Chapter 20
Perched on the edge of the colossal sofa, Grace’s head remained lowered, her gaze fixed on the wooden floor.
Her hands, palms together, were wedged between her knees.
She hadn’t spoken a word the whole time they had been in the car.
Only the silent shuddering sobs continued.
Izzie didn’t know what to do; nothing she did or said was getting through to the poor girl.
Seizing the bottle of bourbon from her brother’s stash of booze she poured two hefty shots.
Placing Grace’s on the glass table in front of her, Izzie sat next to her lifting her own glass to her lips.
She threw the shot to the back of her throat.
Gulping down the smoky liquid, she savoured the after burn.
Noticing the glass on the table remained untouched, Izzie placed it in the still silent girl’s hands, effectively helping to wrap her hands tightly around the glass.
The silence in the room was deafening, suffocating even.
Izzie moved to the window, peering out into the dark night, wondering where on earth her brother was.
They had been back at the Notting Hill property for well over an hour waiting for the boys to arrive.
But still there was no sign of them. She could only imagine what her enraged brother had done to Jez.
It wouldn’t be pretty. Raising her eyes to the sky she offered a silent prayer that neither of them had been arrested.
The sound of shattering glass startled Izzie back to earth.
Spinning around she took in the sight of Grace sat in the same position.
The glass she had held in her hands now lay shattered around her feet.
The sticky brown liquid that had filled it now covered her feet and legs.
Grace sat motionless as Izzie rushed to kneel at her feet, picking up the pieces of glass that splintered around the room.
“Okay, just stay where you are. I’ll get this cleaned up in no time.
” Placing all the pieces she could find in the waste bin she began towelling off the poor girl’s drenched feet.
Mopping up the liquid from the floor as she went.
Grace was numb; she had completely shut down to the outside world.
In all the commotion of the glass smashing she had missed the sound of a car pulling up outside.
The front door flew open with Alex dashing in, closely followed by Ben.
Izzie dashed across the room to her brother.
He looked a mess. He was ashen, his chest rising and falling in a fast rhythm, his whole being still shaking from the adrenalin that must have be surging through his body.
His face sported the beginning of a black eye but his fists were another matter.
His knuckles were swollen and red, cuts spread across them.
The blood was drying now but still visible.
Izzie couldn’t tell where her brother’s blood ended and Jez’s began.
Horrified that he may be in more pain than he looked, her eyes implored Ben’s, begging for him to fill her in with some details.
“He’ll be okay. He just wants to see Grace.
How are you?” Ben moved from behind Alex, holding out his arms for her to come to him now.
Cradling her against him he ran his hand up and down her back.
“Did either of them hurt you? Did that bastard hurt you?” Ben held her away from him, inspecting her arms where he had seen the scumbag grip her.
She shook her head, squirming out of his grasp.
She wanted to be back against his chest where she felt safe, not held away while he checked her over.
“You think he would dare hurt me? I want to kill that bastard. Christ, Jez was off his face, high on whatever it was, but Max? Max knew exactly what he was doing.” Nestled back against him, held tight in his arms, she watched her brother kneeling next to his girlfriend now.
He spoke quietly to her before sitting down on the floor, his back rested against the sofa.
Twisting around, he grasped her around the waist, pulling her down onto his lap.
Grace lifted her stare from the fixed spot on the floor that had held her interest for the last two hours.
She locked eyes with Alex, focused now completely on him.
Scrutinising his hard features she checked every inch of his face for marks or bruising.
Turning her attention to his hands she lifted one tenderly to her lips, kissing it gently as he kept his lips rested against her temple, his other hand still firmly wrapped around her back, cradling her to him.
Grace still didn’t speak. Alex appeared to be whispering to her but it was inaudible. He rocked her gently from side to side as she settled her head into the crook of his neck.
Ben and Izzie stood awkwardly in the corner of the room.
Feeling like they were intruding on some intimate act Ben guided her towards the kitchen, wanting to give Alex some space.
