Save Me From the Dark

by Edward, Réna

Laughing, I slap his arm. “Stop it.”

  Jarrett comes back in letting us know the car is there. “Hey guys, the car’s up. Let’s get out of here. It’s getting kind of crazy out here.” Jarrett looks at me. “I suggest curling into AJ if you don’t want to be seen in photos. The paps have already asked Dawn and I if we’d tell them who you were and if it was serious.”

  Ace lifts the coat over my head, wraps me in his arms and we run out to the car. He keeps the coat over my head until the car pulls away from the curb.

  “So where are we going now,” I smile a huge grin, trying so hard not to let the fears get to me.

  “You’re enjoying yourself, aren’t you?”

  I grin at Dawn. “I really am.”

  “Good because we are on our way to Elite to dance our socks off.”

  Though butterflies suddenly run loose in my stomach, I’m excited to be going to a club. I’ve never done any of this stuff before and I can’t wait.

  Nevertheless, as we pull up outside of the club, the cameras start going and I can’t stop the flashback from coming back.

  My hands start shaking. Ace wraps his arm around me and I bury my face in his chest as we approach the main entrance for the club.

  “Keep your head down until we get away from all this,” Ace whispers.

  Slowly, the past consumes me and I’m lost to the torture and pain. The present fades away and the memory steals me away.

  “Where the hell have you been,” my father screams as I come out of the bathroom.

  “I had to go potty. It’s okay Daddy. I’m right here,” I tell him as I smile.

  “You think that brings me joy,” he hisses as he backhands me.

  Falling to the floor, I start to cry. Just as I am about to pull myself up off the floor, his foot kicks my arms out from under me. My face hits the ground, flashes of lights went off behind my eyes. It looks almost like cameras. It made me think of Mommy. Mama always took my pictures. The sobbing starts and I can’t stop.

  “Shut up! Shut up you rotten little brat!”

  “My head hurts,” I cry, the bright lights getting worse. “Make the lights stop,” I scream holding my head.

  “Bella, look at me. Please look at me.”

  Ace’s pleading voice breaks through my flashback. That was the night that I was in a coma for three days. He’d fractured my skull in three places.

  Turning my head, I look him in the eyes and break. The stress I’m putting on him is not fair. How I long to be the woman that he deserves with no baggage, but I’ll never be that woman. Is it fair to keep pulling him along with me down this path of certain pain?

  He pulls me against him, holding me tightly. Gently, he rocks me back and forth running his hand down my hair and back. The shaking from the cries subsides after a few minutes until all that remains is the sound of my sniffling.

  “Here Bella,” Jarrett says quietly.

  Without looking up, I grab the tissue from him and blow my nose. Ace never removes his arms from around me, but I manage to get some distance between us.

  “What happened, Bella?” Dawn’s soft voice asks.

  I nod my head. “The camera flashes… They brought back a moment from when my father…”

  Ace interrupts me. “I’m so sorry baby,” his voice cracks. “I know we need to talk about your dad, but can we focus on us tonight. I want to give you a night that he can’t take away. Please. Let me show you how much I love you. Let me give you tonight. Please.”

  Lifting my head for the first time, my heart breaks again. Jarrett looks pissed off and sad at the same time. Dawn looks sad and AJ looks broken.

  “How can you still want me around knowing how dark my life is?”

  “How can you ask me to leave knowing how much you mean to me?”

  In this moment, something breaks inside me. Or maybe it is coming back together. Either way, tears flow freely down my cheeks as I beg him.

  “My mom loved me and left me, my dad hates me, no one stays around—I don’t want to exist in this world, I want to be saved from all the pain. But now that you have come along and…well… my days have a little light in them. The beatings disappeared when we started talking. The pain was soothed. Please, Ace, save me from—the dark. Save me from the pain, the loneliness, and the constant tears that never seem to end. Please—save me. Please… Please…” My voice breaks off as the sobs intensify.

