Chapter 6
After reassuring Mariana that everything would be ok, Stef practically ran out of the school. She had her sirens blaring as she raced across town. Every moment counted.
She continuously tried to call Lena but to no prevail. So many thoughts were coursing through Stef's head. She knew that no matter what has happened it would be her fault. She knew exactly how the captain was whether Lena wanted to confess to the abuse or not. She knew that she shouldn't have kept Lena out so late last night but she couldn't help being selfish. And that look, that look on Lena's face before she left; Stef knew then that she should have followed her home.
Trying to be discreet, she parked on the street behind Lena's and turned off the sirens. As she walked onto the correct street she saw that Mason's car was not there but Lena's was and Stef began to move in a complete sprint. She reached the door and began knocking and ringing the doorbell. "Lena! Lena it's Stef! Lena!" After a few minutes of knocking and yelling Stef realized that she needed to find another way in.
She stepped away to scale the condo for any open windows or points of entry when she thought she heard something coming from inside.
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Lena woke up to hearing the front door slam close as she assumed that Mason left for work.
She tried to open her eyes to see why she wasn't in her own bed but she could barely open both eyes. She realized that she was on the floor still by the front door. She could not really remember what happened. She remembers being struck in the back of the head and after that everything seemed fuzzy.
As she began to fully wake up so much pain and exhaustion hit her to the point where she couldn't even cry. She had no idea what time it was but she knew that she needed to call out of work. The office must have heard the pain in her voice because they didn't even question her or let her finish; they just told her to take as much time as she needed to get better. That conversation alone wore Lena out, so when she hung up she rested her head back on the floor hoping she could wake up strong enough to get to Stef.
She wasn't sleep but she wasn't necessarily awake either. She could feel her body quivering from the chill from under the door and from the fear she felt as silence crept around her yet again. She wasn't sure how long she was out for that time, before she heard what she initially thought was coming from a dream. It was banging that was so intense that she could feel the vibrations through the floor. But she couldn't move, at this point she wasn't sure if she even wanted to.
But then, "Lena! Lena it's Stef! Lena!" Stef? She knew that she probably became worried when she didn't show up to school. "Lena!" She forced her eyes open to look for something to grab. "Lena please!" She reached for the couch as she forcibly pulled herself onto the seat wincing in pain. Completely out of breath she felt her body trying to force her back to sleep. But the extended silence gave her an extra jolt of energy.
The knocking stopped and she couldn't hear Stef yelling her name anymore. "Stef," she croaked as her throat felt dryer than ever. She tried to get up but her body was way too sore as tears began to run down her face. She tried clearing her throat one last time as she squeezed her eyes shut "STEF!"
"Lena?" Stef ran up and pressed her ear to the door. "Lena. Are you alright? Can you open the door love?" Even though she knew that Stef couldn't see her, all that she could do was shake her head 'no'. Not wanting to go too far, Stef decided that she needed to just find a way through the door without causing more problems by knocking it down. Knowing how irresponsible the captain was she knew that he had to have a spare key somewhere. She checked the door beam, mailbox, fake potted plant, and nothing. Looking up in frustration she saw a small key taped away behind the porch light.
As Stef rushed into the condo the sight of Lena gave Stef a sensation that she would never be able to describe. Lena laid there with a blackened eye and dried blood coming from her nose, mouth, and different parts of her hair line. She wore the same outfit from the night before and there wasn't a section of her bare skin that wasn't bruised.
A sense of relief and hope washed over Lena when Stef came through the door. Knowing that Stef will without a doubt get her out of there. She tried to sit up as she swayed from the dizziness. Before she knew it Stef was kneeling in front of her, gently holding her face as she examined her and tried not to look too worried.
"Baby, do you think anything is broken?" Lena looked down in shameful embarrassment, "No, just pain," she once again croaked. "I have to get you to the hospital!" Stef grabbed her phone but Lena grabbed hold of her arm as her hand shook. "He will find me". Stef's eyes remained focused as she put the phone away and tried to think. "Ok is he coming back soon?" Lena shook her head still looking down as Stef noticed her body begin to lean to the side and her eyes shut again.
