01.
Elaine stood in front of the Teshima corporation and hesitated.
Her hair was starting to get greasy again and her clothes were old and ripped at places. She wore a long-sleeved shirt to cover the various bruises on her arms and her long skirt was covering the bruises on her legs. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy from the sleepless night she'd spent crying. She knew that she had to put an end to her misery and that the answer to her problems was in the building but she couldn't bring herself to walk inside and face the one person who she loved and admired with all her heart. He had turned her life upside down from the moment he had walked into it and it was all for the better.
Until she decided to ignore her feelings for him and marry the first person ready to accept her as his wife knowing she'd never love him. That was her biggest mistake but it still wasn't the moment when her life had gotten so messed up. It was when the man she married had turned into the monster he was now that she realized she was in a mess too deep for her to handle.
In the beginning of their relationship her husband was the perfect gentleman. He always listened to her and was there for her, telling her everything would get better. Not only that but he married her knowing she could never love him the way he wanted to because she was in love with someone else. It was a couple of months after the wedding that he had hit her for first time and that marked the beginning of his gradual fall from the man of her dreams to the monster of her nightmares.
There was a time when she thought things were going to get better and he would stop hurting and abusing her but it quickly passed away taking almost every hope for her.
Almost.
Because even at the darkest times there was a ray of sun shining in her soul and giving her strength. It had first gotten there when she was assigned for a secretary to the Teshima's new private investigator and it had continued to grow the more she got to know the guy and the more she fell in love with him.
Back then she was still too fragile but his contagious passion for life and adventure had slowly gotten into her and with the time it had made her stronger than she ever thought she'd be. Everything had started when Teshima's employees were held hostage along with their chief. Only the two of them were safe in one of the lower floors and they had used this advantage doing everything they could to save everyone. Of course due to her boss' cleverness and sharp mind their mission was successful. However there was a moment when she was on the verge of giving up and she'd never forget what he he had told her back then to encourage her.
"It's up to you, man. You can sit around for the rest of your life, eat twinkies and watch tv and be bored to death. Or you can go for it."
It was in that moment that she knew by taking her final decision she was also deciding the course of her life.
Taking a deep breath she stared at the building for a couple more seconds before she finally moved to walk inside. Passing through the familiar front door she paused to look at the surroundings she knew too well. Everything was still the same and hadn't changed a bit since she had last seen it.
'But I've changed', she thought bitterly to herself and moved further inside towards where the elevators were. She pressed the button and when the elevator dinged to signal it was there she went inside and took one last glance at the lobby before the door closed up. She quickly got to the floor she was headed at and ducked her head down, hoping that she could walk to his office without being recognized.
The first thing she noticed was the tall dark-haired woman sitting on her old desk. 'Probably his new secretary', she thought and her eyes travelled all over the woman. She was tall with black hair and actually kind of resembled a female version of her boss with one difference; her eyes. They were bright blue and were glimmering with something Elaine instantly recognized because she'd seen it in his dark brown orbits that she loved so much. Before she could reach her desk, the other woman stood up opening the door to his office and disappeared inside.
Elaine felt her heart started beating faster; he was there, behind that door and she was going to see him for first time after a very long time. Instead of heading to the door however, she walked to the window and carefully peaked inside.
Sure enough there he was. The man who had captured her heart from the moment she first laid eyes on him.
Dennis Booker.
He wore the usual for him old ripped jeans and a white muscle top that revealed his toned muscular arms, shoulders and chest in an oh so delightful way. He had his back towards the window and was saying something she couldn't hear when he suddenly turned around and her breath caught in her throat because he was even more gorgeous than she remembered him. His cinnamon eyes were shining brightly and there was a small smile on his face that almost stopped her heart yet made it beat faster all in the same time. The familiar silver earring adorned his earlobe and there was a big cross pendant hanging around his neck.
