This will be a flashback chapter, so things should be clearer with Florence.
Enjoy :)
*One and a half years ago*
Florence stepped out of the coffee shop holding a frappecinno and turned to the right only to crash into another body, spilling the coffee all over herself and the man.
"O- oh my god! I am so so so sorry!" she exclaimed with embarressment and guilt as she looked up at him, her eyes wide.
The guy she bumped into towered over her since she came up to his collarbone. Although the coffee was more on his shirt than hers, he really didn't seem extremely pissed off like she thought he would be. Like she knew Kyle, her boyfriend, would be. He didn't look pleased though with his bold eyebrows together in a frown.
"Uh, no, it's cool," he said, taking a single step back and pulling the shirt away from his chest.
"No, no, no! Here, come here! Let me help you!" she fretted as she searched through her purse and pulled out a few tissues.
"Really, it's ok," he said, obviously irritated.
Florence's expression saddened, but she began wiping his shirt anyway, blushing slightly when she could feel the hard muscles beneath the fabric.
He sighed and glanced around, noticing a man from down the street watching them with an angered expression. Well doesn't he look happy, the man thought sarcastically. He then looked down at Florence, noticing how her hair shined brilliantly in the sunlight. He tilted his head slightly, thinking, Alright. Since when is a person's hair the first thing I notice about them? He sighed lightly and kept looking down at her, almost... Enjoying... The feeling of her fingers brushing against his chest. He inhaled through his nose, taking in her sweet, sweet scent...
He stopped himself there. Why the hell was he suddenly captivated by this girl?
She continued wiping his chest with the napkins, bringing herself to look up at him. It was then that she noticed his facial features. When she looked into his eyes, which were a forest green, her breath caught in her throat. Florence didn't notice she had stopped wiping him off and was simply resting her hand on his chest.
The short brunette slowly shifted her eyes to examine the rest of his face, taking in his high cheek bones, freshly-shaved sleek cheeks and thin nose and lips.
"You ok?" he asked.
"Uh... Yeah. I'm fine," she fought back a shy smile, failing horribly and getting dimples.
A small smile crept across his face. "Sure." He glanced down at her chest, finally noticing she had spilled some coffee on herself. "You uh, got some..." he gestured to her shirt.
Florence looked down at her blue tank top, groaning a little. "I just bought this one too..." She sighed and looked back up at him, finally stepping back and removing her hand from his chest. She then tossed the coffee-soaked napkins and her now relatively empty cup into a trashcan a few feet away.
He chuckled and tilted his head slightly. "My turn."
"Your turn?" she asked in confusion.
He slowly reached down to her wrist and led her back into the coffee shop she came out of, looking down the street where he saw that man staring a them right before they stepped inside the small building.. The guy was still standing there, watching them. What the fuck is up with this guy?
Derek decided to just ignore it.
"What are you doing...?"
He smiled slightly, taking her to a counter that shelved a few cans of coffee creamer, packets of creamer, napkins and flyers broadcasting upcoming events for the small town, Beacon Hills, they were in. He picked up a napkin and began wiping her shirt as well as the portion of her skin where some coffee spilled. Some traveled down between her breasts, but he wasn't going to go that far. He stopped after pushing his fingers down her shirt about an inch, sending a rush of excitement through her body when she felt his fingers brush against her breasts.
All she could do was stare up at him while he worked at getting the coffee off of her clothing. Holy mother of God... Since when are men this hot?
"You know, you're doing a pretty bad job at trying to hide your thoughts," he said with a sly smile. "I see you staring."
Florence blushed deeply, her voice shaky, "Who said I was trying?"
He threw away the napkins and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "My name's Derek."
"Way to ignore my question, Derek," she said lightly. "I'm Florence."
"Ah, Florence. That's a beautiful name. I like it."
She smiled shyly and looked down, her heart fluttering. "Well..."
A brief silence came between the two until Derek spoke up. "Let me get you another coffee. You know, since you decided to assault me with your original cup."
She laughed and looked up at him. "I did not assault you!"
He rolled his eyes. "Sure you didn't. But what type did you have before? Mocha?"
"Yes... You're not seriously thinking of getting me another one, are you?"
"Of course I am," he said with a smile as he walked to the counter, Florence right behind him.
