Fitzgerald Grant was a carbon copy of his mother, in the sense of her compassion, love and care. He was a very giving person, he tried to help as many people as he can even though some people didn't want his help. he refused to take no for an answer. He had a heart full of gold, as his older sister Leanne put it. He was one of the good guys, he always strived to be a good man. It was in his nature, he could do no wrong in so many peoples eyes but he knew more than anyone nobodies perfect.
He was driving down the dark rode towards his house, at the edge of town and surrounded by bushes. He loved the seclusion and the privacy it gifted him, he wasn't into crowds. He liked the chance to be alone and decompress though not all the time. It was an escape from the day he'd endure whilst helping people. He would see so many people have that earth shattering, fuck-em-all love and be reminded that he was all alone in that sense.
It wasn't from his lack of trying, he'd tried so hard to find someone to share his life with but to no avail. He'd never find anyone worthy in his eyes, not in the money sense but in the heart of gold sense. He wanted someone who was the ying to his yang, the exact copy of him in some ways. He wanted someone compassionate, loving and caring those three things he craved for in a wife, partner, lover and friend.
After a good nine years of trying he quit looking for someone to share his love with, and buried himself in his work and charities. He was sick of it now, he didn't want to put himself through the same heartbreak he had all those years ago. He couldn't, he'd never experienced love in the way it should be. He'd only experienced the obsessive kind, from an old high school sweetheart which had inadvertently ruined him.
As he drove down the road, something in his line of sight had him pressing the brakes quite hard. He quickly grabbed his medical bag and jumped out of his car, there was a woman lying in the middle of the road. There was blood everywhere and she was bottom lined bruised from head to toe, the only places left unmarred her beautiful face.
"Miss, are you alright?" He asked, as he took out his stethoscope to check her heartbeat. It was beating ever so loudly, but her eyes were closed and she let out a whimper. He could tell she was in pain, he could see clearly how bruised she was and he felt a slight tug in his heart for the poor woman. She looked barely old enough to be eighteen and she had long black hair that was messy and soaked with nearly dried blood.
"Miss?" he said, again. He couldn't fathom how people could be so cruel, she was just barely breathing from the pain. He had to help her, he needed to help her. He wanted to help her, he picked her up in his arms and grabbed his medical bag bringing her to his car. He settled her in the backseat and took off towards his house, which was only a few miles away.
He briefly wondered how the poor girl got so far out here, she was nearly twenty miles away from the nearest town and just five miles shy of his own home. He couldn't stop wondering what happened to her, who could have hurt her and why. She looked so innocent and pure, how could anyone hurt her? She didn't deserve to be hit, she was just a young girl, a beautiful young girl.
He pulled into his long driveway and made his way to the garage of his three story home, it was a glass house type of home and it was very spacious. He jumped out of the car and pulled the back door open, picking up the girl and slamming the door shut he made his way into the house, through the now open garage and shut it, going towards the medical room at the far end of the hall. He placed her on the exam table and turned the lights on.
Fitz noticed the young woman taking steady breaths, her eyes clenched shut. He could tell she was conscious, but didn't want to open her eyes. He dimmed the lights slightly and washed his hands, pulling on gloves and sat in a stool moving closer to the exam table.
"Miss, can you talk?" He asked, looking at the woman. He was really looking at her for the first time, he could see her beauty she was the epitome of the word. Her eyes slowly opened and doe brown met azure blue for the first time. He found himself lost in the doe-eyed beauties eyes.
"Where am I?" She asked, hesitantly.
"My home, I found you in the middle of the road. Can you tell me how you got there?"
"I...I...I don't...k..know..." She stuttered, unsure of why the man had brought her to his home.
"Where are you in the most pain?" He asked.
"My lower abdomen, It really hurts." She gasped out, as he grabbed a pair of scissors and cut through her torn dress. He removed it from her body to reveal a lacy boy shorts and bra set. He took a deep breath and looked at her stomach. It had a big blue and purple bruise that made him do a double take, he could feel the anger washing over him.
"Who did this to you?" He asked. The young girl looked away.
"My dad." She whispered before shutting her eyes, and submitting to the darkness.
X X X
Fitz had undressed her and placed her in an ice bath to relax her muscles, careful not to take advantage of her by staring at her face the entire time. He couldn't help but feel slightly aroused by touching the young Goddess's mocha, smooth skin.
He made sure to watch her carefully, because she was unconscious and he didn't want her to drown. He noticed she started to move a bit, slightly. Her eyes moving under her eyelids, as she started to come to again.
"Did you undress me?" She asked, panicked.
"I didn't look." He assured her.
"Yeah right..." She scoffed, not believing him.
"You don't know me, and that makes you hesitant to trust me but do believe I'd never take advantage of a young woman whose barely conscious and young enough to be my younger sibling-if I had one." He said, with conviction.
She looked through narrowed eyes. "Why are you helping me?" She questioned, no one could be that nice without wanting something.
