Tears trickled down my cheeks as those hands grabbed again, his teeth sunk into my neck and I whimpered, trying to push him away, telling myself not to use my powers on an innocent, he ripped at my dress and I let a scream tear from my lips, the alley I was in transformed into my hotel room and Warren was soon hugging me as I sobbed weakly, Layla looking at us tiredly while Raleigh crawled into my bed next to me, cuddling between Warren and me.
"You let me sleep with you when I have nightmare, so I sleep with you when you have a nightmare too," she mumbled sleepily, falling back to sleep with her small arms wrapped round me loosely and I couldn't help but smile slightly.
"So she's not a devil all the time?" Warren asked quietly so we wouldn't wake her as we laid back down and I shook my head, smoothing her blonde curls tenderly with a small smile, Warren brushed away the few tears that had escaped and kissed my forehead gently, pulling me and Raleigh to him and I closed my eyes to go back into a hopefully dreamless slumber.
It seemed like only minutes later Maria was gently shaking us awake, I blinked blearily as I sat up and yawned, Maria hugged me tightly and I patted her back, still half asleep and not really sure what was going on.
"I am so sorry, I should've been there, just like the others," she whispered, "I haven't called your parents, do you want me to?"
"No, I don't want to worry them, I'll tell them when they get home," I answered, unconsciously rubbing the bruises littering my arms, "thanks though, for everything."
"It's okay," she replied quietly, pushing Warren off the bed and I giggled as he yelled in surprise, he glared up at me tiredly and rubbed the back of his head as Raleigh slowly sat up and made her way over to Layla's bed, that child loved cuddling, she'd left her teddy bear at home so she had to cuddle with something else which constituted as Layla and me.
"I'm going for a shower," I mumbled, going into the bathroom once I'd grabbed my bag, I winced as I saw the purple bruises marring my skin, they covered my arms, there was one on my back from the impact with the wall and another on my right side where he'd punched me when I screamed, I bit my bottom lip and held back tears as I climbed in the shower, wanting to wash away the dirty feeling I had since it happened.
Half an hour later I was back in the hotel room and packing all my things while Warren went and packed his, Raleigh was sniffling and clinging to my leg, making things very difficult, Layla had tears shining in her brown eyes and Maria was helping me pack since I couldn't really walk around with a three year old clutching my leg like a limpet.
"Rae, you need to let go honey," I said softly, zipping up my bag and gently prying her off me, "you have fun here, okay? You'll see me before you know it, sweetie, I promise, and you can phone whenever you need to talk to me, yeah?"
"I don't want you to go," she sniffled and I kissed her forehead quickly as someone knocked on the door, Layla pulled the door open and I smiled at Warren as I saw him standing in the doorway.
"You ready?" he asked and I nodded, slinging my bag onto my shoulder and ruffling Raleigh's blonde hair fondly before leaving the room with Warren and Layla.
"We'll miss you guys," Layla said quietly, hugging me as we got into the elevator and Will and Magenta joined us, both of whom hugged me quickly.
"We'll miss you too," I smiled, Warren snorted and I elbowed him in the stomach, "we will, I'll call you when we get to Maxville, okay? Then you won't have to worry your little cotton socks off."
Layla laughed lightly and hugged me again, "you better, I don't want to worry my little cotton socks off, I like my little cotton socks on," she joked and I giggled as we made our way to Warren's car, I chucked my bag in the back with his and Layla hugged me tightly before Warren gently pried her off me and pulled me into the car, I waved to my friends and saw Layla biting back tears, "bye, Catie, bye Warren," she said as we drove away.
"You girls are far too emotional," Warren muttered and I glared at him weakly, he just smirked and I smiled slightly, rolling my green eyes as I wound down the window and leaned out, waving to my friends who waved back but then I retreated back into the hastily as I spotted someone in the car that just passed us, "Catie?" Warren frowned, confused at my sudden change of mood.
"They let him go, I just saw him, he was in that car," I whispered and Warren slammed on the brakes, I yelped in surprise and he got out the car, I scrambled after him hastily, nearly falling, and grabbed his arm, "Warren, no, please, I just want to go home, please, Warren, please, just take me home," I begged, clinging to his muscular arm tightly as he stood stock still, his expression on of pure fury.
"After what he did to you, you're just going to let him go?" hissed Warren, turning his head to look at me, his dark eyes full of burning anger, "Catie, he can't get away with it, I won't let him, I'll fucking kill him."
"Warren, please, I just want to go home," I whispered tearfully, stiffening as Kyle got out of his car, he looked at me and smirked, I trembled, fear flooding through me, "please, Warren, I don't want to be anywhere near him, please, please."