"Really, you don't have to..."
Derek simply waved her off and ordered another coffee; she huffed and looked around the coffee shop.
He waited till the barista finished blending her coffee and took the cup from her with a, "Thanks," then nudged Florence. "Here."
She smiled and accepted it. "Thank you."
He really couldn't help but smile back at her. "You're welcome, rabbit. Come on, let's go sit down."
As they sat by a table next to an open window, she took a sip of her coffee then tilted her head, setting it down. "'Rabbit?'"
"That's your new nickname," he said casually as he leaned back in his chair, hanging an arm over the back of the chair.
"My new nickname? You say that as if we're going to see each other again," she said with another sip of her drink before lowering the cup again, resting her arm on the table. Derek frowned slightly when he saw a few dark bruises on her wrist.
Eyeing the bruises, he spoke slowly, "I plan on it... But what happened to your wrist? That's a nasty bruise."
"What? Oh! Nothing!" she quickly pulled her wrist under the table. "I just rammed my wrist into the counter when I was.. Uh... Chasing my cat."
He didn't even have to hear the uptick of her heart rate to know she was lying. "Really?" His eyes slowly studied her arms and shoulders, finding more bruises. They must have been older since they were much lighter and smaller.
"Yeah... Hey, uh," her mind raced to find some way to change the subject, "You said you want us to meet again?"
Derek tilted his head slightly. "Yeah."
"Let me give you my phone number..." she mumbled with a blush.
He smiled even though he knew she avoided the subject. "Alright." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and created her number as a contact after she read it off to him, saving it as "Rabbit". He showed her the contacct name to which she giggled and shook her head.
"Give me your number so I can come up with a nickname for you."
Just a few moments later, Florence had his contact saved.
"So?" he asked, "What's my contact name?"
"Puppy."
He nearly choked. "Puppy?!"
"Yes!" she beamed. "You're so adorable you're like a puppy!"
"Adorable, huh?"
"Mhm," she smiled shyly at him.
"Well then..."
Neither of them really knew how long they sat there talking, or how important that meeting was. When they finally said there goodbyes, they both had warm feelings in their chests. Derek walked away from the coffee shop smiling, as did Florence... That is till she got home.
"Who the hell was that?" Kyle asked the next day when she walked into his apartment. The smile she had at the coffee shop was gone, replaced with a more circumspect look.
She knew exactly who he was talking about. "Who was who?"
"Don't play dumbass with me, Florence. I saw you with that guy yesterday at the coffee shop. What the fuck were you doing, wiping drinks off of his chest like that?! He was clearly getting off on it, and I know you were too!"
She felt her heart pounding hard in her chest and she backed up, feeling trapped when her back touched the wall. "I- I don't know what you're talking abo-"
Florence was cut off by a hard slap to her face.
"Don't fucking lie to me. Now answer my question. Who is he?" When he asked again, his voice was thick with anger and emphasism.
She cupped her cheek with her hand and looked down, tears welling up in her eyes. "His name is Derek," she whispered reluctantly.
Kyle was practically seething. "What did Derek do after he took you into that coffee shop?"
"Nothing... He just bought me another coffee and we sat and talked for a while..." Florence made the wise decision to not mention the fact that Derek was wiping the spilled coffee off of her chest.
"You say that's nothing?!" he yelled angrily, grabbing her by her shoulders, pulling her forward then slamming her back into her the wall. She let out a yelp of pain as more tears formed in her eyes.
"Kyle, I'm sorry!" she whimpered. "I-I won't talk to him anymore!"
"You'd better fucking not or I swear, Florence, you're going to regret it." She only nodded in response, to which he slapped her again to make sure he got his point across. With that, he angrily walked into his room and slammed the door, leaving Florence to see herself out.
Just later on that night, after she washed the dishes and returned to her bedroom up the stairs, Florence found a text message waiting for her.
Puppy: Hey, Rabbit. How've ya been?
Her gut twisted with inner turmoil. I told Kyle I wouldn't talk to him anymore... But then how would he know? Tapping the text box, she typed in her reply.
Derek sat on the spiral staircase of the loft, eagerly awaiting her reply. He couldn't say why he wanted to talk to her so badly... He just did. So when he felt his phone vibrate from the incoming message, he nearly jumped.
