Warning, Mature theme's are still present…
Chapter Six
Sonny gently knocked on the door, not sure what he would be interrupting, but wanting to bring Elizabeth the food. She was all bone now, she probably had been that way for some time, but he had been to consumed in his own life to notice.
"Come in." Jason said, keeping his voice low.
Sonny stepped into the room, Johnny on his heels. The older man spared a glance for him, then focused his attention on Jason. "How is she?"
"I'm not asleep, you don't have to pretend like I am not here." Elizabeth said, no emotion inflicting her voice.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Sonny said, looking abash.
"Yeah, whatever." Elizabeth stated, turning her back on the lot of them.
"Elizabeth, I made you waffles with whipped cream and strawberries. I'll just put them on the nightstand, and should you feel hungry, they will be there for you." Sonny said, jerking his head towards the door, hoping Jason caught the movement.
"Uh huh." She said, unmoving.
"I will be right back, okay Elizabeth." Jason said, following the retreating mob boss and the guard.
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Lucky rolled over, his head was pounding and sleeping had now become a problem. The room was spinning and if it didn't stop soon he was likely to purge his stomach right where he lay.
He rolled over again, bringing himself closer to the edge of the bed, the small movement causing his stomach to revolt against him.
Finally at the edge, he slowly tried to lower himself to the floor, but fell in an unceremonious heap. Instead of fighting the laws of gravity, he crawled on hands and knew towards the bathroom, once there, he began to empty his stomach, talking to the while porcelain goddess, if his current state could be distinguished, he knew he would be spending the rest of the night on the cold colorless tile.
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Jason followed them down the stairs and into his living room. He knew Sonny wanted to talk, but his main concern was for Elizabeth, and her current state of mind left him, perhaps even angrier that the damage done to her body.
Elizabeth was perfection personified, everything about her was goodness in its purest form, he couldn't fathom how someone could hurt her like this.
The silence of the room seemed to only grow, causing everyone to feel on edge, all three men knew there was things to talk about, but unless she decided to come clean, they were unable to act. And while every fiber of his being screamed that Lucky was responsible for this damage, he couldn't act till he had all the facts. And that annoyed Jason just as much as everything else.
After fifteen minutes had elapsed and no one had yet to break the silence, Johnny began to speak, "What can we do boss, you can't expect us to just stand around with our thumbs up our butt, the travesty that has been committed against her is wrong, we need to do something."
"Johnny, we can't act till she speaks, if she ever does." Sonny said, hoping the guard would catch the hint.
All three men turned towards the staircase, when they heard the water in the bedroom bath turn on. Each man looking beseechingly at Jason, almost as if he had the answers to the latest change of events.
"I don't know what to say, she won't speak to me, she won't let me in. I want to help her, heal her, but I don't know how and the sad fact is, what I want doesn't matter, because all I can offer is my support and love." Jason said, hating the whiney note that inflicted his voice.
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Elizabeth stepped into the immaculate shower, slightly surprised by the good upkeep, most bachelors didn't worry over such mundane tasks.
She readjusted the temperature, making the water hotter, the steady stream, needling into her soft flesh, the heat adding a searing quality to it, but she didn't change the setting on the showerhead nor did she turn the temperature down.
Slowly, she began to wash her body, hissing in pain when she rubbed vigorously over her more tender areas.
Seeing the blood upon the cloth was enough to unhinge her mind, she slid down to her knees and with the cloth firmly held in one hand, lathered it into a soapy mess then began to scrub hard at the blood that now speckled her thighs, the sluicing water had carried most of it down the drain, but the few remnants were still enough to break her tenuous hold on reality.
She scrubbed so hard and for such a long period of time she had rubbed herself raw, fresh droplets of blood began to darken the previously pristine cloth. But even then she couldn't stop, because in reality, she didn't notice that she had done enough damage to set her back weeks.
Finally she moved the cloth to her breasts, where she scrubbed them, causing angry red welts to mare her perfect skin.
She scrubbed the remaining areas of her skin, but didn't stop when the water began to run cold, she sat beneath the numbingly cold water, her tears mixing with the water that spilled from her face and hair.
