You Light Up the Sky Like Lightning

Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

*Justin's POV*

I couldn't get the fact that she had been raped into my head. I just couldn't. I couldn't believe that I had been stupid enough to believe Scooter when he said that my mom and Carin wanted to talk to her when we were in the arena. It was all a lie to get her away from me. I couldn't believe that I hadn't been there to save her. 

But the constant reminder was always there- the bruises and scabs, and her sling for her dislocated shoulder. 

I wanted to help her, but I didn't know how. I would get her food, water, blankets, and whatever she needed or wanted. 

I looked down at her. She had cried herself to sleep in my arms after she had her little lecture to Scooter. 

Scooter. 

I was going to kill him. I’ll make his life a living hell. 

I couldn't believe that Landry's own uncle had been the one to set it all up! That just didn't fly with me! She meant too much to me just to let this go!

And the pain that she was in . . . Oh my god. I don't know if she knew this or not, but every time she moved in her sleep, she would unconsciously let out a yelp. Every time she tried to reposition herself on the bed when she was awake, she would let out groans that could only be from the pain. She could walk, but it was hard for her sometimes. I tried my best to always be right next to her. But even with the walking ability coming back, she was in so much pain in every other place on her body. Four broken ribs, seventeen bruises, forty-three cuts, and a dislocated shoulder. I counted. It broke my heart to see my baby in so much pain. 

And that cut on her back . . . I thought I was going to pass out when I saw that the first time. I knew that it would leave a scar when it finally healed.

She was cut in more places than she realized, I think. There were a bunch of smaller ones on her back in addition to the huge one. They covered her arms and shoulders and her legs. 

When I say cuts, I don't mean wimpy little scratches. I mean they were all from an eighth of an inch to a fourth of an inch deep, and about an inch and a half long. Each. The doctor that came had stitch most of them up. I don't think Landry knew that either. 

She wouldn't look at her legs. I don't know why. She just never did. 

I was looking down at her face- her beautiful face. It had three cuts on it- one on her forehead, one on the far left side of her head by her ear, and one just above the bruise on the right side of her jaw. I moved my fingers to trace the outline of the bruise. She flinched a little in her sleep, but she didn't wake up. 

A soft, quiet knock came from the doorway. The door was open, and the light was on now, so I turned my head and saw my mom standing there. 

"Hey, honey," she whispered, walking in. She stopped by the bed, and sat down at the very end of it. "How's she doing?"

I looked back down at Landry. Her breathing was soft and light. A little bit of hair fell in her face, so I gently moved it. Her head was placed on my chest, tilted up a little. Her right hand was in my left, and my right arm was holding her in my lap. 

"She's still in a lot of pain," I whispered to my mom, not taking my eyes off Landry. 

"She is going to be, sweetie."

“I don’t think she is saying it, but I also think she’s having a hard time coming to terms with what happened.”

“It will take some time, but you can help her get passed it.”

It was quiet for a minute, and I started to slowly rock back and forth with Landry in my arms. I kissed the top of her head softly, and continued to rock. 

"Justin?" my mom whispered. "What was all that yelling about earlier?"

I sighed, still rocking and looking at Landry. 

"Scooter hired Cameron to come," I said quietly, leaving it at that. 

My mom didn't reply for a while. Her eyes were wide, and a look of astonishment was clear across her face. "What? You can't be serious."

"I am. I wish I could say otherwise, but I can't."

“Bastard,” she mumbled. My eyes widened in shock. My mother never curses, so she must be pissed. She continued in a whisper-yell, “Why would he do such a thing?! She’s his niece!”

“I know.”

It was quiet for a few minutes before my mom said, "Well, you're being very good to her. Very sweet, very caring, very loving."

"I do love her, mom," I said. "More than anything."

My mom smiled. "Good, because she loves you, too." 

I smiled, and slowly moved so that I could lay Landry down on the bed. I actually picked her up completely first. She only weighed one hundred pounds- probably less now that she hasn't been eating a lot- so she was easy to lift. 

I gently set her down and carefully adjusted her pillow underneath her. She whimpered in pain a bit in her sleep. I pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and kissed the top of her head softly.  

I looked back to my mom, and saw her smiling at me. 

"What?" I whispered. 

"You're so sweet to her," she said. "You really care about her, don't you?"

I nodded, and sat down next to my mom. I looked at Landry- asleep. Beat up. Weak. Beautiful. 

She will always be beautiful to me. No matter what. 

"I just . . " I started but trailed off. "It just hurts me to see her in pain. You know?"

My mom nodded. "That's because you love her. Plus, on top of that, you're protective of her. Seeing her hurt and not being able to fix it is hard for you."

I didn't reply. I just watched my mom as she spoke. 

"Okay, well, I'm going back to bed," my mom said quietly. "Try to get some rest. We travel tomorrow."

I nodded and said goodnight to her. When she was gone, I pulled out my phone and went on Twitter. My fans were freaking out because I hadn't been on in quite some time. 

I wonder if Landry has a Twitter, I thought. 

I searched her name, and sure enough, @LandryBraun came up with a picture of her sitting on a swing, laughing and looking up at the camera as her profile picture. I saved the picture to my albums so I could make it my wallpaper on my phone later, and looked through her tweets. She didn't have very many, but enough to make it interesting. 

I followed her, and then opened a new tweet on my account:

  *Sorry I haven't been on in a while guys. I've been going through a hard time with someone who means a lot to me. @LandryBraun I hope you get better soon, baby girl. <3

Immediately my fans started freaking out. Some wanted to know who she was. Some wanted to know why I had called her 'baby girl.' Some wanted to know if he was related to Scooter because her last name was the same. Some wanted to know what happened to her. Some sent hate. Some sent 'tell her to feel better!' even though they had no idea hat happened. Some wanted to know if she was my girlfriend. 

I sighed and replied to a few. 

One said: is she okay?

I replied saying that I didn't know. 

Another said: please tell her to feel better from me and my friends!

I said that I would tell her. 

I RT'd a few of the nice tweets and then got off. 

I slipped my phone back into my pocket as I looked at her once again. 

I kissed her head one last time before I changed into sweat pants and laid down on the couch. I fixed my pillow so it was comfortable and covered myself with a blanket. 

I whispered to myself, but out loud, "I love you, Landry," before I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.