Save Me From the Dark

by Edward, Réna

  “Oh my God, Bella! Did your dad do this to you?”

  Pulling away from him, I start for the door, but he grabs my hand. “Bella, please talk to me.”

  As I try to pull free, he holds tighter then tugs me into his arms, holding me firmly. I break and I start beating my fists into his chest, crying. Ace just lets me do it, continuing to hold me. After a moment he carries me over to the couch, sits down with me on his lap, rocking me as I cry. Eventually, I cry myself to sleep.

  Ace

  Taking a long deep breath, relief flows through me with her finally being in my arms. A small smile forms on my face. I’ve been dreaming of this moment since about a month of talking to her. Bella took my breath away with every conversation. When I saw her from the stage, I forgot for a moment that I was in the middle of a performance. Bella is definitely the perfect name for her.

  When I started to sing Save Me, Moon, I was a bundle of nerves. That song was written about a bad moment in my life. It was therapeutic writing the song and even when I recorded it, but I just couldn’t bring myself to sing it in public. To open myself so completely in front of millions of people. Then I looked over at her, I saw her tears. Her mouth moved with each lyric as she held her hands to her chest. It was all worth it in the end.

  There is sadness in her eyes that tugs hard at my heart. The pull to her too strong to resist, I walk over to her. When I kiss her cheek, I really wanted to kiss her lips. She is finally so close and yet I can’t hold her yet because of the concert. Panic hit me painfully, when I saw her standing up in the middle of my last song. Honestly, I was ready to jump off the stage that very second, but Gary and I had a silent conversation.

  “What’s going on?”

  “She’s upset about you being AJ.” One-step in her direction had Gary glaring at me.

  “I need to explain it to her.”

  “And you will after your show.”

  “Don’t let her leave, please. She’s important…”

  “I know, son.”

  Then they were gone. Somehow, I make it through the rest of the show and practically ran to my trailer. In my defense, I was going to tell her before the show, before the technical issues reared their ugly head.

  Kissing the top of her head, she may be upset with me right now, but she is right where she belongs. Just as I place another kiss on her head, Gary knocks on the door.

  “Come in,” I say as quietly as possible, but still loud enough for him to hear.

  The door opens and in walks Gary. Gary’s been working for me since I sang my first note. He’s more like a father than a body guard. For a while there, he was the only person I had to talk to that cared to notice the boy not the money.

  Honestly, I believe the feeling is mutual between us. And thinking about it now, I think the day he feels the need to retire, I will do the same. I’m not sure I could trust myself with anyone else but him.

  “Well, you’re alive and in one piece I see,” he smirks.

  “She cried herself to sleep,” I say quietly looking down at her.

  “I trust her AJ. There seems to be no deception in anything she’s said to you. Considering her reaction, I think it’s safe to say that she had no clue you were Ace,” he half laughs.

  “I never doubted her, Gare. Never for a minute. My heart told me she was special.”

  “There’s only one concern I have,” he pauses when I look at him waiting. “She’s guarded. Protecting herself against something. It’s more concern for her than for you.”

  “What do you mean?” However, I know exactly what he’s referring to, but I want to hear how he arrived at his conclusion.

  “Take for instance the fact that she struggles to meet your eyes. She’s jumpy, fidgets, but there were two things that set it for me.”

  “Which are?”

  “When I came back to tell her about the technical issues, she was talking about how clean it was here. I commented that you clean it, she thought you hired someone,” he smirks. “Anyway, when I spoke, she screamed and fell curling herself into a ball as if to protect herself from something. Then when I was trying to keep her from leaving, she made a comment about doing whatever makes everyone else happy. There’s something there, I can feel it.”

  Sighing, I didn’t like the feeling that is taking over me. “I’m going to show you something, more because of your background, but also because I think you care about her as much as I do.”

  He nods. Gently, I brush the hair from her face. Gary gasps and growls at the same time. He comes closer, looking closely at her bruised and swollen face. Lightly, he ran a finger over the side of her face, my gut tightening with each face he made.

