Dear Readers,
I'm so, so, so sorry it's taken me so long to get this out. I just noticed that I started this on 5/12/19. This was mostly a filler chapter so it was a little hard to think what to do with it. To be honest I never thought I would get this far. I'm glad you readers are enjoying what I put out for you.
Another reason I haven't got this out yet was because, once again, I didn't have the motivation to write. I really appreciate it when readers comment and review. It helps with the motivation. I would also appreciate if you could tell me what you would like to see happen. To be honest I am having problems figure out what to do with some of these filler chapters. Probably one of the biggest reason why it takes me so long to get chapters out.
I hope you readers enjoy this chapter and again I am sorry it took me so long to get this out to you. Please comment and review so I know how things are going.
M
Chapter 18.
New Roommates
Friday was the next day and thankfully I was released from the hospital. My apartment was still a crime scene so I wasn't a loud to go home. Before it was sealed off Kim was able get a bag full of my clothes and the rest of my essentials (such as toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, etc.). I had no idea how long it would be until I could return so I was more than grateful to her to do that for me. I didn't want to go shopping for things I already had at home.
Sadly, I didn't have a place to go which was a big problem. I definitely wasn't going to stay with my brother and Wendy – I rather die than be in that situation – and I really didn't want to spend money on a hotel room. The next place I could stay would either be with Kim or Erin; they would have let me stay with no problem. When I brought my worries up with Jay, he told me not to worry about it because I would be staying with him and Will until I could go back home. I didn't know how to feel about this, but it didn't look like I had much of a choice.
After my discharge papers were signed, I was put in a wheelchair and Jay wheeled me out to the parking lot. I didn't know how this arrangement was going to work. I just hoped I wasn't going to be a bother to Will. He lived there and I was the one barging into his living space without asking. Who knew how this was going to go?
When we got into the parking lot I looked around for his Mustang, but there wasn't any parked in the spaces that I could see. Instead Jay wheeled me toward a four door, black GMC Sierra. This was the first time I had seen this vehicle and was kind of confused.
"Uh…" I muttered, "where's the Mustang?"
"I thought it would be safer if we took the truck," Jay stated.
"How long have you had this?"
"A few years. I mostly use it during the winter and the Mustang in the summer. It's easier to drive through the snow with this."
I thought about it as we got to the vehicle; it did make sense. As I was thinking he opened the door and effortlessly picked me up to put me in the truck. I tensed until he put me down in my seat. He was nice enough to put my seatbelt on for me, even though I protested. With one of his signature smiles, he just shook his head telling me not to worry about it.
Once he had my seatbelt in place and knew that I was okay for now, he closed the truck door and took the wheelchair back to a waiting nurse. I watched him the whole time trying to figure out what I had done to have Jay put into my life. He thanked the nurse and ran back to the truck. It didn't take him long to opened the door and hop in. He gave me another smile before putting the key in the ignition and starting the vehicle.
It was a quiet drive to his apartment, but it was a comfortable silence, like always. He was the only person I could sit with and not have to feel like we had to talk the whole time. It was really refreshing and something I could definitely get used to. For once I did want to get used to something, which was odd for me.
After we were at his place it took a lot of protesting so he wouldn't carry me up the stairs. Instead he opted for my overnight bag, but stayed close to me just to make sure I wouldn't fall. My legs were still kind of shaky from staying in bed for so long, but they still got me to where I needed to be.
When we got into the apartment I saw a figure running back and forth in the living room. I stopped just as we got into the doorway. The panic started to set in and my breath started getting shallow. It didn't take long for Jay to realize what was going on. He put a protective hand on my waste and leaned close to my ear.
"It's okay Grace," he murmured. "Breathe. It's just Will."
His words finally sank in and I grasped the fact that he was right. Clay didn't know where I was hopefully and the only likely person to be here was Will because this was his apartment too. I felt silly even thinking there was someone trying to kill me here. Jay told me he would keep me safe and I believed him.
"I'm sorry," I said, looking up at him with a small smile. "I wasn't thinking."
"You're fine," Jay smiled. "After everything you've been through I can understand why you'd be scared."
He helped me walk into the living room where Will was still running around. He looked like he was cleaning, and stopped when he saw us standing there watching him.
"Hey Monroe," Will greeted.
Standing up straight, he gave me a nervous smile. He had what looked like a shirt in his hand and he quickly put it behind his back.
"Hi Will," I said giving him a smile of my own.
