45. Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Five
Jaylen
B y the time Kaleb and Leo fix the door and leave, it's early hours in the morning, and I walk around the apartment closing all of the curtains so that when the sun begins to rise in an hour or so, they should block out all of the light.
I silently move around Aurora's kitchen, trying to find which cupboard the mugs are in so I can make myself a coffee, and fumbling with the stupid crutches I'm having to use due to overdoing myself earlier.
Once I've made the coffee, I leave one crutch behind and awkwardly make my way down the hall and into her bedroom, precariously balancing the mug in my hand, hoping not to spill any of it on her carpet.
I place my coffee on the bedside table, and then crouch down beside her, gently swiping my thumb across her forehead in an attempt to smooth the lines away, but her frown deepens, her body begins to tremble, and a whimper leaves her lips.
Wrapping my arms around her again, I gently move her over on the bed so that I can climb in next to her, and then I pull her closer to my chest, rubbing my hands along the length of her back, hoping to soothe her .
Her whimpering cries subside, and the shivers that wracked her body stop as her arms circle around me, and she clings to me, nuzzling her head against my chest.
My eyes drift shut, and I smile as I savour the feel of her body close to mine.
God, I've missed her. More than I've ever missed anyone or anything before.
The last few days have been hell without her, and although I'm now here, with her cuddled up against me again because of some fucked up circumstances, I'm glad to be back with her.
"Jaylen?"
At the sound of her voice, I'm immediately on high alert, my eyes shooting back open desperately searching for her as I pull my body back, trying to get a glimpse of her face.
When she keeps a tight hold on me, and tucks her head down, clearly indicating that she doesn't want to be seen just yet, my body relaxes, and I press a few kisses against the top of her head as I run my fingers through her messy curls.
"I'm here, darling. You're okay," I whisper.
A shudder runs through her body, and her nails bite into my skin as she pulls our bodies impossibly closer.
"I'm scared," she admits, finally turning her head so that I can see her, and the look on her face absolutely kills me, shredding my heart to pieces inside my chest. "He knows where I am, Jaylen. He's been in my house."
"I know, baby. I know. You have every right to feel afraid, but you know I'm never going to let anyone hurt you. Not anymore. "
Her brows furrow as tears leak from the corner of her eyes, dampening my T-shirt.
"I'm sorry," she sobs, slinging her arms around my neck and crawling into my lap, burying her head into the crook of my neck. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to get hurt, so I pushed you away, but I shouldn't have."
"Hey, it's okay. I get it. I understand why you pushed me away," I tell her, grasping her face between my hands and pressing a delicate kiss against her forehead. "You don't need to be sorry, baby. You did what you thought was right."
"I thought you'd be safer at home," she says, her tear-filled eyes peering up at me with so much fear and concern swirling around inside of them.
I frown at her, swiping away the tears dripping down her cheeks.
"You knew he was here, in London?"
She nods, rolling her quivering lips together.
"The other day, there was a picture, and a note left in my locker at work. It was a picture of us, when we were kissing in your room."
"And that's when you came and told me you wanted to stop being intimate while we were at the hospital," I add, finally starting to understand and put the pieces of the puzzle together.
"Yeah. I thought it might've been from another nurse at first, but then I called Chrissie, and she told me that they didn't know where Danny was.
They couldn't find him. That's when I knew, and that's why I told Markus that I thought it was a good idea for you to continue your recovery at home.
I didn't want you to be involved in this mess. "
"Danny's your ex?" I ask, my tone clipped as my blood begins to boil as thoughts whir around in my mind .
She nods again.
"I need you to tell me everything, darling."
She immediately starts shaking her head, but I hold it still and lean forward, pressing my lips against hers.
"Remember, there's no need for you to be scared. I'm here now, and I've got you. You're safe. I promise, but you need to tell me, Aurora. I know it's probably going to be hard, but I need to know everything so that I know what to expect, and so I can help resolve all of this."
"I don't want you to look at me differently once you know everything," she cries.
"You don't ever have to worry about that. No matter what happened, and what you went through, my opinion of you will not change. I know that you're sweet, loving, caring, strong, and brave, and anything that you tell me will only confirm everything I already know."
She sighs, closes her eyes and rests her head against my shoulder.
"I don't deserve you," she mutters.
"Yes you do, darling. You are deserving of everything good in this world."
After a few moments of sitting in silence, holding each other, she finally breaks away from me, taking a deep breath as if she's readying herself to tell her story.
