AUTHOR'S NOTE- WARNING....THERE'S MORE VIOLENCE, AS WELL AS SELF-HARM IN THIS CHAPTER. I DON'T THINK IT'S TOO BAD, BUT JUST WANTED TO WARN YOU IN CASE YOU DON'T LIKE THAT STUFF!
Macy’s POV
(two weeks later)
“What I don’t understand is why you’ve stopped coming to tutoring. Trevor heard me tell you that Mrs. Singer’s doing your tutoring! If it’s because you don’t like me, or feel uncomfortable around me, we can fix that. But I know that’s not it.” When my eyes met Mr. Chandler’s, I found that his blue eyes were smoldering. I suddenly realized how close he was, & I could feel the heat coming off his body. I just stared up at him, unable to speak. He stepped closer to me, & placed his hand on my cheek. When his rough fingertips touched my skin, my heart hammered in my chest. “I know this is wrong. Illegal, even. But I can’t help but like you.” As he spoke, I felt his hot breath blow across my face. When I looked away, he pulled back slightly. Now that there was space between us, I had room to think, & I was suddenly scared. My hands started shaking, & I pulled away from him. “I have to go. Now.” I glanced at my watch. “Shit. Dammit I’mm late. I reached for the door of the supply closet we were in. “Wait!” Mr. Chandler grabbed my hand. “Macy I know-“ “And I know that I have to go.”
As I peeled out of the parking lot, I pulled out my phone to call Trevor, but found that it was dead. “Shit” I muttered as I threw it to the floor. The dashboard clock read 4:37. I was supposed to meet Trevor at my house over an hour ago. When I pulled in the driveway, he pushed away from his truck & met me at my car when I parked. Just as I turned off the ignition & pulled the key out, he ripped the car door open. “Where the fuck have you been you bitch?” he yelled as he pulled me out of the car. In my attempt to climb out gracefully, I tripped & fell onto the pavement. I tried to catch myself, but ended up twisting my wrist & cried out in pain. “Oh shut up. You’re such a baby.” He reached down & hit me on the side of the face with a tightly bound fist. “Please Trevor. Just let me explain.” I begged. I suddenly realized that the only thing I wanted right in that instant was for Caysen Chandler to show up & save me. “You have nothing to explain to me. I don’t wanna hear your pathetic lies & excuses. I’m sick of you cheating on me, & I won’t let it happen again!” “Please, I’m not cheating on you!” When his foot came into contact with my side, it knocked the air out of me. He knelt about me, & jerked my keys out of my hand. He took my house key & drug it down my arm, & I felt blood oozing out of the cut. He leaned his face close to mine, & I trembled at the look of rage on his face. “This is what you get for cheating on me.” he growled, before taking the key again to my other arm, my stomach, & my neck. My heart stopped when his phone rang. He cursed & reached for it. He talked for a moment, not saying anything that gave away who he was talking to or what he was talking about. He hung up & gave me one last disgusted look before standing. “I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with those words, he left. Tears pouring down my face, I shakily stood & ran into my house. I ran to my dresser & pulled out a brand new blade. Collapsing to my knees, I ran the blade along my arm. Today the sting & sight of blood slowly seeping from my arm didn’t give me any relief, so I cut deeper. Somewhere far away I heard the front door open, but I didn’t register it. But the sound of my name drew my attention away from the blood pouring out of my arm. When I recognized the voice, sobs shook my body & the blade fell from my hand. “Macy! Macy where are you?” he called. I heard footsteps close to my door & looked up just in time for his blue eyes to meet mine. “Oh my god Macy…” he ran to me & pulled me into his arms. “Caysen…” I sobbed. As my body shook & tears rolled down my face, he simply held me close. “Baby it’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe now. Shh….” He kept saying over & over again. When I finally ran out of tears, I pulled away. He tenderly wiped the tears off my face, & pushed the hair out of my eyes. When I looked at him through swollen eyes, I could see pain in his face. As my heart pounded faster & faster, he slowly inched his face closer to mine. By the time his lips met mine, I had stopped breathing. But when I tasted his mouth, I gasped. He tried to pull away, but I wrapped my arms around his neck & held his face to mine. I could tell he was smiling as he kissed me deeper & wrapped his arms around my waist. For the first time in over a year, I was happily kissing someone back. Then Trevor’s words popped into my head. “This is what you get for cheating on me…” Shaking again, I pulled away from Caysen. My lip trembled & tears threatened to spill over. Caysen shook his head & touched my cheek. “Baby no. Don’t cry. I’m not gonna let him hurt you anymore.” Although I was shocked by his words, somehow I knew he was telling me the truth. “How did you know Trevor did this?” I whispered. “Macy I’ve known since the first day we met. When I saw you drive off with him that first day, & you were crying, I knew. And then what you said a couple weeks ago… I shouldn’t have let you leave earlier…” his voice trailed off as he noticed all of my injuries. “Come here…” he whispered as he gently pulled me to my feet & forced me to lay down on my bed. “Where’s the bathroom?” I silently pointed to the open door connected to my room. After he walked into the bathroom, I heard cabinet doors opening & closing, & the sink running.