Warren ignored me and made his way over to Kyle, but someone got there first, Mr Stronghold had punched the boy so hard he fell back into his car with a cry of pain, blood streaming from his nose, I gasped in surprise and took a startled step back towards Warren's car, Warren glanced back at me and seemed to have an inner battle over what to do, take me home or go and kick the shit out of Kyle.
"Warren, get Catie home," Mr Stronghold ordered, pure loathing dripping from his voice as he glared at Kyle, "now, right now Warren, she doesn't need to see him."
"Warren, please," I whispered and he looked at me steadily for a few moments, then growled and got back in the car, I followed his example, my hands still trembling slightly and Warren was glaring at Kyle out the rear view mirror as he drove out the hotel parking lot and headed for Maxville, I took in a deep breath and closed my green eyes as tears built, "I'm sorry," I said quietly, "I know you were just-"
"I told you not to say that," Warren sighed and I looked over at him, he had his eyes fixed on the road, "I told you it wasn't your fault, you should listen once in a while Catie, I wanted to make him pay, I don't want him to hurt anyone, but most of all, I just wanted to make him regret what he'd done to you."
I nodded silently and looked out the window as I desperately tried to stop the flashes of last night coming back to haunt me, I buried my head in my hands and squeezed my eyes shut, but the images were even clearer, I remembered everything so much clearer, I bit my bottom lip so hard blood trickled down my chin and fell into my lap.
"Catie, quit it, I can't comfort you while I'm driving and there's nowhere to stop right now, so just stop it," Warren said, an almost helpless note entering his voice and I nodded, wiping away the blood and taking in a deep, shuddering breath to calm myself down, biting back my tears, that pathetic piece of crap didn't deserve my tears, I was better than him, Warren glanced at me and smiled slightly, "that's my girl," he said so softly I almost didn't hear him, I smiled back slightly before sucking on my bottom lip to ease the blood flow.
The trip was quiet mostly, Warren never was one for talking so I sang along with the radio, loudly and mostly off key, singing wasn't exactly one of my fortes, Warren was shooting me glares which made me grin at him, when we came to a traffic light, he clamped a hand over my mouth.
"Shut up, Catie," he growled and I nodded with a giggle, then licked his hand, he instantly withdrew it with a grimace, "you're so childish, no wonder the kids love you so much."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," I grinned, blinking innocently with the barest hint of a pout, "I am simply loveable Warren Peace, don't you see the lovability?"
"I guess," he shrugged with a slight smirk, making me grin and he shot me one of his own, I looked out the window as we began driving again.
"Warren, how long until we're back in Maxville?" I asked, leaning back in my seat and looking at the roof of the car.
"I don't know, a couple hours," he muttered, running a hand through his shoulder length black hair, then send me a curious glance, "why?"
"Just wondering," I smiled, then bit my bottom lip slightly, "you will stay with me when we get back, won't you?"
"If you want me to," was the simple reply.
Home, I was home and sitting on my couch with Warren watching some random movie, I was happy, Warren had an arm wrapped protectively round my shoulders while I was cuddled into his side and his other hand absently played with my hair, I usually hated that, but I didn't mind so much when Warren did it, it was about midnight and I was yawning slightly, though I managed to get another marshmallow from the bag in front of me.
"Warren, can you roast it?" I questioned sleeping, holding the squishy sweet out to him and he rose an eyebrow at me, I smiled innocently back at him and prodded him in the shoulder with my free hand, "please Warren, I really fancy a roasted marshmallow."
He sighed and took the marshmallow from my fingers, he heated up his hand and I watched in fascination as the white marshmallow became all gooey and yummy looking, Warren smiled slightly at me and gave me the marshmallow back when it was properly roasted, I grinned happily and ate it.
"Thanks Warren, can you make me another one?" my last word was punctuated by a yawn and he chuckled as he shook his head and laid back on the couch, gently resting me against him and brushing my dark blonde hair from my face.
"Sleep, Catie," he ordered quietly and I obediently closed my eyes to go to sleep, his fingers running soothingly down my spine and there was a small smile on my face as I fell into a deep, dreamless slumber, feeling safe and warm in Warren's strong arms.
With a sharp intake of breath, I dropped the knife I was holding, nearly cutting off my toe and I jumped back, somehow knocking over a chair and landing on my butt as I did so, I yelped at the hard impact with the ground and looked up slowly to see Warren standing over me, smirking at my klutziness.
"Oh shut up," I grumbled, rubbing the bottom of my back, "that really hurt."