"Why wouldn't I?" He retorted.
"No one's this nice, they always want something. So what do you want?" She asked, carefully studying the angel's face. He was handsome, she'd give him that but she couldn't trust him. She couldn't trust anyone, because men were all the same. They were always nice when they wanted something, like him.
"I want to help you, can you allow me that?" He asked.
"Why?"
"Why not?" He asked, as he grabbed a rag and soaped it up and started to wash the blood off of her, keeping his eyes on her. "You've been abused, and you're in pain. If not for me, who would have helped you? We're thirty miles away from the nearest town, you'd have died out there."
"What are you going to do with me?" She shuddered as he descended lower with the rag, she was shocked at the fact he wouldn't look anywhere but at her face.
"What do you want me to do?" He said, as he rinsed the soap off with the shower head from above and started to rinse the dried blood from her hair. "I can't just let you go back to your father, so would you like me to get the police involved or something?"
"No!" She panicked. Fitz applied the shampoo to her hair, and started to cleanse it.
"What's wrong?" He asked, worried. He could see the panic in her eyes.
"He'll find me that way..."
"Who will? You're father?" He asked, she nodded. "What do you want to do then?"
"I can't get help from any public officials, the report will flag my father's employees which will allow them to track me and bring me back to him." She said, starting hyperventilate. "I CAN'T GO BACK TO HIM!" She said, starting to cry. "I CAN'T!"
"Do you want to stay here?" Fitz asked, he was talking out of his ass. There was no way he was letting her leave, he could see the fear in her eyes. He knew all to well how it felt to be at the receiving end of abuse it was horrible. He'd suffered inhumane years of verbal, emotional and physical abuse at the hands of his father. Who was a complete asshole when he had a bottle in one hand and a belt or whatever hard object he could find in the other.
X X X
"Why would you want me to stay here?" She whispered.
"I know what you're feeling right now, well partially anyway." He said, as he ringed the excess water out of her hair and grabbed a small towel to wrap around like Carmen Miranda's fruit hat. He turned off the pipe and flipped the drain switch, grabbing a larger towel he helped her stand and wrapped it around her.
He lifted her up and brought her back into his bedroom and placed her on his king-sized bed. He walked towards his dresser and pulled out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt for her, placing it beside her.
"My father used to abuse my mother, and myself when I was younger. He was a true asshole, and I felt completely fearful, and angry and distrustful. I always wondered why my mother stayed with him when she did, or why she didn't do anything about it when he'd first started hitting her." Fitz paused, looking the young girl in the eyes. "She told me it was because she loved him, not only that but because he struck fear in her. He had the resources to take me away from her, so she endured the abuse and held her tongue when he would hit us. Though she took the bulks of the hits."
"Anyway, I know how hard it is to trust people but you need to trust me. I'm only looking out for your best interest. I genuinely want to help you, you may not believe me and you don't have to but know this. I'm going to help you, whether it be here or somewhere else." He said, looking her in the eyes.
"I don't have anywhere else to go, I don't have friends or siblings, or anyone but my father." She sniffled.
"Then stay here, I promise I'll protect you." He said, she stared at him sadly.
"But who's going to protect you?" She whispered, softly.
"What do you mean?"
"My father has the man power, to hurt you. He has people working for him, bad people." She looked away. "Who's going to protect you if he hurts you?"
She couldn't put him in danger, he'd helped her so far. He'd been so close to her, he could have taken advantage of the fact they were the only people here for miles. He could have really done some damage to her, but instead he showed her kindness and helped her.
"I know that you're afraid, but I know people. As I've said, I've been in your situation. My father's a hell of a bastard, but amongst him are people with the same amount of power who try to get rid of guys like him. If you'd just let me help you, I know I can. I've helped many people in your situation before." He said, as he handed her an antibiotics cream for her bruises.
"Have you ever brought anyone here to take care of?" She questioned.
"No, I've never let anyone enter my haven. This is my safe haven, my peace of mind. Not even my mother or sister, has ever been here." He said, a bit embarrassed.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"It just felt right. I mean, I could have just taken you to a hospital but something told me to bring you here so I did." She raised a brow, was he one of those 'a voice in my head told me to do this and that' kind of person? "Will you stay here?"
"Would you even let me leave?"
"I guess that's a yes." He said, smiling at her. "I'll leave you to get dressed."
He turned and made his way to the door, the young woman watched him for a few seconds before she called out for him to stop.
"What's your name?"
"Fitz." And with that he made his way out the room, shutting the door behind him.
X X X
Fitz returned to the room with a glass of water, chicken noodle coup and pain relievers to help with the pain. He set the tray down on the nightstand beside the bed and handed her the pills and water. She gladly accepted them, and swallowed. Sipping some of the water, before putting it back.
"Why am I in your bedroom?" She asked, he chuckled.
"You sure, like to ask questions and challenge a lot." He said, he sobered as he noticed she flinched. "Sorry."
