitches. They told him that he wasn't allowed to face his back towards the shower head if he were to take a shower. A bath was recommended. I would have to help him when it came to cleaning his back when he took a bath. They looked a bit irritated when I would wash his back. And the doctors told him to not wear any tight shirts to avoid the cloth to snag on the stitches. He also had to be mindful about how he fell asleep. He wasn't allowed to be on his back. He had to either be on his sides or his stomach. It was hard for him to adjust, which meant he lost a lot of sleep. I would usually wake up when I felt him getting up.

"Ren?" I asked after he sat at the edge of the bed. My eyes adjusted and saw that he had turned the lamp on. I could see the stitches from the whip marks on his back. The other scars could be seen, but the whip marks were the most prominent.

"It's alright, Y/N. Go back to sleep," he said.

"Ren, is everything ok?"

"I'm fine," he said and sniffled a bit.

I crawled over to him and rested my head on his shoulder. I wrapped my arms underneath his and rested my hands on his chest. "Ren, something's bothering you."

"It's just that, you're doing so much for me. I can't thank you enough," he said and wiped a few tears out of his eyes.

I smiled and kissed his cheek, "You don't have to thank me."

"I want to thank you."

"You can thank me by being you. By being the best you can be."

He smiled and looked over at me. I gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Thank you," he said.

I smiled and fell back onto the bed. He turned off the lamp and fell back onto the bed. He turned over on his side and wrapped his arms around me. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face into his chest.

"I love you, Y/N," he said, bringing me closer to him.

"I love you too, Ren."

A week had gone by and it was time for the court date. In that week, Ren had a doctor's visit and said that he still needed to have the stitches in, but they gave him a protective seal for him if he ever wanted to shower. I put them on his back before he put on his suit for the court case. I helped him with his tie while he was fixing his cuffs on his blazer. I smiled at him before kissing him on the cheek.

"Do you think you're ready for this?"

"I think so," I said.

"I'll be right there to support you."

"They might call you because you were a witness when all of that happened."

"But it's against him."

"Yeah."

"We should head out before we're late."

"Good luck you guys!" Morgana called.

"Thanks, Morgana," I said and rubbed his head.

We walked out of the apartment and headed down to the lobby. My mother was there to pick us up. We got into the car and we headed towards the court house. We arrived on time, but we had to wait a little bit. When they called us in, we headed in, but they took Ren into a different area since he was a witness. It was just me and my mother against my father. We sat down and the guards walked my father in. His head was hung low and it looked like he had gotten no sleep. They sat him down and he didn't even look at us.

"All rise for Judge Igor," a police officer said.

We all stood and the judge walked in. He stood up for a moment and then he sat down.

"Shall we begin with the plaintiff?"

"Yes, your honor," my mother said and stood up.

"I had married my husband when I was around twenty-five years old. We had our first child when I was about twenty-eight. I had our second one when I was thirty-two. And after they were born, I was physically abused by my husband and I was mentally abused as well. I hid it from them very well because I didn't want them to see their mother suffering. I didn't want them to see me as someone who was fragile. I wanted them to see someone who was strong. I tried my best to make sure they didn't have to deal with this kind of abuse. But I couldn't protect them long enough. Fortunately, my first daughter was spared from this abuse. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my second daughter. About a month ago, my daughter, Y/N, was a victim of his verbal and physical abuse. He had caused to give her bruises and called her names. I think she should tell you all about it."

"Your honor, my father tried to love us, but I somewhat knew of what he was doing. I would try to get my mother's attention, but there was a night where my father was abusing her. I didn't speak out about it because I didn't know what to say. I didn't raise my voice when I should of. And because of that, I didn't learn to stand up for myself and for others. Fortunately, I learned how to due to this experience. My father called me and asked if he could spend the night at my apartment with me and my boyfriend. I said yes and when he came in, he was drunk. I thought, at the time, that it was the alcohol that was talking. He had called me names and then started to beat me. Thankfully, my boyfriend was there to get him off of me."

"Does the defendant wish to contradict anything?" the judge asked.

"No, your honor. I confess to everything they've said."

"Then we have no need for the witness. You will be sentenced for ten years in prison." Igor slammed the gavel and everyone filed out. Ren and I got into my mother's car and she drove us back to the apartment room. When we got into the room, we changed into comfortable clothing and took a nap.