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All three men continuously watched the stairs or ceiling with trepidation, not exactly sure what they were liable to see but praying nonetheless for Elizabeth to walk downstairs and banish this hideous nightmare.
However, after the shower had been running for over forty minutes, Jason realized he was the only one there who could go to her aide and in such a compromising way.
He moved swiftly up the stairs and into his room, trying to be a gentle as possible, Jason entered the bathroom with as little noise as possible, he didn't want to scare her, well anymore so than she already was.
"Elizabeth?" Jason enquired, hoping she wouldn't fight him on his presence.
Nothing, no words floated to his ears, only silence, except for the steady down beat of the water. Unable to walk away, for fear that something had happened, he finally got up the nerve and walked the rest of the way in.
Tears immediately filled his eyes, when he took in the shattered presence of Elizabeth. Fresh rivers of blood flowed from between her legs, lending a colored hue to the water, not a dark maroon, like dried blood, but a burnt rose color. Unsure how it had happened, Jason crossed the room in two steps, pulling to a stop outside the shower.
The floor was wet from lack of a shower curtain, it seemed she had forgotten to close it all the way, but water was the least of his worries. His eyes slowly took in the damage and knew it had been self-inflicted, perhaps unwittingly, but inflicted nonetheless.
He wasn't sure if he should call the doctor back here to look at the fresh wounds or if he should just try to clean the more obvious ones himself.
He grabbed a towel from the cabinet inlaid into the wall, turned back to Elizabeth and turned the water off, splashes of the cold water landing on his skin, sending a chill to traverse his body.
With the water shut off, he quickly covered her small frame in the large towel, it almost dwarfed her in his size. His eyes didn't linger lovingly over her body, he couldn't do that to her. Thinking of her as a sexual being right now was the farthest thing from his mind, not when she had been through so much, besides she needed a friend right now. If time was ever on their side, then they could take a chance, but for now, he was happy to remain a good friend, with whom she could trust.
She shrank into his embrace, never saying a word though, almost as if she had turned within herself again, this time he knew she wasn't sleeping, her eyes were twin pools of misery.
He laid her towel clad body on the bed, the retreated to the bathroom, to grab a soft face cloth and two more large bath sheets, he had to staunch the flow of blood some how, and while the abrasions were not deep, they were so numerous that it lent a grimmer look to the damage.
He kneeled down beside the bed, with gentle hands he slowly wiped the rivulets of water and blood from her breasts, the towel had not been fully in contact with her skin, so it didn't soak up the moisture.
Whether from the excessive scrubbing or the cold water, he couldn't tell if the redness would get worse or lessen.
Now he was left with a conundrum of epic proportions, the blood that had seeped from the abrasions on her chest had been miniscule in comparison to the damage between her legs, but could he honestly try to stop the bleeding, without causing her more psychological damage.
He gently and slowly pulled her knees apart, thanking a higher power that the damage didn't look as bad as first assumed, he methodically cleaned the abrasions, glancing often at her face, wanting to be sure he wasn't hurting her or making matters worse.
With most of the blood flow stopped, Jason gently pulled the damp towel out from under her and wrapped her in a dry one. Placing the second towel on the nightstand, Jason lifted her legs and tucked them under the blankets.
Her silence was driving him half mad, he was unaccustomed to a silent Elizabeth and it unnerved him more that he could say.
Pulling the comforter up and tucking her in, he placed a chaste kiss to her forehead, before retreating from the room. He would have spoken had he been able to, but the entire day seemed so surreal, and then having to witness what she had done to her own body, it hurt him, because he had never believed she could be so broken or that someone who claimed to love her could do such a thing.
Once again his fist shot out, connecting with the wall, if he wasn't careful he would be needing a repair man sooner than he expected, considering there was already two gaping holes.
Feeling like he had a little better control of his emotions, he slowly went back downstairs and took his seat. Two sets of eyes watched his every move as he came back into sight. But for the moment, they allowed the silence to remain, neither wanted to ask the questions than needed to be asked, especially with the way Jason looked now.
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A.N. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback, it has inspired me more so than I can ever explain. You guys are wonderful.