Constance
My brain seems to thaw as I realize I'm being lifted, then slightly moved and back to bouncing gently on something. My body hurts; my legs, my arms, my head. Ringing loops between my ears and I shake my head, trying to chase it off. A hand works its way to my back, rubbing comfortably as I bury myself deeper.
Where am I?
Ace's face flashes behind my eyes, I was with him - I know I was.
Faded gunshots play over in my mind, white flashing behind my eyelids as I think about what happened.
My throat hurts - a burn searing my neck every time I swallow - it's like something is stabbing me.
My father's voice, screaming and demanding, bursts through the forefront of my head and I push it away - farther, deeper, so deep it shouldn't come back up for a wisp of air.
The hand on my back goes to my thighs, the other on the parallel side. Warmth spreads across my face as the car door opens and we stand together, taking off in a controlled stroll. I glue my eyes shut; I don't have to think, talk, or understand anything. I can stay in this perfect bubble of paused time - no one will, or can, bother me right now - I can stay right here in Ace's arms.
The thought of him urges me to open my eyes; to look up, to see him, to make sure he's here with me. His warmth fills me to the core from underneath me, his arms are holding every piece of me together, pushing it all right up together to make me whole again.
Slowly, very slowly, I let myself look up.
There's not a doubt in my mind that I'm in Ace's arms - no one, not a single person, could feel the way he does - but a worm of fear digs into the back of my head.
What if he didn't keep me safe? What if he left me there, ready to be yanked back by my father and buried underneath mountains of security and abuse?
I know it can't be true.
The sky is the first thing I see - bright, blue, blinding. Then I see a chin, stubble covering their chin, and a sad smile stretched across their pitied face. Dark, endless gray eyes bore back into mine - watching, analyzing, figuring out everything they could about me.
"Hi, bunny," He says, his voice layered with adoration and his smile turns sweet, safe. "We're almost there, when we get back to the room you can have some ice cream and a nice bath, okay?"
I open my mouth, half wanting to say thank you and half wanting him to stop looking at me like I'm a kicked puppy - but the only thing that escapes is a measly, raspy cough followed by a whimper.
If I can't talk, how can I do anything?
My brain tells me to shut up, I've never needed to communicate - silence has always been my safety net. It's always protected me, and now it's like I can't exist without it.
Shut the fuck up, Constance.
None of that matters anyway.
Disappointment fills my chest... because I can't talk? I have no idea.
"I know, I'm sorry. The ice cream will help your throat," Ace mutters to me as we walk into the hotel, Noah stalking in front of us like a man on a mission. His hand sits, comfortable but alert, on his gun in his waistband. Even from here, I can tell that he has his finger wrapped around the trigger, ready for anything to jump out.
We make it to the elevator, and many people step out of the way at the sight of Ace and Noah - danger and a warning scribbled on their faces.
Get too close and you will die.
With a ding, the elevator doors close as we watch them, a family waiting outside of them - having let us go first.
Ace's arms seem to tighten around me and I look back into the mirror at him. His eyes, gray before, are now endlessly black, pinched as he glares into my back and his fingers wrap around me harshly.
Almost as if he doesn't know I'm here.
His eyes slide up to mine and he almost rips his touch away, realizing that dark bruises are forming where his fingers were seconds ago. His mouth forms in an apology and I silently shake my head, burying it back into him, breathing his scent in with almost... relief.
He's here, right here with me, and I'm right here with him.
The doors open again, shocking me into a jump but Ace holds me there - safely, snugly, and perfectly.
It doesn't take long for us to get to our room, the door slamming shut behind us as Ace carries me with him. The sound makes me bite my lip - I know he probably didn't mean to slam it, but the automatic fear that follows the sound doesn't give a shit.
Images of my father flash again and it takes everything in me to not take my head and smash it into Ace's shoulder.
I don't want to see that man, I don't want to hear him, I want NOTHING to do with him.
With the flood of anger comes mediocre realizations.
My father, as idiotic of a person that he is, managed to find me. I shouldn't be surprised; honestly, I'm angry at myself for the fanatical ideologies that I would be able to run off into the sunrise with my hand in Ace's.
The building anxiety and fear inside me makes me frozen - not a wisp of air leaving or entering me as thoughts race inside my head.
No matter what I do, now or in the future, my father will always be able to find me. There isn't anything that I can do about it.
I'm so fucking stupid.
----
Ace
Exploding anger sits in my stomach, digging a pit of acid as it marks itself as a permanent resident.
I can't honestly believe how fucking stupid that asshole is. What the fuck would ever give him the idea that calling her father was going to do shit to me?
Sure, the Dantes have power - loyal soldiers, territory, and weapons - but none of that could leave even a splash of mud on me. I would die before I ever, and I mean EVER, let anyone lay their hands on my sweet girl.
The only fucking thing they did was traumatize her more.
Looking at her in the mirror, my grip tightens unconsciously. Her hair is long, bright, and so vibrant you could think of it as actual flames. Everyone says this, but I could stare into her eyes until the moment I take my last breath - I live for her eyes, for her to look at me with hidden adoration and trust that I will take care of her.
The idea of her father even being in the same room as her makes me livid - that man hasn't done shit to earn her presence, her sweet voice, or a single thing about her. A vision of my hands taking his life right from him illuminates itself in my head - a cloud that covers everything in my mind.
I would kill to see the very essence of his soul seeping from his eyes; anger, fear, and desperation dripping from him because there wouldn't be anything he could do. Nothing he could say would ever stop me from taking his life; from taking the one thing that broke my little girl, nothing that could stop me from finally doing this world a fucking favor and getting rid of him.
If Constance didn't need me here, if her warmth wasn't the reminder that she needed me right alongside her; he would be dead. Gone.
