A/N this is my first LWD fic. Please leave me reviews, they encourage me to update faster. This will be Derek's POV for most of the story. Oh, and I've already written the first five chapters. I'll post the first five daily, but I'm not changing what I've already wrote. Warning: This story does not make Sam look good. Also, possibly rated M.
A Knight in Shining Armor
Rescuing Casey
I saw the bruise on her cheek immediately. Nora asked her what happened. "Oh you know me, klutzilla". And she ran up to her room. Everyone in the room but Marti exchanged concerned looks. I'd seen only four bruises in the last few weeks, but the result of more. Discreetly I got up and prepared her an ice pack, and took it up to her.
"You know," I said, standing there in her doorway as I always did, trying to look cool "I'm really worried about you, Case. I don't believe that "klutzilla" bit at all. Something's going on and I want to know what." "Oh, please, Derek, you're the one who gave me that nickname." "Yeah, and I've lived with you long enough to know your not nearly as klutzy as the name makes you sound." I walked toward where she was sitting on the bed and gently placed the ice pack on her cheek. "Something's going on here. You have way too many bruises. I want you to tell me what's going on." Casey sighed, "Oh, and since when do you care? Why aren't you laughing it up and making fun of it every chance you get?" I got up and moved toward the door. "Don't push me away Case. I don't know what's going on here, but I think you need me, you need all of us more than you let on, and I don't want to see any more bruises, you hear?"
I walked out of the room chuckling under my breath that the last part of my little speech sounded a bit more like something I'd tell Marti than a sixteen year old that should be able to take care of herself. I wished she would tell me what was going on. I still picked the mandatory step brother/sister fights with her, but I'd realized I just did it now to hide my feelings from her. And the rest of the family of course. No doubt Edwin would never let the teasing stop if he found out the truth. That I was in love with Casey. Lizzie, little miss discreet, wouldn't say anything, of course, and Marti would ramble on about people crushing on each other. But I'd really get it from Ed. And how would Dad and Nora react? Sure, they'd try to be sensitive, wouldn't they? But considering our past? Who really knows? Not to mention she was with Sam. She certainly didn't return the feelings.
But that wasn't important now. Casey was getting hurt, and that klutzilla nickname didn't fit the graceful girl/woman at all. No, she wasn't klutzilla. Now she was no more than my "Casserole Casey". I knew it was cheesy. I'd only ever called her that the one time at dinner, obviously, and she'd retorted with that "Dereka" remark, but I thought of her that way. It was one of those moments. The cheesy ones are the ones I'd remember more than anything, early on, mostly because there were not many other mutually pleasant moments between us.
I had to find out what was going on. I reentered Casey's bedroom. "Please, Case, just tell me what's going on? We're all worried about you." Casey yelled at me "Look Derek, I can't tell you. If I did you'd disown me. Or give me another bruise for saying it, most likely." "What can you possibly mean by that, Case? Look, you have to be honest. I have to know what's going on. Please trust me." Casey looked at me warily, as if she were weighing her following words carefully. When she'd been silent for a while I looked at her and said "If you don't tell me I'll drag you downstairs and show Dad and Nora the bruise on your stomach if I have to rip your shirt off to show them." The irony of that last part hit me, remembering all those times she was seething in anger and I'd wanted to do just that, but it obviously missed Casey by a mile. "How did you know about that?" "I saw you clutching it the other day. If you try to hide something, you should close your door more often." Casey stood up, balling her fists, taking deep breaths, looking as though she were either going to slug me, or gather courage, and whispered, her voice breaking "It's Sam. He hit me a couple of times. I've been trying to hide it but I don't know if I can anymore." I was pissed at her now, pissed for real, for the first time in at least two months. "You don't talk about my best friend that way. I don't know why you're hurt, but you aren't blaming it on my best friend!" I yelled and went into my room, seething.
Can you believe her? Blaming it on Sam. Sam would never hit his girlfriend. Or any woman. But then I remembered some article I'd read on women who got beat by their boyfriend when Nora and Casey were pushing feminism in the house, and how part of it matched up. It had to have started a month ago. Her bruises always showed up after a date with Sam. And he'd bring her flowers or chocolates or stuffed animals the next day. That wasn't sounding very coincidental. The article said they'd do that. Then I remembered something else. I remembered being at Sam's house when we were only eight or nine, and seeing his mom with a very obvious shiner. "What happened was it take your mom to the hockey rink day?" I'd asked Sam. Sam had just said "yeah, something like that" and left it alone. One time, a few weeks later, I'd seen Sam's dad hitting her, but I didn't really pay much attention. I mean, it had only been that one time. Well unless you counted the shiner, but I couldn't be sure that's where it came from. The article had also said that "abusive behaviors are usually passed on from the father".
Could what Casey was saying be true? The slow truth dawned on me with sadness. I'd tried to keep Sam and Casey apart lately for selfish reasons, but I'd had no idea Sam was dangerous! But I couldn't really believe that. Coincidences happened all the time. Sam was my best friend. He didn't do that sort of thing. He was a great guy. Casey was just dreaming. But then that didn't explain the bruises, did it? How the hell would she have gotten them? And why would she blame it on Sam? She said she loved him. Didn't she? You can't love someone who beats you. You just can't. It doesn't make sense! Casey was the most sensible person I knew. If she was in an abusive relationship, she'd tell someone, get help. She wouldn't just let it continue. Right? What if that was it? Her telling me was her way of asking for help. And she had to be serious. You don't say something horrible about someone to their best friend unless it was true. I didn't know what to do. I had to protect her, but first I had to know what to protect her from. It couldn't be Sam. It just couldn't. Except all signs pointed toward him.
