I was thankful that today I got to leave work early for dancing lessons with Reagan today. I know the "routine" by now, but Reagan doesn't. So we will work on it for the next couple of days until the Gala. I almost get excited for the lessons, just so I can be with Reagan.
Lately I've been feeling differently towards her. Something that I haven't felt towards anyone.
During my drive, my bluetooth rings through the car and Marco's name comes up on the caller ID. "Capo." He says instantly.
"Cos'è Marco?" I ask, matching his panicked tone.
"Nico sta affrontando Reagan." He tells me Nico is confronting Reagan.
Immediately I step on the gas, speeding the way home. I appreciate Marco for calling me. If anything happens involving me or my father, he is supposed to stay out of it. He would get fired for this, but there is no way in hell I'd fire this man for telling me this.
It's a matter of minutes by the time I get home. I burst through the doors, not having to go far until I spot my father standing over Reagan. She is crying, and scared, trying to fight back but he has too much power.
Before I know it I grip the back of my father's suit collar, ripping him onto the ground. I pull back my arm and deliver a satisfying punch to his nose. My knuckles feel the crack of his bone. I want nothing more than to beat this man to a plum, but I hear the heart shattering cries coming from Reagan.
On a dime, I turn and go towards her, kneeling down cradling her into my arms. She looks up at me, sobbing. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She sobs, clutching onto me.
"Shh, shh. Don't be, don't say anything." I kiss her beauty mark, pulling her as close to me as I can.
"Love is weak, son." My father spits towards me.
"Gaining joy from beating females is weak 'dad'." I reply with a cold tone. I hear him march away and as soon as he is out of the room, Lorenzo and Buchanon come running in, coming back to Reagan's side.
She notices them and moves out of my grasp quickly, taking a hold of their collars and taking it off of them. "H-he had a remote of some kind and it hurt them." She explains, choking back a sob.
Anger fills me right to the brim again. All I want to do is go after him and put a bullet between his eyes. But Reagan needs me right now. "Come on." I say as I lift her up.
"I can walk—"
"Shhh." I repeat, holding her tightly as we walk up the stairs to our room. When we arrive, I bring her right to the bathroom, and sit her on the sink. Below the sink there is a first aid kit, I pull it out and open it up on the counter top. "Where does it hurt, amore?"
She doesn't even look me in the eyes. I can tell she is in pain, I can tell she is scared and sad. She must be guilty for something since she apologized before.
"Reagan." I press.
Some silent moments pass before I take it into my own hands. I gently grip the back of her neck with my thumb softly on her cheek. Her head tilts back and I take an alcohol packet with my free hand, ripping the top off with my teeth and taking out the swab. I put the cloth on her lip and her eyes scrunch shut.
"Ow." She whimpers, another tear escaping her eyes.
"I know, I know." I say softly, planting a swift kiss on her face. Everytime she scrunches her face, I kiss her in a different spot each time. "You don't need stitches, thankfully." I told her. "Where else are you hurt?"
She stays silent.
"Reagan." I urge. "If you don't show me, I'll search for it myself."
She looks up at me with a frown. "Don't do that." She tries to laugh a little, but it just looks like it hurts. It's either her back or ribs.
I pull up her shirt noticing a very sizable red-bruising mark that goes from the base of her back going beneath her sports bra. She tries to push me off and pull her shirt back down but I don't let her. I pull up her bra to see the full extent of the bruise.
"How many times did he hit you?" I question, brushing my fingers over the bruise.
She shrugs, looking away.
"Reagan. How many times?" I force her head to look at me. Her eyes fill with more tears. "How many times?" My voice raises slightly.
"He kicked me a few times." She answers quietly. "Because I..."
"Because what?"
"Because he found an Italian dictionary in the room. And that Remy and I have been sneaking into the kitchen to help cook dinner. And he is mad that I haven't been drinking those damn drinks to make me less of a 'fat ass'." She begins to sob into her hands, hiding her face.
I remove her hands, pulling her towards me into a hug. I gently wrap my arms around her, being careful about her side. She goes to speak again, but I cut her off. "Shhh." We rest there for a minute or two before pulling back. "Look." I tell her, unbuttoning the top of my dress shirt to reveal the scar I've been carrying most of my life. "He gave me this a while back. I promised myself to never allow him to lay his hands on me ever again." I explain. "If he walks into the room and you're alone, you leave and call me."
She nods her head with a sniffle. "Okay."
"I don't want you to be scared of him." I tell her. "Don't give him that satisfaction."
She hesitates, but lets out a shaky breath. "Okay."