He just shook his head in amusement and held a hand out for me to take, I took it and he gently pulled me up into a standing position, our eyes locked, he slowly pressed his lips to mine and I responded lightly, his arms slid round my waist while mine wrapped themselves round his neck as I went on tiptoes so he wouldn't have to tilt his head so much, he gently lifted me so we were the same height and I smiled slightly as my feet hung a few inches from the ground, this was new, he pulled back gradually and my eyes slowly fluttered open to look into his smouldering, black eyes.
"I love you, Catie," Warren whispered and I my smile grew.
"I love you too, Warren," I promised, "and you better not drop me, I'd rather not have anymore bruises," I added and he stiffened, then I realised what I'd said, I'd brought up the 'subject', the forbidden one, the reason I had the bruises in the first place, Warren frowned slightly and paced me on the ground, trailing his fingers up my arms, gently pushing up my sleeves and I looked away as the bruises were revealed.
"You said they were almost gone," Warren said quietly, his voice blank of any emotion as he traced the bruises lightly, his eyes sparking slightly in anger.
"I-I didn't want to worry you," I said softly, yanking my sleeves down to get rid of the sight of the marks on my arm, "I didn't want to remember they were there, okay? I just wanted to forget, but I can't because every single night he comes back and he-I can't stop remembering and it hurts, and makes me feel sick and dirty and worthless every single time I think about it because I feel like it's all my fault, because I must've done something to make him want to do that to me, I must've done something."
Warren just looked at me, his expression still non-existent, the anger in his eyes had extinguished though, there was sympathy settling there instead, I pulled away from him and turned around so he wouldn't see my tears, the tears that were steadily making paths down my cheeks, paths that'd been well trodden recently, I wiped them away furiously and Warren wrapped his arms round my shoulders from behind his, whispering softly in my ear, his scent overpowering my senses.
"You didn't do anything," he murmured, kissing my jaw softly, "it was him, it was all him, you did nothing, absolutely nothing, he was a creep, a bastard, who's sick in the head, trust me, you didn't do anything Catie."
Turning, I clung to him tightly, tears rolling down my cheeks, his arms around me tightly, then the phone rang shrilly, making me jump in surprise and I pulled back from Warren, wiping away my tears as I made my way to the phone in the hall.
"Hello?" I said, keeping my voice light and even so the person on the other end wouldn't know I'd been crying.
"Catie? Hey, it's Layla, Will and Maj, you're on speaker, your cellphone was switched off so we had to call the house phone, how are you?" Layla fired off at top speed and I smiled slightly as I sat on the floor with my back against the wall.
"I'm okay, what about everyone there? Jacob and Raleigh behaving themselves?" I asked, wiping the last of my tears, "never mind about the last one, knowing them they're being little horrors, sorry for leaving them with you."
"Oh no, they're being really well behaved, Ms Peace has taken them for a swim now, though they all say hi and they hope you're okay, how's Warren? I bet he's taking care of you, he really cares about you Catie," Layla said all in one big rush.
"Um, he's good and yeah, he's looking after me," I said softly, glancing back at the kitchen where I'd left Warren, "tell everyone I said hi, how are you guys, Will, Maj?"
"We're good," they answered in unison.
"Good, good," I sighed, "having fun over there?"
"Not really, we're worried about you, Catie," Layla said quietly.
"Don't be, I'm fine, go and have fun, for me," I laughed lightly, forcing it out and hoping they wouldn't catch onto it, "I've gotta go, I'm hungry, call you later."
"Bye, Catie," they said all together before we hung up and I leaned back against the wall with a sigh, closing my green eyes and propping my arms on my bent knees, hanging my head between my legs as I bit back tears.
"Catie, what're you doing?" Warren's voice sighed and I sensed him crouch next to me.
"What's it look like?" I bit back, feeling stupid and weak.
"Can you stop being a bitch for five seconds?" he snapped, "I didn't do anything except try and help you and you bite my head off constantly, I could leave Catie, and if I do, I won't come back."
That made me silence, I didn't want him to leave, I slowly lifted my head to look at him, drawing my knees to my chest and hugging them tightly, "I'm just so scared," I whispered, trembling slightly and Warren hugged me tightly, I pressed my face into his chest, "I don't want to be scared, I don't want to be scared anymore," I choked out, shaking almost unnoticeably.
"I'll protect you, I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise Catie," Warren murmured in my ear, "you just have to trust me."
I stiffened in his arms, those words.
Flashback
His hand clamped over my mouth so I couldn't scream and tears were streaming down my cheeks as I struggled, telling myself not to use my powers on an innocent, especially not a citizen.
