by Ivy Love
We watch as the doctor whispers in her ear and rubs her arm.
“If you need anything at all, let the guys know, they’ll take care of you. If you’re not comfortable with that, call me. Understood?” He says sternly.
“Yes, Sir,” she smiles.
He smiles back, “Get some rest.”
He walks towards us, “Gentlemen, I want to talk to you in the hallway.”
We follow him into the hallway, he turns and sighs, “Just based on a preliminary look I don’t think she’s got internal bleeding. She does have a couple of broken ribs and after a modified concussion test, I’d say she has one. She’s got bruises on her chest and stomach, and those are only the recent ones. She’s going to be sore for a quite a bit. If she falls asleep tonight, wake her every couple of hours, just to be safe. Don’t let her shower alone, if she wants to clean off, one of you need to be with her and I’d suggest she takes a bath instead. For the next couple weeks, I want her to rest, relax and get well. I want to see her again in a couple of weeks just to follow up.” He pauses, “Look, it’s obvious to everyone but her that you both want her. But, she isn’t going to be able to deal with that right now. She isn’t going to be able to deal with a whole lot for a while. So, take it easy on her please.”
I’m not surprised he picked up on that, he tends to be very observant. I’m more concerned about her injuries right now. I’m seeing blood red. That bastard touched her, bruised her and violated her. I want to fucking kill him.
“We’ll wait for her to be ready. Right now, I’m not even sure that I’m ready. Instead I’m worried for her,” I say, anger coloring my voice.
“I’ll follow Anthony’s lead on Izzy, but I’m pissed right now. I want to go and find him and crush his skull,” Matt growls.
“Again boys, that won’t help. Well, I take that back, it might help the both of you, but it won’t help her,” Dr. Fanner says.
“Look as much as we all want to beat the shit out of him, we can’t. Could you imagine if something happened to one of you? She would be devastated, thinking it was her fault.”
He pauses to take a breath, “So keep your irritation and anger and push it down for now. Oh, and in case you two haven’t thought about it, anger is probably going to freak her the fuck out, so calm your shit.”
He stares us down, “Understood?”
We both nod tightly and after a minute of staring, he seems to think his message has come across loud and clear. He nods his approval, “I’ve got a couple of prescriptions for her, for now, just a muscle relaxer and oxycodone. One of you needs to go get it. Make sure that she eats with these or at least drinks some milk. I’ll be able to give her a better combination of meds when I see her again.” He hands the prescriptions to Matt. Matt nods and looks at me.
I give him a slight nod, “Thank you for coming Doctor, I appreciate it.”
“No problem at all, I’ll call you to set up her appointment once I get to my office.” I shake his hand firmly.
“Hey Doc, can I catch a ride to the pharmacy?”
Dr. Fanner nods, “Not a problem.”
“Thanks. I’ll catch a cab on the way back,” Matts says as he follows the doctor towards the door. I watch them leave and listen as he locks the door. Once I hear Dr. Fanner’s car start up, I walk back towards the couch where Izzy lays and sit beside her.
I don’t really know where to start or what to say. There’s nothing that can make this better, but I want to try.
“I’m sorry this happened to you, sweetheart. I wish I never let you walk out of the club,” My voice shakes. I’m not sure if it’s more anger or pain that’s running through my veins right now.
She shakes her head slowly, “It had to happen. You know that right? I mean, there is nothing that you could have done to have prevented this.”
She takes a shaky breath, “Say you had kept me there tonight. What would have happened when I finally went home? It would have been worse than what happened me tonight. Would I have gotten my shit together after that happened? Yes, but what if I wasn’t able to?”
She pauses and slowly rubs her head, “What if I wasn’t given that chance, because I was too badly injured or even worse,” she chokes, “dead.”
“Don’t you dare say that,” I hiss angrily.
She recoils slightly and I instantly regret my outburst. I take a deep breath. “I’m sorry sweetheart. Believe me that’s not directed at you.”
She’s looking at me and I can see the uncertainty in her eyes. Even in her pain, she’s beautiful. Her hair is chocolate brown and even though it’s a mess it shines. Her eyes are as dark as her hair and easy to read. She thinks she’s hiding herself, but not from me. Her skin, bruised and broken now, has a soft glow in the light. I reach out and stroke her arm.
“I promise my anger is not directed at you. I just feel so helpless knowing that I couldn’t help you. That I had to wait to hear from you instead of just following you. That I had no control over what happened to you. That fucking kills me. I need to control those situations and I need to know that you’re safe.”
She looks surprised and slightly taken aback. Shit I shouldn’t have said anything.
“Forget that, okay sweetheart? Just know that I’m here for you. That Matt and I are here for you. No matter what.”
She nods slowly.
I need to change the subject, I don’t want to push her and stress her out.
“I know you don’t want to go to your bedroom, but I need to get you cleaned up and the doctor said you shouldn’t shower alone, so I was thinking of running you a bath. Do you have a second bathroom we can use or are you okay to use the master bathroom?”
She looks startled at the change of subject, but quickly masks her surprise, “Um, the master bedroom is probably the best. It’s the biggest.”
