"Carla," I hear him say my name in a whisper as he crouches down in front of me, his face horrified.
I see his eyes flicker from the bat still on the ground in front of me back up to me, my bruised bare legs, my ripped blouse, my tear stained face.
"Carla," I hear him repeat, slightly louder than before. I try to reply but I just can't get the words out.
"Don't worry you're okay," he reassures me but I can't bring myself to look him in the eye.
I don't even realise I'm shaking until he covers me with the blazer of his suit, draping it delicately around my shoulders.
"Carla, you need to tell me what happened," he says in a gentle but firm tone.
"I don't know, he- he came in and he-he started yelling for money," I attempt to say whilst repeatedly gasping for breath as the tears run freely down my face, dropping onto the cold, hard bistro floor.
"Carry on," I feel his hand make contact with my back as he moves his hand in soothing circular motions.
I feel my breaths start to reduce in speed as I feel safe when he's with me.
I try to carry on once again but feel myself being overrun with tears that I just can't stop. I know Nick's there but, in my mind, all I can see is him. Him as he holds me down forcing his tongue down my throat, his blood stained face as he lies lifeless on the floor.
I look forward and concentrate as I take a deep breath and will myself to turn and look Nick in the eyes as I continue.
"He came in an-and when he realised there wasn't any money, he-he got angry, he got really angry," I say slowly as he continues to rub his hand on my back in soothing circles as he can see me struggling, he can see how hard this is for me.
"He pushed me and he got on top of me and I tried to fight him off but he wouldn't let go," I virtually whisper as more tears fall from my eyes.
I look up at Nick and see the realisation hit him of what he had tried to do to me, I can see the horror, the disgust spread across his face. He stays silent, seeming to be silently praying he was interpreting my words wrong.
"He wouldn't let go an-and he started pushing me and holding me down and kissing me an-and I had to stop him," I start to shout as I feel all the memories coming back.
I hear the gas emitted from his lips and see the hurt on his face, the emotional pain that he wasn't there to protect me.
"Oh god, please tell me he didn't," he looks directly at me and I can see the fear in his eyes.
The fear that he hadn't protected me from something like that happening again.
It makes me feel safe, it makes me feel secure. I can see his love for me in everything he does, the way he cares for me. He would never do anything to hurt me. Never.
"No," I start and I can see his face overcome with relief. "But he would have if I hadn't had done it," I finish.
I can see him take his glance away from me for a few seconds as he turns to look at the unconscious intruder and I know he is thinking the same thing as me.
"I need to check," he starts to pull his hands away from my back and hand, where he was holding me and I feel instantly unsafe when his warmth leaves me.
"No, please Nick, don't," I start to beg him, petrified of what could be the outcome.
"Carla, Carla look at me," he puts his finger under my chin and tilts it up to ensure I'm paying attention before continuing. "I need to," is all he says before he leaves me to go over to him.
As I see him leant over the still body, my heart seizes as I can't bare to watch, knowing what the outcome could be, what I might have done.
The silence echoes around the bistro as he turns back from leaning over the body to look at me.
This is it.
Thank you so much for reading, please leave a review if you like it. I know that the end line was the same as Waiting's second chapter but it fit so oh well ? ﾟﾘﾂ. I'm not totally sure where this fic will go to be honest so I'm not sure of how many chapters it will actually amount to, it all depends really. Please leave me a review to let me know if you would like me to carry it on and I will try my best.