Rabbit: Hi, Puppy :) I'm alright. You?
Puppy: I've been better. Take yesterday for instance ;)
She really couldn't help but smile. Did he really just send her the text wink? The wink that could make anything dirty?
Rabbit: Haha. Yeah, thanks for wiping off my chest. The spilled coffee was cold. Her thumb hovered over the send icon, knowing that if Kyle were there to read what she wrote, he'd probably murder her... Literally. Screw it.
Puppy: No problem. But I did have something important I wanted to talk to you about..
Oh God...
Rabbit: Alright...
Puppy: About that bruise on your wrist. I know you lied about it, Florence. I saw other bruises on your arms and shoulders. You wanna tell me what those are from? Anger had already accumulated in him, knowing what those bruises were probably from. He just needed her to say it so he could be sure.
Rabbit: Heh heh.. I run into a lot of counters. Yeah, Florence, like he's going to believe that.
Puppy: Come on... I think I already know what's going on. But I want to make sure I'm right before I kick anyone's ass.
Her heartbeat pounded in her chest rapidly as she began fretting. He knows... Oh my God, he knows...! If Kyle finds out...
Rabbit: It's alright, Derek. I'm fine. Don't worry about it.
Puppy: So I am right. Who is it? Your parents? A boyfriend?
Rabbit: I said it's fine.
Several long moments passed by and he hadn't messaged back. She not only felt stupid for sending the last text, but she also worried that he didn't really care at all. That is, till her ringtone went off, alerting her from an incoming call.
"Hello?" she asked, already knowing who it was.
"It's not fine, Florence. You know that."
She sighed and sat down on her bed. "Derek..."
"No. Don't. Who is it that's hurting you?" He really did sound concerned... Very concerned. Angry even.
Florence was dead silent, she only stared down at the soft white carpet.
"Florence?"
"It's..." she took a deep breath, trying to clear her thoughts. "It's my boyfriend, Kyle. But it's only happened a few times so it's fine."
"You cannot be serious! He hurt you. How is that fine?"
Again, she was silent. She couldn't stop the tears that welled up in her eyes that eventually broke. Florence sniffled, wiping her cheek.
"Are you crying?"
"Maybe..."
She heard him sigh over the phone. "Don't cry, Rabbit... Just promise me you'll put an end to it? Because I can't stand knowing that someone is hurting you."
"Huh... Funny. You actually sound like you care," although her voice was quiet, her tone was bitter.
"Because I do care. I know it's early to say this, but I like you, Florence. You're a sweet girl who doesn't deserve what she's getting."
She couldn't help but smile and nod even though he couldn't see her. "Thank you, Derek. I'll get up to it... To ending it. I'll just... I'll just need some time to think about what to say to him, you know?"
"Yeah... Do you want me to be there? In case he gets pissed off?"
"I know he'll be pissed off. But no. I can handle this myself."
Derek, who was now pacing, sighed lightly and tucked an arm under the one he used to hold the phone up to his ear. "Alright. But call me afterward, ok? I need to know how you're doing."
She smiled slightly. "Maybe we can meet up at some point."
His chest seemed lighter at the thought. "I would love to."
"Right... Anyway, I should be getting to bed. I'm hosting a baby shower tomorrow."
"Who's having the baby?"
"My sister... My mom wasn't too happy about it in the beginning considering my sister is only twenty, but she's warmed up to the idea."
"Well I should hope," he could hear her giggling from his remark and he smiled. "Alright, get some sleep. Good luck... With everything."
"Thanks, Derek. Good night," she said sweetly.
"Night, Rabbit." WIth that, he hung up.
*Three days later*
Florence stood before Kyle's apartment door, the nerves in her stomach lurching with anxiety and fear. She knew Derek was right, she knew she needed to break it off with Kyle as soon as possible. She just wished she didn't feel so afraid.
She knocked on the door. "Kyle? It's me. I need to talk to you."
Just a few moments later, he opened the door, a small smirk playing at his lips. "Come on in, babe," he said, stepping aside for her to enter.
She slowly walked in, looking down at her hands. Breathe.
Florence took a deep breath in then turned to face him, hearing the door click shut. "Kyle, I know this will come out as something bad, and I'll completely understand if you're angry with me for it, but-"
"You weren't talking to Derek again, were you?" he asked, the smirk gone completely.
