AN: Trigger warning for domestic violence & verbal abuse

Jessica's breath caught in her chest. Her mind was racing. Stay calm, she kept telling herself. She tried to ease the tense from her shoulders and keep her voice level. Maybe if she could show him she was sorry he would calm down himself.

"How could you?" he spat wheeling back in her direction.

"It was a mistake. I should have told you before I met him in the library to study." She tucked her head down in mock innocence, keeping her eyes on Greg. "We were only working on our biology project. I'm sorry if I did anything to hurt you." It took everything she had to say those words. She just wanted him out of her house.

"You were so sorry when you did it where you? Or you would have told me right away." Greg started pacing the living room again, slamming his fist into his palm.

Damn, he was even angrier now. Jessica tried to make herself small, backing against the couch, as she cursed at her parents for being out of town.

"You're such a lying whore." He grabbed his wrists in his hands, pulling them and her, against his chest. "I never should have trusted you." He shoved her down on the couch with all the might his six foot frame could muster.

Jessica felt the air move forcibly out of her chest as she bounced off the cushions and onto the floor. She pulled her knees and hands under her in an attempt to stand. A hand on her neck wrenched her back up. She wanted to push him away and run but the chance he would do something worse frightened her.

Greg continued his tirade as Jessica fought back tears from the pinch on her neck. "I don't know what I ever saw in you, you ungrateful bitch. No one will want to touch you when they learn what a slut you are."

"N…N…nothing happened. We just worked on our project. I swear!"

"Then why were you laughing?" There was menace in his voice as he shoved her back down.

He was following me? How long has he been doing that? Her mind was racing. She needed to get him out of here as soon as she could. Greg was still yelling profanity at her when she saw his foot pull back. Just then there was a crunch of gravel from the driveway. Both of them froze as three car doors opened and closed. Jessica let out a breath. Someone was coming to save her.

As keys scraped in the lock Greg pulled her up and cranked an arm behind her back. His other arm came around her throat. He turned them to face the door. His teeth were grinding in her ear.

"You said your parents were gone this weekend," he hissed in her ear.

Oh thank God. Jessica felt her body relax when she saw Haley and Aaron on the other side of the door. Haley's eyes were darting between Jessica's eyes and her arm as her mouth hung open.

"Jessica, are you ok?" Aaron asked as he gently moved Haley behind him. Jessica was a little befuddled as how calm he sounded. But after knowing him for five years she recognized the determination in the furrow of his brow. When she nodded slightly he took two slow steps them. "Greg, right? Greg how about you and I talk?"

"Don't come any closer. This is none of your business; it's between me and my cheating girlfriend." He tightened his grip on her arm and Jessica let out a groan.

"Well you are hurting her Greg and that makes it my business." Jessica could now make out the anger in his eyes.

"Why? Did she give it up to you too?" he sneered and pushed a little harder on her throat. Haley tried to make a move towards them when Aaron's arm shot out to stop her.

"No. She is my little sister Greg. You hurt her you have to deal with me." Jessica could hear Greg's breath change into jagged little huffs as his eyes gave his challenger a full appraisal. Aaron had two inches on Greg but was about thirty pounds less. "Do you want to reconsider letting her go now? You can see that I'm not your average target and I'm not backing down, Greg." As he was talking Jessica could see Aaron discreetly move Haley to his left side. "Just her go and you can walk out of here like this never happened."

Aaron gave a barely perceptible nod and ran at Greg. Jessica felt two hands shove at her back and she stumbled over her feet. Coming to her knees she landed in her sisters waiting arms. The sound of fists landing and glass breaking rang through the room. She wanted to see what was happening but Haley was half dragging, half carrying her around the corner towards the kitchen.

"Stay down!" Haley hissed. "I'm calling the police." Haley snagged the receiver off the wall and used her body to block her sister from running into the fray. She quickly relayed the situation to the dispatcher and gave their address. The sounds of the scuffle stopped. All they could hear is heavy breathing and pained moans.

"Haley, do you have duct tape? And ice?"

"Oh thank God," Haley breathed and she rummaged through a drawer. "Jessica, get some ice in a towel," she called over her shoulder as she rushed back into the living room.

