Hi everyone! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter :) Just letting you know that I did see all your amazing comments, I just have very little free time or energy so I didn't answer them but omg thank you all so much :)
She didn't really know where she was going at first, and in fact, she quickly started to regret leaving in a short summer dress. She kept walking as the sun set over the city, and the cold settled around her, sending shivers through her body. She walked, and walked, and walked, not knowing what to do, and not really caring to decide.
She kept reliving the whole chain of events, seeing Tamlin's angry look as she came in the door, feeling his hands tightening around her wrists, and imagining him destroying her painting.
And leaving. As she walked aimlessly through the center of the city, she still couldn't believe what she'd done. Leaving Tamlin. It sounded like a fantasy, something she would have never imagined herself doing. She loved him, she wanted to be with him and to have a life with him. Or so she thought anyway. because even though she was certain of her love for him, she knew that the man she had just left was not the man she wanted to spend her life with. Maybe he had been, once upon a time, when they had met, and dated, and moved in together. But not anymore. She'd left him, and it felt strange and scary, but also right. And as she walked down one of the streets leading up to the river, she felt better. For the first time in months, she felt free.
It didn't take away the fact that she was in the middle of the street on a random evening, with no money and nowhere to go. Rush of the moment decisions felt good, but now there was the matter of what she would do next. She sat on a bench in front of the Sidra, and stared at the river for a moment, thinking. After maybe an hour, once the sun had disappeared and the warmth of the day had been replaced by a chilly wind, a solution started to present itself in her mind. An escape that had been there for a while, despite her various attempt at denying its existence and pushing it away. "Anything you need, I can help you."
She got up from the bench and started walking towards Northern Avenue
The green door across the street from the shabby cafe. Feyre found herself standing in front of it for a while, reluctant to go in. She could have texted him before, and it would have actually made a lot of sense, but she hadn't wanted to let the idea form in her mind. Texting him before she was here would have felt like too much pressure, and she hadn't been ready for it.
But she didn't have a choice now.
10:09 - Are you asleep?
The answer came almost immediately.
Rhys, 10:10 - No. Is everything okay?
10:10 - Are you home?
Rhys, 10:10 - Yes. Feyre, what's going on?
She didn't want to explain it in a text, so she simply answered:
10:11 - I'm in front of your building.
He was downstairs in under a minute. She whispered a shy 'hello' but he didn't answer right away, instead she saw his eyes scan her body from head to toe, as if looking for injuries. Finally his eyes met hers, and heat invaded her cheeks, as she started to realize she would have to explain why she'd chosen to come to him.
But he didn't ask her any questions, instead, he said:
"Come on up."
They entered a dark hallway, and he led her to the staircase at the end of it, climbing up two flights of stairs to get to a short corridor comprised of four apartment doors. He opened the second door to the left, and gestured for her to come in.
The apartment was not what she had pictured Rhys living in. The place consisted of a single room, with a small bed against one wall, a kitchen across from it, and a desk in a corner. There was an armchair at the foot of the bed, under the single window into the apartment, with a coffee table in front of it. The walls were covered in old faded wallpaper, and the tiles on the floor had lost so much color that they looked eternally dirty. The only other door was probably the one leading to the bathroom.
Rhysand went to sit on the bed, and smiled at her. Feyre took a seat in the armchair, and they stayed silent for a while. She knew he wanted to let her have space, and he wouldn't force her to speak if she didn't want to. But she didn't know what to say, so she just stayed seated on the chair, looking around the room, anywhere but at him.
She was staring at the door of the bathroom when he spoke:
"Do you want to drink something?"
She turned to him, and nodded. "A water would be nice."
He got up to fetch a glass, and as he had his back to her, Feyre felt the need to say something.
"You were right."
He glanced at her for a second, but went back to filling the glass.
"About Tamlin. You were right about what would happen if I stayed in that house with him." He handed her the glass of water, and she took a sip.
"Did he hurt you?" Rhys asked as he sat down on the bed again.
"My wrists hurt a little, and my knees, too. But I… I don't want to talk about it right now, if that's okay." She hated how weak her voice was, and she hated the shame she felt inside at recalling what had happened. But he started talking again, and his voice was strong and warm, helpful.
"It's okay, Feyre, we don't have to talk about anything you don't want to talk about. You just tell me what you need, alright?"
She nodded, and they didn't speak for a while, as she slowly drank the water he'd given her, and tried to pull her thoughts together. She was cold in her thin dress, but more than that, she wanted to take it off.
"Could I maybe take a shower?"
"Of course," he answered, and the flirty remark she was expecting didn't come. He was gentle, and he got up to grab a towel, as well as some clothes, from his dresser.
"You have shampoo and soap in the shower. And some clothes if you want to change afterwards."
She whispered a 'thank you' and went in the bathroom, as small and bad-looking as the rest of the apartment. But the water was hot, and Rhysand's shampoo smelled of jasmine. She took her time to try and relax her sore muscles, massaged her hair for a moment, and finally, she just stood there, silent, letting the water run down her skin and trying not to think about the events of the day. After another moment of relishing in the flowery smell around her, she turned off the water and got out, wrapping herself in the warm, soft towel Rhys had given her. Then she moved to the clothes and put on her underwear. But as she reached for her dress, she found herself incapable of touching it.
