54. Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Three
Rory
I t's the early hours of the morning by the time Leo shakes us awake on the sofa to tell us that the boys will be back home soon.
My stomach's in knots as I await their arrival, worried about how injured they may be, and curious to know whether everything went to plan or if Danny somehow managed to get away.
"He'll be okay," Sophia says, grabbing my hand and squeezing it as we walk towards the front door where Leo's standing, watching Kaleb's car come up the drive.
Our interlocked fingers hold onto each other's tightly as we wait for the car to come to a stop at the top of the driveway.
I unintentionally hold my breath as one door opens, and when Jaylen steps out, his eyes instantly meeting mine, I almost choke on a sob when I see his hair and face caked in blood.
"I'm okay, darling," he shouts, weakly smiling at me as he waits for Kaleb to round the car and wrap an arm under his shoulders, supporting him as he walks towards us, a grimace on his face.
I hurriedly grab his crutches that are resting against the wall in the foyer and then I rush out the door and down the steps until I reach him .
He takes them from me without protest, groaning as he leans his weight on them.
"Are you hurt?" I ask, my eyes scanning his body head to toe, looking for any sign of injury through all the blood that's soaked into his clothes.
"Nah, I'm good. Just need my girl," he says, letting go of one crutch so that he can wrap an arm around me.
My hands grasp his face, and I carefully pull him towards me, giving him a quick kiss.
"Let's go get you cleaned up, yeah?"
He nods, pecking at my lips once more.
I pick up the crutch he abandoned and then help him slowly climb the stairs up to the house.
"Everything go okay?" Sophia asks, glancing between Kaleb and Jaylen.
They both nod in reply.
She frowns at Jaylen as he groans with each step he takes and once we're all inside, she rushes off, coming back a few moments later with a black plastic bag.
"Put your clothes in here and leave it outside your room. I'll sort them out."
"Can you stop fussing over him and show me some attention now?" Kaleb teases.
Jaylen snorts behind us and Sophia laughs as she makes her way over to him.
"You gonna make it up the stairs okay?" Leo asks, watching me and Jaylen cautiously.
"Yeah, we'll manage," Jaylen grunts, shaking his head .
Holding him tightly, we slowly make our way towards the stairs, and then gradually make our way up them.
When we reach the top, Jaylen's body sways slightly, I push us forward, determined to help him make it to his room before his body finally gives in.
"Did you speak to Chrissie?" he asks, his voice quiet.
"Yeah, I called her while I was helping Sophia paint. I told her I'd update her properly tomorrow because I was too worried and distracted to explain everything to her."
"Aww, you were worried about little old me?" he teases as we reach his bedroom.
Forcing the door open with my foot, we trudge into the room, and I lead him to the comfy looking chair by the small table in his room, helping him sit down on it.
"Yes, I was," I tell him, leaning down until our faces are level. "I was petrified because I thought there was a possibility I was going to lose you tonight."
His droopy eyes pierce through mine and his lips tug up into a small smile.
"You'll never lose me, Aurora. You're stuck with me for the rest of eternity."
Resting my forehead against his, I knead my fingers into his neck.
"I hope so," I whisper.
Getting him into the bathroom was a tough task, but getting his clothes off proves to be much harder.
His body seems to have shut down, and he's sitting slumped down on the marble bench in his shower, staring blankly at the wall opposite him.
Unstrapping the holster with the knife in it from his thigh, I carefully toss it across the room. Then I undo his belt from around his waist, tugging it out of the loops of his trousers and throwing that out of the shower too.
"You think you can help me a little with this?" I ask, tugging at the hem of his top.
His eyes flick up to mine and the crease forming between his brows deepens.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, staring at me through glassy eyes. "I should've made him suffer more."
Kneeling between his legs, I shake my head.
"You did more than enough, baby. Now let's stop thinking about it and focus on getting these clothes off of you, okay?"
I roll the T-shirt up his torso, grimacing when I see mottled bruises across his skin, covering his freshly healed scar.
"It doesn't hurt," he says, seeing what snagged my attention. "Not too much, anyway."
His hands move to mine, and he helps me lift his top the rest of the way over his chest and head.
We both tug the sleeves down, the mix of dried, crusty blood and wet, gloopy blood mixing together making it an almost impossible task .
Finally managing to get it off of him, I grab the bag that Sophia gave us and chuck the top inside it.
"I think I cracked his skull open," Jaylen says, staring down at his bloodied hands. "I just saw red, and I snapped. Thinking about everything he'd done to you fuelled my rage and I stopped thinking logically. I just carried on going, and if Kaleb didn't stop me, I think I'd still be there now."
I move back over to him, taking his hands into mine.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
He chuckles and nods, even though a tear trickles down his cheek.
"You don't seem to be okay, baby."
"I just wish I could've kept my cool and taken my time with him. He didn't deserve a quick death. I should've dragged it out for as long as I could, made him feel every ounce of pain that you did when you were with him."
"He got what he deserved," I state, holding his head in my hands and bringing his face close to mine. "Thank you."
I draw him in closer until our lips meet, melding together as my eyes flutter closed.
Reluctantly, I pull back and kneel back down to yank his trainers off his feet.
As I chuck them out of the shower, I'm surprised to see Jaylen stand up, undoing his trousers and tugging them down his legs.
Peering up at him, I no longer see the lost, confused look on his face.
"You gonna help wash this prick's blood off me then, darling?"
I nod, stripping out of my own clothes as he messes with the dials on the wall until water is pouring down on us from the ceiling.