apartment 23 // mitchel cave

6

angeline's p.o.v.

i could feel his hands all over my body, roughly pulling at my clothing in an attempt to rid them from my body. his actions were so rough as he left dark bruises on my wrists. his breath was hot against my neck.

it was almost like it was really happening again.

i woke up in a hot sweat, breathing heavily. mitchel perked his head up from the floor to check on me. from the minimal amount of light coming through the window from the streetlights outside, i could tell that his eyes were wide with worry.

after taking me to the warehouse he had first taken me to when we had met, mitchel refused to let me go anywhere other than back to his loft. i didn't even try to argue with him; i was the safest here and i knew that. we immediately went to bed and he was kind enough to sleep on the floor and give me my space. i had expressed that i wasn't exactly comfortable sleeping in a bed with someone after "the incident" and especially since i had only now just reunited with mitchel after six months. he understood completely; he told me he would just grab some pillows and a blanket to make a small make-shift bed on the floor. a part of me felt guilty but he showed no resentment towards sleeping on the floor as long as i was comfortable.

"are you okay?" he asked in a whisper.

"yeah... just another nightmare..." i mumbled, sitting up slightly. every time i shut my eyes, my brain seemed to be flooded with memories of james.

"do you need anything?" he moved from his position on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at me in the dark.

"i'm okay, just a little shaken."

"oh... okay. don't hesitate to yell out my name if you have to. i'll get you anything you need." he said gently before laying back down on the floor.

"thank you mitchel."

"no problem angeline."

i laid my head back down on mitchel's pillow but my mind wouldn't shut up. i couldn't get the feeling of his fingertips along my skin off my mind. it got to the point where i couldn't take it anymore.

"mitchel... are you still awake?" i asked quietly.

he hummed slightly in response, signaling that i had his attention.

"how long do you think it's going to take me to get over this?" i asked him.

"angeline... i really don't know. all i know is i'll stay with you for as long as you need to help you recover from this." he said.

that was probably the sweetest gesture i've ever received from someone. mitchel, who wasn't even my boyfriend or romantically tied to me anymore, had just offered to give up any time that i needed so that i could get better. that was perhaps the sweetest and most assuring thing anyone could have done in this moment.

"i really can't thank you enough mitchel." i said quietly.

"no need to thank me, i can only imagine how horrible it must be to deal with something like this. i'm simply here to help." he said sadly from the floor.

"i'll let you sleep now." i told him as i laid down again.

"try to get some sleep, angeline." he said softly before the room was filled with silence once again.

it took a lot out of me but i was eventually able to rid my mind of his touch and let sleep overcome my body.

_______________________________

i woke up to the faint smell of pancakes and green tea floating around the room. i opened my eyes to see mitchel walking in the room, a pair of grey sweatpants hanging low on his waist and his hair wet. he held two plates of food in his hands, one i was assuming was for me and the other for him. he smiled at me when he realized i was awake.

"good morning." he said softly, his voice slightly raspy.

"good morning mitchel, what's this about?" i asked him, crossing my legs on his bed.

"i thought maybe you'd appreciate something to eat. i made your tea too." he said, handing me a plate of pancakes with berries on the side. i grabbed ahold of it graciously and placed it in my lap. he set the tea down on the bedside table gently before stepping away.

"i'll leave you to eat your food." he said before turning in the direction of the door.

"wait... mitchel. please stay." i said to him.

"are you sure? i don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." he questioned me.

"yes, please just stay." i giggled lightly as he sat down on the bed and crossed one leg to prop up his plate. he grinned at me before we both dig into the food sat before us.

"did you make these?" i asked him in between bites.

"maybeeee..." he said, winking at me.

"what the fuck mitchel, these are so good! when did you learn how to cook so well?" i asked him, sorta shocked that he actually took the time to make these instead of having someone else make them.

"i had a lot of free time those six months without you." he shrugged before taking another bite.

"fair enough."

once we finished with the breakfast, i sat back and slipped on my green tea as mitchel scoured his closet in search of something for me to wear. i told him i wasn't fully comfortable going back to that apartment and he completely understood. he even said himself that he didn't want me going back there any time soon.

he placed a loose shirt and a pair of his sweatpants in front of me with a slight smile. i could tell he!was trying to be as gentle and calm around me as possible.

i wasn't exactly sure why he was acting so accepting of me. quite frankly, it confused me. i realized that i completely fucked him over, yet now he just let me back in his house like nothing happened. hell, he even woke me up to breakfast in bed. i'm not complaining though, it was absolutely amazing. i just really didn't understand why he was disregarding the fact that i majorly fucked up six months ago.

i thanked him nevertheless and walked across the hall to the bathroom to get changed. i slipped out of my previous clothes and into the warmth of the clothing mitchel had given me. his clothing always faintly smelled of his cologne and laundry detergent. it was a comforting smell to be wrapped in, especially in the morning.

surprisingly, i still remembered which cabinet he kept extra toothbrushes in. i brushed my teeth, trying to avoid my reflection in the mirror in front of me. despite my attempts, i was forced to face myself when i decided to rid my face of the bits of spare makeup smeared around my eyes. i practically looked like a corpse; my eyes were dark and i looked exhausted. the bruise on my cheek was still visible although it had faded quite a bit. thick purple bruises lined my wrists.

i felt tears well up in my eyes as i stared at my reflection.

i looked like a fucking mess.

before i knew it, the tears began falling down my cheeks, leaving me sobbing in mitchel's bathroom. i sat down with my back against the wall as the sobs consumed me. it felt as if everything that had happened over the course of the past six months was hitting me.

i assumed mitchel heard my sobs because he slowly opened up the door and peeked his head in, questioning if i was okay. once he saw my emotional state, he immediately rushed in and got on the floor with me, holding me tightly as i sobbed into his shoulder.

"shhhh, it's okay. breath, angeline." he said calmly as he rubbed my back.

"i can't deal with this mitchel." i cried. i could already feel my tears soaking through his t-shirt.

"you're gonna be okay, we're gonna get through this." he assured me.

i really wanted to believe him, but a part of me knew that it wasn't true.

i would never be the same.