Infatuated

Sore

Trigger Warning ⚠️
Mention of abuse, cancer and death

I woke up around 4 am. My entire body was sore and throbbing. Somehow I had made my way to Dax. I was laying on his chest, his arms were wrapped around me. He was fast asleep. Seeing him so calm was relaxing. I felt safe. I felt relaxed. I didn't want to wake him. I sat there and watched him. He's so handsome. As much as I have been avoiding saying it, I like Dax. I really like him. He cares for C and I so much. I've wanted to kiss him since I saw him but I know he doesn't feel the same. The way he took care of me was more than I could have asked for. He gets me though. He just gets me. I can finally be honest with myself, I have feelings for Dax.

*A few hours later*

When I woke up the second time, it was around 10. I had slept for so long. It was Saturday though so I didn't have to work, or take C to school or go to school. Dax was gone, he must have slid out of bed without me realizing. I sat up and looked over to the night stand beside me. There was a note.

Dear S,
Don't worry about getting out of bed in a hurry. I took Caroli with me to the basketball facility. We have a meeting but coach said I could bring her and she could chill with me in the back. We will grab some lunch, i'll get something for you too. Take the meds I left out and rest. We should be back around 1.

ps - thank you for letting me sleep in the bed last night, it's much better than the couch.

A smile took over my face. He was the best. I slowly got out of bed. Dax has a huge bathroom with a tub and a shower. I turned the tub on and filled it up with cold water. Ice baths help with muscle relief. The bath was cold, but for some reason it felt good on my skin. I looked awful. And felt awful. I didn't feel any sympathy for myself. I shouldn't have gone to the house alone and that was my fault. I should've known he'd be there. I soaked for about 10 mins and then got out. I headed to the closet to put on some comfy clothes. I don't think i'll be leaving the house. I'm in no condition to.

I crawl back into bed and turn my phone on. I had a missed call from Lauren. I wonder what she wanted. I don't feel like talking though, my neck is still bruised and my throat is sore. I go onto instagram and scroll through hundreds of pictures. I then move onto tik tok I probably watched a million videos because I could hear Dax and Caroline come home. I made sure most of my bruises were covered. I don't see most of the guys in the house but I don't need them seeing me like this either way. I threw on my slippers and went downstairs. I hadn't seen C since yesterday afternoon.

"Sissy!!!" C ran to me and jumped in my arms. I winced in pain but tried not to show it.

"Hi baby" I planted a kiss in her cheek

"Dax said you were very tired so he took me to the basketball place!"

I glanced at Dax and flashed a smile, "I know honey, was it fun?"

"It was so much fun!!" she slides down from my arms

Dax turns to C, "Why don't you go upstairs and get changed into some comfy clothes okay?"

"Okay!" She runs up the stairs with a smile on her face

Dax moves towards me, "How are you?"

"I'm okay, I wanted to thank you for yesterday. You didn't have to take care of me but you did and that was beyond kind."

He smiles and scratches the back of his neck, "I didn't do it because I wanted to be nice, it was the right thing to do, besides I care about you. But Sarah, this is serious. You need to tell the police. Get him locked up so he'll never be able to bother you again."

Care about me? Did he just say that he cares about me? I try to pretend I didn't notice what he said, " No Dax. I don't want the police involved. It's not worth it. I don't want to go through court and charges. I just want to pretend it never happened."

He touches my face and turns it towards him, "I don't want to tell you what to do. I wish you would do something about it but i'm just happy you're still staying with me." He pauses. "Why don't we take a drive, I want to show you something."

Moments later, we are in the car. I don't know where we are going. Kevin and Caleb said they would watch C while we were gone. Dax hasn't said much but he said there was something he needed to show me. We pulled into a parking lot. It looked like we were at a park on the water. He came around the car and opened my door and helped me out. I'm still very sore. He grabs my hand and leads me to the edge of the water. There were benches lined up facing the water. We sat down on one of the benches. He sat close to me.

"I wanted to show you this place because my father used to bring me here all the time." He keeps his gaze on the water. This was the first time he's ever talked about his dad. "We would come here and he would tell me stories about war and anything and everything. He used to tell me that I had every capability to do and achieve what I wanted to do." Dax kept his eyes on the water. He suddenly turns to me, "Sarah, my dad's sick. Like really sick. And he's not going to get better. He has cancer. And yesterday, I thought you were dead. I thought you were gone. And this may be a bad time to be telling you this but I needed someone to know. " My heart drops. I know exactly what cancer does. My mother died from it.

I put my hand on his knee, "I don't think you know much about my past. But it may help you. We used to be a very happy family. But my mother got cancer, they said she wouldn't recover so she pretended it wasn't a big deal. One day, she passed. We knew it was going to happen soon but it hurt just the same. My father became an alcoholic. He would drink at bars and then come home and beat me. He told me I looked like my mother, that I was a reason she was dead. I did everything I could for Caroline not to notice. I never let her see me cry. I couldn't." Dax is now staring at me. I turn to him, "My biggest regret from all of that is believing him. I thought I was the cause of my mothers death, even though that was impossible. I'm telling you this because my mother was my best friend. And still, I wished I hugged her tighter, told her I loved her more. Take advantage of the time you have with your father."

A moment of silence passes before Dax fully turns to me and says "Thank you Sarah. I haven't told anyone about my dad but I somehow knew that you would understand. Thank you for opening up to me. I can't imagine what you went through. You're so strong. But just know you don't always have to be strong around me." A long pause went over us. "My dad would love you." That comment made my heart stop.

I grabbed his hand, "You can tell me anything, i'll listen. We're a lot more alike than you think." I squeeze his hand twice more. Dax smiles.

"I like you, Sarah" Dax is now looking deep into my eyes.

I look back at him, "I like you too Dax".

We exchange a smile and decide to head back. We listen to Frank Ocean on the way back. Dax and I found out that we love Frank Ocean and now we always listen to to him together. It's sweet.

When we get to the house Kev, Caleb and Caroline are in the kitchen playing with plato. They were laughing and smiling. When they saw us walk in, the exchanged a funny look and smiled at each other, I don't know what that was about. I kissed C on the forehead and headed up to the bedroom, my body hurt and I needed to sleep, Dax stayed downstairs. I could get used to this.