Ship to Wreck

7

The themes presented in this chapter may be triggering to some. Please take care of yourself and read with caution.

***

Athena woke up with a severe burning pain in her left wrist. The pain felt familiar to her – she had broken her arm skateboarding when she was twelve . . . but that was a long time ago, and the circumstances were very different. She was just a kid having fun.

Now she was an adult in a situation she never thought possible. A situation she never wanted.

She examined the lavender cast on her dominant arm before looking around the room. Christian's room. Christian . . . What would she have done without him yesterday? She felt so protected in his arms, even after the arms of someone else, someone she loved so much, had just punished her so severely.

The room was sparsely decorated. One dresser and a nightstand with a single lamp. The blinds and curtains on the large window were closed, forcing her to realize she had no idea what time it was. It felt like she had been asleep forever. And that's all she really wanted to do forever: sleep.

But the pain wouldn't allow her to. The memories from last night wouldn't allow her to. So she stood up . . . only to be met with more pain. A throbbing pain in her hip where Kyle had grabbed her and an achy pain in her neck where he had held her down so forcefully.

"Fuck," she muttered to herself as she walked toward the door, trying with all her willpower to not think about Kyle. But how could she not? She had been with a monster for practically seven years. She would have married a monster had he just asked.

Probably because he was the type of person she deserved.

She tried to stop her tears from falling, but a couple dripped down her cheek despite her best effort. She harshly wiped them away before heading toward the living room.

"Thenes?" she heard a soft voice ask from the kitchen. Christian's voice.

"Hi," she said quietly when he stepped out of the kitchen to greet her in the living room. "And thank you for ev—"

He cut her off. "Please don't thank me. I'm just glad you're safe."

She shook her head. "Thank you, really. You didn't have to help the way you did, especially after everything that happened." Don't cry, Athena. Don't cry.

Seeing her so broken made Christian want to break, so he attempted to change the subject to something significantly lighter. "I was trying to make you something to eat because you can't take your medicine on a completely empty stomach, but I definitely fucked it up. So I just ordered an entire Indian menu for you instead. I know you like Indian . . . But I wasn't sure exactly what you like specifically . . . So I went with everything."

Athena gave him a small smile, but it was the biggest one she could muster. "You're the best, Christian." She wasn't hungry, but he was right, she had to eat to handle her medicine, and she had to take medicine to reduce all the pain.

"I know this isn't much of a bright side, but at least you broke your non-dominant wrist, right?" he asked, as he carefully guided her to the couch and sat next to her – but not too close. He knew she shouldn't be moving around too much. Not yet. She was probably in a world of pain – physically and emotionally.

Athena laughed for the first time since she sped out of Christian's apartment in a panic. "I'm definitely a lefty."

"Oh, fuck then," Christian said, a blush creeping on his face. "But you bat righty! I feel lied to," he joked, giving her a cheesy grin.

"I'm a lefty who bats right-handed. I'm your nemesis, Christian Yelich," she disclosed, gently placing a hand on his knee. She wanted to feel close to him . . . for comfort. For safety.