"No! I just... I just can't deal with a relationship right now. I... I need some space. Some time alone. I need-"
"You lying bitch," he growled.
"What?"
"I know you're lying, Florence. It's written all over your face. You were talking to him again, weren't you?" When she only gaped at him, not knowing how to reply, he raised his voice, "Answer me!"
"Y- yes!" She quivered.
Kyle angrily stalked up to her and grabbed her by her hair, pulling hard, making her yelp in pain. "You think you can just toss me aside so you can go to some other guy? Huh? Do you?!"
"No! That's not it at a-"
He smacked her hard then pulled her to the couch and pushed her, instanly getting on top of her. "Let me tell you something, babe. You're mine. Got that? Mine."
"Kyle, what are you-" her voice was small and extremely shaky.
Once again, he cut her off. But it wasn't because he hit her. It was because he caught her lips with his, kissing her forcefully while his hand worked down to her shorts. Florence tried pushing him off, but he was much heavier than her and she just didn't have the strength.
He unbuttoned and unzipped her shorts, immediately pushing his hand against her core over her underwear. Finally, he broke the kiss to speak. "What I'm doing now? This is something only I'm allowed to do. You got that?"
Tears welled up in her eyes and immediately broke, wetting her cheeks. "P- please, don't!"
"Shut the fuck up! This is the only pleasure you'll ever get, do you understand me?! I'm the only one who can give this to you! No one else! Not even Derek." His voice was so cold and deadly...
Florence kept trying to push him off, but still, raw fear ate away at her strength, leaving her defenseless. Quickly looking around, she saw the lamp that was being used to illuminate the room. It sat on a small table next to the couch behind her. She didn't even think about it. She knew pushing him off wouldn't work, so she just... Acted.
Quickly reaching out to the lamp and ripping it off of the table, she brought it down as hard as she possibly could on his head, knocking him out cold. Florence immediately pushed him off, sending him rolling to the floor with a thud. She then jumped up, fumbled to button and zip up her shorts.
Florence had never run faster than when she ran out of that apartment.
*Later that night*
The short brunette lye curled up on her bed, hugging her pillow tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably. She was grateful her mother and sister went out to buy more baby clothes for her future nephew, knowing she couldn't stand to see anyone at the moment.
She didn't tell them anything. She didn't even call the police. She couldn't tell anyone. The raw humiliation of being so defenseless immobalized her, leaving her to be nothing more than just a useless girl, crying alone in her room.
Florence didn't know how long she had been laying there. But when she heard her ringtone go off, she jumped in startlement. Picking up her head, she looked over at the caller I.D.
Puppy.
"I'm sorry, Derek..." she sniffled. But I can't talk to you right now. She turned her phone off.
*a few hours later*
Florence had cried herself to sleep at that point. She knew the upcoming morning would renew her pain, but just a few hours of relief was what she needed. But even then, she couldn't get away from the sound of his voice, the feeling of his touch. Every so often, she'd bolt upright in her bed, only to realize she was having a nightmare. She'd lay back down and curl into a tight ball, going over the process again and again till morning finally came.
She woke around six a.m., rubbing the tear crystals from her eyes. At first, everything from the previous night was nothing. But then she remembered... She remembered that it wasn't just a bad dream. It actually happened.
Her stomach twisted, making her feel sick. More tears pooled her eyes, but she fought them back. No. I am not going to cry... Florence wiped her eyes again and sat up, reaching for her phone. She turned it on only to find three missed calls and a voicemail, all from Derek. With a sigh, she listened to the voicemail:
"Hey, Rabbit. I just wanted to call and see how things were going. Well, I wanted to know if you spoke with What's His Name yet. Call me back, yeah?"
Yeah... I talked to him... She thought as she put her phone down then somehow summoned the strength to push herself off of the bed, out of the warm comforts of her blankets. Florence had to stop herself from falling when she felt dizziness and a wave of a horrid feeling overtake her. She just stopped and breathed in, helping to clear her head, but only by very little.
Make it through today... Florence grabbed some clothes and made her way to the shower.
When she left the bathroom about thirty minutes later, she already knew that she should call Derek back. Of all people, she should call him...
"Florence," he exhaled in relief when he answered his phone.