It was the dark-haired woman's turn to speak and what she said caused him to lean and press his lips against her cheek for a brief moment. Then she turned to walk out of his office and Elaine quickly moved to hide herself from view. Once the other woman had walked away she carefully peeked through the window again. This time Dennis was sitting on his chair, leaned backwards and his eyes were closed.
After a moment of hesitation Elaine took a deep breath and reached for the handle.
Now or never.
She slowly opened the door and walked inside closing it behind herself.
Hearing the door open Dennis lifted his head to look at whoever had walked in. His eyes widened in surprise when they found Elaine. He hurried out of his chair but stopped in his tracks for a second taking in her poor appearance.
"Elaine?! My god, are you ok?" He asked his eyes wide with shock and worry and he pulled her in for a hug.
The warmth of his embrace made her feel overwhelmed with emotion; she had waited for this moment for so long and now when his arms were wrapped around her, she couldn't stop her tears from falling freely down her cheeks. His scent hit her nostrils and she buried her face in his neck weeping quietly. Dennis carefully released her from the hug and he sat her down on his chair. After giving her a glass of water he squatted down in front of her and asked her to tell him what was going on.
Taking a few soft sips Elaine found strength from the cold water and told him everything. While he listened about the monster her husband was, Dennis' jaw tightened and his hands clenched into fists but he composed himself not wanting to upset her even more. By the end of her story the tears started falling down her cheeks again. Dennis gave her a tissue and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Shhh, everything's over now." He said and put his hands on her shoulders. "That man won't hurt you again, I promise."
He then grabbed his leather jacket and putting it on he stretched his hand to her. Elaine stared at his open palm for a moment before she finally gave him her hand and he squeezed her fingers in reassurance.
"We're going to the police station and then I'll leave you at my place before going to take your stuff from your apartment. You'll stay with me for awhile until we find you a new place to live."
Elaine's heart jumped in her chest. She hated that she had to go to the police station but she could somehow handle that. What she couldn't handle however was the thought of Dennis going to get her stuff alone and risk facing her monstrous husband.
"I'll go to the police station with you, but then we'll going to get my stuff together. I can't let you go there alone." She said but he shook his head.
"You're not coming with me." He said firmly. "You need to be as further as possible from that man.:
She opened her mouth to protest but saw his stern look and nodded with a sigh.
"Fine."
His face relaxed and he pulled her up and into his arms for a quick hug.
"Everything's going to be ok. I won't let him touch you ever again."
Elaine only nodded in his arms, too lost in his warmth to say anything.
After she made her statement at the police station Dennis took her to his place. He wasn't staying in Chick's beach house anymore because his loft was finally fixed from the bomb.
"The apartment isn't big but you can take my room and I'll sleep on the couch." He explained.
Once Booker got her all settled in he went to get her luggage from the place she shared with her husband. Once again Elaine insisted on going with him but he was adamant. She was restless and managed to calm down when he finally got back. They put her luggage in his room and walked out and into the living room.
"Well I guess we're officially roommates now." Dennis said cheerfully. "You look like you can could use a warm shower so why don't you go and refresh yourself while I order us something to eat?!"
She nodded in response and after getting some clean clothes she went into the bathroom. Taking off her dirty clothes and stepping under the warm water Elaine once again let the tears fall down. She couldn't believe she was away from that man and wouldn't be seeing him again. But the most unbelievable thing was that she was going to live with Dennis Booker, the very man who owned her heart. The more she thought about it however, the more nervous she got because she had no idea how she'd be able to hide her feelings for him.
'I'm going to have to try', Elaine thought bitterly, and closed her eyes letting out a quiet breath. '...because he'll never feel the same way about me.'
Never say never, a voice inside of her head reminded her but she ignored it and continued with her shower. With the time she had kind of gotten used to the thought that she wasn't the type of girl Dennis would like. But even if her brain knew that, there was a small sparkle in her heart that would never stop glowing inside her.
A sparkle of hope that maybe, only maybe, one day Dennis would reciprocate her feelings.
It was the one thing that had kept her going and it always would.