Anything To Be With You

34. Music To My Ears

Music To My Ears

Dani

I check in with Mom, telling her everything that happened. If I understood her correctly, between her sobs and anger, she told me she's taking me to the police station to report what had happened. She is not letting Josh get away with this again. The first time he broke my nose, we went to report it and were brushed off the minute I said Josh Whitlock did it. Found out years later that John had half the force on his payroll.

I climb out of bed and head to the bathroom, I need a shower. I turn on the water and climb in, whimpering as the water hits the raw skin on my body. I wash myself off the best I can and step out, wrapping myself in a towel, applying the ointment to the stitches I can reach and walk out of the bathroom and into the main apartment.

"Archer?" I call.

"Office."

A small smile pulls at my lips. "Of course you're in the office."

I step into the room and he turns to face me. "How you feeling?"

"Better now that I've showered." I hold up the tube of ointment. "Could you help me?"

Luke takes the tube as he stands. "Of course."

I turn, parting the hair that falls over the spot they shaved to stitch up the laceration. I flinch as he lightly applies the cold ointment.

"Thank you."

"Anything for you, Sweetheart." Luke hands back the ointment.

I glance down at my bare feet. "If the offer still stands, I'd like to call Elle."

Luke unlocks his phone and hands it over. "Her number is under Eleanor. I'll be in here to give you some privacy and if the phone locks before you make the call, the password is the office address."

I wrap my fingers around the phone and look up into his eyes. "Thank you, Luke. For everything." I stretch up, grab his shoulder and kiss his cheek.

He graces me with a sweet smile that pops out those dimples I love so much. "You're very welcome, Dani. You can grab a clean shirt from the second drawer of the dresser if you'd like. " He tells me. "Also, feel free to wash your dirty clothes. I didn't pack you anything for your stay."

"Thank you." I return the smile and step out of his office and back into his room. Opening the drawer, I’m shocked at what I find. Band shirts. All of them. Not one solid colour in sight. I grab a well-worn Misfits shirt and put it on. It touches mid-thigh and covers everything else.

I sit in the middle of the bed, crossed legged and place the phone in front of me. I search for Elle's name and hit call and the speaker button.

"Hey, Luke!" Elle's friendly voice comes through the speaker.

"It's Dani." I whisper.

“Hey girl, how are ya?”

"I'm not doing so hot. Something happened last night and Archer had mentioned that I should give you a call."

"What happened?" Concern fills her sweet voice.

I fill Elle in on what transpired between me and Josh Friday night, trying—and failing—to keep the tears back. The line is silent when I finish and I begin to panic. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. What if Elle doesn't want to help me? She hardly knows me.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called—"

"No, no. It's okay. I was just caught off guard, I had no idea you've been in my shoes." She sniffles.

It clicks then why Luke said to call Elle. I thought it was because she was a therapist with experience in abuse. I didn't realize that she had first hand experience.

"If it's going to be too much—" I trail off.

"It's okay, really. It’s good to get it out. Helps with the healing process. If you'd like, I can share my story."

I bite my lip. "Only if you're comfortable." In a way, I'd like to hear about what Elle went through and how she healed herself from the trauma.

"I don't mind, honestly." Elle takes a deep breath and begins. "My father was a horrible man; used his fists and his words to show 'love.' He raised my brothers the same way. The beatings started when I was eight and got worse the older I got. The final one happened when I was caught trying to move out at eighteen. He said the only way I was leaving his family was in a body bag.

"It lasted three days and my brothers helped. I don’t know how I managed to make it to the hospital but I remember collapsing inside the ER doors. I never saw them again after that."

I wipe my eyes. How can a father do that to his child? I know there are some horrible parents out there and I thank my lucky stars every night that my parents are amazing people.

"Can I ask what happened when you woke up?" I ask, sniffling.

Elle's face pops up on the screen and I hit video chat. "It's easier to show you, " she smiles weakly, her eyes red and cheeks stained with tears. "They broke my spine, neck and jaw," she turns, pointing to the scar running down her back and another along her jaw. "My teeth aren’t real," she reaches into her mouth and pops her top teeth out. "Fucking dentures at eighteen years old." She slurs, popping her teeth back in.

"It took three surgeries to fix the damage and I had to wear a halo for close to a year." Elle brushes her bangs away from her forehead, pointing to the tiny star-shaped scars around her head. "My jaw was wired shut and I couldn’t eat solid food for six months."

My beatings were no where near as bad as Elle’s and here I am, wallowing about what happened to me.

"I don't mean for this to sound rude, but where was your mom while this was happening?" I ask gently.

