Our love couldn't go wrong

Chapter Three :

Mentions of violence and injury

The weekend passes by both faster than she would've liked it to and not fast enough, all at once.

By the time Monday comes about, her bruises are a nasty shade of purple and green - not as dark as they were before, but still a sharp contrast to her pale skin. She knows that she has no choice but to hide them. As much as she loves all of her coworkers, they are far too nosy for their own good, and she just knows that she'd be bombarded with questions that she can't answer. They can't know.

She opts for the black turtleneck tee she uses when they act out fanfiction, knowing the material will cover everything that makeup can't whilst still being breathable.

Jason comes into the bathroom just as she pulls out her makeup bag from the cupboard under the sink, frowning as his eyes skim her face. "You need to cover that up. We wouldn't want anyone prying into our business, now, would we?" There's a hint of warning behind his tone and it sends shivers down her spine. She isn't stupid; well, maybe she is, but she isn't that stupid. "They don't understand us. I only want what's best for you, baby, but you just...you fog my brain, you mess me up. You know how much I love you, right?"

"To the moon and back," She whispers, watching his reaction carefully. He grins, hand moving to the back of her neck and pulling her towards him so that he can kiss her forehead.

"That's my girl. Now get ready, I'm going to take you to work today so you need to be on time for once. You don't want me to be late."

She nods as he turns to leave, feeling the tension exit her body as he exits the room. She gets it. He's dropping her off so that he has to pick her up tonight, which means that she can't be late home again. And it's...sweet of him, in a way; he's going out of his way to bring her to and from work. But there's this voice inside of her that had been praying for the time alone this morning to breathe, prepare herself for everyone being too nice to her at work, maybe get herself a coffee because god knows she won't keep anything else down and it hurts to even talk, let alone eat.

Picking up her concealer with a shaky hand, she starts to apply her makeup. There's no particular order today, no specific routine she spent months trialling and erroring. Just her, her brushes and her products, packing on layer after layer in the hopes it'll cover everything up enough. It's not like she can call in sick again.

After twenty minutes, she's almost certain that she can't hide it anymore, and she starts to pack away her stuff, ramming them back into the dirty pouch she's been meaning to replace for a couple weeks. Olivia had offered to go shopping with her, but Jason had wanted her to stay home and she had no choice but to decline Liv's offer. It was stupid. She'd made up some lie about spending the weekend with Kari because she was too ashamed of the truth. It was so pathetic, she felt like such a bad friend and ever since...she's avoided any one-to-one interaction with Liv.

"Babe, we need to go. Hurry up!"

She drops the bag in her hand, scrambling to pick it back up and put it back where she got it from. She could've sworn she had more time, but maybe she lost track of how long she spent trying to collect herself, or how much time it took her to do her makeup. Her hair is messy and her teeth aren't brushed, but she rushes out of the bathroom and into the bedroom to grab her phone off charge and shove it into her bag, alongside her wallet and keys.

Hesitantly, she gives herself a once over in the big mirror in the corner of the room, sighing as she picks up a flannel from the pile of clean laundry.

"Courtney!" His voice is loud, seething, and she winces as she rushes into the hallway.

"I'm here, I'm ready. Sorry, I-I didn't realise how late it was getting. M-my bad." She stumbles over her words, avoiding looking him in his eye. He's mad; she doesn't want to know how mad.