I nod, “Don’t move, I’m going to start the water and come back for you.”
She goes to speak, but I stop her before she can argue with me.
“Please, let me do this. Let me take care of you, clean you up and get you in different clothes. It’ll make me feel better and you’ll feel better too.”
I lean over and kiss the top of her head. I walk back down the hallway and find her bedroom. I try to ignore the scene in front of me and instead look for the bathroom. It’s easy to find, the door is wide open. I walk in and find a garden tub, it’s the perfect size for both of us. I start the water and let it warm up before putting the stopper in.
I walk back to the living room, “Love, I’m going to pick you up as gently as I can, take you to the bathroom and get you in the tub.”
She nods hesitantly, “Okay, what do you need me to do?”
“Just relax your body and I’ll do everything I can not to jostle and hurt you.”
I lean down and slowly slide my arms under her small body.
“Let me know if I hurt you too much,” I whisper.
She nods again and I take that as an okay to continue. I get my arms under her, lift her slowly and curl her body next to mine. She feels perfect in my arms.
“I’m just going to put you in the water, Isabella, then I’ll get your clothes off, okay?”
“Okay,” she says softly.
I begin to lower her slowly into the water, taking care not to jostle her as I remove my arms from under her listening to her labored breaths.
“Is the temperature okay? Is it too painful?”
She shakes her head slowly, “No, it feels good. I need to feel clean. Thank you.”
I strip off my shirt and watch as her eyes widen and begin to slowly scan my bare chest. She may be hurt, but she’s definitely looking. I don’t want to interrupt her, but if she stares at me any longer I’m going to burst.
“Can you lift your head off the back of the tub? I’m going to slide behind you and help wash you off.”
“Why?” She asks confusion lacing her voice.
“Why what?”
“Why are you doing this for me?”
&
nbsp; I think for a minute before answering, not wanting to overwhelm her. “Because I can.”
She wrinkles her nose and she doesn’t know it, but it just makes her cuter. She’s not satisfied with that answer, but she’ll have to live with it for now.
“Lift your head up so I can get in.”
I lean over and shut off the water and slide my legs behind her. I push her up slowly and watch her breathing, making sure that I don’t add to her discomfort. I slide slowly down behind her and place my arms around her.
“You okay?”
She nods and I reach for her shirt. I feel as her body tenses against mine. She’s leaning against me, but pulling away at the same time. It’s like her mind is at war with itself.
“Shhh… I promise you’re safe with me. I need to get you clean and part of that means getting rid of these ruined clothes.”
I let my calmness push through all of my other emotions and stroke her arms softly. I feel her breathing start to even out.
“May I?” I ask.
She nods her agreement and I slowly begin to lift her shirt, but realize I’ll have to move her too much.
“I’m going to have to rip your clothes off; I don’t want to have to make you move. I’m going to stand up and kneel in front of you.”
I slowly lift her from my body and recline her back against the tub. I maneuver my way to her front and kneel before her. I grab her razor from the rack hanging off the shower head and pull her shirt away from her body and slowly begin to slice upwards. It’s not the smoothest cut, but it will do. I quickly get the shirt cut from bottom to top and peel it off her arms like a jacket. When I look down, and see her chest, I almost lose it. She’s covered in bruises, new and old. She watches me as I count the bruises on her body and goes to cover herself.
“No. Don’t,” I grind out moving her hands back to her side.
“I want to kill him for every bruise on your body.”
I try to calm my shit, but it looks like she’s been used as a punching bag for years.
“It doesn’t hurt that much.”
She pauses, “Okay, it does, but just the new ones. The old ones are just that. A fleeting memory of what used to be. But I don’t have that now.”
“Fuck no you don’t and so help me, if that bastard ever comes near you again, he’ll walk away looking worse than this.”
I silently count to ten in my head.
“I think you need to get away for a little bit,” I say as I repeat the cutting process on her pants.
“I can’t just go away,” she says meekly.
I throw her ruined clothes out of the tub and work my way behind her again.
“I think you need to get away so you can feel safe again,” I say sitting back down.
I lap water onto her lap and chest lazily and continue, “You need to feel cared for and cherished again. It’s not going to be something you can do, living in this place. You need a place that has no ties to him or your marriage.”
I can almost feel her trying to work through what I said. I think on some level she knows that I’m right, but she has every right to be nervous. She leans her head back against my chest and a part of me relaxes. I think on some level she trusts me, but it’s going to take time to fully gain her trust.
I grab her loofa and lather her body wash onto it. It smells sweet. I lean over her fragile frame and begin to lather up her legs.
“Let me take you somewhere away from all of this,” I say working my way up her stomach.
I’m careful to avoid putting too much pressure on her bruises, but scrub her stomach in small circular motions. I feel as her chest rises and falls against my hand. It’s nice to know that she’s affected by me too.
“I promise I’ll take care of everything for you, just let me take you away… please?”
My hands graze her breasts and her breath catches.
“Is it just going to be us?” She asks breathily.
