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"DADDY! NO! PLEASE! STOP IT!"

Smack. Thwack. Thud.

I made him angry. I didn't mean it. I didn't even do anything. He knows I didn't. My mom knows I didn't. But she won't do anything. She'd scared of him too. He's different. He's not my father.

"DAD I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!"

Smack. Thwack. Thud.

My mom forgot to tell him that I was going to Camp Rock again. She forgot to tell him that he had to get up in the morning and drive me to the bus stop.


"SHUT UP!"

Smack. Thwack. Thud.

He hit me. Hard. Again. He gives me bruises all the time. You kind of become prone to the pain. I mean, it happens all the time, so I supposed my body just got used to it.

"DAD I'M SORRY! IT'S FINE, I'LL JUST WALK! OR CALL MRS. TORRES."

Well now I'm done for. I look at him; his face twists to a new expression. A mix of anger and…happiness? I take off to my room, locking the door behind me. I grabbed a suitcase and packed everything that wasn't already packed for camp. As I hit the 1 on my phone, I hear banging on my door. I run to my closet and slam the door behind me, sinking down to the ground against it.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello?" A groggy voice groans out, and I sigh in relief.

"Nate…I need help. And I don't know who else to call. Mitch is too far away. Shane and Jason are in New York…" I spit out quickly, silently praying that my dad isn't going to break the door down.

"Caitlyn, what's wrong?" I sigh again.

"Nate…It's my dad. When I told you guys I fell down the stairs and got a ton of bruises, I lied. I just really need to get out of here. He's mad. Really mad." I hold my breath, waiting for an answer.

"Don't move. I'll be there in 20. Caitlyn, I'm gonna call the police. You'll be fine. I'm gonna get you out of there." He hangs up, telling me to hold on.



What feels like hours later, the banging against my door stops and I look under my door and see flashing lights. I pull myself off the ground, feeling a sharp pain in my ribs where my Dad had hit me, and slowly opened the door. I went to my window and looked outside, seeing about 6 police cars outside, and a limo. Nate.

I run as fast as I can, which isn't very fast, down the stairs, past the police, past my screaming father and crying mother, and into the arms of Nate Gray. I feel safe, and instantly regret not telling him sooner. Sure, maybe we're not incredibly close, but he still could've done something. I cry, which is something I hadn't done in a while, and just let the tears flow. My knees buckled, releasing all the tension and burden that I had been holding ever since my dad came home from jail. I feel better.

I'm in hysterics right now, and Nate ushers me into his car, stopping to tell an officer that He's going to take me to his place and bring me by the station tomorrow morning. I slide into a seat, Nate sliding next to me. My crying has slowed down a bit, to the point where I can tell him what's been happening.

"Cait, why didn't you just tell me?" His eyes are filled with concern, and compassion.

"I guess I was scared. I mean...my mom told me he would stop. That he was just in a "mood". He's my dad, Nate. I never thought he'd intentionally hurt me." I swallowed a sob, crying silently.

"Caitlyn, I know. If I had known, if I had just taken the time to put two and two together…I would've never let this happen. I'm so sorry." He looked at me, his eyes are sincere.

"Nate, it's not your fault. I'm just glad it's over."

I rest my head on the window, and close my eyes. A few minutes later, the car stopped, and Nate got out of the car and helped me. I looked up and saw the biggest house I had ever seen. He led me through his front door into the main hall, then up the stairs and what I concluded to be his room. He pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, ushering me into the bathroom to change.

As I peel my clothes off my body, I felt pangs of pain. Everything hurt. My dad had done quite a beating this time. I pulled on the sweats and pulled the shirt over my head, and turned around and glanced in the mirror. I had changed. I wasn't glowing anymore; I was just pale, not counting the black and blue marks. My eyes didn't sparkle; they were just pools of blankness. My hair just kind of hung there; no longer bouncy and spunky. I touched my stomach and realized I had easily lost 10 pounds. As I was about to crumble to the ground in another round of sobs, I heard a soft knock at the door.

"Caity? Are you okay?" I cringed at the nickname. My dad calls me that. I opened the door and instantly collapsed in his arms. They were strong, and safe. I sobbed, this time openly, and he wrapped his arms tightly around me. I ignored the pain coming from my bruises.



"Cait..shh…please stop crying. Caity, I promise you're safe now. He's never going to touch you again." I looked up at him, face stained with tears, and quickly pressed my lips to his. He tensed for a second, but then wrapped one arm around my waist and cupped my face with his hand. They were calloused, probably from playing guitar so much, but I didn't mind. As we broke away for air, I smiled. I don't think I had done that for a while. He was the first one to speak.

"What was that for? I mean, not that I minded…it's just that it was unexpected. But a good unexpected, no better tha…" I smiled again at his babbling.

"It was to say thank you. I feel safe when you're around. Thanks for saving me." It was his turn to smile.

"Come on, let's get to sleep. I bet you haven't had a good night's sleep in a while."

We made our way to the bed, and he said I'd take the bed and he'd sleep on the floor, but I protested.

"No, Nate. Stay with me. Please." He nodded in reply.

He went to the bathroom to change into his pj's. When he came out, he was in fleece pajama bottoms and didn't have a shirt on. I noticed he was toned. Very toned. I slid into bed facing the wall and he slid in facing my back. As soon as he settled in, I turned around and snuggled into his chest. He rolled onto his back and I wrapped an arm around his waist and he did the same to me. I looked up for a brief second, and he smiled and kissed my forehead. I put my head back on his chest and closed my eyes, falling into the first comfortable sleep I've had in months.

Yeah so that was a lot more emotional than anything I've ever written. I'm not sure if I'll leave it at a one-shot, but if I get enough reviews I'll turn it into a series. So you know what that means! Review away!