A/N
This was a request. Hope it turned out how you wanted!
TW// abuse
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My boyfriend left in a rage. I was sat in the bathroom with my head against the closed door. Tears trailed down my face in black streaks of makeup. My lip stung and my head was pounding. I knew my wrists were already bruising. These weren't things I'd be able to hide this time. The external wounds aren't as easily buried as the internal ones.
Why did this have to happen tonight of all nights?
I had rehearsal in the morning. I couldn't miss it. Our show is supposed to open in two weeks. I don't have the time or luxury to just skip. Even if I skipped tomorrow, I couldn't keep avoiding until the bruises faded. Who knew how long that would take. I'd just have to go and hope that no one noticed. Or at least hope that no one would bother me about it.
~
"Great job, everybody! Let's take a break and then we'll move onto the next scene." I walked off of the stage to drink some of my water. My wrists were killing me and my neck was sore, but I was trying my hardest not to draw attention to myself.
"Hey, (y/n)!" Jaime said. I turned over my shoulder to see her walking towards me.
"Hey!" We chatted for a bit. She told me about her weekend and I nodded along. "What about you? What'd you do last night?"
My throat felt tight at the thought. I took a sip of my water before answering. "You know. The usual. Calm night at home with the bf." Jaime nodded but she didn't seem convinced. I wanted to question her reaction but Nick called us back to the stage. I put my water away and followed Jaime
~
Another couple hours of dancing, singing, and blocking flew by. At the end of it, I was even more tired than I was before. I was excited to go home until I remembered that my boyfriend would probably be there. The thought of it filled me with dread. I was getting my things together so slowly.
"(Y/n)?" The voice surprised me. I tried to hold back my emotions and turn to face Dylan. I must not have been doing a good job because he took a step closer. "Are you alright?" His face was filled with concern. His hand landed on my shoulder and I flinched. "What's wrong?"
I wanted to say it was nothing. I tried to speak but no words came. I just looked down at my hands. His gaze followed mine and landed on my discolored wrists.
"Jesus, (y/n). What happened?" His voice was soft yet so full of concern. That was the last I could handle. A single tear fell and soon I was crying. Dylan pulled me into a hug. I was glad that everyone else had already gone. I didn't want them to see me like this. I didn't want Dylan to either, but it was nice to finally let it go.
"I'm sorry," I said when I felt capable of speaking. I pushed myself back from his chest and wiped my eyes.
"Don't apologize." When I looked up at Dylan, the worry on his features made me feel sick. "Can we talk about this?"
"It's nothing, Dylan. There's nothing to talk about."
"Please don't lie to me." He carefully held my hands and lifted them so he could see them better. "Did Mark do this?"
My silence was all the answer he needed. He let my hands fall as he pulled me into another embrace. His hands stroked my back slowly. The comfort was so soothing. So foreign.
"I don't know what to do," I finally said. My voice was muffled against Dylan's chest, but I kept repeating myself. "I don't know what to do."
"It's okay, (y/n)." He released me and led me to sit down on the stage. "Did you guys break up?"
"No. After we fought, he stormed out." Thinking about it again made me feel sick. "He's probably wondering why I'm not home yet."
Dylan's hand gently covered mine. "Don't worry about what he's doing right now. He doesn't matter. What he does doesn't have to affect you. Not anymore."
"I'm so scared."
"I know. It's okay to be scared. But I'm gonna help you figure it out. It's all gonna work out fine."
I didn't respond right away. I just gazed at Dylan. He was so kind and genuine. I didn't deserve any of this.
"Thank you." I turned my hand over under his so that I would intertwine our fingers.
"Of course." He stood up before helping me to my feet. "Now, why don't you text Mark and tell him you have to stay late because rehearsal is running long. We can go back to my place and figure out how exactly to deal with this."
I did what Dylan suggested. As I did, he grabbed my things for me. I followed him out of the theater and to his car. After putting my things in the trunk, he opened the passenger door for me. I stopped just before getting in. I placed my hand on his cheek and let my eyes trace over every detail of his face. He smiled sweetly but there was confusion in his eyes.
I pressed a small kiss to the corner of his mouth before saying yet another thank you and getting into the car.