Gazing around, I saw their apartment was pretty clean even though it was owned by men, but I guess that's what Will was trying to get done before I got here. The couch was fairly ordinary along with the reclining chair both a tan color. When it came to the walls – which were painted a dark green – they were pretty bare except for a few posters hanging around from bands I didn't even know.
That was just the living room. Not far away from that there was the kitchen which was cut off by a breakfast bar, with three tall chairs. The room wasn't very big but it was good enough for the two men who lived here. Next to the kitchen was the hallway that lead to the bathroom and bedrooms; or that was my guess anyway.
"So," Will muttered breaking the silence, "welcome to your home away from home."
"I appreciate it," I chuckled. "Thank you again for letting me stay with you while the police take over my place."
"You don't have to thank us. My big brother here can breathe easier having me around."
"Ok, that's enough of that," Jay jumped in, before I could even question what was said. "How about I take you to where you'll be sleeping?"
I smiled up at the man beside me while Will laughed. Jay's face was slightly red with embarrassment and he scratched the back of his neck; uncomfortable by what his younger brother had revealed to me. I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing too. He was even cuter when he was flustered. The butterflies – that lived in my stomach now – started going crazy, and I had to look away before I started blushing myself.
Not saying anything, I let Jay walked me down the hall, past one bedroom and a bathroom on the right. At the end of the hall there was a door on the right which I had to guess was the bedroom I would be staying in. The only problem I had with this was, there were only two rooms.
When Jay opened the door, he let me go in first. There was a queen-sized bed on the wall near the entryway with two end tables on both sides and lamps sitting on the tops. On the back wall was a window and on the next one a dresser stood up against it. A closet was on the last wall and the door was closed, and beside that was a door that led to the bathroom – this was going to be convenient because I don't know how far I could walk by myself with falling. The room was painted a dark blue with nothing hanging around. Everything was very simple, but so was Jay.
He led me to the bed and helped me sit down. I watched him as he went over to his dresser and set my overnight bag by it. Looking away as he came back toward me, I glanced at anything but him. I didn't want him to know I was staring at him like a creepy person.
"We can put those away when you're feeling better," he stated.
"Sounds good," I agreed.
"Are you tired?"
"Kind of."
"Maybe you should try to get some rest. The doctor said you might need it."
"I'm tired of sleeping."
"I know, but you need rest–"
"So, my body can heal. I know, I know."
I had been looking away from him when I said this, so when I looked up at him he had that smile on his face which meant he was trying not to laugh. Trying to glare at him was the best I could do, but rolling my eyes hopefully got my point across. Giving up on that I took another look at the bed, turning around a little to see how big it was. It wasn't a king sized but it was big enough to fit two people comfortably. I mean it wouldn't have been too bad to sleep in the same bed as him. That didn't mean that I wasn't a little anxious about it.
"What's that matter?" Jay asked, when he saw what I was doing.
Turning back to put my attention back on him, I gave him a sheepish smile. I knew it was going to come to this, from the moment he told me I was going to be staying with him and Will. Now that I think about it I should have brought it up to him then.
"Well," I muttered looking down at my hands, "I was just wondering who was going to sleep where."
It was quiet for a few seconds, but soon I heard Jay take a few steps toward me. Soon, kneeling down, his handsome face was in front of me. He looked like he was trying not to laugh, but his eyes were full of kindness. My heart swelled, and the butterflies started to flutter in my stomach once more.
"Is that what's really bothering you?" he asked softly.
All I could do was nod. When he was this close it was hard to come up with a coherent thought. Sometimes I pondered if he knew the effect he had on me. I also couldn't help but wonder if I had any on him.
"Well Grace," he said, bring me out of my thoughts, "I was going to sleep on the couch. I thought that would be the best thing in this situation."
'Always the gentlemen,' I thought.
"I can sleep on the couch," I volunteered out loud. "This is your bed after all Jay. I don't want to impose."
"Don't worry about it," he muttered with a shrug. "You need it more than I do right now. In all honesty, I mostly sleep on the couch anyway. I'll be fine."
No matter how much I tried to argue with him, he kept telling me it was more than okay for me to take the bed. After a few minutes of bickering I finally gave up and laid down. I was already in sweatpants and a comfortable t-shirt so I didn't have to change, which was a blessing in my opinion. Jay told me that he'd wake me up for lunch in a few hours. I watched him stand up and walk out the door, closing it behind him. Thankfully it didn't take me long to fall into a dreamless sleep.
-J&M-
And this is how it went for the first day. When I wasn't sleeping then I was running to the bathroom, or Jay was helping me to the kitchen to eat. I really didn't want to eat in bed, even though he said it was alright for me to do so.