  Ace

  It takes everything out of me to not pull her into my arms right away. Somehow, I manage to hold off until she finishes talking. But the second she starts pleading with me to save her, my heart breaks and a tear slips down my cheek.

  Pulling her into my arms, I kiss the top of her head repeatedly. Cupping her face in my hands, I make her look at me. With a shaky voice, I try my hardest to make it through this.

  “No one’s life is perfect, Bella. Not mine, and I know not yours. But that’s life baby. When I met you, I was lost in my own pain, in my own darkness. You saved me. If it’s the last thing I do, I will save you. You’ll have the life you deserve. I love you. Do you hear me? I. Love. You.”

  “But…”

  Pressing my lips softly against hers, I try to get her to stop her questioning what I just said to her. The minute our lips separated she continues on with her sentence.

  “But what if you leave me? My father will embarrass you to get to me. Honestly, I don’t know what he’ll do if he finds out your with me. What he’ll do to me when he finds me,” she mumbles the last part.

  This time Jarrett sits forward, reminding us they are in the car with us. It is obvious that Bella also forgot they were there when she jumps at the sound of his voice.

  “Dawn and I are here for you as well. I’ve been friends with AJ for a long time. We grew up together. Let me be the first to tell you that I’ve never seen him with anyone the way he is with you. Do you know how hard it was to get him to talk about something other than you before he met you?” He chuckles. “Dawn and I would mess with him by saying outrageous things while he was talking about you and he never even caught them. You had this man before he even saw you.”

  Dawn sits forward taking her hand. “That first time that you didn’t contact him for a while, you should have seen him. He was lost. He didn’t know what to do with himself. You are his light.”

  Smiling at my friends, my heart swells for what they are doing for me…for my Bella. Though I’m not sure if what they are saying is hitting home yet, but I hope it is. When she turns her head and looks at me again, my heart stutters in my chest.

  “Let me tell you a bit of my darkness. Maybe then you’ll understand where Save Me, Moon came from.”

  She shakes her head. “No, you don’t have to do that.”

  “I don’t have to no, but I want to. Will you listen?”

  She nods her head just as the driver announces we have arrived back at the hotel. Jarrett instructs him to go around to the private entrance. We all climb from the car and enter the elevator. Pulling Bella into my arms, I psych myself up for the visit to my past that I really would prefer to stay away from, but I’d do anything for Bella. Even if it means reliving the moments I have been trying so hard to pretend didn’t exist.

  Jarrett immediately disappears into the kitchen while Bella walks to the couch. She looks so pale and unsure of herself. It kills me to see her like this. I’m ready for this. Taking my place on the table in front of her, I take a deep breath.

  “You don’t have to do this, Ace,” she says softly.

  “I know I don’t, but baby, I’ll do anything in the world for you. Even this.”

  Jarrett walks back into the room with four glasses. Knowing Jarrett, I know exactly what is in these glasses. He shrugs and says, “We’re all going to need this.”

  Downing my shot of vodka, I look at Bella and start telling her what’s made me the man I am today.

  “When I got into the music business, it was because my parents wanted me to. Honestly, I didn’t want to sing. I’d seen wha
t it did to people and I didn’t want to be like that. My parents pushed me anyway. I was their child and needed to start supporting them. We had gone to several interviews and auditions. I purposely blew the auditions. Like I said, I didn’t want to do it,” I shrug.

  “When I met him, he had several bruises on his arms, face and a ring around his neck. He told me he’d gotten into a fight at school with some kids trying to beat up a younger kid. Then his parents shouted his name and he jumped. Even at that age, I knew he was lying.”

  Bella took my hands in hers. “You didn’t get into a fight, did you?”

  Shaking my head, “No. My Dad and Uncle took turns on beating me for purposely screwing up everything. When I told my mom what happened, she told me that it was selfish of me to not think about them. She said I deserved what I got. After that, I worked my ass off to make sure I made them proud. It never happened. They just took my money and made themselves happy. So, when I turned fifteen, I asked the courts to give me say over my affairs, but they wouldn’t allow me that. That’s when Gary stepped forward and offered to do it until I was old enough to do it on my own.”

