There's No Way

Knuckles

[Camila's POV]

I glanced at the clock and knew that Shawn would be coming home from work soon. My anxious mind ran wild as I thought about the fact that we'd be going to the police station to file the report. I didn't want to talk about it – I wasn't ready to talk about it yet. I also knew that my only chance of returning to work without having to see him would be if I told somebody, though. I walked into the master bathroom, hoping a hot shower would help ease my nerves.

I tied my hair up into a messy bun and stripped myself naked, examining myself in the mirror hoping that the bruises and marks would have disappeared. To my dismay, they had only gotten worse overnight. I let the water get hot before stepping in, letting out a sigh of relief as the steaming water hit my aching muscles. I lathered my hands up with soap and began to run my hands over my body, washing myself. I closed my eyes as I did so, trying to relax for a moment. My mind immediately flashed with images and replays of what had happened with Lucas. Suddenly my hands felt like his hands and all I wanted was for them to be off of me. Before I knew it I was having a full-blown panic attack in the shower. I could tell that I was screaming but it felt like nothing was coming out; my body must've given up on itself, because next thing I knew I was collapsed on the floor of the shower.

[Shawn's POV]

I got home and was greeted by a curiously empty living room. I began making my way towards my bedroom, hoping that Camila was finally able to get some rest and was taking a nap. My hopes were quickly crushed when I heard the shower running – muffled screams and broken sobs coming from the master bathroom. I quickly set down my things before rushing to the door of the bathroom.

"Camila! Camila is everything alright? Are you okay?" I asked loudly, giving the door a few harsh knocks.

No response.

Worry overcame me as I jiggled the door handle, relieved to find that it was unlocked. I swung the door open and immediately felt my heart shatter at the sight of Camila's naked body collapsed on the floor of the shower, all too familiar to the way I had found her at the office the night before. Without hesitation, I turned the shower water off and grabbed a towel. I got on the floor of the shower and wrapped her up in the towel, pulling her into my arms the same way I had done last night. She once again let out quiet sobs as she lay in my arms, her face pressed into my chest.

We stayed just like that, in silence, for what felt like 15 minutes but in reality was closer to an hour. I heard her sniffle a few times before she quietly spoke.

"Your clothes are all wet," she whispered. I couldn't help but chuckle. It was just like Camila to be worried about me in this moment.

"I think I'll be okay," I responded. "What about you? Are you going to be okay?" I responded. She looked up at me just as a tear fell out of her eye.

"I honestly don't know," she choked out, barely even a whisper. "I felt pretty good for most of today, but then something as simple as a shower completely broke me. I can't close my eyes without reliving the whole thing..." Tears were now falling freely from her eyes again.

"It's barely even been 24 hours, Camila. It's going to take some time to get through this, but I'll be right here by your side the whole time, okay?" I reassured her, my thumb gently wiping the trail of tears from her cheek. She wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed me in a big hug.

"I, um...I just realized that I'm naked..." she murmured into my shoulder. I chuckled before pulling her off of me and helping her stand back up, still holding the towel around her.

"I'll go grab you some clean clothes," I responded before exiting the bathroom, into the bedroom. I grabbed one of my hoodies and another pair of my sweatpants and passed them through the crack in the door. I heard a quiet "thank you" before turning around and heading into the kitchen to try and figure out something for dinner.

I couldn't hold in my laughter when she came out in my clothes. She was so tiny that my sweatshirt was practically past her knees. She clearly knew why I was laughing because she quickly began defending herself.

"Hey! It's not my fault I'm so tiny and you're so tall! You have an unfair advantage, don't make fun of me!" I chuckled at her argument and shook my head.

"I wasn't making fun of you! I just think it's cute...you're cute." That last part came out just above a whisper but her shy smile told me that she heard it.

"So how long are you planning on staying here?" I realized after I had asked it that the question seemingly came out of nowhere, and might've accidentally insinuated that I wanted her out of my house. Those fears were confirmed when her eyes grew wide and she began to fumble over her own words.

"You don't have to leave! Seriously, you can stay as long as you want to. I was just thinking maybe we stop at your place on the way home from the police station tonight so you can grab some clothes or anything else you might need," I explained. She nodded in relief, but her facial expression was quickly overcome with fear.

"Shawn...I don't think I can go to the police about this, at least not yet. I'm not really ready to talk about it yet, I thought I would be but..." I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder before she could finish her sentence.

"Hey, it's okay. You can take as much time as you need, okay?" I reassured her, but she quickly shook her head.

"No, I can't. I can't go back to work until he..." she quickly stopped herself and looked away before she gave me any more details. I wanted to tell her that she didn't have to worry about him anymore but I didn't know how to, or how she would react. As far as she knew, I was still clueless. I stood there, trying to figure out the best way to tell her what had happened just hours earlier, but before I could her eyes wandered to my hand and then looked back up to me.

"Whoa, what happened to your knuckles?" she asked. I looked down at my hand to see the evidence of where I had hit Lucas. I continued standing there, trying to figure out what to say. Her eyes connected to mine and I couldn't keep it a secret any longer.

"Camila, he um...he told me. Lucas told me," I muttered. She stood there silently for a few moment, clearly in shock.

"He told you...and you hit him?" she quietly asked.

"I-I didn't really think about it, it just kinda...happened..." I explained. I took a small step towards her as her eyes started to well up with tears again.

"Camila, if you don't want to file a police report yet you don't have to. He's not showing up to that building ever again – I won't let him hurt you ever again," I murmured, my hands coming up to cup her face. She closed her eyes in relief as a few more tears fell out. I brushed them away with my thumbs as I pulled her into a giant bear hug. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but I would've been fine with it being forever. She slowly pulled away from the hug and looked up at me.

"Um, can we still stop by my place so I can grab a few things?" she asked.

"Of course we can - we'll stop and pick up some takeout for dinner, too."