She wanted to be rid of it, she wanted to leave it behind and never think about it again. Because when she looked at it, she could feel Tamlin's hands around her wrists, and his angry eyes as he was screaming at her, and the way the floor had felt when she'd fallen in front of the painting.
Trying to keep the tears from rushing to her eyes, she grabbed the clothes Rhys had left with her dress and put them on. The tracksuit were way too big for her, and she had to fold the bottom of it to get her feet out, but it was warm and comfortable. And more than anything else, it came without any bad memories. Once she had completed her outfit with the plain blue shirt and the hoodie, she came out of the bathroom, leaving her dress behind.
Rhys was standing in front of the stove, boiling water when she came out. He glanced at her, and said in a flirty voice:
"My clothes suit you, Darling."
She rolled her eyes and went to sit on the bed. "I knew you wouldn't be kind for too long." But if she was being honest, she was grateful for his change of tone. Seeing him worried and gentle was strange, and a little scary. Him flirting shamelessly with her, that was familiar terrain, that was easy.
He brought two hot mugs over, handed her one, and sat beside her on the bed. Feyre drank hers in silence, enjoying the smell of the herbal tea and the sensation of warmth that invaded her.
After a few quiet minutes, he spoke, his voice softer again.
"Feyre, I don't want to force you to tell me what happened, but I need to know more or less what's going on, just to know what we can do. Is that okay?"
She nodded, and he continued.
"Okay. So… does he know you left yet?"
"I don't think so, no. He went to a dinner for work tonight, and he wasn't planning on coming home early."
"All right. Did you leave a note or something?"
"No, I… I didn't think about this, I just wanted to leave and… was I supposed to?" She felt tears rise in her eyes, but Rhys said:
"You weren't supposed to do anything, Feyre. You did good, leaving. Whatever else needs to happen, we'll figure it out together. Can you give me your phone?"
"Why?"
"Because you need to sleep, and your phone is going to start ringing the minute he realizes you're not there." Her breathing quickened at that, and Rhys cupped her chin to make her look at him. "It's gonna be okay, Feyre. For now you just need to try and get some rest, and we'll talk more in the morning about what to do next, what do you say?"
At the mention of sleep, she realized she was exhausted. The entirety of her body felt sore and tired, and she had a hard time keeping her eyes open. Giving him back the half empty mug of herbal tea, she nodded, and laid back on the bed, watching him walk to the sink with the mugs. She was asleep within seconds.
Feyre woke up to the sound of cars honking in the street. She turned around under the warm covers, and it took her a few seconds to register the strangeness of her environment. She wasn't in her bed, and Tamlin wasn't beside her.
Tamlin.
It all came back to her as she opened her eyes. The screams, the violence, leaving. And Rhys.
She peeped outside the quilt, to find Rhys in the armchair, asleep in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. She slowly rose up, and quietly walked to the bathroom. She remembered she had fallen asleep on top of the covers. He must have moved her during the night.
She tried to come out of the bathroom without making a noise, but he jolted awake at the sound of the bathroom door closing behind her.
"Hey," he said in a hoarse voice, passing a hand over his face and getting up from the chair.
"Hi."
"Did you sleep well?"
"I did, thanks. Sorry I took your bed…"
"Don't worry about it," he answered. "I didn't sleep much anyway. Do you want to eat anything? I only have coffee here, but we can go to the cafe outside and have some breakfast if you want."
She thought about leaving the apartment. And immediately felt her chest tightening and her breathing speeding up.
"Coffee is fine, really. Thanks."
"Okay."
He started on preparing the coffee, and she stood beside him, silent. The water hadn't started boiling yet when he talked.
"Feyre, we need to figure out what you want to do now."
"What do you mean?"
"Your phone rang all night, Feyre. He is looking for you."
She'd known it was coming, but she was still taken aback. "What should I do? Should I answer?"
"The way I see it, it's important that he knows you left him voluntarily. Now, you could call him if you want, but you don't have to. You can send him a text, an email, whatever you want."
She thought for a while, but the mere idea of hearing his voice was almost too much.
"I'd prefer sending him a text."
"Okay."
She saw he was about to continue, but she needed to say something first.
"I'm going to need to go back there. I left with nothing, I don't even have clothes or clean underwear, and I… I can't use the dress from yesterday."
"If it's only about the clothes, we can get you new ones, that's not a problem."
"It is for me. I barely have any money. I have a job, but… he didn't want me working too much so it's only a few hours a week and it would never cover any expense like food or living."
"We can worry about those things later. You can stay with me for now, I don't mind."
She couldn't stop her bitter laugh. "No offense, Rhys but your place is a little too small for me to stay here, isn't it?"
The water started boiling, and he took an extra minute to answer, pouring the water into the press. He turned his back to her to stir the coffee and water, and only when he was pressing the plunger into it did he answer.
"If you want to stay with me, I have a solution. It's not ideal, but it'll work. But I understand if you want to go with your family or friends."
She thought of her sisters. Of Elain, who was on the road so much that she barely had a house to call her own, just a small apartment in another city. And of Nesta, with whom she had barely had any contact in years, and who had just gotten married. To Rhys' brother.
She thought of her friends to whom she hadn't talked to in months. She thought of Lucien, the only close friend she had, who was also Tamlin's best friend.
"I'd like to stay with you if I can," she said in a shy voice she didn't like. He prepared two mugs of coffee and handed her one before answering.
"Alright, I'll make the arrangements then."