I lift her up and bring her back to the bedroom, setting her down on the bed. "It's probably best if you take off your bra." She gives me a sceptical look. "To relieve the pressure." I quickly add.
She chuckles. "Smooth." She reaches behind her back and under her shirt and unclips the base of her bra. I look away respectfully and she pulls the bra off and out from under her t-shirt, dropping it onto the floor.
She goes to stand up, but I hold her hips to keep her from moving. "Where are you going?" I ask her.
"I was going to go and change." She states.
"Let me get you some clothes." I offer, walking into the closet. I don't really know what she wants to change into. We certainly aren't going to lessons today, that just isn't going to happen.
I remember when Reagan said that she gets cold with the AC, so I grab her a black hoodie and go looking for some shorts. I found a pair of fuzzy ones that have the same fabric as soft socks. They look kinda short, but I'm sure they are fine. I walk back out to see her waiting, fiddling with her hands in her lap. She looks up, and glances at the clothes I've brought.
"I say we get into some comfortable clothes, and watch some more of those movies." I say as I walk closer to her.
She gives me a weak smile. "Sounds great." She sighs.
I hand her the clothes and go back into the closet to change in there while she can change in here. I just put on a pair of athletic shorts with a hoodie. Not really even thinking, I walk right out into the bedroom and watch— almost like in slow motion as Reagan puts the hoodie over her head from behind her. Her smooth back skin is gorgeous aside from the mark my father left on her.
I swallow back that anger and walk more into the room. "What movie is next?" I ask.
"Iron Man II." She answers.
I lay down into the bed, and she takes a spot close to me, but it isn't close enough, so I carefully pull her to my side. She puts her hand on my chest and lets out a relieved sigh. She gets as close to me as she can, not breaking away or leaving an inch of space for either of us. But it's comfortable, and assuring. I have never had this type of comfort before. It's nice. I want to stay like this for as long as I can.
The day goes by and we watch three movies and I've found that Tony Stark is my favorite character. He is a dick, but he is funny too.
Once dinner time comes, the maid brings it up to us. We sit up against the headboard with our food trays on our lap. We were given a soup of some sort. It tastes delicious and Reagan likes it too, commenting on how it is "sweet but with a savory ending", it amazes her in a way. She says it's her new favorite.
I just laugh at her adorable innocence. But then I frown. She is too perfect to be forced to throw her life away for this, for me. She doesn't deserve any of it. I read her file, she was planning on going to business school. She wanted to do something in life. Wanted to bring her own success. Instead she us cooped up inside a mansion made up of dirty money. Her life is controlled here. No free liberty like she is promised in her home country. But I don't want to let her go.
"Alonzo—" I am snapped out of my selfish thoughts from Reagan calling for me in a panicked voice.
I look over to her and see she has accidentally spilled some of her soup over her hoodie. "Merde." I stand up quickly and rush to get a towel from the bathroom. When I come back she is standing with her back to me with the hoodie wrapped up on the floor. I look at her bare back to see the bruise forming intensely. I'm afraid of kidney damage. I'll have it looked at tomorrow. Today I'll just let her rest so it doesn't overwhelm her.
"Sorry, it was really hot." She mutters.
I shake my head. "No, no, it's okay. Here, you can take this." I say as I take my hoodie off and hand it to her.
She takes it immediately, and pulls it over her head. When she turns around she smells the hoodie then sees me shirtless and stares for a minute.
"You good?" I ask with a smirk.
Reagan's face turns red and she swallows hard before she looks away. "Mhm." She nods her head.
I chuckle as I make my way back to bed. "Come on, we are missing the movie. I'll call for some more." I assure her.
She only nods her head not making eye contact with me. It makes me laugh again. "What are you laughing at?" She mumbles.
"Nothing amore." I replied. I sit down on the bed and dial for more food to come. Ten minutes later it arrives and Reagan thanks them. The maid picks up the soup soaked hoodie and leaves.
This time, there is no spilling of the meal. We both eat as we watch the movie in a comfortable silence. After a little bit, we finish our food and the maid comes to take the dishes away.
"Full?" I ask her.
She nods her head. "Very." She chuckles, patting her stomach. I laugh along with her and lay back comfortably on the bed.
I didn't even have to ask her or pull her over, but Reagan crawls up next to me, putting a hand on my bare chest, tracing the scar that is there. Her head is on my shoulder and I pull the blankets up because I feel the goosebumps across her skin. Even though I'm a bit too hot, she seems to relax into my heat, for her I'll stay like this as long as she needs.
Thoughts?