Stolen Hearts (2012 Wattys Finalist)

Chapter 11 - Georgie's Story

Robert felt like he was endlessly scrubbing the tile floor in a circular motion. His whole body ached terribly, and he wondered why on earth Georgie would want to do this once a week, every week, for who knows how long. He wasn't going to talk to her but he couldn't help it.

"Georgie, why are you here?"

"To protect you," she said, mopping with her back to him.

He sat back on his heels, saying, "No, that's not what I mean. Why d'you choose to do this? I mean why d'you stay here – and why d'you stay here with someone who beats you like that?" He could tell by the look of pain in her eyes he'd hurt her deeply, and he immediately regretted saying it.

Then she became angry, surprising him. She threw down the mop and came at him, shouting, "Why do you care? You're leaving here, aren't you? It's none of your fucking business anyway!"

He forced himself not to move as she leaned over him and lifted her hand as if to slap him, breathing hard. Her eyes were a dark blue and locked on his.

"You don't care, do you? Do you?" she yelled, as if daring him to admit it, and he braced himself as he felt her preparing to hit him.

When she tried to slap him, he grabbed her wrist to stop her and she struggled to pull away. He grabbed her other wrist before she hit him with that hand, and she wound up on the floor as they wrestled. She fought him, struggling to get loose from his grip, and he wound up on top of her.

"I do care, Georgie! I do care!" he said fervently, looking in her blue eyes, begging her to believe him.

He kissed her while she struggled to get out from underneath him. He wasn't sure when it happened, but she was kissing him back and he let go of her wrists. She put her fingers in his hair, pulling him to her so she could kiss him more deeply. Her lips were so soft as they caressed his and he felt like his whole body was being consumed with fire from the passion of her kisses.

Robert jerked awake breathing heavily. Another one, he thought with dismay. As he laid there, he started remembering the details, then desperately tried to shake the memory out of his head. He realized what that dream was really about, and there was no way in hell he was going to allow himself to think about it. He wasn't going down that fucking wormhole again. He just needed to forget that stupid dream and get back to sleep. He looked at the clock on his bedside table as he turned over. It was after four in the morning. Fear suddenly gripped him, and he sat up. Georgie hadn't woken him with her nightmare. Had the bastard done something to her?

He jumped out of bed, and went to the sitting room with his heart in his throat. Her bedroom door was half way open. He slipped into her room and saw her. She was lying in bed sound asleep. He crept closer to her to make sure she was alright. He could hear her slow, steady breaths and he sighed with relief, she was safe. He watched her for a few minutes then went back to bed. While he tried to go back to sleep, he refused to allow himself to think about the dream, or anything else. Instead, he kept an image in his head of how she'd looked, sleeping peacefully in her bed, until he fell asleep.

When Robert woke again, it was late morning. He got up and went to have cereal. Georgie was there with a book and her coffee, looking as normal as ever. He ate, trying to keep from thinking about anything while she read, tracing the words with her finger.

To distract himself, he asked, "Did ya sleep well last night?" She looked up at him, her eyes a little dazed from her story, and nodded.

"No nightmare last night, yeah?" he asked. The look of surprise on her face let him know she didn't realize he'd been noticing her nightmares. He wished now he hadn't said it. He didn't want her to know she was waking him every night, that he was paying attention.