Once there he poured them both another shot from the now half empty bourbon bottle.
Taking his place on a barstool, he settled Izzie between his legs, not willing to let her out of his grasp.
He watched as she downed the drink before she spoke to him.
“Did he...I mean please tell me he didn’t actually rape her, did he? ”
Ben shuddered at the thought, shaking his head fractionally. “No, love. We got there just in time. A few more minutes and it would be a different story.”
“I only went to get us a beer. Those bloody champagne cocktails were shit. When I came back Grace had gone. It wasn’t until I heard Max laughing upstairs with Jez that I realised she hadn’t gone off with Alex.
” Ben let her continue without questioning her.
He sensed her need to talk through it. “I ran upstairs shouting at Max, begging him to let me in the room but he just laughed. Said Jez just needed a bit of alone time with her. I couldn’t fucking move the fat bastard.
I couldn’t get to her, Ben. I could hear her screaming and crying but I couldn’t get past Max. I just couldn’t get to her.”
Forcing her head back to his shoulder he shushed her, halting her tirade.
“Love, even if you’d gotten in there you couldn’t have stopped him.
He had taken a shit load of who knows what.
Then the alcohol on top. He could have hurt you too, Iz.
” If he had hurt her Ben would have done time for him.
The bastard wouldn’t be still breathing.
As it was Ben knew he would take a long time to heal from the injuries Alex had inflicted on him.
He had only stopped when Ben physically pulled him from the room.
Telling him that Grace needed him had been the only thing that had gotten through the red fog that had descended over Alex, blurring his thought and vision.
Izzie lifted her head; it was her turn now to examine Ben’s hands. They weren’t as bad as her brother’s but she could tell he was hurting now the adrenalin was wearing off.
“I think we should check on them, and then I’m taking you back to my place. Give them some space. You okay with that?” Ben questioned her, dipping his head to meet her gaze. Izzie nodded. She knew Grace would be fine now Alex was home. He would take care of her.
His sister had left a long time ago; he had since moved Grace from the floor to the sofa where he continued to cradle her in his lap.
She was slowly becoming more animated now.
He had managed to get her to tell him she was okay even though he knew she wasn’t.
Kissing her forehead once more he grasped her around the waist, and placing his other arm under her knees, he lifted her in his arms. Not taking his eyes off of her for a second he walked them to the stairwell, carrying her upstairs and into the bathroom where he sat her down on the lone chair that was positioned in the corner of the room.
As the bath filled he stripped off his clothes.
Turning off the taps he helped Grace to stand before he removed her clothes then lifted her into the tub.
Once she was in he slipped in behind her, wrapping her in his arms and legs protectively as he washed her gently.
Resting her head against his chest she finally spoke. “I’m so sorry, Alex.”
Alex squeezed his eyes tight shut. If he hadn’t left her alone none of this would have happened.
It was entirely his fault and he couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt that rested in the pit of his stomach.
“Why are you apologising? You have done nothing wrong. This is my fault. If I hadn’t left you alone you wouldn’t have been in that room with him.
I should have been taking proper care of you. ”
She placed her hand on top of the hands that were now wrapped tightly around her shoulders. “I love you.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“I love you too, Gracie. Forever and a day,” he breathed out on a sigh.
They sat together in the bath until the water got cold, taking turns at washing each other.
As she stood before him shivering, Alex towelled her dry, gently starting with each arm before moving down her body to her torso and legs. Helping her into his robe he tied it securely around her then embarked on wrapping a towel around his waist.
Once she was settled into his bed he flicked off the lights, climbing in behind her, dragging her into his chest again, securing her in place. He held her until the shivers subsided and he felt her breathing even out. Only then did he allow himself to close his eyes.
Grace slept fitfully. Every time Alex moved her eyes drifted open, tightening her grip on him, making sure he didn’t leave the bed.
By the time the sun rose she had given up trying to sleep.
