The Cure

Chapter 15: Trying to Be a Hero

My eyes open to a white room, a bathroom, except I have never been here before. I sit up and immediatley regret it as pain shoots through my entire torso, my head and face. I them think back to what happened before I blacked out. James was hitting Kelly. I hit James. James hit me. I told him to rot in hell. He hit me and I passed out. Shit.
"Hey," a small voice whisepers from the corner of the room and I immediatley turn my head to it and see Kelly, a mess of cuts and broozes. 
"Hey," I reply and attempt to sit up. It hurts, but I manage it, leaning against the bath for support. 
"I am so sorry, Lily," she cries and I try to make my way over, the pain of even moving excruciating. Once I am beside her, I hug her, trying to ignore the intensified shooting through my stomach. 
"You have nothing to be sorry for," I reassure but she shakes her head, the tears falling from her eyes effortlessly. 
"I got mad at you for doing what was right, I kicked you out of your own home, my boyfriend almost killed you," she stutters, holding her stomach, clearly in the same pain as me.
"I didn't say anything about you to James, he assumed things and I left, you didn't kick me out I chose to go. If you think I was going to stand by and let him hurt you, you were wrong," I say and she hugs me again, clutching me tighter.
"Thank you so much Lily, I never realised how good a friend you are, thank you so much," she cries and so I just hug her, letting her cry onto my shoulder, grateful that she wants to be my friend again.
"You have to promise me something though Kelly," I say and she looks at me, I think she knows what I am about to say.
"You have to leave him, you can have my room at Steph's, just please don't stay with him," I beg and she nods.
"That's what this was all about. I have been staying with Steph and she convinced me to end things, so I tried and then he got mad, really mad. He tried to...anyway, I stopped it and told him things were over, that's when you broke the door down," she says, shaking. I explain to her that she can live with Steph and that I am okay for somewhere to stay, hoping Nathan won't mind me staying a while longer. Shit, Nathan. He will see the marks, he will go mad. Shit. Shit. I take the phone from my pocket and when I open it, I see so many messages.

From Nathan

I'm bored at work, just planning, how are things with Kelly? x

Thirty Minutes later...

From Nathan

Are you two okay? Do I need to come and break up a fight? x

Twenty minutes later...

From Nathan

Where are you babe? I haven't heard from you x

Ten minutes later...

From Nathan

Is everything okay? x

Five minutes later...

From Nathan

Lily, are you okay? x

I feel awful as I read through his worried messages and so I type quickly, hoping to calm him down

To Nathan

Yes, everything is fine, we were just talking for so long, I didn't hear the phone, I'm sorry I worried you xx

I then look and see more messages but this time, they are from my mom an Ollie

From Mom

Hey sweetie, when are you going to come home? I thought you said you were going to come over one weekend? It's been too long, you need to come down and see me, I miss you sweetheart, love you, mom xxx

I immediatley feel even more awful, how could I forget to go and see her? I've been so caught up in my own life, I haven't thought about my mom. Of course I cannot tell her that, so I make something up, the lies flowing naturally now.

To Mom

I am so sorry I haven't seen you, starting work has been really hard and I have had so much to do I've barely had any time to do anything. I miss you to mom, so much. How is everything? Has Ollie been down? Are you doing okay? xxx

I then proceed to reading my last message,

From Ollie,

Hey rosie, I want to go and visit mom, tell me when you are and I'll go the same time, missed you lil sis 

I reply to Ollie as well, using my work excuse as a reason why I will have to let him know when I can. I wonder what Ollie would do if he found out my situation right now, well I know he would kill James and maybe Nathan as well if he knew everything. I know Nathan will murder James, and so I tell Kelly that we will have to get cleaned up, to look like we haven't been involved in a fight. 
I look in the mirror and see a girl with purple and blue bruises on her cheek, a black eye, a split lip and blood stained in the shape of a river from her nose. This is what I get for trying to be a hero. I look disgusting, how I am going to hide this from Nathan? I can't tell him it was Kelly, she doesn't deserve that and I can't tell him I was attacked in the street, not again, it would scare him too much. No, I have to try my best to hide it and hope to God that he doesn't see it, or at least he doesn't ask. 
I check the rest of my body and even though my arms and legs will be difficult to cover, they will not be imossible and my stomach is easy to hide. I start on my face, wiping the blood from my lips and nose, and help Kelly wipe hers as well. I then ask Kelly for make-up or anything that will hide my face. She hands me a concealer and foundation, and so I apply both and watch as the bruising fades. But that's all they do, fade. You can still see them, they're just not as visible. Shit. 

Nathan's P.O.V

The smell of Lily's cooking hits me as soon as I open the door, making me even more hungry then I was before. I loved waking up to her his morning, I love coming home to her every night. I just love seeing her. 
"Hey, I'm home," I announce but she doesn't turn around, smiling her beautiful smile, greeting me with a kiss or hug like she usually does. She stays wth her back faced to me, simply saying hi. This isn't right, did something happen at Kelly's?
"Is everything okay?" I ask for the second time today, getting more fearful with every second she doesn't answer.
"Of course, dinner will be done soon," she replies, still not even looking at me. I close the distance between us and take her hand, tilting my head so I can kiss her cheek, but she moves away. What is going on?
"I'm not feeling too well, don't come near me," she lies, the pain evident in her voice. I hate this, I hate her being so distant with me. 
"Lily, please look at me, I know you're lying," I answer truthfully and thankfully, she turns to me. As her face comes into view, I freeze, my vision turning into red, just red.
Her left eyes is black, her cheeks are all shades of blue and purple, her lip cut and I can tell from the bruising on her nose that she has been hit there as well. My heart rate increases as the anger courses through my veins.
"Who did this to you? Was it Kelly?" I ask, not quite being able to believe that Kelly would cause this kind of damage. Who the fuck hit my Lily?
"No, of course not, it was nothing, everything is okay now," she says and I know that she won't tell me. I know her and she would do anything to keep me out of trouble. I don't care though I will find out who hurt her and I will kill them. I think back to where I left her, I left her at Kelly's and Kelly didn't hit her, so who was it? James wasn't in work today. He would have been with...Kelly.
"It was James wasn't it? Did he hurt Kelly too?" I shout and she looks down. It was him and he did it to both of them . I don't give her time to reply or time do anything because I am already at the door.
"I'll fucking kill him," I seethe as I run down the flights of stairs, thoughts of James in a hospital bed clouding my mind.