AN: Here's chapter 10! (does a happy dance) I can't believe that we are already so far in, I just want to thank my readers and reviewers who have been there since the beginning. I love you all so much, it might be a while until I post the next chapter since I have school starting tomorrow, I hate highschool...But I hope you enjoy this chapter, don't be shy, leave a review and send in those requests. I'll have chapter 1 of my Blaincedes posted soon. Ciao for now! Sorry for any spelling errors

Chapter Ten: Guardian Angel pt. 2

It had been nearly twenty hours until Mercedes was able to wake again. Her head felt groggy and her eyes were still heavy with sleep. She wasn't at home tangled up in her favorite rainbow sheets, she was somewhere else. Somewhere that smelled of seaweed and cleaning supplies. She closed her eyes trying hard not to concentrate on anything.

Trying not to feel the numbness in her legs each time she dug her nails into them under the scratchy sheets that were tucked over her body. Mercedes wanted to scream but the only sound that came out was a hoarse cry. There was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in" she had managed to say.

The large wooden door slid open and two uniformed police officers stepped inside, a doctor flanking them on either side. "Mercedes Jones?" the female officer with curly blonde hair stepped forward and offered Mercedes a kind smile. Mercedes swallowed the hard nerves in her throat and nodded. "I'm Detective Janie Kellman" she brandished her badge, "This is my partner Detective Ron Malone"

The tall brown haired man with a muscular build stood at the side of the bed and held out his badge for her to see. Mercedes glanced at the doctors and looked back at the officers. "Do you remember what happened last night?" Detective Malone took the plastic seat beside her bed and sat in it. Detective Kellman shooed the doctors out of the room and leaned up against the foot of the bed, her slender hands showcasing clear nail polish that shined in the light.

"Where's Mike?" Mercedes panicked. Had he died? Was he in jail? "Where is he?" Mercedes tried to get out of the bed but Detective Malone pressed a gentle pale hand on her shoulder to secure her.

"Mike Chang is fine. We want to know what happened in that house last night" Detective Kellman cleared her throat and Mercedes could feel herself getting emotional.

Quietly, Mercedes went over the things that had happened last night. She watched the Detectives faces change from unconcerned to deeply worried as she tried to go over everything in pain staking detail. Detective Ron's eyes were filled with something that looked like rage, as if he wanted to finish off her father himself. "And you say that you've been staying with Mike?" Janie asked and Mercedes nodded.

"And how long has this been going on?" Malone asked rubbing his face with a shaky hand. "Five years" Mercedes looked at her IV drip bag and sighed.

"What else has happened in your house?" both Detectives asked. Mercedes told them about the lack of food, her extreme weight loss, her lack of new clothes, all of the abuse. She even told them about the time that her father pushed her down the steps, that was a story that she'd never told anyone before.

"Will Mike be charged for anything?" Mercedes stared both Detectives in the eyes. They exchanged a sideways glance before shaking their heads in unison. "He was protecting you and using his fists for self defense, he might have gone a bit overboard but that's only natural when you're fending off violence" Janie scratched her forehead.

The officers asked a few more questions before leaving her all alone in her room. A few doctors had come in and refilled her water cups but she was no longer thirsty. She wanted to see Mike. She wanted to know that he was okay.

In the room beside hers, Mike wanted the same thing. The police had asked him several questions regarding with relationship with Mercedes and her family. He was acclaimed a hero but knew that that title was useless since he had a broken finger and a couple of scars along his hands and ears, that's all he had to show for his "heroism"

He didn't know what had happened to Mercedes once the police came. He only knew that he was escorted away from the house kicking and cursing her father into the next century. Mike didn't even want to know what would happen to that man, but he hopped that when he woke up he would be in a jail cell with someone who was much more relentless than he ever was.

…

That following week both Mercedes and Mike were discharged from the hospital around the same time. The Glee Club members had found out about Mercedes home life from hearing about it on the news and were a bit angry that they found out the way they did. Mike's parents had called once they found out that their child was a hero but stayed where they were.

When Mike and Mercedes arrived home there wasn't a news truck in sight. They must've moved on to the next story.

"I smell like a truck driver," Mercedes grunted and Mike chuckled. He opened the house door with the key Mercedes had tucked in her book bag and helped her hobble inside. Her leg wasn't broken or even fractured but it was badly bruised. Mercedes tried to hop down to the bathroom but she couldn't make it four steps without collapsing against the wall.

Mike helped her up and maneuvered her towards the bathroom.

"If you smell like a truck driver then I must smell like a petting zoo" Mike crinkled his nose. Mercedes held out her fingers and pressed her thumb and index finger close together. "You smell about this bad" she gestured towards her fingers and Mike let out a pained laugh.

In his head he was still going over the fact that he hadn't been there to protect her when she needed him. He came at the last minute that faithful night, if he had been a few seconds later who knew if Mercedes would have been alive.