“Just you, me, an island and,” I pause, “Matt if he wants to come.”
Her breathing is labored, I can’t tell if she’s turned on or worried. Either way, I finish washing her body and begin to rinse her off.
“I’m going to try and wash your hair without hurting you too much.” I lift her body from mine, my body screaming to put her back. She fits so nicely against me, I want to keep her there forever.
“What would I do about my bills, my home?” She asks biting her lip.
I step out of the tub and kneel on the floor, sliding my hand under her hair and grasping her neck.
“I’ll take care of everything and all your bills. Just say yes.”
I dip her head back slightly and begin to scoop water onto her long hair. I watch as her eyes flutter and finally shut as I scrub the shampoo into her scalp.
“Yes,” she whispers.
I lean over and kiss her on the forehead and finish rinsing out her hair.
“You, still okay?”
“Yeah.”
The water is starting to chill and the last thing I want is for her to get cold and sick, so I turn around, grab a towel and put it next to the toilet so I can grab it easier. Then I lift the stopper from the tub.
“Don’t move I’ve got you, just going to get you out of this water.”
She lays still and I reach under her and scoop her up into my arms. I’m careful not to crush her too tightly to my chest, but she nuzzles her head against my bare chest and my heart pounds just a little bit harder. I lower myself onto the toilet seat, keeping her close to me and reach out for the towel. I start drying her off from her tiny toes to her wide-eyed face. As I continue drying her, I feel her body relax into my arms.
“All dry,” I say dropping the towel on the floor.
“Now, let’s get you some clothes. What do you want to wear?” I ask carrying her into the bedroom.
“Something baggy,” she pauses “I have a pink shirt in the top left drawer, it says ‘love’ on it, and a pair of my black sweats. I think…” she looks around and points, “there they are.”
“Hmm… unfortunately I have to put you down for a minute,” I tuck her tightly against me and drop one arm so I can sweep off a spot on her bed.
“Alright, let’s get you down and then I’ll grab your clothes. Where are your bra and underwear at?”
She looks at me in surprise.
“What? You can’t wear the ones you have on, they’re wet.”
“Oh, um, top right drawer,” she stutters.
I lower her onto the bed and grab her clothes. I try to pick out the softest bra and underwear I can find, I don’t want anything rubbing unnecessarily against her skin. I drop the clothes next to her and look at her.
“I promise I will do my best not to hurt you, okay? But, I need to get these clothes off and new ones on and I’d rather not rip these ones.”
She looks at the clothes, then she looks at me almost trying to figure out if she can do it for herself and once she realizes she can’t, she says, “Okay, thank you.”
I decide to work from the bottom to the top, “Alright, try to keep your body as relaxed as possible.”
I grab her wet and now see-through panties and try not stare. I want nothing more than to take her right now, show her how truly cherished she is and the rational part of me realizes in order to do that, I’m going to have to start slow. Really slow. Which means, look but don’t touch.
I place my hands on either side of her hips on the fabric that hugs her hips and slowly pull them down. I’m careful not to jostle her legs and manage to slide them off without incident. I keep my eyes on her legs as I grab the dry pair and slowly slide them up her legs. So far so good, she doesn’t seem to be too uncomfortable. I slide her pants up the same way I did her underwear. It’s odd for me to put clothes on a woman; usually I’m the one taking them off.
I look at her bra and realize the clasp is in the back and that I’m going to have to move her forward a bit.
“I’m going to lean you up, okay?”
“Stop. Please, “she chokes out.
“Shit, shit, shit! I’ve got you, deep breaths,” I say laying her back.
I sit with her, rubbing her arms, legs, anything I can touch as her spasm passes.
She makes a motion for a drink and I instantly run out and find a water bottle in her fridge. I bring it back to her and she begins to take small sips.
“I’m sorry sweetheart, I don’t think you’re going to be able to wear a bra right now.”
She chews on her lip and says in a soft voice, “I don’t think so either.”
“Scissors?”
“They’re in the kitchen on the counter.”
I go find the scissors and come back to her.
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
There is a slight steel to her voice this time. All I can think is that my girl is strong and she’s going to be okay.
I cut off her bra and watch as her large breasts fall, it looks like at one point they have been abused too. I want to kiss each and every one of those bruises and make them disappear. Instead, I grab her shirt and throw it over her head.
“There, now you’re clean and have clean clothes. Only one thing left to do.”
She looks at me quizzically.
“I need to brush out that gorgeous hair of yours,” I say softly grabbing the brush off the nightstand.
I lift her off the bed, pull her against my chest and walk out to the living room.
I notice there is blood on the couch where she was sitting earlier. I don’t want to put her on that, I don’t want her in this house anymore. If I could just leave right now, I’d take her away from all of this and not look back. There is no way I’m putting her on that couch without some sort of barrier.
“There’s a blanket in the closet.” Her voice interrupts my thoughts.
“I could tell what you’re thinking. I just thought I would make it easier for you,” she says.
“Thank you, I just want to get you out of here and away from all this.”
I walk to the closet, still clutching her close to me.
“How are you able to hold me for so long?”