You're Always You

Chapter Thirty-One

David Minett

It made her cry but it was the truth.

David was not letting Lydia go back. He was done. Watching Dick shove her had been toeing the line, but this?

No.

She wasn't going back.

David would grab her things if he had to, but she was not going back. He would lose his job, that was fine, because Lydia wasn't going back there either. And if Lydia wasn't there, David had no reason to be either.

He'd go back to the mall.

Dave pulled her back from trying to clean up the spilled french toast, since it wasn't important right now. The floor would live, and it wasn't like Brett was coming home anytime soon to care.

Fucking hell this was a mess.

So he just pulled her back from the edge of the bed and held her against him, and she didn't fight it, sobbing on his shoulder.

His bare shoulder, mind you, but he didn't think she cared at the moment.

"I know," he murmured, rubbing her back soothingly. "I know...." Eventually she seemed to relax, after a good long cry, at which point David gently set her back into the bed again. He got up to take care of the spilled breakfast, or at least what he could without some cleaning solution given the maple syrup, and left the room for a moment to get rid of what he needed to. He then grabbed what he needed for the floor, which was thankfully not carpet, and fixed that up too.

"Sorry," Lydie mumbled, her voice still thick with tears, as he returned with some cleaning solution.

"Relax," he replied softly. "Don't worry about it. Just relax, okay?"

She sniffled and nodded her head, sinking down into the bed some more. David cleaned up the floor as quickly as possible while also trying to be thorough, knowing his mother would kill him otherwise, before making another trip out to dispose of that, and return to Lydia once more. He sat on the edge of the bed again and touched her shoulder, squeezing softly. "Everything will be okay," he promised, having to stop himself from kissing her forehead, shifting slightly forward with a bit of a lurch before awkwardly moving back again.

"....I'm sorry," she murmured again.

"Lydie," he said, shaking his head. "You have nothing to apologize for." Then he gave a slight exhale. "You're welcome here as long as necessary. Alright? If you need anything, Moni and I are here...all day."

She nodded and took a deep, relaxing breath. "....I should....I should talk to Richie...."

....

David frowned somewhat. "You shouldn't go alone," he told her. If that was what she had to do, and if she was stubborn about it, he supposed he would accompany her. But, she wasn't dealing with this alone.

Plus, witnessing her break up with Dick, if that was what she was doing, was at the top of his alternate reality bucket list.

Lydia shook her head. "....It's just Richie...." she muttered. "....It's okay."

"Last time you saw just Richie he smacked you in the face," Dave reminded her, and she winced at his words. "You think he'll just be down for a chat over coffee? Especially the longer you're gone? No, Lydia. You're not going alone. I'm going with you, or you're not going at all."

He hated sounding exactly like the person he was trying to protect her from, but the lines between protection and control could...blur. Easily.

"....Why do you care?" the woman mumbled, looking away.

Why does everyone ask me that???

"Because I'm a much better human being than those you're used to," he remarked. "And I'm not just going to sit by and let someone as wonderful as you get smacked around by some fuckface that keeps you on a leash. You deserve better, that's why."

She snorted ruefully. "Wish I talked to you more in high school...."

....

David's heart cracked.

I'm so sorry, baby.

"....Me, too," he mumbled, glancing away guiltily. "This wouldn't have happened if I had...."

Lydia sat up slightly, frowning. "No," she said. "Don't blame yourself for this. This isn't your fault."

Oh if only she knew....

David merely smiled sadly at her, the cracks in his heart multiplying as he bit his tongue on that. "If I can't blame myself for no reason," he responded. "Then neither can you."

She fell silent, which told him that she disagreed but didn't want to argue.

Since she'd pulled her hands up from the covers in sitting up, David reached for the closest and squeezed it. He was compelled to kiss it too, but....

God this was hard.

"You relax," he ended up saying, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. "Get some more sleep, if you want. We'll be right outside in the living room, probably, if you need anything."

Lydia shook her head, confused. "I work today," she said.

David smiled at her and shook his own head. "No you don't," he told her simply, before getting to his feet and heading for the door.

"....No, I think I do," she responded, confused. "I checked the schedule."

"Lydia," he said, stopping in the doorway and looking towards her. "I'm telling you you don't. Because if he knows you're there...?"

"....I need the money, though," she insisted, frowning.

"Honey, if you're there, and he hurts you, I'm gonna hurt him, and then we'll both be unemployed. We'll figure it out. But you stay here today. Okay?"

Lydia exhaled with resignation. "....Okay...." she relented, nodding her head.

That decided, David left the room and shut the door, for her privacy, before heading into the living room, where his mother and sister were sat watching television. Monica didn't look up, but raised her arm and held a mug out towards him.

A mug of black coffee.

"Thanks," he chuckled half-heartedly, moving into the kitchen to add a little something to it. He wasn't that pissed off...anymore. Mostly just because Lydia was here, and she was perfectly safe. David knew he could kick Dick's ass six ways from Sunday, so he wasn't worried, and as long as she was here, the situation was...on pause.

Though, when she did end up needing to have that conversation with Dickie, Dave was going to need another job lined up, because he was definitely going to need a new one. He would...look at that later.

Right now, he needed to focus on his poor wife not-wife, and keeping her both literally safe and feeling safe. Only one of those seemed true at the moment.

God he wished Brett was still a cop. Brett would go with them to confront Dickie, and pick up Lydia's stuff. Trying to pick a fight with a cop would go much worse for Dick than picking a fight with just David.

But, alas, Brett was a thug and sitting in a cell.

Still.

Sigh.

But at least Lydie was okay. That was what was important here. David had gotten her away from Dick, and he wasn't letting go.