Innocent

Chapter 8

He sat on the edge of the toilet. I pulled out some cotton buds and anti-bacteria to clean away the dry blood.

“I can’t believe he did this to you,” I told him.

“He is an asshole, Ellie. My dad doesn’t respect anyone. And it was either I get beaten up or he would attack you again, which I can’t bear to watch him do to you again.”

“Thanks for saving me, James.”

I wet a cloth and then stood in front of him, cleaning up the dry blood on him.

“I wish I had stopped him from doing it last time.”

I dabbed the cloth on his forehead where a cut was dried up there. “James, there’s no need for you to blame yourself. I’m not blaming you.”

“Yeah, but what kind of friend am I for not stopping him from doing it?”

He had a point and I should hate him for not helping me. But he did try to stop it. Mr Waters just kept pushing him away every time he tried to come anywhere near me.

“How come you don’t hate me, Ellie? I mean, you should hate me for not stopping my dad enough.”

I removed the cotton bud from him and set it down on the sink beside me. James seemed so determine to know why I didn’t hate him. Maybe I could hate him for what happened, but I didn’t see the point in hating him. None of it was his fault anyway. If he was the one who had raped me, instead of his father, then I would have a reason to hate him.

“James, you’re my friend. You did your best to help me even if you couldn’t completely stop your dad. You probably could, but you and I both know that you didn’t have a chance against him. I mean, look at how he had beaten you up in the car.”

“I fought back with him in the car, and he wouldn’t even let me touch him. He kept beating me repeatedly. I thought he was going to kill me.”

I dabbed some anti-bacteria onto the cotton bud before applying it to his wounds. He flinched a little when it came in contact with the skin.

“Where’s your dad now?” I asked him.

“He is somewhere out getting drunk.”

“How did he know you were with me?”

“He followed me. He was watching everything we did.”

I put the cotton bud down on the sink and then sat down on the tile floor, resting my back up against the cabinet. Everything felt as if James and I aren’t meant to be together. Our family members watched our every move, pulling us away every time we got too close to each other. Not only was our family watching us, but we did the people of Los Angeles. Everyone knew our faces. They didn’t stop us from being together, but they watched us like our lives were a reality show.

“Why does everyone watch what we do, especially when we are together?” I asked him. “I mean, it’s not like we are doing anything wrong.”

James got off the toilet and kneeled down in front of me. He reached over and tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear, before resting his hand on my chin, lifting it up so I was looking directly at him.

“Listen to me, Ellie, we will get through this together,” he replied.

I let a smile cross my face and then hugged him. I stayed in his arms, not wanting to move away from him.

Suddenly we were forced to pull apart from each other when a sudden knock came from the door.

“Ellie? Is someone is there with you?” Daniel’s voice asked from the other side of the door.