Ever growing 2

Chapter 50

The room is small, with two chairs on one side of a table and another on the other side. I'm asked to take a seat before another officer walks in. One is in his mid-thirties I would guess, the other close to retirement. The fact that I love crime shows so much and I've just experienced a real live one is pretty ironic. I'm unsure if I want to cry or laugh thinking about it.

"Can you tell us what happened?" The younger one asks. I go into detail to explain that I had dropped my phone, it was dark and I was having a hard time finding it until a notification lit up the screen. As I got to it, hands were pressed to my mouth and I was taken to a car before being thrown into the trunk. I was able to see his face, I knew him. Jake my employee who got fired because he was obsessed with me. He took me to a house bringing me to the spare bedroom. I was going to be his he said.

I'm asked a lot of questions over and over again. I get upset trying to recall today's events breaking down when I tell them the part where he shot Ryan. I know he's alive but it felt so real, my brain is still in shock. "He deserves an Oscar for his performance," I think, bitterly.

After taking pictures as evidence I'm told I can go. Ryan is waiting for me when I exit the room, I follow him out of the station where Max and Cooper are standing by the SUV. The ride to the villa is short and quiet. My brain has been to hell and back.

My friends cry when they see me, I'm sure part of it has to do with the way I look right now. Seeing them feels amazing but I want to shower, get rid of the dirt on my skin. I tell them I will be back after to have dinner making me realize I had lost track of time. Ryan is standing near me and I know he's wondering if he should follow me. I guess my brain is still confused because he usually knows what I'm thinking. I reach for his hand, he smiles before following me.

His hands go to my hoodie but I stop him. His eyes scan my face trying to decipher the emotions. "What did he do to you?" his voice is shaking. "I... I can't right now," I look down knowing I have bruises from what happened and I'm scared to show him or even look at them myself. Ryan turns around facing the wall but I go around and I put my hands on his shirt removing it. I then remove his pants and underwear. The severity of what happened makes our interaction feel different, cold, lacking passion. It scares me.

"Kiss me!" I beg him. He leans down slowly, too slow for me, I get on my tiptoes pulling on his shoulders to bring him to me. His lips graze mine before the familiar taste of his tongue hits me. After a minute, I bring his hands to my hoodie again. We momentarily break the kiss so he can slip it off me.

His hands sit on my waist, hesitant. "Remove my dress," I breathe into our kiss. He follows my instructions, his eyes narrow down my body. He swallows. I wasn't originally wearing a bra but I see him tear up when he realizes my underwear is gone. I'm not ready to look at myself yet. Our room doesn't have a bath so we jump in the shower. I wash my hair under his attentive eyes before grabbing the soap. I work my hands on his body slowly massaging it.

"Is it that bad?" I ask when he takes a breath as he pours soap into his hands.

"It's... even a tiny scratch from him would upset me. It looks painful." he gently presses his hands on my stomach where most of the bruises are, I wince but ask him to keep going. He moves in circles massaging my whole body the way I did his. The gentle touch mixed with the love I see in his eyes is bringing me back to life as I lean onto his body.

He wraps me in a towel once we're out before he wraps one around his waist. We move to the room to get dressed. I slip on my pajamas to cover up as much as possible but also because I'm exhausted.

"We can go to bed if you want, we don't have to have dinner with them. Unless you're hungry?" I can tell he's treading lightly. "I'm hungry but I want to go to bed early, we have the premiere tomorrow right?" I look at him. "What? Ella, we don't have to go to the stupid event!" he closes the gap between us to hug me. "I want to go, I want life to go back to normal right now! I want to eat with my friends then go to bed so I can be rested for tomorrow," It came out harsher than I meant it to be. "Please?" I add softly. He studies my face for a moment, I've been trying to guard my thoughts since my breakdown earlier. But Ryan has all passwords granting him access to my messed up brain and my heart. He turns us around to sit on the bed with me on his lap, his nose pressed on mine putting another broken piece back where it belongs. "I will agree if you agree not to suppress the memories," I open my mouth but he keeps on going, "I'm not asking for you to tell me everything tonight but I won't let you hide your feelings the way you did after the night in New York. It had a fairy tale ending but the way you dealt with it caused you a lot of harm. So we will deal with the current...event... differently, yeah?" I nod knowing he's only trying to help me and I know he's right. We share one last kiss before joining our friends.