Undeniable Heat

A Shoulder to Lean On

As soon as that door slammed shut and Jensen was out of sight, you wanted to call out to him. To tell him you were being stupid. That you needed him by your side, now more than ever. But it was too late. He was gone, no doubt angry and upset at you, driving another stake into this already shattered heart of yours.

"Damn you Brad." You whispered. Brad had ruined your life years ago, and now it looked like it was happening again. But this was partly your fault. Turning Jensen away because you felt broken. A shell of the person Jensen had fallen in love with, and you couldn't handle him seeing you like this. You just hoped that as soon as you were back on your own two feet he would forgive you. If it ever came to that.

A tear slipping down your cheek, you hastily wiped it away as the door opened. Hope blossomed in your chest, wondering if Jensen was coming back, but it was soon dashed when you saw Jared's unsure smile as he slipped inside. "Hey there." He spoke softly, coming to stand next to your bed.

"Jared, I didn't expect to see you here." You spoke softly, your throat parched. But in truth, you really hadn't expected to see him. Not after you almost literally pushed his best friend out the door, and out of your life for a while. No matter how much it hurt your heart at the same time.

"Why the hell not?" He grumbled, narrowing his expressive hazel eyes at you. Pulling the chair up, he sank down, his knees crackling with the movement. "Y/N, you're like a sister to me! You've been through hell, and I needed to see for myself how you're doing."

Tears welled up in your eyes at the emotion in his voice, the amount of love he shared with you. You felt as if you didn't deserve it, with all the turmoil you had brought into their lives. "Because I'm broken, and everything close to me gets ruined. Because I pushed Jensen away."

Reaching over, he grasped your hand, squeezing it before pressing a kiss to the top. "I know Brad messed with you, and I don't expect you to snap out of that automatically. But Y/N, you're not broken. You're one of the toughest people I know. To go through all of that, and have the strength to shoot him before he killed Jensen? You aren't broken. You're hurting, and it's going to take some time to heal. But you will, I know it."

"But how?" You whispered, a tear slipping down your cheek. "My whole life has been turned around once again. Brad is dead, but that fact hasn't seeped in yet. I just keep remembering what happened at the cabin, how I couldn't wait for Jensen to come and save me. Knowing he would. But after time Brad broke me down, and his thoughts keep repeating in my head. I know they're not true, but how do I get past that?"

"You lean on us." Jared answered simply. "You fight it with everything you have, remembering the good things in your life and not the stupid ass remarks that Brad came up with. You let me help you, and I hope you let Jensen back in. Because he's sitting out there, hurting more than I've ever seen him. He wants nothing more than to help you, and being pushed away ripped his heart in two. I understand you thought you were doing the right thing, but have you ever thought having him here with you would help?"

"I knew I made a mistake the moment I sent him out. But I flinch at every touch, and I keep seeing Brad's hand ready to hit me. I didn't want that to happen when Jensen tried to hold me. I thought that pushing him away would give me time to settle my emotions. To come to grip with everything that's happened, and hopefully he'll still want me when I feel partially home once again."

Sighing, Jared reached up to brush hair back from his face, frowning when he noticed the subtle flinch you couldn't help. "How about this?" He offered. "I go back out there and let Jensen know you just need a day or two to yourself. Nothing more. Promise him that you will be safe. That you will come recuperate in my guest room."

"Jared, you don't have to..." You tried arguing, but he shook his head.

"No, for this to work, we need you somewhere that Jensen trusts. He'll feel better if you're with me." Jared insisted. "You'll sleep, recover, and in that time hopefully you will remember that you were never the broken one. That was Brad and his crazy ideas. Then, you'll hopefully be ready to go back to your life with Jensen."

"Are you sure?" You whispered, amazed that you had such good friends to take care of you. "I don't want to come between you and Jensen. I could find another place. Maybe a hotel room or..."

"Nope, it's settled." He told you, a smile taking some of the bite from his words. "The doctor said you should be good to go home tomorrow. As long as it's bed rest for a couple of days. So, I'll come pick you up, and we'll call it a sleepover at my place. Gen will even be there for company."

"I'd like to talk to Gen." You answered. "Since my other friend is..."

Just thinking about your other friend, the betrayal, the horrible ending to her life had a sob escaping your lips. "I don't know why she did it. Why she thought she had to turn on me. Her husband wouldn't have been blackmailed enough to ruin his career."

"Sometimes we just can't understand people." Jared shrugged his shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to witness her death."

"It was horrible." You whispered. "I still see it, when I close my eyes. Even if she did turn on me, she didn't deserve that."

"And that's how I know you're not broken." He announced as he stood up. "Anyone broken wouldn't be crying for a dead friend, a friend that did them wrong. You're just hurting. But everything will work out in the end."