"Hey, Derek," she replied, trying to keep her voice sounding normal.
"You talk to him yet?"
There was a long pause. When she finally spoke up, she failed with trying with her voice.
"Yeah... I did. He uh.. Wasn't too happy about it," her voice broke at the last words.
"Did he hurt you?!"
"I... I'm fine..."
"God damn it, Florence... You're not fine..." he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he were trying to fight off a headache. "Listen, why don't we meet up today? You sound like you need to talk to someone."
"No, I'm f-"
"I swear to God if you say you're fine one more time..."
She sighed and pushed her hair back. "Alright... Alright. How about the coffee shop?"
"That'd be good. Can you be there within.. I don't know, thirty minutes?"
"Yeah... I will."
He really couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement knowing he was going to see her so soon. "Alright. See yo-"
She hung up. All she wanted was a minute to collect herself.
Just half an hour later, Florence walked up to the coffee shop, hugging her waist as she walked. She noticed a black Camaro, one of her favorite cars on the other side of the relatively empty street, but she couldn't bring herself to dream about driving one like she always did. She couldn't care as much.
When she walked inside, she found Derek in the same position he was in at the same table they sat at when they met. Only this time, he was a bit more reclined, so his legs were spread out under the table a bit more.
Well someone looks comfortable, she thought as she noticed him sipping from a cup of coffee. Another steaming cup was on the other side of the table, awaiting her. Florence, knowing she wanted to tell him as little as possible, forced a sweet smile.
"Hey," he said as she sat down. "Good morning."
"Good morning, Derek."
"I got you coffee. I figured you'd like yours really sweet so i just had the barista put a bunch of girly shit in it," he said, taking another drink from his cup.
"You were right," she giggled, "Thank you."
Derek soon found himself studying her face, looking for anything that would give off what she was thinking or feeling. He knew that smile she wore so warmly was not genuine. Something was wrong. So wrong.
"What?" she asked, noticing him staring.
"Nothing. I just, uh... I wanted to figure out what you-" the smile he once had for her was gone, replaced by an angered and disbelieving expression.
"What? What is it?" her smile faltered but she kept it up none the less. He couldn't have figured anything out... There's no bruising! Right...?
Derek set his cup down and leaned forward, stopping when their faces were only five inches apart. She immediately pulled back, but he grabbed her chin with amazing speed, making her flinch at the sudden contact.
He loosened his grip on her so it was much more gentle as he looked into her eyes. "Easy...," he mumbled, "I'm not going to do anything,"
She only nodded, feeling her heartbeat race.
Derek's eyes drifted down to her cheek, the one Kyle smacked on several accounts, noticing it had very slight discoloration- discoloration only his werewolf eyes could see. Being what he was, Derek was able to pick up on colors that would only blend in with humans' eyesight, and the colors that were apparent to everyone were more vivid to him. So when he observed her cheek, he was seeing something only he could see.
"He hit you again," he growled, able to even smell his scent on her. That pissed him off even more, but he held it back.
"Wha-... No, he-"
"Don't. I can tell."
Florence could only stare at him, fear accumulating in her eyes. The rest of her face was neutral, despite their position.
So that's where I have to look. Her eyes.
He stared into the hazel orbs intently, watching as all of the fear and pain became apparent. "Tell me what happened, Florence," his voice was still angered.
She only shook her head and closed her eyes, feeling tears forming. He only sighed and forced himself to relax his tone to a warmer, more sensative one. "Florence, please tell me."
Tears leaked down her cheeks and she cried silently, her shoulders and chest shaking. He swore he felt the heartbreak he'd only just recently felt relief from pour back into his chest seeing her cry.
"Florence..." he cupped her cheek with his right hand and gently placed his left hand on hers, caressing her skin with his thumb. "You can tell me. I promise he won't hurt you again."
It took her a long while, so long he worried she wouldn't say anything, but she soon spoke, her voice quiet and small, "I came to his apartment to talk to him, and he got angry... A- and..." a wave of tears gushed from her eyes. "Can we go somewhere more private? Please?"
"Yeah... No problem," he said as he stood from the table and pushed his chair in, going to her side of the table, where he held a hand out to her. She slowly took it, walking close to him as they exited the coffee shop, abandoning their drinks at the table. They crossed the street, going to the black Camaro Florence saw just minutes earlier.