Sneaking out of bed she tried not to disturb him, knowing she had most likely kept him awake most of the night.
They had the naming ceremony to attend today; quite how they were going to explain Alex’s battered hands was yet to be decided.
Slipping on one of Alex’s shirts she had found on the back of the door she left the bedroom in search of caffeine.
Alex woke with a start, suddenly realising Grace was missing from his bed. Throwing on last night’s boxers he flung open the bedroom door, shouting her name as he ran downstairs.
“Kitchen,” she shouted out as she heard the panic in his voice.
His heart rate settled the moment he heard her voice. “You scared me. I thought you’d gone. Did you put the washing machine on?” Enveloping her in his arms again he breathed her in. “How’re you feeling?”
“I washed your clothes from last night. Your shirt had...blood on it. Best to get it out now. Is he...you know...never mind, I don’t wanna know.
” He hadn’t even thought to check his clothes last night, unable to believe now that he had comforted his girlfriend whilst having that prick’s blood spattered over him.
“He’ll live. Thanks to Ben. He dragged me away. Told me you were waiting here for me. Grace, I’m so sorry...I don’t even know wh...”
“Are you apologising for beating the crap out of him? ‘Cos if you are, stop it. None of this is down to you. I’m angry because this changes everything. Can’t you see that?
” She rubbed her fingers over her temples as she tried to make some sense of the previous night.
“I’m angry ‘cos I allowed myself to get into that situation. I’m angry that I may have ruined your career.
You know, you’re never going to be able to work with him again after he. ..well after last night.”
Not letting his grip loosen on her, Alex breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself before he spoke.
He wanted to make sure he got this right.
“You haven’t ruined my career; I have a very successful career.
One which will continue in some form or another.
I don’t understand how you think this will change anything between us, that is unless you don’t want there to be an ‘us’ anymore. ”
The lone, almost cynical laugh Grace let out echoed around the room. “How can it not change anything? Are you seriously going to be able to go back to working with him? How can the band continue without either one of you? It’s not happening, Alex. Even you have to see that.”
Shrugging his shoulders he bent to kiss her neck. “I don’t know how anything is going to work out with the band, but I do know I am not letting this come between us. Let me worry about my career.”
Spinning around on the barstool Grace ran her eyes over the full form of him, checking for cuts and bruises. “You have a black eye. How did I not notice that last night? I’m going to have to cover that with make-up. Your knuckles are a whole different ball game though.”
“The eye is Ben’s fault. He swung at Jez and I kinda got in the way.” He pulled his eyebrows in to a frown as he remembered.
Grace shuddered at the thought of him being hurt, but soon turned her attention to the task in hand.
Alex belly laughed as she dragged him out of the kitchen and back up to his room. Pushing him into the shower room she lined up all the contents of her toiletry bag on the counter. Whether he liked it or not she was covering up the black eye at least.
As he sat in front of her she set to work with her cover stick, dotting it around his eye. As she concentrated on the job in hand she spoke softly. “He told me you had asked him to bring me to you...”
“Grace, you don’t have to go over it again, babe.” Alex placed his hands on her waist.
“Izzie had gone to the toilet. Max said he would hang on for her...bring her upstairs too. He was smiling...I didn’t think.
..God, I was so stupid.” Grace inhaled a deep sigh as Alex’s chest constricted, his heart aching as she spoke.
“I wasn’t worried until he locked the door.
Then I saw it...I saw it in his eyes. The pure rage.
..” The tears spilled from her eyes once more.
“I screamed at him to open the door, to let me out...I could hear Izzie shouting at Max. I am so sorry.” Alex removed the cover stick from her hands.
Pulling her into his arms he held her tightly against his chest as she sobbed freely.
He ran his hand through her hair trying to calm her, making soft shushing noises into her ear.
The sobs slowly eased. She pulled away from him slightly so she could look straight at him.
“I have no idea how you think we can come back from this.”