Maine felt her defenses weaken as Alden held her tight. His hug was not demanding like she was used to. In fact, his embrace gave her a sense of comfort and security that made her stop fighting.
She couldn't remember the last time someone held her as gently as he did and she didn't expect the warmth that came with his touch. Before she knew it, the tears were already falling on her cheeks and she cried as she pressed her face against his chest.
She felt him running his hands up and down her back while she cried and his voice was soothing as he whispered comforting words at her.
He let her go after a few seconds so he can look at her face. She looked up at him and got to appreciate his face better. His eyes were dark brown and were framed by thick lashes, and his nose was perfectly sculpted like his pink lips. She also noticed a dimple on his left cheek that showed as he smiled comfortingly at her.
She stepped back a little. "I'm sorry," she apologized as she saw how her tears had stained his white polo.
"Stop saying sorry," Alden said gently. "Let me prepare you a drink so you'll feel better. Do you want coffee, tea or cold juice?
Maine looked at him gratefully before answering, "Coffee."
Alden pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number before preparing the coffee maker. "Hello ,Ms. Fe," he greeted the other person on the line. "Yea, I'm sorry but I won't be able to make it to our meeting this morning. Something came up. Can I reschedule?" he bit his lip and scratched his head. "Yea... Ok, sure, that works. Thanks, Ms. Fe!" he pressed the end call button and grabbed two mugs from the cupboard and set them on the kitchen counter.
"You didn't have to miss your meeting," Maine said softly.
"It's okay, I was able to reschedule it anyway," he said, winking at her. He poured coffee on each mug and handed Maine one of them plus the jars for creamer and sugar.
"Thanks," Maine said as she prepared her coffee. Alden noticed that she didn't put too much sugar in it and only less than half a teaspoon of the creamer.
"You prefer dark coffee," he noticed.
Maine nodded and glanced at him, smiling a little. "What do you do?" she asked him.
"I'm a writer," he said, sighing. "Small-time. I've published a couple of books but you probably haven't heard about them. Sold about five thousand copies for both, combined." he said, smiling. "You?"
"I'm a model," she answered, suddenly shy. "I actually have a go-see this afternoon but I had planned on going to the park first to get some air."
Alden thought about her response. "Maine, when you're on a go-see, or a photoshoot, don't they notice your..." he asked, gesturing his hands to the bruises on her arms.
She consciously pulled her sleeves down again. "They probably do," she replied, smiling sadly. "But nobody really cares. I'm just a small time model after all, and I guess until I reach a supermodel status, no one would care what happens to me as long as I'm able to do what I need to do. Besides, concealer make up helps."
Alden chewed on his lip as he looked at her, unsure of how to ask his question without scaring her away like before. "Your bruises..." he began carefully, "did your boyfriend give you that?"
Maine was silent for a few seconds before finally answering. "Yes." she said softly, looking at her mug.
"Does he live with you?" he asked.
"No," she answered. "But he goes there whenever he likes."
"Why are you still with him if he's obviously abusing you?"
Maine bit her lip and shook her head. "I can't leave him."
Alden frowned. "You love him that much?"
Maine shook her head again, "No. He just won't let me leave."
For the third time, Alden saw the panic in her eyes as she stared back at him. It was like a silent cry for help that she really couldn't say. He then realized that this woman was in deeper trouble than he thought, and she really needed his help... A lot.