🌸The Promise 🌸[18+]

Chapter 12

With a heavy heart, I look to Trudy.
"You're my Aunt?" I ask feeling deflated.
But before she could reply, Mabel looks to us both and puts her hands on her hips.

"Just keeps getting better for you doesn't it? She states.
"You don't deserve any of this!" She waves her hand around to signal the room. "And you certainly don't deserve her." She places a hand on Trudy's arm. "You will only hurt her like you've hurt everyone else, I.."

"That's ENOUGH Mabel!" We all look to see where the voice came from and spot an angry Mr Laywood.
He's back.
"I think you've said quite enough don't you?" Mr Laywood says not moving his eyes from Mabel's distraught face. Shes has gone from angry to devastated in a matter of seconds, and I can't help feeling she put it on for show.
"If you want to keep your job I suggest you leave NOW!" He shouts.
Shock and embarrassment wash over Mabel's face, and she puts her hand over her mouth and runs to the direction of the door, with a huge sob erupting from her throat.

Mr Laywood sighs, I can tell he hates the fact that he made Mabel cry. His heart is so pure even in times of crisis.

He walks over and stands in front of me, and holds out his hand to help me up off the floor.
"When I took you from your father, I promised myself that you would never be mistreated again, you would never feel the pain of someone's hands hurting you. But now you look even worse than before." His eyes are full of sadness and concern.
I stand on shaking legs as he helps me to the chair, Mabel was sitting on earlier.

He turns to Trudy, who is now perching on the end of my bed, tears streaming down her face watching us.

"Oh Trudy, I'm so sorry." I can hear the sadness in his voice and my chin wobbles.
She stands and wipes her eyes as he wraps his arms around her and holds her. She starts to cry into his chest while he rubs her back soothingly.
After a while, Trudy tries to compose herself, and Mr Laywood turns to me.
"Hush child don't cry."
I hadn't realised I was crying again, maybe I just never stopped.
"All will work out in the end." He says copying the exact words Trudy said to me on the first day here.

"Now, I'm going to take Trudy and make her a nice cup of tea. I want you to get some rest Nova, and when you wake we will talk."
I nod as Mr Laywood places his arm over Trudy's shoulder, and escorts her out of my room.
He stops to close the door signalling that I'm now alone.

I hatch a plan in my head, I need to hear what Mr Laywood has planned to tell me and I need to speak to Trudy. Her revealing she's my Aunt has thrown me, but thinking back to the motherly hugs and the soft way she cupped my cheek then made circles with her fingertip to calm me, like my mother used to do, makes me wonder if I knew something like this was to come.

After I hear them out I will leave. I can't keep hurting these people, even though it wasn't my intention, I've hurt them. Most of all Trudy who has been nothing but kind to me since I've been here. Because of me, her love is no longer here.
I get into bed and cry for poor Mr Jenkins, I cry for Trudy. Then Xavier. He killed someone today and I know he will have to live with that for the rest of his life.
Then I think of Mabel, She has been nothing but hurtful towards me but can I blame her?
Somehow I've had taken things from her I didn't know she had.
I cry till I'm too exhausted to cry anymore, and then the world goes black.

I'm vaguely aware of my name being called in a hushed voice, and someone sitting beside me on the bed. I can feel their weight dip the mattress down.
"Nova." I hear it call again.
"Nova please wake up." His tone is sad.
I open my eyes and notice the room has started to darken. I can hear the fire crackle in the distance.
I look and see Xavier is sitting next to me, his eyes are looking at me and I start to sit up, then wince.
"Don't sit up." His voice commands. "You need to rest to heal."

"What are you doing here? I thought you were with the police." I say, my eyes watering again as Mr Travers and Mr Jenkins dead faces float in my mind, the smell of rust and salt makes my stomach lurch.
"I was, but they let me go," He states then carries on. "They have reported Mr Travers death as self-defence." "Because he was a labourer without a penny to his name, and I'm a doctor with a good reputation, they stated that I wouldn't have killed him intentionally." I hear the acid on his tongue.
"But, they are wrong. I wanted to kill him. I made sure to stab him in the heart so I knew he wouldn't survive." He holds his fist in his hand as he continues.
"When I saw he had you, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't bare the thought of him hurting you." He shakes his head like he's trying to clear the memory.
"Then he stabbed you and threw you down onto Edward's dead body, I've never felt rage like it. I've lost my temper before, but nothing like this. I wanted to rip his head off. I wanted to stab him all over, I wanted him to pay for what he's done to you."
I swallow feeling sick.
"If I hadn't seen you pass out after I stabbed him, I know I would have continued to stab him over and over again. But when I saw you lying there, pale and bleeding. Your face was so upset even when you were unconscious, something in me stopped after the first stab." His eyes look into mine, so intensely, like he's trying to communicate something that I'm not aware of.

I blink and breathe out, not realising I was holding my breath. He turns his head away, he looks so broken, I'm trying my hardest not to sit up and wrap my arms around his broad shoulders.

"If I had carried on stabbing him when I knew the first blow killed him, I would be in jail right now on a death penalty." He says no emotion in his voice.
"But you, you saved me, In more ways than you know."
He turns his head, and with smouldering eyes, he lowers them and kisses me. I close my tired eyes and feel his warm lips on mine. His kiss feels like oxygen to my desperate lungs, and he consumes me.