The ride back to Phantom's Diner was quiet. Levy noticed that Gajeel seemed ill for the entire ride. Motion sickness? Levy couldn't believe it. Gajeel got motion sickness! Levy thought it was cute. Levy and Gray made idle chit chat on the short drive back to the diner, but nothing really important came up. They talked about the concert and why Levy went if she didn't like that kind of music. Levy laughed and told Gray about stressing over school and that Lu-Chan had thought it was a good idea to "Follow the bands!" Gray laughed with her as he pulled into the parking lot of Phantom's Diner.
Everyone got out of the SUV and headed into the diner. Lucy rushed Levy with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Levy. Please forgive me. I thought you were having fun too. I'm so sorry!" Levy hugged Lucy back and mumbled "We'll talk about it later." Lucy nodded and led the way back to the table. Nobody mentioned either her or Gajeel's roughed up appearance or Levy's red, puffy eyes. "I ordered you more food. The waitress brought your to-go container to the table saying you had forgotten it." Levy smiled at Lucy. "Thanks."
Levy's food came to the table and she picked at it a little. Mostly she just pushed her food around her plate. The conversation flowed around her, and Levy ignored everyone. She felt like she wasn't completely alone because Gajeel had pressed his leg to hers. Levy smiled inwardly at the silent support. Levy stood and all eyes turned to her. "What?" Levy laughed. "Can't a girl go to the bathroom?!" As Levy made her way to the bathroom, she asked the staff if she could use their phone real quick. She called the Guard to notify them of Bora breaking his Restraining Order before she continued on to the bathroom.
When she exited the stall, she saw Wendy sitting on the powder counter. "I don't know who did it. But it happened to me too." Levy played dumb. "What happened?" She didn't want to get the wrong idea and stick her foot in her mouth. Wendy seemed to shrink before her eyes. "My dad. Well, my step dad actually. Gajeel was spending the night with us. He and Rogue are really close. Rogue is my older half-brother." Wendy stopped talking and Levy's eyes went wide. She hadn't gotten the wrong idea! "Gajeel woke up to me crying. He knocked on my door. Dave said that if I made another sound, he would break my arm." Wendy rubbed her left forearm. "He broke it any way." Wendy took a deep breath, shuddering breath. "My mom had died 2 years prior. She tried to protect us from Dave. Mommy was so beautiful."
Wendy's eyes got misty as she thought of her mother. "Gajeel broke down the door. Dave broke my arm. Gajeel beat him and took Rogue and I to his house. Gajeel has taken care of us since his dad died 4 years ago. Rogue moved out last year, but we all have Sunday dinner together. Gajeel is a good guy. We've all been through a lot together." Wendy sighed. "I know it wasn't Gajeel who hurt you. He looks scary, but he isn't. He's really a big teddy bear. He even rescued my kitten from getting hit in the road once. The truck hit him instead." Wendy sniffled. "We all were so afraid. But Gajeel's dad was still alive then. That's why, if you look close, he walks funny. He even rescued a kitten from a mosh pit once. Charle, that's my cat, and Pantherlily got into a scrap when Gajeel first brought Lily home, Lily has a scar over his eye now. Gajeel cried when he thought his poor kitten would lose his eye. Lily still has both eyes."
Wendy sighed again. "I don't know who hurt you, but I know someone did. I get that look sometimes too. Gajeel tries to protect everyone. But he needs somebody to protect him too. I think that's why all the boys fight. Everyone is trying to protect everyone else. Boys are stupid like that." Wendy smiled again. "Gajeel's good people. Take care of him." And with that, Wendy left Levy alone in the bathroom.