  “There’s a knot on the back of her head too, but be careful because it’s tender.”

  We start shifting her slowly so Gary can get a better look, when she wraps her arms around me snuggling in deeper and mumbles, “You promised to never let me down.”

  Sadness fills me. My eyes meet Gary’s and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am. This moment isn’t over. Looking down at Bella, I know I’ll be pleading for my life when she wakes up. Shock smacks me hard in the face. Looking up at Gary with wide eyes, my mouth drops open.

  “What?”

  “I… I…”

  “What?” He sounds almost worried.

  “I think I might be falling in love with her,” I say barely above a whisper.

  “Son, you were there a while ago,” Gary chuckles.

  “How… How can I when we’ve only just met?”

  “Son, it doesn’t always take your eyes for your heart to see what it wants. You want my opinion?”

  “Of course,” I say still thinking about what he just said.

  “You guys built a foundation over the, what, six months you’ve been talking. You two took time to really get to know each other before looks and sexual tension made an appearance. That’s my opinion, take it or leave it.”

  Looking back down at Bella, “You might be right. The problem I face now is getting her to believe it. Something tells me that reaching that goal is going to be a lot harder than I’ve ever thought possible.”

  “Let’s have a look at her head. Where about is it?”

  “Right in this area,” I say drawing a circle at the base of her head.

  Gary bends down and carefully shifts her hair around. When his face darkens, anger pools in my gut because I know what his look means… something bad.

  “Jesus Christ!” He hisses before meeting my eyes. “She’s being beat Ace. We can’t let her go back to that. I can’t let her go back to that.”

  “I was on the phone twice with her when she suddenly screamed…” My voice trails off as a thought occurs to me. “Fuck! Remember when she got pissed at me for sending her those packages?” Gary nods as his face darkens. “Damn it! I think she was hit for that. No wonder she was mad at me. We have to get her away from there. It’s her dad. I know it is. I heard her scream at him to stop that he was hurting her.”

  He finishes looking at her and sits down in the chair in front of the couch, sighing. “We can’t keep her here against her will.”

  “The hell I can’t!” I roar causing Bella to jerk in my arms. Taking a few deep breaths, I close my eyes to try to get myself under control. “If she says no?”

  “You have to let her go, son.”

  “So your advice is to let her go back and have the shit beat out of her?”

  “Sadly that’s all you can do. Enjoy your time with her tonight, because when she wakes…” He stood, squeezing my shoulder then walks out.

  “I can’t let you go back to that Bella,” I whisper as I kiss her forehead. “But I don’t know how to keep you here either.”

  Slowly, I scoot to the edge of the couch, lifting her in my arms. Carefully, I carry her back into my room. Gently laying her down on the bed, I remove her shoes. Figuring she might be more comfortable without her jeans on, I pull them cautiously down her legs, revealing even more bruises, some looking r
eally bad. Grabbing my phone, I took a few pictures. Not for some perverse agenda, but so Gary could look at them. His medical background is really coming in handy right now.

  Covering her up, I trail my hand down her cheek. “You are so beautiful, Bella. I’ll save you from your nightmare if it’s the last thing I do.”

  Walking away, I grab a blanket and a pillow from the closet. Just as I was about to walk out to sleep, she starts crying out.

  “Please no! Not the bat again!” she yell/cries.

  Dropping everything to the floor, I climb on the bed cupping her face in my hands. “Bella! Bella wake up!”

  She jerks up in the bed and looks around the room before her eyes fall on me. “Ace?” she says blinking a few times.

  “Yes, baby. I’m here. I’m right here.”

  She looks confused for a moment then her face clears. “Is it AJ or Ace?”

  “Whichever you want to call me,” I say hesitantly.

  “I was dreaming about you, but then…”

  “You’re safe tonight. Just sleep we’ll talk about everything in the morning, okay?”

