I tensed at this. Physical affection was rare in my relationship with Anna. "I didn't mean to call you. I'm sorry that you're here," I whimpered. "Hey, I already told you that I don't mind. I chose to come over here because I care about you," he assured me. "You-you do," I asked, looking up at him and momentarily forgetting about my black eye. He nodded, but when his gaze shifted from the tile flooring back over to me, he had a sharp intake of air. "Bren, what happened to your eye," he asked. I quickly turned away and let my hair fall over that eye. "I um ran into on of the open cabinets in the kitchen," I lied. He put a soft hand to my cheek and turned my face towards him. "You must have run into it pretty hard to get a nasty bruise like that," he said, gently running his fingers over the purpled skin. I flinched a bit as he got closer to the point of impact. "Sorry," he said. I shrugged, my breath stuttered as a result of crying.
"Hey, let's get you off the floor, okay?" He stood up and offered me a hand. I took it, but winced when he tried to help me stand. I clutched my side and slowly lowered myself back to the ground. "Are you alright," Dallon asked, worry clear in his voice. I nodded and closed my eyes, trying to focus on something other than the pain in my side from Anna's shoe. "Here, I've got you," Dallon said, leaning down and picking me up with ease. He walked me over to the couch and sat next to where he placed me. "Can you take off your shirt for me," I heard from beside me. "Excuse me," I said, unsure of whether or not I'd heard him correctly. "Sorry, not like that. I um I want to see if something's wrong with your torso that made it hurt for you to stand. I don't know if you know this, but I'm an ER doctor," he explained. Oh shit. He's gonna figure it out. I shook my head because I didn't think I'd have been able to raise my arms that high anyway. "I'll help. Just put your arms out straight and as high as they can go," he told me.
A pit formed in my stomach as I lifted my arms and let Dallon remove my tshirt. "Holy shit, what happened to you," he gasped, his eyes going wide at the large dark bruises covering my abdomen. "I uh I slipped and fell into the bathroom counter last night after taking a shower. I'm okay," I told him. He shook his head and looked at me with pity dripping from his expression. "That's not true. Those bruises are new and are still forming. Also, a bathroom counter won't make circular contusions all over your torso. That would've made a single line," he corrected me. I felt all of the air leave my lungs. "That's what happened. I don't know why I'm bruising so slowly or why I bruised that way, but that's what happened," I lied quietly. "Brendon," he sighed. "What?" He put a comforting hand on my knee. "You can tell me how you really got hurt. I won't judge you," he spoke softly. "I told you. I-" I cut myself off with more tears. "Hey, it's okay," he told me, and moved to hug me but stopped himself.
"Why were you so sad when you called me," he asked. "I didn't mean to call you," I told him again, continuing to cry softly. "Fine, why were you so sad when you butt-dialed me." I laughed through my slowing tears, but I also felt anxiety growing in my chest as Dallon asked me what had happened. "I um Anna was upset with me," I said plainly. "Okay, why was she upset with you?" I took a deep breath. "I wanted to throw a Cinco De Mayo party in the park next week, and she didn't want to," I explained. "Why couldn't she just stay home," he asked. "Her anxiety gets really bad when I go out without her because she's afraid I'll be unfaithful," I told him, feeling ashamed admitting that my own girlfriend didn't trust me enough. "Have you ever cheated on her?" I shook my head fervently. "So then why would she need to be worried about that," he continued. I shrugged my shoulders and resumed telling him of the events from earlier.
"She started yelling at me and-and calling me names. I don't do well when people call me names. She was cursing at me and saying that I'm abusive, which I'm not. I've never hit her or treated her poorly. I always treat her as well as I can without completely disregarding myself. I-I would never hit someone," I told him, my voice breaking at the end. He hesitantly hugged me close to him because I was crying again. It was softer this time, but crying nonetheless. "And after that, she gave you those bruises," Dallon asked carefully. I nodded against him, resting my head on his shoulder. "Brendon, I'm so sorry," he whispered. I nodded again because I couldn't bring myself to speak. "Brendon, you do know that you're not being abusive, right?" I took in a soft breath. "Yeah, I-I know," I told him. "Bren, she's the abusive one. She's abused you physically and verbally. Don't you understand that?"
I fully broke down. I didn't want to have to depend on someone, especially someone as kind as Dallon. It hurt for someone to call Anna abusive, but it hurt even more that I knew deep down that Dallon was right. The worst part of it all wasn't the physical pain of the bruises or the bash on my self esteem from being belittled. The worst of it was loving Anna and knowing that I'd let her keep hurting me if it meant that I got to stay with her. "What are you thinking about right now," Dallon asked softly. "I l-love her, Dallon," I cried, sitting back from the embrace. "I know, bub, I know." I furrowed my eyebrows at that. "Bub," I questioned. His face grew a little red. "Sorry, I um called my little brother that when he was younger. It's like a pet name I had for him when he was sad," Dallon apologized. "It's alright. It's kinda sweet," I said quietly. "Yeah?" I nodded, my facing turning red for a reason other than from crying.
"Hey, there's that great smile I remembered," Dallon said, tipping my chin up so he had a better view of my face. This only made my face grow hotter. "I'm sorry that you're sad, Bren. If I can do anything to fix this, let me know, and I will," he told me. I smiled at this. "You being here and letting me talk has been plenty. Thank you so much," I said to Dallon. He put a hand on my leg and looked at me seriously. "I'd do it again anytime," he spoke in a genuine voice. Then I noticed something deep in his eyes, sincerity and love. It was genuine love, something I'd never seen in Anna's eyes.
"Dallon, I don't know when the next time will be where I'll feel as loved and special as I do now," I told him, sinking into the couch and leaning my head on his shoulder. His smile got a little wider at that. "I can promise you that I'd make you feel this way for the rest of your life if you'd let me," he spoke to me gently. My heart was swelled at his kindness. "Excuse me for asking this, but can I please take you away from here? I will never be able to sleep soundly again, knowing that you are being hurt so badly." I turned to see if there was any doubt on his face. I didn't pick up on any. "I don't even know how I would begin to break things off with Anna," I stressed. "Bub, you don't have to say anything. You can leave whenever you want, and she can't do anything about it," he told me. I hadn't thought of that.
"I don't know where I'd stay. I can't place that burden on you," I worried. Dallon took my hand in his. "You're not a burden. If you're comfortable with it, you can stay with me. I'll treat you better than Anna ever could, a-and I'll give you the master bedroom. I'll cook dinner for you every night, and you can use my car whenever you want to. Please, just let me show you how life is supposed to be," Dallon spoke in an almost pleading way. "I couldn't let you do all of that." He shook his head. "No, I'd love to. I'd love to have you," he insisted. "Are you sure," I asked. "Of course." I nearly jumped off of the couch. "Oh my gosh, I don't think you know how much this means," I yelped, throwing my arms around him and hugging him tightly.
Without thinking, I took his face in my hands and kissed him. Just as I had realized what I'd done, Dallon moved his mouth against mine. He softly pushed me back so I was laying on the couch with him hovering over me. He kissed me eagerly and started moving over my jaw. He trailed kisses over my face and neck before sitting back on my thighs. "You're beautiful, Brendon," he said, running his thumb over my bottom lip. "I could kiss you like that for hours," he continued. I sat up and kissed Dallon again. "And I just might let you," I told him, taking him upstairs to help me pack my belongings so that I could start a new life.
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A/N
I hope y'all weren't expecting something without crying. I need requests because once Weekends is over, I'll be working on a new story and there won't be any content other than oneshots. Love you guys 💘
✌🏼Your Author👌🏼
Alone in the Foyer
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