"Th- this is your car?" she asked, staring at it in awe.
"Yeah," he assured, going to the passanger side and opening the door, to which she slowly got in. He left the door open, giving her some air, but she reached out and closed it. Once he was in the driver's seat, he turned to face her. "We can either talk here or I can take you home or to my place."
"Here is fine."
He nodded and sighed, looking out the windshield for a moment before looking back at her. Still crying.
"So... He was angry... What did he do?"
It took her another long moment to reply, but he gave her all the time she needed. "I... He hit me a few times... Then he grabbed my hair, and he threw me on the couch..." even more tears... "A- and... He got on top of me..." her voice was strained, trying to keep even, "And he unbuttoned my pants... Then he started rubbing me." Her voice finally broke, making her sob uncontrollably.
Derek couldn't believe what he heard. It saddened him immensely to see this girl, this girl who should be all smiles and laughs because of happiness, was crying her eyes out because she was abused.
His voice low and angered, "How far did he get?" He really didn't want to ask her that, he didn't want to make her relive those memories, but he needed to.
"Not very far at all... I grabbed the lamp and hit his head really hard with it."
Derek raised his eyebrows slightly. "Oh... Good. He was knocked out?" She simply nodded. "Did you call the police?"
"No..." He immediately pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, unlocking the screen. "Wha- what are you doing?"
"Calling the cops," he stated bluntly.
"No!" she exclaimed, grabbing her forearm.
"Why not?!" She was not protecting him!
"Because I don't want to have to deal with it!" she cried, still gripping his arm. "I don't want to have to sit through hours of court, of telling so many different people about what happened! I just want it to go away..."
Derek stared at her, realizing she wasn't protecting him. She was protecting herself.
He sighed then put his phone on the dashboard. "Alright. I won't call the cops."
"Thank you," she mumbled, lowering her head so her forehead rested on his shoulder, still crying.
Since he was facing her and there was barely a median in the front seat, he carefully pulled her over and onto his lap, where he held her close to his chest. Any other day, she would have blushed uncontrollably, but today was not any other day. All Florence could do was cry into his chest while he had his arms around her, gently rubbing circles into her back.
He could smell his scent all over her, and he hated it. He wanted to rid her of it, get rid of everything that marked he had ever touched her. But... He could have swore the scent was getting stronger... But it wasn't coming from her. The hell?
She jolted sharply and Derek's head snapped to the window, when they both heard a man yell her name in anger.
Florence gripped his shirt and stared at the man, her eyes widened in fear. "Kyle..."
He recognized this guy. It was the man who was watching them from down the street from days before... It made sense then. "Kyle."
Kyle walked to the driver's side and opened the door, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out harshly, but not without Derek jumping out of the car with her.
"Who the fuck are you?!" he spat, gripping her arm tightly.
"Let her go," he seethed, completely ignoring his question.
"I said," Derek stepped up, only leaving only about two feet worth of distance between them, "let her go.'"
Kyle snapped. He swung at Derek's face, who swiftly ducked and punched him in the gut. Kyle doubled over a little, pushing Florence aside, and tackled Derek.
"Stop!" she cried, "Please, stop!"
They both ignored her. Derek wrapped an arm around his neck and punched him in the head, but grunted and pulled his arm away when Kyle elbowed him as hard as he could in the ribs. He rolled and pushed himself off the ground, as did Derek, and they continued fighting despite Florence's desperate pleas.
Derek stalked up to him and headbutted him, sending him stumbling backward. He went after him again, grabbing him by the shirt and punching him in the jaw. They both heard a crack, showing that Derek had dislocated his jaw slightly. Kyle yelped in pain, trying to push him off, but he wasn't able. Derek's grip on him was tight.
He punched him in the face again, this time in the cheek bone, making his knees go week. Kyle sunk to the floor, to which Derek got on top of him and continued punching him, practially yelling in anger.
"Derek, please!" Florence had run up behind him, but she kept a few feet distance between them. "Stop!"
He raised his fist for another swing, but stopped himself. She was right. He needed to stop... Derek breathed heavily, looking down at Kyle, who had a swollen eye and bruises on his cheek and jaw. Knowing that Florence was behind him and couldn't see his face, Derek lowered himself and gripped him by the throat tightly. His eyes began buring red and he extended his fangs, baring them with a low, feral growl.