I would chase him down until we went around the world a million times if he could even get that far, and I would hurt him tenfold for how much he's hurt her - then I would erase him.
Lorenzo Dante wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore; couldn't breathe in her direction, couldn't be a shit reminder of everything she's gone through, he couldn't do jack shit if he didn't exist anymore.
My eyes slide up and connect with Constance's through the wall mirror - bruises are forming on her skin underneath my fingertips by the second with how hard I'm gripping her thighs.
I open my mouth, an apology ready to spill out, but gets sucked right back up as she shakes her head at me and buries herself back into my chest.
Her silent reaction, her defiance to let me apologize ignites something inside me. I can see the bruises from here - dark blue and purple in a fine outline of my grip. I breathe in deeply as my pants slowly become tight around my crotch - immediately making me uncomfortable. I shouldn't be reacting this way, not now. It takes everything inside me not to release a sadistic grin, at such a terrible time, but I hold it back.
Now is not the time for this shit.
The elevator finally fucking dings as the doors slide open and Noah slides out, looking both ways for a couple of seconds before he signals for me to follow. I do so, staying behind him as we walk up to my hotel room, and then I let him unlock the door and push it open for us.
After I get in, I kick the door shut behind me without realizing how hard I kicked it. In my arms, I feel Constance jump - her nerves building back up instantly. I stay quiet, not sure if she needs me to talk or keep our silence going, but I'm here either way. It doesn't take long for her body to go rigid - slightly shaking and not taking in a single breath.
I feel my phone buzz in my pocket - distracting us both from whatever is going on in her pretty little head. I walk slowly over to the bed and gently set her down, letting her curl up with the blanket and stare at me with a curious, but tired, expression.
"Noah needs to talk to me, I'll be right back, baby," I tell her softly, kissing her forehead with the silent promise to not leave her alone for long. She nods, staying silent, and watches me as I make my way out of the room.
I make sure to close the door gently behind me as I come face to face with Noah.
He stares back at me, unbridled anger pouring from him and his eyes are hardened into bricks. "Can I take care of it?"
I stare at his hands, clenching and unclenching with the need to break something, hurt something, someone. I feel the same, the exact same as he does, and everything in me screams to go ballistic, to make sure nothing like this ever fucking happens again.
"Yes," I tell him simply, he turns, stalking off to the elevator. I know how angry he is, how badly he wants to destroy the person who hurt the only being on this planet that could ever make me feel this strongly. "Don't kill him. I want to see the fucking life seep out of his body."
"He'll regret ever opening his mouth, Ace," Noah says, leaving it at that promise as the elevator doors close.
With a sigh, I lean back against the hotel door and rub my hands over my face.
"I don't know what I'm going to do, how the fucking hell do I fix this shit?" I question myself, not wanting to bear the hurt that she's going through and not being able to do anything about it - though, I know that she can't do it herself.
I hear her familiar groan from inside the room and I rush in - worried - only to see her tossing and turning in her sleep on the bed.
"No, no... Leave me alone, please..." I hear her beg in her sleep. Guilt sears across my face - this is all my fucking fault that she's going through this. I didn't protect her. I could've done better, I know I could've, but what do I do now?
Rushing, I go into the bathroom then start the water, making sure it's the right temperature. Before I leave, I throw some bubble soap and toys into it. I just want to try and relax her and make her feel better, instead of stressing her out more.
I walk out of the bathroom, intent on making her feel at least a little bit better, but stop at the sight of her thumb stuck inside of her mouth as she sucks on it. No wonder she got so quiet - tears following the stained part of her rosy cheeks as she slept.
Noticing a little puddle of yellow underneath her, the reminder flashes in my head that I don't know if she wore a diaper today or not. Based on her attitude this morning, I'm assuming she thought she didn't need one.
"Baby? It's time for your bath, okay?" I say quietly, rubbing the pad of my thumb on her cheek gently to try and rouse her.
"Mm, go way.." She grumbles around her thumb and rolls around, pushing herself away from me.
"Come on, you'll like it, I promise. It's got all your toys and it has pink bubbles," I offer, trying to convince her to not fight me over this. She's getting in the bath either way and I want her to get some kind of serotonin from it instead of a sleepy and trauma-fueled attitude.
I watch her carefully as she turns slightly, her eyes opening just a little to peak at me through her eyelashes.
She squints as she thinks, then looks as the bathroom doorway with uncertainty written on her face.
"Yous promise?"
"Yes, my sweet bunny, I promise," I chuckle, smiling at her unintentional adorableness. I fucking love everything about this girl, nothing about her is like any other I've met, or could even imagine.
She grins and sits up, slightly excited now, and motions for me to pick her up. I reach forward to grab her, but she purposefully falls back - stopping me from reaching her.
"Oh, really?" I antagonizingly question with a grin and a raised eyebrow. "Is that how we're going to play?"
She giggles playfully and rolls over onto her stomach, attempting to crawl away.
"Where does my beautiful baby girl think she's going?" I ask jokingly, then I reach over and snatch her up, raising her into the air.
"Put m donn!" She demands with giggles and squeals, moving all around but trying not to fall.
"But I thought you wanted to play?"
Faking a pout, I stare back at her as she gazes at me with her big, emerald eyes again. I take her speechlessness as an advantage and throw her softly on the bed, then attacking her with tickles.
She screams, laughing and writhing underneath me as she tries to escape my reach. It doesn't take long for her to become breathless and to give up, flopping down on the bed like a fish and staying still.
"Is giv up," she giggles happily.
"Ready for bathtime?" I ask, pulling her up against me.
"Mhms!" She smiles as I pick her up and carry her off to the bathroom.
I really hope this happiness bubble doesn't pop.