"Lena! Stay awake for me love, ok? Just keep listening to my voice". Stef positioned the cushions around Lena to keep her propped up. Then ran to the kitchen. "I was thinking of finally decorating my apartment, you know," Stef yelled to her as she looked to the fridge and got some water and bottle of Gatorade. "After you left yesterday I finally unpacked the last of a few boxes, believe it or not. I guess you can say I've officially moved in". She looked around and couldn't really find much but grabbed some apple sauce and peanut butter crackers. "But I'm not the best with shopping so I may need your help." Remembering something else Stef want back and grabbed tons of ice and wrapped it in a towel. She ran back to the front room glad to see that Lena was still awake.
She knelt down and made Lena drink the Gatorade to gain back some of her electrolytes. And then gave her the water. Stef could already see the color sort of coming back to her face and body strengthen. Lena was even able to hold the ice to her eye as Stef began to feed her some of the apple sauce.
"You know your daughter was worried sick about you when she saw that sub in your classroom" Stef smiled and spoke softly, "She loves you". A tear escaped Lena's eye as she finally looked at Stef. "He doesn't like kids. I can't let her have a life like this." Stef put the empty applesauce down and opened the crackers. "Well I love them". Scared to cause any more pain Stef kissed the palms of Lena's hands.
"Ok Love Let's get you out of here. I'm going to bring the car around". When Stef returned after a few short minutes she packed as many suitcases and bags of Lena's as she could. As long as she had something to do with it Lena would never live with this man again. As Stef held out her arms to brace Lena to stand they heard Lena's phone ringing on the ground. They both looked to it as 'Mason' displayed on the screen. "Leave it," Stef said, "tracking".
The whole ride to Stef's place, she was still too afraid to let Lena sleep. So she kept talking to her and singing to keep her awake. By the time they arrived, Lena's strength and equilibrium were much better. She was able to slowly walk on her own but Stef was very close by carrying in some of Lena's stuff.
Once they were inside Stef had Lena sit in the living room and drink more water and eat fruit salad as Stef ran to her bathroom. She prepared a very warm bath with bubbles, Epsom salt, and calming oils. A combination that usually helped her aching muscles after an intense day.
When the tub was full she ran out to help Lena into the room hand in hand. Stef planned to let Lena undress and inside in privacy but before she turned to leave she could see that she was still a little unsteady and too sore. "Do you need me to help at all?" Lena winced as she tried to lift up her shirt trying to hold back tears, "Please". Stef lift up Lena's shirt as she tried to hold her arms straight up. Her entire back was black and blue and there were distinct fist marks on her ribs. Lena turned her head to look at Stef as she undid her bra. She could see the glassy look in Stef's eyes as her nose and cheeks began to turn red. "That bad, huh?" Stef looked at her trying once again to bring back her poker face. "It's nothing that you won't heal from".
After Stef helped her with her bottoms she began to ease Lena into the tub. Lena's nudity in the presence of Stef had no awkward effect on either of them. Because at this point Lena trusted Stef and Stef really cared for this woman and wanted to make sure that she was ok and safe. As soon as Lena's body hit the warm calming water she let out a deep sigh as her muscles began to relax. She rested her head on the side of the tub where a towel was placed as Stef began to gently bathe her.
She tried to clean off all of the cuts and dried blood as she watched Lena's color finally fully return. She started to wash off Lena's face; glad to see that without the blood and with her returning color her blackened eye won't be as bad.
"I'm not as weak as you may think I am when it comes to him you know." Lena said looking up at Stef. "I don't think that you're weak at all Love. I think that life can at times be cruel and you ended up in a bad situation".