Caysen’s POV
I nearly lost it when I walked back into Macy’s bedroom to find her still laying on the bed where I left her, examining the cuts on her wrist. When I sat down on the bed beside her, she looked up at me & offered me a small smile. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” I forced out, trying to keep the tears out of my voice. I took her face into my hands to examine her swelling eye, only to decide there was nothing I could do for that. As I was wiping the blood off the cut on her neck, I heard her sniffle, & I immediately looked up, only to find her staring at me, as tears rolled down her face. “What is it? Am I hurting you?” I worried. She shook her head & smiled before putting her hands on my face & placing a small kiss on my lips. “No. You’re not hurting me.” she whispered. She seemed lost in her own thoughts, so I went back to cleaning her neck. “What did he know with this?” I asked her. “My house key.” She answered simply. She stayed silent while I worked on her neck & upper arms, but when I started to wipe the blood off the inside of her wrist, she hissed in pain. “I’m sorry baby, but we gotta clean this.” I apologized. “I know. I can never figure out why cuts I make sting worse than anything.” She mused. The way she so casually mentioned cutting herself made my blood boil & my heart ache. “Why do you cut?” I asked. She sighed & was silent for a while, but I didn’t press her. “Because it’s the only pain I can control. I can’t control who leaves me, or how hard Trevor hits me. It’s the only pain I can control.” The pure honesty in her voice broke my heart. I finished bandaging her wrist, & put my hands on her sides, intending to pull her closer, but she winced & pulled away, out of my touch. “Macy?” I prompted. She sighed & pulled up her shirt. I tried to ignore her exposed bra, & looked at her stomach. There was a massive bruise forming over her ribcage, & another cut running down her stomach. “He literally kicked me while I was down.” she joked. I looked up at her incredulously. “What? Too soon?” There was a smile on her face, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “How the hell can you sit here & joke about this?” I yelled, unable to keep my emotions in check. Her face fell & something flashed through her eyes before she replied in a cold voice. “If you’re just gonna yell at me like everyone else, please leave.” The bed bounced when she quickly stood & moved away from me. I sighed & mentally kicked myself. “Macy I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m just scared, upset, & extremely pissed off.” I told her truthfully. She looked up at me with a desperate & confused look in her eyes. “Why?” she whispered. I stood & crossed over to her, placing my hands on her cheeks. “I’m scared that I won’t always be able to protect you from all the things that hurt you. I’m upset because you are. And I’m extremely pissed off because that bastard hurt you.” I muttered the last part through gritted teeth. She shook her head. “No. Why? Why are you here? Why do you care? Why are you taking care of me, holding me, kissing me… You could be fired. Even thrown in jail! Why are you risking that for me?” Instead of answering, I closed my eyes & pressed my lips to hers. Just as I expected, sparks flew & heat flooded my body. As she slid her arms around my waist, I gently nipped her bottom lip. After teasing me for a moment, she parted her lips & let me dominate the kiss. Our tongues & lips moved together for a few heated moments before I pulled away. But I rested my forehead against hers & our faces were so close that my lips brushed hers when I spoke. “That’s why.”
