EVERETT POV
The second I got the call from Athena I was frantic. I dropped everything I was holding and rushed to my car. I've always known her to be calm and collected, so it was a surprise to hear her shaky voice on the other end of the phone.
I was usually a cautious driver, but not when it came to her safety. I'm surprised I didn't get pulled over.
When I showed up at her apartment, I was shocked at what I saw. A heavier man towering over her scared and shaken frame. I wasn't sure what he had done yet, but I knew it wasn't anything good.
He raised his fists and she trembled, closing her eyes. She was used to this, she didn't shed a tear. No one should be used to this sick and twisted treatment. I grabbed his fist and bent his arm.
"Athena, are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I ask genuinely.
"Athena-" The man spoke, but he didn't deserve to speak.
"Shut the fuck up, I wasn't talking to you."
She nods, I assume answering the latter of the two questions as she was too stunned to say anything.
I push the man to the floor.
"What did he do, Athena?" I stand over the man and turn to my beautiful girl.
"H-he slapped me."
In that moment, all I saw was red. I wanted to beat the shit out of this man but I didn't want to deal with another lawsuit. I slapped him across the face. I was sure he wouldn't tell, knowing that he would get into trouble for what he did to Athena too.
"Was that all, baby?"
"Fucking slut! This is your sugar daddy, right? That's how you can afford all this bullshit like a god damn-" The man spoke. The second his words began to leave his mouth I was annoyed. She was far from a slut, and I was definitely not her sugar daddy.
"I. wasn't. fucking. talking. to. you." I grip his chin.
"Was that all, baby?" I ask again.
"Mhm," She answers.
I pick the man up by his collar and practically throw him outside. We take a little walk together down and outside her apartment. I shove him to the ground once again, punching him and then kneeling down by his side.
"You ever come near her again, and i'll cut your dick off and shove it in your ass. Do you fucking understand?"
"Y-yes."
"Good."
I go back into her apartment complex and lock the door leading outside. I head up the stairs to her apartment and through the busted door. I had so many questions to ask but I knew she needed time to process all of this as well, and become ready to tell me. I would wait.
Before I had the opportunity to think, my feet led me to her and I hugged her. I haven't hugged anyone since I was 7. I could tell she needed it, and every second was worth it.
She began to cry and come undone in my embrace. I had never comforted someone like this before, so I just gently scratched her scalp and ran my fingers through her hair. I heard a door creak further down the hallway.
"Shit," She pulled away and wiped her eyes.
"Thena? What happened?" A little girl emerges from the doorway, a little girl that looks exactly like Athena. She had her button nose and pretty eyes, but her hair was a light brown instead of Athena's blonde. She was adorable.
"Come here, sweetheart," Athena spoke, "Everything's gonna be okay, don't you even worry about it."
She would make a great mother one day, I thought.
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
After Athena had finished consoling her little sister, she turned to me.
"Uhm.. what do we do about that?" She asks, pointing to the door.
"For tonight, if you have no objections, I'd like for you to come sleep at my place. I don't feel comfortable letting you stay somewhere where he could come back. We can discuss what happened later, but for now I want to make sure the two of you are safe."
Athena smiled, turning to her little sister. "What do you say Hera? Sleepover?" She asks, wiggling her eyebrows. It was clear how much she cared for her.
"Sleepover!!" The little girl yelled. I guess she was on board.
I smiled to Hera, who I now knew the name of, and knelt down. "Why don't you go pack and your sissy and I can pack her stuff, does that sound okay?"
She smiles a toothy grin and trots off to her room.
I turn to the gorgeous girl standing next to me, raising a brow.
"What?" She asks.
I look down at her outfit, my shirt and shorts that were covered by it. "My shirt?"
"It's comfy!" She defends.
"Good, let's go pack your stuff." I ruffle her hair as she leads me to her bedroom.
Her room is everything I imagined it to be, pale yellow walls with decals and pictures of her and her little sister, a long mirror facing her bed, and a white desk in the corner. There was also a closet along one of the walls. She opens it, pulling out a bag and clothes for work tomorrow.
I walk up behind her, holding her waist as a gentle gesture. "Are you okay, love?"
"A little shaken up, but nothing I haven't been through before." I frown, kissing the top of her head.
"What do you mean?"
"He's my dad, Ev." She states, the nickname giving me goosebumps but the statement dragging me down. What father does this to their kids? Makes them hide in fear, cower at their presence? Some people just don't deserve to be parents.
"How long?" I ask.
"Since I was 13," She sighs, having finished packing and leans her head back onto my chest.
"And your mom? Did she try to stop any of this?"
"She died, that's when it all started," She starts, "I didn't want to tell you, I didn't want you to pity me. I've had enough of that as basically a single parent."
"Speaking of which, did he ever.. hit Hera?" I ask, not wanting to hit a nerve.
"No, I took it all for her. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she got hurt because I couldn't stop it."
We began swaying in a comfortable silence, side to side, my chin resting on her head. I turned her around and kissed her slowly.
"You don't deserve a thing he's put you through. I will never pity you, because you're the strongest woman I know. Got that?" She held my eye contact.
"Got it."
‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊ ♡ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ °̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥ ♡ ‧̍̊·̊‧̥°̩̥˚̩̩̥͙°̩̥‧̥·̊‧̍̊
1127 words
things are gonna start heating up here soon...