- Katherine Witherfield -
After hearing continuous knocking on the door for a minute straight, I open the door to a beaten-up Billy. His face is dripping with blood, most of it dried, although his nose still slowly oozes of the red liquid. His now blood-stained shirt is ruffled, and his mullet is tangled into a complete mess. Bruises line his jaw, as well as his arms, which peak out from under his shirt. His left eye has started to puff up a bit around the bruising, and my stomach twists at his gruesome state.
"Billy," I gasp. I take his arm lightly and pull him inside. "What happened to you?" I ask with worry as I close the door behind him. He looks me in the eye, and the gaze alone answers my question. His dad did this, and this time it was bad, really bad.
"He knows," he whispers to me, his voice cracking.
"Oh," I mutter, my body filling up with sympathy for Billy. "Let's get you cleaned up. Just stay quiet, James is asleep." He nods and follows me to the bathroom.
He sits on the edge of the bathtub, and I open the cabinet under the sink to pull out the first aid kit, which I set to the side for a moment. I grab a spare rag, holding it under the sink to wet it before I bring it to Billy's face, sitting on the toilet seat top to get a good angle. I slightly press down, and he winces. "I'm sorry," I apologize as I slowly wipe the dry blood from his skin. As I gently rub, a busted lip is revealed and I grimace at the sight. Once I finish cleaning Billy up, I set the wet rag aside and open up the first aid kit. I pull out some cotton balls and the hydrogen peroxide, pouring a small amount onto the cotton ball.
"This is gonna sting," I tell Billy and he nods slightly as I apply it to his busted lip. He doesn't make a sound, only closing his eyes as I fix his wounds. I finish cleaning him up, and I give him some tissues to hold by his nose to help clog the dripping.
"I'm sorry," Billy quietly tells me as I clean up the items I had taken out, sitting on the floor in front of the open cabinet.
"What do you need to tell me sorry for?" I ask as I place the first aid kit back in the small cabinet.
"I'm sorry for barging in like this," he apologizes as he looks down at his hands to fiddle with the small piece of dry paper. "It's super late, and you don't need to take care of me. I'm also sorry for not forgiving you sooner. You did some messed up shit, but it was out of love," he confesses to me.
"I deserved it," I say to him with a slight shrug. "And don't worry about it, I care about you, and I can clean you up if I so wish to." I smile at him, and his puffy lips smile back. I get back up, sitting back down on the toilet seat in front of him. He looks me in the eyes, and despite his rough appearance, he looks adorable when he looks at me. He reaches out slightly to take my hand into his, wrapping his around mine.
"Thank you," I say to him. "For letting me clean you up."
"Thank you."
"For what?" I ask with confusion. "I already told you, I can clean you up if I want. No thanks needed."
"I meant for letting me do this," he whispers before slowly leaning in and gently taking my lips on his.
It's nothing like our other kisses before. This one is sincere. This one is full of love and regret, and of gratitude and yearning. This kiss means way more than words could ever have expressed. I stay still as his smooth but puffy lips kiss me oh so lightly. I reach my hand up and softly cup his cheek as I take the kiss that he lovingly delivers to me.
We pull away, and the look in his eyes makes up my mind. I am in love with this man, and I have been since he stepped foot back into my life. He gave me my baby, and he gave me a new way to perceive the world. I had always thought Billy had twisted my world around in a bad way, even though I love James with all my being. I thought that his return would ruin the life I had built for us. But I was wrong. Billy has made not only me, but James happier too. He has done what I never thought he would-
He changed our lives for the better.
"I love you," I whisper to him into the quiet air of the bathroom.
"I love you too, beautiful."
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my heart is absolutely melting rn omgggg
-Liz <3