Tough Love

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“That's just brilliant. I wish I could have seen his face.”

“He was not happy, trust me. Eli?”

“Yes baby?”

“It made me feel like I had bugs crawling in my stomach. What is that?”

“Nerves?”

“No sir, I know that feeling well.”

I see his eyes cloud over, and I drop my head, not wanting to see his emotions. I didn't want to know if he was disgusted with me or ashamed of me.

“Maybe it was excitement? What made you feel like that?”

I explained what had happened, leaving out Paul's threat/promise of course. Eli chuckled again and then said, “I think that was excitement. You had a strange day, huh?”

“Yes sir.”

“Lots of new things to experience. I'm glad you're finding your feet.”

He rubs his hands over his face and through his hair, a sure sign that he is tired.

“Eli?”

“Hmmm.”

“You should go to bed. I'll clean up.”

“You sure? You don't want to talk or anything?”

“You need to sleep. I'll just clean up and then go to bed.”

“Ok. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

He reaches his hand towards mine, but I tense up and retract, so he freezes and then drops his hand. I whisper, “Sorry.”

“No, I'm sorry. You're not ready. It's ok. Goodnight Dani.”

“Night Eli.”

As he retreats into the spare room, I start to clean up the kitchen. There's not much to do, so it isn't long before I slip into my bedroom. I decide that I'm just going to sit up reading all night. Eli needs sleep more than I do and I don't want to wake him up with my nightmares.

I get through a few books before I look at the clock again. It now reads 5am. I haven't heard Eli stir all night. My eyes are heavy and I need to wake myself up. I get out of bed and change into some sweats before I stand near Eli's door, just to make sure he's still asleep. I shut the hall door before I start up the treadmill. I don't want the sound to wake him, but I know I need to get my blood pumping if I want to wake myself up.

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(Eli's POV)

I groan and stretch, opening my eyes a crack to look at the time. My watch is flashing 6am and my heart does a little jump. I sit up quickly, trying to remember if I was up in the night. I don't remember Dani screaming or waking up. Maybe she slept through the night. I certainly hope so. She's tired, I can tell. She doesn't need to tell me, I can just see it in her eyes and in her body language. Yesterday was a big day for her. She stepped out of her comfort zone a few times and I'm sure that has taken it's toll on her. She really did amaze me yesterday. I mean I know she's strong, she has to be after everything she's been through and she still carries on, but I didn't think she would be so strong in front of the Cap. I actually thought she would crumble under his presence. The change in her these past few weeks has been slowly increasing. I only hope she can keep it up without getting a set back.

I stretch out my muscles as I stand up, I feel much more rested this morning. It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for you. As I exit the spare room, I hear running. It takes me a second to process, but then I realize Dani must be on the treadmill. I carefully approach the gym/office room, not wanting to scare her. When I see her come into view, there's a tug on my heart. I can only see the back of her, but her whole posture is tense and tired. I don't have to see her face to know she's probably got a determined but worn out look on it. As she runs, her t-shirt raises slightly at the back and I can see what looks like scars on her lower back. It jogs a memory and I remember seeing the tops of her arms a few months ago. There were similar scars there too. I feel a rage start to build up within me at the awful things she's had to endure, but I know I have to suppress it. She'll know I'm angry and it'll scare her. She might mistake that for disgust too. I don't want her to ever think I find her disgusting.