Kim and Erin even came by for about a half hour just to see how I was doing. It was nice to see them and I was glad they stopped by. As they left they both winked at me when Jay wasn't watching. I just rolled my eyes and waved goodbye.
When bedtime came, the blue eyed, persistent detective made sure I took my pain meds. This was the part that I hate because I wasn't a big fan of taking medication after hearing all the horror stories about them. I even tried declining them when Jay brought them to me with a glass of water – saying I was fine. That didn't go over very well and I groaned but took them anyway.
Once that was over he waited outside the bathroom door while I put my PJ's on and brushed my teeth. When I was done brushing I decided to finally look at myself in the mirror to see what has been done to me. I've been putting this off since the moment I woke up in the hospital.
I took a deep breath in and letting it out before glancing up. After I did a gasp escaped my lips. I didn't think I was going to look this bad. Under my right eye and on my left jaw there were bruises all different shades of colors a bruise could be. Up in my hair line on the right side of my face there was a cut that needed three stitches and my lip was split down the middle. I didn't even want to see what my torso looked like. I could use my imagination from that the doctor told me; more bruises all over considering I had bruised, cracked, and broken ribs on both sides of my body. I was glad I couldn't see my back because the doctor also said I had bruising there too because Clad had kicked me. I don't remember most of it and I guessed it was a good thing I didn't It was going to be a long time before all this was going to be gone. Until then I hoped I didn't look in the mirror a lot. I looked that bad.
There was a knock on the door soon after – I didn't know how long I stood there taking in the aftermath of what Clay had done to me. Jay's voice came through asking me if I was alright. I told him I was fine and that I'd be out in a minute.
When I came out of the bathroom he helped me over to the bed and I laid down. He even tucked me in and kissed me on the forehead. His lips linger just a little bit longer than necessary and that was just enough time for my heart rate to increase dramatically.
"Sleep well Grace," he muttered when he leaned away.
"You too Jay," I whispered.
"Good night."
"Night."
He got up from the bed and turned out the bedside lamp before closing the door behind him. The pain meds kicked in fast and I fell asleep fairly quickly.
-J&M-
His hand was in my hair pulling my head back painfully as I laid on the floor. I don't know where my gun went after he knocked it out of my hand. It must have slid somewhere out of my reach. My vision was going in and out but there was no way I could stop it.
My head was killing me and I could feel something warm run down my face. I wasn't too sure but I think after his second blow to my face, my head hit the coffee table.
"I told you what would happen plenty of times Pretty Girl," Clay growled in my ear. "I gave you so many chances, but did you listen to me?"
He let go of my hair and let me drop to the ground. Letting out a groan when my head hit the floor, I heard Clay walk away. I lifted my head to see if I find my gun laying anywhere, but my eyes were going in and out of focus.
Next thing I know I feel something land on my back really hard and then an unbearable pain spread from the contact. A cry escaped from my throat before I could keep it in.
"I'm going to make you behave if it's the last thing I do," he screamed.
He hit me over and over again, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. I tried to crawl away but he followed me. I don't know how long it took him to stop but it seemed like it took forever. I could hear myself panting from the pain and from all the blows. Everything hurt and I wish it would stop.
I felt his hand on one of my shoulders right before he flipped me over. He straddled my waste before he grabbed both of my upper arms and start to shake me.
"Let me go," I moaned. "Please just let me go."
"Grace, you need to wake up," Clay said.
But it was Clay's voice coming out of his mouth… it was…
"It's just a dream," I heard Jay yell. "Wake up Grace, it's just a dream."
My eyes flew open and blue, concerned eyes looked down at me… not the evil brown ones I'd been staring at moments before. I looked at my surroundings and realized I wasn't at my home but in Jay's bed in his apartment. He was sitting beside me, his hands still on my shoulders. When he saw I was awake and looking at him he let out a sigh of relief.
"You're awake," he muttered taking his hands off my shoulders, "good."
"It was just a nightmare," I whispered, leaning back into my pillow. "Just a nightmare."
Closing my eyes, I ran my hands over my face. I was covered in a cold sweat and shaking like crazy. That was the first time I dreamed about what had happened. In the hospital, I was probably too drugged up to dream. I rather be dreamless than live through all that again.
I opened my eyes and looked around the room. Jay was still looking at me his eyes full of concern, and from the corner of my eye I saw Will standing in the doorway. He didn't look as worried as his older brother, but he did show some worry about it me.
"I'm sorry I woke you two up," I apologized, after I'd calmed down a little. "I hadn't had a dream since I was in the hospital."
