I opened my eyes slowly, but quickly squeezed them shut again. The light was too bright and that combined with my headache was well enough to make anyone puke. I was about to move but stilled as soon as I sensed another person in the room. After being through this more than once, one learns to sense when someone else is in the room.
I slowly opened one eye and looked around. I heaved a sigh of relief but immediatly regretted it. It was Dom. I yelped as I felt the tight pinch in my chest from taking that sigh.
Upon hearing me Dom's head shot up to look at me. "Lexi…" He murmured and I could tell he was scared. Dom never gets scared. This had me scared now.
"I'm sorry..." I croaked out.
"For what?" He asked, sitting down next to me.
"For everything. Dragging you guys into this..." I had to stop. I hurt to talk so much. It felt like something was trying to poke out of my chest. My chest heaved with every breath I took, and with every breath I took it felt like I was running out of breath even more.
"Lexi, breathe, baby girl, breathe." Baby Girl was name Dom called all the girls in his life. It's something you get used to. My breathing slowly steadied.
"Jesse isn't here is he?" I asked fear on my face. He shook his head and I noticed how his eyes had all the sudden grown cold.
"Dominic, it's not his fault, don't be mad at him..." I had to stop again.
He didn't say anything just started at me, like he was expecting to find something in my face. "I'm going to pick you up ok?" He said standing up. I nodded. He gently picked me up, but it took everything in me to keep from crying. He lifted me into the car and we drove back to his house.
When we got there he lifted me out again, from the car. As we entered the living room, I noticed everyone was there including Jesse who was sitting in the chair closet to the door. He jumped up when we came through the door.
"Shit." He murmured looking at my body, curled up in Dom's arms.
"Move!" Dom growled pushing his way past Jesse and over to Letty.
She cursed when she saw me. "She's messed up Dom, really, really badly messed up." She said taking my hand. He nodded. I noticed how everyone else in the room was pale and quiet, especially Jesse who was sitting on the floor with his head in his hands.
"C'mon Dom, bring her up to our room." Letty said leading the way. He slowly climbed the stairs and then set me down on the bed. I inhaled sharply.
"What happened Dom?" Letty asked sitting down beside me, fingering each of my ribs. I might as well tell you I never got over my eating disorder and I was pretty sure you could count each and every one of my ribs, well the ones that weren't broken anyway. I winced inwardly as she went over the bruises.
"I'd hoped that he hadn't been there when I drove up to the house. The kitchen light was on, but I thought more like hoped it was just her. Then I entered the house. I went straight to the kitchen and what I saw…made me sick. She was just lying there on the floor in a position I knew wasn't normal. The first thing I noticed was her ribs." He said pointing to something on my stomach.
"That one was sticking out just like it is now and I was afraid she was dead. She wasn't though because I could feel a pulse and her chest was going up and down slightly. Soon after that she stirred. She asked if Jesse was there like she was afraid he was hurt or she didn't want him to see her like that. Then we came here" He finished. "Letty, she cant go back there." He said running his hand over his bald head.
"I know, Dom, I know." She replied.
I wasn't sure what to do. It wasn't like I could move but I just wanted to do something. Say something, say I could go back there, that I'd be fine, I could handle myself.
The truth was even I knew I couldn't.