My Saving Grace

Chapter 46

I awoke with a start in the middle of the night, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I wiped the sheen of sweat on my forehead. Sitting up, I tried to shake the remnants of my god-awful dream from my mind. There'd been blood...so much blood, large spots of it staining the white leather couch in our living room...But, the source had been unknown. I also vaguely recalled the blurry image of Antonio on his knees, his body shaking uncontrollably with sobs.

Antonio...

I closed my eyes, feeling tears trickling down my cheeks. This was the first night away from home I'd ever spent without him since we'd gotten married. I didn't want to imagine how things would've played out if I'd stayed, though. Everyone had a limit, and he'd reached mine as soon as those cruel words left his mouth—before he had ever laid a hand on me.

With the moonlight streaming through the glass, I took in the unfamiliarity of my surroundings, from the lack of curtains on the windows and paintings on the wall to the actual bed I was lying on. This mattress was a lot firmer than the one Antonio and I had.

The sound of a low groan caused my heart to leap out of my chest, simultaneously interrupting my thoughts. Furrowing my brows, I shifted towards the edge of the bed and glanced down to find Chase lying on the ground covered in a blanket with a pillow beneath his head. The sight made my heart burst with emotion, and I bit down on my lip to stop it from quivering. He was sleeping soundly, his chest slowly rising and falling as I simply observed him.

What had I done to meet someone like him?

Releasing a yawn, I lay back down, burying myself beneath the covers. No matter what, I knew I would always be able to count on Chase's friendship to get me through tough times, and with that positive thought in mind, I eventually fell back asleep.

The sun shone high in the sky the following morning, its brilliant rays casting the bedroom in a warm glow as I stretched my arms, the action causing my shirt sleeves to ride up. A perfectly round, bluish-purple bruise had formed on my skin, and a brief glance at my other arm revealed the same exact thing.

Before I could dwell on the matter any longer, I caught a whiff of vanilla from the scented plug-in next to the bed, and my stomach began to feel queasy. I sat up and clutched the bedsheets, feeling a wave of nausea ride over me as I slowly inhaled and exhaled.

A couple moments passed, but the churning sensation in my stomach intensified while the vanilla scent grew more repugnant than ever. Swinging my legs over the bed, I rushed out of the room, tripping on Chase's legs in the process.

To my relief, the bathroom was right across the hall, and dropping on my knees in front of the toilet, I began to heave all the contents of my stomach into the bowl.

"What's going on?", I heard Chase ask frantically from behind me.

"I-I don't know," I choked out, setting my hands on the toilet seat to steady myself as I continued to vomit.

I felt Chase brush the hair out of my face, wrapping it around his fingers in a makeshift ponytail.

"It's okay. Just let it all out," he said encouragingly, gently rubbing my back.

I felt completely drained afterwards as I sat back on my heels, letting the nausea subside. Chase reached from behind me to flush the toilet, and I mouthed a "thank you."

"No problem," was his reply. He offered his hand, and I took it as he helped me to stand up. My lack of pants didn't faze him one bit.

I used the sink to rinse my mouth, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were visibly swollen from all the crying yesterday, but other than that, I looked fine.