  Her eyes widen even as tears fall down her cheeks. “I’m… I’m so sorry, AJ. What you had to have gone through… It hurts me that you have ever had to experience any of that pain. If I could, I’d take it all away from you, I…”

  A sad laugh comes out of me before I can stop it. Her sad look turns to one of confusion and a little hurt.

  “Baby, I’ve been thinking the same thing about you. I only had that happen to me a few times. You have had to endure it for years. Years that you should have long ago been saved from. I’ll do whatever I can to help you, to save you,” I end on a whisper.

  She moves to her knees in front of me, cupping my face in her hands. “There were times in life that she wished were made right … So many times when she feared the monsters of the night … No place to turn, no help to be found … She lay face down on the ground … Lifting her head she cried out loud … To the stars above and even the clouds … Save me. Save me from the dark … Save me from all the painful marks … Oh, won’t you save me, Moon,” Bella sings softly, the very song that killed me to write.

  She sings beautifully. Who knew that when I wrote this song that it would fit the woman that holds my heart? If the regret and pain that came along with that song is what brought me to this point, I’d endure it all again. No questions asked.

  “God, I love you,” I breathe a second before I pull her mouth up to mine.

  Kissing her has become as necessary as breathing. Gary always asks me when I’m going to find someone to settle down with, to take away the lonely nights. I’ve done the dating scene before and never cared to do it again.

  Then I meet Bella and my heart changed my mind. I’ll never let her go. She’s mine and I plan on keeping her for as long as humanly possible.

  “Um, uh, how about we start to enjoy the night again?” Jarrett says sounding uncomfortable.

  Bella starts to laugh, pulling away, and wiping her tears. “What are we going to do?”

  “Well since going out right now is not an option, why don’t we figure out something to do here?”

  Dawn walks over and turns on the stereo, turning up the volume. She walks towards Jare smiling. “Just because we couldn’t go to the club, doesn’t mean we can’t dance our socks off here.”

  Standing up, I pull Bella into my arms as I start to sway my hips with the beat of the music.

  “I don’t know how to dance, Ace.”

  Moaning as her hips slide against me, I lick my lips. “You are doing just fine to me.”

  “Am I?”

  “Yes, can’t you feel it?” I joke.

  “That’s because I’m dancing well?” She blinks up at me.

  Stopping the dancing for a minute, I look at her. “Are you serious?”

  She laughs. “No. I may be a virgin, but I’m not stupid.”

  We continue to dance for a while. Our bodies rubbing against each other, it is like sex with clothes on. I’m desperate for her, but it’s not the time. So when we break, I pull her on my lap and kiss her tenderly.

  “You are not allowed to dance with anyone other than me. Okay?”

  “Not like I would, but now you’ve got me curious as to why.”

  “Because this man doesn’t want any other man getting as turned on as he is right now and him taking advantage,” Jarrett comments bluntly.

  Her face pales. “Oh.”

  Turning her head, I kiss her passionately in hopes to get her mind off the thoughts that were now there. After a few minutes of just sitting around bullshitting, we decide dancing needs to be over with. So we all argue about what to do next.

  Before I know it, Jarrett pulls out the Wii and it is a war of games. All the while music blares on the radio.

  “No, dude, wait a minute. That didn’t count!”

  “To hell it didn’t. I made that shot,” I tease Jarrett.

  “Only because Dawn was giving me a kiss,” he protests.

  Hitting him in the arm, I laugh. “Should have been paying attention, bro.”

  “If Bella here came up to kiss you, are you telling me you’d pass it up?” Jarrett counters.

  I look at Bella and she smiles.

  “When you’re playing a game, you have to focus dude.” I wink at Bella. “I’m sorry dude, you lost.”

  He glares at me and I laugh. Jarrett knows damn well, I’d throw the game if Bella was to walk over and kiss me. As of yet, the only time she’s really kissed me has been on the cheek, not passionately on the mouth. It’s me kissing her, but I think she’s still unsure of what is going on between us. Looking over at Bella, she is laughing and nodding at something Dawn is telling her.