"Yes, but I can usually stick up for myself. I usually fight back but this time he snuck up on me". Stef looked at her warily. "Is that how you got that gash on your hand? By standing up to him?" Lena lifted her hand to see the darkened scar. "Lena I'm so proud of you for fighting back, because there are so many people out there who are afraid to. But it is more than that. There's somethings about him that I'm sure you don't know. Things that he thought only him and some of the crooked cops at the station knew. He is somehow very capable of doing and getting away with so many very bad things. Things that you wouldn't even imagine".
Stef saw Lena's face drop and the look of helplessness once again present. "But I'm here right with you. And you are an extremely strong and smart woman. I will do my best to protect you and help you break free from him". Lena just looked into the distance, zooning out as Stef continued to wash her face.
Then Stef began to notice Lena's roots beginning to curl from the steam of the tub and even the ends of her hair that floated in the water behind her begin to curl up her back. "So your hair isn't always straight?" Stef asked completely fascinated. Lena looked a bit confused at the change of the conversation then touched her hair. "Oh, no it's not. It's really curly actually but Mason isn't a fan and always has me straighten it. Mariana on the other hand..." she trailed off as she saw a devious grin appear on Stef's face. "Stef"?
Before she could finish Stef began splashing her with tons of water as Lena laughed and tried to shield herself. Stef laughed as she ceased fire. "You're lucky you're still wearing all of your cop stuff or I would've pulled you in here with me," Lena said. But Stef just smiled as she played with Lena's wet hair as she watched it coil up. "There's Lena," she said as she smiled at her, "You are beautiful". Lena blushed as she reached for her hand. "Honey, that really means a lot to me".
Stef froze as she heard her bedroom door open and footsteps approaching the bathroom. In one swift motion she stood and grabbed her gun from her belt. "Stay right where you are!" she yelled as Lena wrapped the shower curtain around the tub to hide.
"Whoa! Stef, it's me Mike and Dr. Nancy. You called us". Stef put her gun away after hearing his voice and remembering that he has a key. "One sec." Lena looked up concerned. "A doctor?"
"Yes, I know you don't want to go to the hospital but I need to make sure that you're ok. You can trust her. I helped her with a similar situation. Plus she hates Mason as much as we do." Lena nodded her head and got up as Stef helped her dry off and get dressed. The doctor examined Lena in Stef's room as Stef and Mike waited in the living room.
"He really did all of that to her?" Mike asked in shock after seeing Lena. Stef just mumbled yes as she looked in her hands. "He had that look again today at the station. I knew something was up He has to go Stef. I can't work for someone like that. So whatever the plan is I'm all in". Stef just pat his knee as she sipped her coffee, "Thanks Mike".
The doctor walked out to the two cops and sat on the coffee table across from them. "She has a slight concussion. Seems like it was worse earlier but nothing to worry about now. Enough time has passes where she can sleep. Thankfully nothing appears to be fractured just a lot of bruising. So I gave her stuff for the pain".
After hearing that Lena would be alright she made sure that Lena had plenty of bedside water, snacks, and was warm. Lena was already falling asleep as Stef played with her curls that Lena placed in a bun on top of her head. "Everything will be ok now. You're safe here". Lena smiled, "Stef, thank you". Stef lightly kissed her lips before heading out.
She had to get back to Anchor Beach, more so just to reassure a certain little girl. Once she got there she was able to meet Mariana outside of her classroom as class was being dismissed. She ran right up to Stef when she saw her.
To Stef's surprise the first thing that came from the young girl's mouth was, "He hurt her, didn't he?" Stef couldn't think of a lie off the top of her head so she just knelt down looking into her eyes, "Yes. But she's strong. She will be ok". Tears began to rush down Mariana's face, "I don't like her with him. Why doesn't she just, she just leave or something?" Stef wiped the tears away as she brought her into a tight hug. "It's a little complicated love. But she has us, yes? Things will work out. But I'll tell you what, she's sleeping right now but I will make sure that somehow you will see her between today and tomorrow. Then you can talk to her about what's on your mind. Ok love?"