  She nods her head and I climb off the bed. Bending down, I gather my blanket and pillow from the floor.

  “Goodnight my beautiful Bella. I’ll see you in the morning,” then I turn and walk out to the couch.

  Bella

  Watching AJ walk out of the room, something tugs at my chest. The fact that he still calls me beautiful even after he’s seen my face… Shaking my head, I lay back down in bed pulling the sheets up. It is then that I realize that my pants are no longer on. Sighing, I know now he’s seen more than I ever thought he’d see. Yet, he isn’t running. Why?

  Closing my eyes, I start to drift off when my beatings start to play on repeat. My eyes pop open and I sit up in the bed. My eyes keep going to the door. Giving in to the luxury tonight, I climb from the bed. Remembering I am not fully dressed, I walk to what looks to be a closet. I open it and find AJ’s clothes, extra blankets, some towels, wash cloths, etc. Looking back at the door, I grab one of his shirts. After slipping out of my shirt, I pull his over my head, wincing slightly.

  I laugh as I see the length of the shirt. It’s like a damn dress on me. With a well-placed belt and maybe some kind of scarf it could be convincing. I laugh some more. Sighing, I slowly start walking toward the door. My hands are shaking, but for tonight, I want just one good night’s rest.

  I peek out the door before walking down the hall. The kitchen is empty, the light above the stove the only light. When I get a little further into the kitchen, I can see AJ lying on the couch, his arm over his eyes. Swallowing hard, I walk further into the sitting area.

  “Ace?” I squeak. When there is no response, I clear my throat and say his name a little louder.

  His arm flies off his face and he shoots up. “What? What’s wrong?”

  He turns and our eyes meet. I’m in complete awe of him. He doesn’t wear a shirt allowing me a moment to gaze upon his finely sculpted body. As my eyes trail lower, I suddenly feel ashamed. Bringing my eyes back up to meet his, I see his eyes roaming my body.

  “I…I can’t sleep,” I say self-consciously trying to cover myself.

  “You are beautiful,” he breathes. “I never thought one of my shirts could look that good.” He shakes his head, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  I laugh softly. “I can’t sleep.”

  “Why not?”

  I shrug. “You wouldn’t happen to have a copy of your CD here, would you?”

  “No, why? You want an autograph?” He asks, confused.

  Laughing, “No.” I start to blush. “I usually go to sleep listening to Save Me Moon,” blushing brightly.

  He stands up and walks towards me. “Come on,” he says as he gently takes my hand in his.

  We walk back to the bedroom. He climbs on the bed and pats the spot next to him. On shaking legs, I slowly walk to the other side of the bed and climb in. Lying down, I pull the blankets up around me, protecting myself. He starts to sing. My heart hammers in my chest listening to him sing with no music behind it. When he is singing the chorus, I shift on the bed and cuddle up to his chest. He stops singing as he wraps his arms around me.

  “Ace?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why did you lie?”

  “I didn’t. To those close to me, I am AJ. Only fans and business associates really call me Ace. You never asked me what I did for a living. Though, I will admit, I might not have told you the full truth right away.”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For giving me an honest answer. I just don’t know where this leaves us,” I say sadly.

  “I was eight years old when I first walked into the lime light. Before then, I was the scrawny dork that everyone picked on and laughed at. When I got my first big thing, all the kids at school suddenly wanted to be my friend. Ever since then, I’ve learned a very hard lesson. Surface cred is more valuable to most people than values. People would pretend to like me just to get ahead or in a picture or whatever. After a while, I became guarded. I didn’t trust ‘friends’ and even family. With just cause. Gary has been like a father to me and taught me a lot. So yes, I would have withheld the Ace Jergens from the scenario in the beginning, but I would have told you later had you asked. The person you got to know is me. The person the camera or media don’t care to see.”

  For a moment, I sat there quiet, absorbing what he just told me. His chest is surprisingly comfortable for being as muscular as he is. My hand, with a mind of its own, continues to move lightly over it.