She moves to sit beside me, both of our backs against the headboard, and she reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers together.
"I started dating Danny about five years ago, and at first, it was great. He seemed to be this amazing person, and I was young, and na?ve, so I believed everything that I was told at the time. After about a year, he asked me to move in with him at the O'Rourke Estate."
"The O'Rourke Estate?" I ask, bewildered by what I think she's telling me. "As in Killian O'Rourke, the head of the Irish Mafia?"
She nods, her eyes riddled with guilt.
"Danny is his cousin."
Fuck. This could be trouble.
"I was stupid enough to agree, and as soon as I moved in with him, everything about our relationship changed.
He became cruel, and controlling. I was constantly walking around on eggshells because everything seemed to piss him off.
When I finally got a job at the hospital where I met Chrissie, I thought everything would get better with me not spending as much time at home with him, but it made things worse. "
"That was when the physical abuse started?"
"Yeah," she mumbles, her voice so quiet I almost don't hear her.
"The first time was because I was home late from work, only by ten minutes, but he was furious as soon as I walked through the door.
He punched me multiple times, and it wasn't until I was crying, screaming and begging him to stop that he finally listened.
He didn't even apologise afterwards, he just left me crumpled on the floor and went to get a drink. "
Her hands tightens around mine as tears trickle down her cheeks, and my jaw clenches as fury burns inside of me.
"I was going to leave that night. I packed a bag and walked out, but before I could figure out my next step, he came rushing out of the house, frantically apologising and begging me not to leave.
He said it was a mistake and that the alcohol was the reason for it.
Stupidly, I believed him when he said it wouldn't happen again, so I went back inside and pretended like everything was fine. "
"But then it happened again, didn't it?"
She nods, more tears spilling down her cheeks as she stares at the wall opposite us with a blank expression on her face.
I wrap my arm around her, pulling her into my side in an attempt to comfort her.
"The next time, the beating was worse, and there was no reason for it at all. He'd learnt from the first time though. He didn't hit me anywhere that he knew would be visible to others."
Tears gather in my eyes as she continues telling me about the abuse she suffered over the years.
When she mentions the time he broke her ribs, the tears fall, and my hand that's not holding hers is fisted so tight that I'm surprised I haven't broken my own fingers.
"The last and final time, before I left, was definitely the worst it's ever been.
Chrissie had realised that something was going on, so she invited me out for drinks after work.
I shouldn't have agreed to it, but after years of being broken down, physically, mentally, and emotionally, I wanted to have one night where I felt somewhat normal.
Plus, Chrissie was married to Nathan at this point.
Danny knew her, so I didn't really think I'd get any backlash from it, but when I got home that night, and he was sitting on the bottom of the stairs with an almost empty bottle of whisky in his hand, I knew it was gonna be bad. "
A shudder runs through her body, and I hold her tighter, leaning down to press a kiss against the top of her head as my tears dampen her skin and hers soak into my top .
"He didn't care about being careful that night.
He beat me so bad that I could hardly move afterwards, and I think that was what he wanted because he knew I'd try to run again.
When he left me there, bleeding and bruised, I honestly thought that was going to be the end.
I was ready to let go and give in because I thought I was stuck in that horrendous cycle with him.
After trying to leave three times before and being unsuccessful, I'd lost hope, but then Killian walked through the door, and when he saw me there, grasping onto life, he picked me up and walked out with me. "
She takes a deep breath and wipes her tears away with our joint hands.
"Chrissie had called Killian and told him what she suspected was going on.
She asked him to come over and check on me because Nathan wouldn't let her do it herself.
That was the last time I saw Danny. Killian kept me at his house for a couple days and had a doctor come and patch me up, and then he, Chrissie, and Nathan put together everything I needed to move here. "
"So, the bruises you had on your face and your neck, they were from him?" I ask, the anger and disgust evident in my tone.
She nods again.
"I'm sorry," she whispers.
"There's no reason for you to be apologising to me right now, darling."
"I should've told you that he's an O'Rourke though."
"I doubt it'll be a problem. I will, however, have to notify Dominic, just in case it does cause any issues. "
"It shouldn't," she says. "Killian doesn't agree with Danny's actions, and he's been working on a way to get rid of him, he just can't do it blatantly because of the rules and regulations they have there."
"We'll figure it out. You don't need to worry about it, okay?"
"Okay."
Her fingers fiddle with mine as we both fall into a comfortable silence, and everything she's just told me continues to whip around in my mind, causing a stir of emotions to build up inside of me.