"There is no reason for you to apologize." Will said. "After everything that happened to you, I would have been surprised if you weren't having nightmares about it."
"Will's right," Jay agreed. "You're fine Grace."
It was silent for a few minutes, while we all calmed down –me more than Jay and Will. I had stopped shaking, but I was still a little freaked out about the dream. By how I was feeling, I knew I wasn't going to get back to sleep anytime soon.
"I'm going to head back to bed," Will stated, breaking the silence. "You two good?"
"I'm fine," I said, shaking my head.
"I'm good too," Jay nodded.
Will told us goodnight – which we repeated in return – before heading back to his room. I watched him as he disappeared from the doorway. Feeling Jay staring at me, I glanced back at him. He looked relieved, but also still concerned.
"Would you like some water?" he asked.
I nodded my head yes, and followed his every move as he got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom. I heard the water turn on for a few seconds before it was shut off. Jay walked out of the bathroom with a cup in his hand which he gave to me when he reached the bed. I took it from him and he sat down beside me once more as I started to drink it.
When I was done, Jay took the cup from me and set it on the bedside table. We sat in our comfortable silence again, and I could feel myself getting tired again, but I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want to see that face in my sleep anymore.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jay asked.
I looked up at him and his expression was soft and gentle. His eyes were as light a blue as I had ever seen them and it didn't take me long to get lost.
"There's nothing to talk about," I finally answered. "Just about what happened."
"Do you remember anything more?"
"Just how I got the bruises on my back."
Never taking my eyes off Jay's, I saw them get a little darker. He slowly took his right hand and gently touched my face. I sucked in a breath, but didn't flinch away from him – in fact, I leaned into it. The feeling of his skin touching mine made me warm all over. I didn't want it to stop.
"He'll never touch you again," he vowed. "I'll make sure of it."
"You can't make a promise like that," I murmured.
"I can and I am. He'll have to kill me first."
"I won't let you die because of me."
"I would if I had to."
"Jay–"
He moved closer to me, faster than my brain could keep up and it took me by surprise. His face was just a few inches away from mine. My eyes were wide and once more, I couldn't take them off his. His hand never left the side of my face and he moved to the back of my neck to hold me steady. I couldn't move even if I wanted too. He was so close and his eyes held so much promise.
"No matter what you say," Jay whispered strongly, "I won't let anything happen to you. He will never touch you again. I care a lot about you and I will do what I have to, to keep you safe. You are worth something to me. Nothing will ever change that."
I kept staring at him as his words sank in. No one, not even my own brother who was the closest to me, ever made me feel so wanted. I wanted to believe him, I really did, but after everything that has happened to me in my life, it was so hard to take his words at face value. Hopefully in time he would show me he was telling me the truth. I just hoped I would live long enough to see it.
"It's time for you to go back to sleep," Jay said, breaking the small silence.
"I can't," I whispered. "I'll see his face again and I don't want too."
"You need sleep Grace."
Not knowing what to do at this point, I leaned my forehead against his. I sighed and closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of him being close. I couldn't be in this room alone. The nightmares would just keep coming back worse than they did before. I wouldn't get any sleep if that happened. So, I took a deep breath and said something I never thought I would say.
"Would you stay with me?" I asked.
"What?" Jay said, pulling back from me slightly.
I opened my eyes and he was searching my face. He was wondering if he heard me right.
"I said, would you stay with me," I repeated.
A small half smile came to his lips and I was glad the tension was broken. I didn't like to see him so serious… not in this way. The blue in Jay's eyes lightened up some and the butterflies started to flutter again.
"Will that help?" he asked.
"I don't know," I confessed, "but I can't be alone right now."
"I understand. Now lay down. Let's get you back to sleep."
He let his hand fall, and he stood up. The warm feeling I had when he touched me was gone once his hand left my skin. I didn't like it at all. I gave him a curious look, but I didn't question him. I laid back down on my side facing away from him, and he turned off the bedside lamp. Hearing him walked over to the other side of the bed, I soon felt the bed give way.
Next thing I know Jay puts his arm around me and pulled me close. I tense up for a few seconds before slowly getting used to the feeling of being this close to someone and having them hold me like this. When I was semi-comfortable with the sensation, I laid my head on his chest and snuggled close.
"Get some sleep," Jay muttered kissing the top of my head. "Night Grace."
"Night Jay," I sighed.
I don't know how long I laid there, but soon I felt myself drifting off to sleep. Thankfully for the rest of the night, the only thing I dreamed about was a set of light blue eyes.