Jessica placed her hands on the counter and leaned forward. After a few deep breaths she quickly did as she was told. Coming around the corner into the living room she stopped. Aaron was straddling Greg's hips while taping his hands behind his back. The TV was lying shattered on the carpet, the side table was over turned, cushions were thrown about and there was a smear of blood on the carpet. Jessica's eyes moved from one to the other.

Haley took the ice from her and placed it on Aaron's head as he moved to the chair. Jessica watched her sister fret over him, running fingers through his hair and kissing his temple.

"Did you call the police?" Haley nodded. "I'm ok, go to your sister." Seeing Jessica's eyes on Greg's body he spoke again, "He's just knocked out. It looks worse because he took the table down with him."

Haley flung her arms around Jessica, pulling her in tight. Seeing the mess and blood Jessica finally registered what had happened. She collapsed in tears on the floor. They stay wrapped around each other until the knock on the door. Aaron let the officers in just as Greg started to stir. On the periphery of her senses Jessica could hear Greg starting to shout again. She clung tighter to Haley. Aaron handled talking to the police as they documented the scene. Finally Haley started to pull away. She was saying something but Jessica couldn't make out the sounds she was making.

"You need to go outside with the EMTs. I'll go with you, don't worry. I'm not leaving you little sis." Jessica felt her sister's arms leave her and a hand pull her to her feet. She was guided outside.

"Oh," Jessica gasped as she saw Aaron sitting on the back bumper of the ambulance. He had a bandage on his forehead and the tech was checking his hands.

"He's ok Jess, just some scrapes and bruises. Let's get you looked at."

The techs took her blood pressure and checked her neck for signs of serious bruising. They said something to Haley, Jessica saw her nod and thank them.

"Are you alright Jess?" Aaron asked her, ducking his head to make eye contact. Jessica quickly looked away. She couldn't make eye contact with him. Shame was creeping over her cheeks in the form of a blush. Tears threatened to spill again. "Hey, it's ok. We're both ok."

"Thank you," she croaked out. Her throat was sore and raw. Aaron placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"You need to tell the police what happened before we got here." Haley told her. "I won't let go of your hand."

Haley sat next to her at the kitchen table with a hand rubbing her back as she recounted the argument to the officers. She answered all their questions about the nature of their relationship. Had the slept together? Did he do this before? Did he ever threaten her before? The entire time Jessica never took her eyes off the table. Any time she faltered, Haley gave her hand a squeeze. She had never been more thankful for her big sister.

Or her sister's boyfriend. While they talked to the officers Aaron started cleaning up the living room. He had also called their parent's hotel to tell them what had happened.

Finally the officers had left and the three of them sat around the table. Jessica kept both hands around her mug of tea as she started at the wisps of steam rising.

"I'm so sorry I ruined your weekend home," the tears were filling her eyes again.

"It's ok, we would do anything for you," Aaron answered.

"You didn't ruin anything. We didn't have any plans but to be away from campus for a while. And now I get to spend more time with you." Haley smiled at her. "Are you hungry? We can order pizza?"

"I'm not really hungry."

"How about we order and you can eat when you feel like it? Do you maybe want to take a bath? Would that help?" Jessica could tell Haley was in full blown big sister mode, trying to distract her from what had happened. She nodded slightly.

"Ok, Aaron will order the pizza and I'll start the water for you." Haley pulled her from the chair and guided her towards the stairs. "I'll be right there."

Jessica looked back at her sister. She could hear her whisper something to Aaron before giving him a quick kiss. Seeing Jessica stuck on the fourth step, Haley once again put an arm around her sister. It made Jessica feel a wave of gratitude wash over her. Followed closely by a knot of guilt in her stomach.

Jessica hugged her legs to her as she sat on the toilet mesmerized by the bubbles forming in the tub. She looked to her sister sitting on the edge, swishing the water around. There were a jumbled of thoughts filling her head.

"How could you stand there with me and not know what was happening to him?" She asked tentatively.

"Because if I saw, I would be right there next to him. And I would only be in his way," Haley said as she shrugged. "This wouldn't be the first time Aaron has had to defend someone's honor." She the confusion on Jessica's face she continued. "It's happened to friends of ours on campus. I mean not this same situation but things like guys getting to handsy or not leaving a girl alone when she says no thanks. He can't walk away from it…" she trailed off then started again with more energy. "Aaron is going to stay here tonight. He's worried about you. So if you want I can sleep in your room. It'll be like a sleep over!"

