believe

1. midnights

"You're up again?"

Beca appears behind me as I take a sip from my water, leaning on the counter and staring blankly at the wall. "Hm? Oh, hey baby. Go back to bed, I'll be up in a minute." I mutter.

She shakes her head and places her hands on my waist before spinning me around so I'm facing her.

"That's what you said last night, then you stayed down here all night wide awake." Beca says sternly. I roll my eyes and pout. "I mean it this time."

Beca laughs and folds her arms. "You've said that every night since last Thursday. Come on, we'll go up together." She tells me, taking my glass of water and pouring it down the sink. After putting the glass down, she holds her hand out for me to take.

I groan before taking her hand and following her up the stairs like a child. "Chlo, you need to stop this."

"I know." I mumble in response. Beca turns to face me and glares at me. "I mean it, seriously. Why are you even doing it? Usually I'm nocturnal but it's like the tables have turned."

I shrug and slide under the covers, absolutely not intending to stay in bed all night. Beca takes my hand and our eyes lock. "Baby, I'm worried about you. You weren't like this even when I had the accident."

"That's what you think." I whisper, just barely loud enough for Beca to hear. "What was that?" She asks, an eyebrow raised.

I sigh and look away from her. "If you really must know, Bec, something happened two weeks ago."

Beca's face changes and a flash of concern comes over her. "What? Baby, why didn't you tell me? What happened?!" She frantically rambles, sitting up quickly and looking me straight in the eyes.

I shake my head and bite my lip to hold back tears.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does." She continues. "Beca, it's fine." I reply harshly.

"I'm being serious, Chloe, what the fuck happened to you?"

I take a deep breath before looking at her and wiping tears from my eyes.

Flashback

He throws me into a corner and ties my arms above my head. "So, pretty girl. You like this?" He asks while fondling my chest.

I push him away and he reacts violently, his fist quickly meeting my cheek. "Ow!" I groan in pain as he laughs and pulls me onto his lap, his face still covered by a ski mask. All I can make out are his dark eyes.

I feel tears running down my face as he slides his hand up my leg, gradually getting closer to my core. "P-Please stop, my wife is waiting for me to come home.." I whisper.

He laughs again before sliding a single finger down the waistband of my shorts. "Just keep quiet."

————

I watch in disgust as he walks out of the bathroom, leaving me lay on the floor with blood covering my face due to several punches. My underwear and shorts are on the other side of the room.

I stand up, slowly walking over to where my discarded clothes are and quickly pulling them back on before leaving the bathroom and running outside the building.

"So, I should never have gone to that party without you." I mumble, finishing telling Beca what happened. I watch her wipe her eyes angrily and look at me with an expression I've never seen before.

She shakes her head and takes my hand. "Babe, that shouldn't have happened whether you were with or without me." Beca says.

"He kept telling me I was asking for it though.."

"Chloe, wearing shorts and a tank top isn't an invitation!" Beca yells, standing up and raking her hand through her hair and softly biting her lip. "God, if I was there I'd make sure he never saw the light of another fucking day." She mutters, an angry tone woven through her voice.

I stand up and walk over to her, my hands on her shoulders. I pull her close to me and wrap my arms around her back, kissing her forehead gently.

"I feel awful. I-I should have fucking been there, I should have done something." Beca whispers, her body shaking and her eyes darting around the room. Her breathing gets faster and more intense until she pulls away from the hug and starts getting more riled up.

"Baby, it's fine, it's not your fault." I say quickly, reaching out to her and rubbing her back gently. Beca reaches to the loose strands of hair near her neck and wraps them around her finger before pulling them out.

I take her hands and she looks up at me, tears glazing her eyes. "Beca, listen to me. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. And you couldn't have predicted what happened."

She shakes her head and sits down on the bed, head in her hands. "Beca, please. Just forget I said anything. I hate seeing you like this."

Beca's POV:

"I hate seeing you like this." Chloe tells me, kneeling down infront of me. I feel like shit. I shouldn't be the one overreacting because I'm not the victim, Chloe is. But I can't help feeling like I should have been there, like it's all my fault. And, knowing Chloe, things aren't going to get better for a long time. She's probably letting the anger and fear build up inside of her until she finds a way to cope.

Well, apparently she has found a way to cope. I look down and notice several red lines on Chloe's leg. "Oh, baby." I mutter, staring at them.

She quickly pulls her shorts down and covers them up. "Don't worry about it."

"No, I'm going to worry about it."

"Beca."

"Chloe."

"Don't do this."

"Baby."

I put my arms out and she falls forward, sobbing loudly. I stroke her hair gently with one hand while rubbing her back softly with the other.

"Sh, it's okay.."