  “Ace?”

  “Please call me AJ.”

  “I’m sorry, AJ.”

  He pulls back a little, lifts my head up to meet his eyes, “What on Earth do you possibly have to be sorry about?”

  “The way I look. You shouldn’t have to see me like this.”

  Tenderly, he pushes the hair from my face and places his hand over the bruising. “As much as this pisses me off, and it does piss me off that someone has laid their hands on you, you are still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever had the pleasure of being around.”

  “Stop,” I whisper as I pull away from him.

  “Stop what? Telling you the truth?”

  Climbing out of the bed, “Stop pretending you care out of pity.”

  He is up next to me, making me face him. “I don’t pity you. I definitely wouldn’t fake caring about you if I did. Bella, I feel a lot of things for you, but pity isn’t one of them.”

  Sighing, “I’m so tired AJ. So tired,” I say softly.

  He moves to the side. “Get back in bed and go to sleep.”

  Once I’m lying back down, he looks at me as if he wants to say something. “What?”

  “I’m just so happy to have you here,” he whispers.

  “I know I’ve taken so much from you already, but would you mind singing me the song again.”

  “You’ve taken nothing I’m not giving to you,” he says as he climbs next to me on the bed. “I’ll do anything for you.” He kisses my forehead.

  I snuggle on his chest. “Thank you.”

  His chest rises on a deep breath. “Anything for you.” He tips my head up to meet his eyes. “Anything,” he breathes.

  Our eyes dance with each other’s until his eyes drop to my mouth. A shiver of anticipation runs through me. Unconsciously, I poke my tongue out, licking my lips. His head slowly lowers, his eyes looking back into mine. One night. One night, I’ll forget what is going on around me and enjoy this moment with the guy that has grown to mean so much to me over the months.

  Tipping my head up in silent approval, he leans the rest of the way in. Our lips touch in a whisper of a kiss at first, but it is enough of a contact to steal my breath away. Sealing his lips firmly over mine, I feel his tongue run along my lower lip. Pushing my nerves aside, I open my mouth. His tongue glides in against mine. The warmth spreading through me is foreign to me, but so damn addicting. I want more
of this warmth. It’s a stark contrast to the cold that normally inhabits me.

  The part I can’t seem to figure out is why is he not scaring me? Even as he leans over me pushing me to my back in the process and hovers above me, fear doesn’t present itself. Instead my arms wrap around him, pulling him closer. AJ lowers down, wrapping his arms under my shoulders. The kiss deepens further. He shifts between my legs, effectively covering my whole body. Still I feel no fear, only a sense of yearning I’ve never felt before. My legs wrap around his waist causing him to growl then thrust against me. Feeling his erection pushing into my most intimate area, I break the kiss.

  “Too fast,” I pant. “Moving too fast.”

  AJ didn’t say anything for a few moments. He rolls off, lying next to me. Still he doesn’t look at me or open his eyes. I dare a glance in his direction and I see his boxers tented. Blushing, I turn my head.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper.

  AJ tips my head in his direction. “Open your eyes, Bella.” After I hesitate for a moment, I open my eyes. “Never apologize for the reaction you evoke from me. I’m not sorry, other than pushing you too much. You need sleep. I’ll let you sleep.”

  As he starts to climb from the bed, I grab his hand. “Will you stay with me, please?”

  “Of course. It would be an honor to bring you a bit of comfort.”

  He lies next to me. I roll to my side and cuddle into his side, my back to him. AJ shifts to his side and wraps me in his arms. Sighing, I’ve never felt this way before. Not like I do being here like this with AJ.

  AJ presses several small kisses across my shoulder. “Bella?”

  My body reacting on its own, I shift my head allowing him access to my neck, offering him a soft moan as a response.

  “Happy Birthday. I hope it is as magical as I intended it to be,” he whispers, his hot breath flowing against my skin as he spoke, creating goose bumps that run up and down my arms.