Jessica could tell Haley was trying to sound more enthusiastic than she felt. They were all being so nice to her when she made a big mistake. She put them in danger and ruined their weekend. She was so embarrassed that someone had to come to her rescue. I'll always be the little sister messing things up. Tears started flowing again.

"Hey it's ok," Haley's arms were around her again.

"I didn't mean to get you two involved. You could have gotten hurt!"

There was knock on the bathroom door. "Pizza's here!"

Jessica wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened up. "I'll be alright. You should go."

"You sure?" Haley opened the door to see Aaron still standing in the hallway.

"Everything alright?" he asked quietly

"Not yet," Haley replied placing a hand on his chest as she stood in the doorway.

"Let me try." He slowly moved past Haley and crouched down to eye level with Jessica. She was still in a ball on the toilet.

"Hey, Jess. He's gone now. He won't hurt you again. And don't worry about me ok. I'll be fine. This isn't your fault. You didn't do anything to deserve that. It's his fault." He gently placed a finger under her chin to make her look at him. "Please don't blame yourself for my injuries. I'd do it again. You are my family, Jess." He stood and placed a gentle peck on the top of her head.

"Do you want a book or the radio or something?" Hayley asked. "Ok, we'll be downstairs. I know you said you weren't hungry but let me if you want to go straight to bed." Haley gave her a small smile and closed the door.

With that Jessica was alone for the first time since it happened. She quickly shed her clothes and got into the tub without looking at herself. Eyes closed tight she tried to clear her mind. She just wanted to forget about Greg and pretend this day never happened. The water blocked out the world as she slipped under.

The last four months played out in her mind. Was there something she missed? Should she have seen this coming? At first Greg was almost too good to be true. He walked her to class carrying her books and sat with her at lunch. He often drove her home from school and called often on weekends to check in. She had been so happy when he announced in the hallway that she was his girlfriend when an underclassman tried to ask her out. She thought he was proud to call her his. All she wanted was someone who wanted her back.

She wanted someone who looked at her like Aaron looked at Haley. From the beginning he adored her; he was gentle, protective and giving. They were perfect, Jessica knew that. When they fought it was because they were both trying to do something for the other. Like when Haley tried to break up with him so he could enjoy college and not worry about her. They both could be very stubborn.

Jessica shivered as the water turned cold. She rinsed then dried off dressing in pajamas Haley had gotten for her. Her stomach grumbled. She quietly made her way downstairs trying to avoid any more fuss on her behalf. She saw Haley curled on the couch with her sleeping head in Aaron's lap, a book abandoned on the floor. As she grabbed two pieces of pizza to place on a napkin she noticed the arm Aaron had protectively wrapped around Haley. Even in his sleep he was looking out for her.

She snuck back to her room wolfing down the cheese slices as she went. Leaving the lights off, she crawled into bed. Her eyes were beginning to get heavy. But her brain still wouldn't shut off. It kept wandering to the tingly spot on her scalp where his lips touched her skin. She knew after everything that happened today that should be the last thing on her mind.

She should be upset that this relationship ended or scared that he would try something again or worried about how her parents would react. Honestly she wasn't that attached to Greg as a person and she knew he was going to jail. And her parents would just be happy that she's safe now. She was more embarrassed that it happened and guilty that she got someone else hurt. And guilty that her crush on Aaron would come back at a time like now when she worked so hard to get over that.

Jessica rolled over trying to get comfortable. She let out a groan as a bruise on her hip makes itself known. Resigning to the fact that she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, she flipped on the lamp. She rummaged through her nightstand for a book, something mindless. She tried to focus on the world of Sweet Valley as she settled against the pillows, hoping that the blondes would get the imagine of the dark haired man out of her mind.

AN: 1 - This is the longest thing I've written and I struggled for DAYS writing the last few paragraphs. It was hard to find a balance between her reaction to the attack and her crush on Aaron. Let me know what you think.

2 - It's really strange referring to him as 'Aaron'.

3 - I have maybe two more ideas for this but nothing on paper. If I update this it won't be for a while as I'm moving and have other things I want to write.

Thanks for all the follows and reviews!