"It's not rude. She died when I was three. I was told when I was nine that it was an accidental fall, but I always believed my father had a hand in it."

"I'm so, so sorry your family did that to you." I whisper, tears clinging to my lashes as I blink.

"I'm so, so sorry your boyfriend did that to you, too." Elle wipes her cheeks, but smiles. "We both went through horrible situations and made it out alive. We might not be over what they did but we survived."

We did survive, but there are still days where I think I deserved what happened to me and brought on the abuse myself through my words and actions.

"I’m going to tell you something that no one knows about. Not even CeCe." Elle confesses. "What happened to me was over seventeen years ago, but sometimes," she takes a deep breath, "sometimes I can still feel their hands on my skin. The anger in every hit, every punch."

"How’d you get through it?"

Elle smiles. "Dr. Walters helped me. She still does. I think you’d benefit from her help. She’s been in our shoes; she knows when to listen and when to give advice. She will not push you to talk but she will ask questions that might make you uncomfortable."

I tap my fingers on my thigh. "Could I get her number? I've been thinking about talking with someone again."

"Absolutely! I'll text it to you. What's your number?"

I ramble off my cell number and here it ding from its place on the nightstand.

"Thanks for talking with me Elle, even if you did most of the talking." I say.

"It was my pleasure, Dani. We'll have to get together again soon, without the boys this time." Elle giggles.

"Erin will love that," I laugh. "She's still salty from last time."

We say goodbye, promising to touch base in a few weeks to have a girls night and hang up. I feel lighter. Even though I didn't talk about what I went through with Elle, it felt nice to talk with someone who's been where I have.

I climb off the bed and pick up the clothes I was wearing last night and walk into the kitchen, finding Luke standing at the island, cutting up peppers and mushrooms. "How did your talk go? If you don't mind me asking."

"Good, actually. I didn't do much talking, but Elle gave me the number of her therapist."

"And?" he questions, stopping what he's doing and giving me his full attention.

"I think I'm going to give her a call." I tell him with a smile.

"That's music to my ears, Sweetheart. I am so proud of you for take that step."

I blush from my head to my feet. "Th—thank you. Laundry?" I inquire, holding up my dirty clothes.

Luke points with the knife he’s using towards a closet door. "Detergent and dryer sheets are on the top shelf."

I open the door and find a full-size front-loading washer and dryer. I toss my clothes inside and stretch up, my fingers just graze the detergent bottle.

"Archer," I call, "I can’t reach."

"I’ll be right there." He reaches up, placing the detergent and dryer sheets on the top of the washing machine.

"Do you have laundry you need done?" I question.

"You don’t need to do my laundry."

"But I only have four things. It’s a waste of water."

Luke chuckles. "Such a mom thing to say."

"Shut your face."

"The hamper is in my bathroom."

I make my way into the bathroom and drag the hamper into the closet. "Do you separate your darks and lights?"

"No."

Oh, thank God. I hate doing that and Luke has a lot of lights. I toss everything in the large drum of the washing machine and add the soap to the compartment, turning it on.

I hop onto the chair at the island and Luke puts a plate in front of me, along with a glass of water. He turns and grabs the pan off the stove, sliding a thick western omelet onto the plate.

"Thanks, Archer."

He nods his head and digs into his own omelet. I pick at mine before shoving a forkful in my mouth. I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t eaten in twenty-four hours or what, but this is the best omelet I’ve ever eaten. Finished it in seconds.

"I guess you were hungry," Luke quips with a grin.

"Starving."

"Would you like another?"

I shake my head. "I'm good and thank you for taking care of me and for listening to my story."

"No thank you needed, Sweetheart. I care for you, very deeply, I wasn't going to let you go through this alone."

I suck in a sharp breath while my heart pounds in my chest and butterflies swarm my stomach. This is the first time he's admitted to having feelings for me. I knew he felt something besides attraction, but I didn't want to read too much into it. You can care for someone without it turning into something deeper. I care for him too, he's been supportive and protective, two things I'm not used to getting from a man besides my Dad and Mason.

"There's something I want to tell you," I clasp my hands in my lap.

Luke comes around the island and sits next to me, placing his hand palm up on the countertop between us. "Whenever you're ready."

I take a deep breath. "When I woke up, you were the first person I called for help. I knew you would help me without question." I slip my hand into his, twinging my small fingers with his. "I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle this on my own. I know I've said thank you at least ten times today, but I truly mean it."

Luke lifts our hands and places a kiss on my knuckles. "Anything for you, Sweetheart. Always."