"No, it's alright." She swallowed. "Thank you."
"It's no problem." He shook his head.
"No, I mean really. I've probably been bugging you non stop with my attitude, when I should be thanking you. You could have left me for dead, but you didn't. You helped me, even when I snapped at you." She said, nervously.
"It's fine." He saw her mouth open to say something, but he stopped her. "Let's just agree to disagree."
"The antibiotics, should have you feeling sleepy in a bit so you might want to eat." He said, gesturing to the soup.
"I'm not really hungry." She said, scrunching up her face.
"Please? Just a little bit." He begged.
"I really can't. I feel nauseous as it is." She muttered.
"Alright, well I'll just leave it there in case you change your mind." Fitz said, grabbing some pajamas from the Chester drawer and his things and heading out the room. He took the guest room across from his room, so he'd be close enough to make sure she'd be okay.
After his shower, he changed and climbed into bed staring at the ceiling. It was close to five in the morning and he was glad he didn't have to work in the morning because if he did he would be a dead man walking all day.
As soon as his head hit the pillow everything went black.
X X X
"STOP!" A blood curdling scream filled the house, waking Fitz. He sat up trying to remember what had happened the previous night, he remembered the young girl and the pain she was in, as well as the terrified look in her eyes.
He quickly climbed out of his bed and busted into the master bedroom, to see the young girl screaming and thrashing around in the bed. Her face was scrunched up, and her hands her clawing at herself. He quickly went to her side and shook her, slightly trying to wake her up.
"Darlin' wake up." He said, trying to keep from getting hit by her flailing limbs. "Wake up, you're safe."
Her thrashing slowly stopped and her eyes slowly opened and she stared at him, her eyes filled with horror. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her into his arms, comforting her.
"It's going to be okay, you're safe." He whispered.
After a few moments, her breathing settled and she stared at him through tear-filled eyes. He could tell she looked lost, and confused. He'd been victim to nightmares years prior, waking up frightened with an accelerated heart beat, beating against his chest.
"Can you tell me what you dreamed about?" He asked, cautiously.
"I...I... don't remember." She said, breathing deeply.
"Are you hungry?" He asked, she nodded.
"Alright, well. Let's go to the kitchen alright?" Helping her up, he led her out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen. She seemed to noticeably calm down, as he started to make her breakfast.
"What's your name?" He whisked the eggs, as he turned the stove on.
"Olivia." Was her cold answer. She was waiting for the mat to be pulled from under her, it was what she expected. Nothing good ever lasted forever, it was a lesson her father had instilled in her.
"That's a beautiful name, was it inspired by someone or did your parents just pick it randomly?" He asked, adding chopped bacon, peppers, and shredded cheese to the egg mix before pouring it into the hot pan. He noticed she flinched when he complimented her name, he made a mental note not to ask her about it. "Would you like a bagel or toast with your omelet?"
"Toast, do you have any orange juice?" She asked in a soft voice, a big contrast from her cold tone. He noticed she had so many different emotions running through her eyes, her attitude changed from shy to angry and then to nervous and frightened. He wondered what happened between her and her father, he could tell it wasn't something sudden.
No, the abuse ran longer than recently even if it wasn't physical until now but mental and verbal. He could feel himself getting angry, who in the hell would hurt their child? He understood there was bad people out there but hell, who would do that to their own child?
His own father had beat him, and his mother. They had endured so much pain from him, but never to the intensity Olivia had. He knew his own father was a sick son of a bitch but this man was a sadistic mother fucker. He was dreading to ask this question, especially over breakfast but he had to know. He needed to know just how bad her injuries were to an extent, he had suspicions but he needed confirmation.
As he placed the toast and omelets on plates and poured himself and she some orange juice he placed them on the breakfast bar and sat beside her, handing her a fork and butter spread for her toast.
Fitz waited for her to start eating before he ate anything, wanting to be polite. He noticed, she ate in small bites and finished a little longer after he had. He smiled at her, as he saw her empty plate. She hadn't eaten anything last night and he wasn't sure if she'd eaten anything before her attack, so when he saw her finish off her food. He was glad.
He knew without a doubt, he'd protect her with everything he had. No matter what it took, life or death but he wouldn't let it get that far.
So how was it?
I know, it's been a while since my last update for Decisions & Secrets and I am so sorry, but truthfully a lot has happened and I really lost my inspiration. Our family is dealing with so much right now, with my cousin (who's like my sister and best friend all wrapped into one) is now in a coma after struggling for almost three years with kidney failure.
I will be updating Decisions & Secrets, I have already started on chapter five. I promise to update as much as possible, during this time. Please dare with me, because right now my inspiration is sort of one. My cousin used to always sit down with me and pre-read my chapters and tell me what she thought before I posted and without her I'm a bit lost as to if i'm doing a good job or not.
But I will finish my stories, because when I make a commitment, I stick to it.
Yours Truly,
PKH.