She sat on the bench outside the building with the hoodie still up. She didn't dare to go inside. She knew no one in there. She was waiting for Roman to show up. This was where he trained and he normally came by at 10 AM. He had told her that. She was there at 9.30. She just sat on the bench and waited, looking down at her feet.

She heard feet approaching and looked up a bit. There he was but he wasn't alone. He walked with a couple of other guys. Clearly wrestlers by the size of them.

"Oh shit," she thought.

It wasn't supposed to be like that. No one else was supposed to see her like this. She bowed her head again and hoped they would all pass her without noticing.

"Barbara?" She heard his voice ask.
No reason to hide now.
"Yeah..." She said quietly without looking at him.
"Go inside, guys. I'll be there soon," he said.

She heard the door open and close. He went in front of her and sat down on his knees so he could look up at her under the hoodie.

"Oh my god, what happened?" He asked shocked.
"He... ehm... he found out I had been taking his money last week when we met up all those times," she said.
"Oh honey," he said and put his arm around her to hug her.

She cried out in pain as his hands touched her back. He pulled away fast and sat up on the bench.

"Let me see that," he said.
"No... please... it's nothing," she tried saying.

His voice got a bit more firm as he repeated himself.

"Let me see that, Barbara," he said.

She didn't say or do anything. He lifted up her shirt slowly and looked at her back.

"Oh my god, what the fuck did he do to you?" He asked shocked.
She didn't know how her back looked but she could imagine.
"That's not all," she said and leaned back to show him her stomach.
She looked down at herself and saw how blue it was from the impact of the sink.
"Holy shit," was all he muttered.

She heard the door open.

"Roman, are you coming?" A voice asked.

She stood up.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come," she said.

She started walking slowly but the pain was so strong. He gently grabbed her arm.

"No, wait," he said, then turned his focus to the man in the door. "I'm not coming in today. Please tell the others."
"Alright," the man said.

She heard the door close again. She looked at him with begging eyes.

"Please, take me away from here. Anywhere you want," she cried.
"Of course, let's go," he said and gently led her to his car.

She got in and he started driving to his house.

"Take off your shirt and let me look at those marks again," he said once they were inside.
"I'm not wearing a bra," she said, looking a bit nervous.
"Just cover your breats with your shirt. I promise I won't look at them. I see a lot of wounds and bruises in my line of work and I need to see if you need a doctor," he said.

She turned her back to him and removed her hoodie and t-shirt. She held the t-shirt up to cover herself. He went and examined her back closely.

"Turn around," he said.

She turned around slowly and he looked at her stomach.

"What on earth did he do to you, sweetheart?" He asked.

She couldn't take it anymore. She fell to her knees while sobbing, still trying to cover herself with the shirt but it was hard. He sat down next to her. He took the shirt and gently pulled it over her head again. He reached his arms around her and she leaned herself into his chest and started telling him about that morning.

After gaining control of herself again, they had moved to the couch. It wasn't comfortable to sit in any position for her but she tried not to complain. He had made cappuccino for her and they were just talking. A couple of hours went by and she started looking at the clock on the wall more and more.

"What's wrong?" He asked.
"I need to get home soon. I need to clean the bathroom before he gets home. There's broken glass on the floor," she answered.
"Please don't go back to him. I don't want you to," he begged.
"I have to. If I don't clean it up, he'll do way worse to me," she said and looked down ashamed.

He gently grabbed her head. She looked up into his dreamy eyes. He didn't have to speak at that moment. His eyes said it all. He leaned in and kissed her and she kissed him back. She suddenly pulled back.

"I can't do this," she said.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have," he said.
"It's okay. I want to kiss you, I really do. It's just... I'm really scared right now and I need to go home and fix the house and..." She was babbling.
He leaned in and kissed her again and she let him. She couldn't resist him.
"Now I'll take you home. We just have to stop one place first," he said.

She waited in the car while he ran his errand. He came back and handed her a cellphone.

"Here, take this. Hide it somewhere safe in the house where he will never find it but where you can always get to it. Call me anytime you want. If you need me, I'll be there fast," he said.
"Thank you," she said.

He started the car again and drove her home.