Mike set her down on the closed toilet and began to fiddle with the showerhead. He turned on the water so that it was warm enough for her to get in before promptly taking off her flip-flops and pulling the shower curtain open. He removed her sapphire pendant and set it on the counter, helping her out of her alcohol smelling t-shirt, the same one that she had worn when she went into her old home. She turned away from him and Mike turned to look at the corner, watching the dust collect on the windowsill as she undressed. Once she was bare he avoided looking at her for too long while gently helping her inside. He still hated himself for allowing her to go back to that house all alone.

And now it was his fault that she was hurt so badly. It was nothing short of a miracle that she was alive at all. Mike was getting ready to leave the bathroom when the small girl in the shower whispered, "Don't leave me Mikey"

…

Mercedes had never felt to small before. But she knew that at this moment she didn't want Mike to leave her. Not now. While she was going through all of the jumbling thoughts in her head as if she were plowing straight into mist, blindfolded. She peered out of the shower curtain and saw Mike turn his head to face her. In his eyes were the beginnings of tears and Mercedes wanted to brush them away. She didn't want him to cry for her. "Please don't leave," she said again just as the first tear fell across Mike's cheek. A wave of emotion seemed to pass through the playful atmosphere that was once in the bathroom.

He seemed to be struggling with his shivers but they were coming fast, turning into uncontrollable shudders. Mike hissed out a breath, trying not to sob as he took in Mercedes small skinny bruised body as it was silhouetted through the shower curtain. This was his entire fault. Her extreme weight loss, her bruises. All his fault.

He didn't actually inflict any pain on her but he wasn't there for her when she needed him. Mike scrubbed at his eyes and shook his head. Mercedes beckoned him over to her, moving the curtain aside so that she could help him out of his bloody t-shirt. He stood in front of her and began shivering with uncontrollable sobs that bubbled and erupted in his throat. Mercedes slid the crusted red shirt over his head and gently unbuckled his belt, letting his pants fall to the floor.

She couldn't feel her fingers anymore, they felt so numb as they pulled at his hand and brought him inside the shower beside her. He was only wearing his boxers now and his eyes were shut tightly as he cried, tears blending in with the falling water coming from the showerhead. Mercedes scrubbed his collarbone with a sponge, feeling her own tears fall as she did so. He was hurt, trying to protect her. It was all her fault. If she hadn't left the house without Mike, none of this would have happened. Mercedes gently brushed his wet hair away from his shoulders and tried to scrub the bruises off but they were there to stay. That was her fault too.

Mercedes choked on a sob and she let her legs give out from underneath her as she crumpled to the floor in uncontrollable sobs. She could have almost gotten her friend killed. What would she have done without him? Her life would have meant nothing, absolutely nothing if Mike wasn't in it.

…

Mike leaned down, letting the icy hot water from the faucet fall on his shoulders. He took a seat beside Mercedes and wrapped an arm around her, ignoring the water as if pounded against his back. Mike hated himself. "Its all my fault" both Mercedes and Mike said at the same time, as if they were in mutual agreement with one another. Mercedes buried her head into Mike's shoulder and waited for the water to cool down. Mike moved a hand along her back trying to comfort her even when he was in need of comfort himself.

After a few moments, the water became cold and Mike stood, gathering his shivering friend into his arms and out of the shower. His boxers were soaking wet but he didn't care. He carried Mercedes to her bedroom and sat her down on the desk chair. After a moment he went into her closet and pulled out a pair of blue shorts and a black t-shirt. Slowly, Mike returned to Mercedes side and helped her into her clothes.

She had her head bowed away from him as if she were hiding her tears. Mike lifted her chin so that he could examine her eyes. "You're crying," he said. Tears dotted along her chin, making her ebony colored skin glitter in the dark lamplight. Mike brushed a tear away and smoothed his hand along her cheek.

"It was my fault that you got hurt," she stated simply hugging her knees to her chest.

Mike shook his head. It would never be her fault that he got hurt. He'd let himself get injured long before he let anyone do harm to his best friend. "I wanted to protect you." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers, taking a deep breath that helped controlled his shivers.

"It was my fault that I wasn't there to protect you" Mike bit at his lip as Mercedes wiped away his tears. She curled her hands into his hair and brought his head closer to hers, keeping his attention on her and only her.

"You're always there to protect me…You're my Guardian Angel" Mercedes smiled a slow smile that looked like it pained her. Mike shook his head and sighed, feeling the water from his boxers puddle at his feet.

Mercedes looked down and blushed noticing that he was soaking wet. She stood from her seat and took his hand in hers.

"Lets get you into something dry" Mercedes led him out of her room and into his own. She allowed him to go into his closet and change, sitting on the edge of his bed trying to maintain her composure. She wouldn't cry anymore. Not when she had someone like Mike to be her Guardian Angel.

AN: End Of This Chapter!

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