Kyle's eyes widened with fear and was practically shaking under him.
"Leave town. Don't ever come back because I swear I will kill you. Got that?" Derek's voice was so low, Florence couldn't even hear it. She only waited, her hands shaking violently.
He nodded quickly. "I get it!"
His eyes back to their normal color and his fangs gone, Derek punched him in the face again for good measure then stood, looking around at the small groups of people who had stopped but kept their distance. They understood what was going on. Interfering wouldn't help.
Derek turned to Florence, who was still crying and shaking, and walked up to her. "He'll leave you alone now."
She nodded slowly, only able to look up at him.
"Come on," he said, glancing at two other men who had ran by to help Kyle up. "Let's get out of here." She nodded again, slowly making her way back to the car.
Over the next couple of months, Florence found herself falling for the man who fought for her, soon realizing she trusted him. She loved him, and he loved her. It was actually kind of perfect, despite the fact that he spent so many nights staying up late to calm her down, to stop her from shedding tears. One night, he even came to her house.
"So, remind me, why do I have to come in through the window again?" he asked after climbing up the side of the house, hearing the soft music coming from the speakers in her room.
"Because," she stated, wiping the tears away from her eyes, "my mother is insanely protective of me. She thinks she has to play the role of "overly-protective-dad" since he left when I was young."
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. So you haven't told her about me?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"It's fine... And no. I would never hear the end of how I can't be with a man since he'd be nothing but trouble."
Derek raised an eyebrow. "Well shit."
She smiled slightly and hugged his waist, to which he unfolded his arms and wrapped them around her. "I don't think you're trouble. You saved me..." Florence had to build up the courage to state what she was going to say next, considering she never said that line for the first time first... She knew it was true in her heart, but she couldn't help but worry that he didn't feel the same way.
Her voice was quiet as she muttered, "I love you, Derek."
He felt his heart rate increase significantly, he could hear it. He swallowed and looked down at her, his voice light, "I love you too, Rabbit."
Florence looked up at him and smiled shyly, her worries melting away as she stood on her toes to gently kiss him. As their lips touched, she could hear the lyrics of the song playing.
-You far?
Will you come to my rescue?
Am I left to die?
But I can't give up on you
I feel you keeping me alive
You are my salvation
Touch you, taste you, feel you here
I feel you keeping me alive
You are my salvation
Hold me, heal me, keep me near
My heart will burn for you
It's all I can do
Derek, who was obviously also listening to the lyrics, lowered his hands to her waist, beginning to sway his hips. She looked up at him and smiled, taking one of his hands in hers and rested her other on his shoulder.
"I didn't know you liked to dance," she giggled.
Derek lowered his face to hers, his voice low and smooth, "Only when I'm with a pretty girl."
Florence smiled shyly and kissed him, allowing herself to get lost in the kiss while they continued their dance.
Salvation
Salvation
(Keeping me alive)
Salvation
(You're keeping me)
Salvation
(You're keeping me alive)
Been out from under who I am
And who I want to be
Held you tightly in my hands
Why are we unraveling?
Was it me?
Will you come to my rescue
Or did I push to far
When I turned my back on you?
I feel you keeping me alive
You are my salvation
Touch you, taste you, feel you here
Oh oh, yeah yeah
I feel you keeping me alive
You are my salvation
Hold me, heal me, keep me near
Oh oh, yeah yeah
My heart will burn for you
It's all I can do
Salvation
Salvation
(Keeping me alive)
Salvation
Touch you, taste you, feel you, need you
Give it all just to find you
Hold me, heal me
I will find you
Keeping me alive
You are my salvation
Touch you, taste you, feel you here
Oh oh, yeah yeah
Our love will never die
You are my salvation
Hold me, heal me, keep me near
Oh oh, yeah yeah
My heart will burn for you
It's all I can do
Salvation
Salvation
Touch you, taste you, feel you, need you
Salvation
Woo, long chapter! Thanks so much for reading, guys. Your continued support is what drives me to write! :)
BTW, the song they danced to is "Salvation" by Skillet. You guys should check it out because it's an awesome song. Haha I was listening to it as I wrote that scene