"Aw, Caitlin, Caitlin," he cooed in my ear, sinking his teeth into my neck and I whimpered softly against his hand, he chuckled, enjoying my pain, "trust me, it won't hurt too much, just have to trust me."
End Flashback
I scrambled away from Warren, my eyes wide in fear as I scrabbled across the floor, he frowned at me, reaching a hand out to me, but I shook my head, pulling my knees to my chest and hugging them so tightly my knuckles turned a startling white colour, I was taking in quick, ragged breaths and I knew Warren was confused but he said those words, he said those terrible words.
"Don't, please don't," I begged tearfully, trembling violently, "he said that, he said that."
"Catie-"
"No, don't 'Catie' me!" I interrupted, tears flowing down my cheeks, "I know I'm being stupid and pathetic and weak but everything hurts! Everything I do I'm looking over my shoulder in case he's there! And I hate it! I hate it so much and there's nothing I can do about it!"
Warren stood, glaring at me, "fine, I've tried Catie, but you just keep on pushing me away and I don't know what else I can do, I know you're scared, I know okay? But I can't help you if you don't let me in once in a while, just tell me what the hell happened!" he was shouting my the time he finished, his fists clenched, "and it's not even your fault! It's mine for not watching you carefully enough! And I hate seeing you like this! Scared of what's coming round the next corner when I'm just trying to keep you safe!"
"You know what happened," I whispered, "and it wasn't your fault."
"But there's more to it, isn't there?" Warren growled, "you're keeping it all locked away Catie, you're not telling me anything."
"Yes I am," I protested, standing up too and glaring at him, "but you want details right? You want to know what happened? Fine! He made me leave, I trusted you'd be right behind me, then he dragged me into the alley, slammed me against the wall, I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't let go," I paused, my voice shaking, "he put a hand over my mouth so I couldn't scream, I kept telling myself not to use my powers on a citizen, that it was wrong, he kept telling me I'd enjoy it, to trust him, I tried fighting him, but he was stronger, he kept touching me, then he ripped my dress, he bit me, he wouldn't stop, he just wouldn't stop."
Warren stared at me wide eyed as I wept, then he suddenly held me close to him, stroking my hair soothingly, whispering in my ear, I clung to him, feeling like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, he was so warm, I snuggled closer to him, closing my eyes and letting myself get lost in his strong embrace.
"I'm sorry," I muttered, "for yelling at you, you didn't deserve it."
He just continued whispering softly to me, reassuring me everything would be okay
The week passed slowly, like sand trickling through an hourglass, I slowly opened up to Warren and let him know how I was feeling, my parents came home and instantly began fussing, I made them treat me like normal though, instead of like a glass figurine that would break at any given moment, then everyone else got back and I suddenly felt that everything was back to normal, Zach made me laugh, Layla and Will made me smile, Magenta dragged me to the mall, Ethan was a sweetie, that boy truly was a sweetheart, and Warren helped me with my half term homework while refusing to leave my side most of the time, I loved my friends and boyfriend.
"Zach, give me the goddamn remote," I snapped, trying to grab the remote so I could switch over the evil song that was on, "Zach please! This is torture! Torture!"
"Zach, give the remote to me," Magenta ordered, holding her hand out to her blonde boyfriend who reluctantly placed the remote in her hand, she smirked triumphantly and switched the channels.
"Thanks Maj," I grinned, hugging her swiftly as I grabbed a pack of Doritos, "mmm, cheesy goodness," I sighed blissfully, which everyone, including me, laughed at.
"Pass me the cheesy goodness," Will cried and I shook my head, holding the bag out of reach.
"My cheesy goodness!" I cackled evilly and everyone looked at me fearfully, "what? I am the ruler of the cheesy goodness, I will one day take over the world using the cheesy goodness! Mwahahahaha!!"
"It's official, my girlfriend's nuts," Warren declared while everyone else fell over themselves laughing and I ate the Doritos triumphantly, after sticking my tongue out at Warren of course.
"School tomorrow," Ethan suddenly announced and I stopped grinning, a Dorito halfway to my mouth.
"Yeah, hell," I muttered, eating the cheesy goodness with a frown, "thanks for bringing it up, Ethan."
"Sorry, Catie," he grinned sheepishly and I smiled slightly as I ruffled his hair, putting crumbs in it, "thanks Catie."
"No problem little dude," I laughed, shooting him a wink as I laid back on my couch and watched the television, "hey, isn't the movie that you wanted to see on tonight Maj? The Covenant?"
"Yeah, it'll be starting soon," she nodded, switching it onto the right channel.
Once the movie was finished I was glancing between Warren and the television with a slight frown.
"Did anyone else notice that Warren looks like Steven Strait?"
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