  “Come on, brother,” Jarrett taunts. “We’ve got a score to settle, you cheater.”

  The look in my friend’s eyes had me turning my attention back to the Wii a little more nervously.

  Bella

  This has to be one of the best nights of my life. I’ve laughed more tonight than I have since before I lost my mom. Watching them all joke and poke fun at each other, it makes me wish I could be carefree like them. Sadly, my life doesn’t allow me to do that.

  Dawn is trying to keep me included in all the activities, but I’m not used to being around others. This is scaring me, but I don’t want to exit this dream either. For the first time, I am being seen as something other than a punching bag.

  My heart stops beating in my chest as Ace looks down at me and smiles. He’s working Jarrett up and I can’t help, but get caught up in the laughter.

  “Will you do something for us?” Dawn says as she pulls me to the side.

  “Um, I can try,” I answer nervously.

  “There’s nothing I love more than to get AJ’s goat. Would you be willing to distract AJ while they are playing? I don’t care how you do it, just so long as Jare can get even,” she smiles devilishly.

  Honestly, I can’t help but laugh. What shocks me even more is I nod my head in agreement. How am I going to do this? How can I, little miss invisible, distract someone?

  The game ensues and the boys seem focused and determined as they play another round of tennis. After a while, Dawn nods at me. That’s my signal. Butterflies fill my stomach as I wrack my brain trying to figure out how to distract him.

  Looking over at him, I watch as he licks his lips and my body heats. Nerves forgotten, I walk over to him. Placing my hand on his arm, he turns his head toward me. Time seems to freeze as our eyes meet. Rising slowly on my toes, I hear his small intake of breath.

  One hand rests on his chest as I place the other behind his head and pull him down to my mouth. Our lips touch in an electrifying moment. A growl fills my ears as his arms wrap around me, pulling me tighter against him. My heart is racing and the initial reason I walked over here is forgotten. All that matters to me right now is how he is making me feel in this moment.

  For a moment, I can believe that I’m so
meone worth loving. Right now, I’m human and it’s a feeling that I’m afraid to both hold on to and let go of.

  “Yes, I’m the winner,” Jarrett yells, breaking into our moment.

  Ace pulls away and looks at me with heavy lidded eyes. My heart skips in my chest for the second time since I kissed him.

  “I don’t see it that way,” he breathes, his voice shaking.

  We remain stuck in each other’s eyes. AJ reaches up and brushes his hand down my face. “I can’t tell you what that meant for you to kiss me, even if it was to help Jarrett win,” he smirks.

  Looking down at my hands, I start playing with my nails. Just for a second, I could feel what it was like to be the girl that people saw. Now, the real me floods back and the pain it brings with it, leaves me breathless.

  “Can you excuse me please?” I mumble before walking off to the bathroom and locking the door.

  Sitting in the corner, I wring my hands together. My hands are shaking badly. My brain is telling me to run as far and as fast as I can, but my heart is screaming at me to stay. Taking a few deep breaths, I try to calm myself down.

  Just as I stand up, there’s a knock at the door. His deep, soft, sexy voice flows through the door.

  “Bella? Are you okay?”

  Opening the door, I’m immediately caught in his gorgeous eyes. “I’m… I’m fine. Do you want to go back to the fun?”

  “They went home. They want to come with us Monday to drop you off at school.”

  “Oh,” I say, disappointed. Not in the fact that they are gone, but that I had to go back to reality soon.

  Cupping my face in his hands, he looks at me, the sadness thick in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” I blurt out.

  His head jerks back slightly. “For what?”

  “For making you sad. For messing up your life. For leaving soon… The list is endless.”

  Pulling me into his chest, Ace holds me tightly against him. “There is nothing I regret. I’m in love with an amazingly, incredibly, strong woman. The only thing that could make me happier is never having to let you go.”