Authors Note: A HUGE thanks to everyone who has followed/favorited this story! It makes my little heart so happy! A special thank you to Romitri99, NeonMinx, Ims86, Blissangel91494, Swimmer07, TheTruthAboutTheWallFlower, and guest for your lovely reviews on the first two chapters! You guys are just awesome!

This chapter has been edited and revised as of 01/05/2017. A huge thank you to my friend and beta, Mordinette, for all of her hard work!

Chapter Three

I had always imagined death to be peaceful, quiet, and serene. However, angry, shouting voices were polluting what should have been my tranquil oblivion.

Was I in Hell, then? Surely, Heaven would have been a lot quieter.

The first thing to register to my waking consciousness was the noise. The second and most prominent was the pain. Everything on my body hurt, from the searing pain behind my eyes to the fire in my ribs. My left arm was in a sling. I slowly wiggled my fingers to ascertain the extent of the injury. Pain shot up through my entire arm. Not broken - at least that was something. I guess I should have been reassured by the pain in hindsight - it meant I was alive. But right now, I just wanted to die.

There was a heated confrontation going on somewhere around me. However, my addled brain couldn't process what was being said or who the voices belonged to.

The shouting was becoming louder, and I winced as the sounds reverberated through my skull. I forced my eyes to open, and through the blinding white light of the room, I could just barely make out four silhouettes just outside the door.

"Get him the fuck out of here! He's not to come one step closer to Rose or so help me I'll rip his goddamned head off!"

My eyes slowly adjusted to the bright lights, and I could see Lissa with her arms wrapped around an incredibly pissed off Christian, her soft voice pleading with him. "Christian! Please, calm down, you're going to get us kicked out of here!"

I could see a nurse just past my two friends, a worried expression on her face. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down before I'm forced to call security -"

"Good! Call them and have them escort his punk ass out of here before I do it for them!" Christian snarled, maneuvering Lissa protectively behind him.

The next voice to speak sent a wave of fear through me. I heard a sob escape my throat.

Lissa turned to me, noticing that I was awake for the first time and rushed towards me. She gripped my hand in hers, squeezing gently. "It's okay, Rose. He's not coming anywhere near you, you're safe."

"Ozera, I suggest you back the fuck up and get out of my way. She's my fiancé, and I have every fucking right to be here," Jesse snapped, viciously.

"You're the one who put her in here in the first place, you piece of shit!" Christian stepped right into Jesse's personal space, ice blue eyes bright with barely controlled rage. I noticed Jesse take a small step back, and my friend pounced on it with a triumphant smile. "What's the matter, Zeklos? You're not afraid to lay your hands on a woman, but you're too much of a fucking pussy to fight someone who's not afraid to fight back."

Jesse stepped forward once more, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. "You'd best get out of my way. You can't legally stop me from being near her."

The nurse backed away, pulling out her phone and hastily pressing numbers into her phone.

"No, he can't. But I can." I winced at how hoarse and dry my voice sounded with disuse. How long have I been here?

The two men turned to me in surprise. Jesse's eyes narrowed. "You can't be serious, Rose."

I could hear the sounds of heavy feet approaching from the distance. The nurse had called security. I smiled humorlessly. I lifted my hand and slid the pretty engagement ring from my finger and threw it on the ground at his feet. "Dead serious," I informed him. I met his eyes steadily, unflinching. "I'd like to press charges."

The nurse, whose nametag read Deborah Reed, R.N., nodded once in affirmation. "I'll get someone here to do that for you as soon as possible."

I felt Lissa's hand squeeze mine. I could see her relieved smile out of the corner of my eye, but I refused to take my eyes off Jesse, who was staring at me with a mixture of fury and disbelief.

Christian grinned at me before turning back to his former friend, picking the ring off the floor and placing it in Jesse's shirt pocket, patting it mockingly, making sure to press the ring into his skin to the point of pain. "You heard the lady, Zeklos. Get the fuck out."

"Rose -" he tried again but was cut off by rough hands grabbing him by the shoulders and trying to pull him away. "Get the fuck off me!" he growled at the security officers. He glared back at me. "Rose, come on. You love me! We can work this out."

Tears sprang to my eyes and I averted my gaze, looking into Lissa's concerned face providing me with the comfort and support I needed. I shook my head. "Not this time, Jesse." I took a deep breath and forced myself to look at him for the last time. "It's over."

The officers carried him away as he continued to shout at me. "You're going to regret this, Rose! If you think I'm going to just let you walk away from me, you're sadly mistaken. I'll make your life a living hell for you and any other guy you try to fuck!"

Christian slammed the door, effectively cutting off the rest of Jesse's rant. "Asshole." Pulling a chair next to Lissa, he rested his arms on the side of the bed next to my leg. "I'm damn proud of you, Hathaway."

Deborah, a pretty older African-American woman, smiled kindly as she checked my IV and all of the various machines that were hooked up to me. "I'll let your doctor know you're awake," she informed me, heading towards the door. "And we'll make sure that man doesn't get near you again, Miss Hathaway."

I smiled warmly at the woman. "Thank you, ma'am."

"How do you feel?" Lissa asked once the door was closed again.

I huffed out a mirthless laugh, wincing as it jarred my aching ribs. "Like death." I looked over at my friends. "How did I get here?"

She brushed a lock of hair off my forehead and gave me a sad smile. "Your neighbor - Miss Karp - called the police when she heard you screaming." She shuddered. "They took him in, but Ralf bailed him out a few hours ago."

I frowned. Had Jesse been locked up long enough for them to post bail? "Wait - how long have I been out?"

"You've been out about twelve hours," Christian said quietly. "Ralf pulled some strings and managed to get him the first available bond hearing."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course he did."

We fell into a comfortable silence as we waited for the doctor to arrive. Finally, I had to ask. "So how did you guys find out I was here?"

Lissa smiled faintly. "I gave my number to Miss Karp after… " She paused and bit her lip. "After the first time this happened. I asked her to call me if anything else happened."

"Damn good thing you did," Christian said, leaning back in his chair, putting his arm over the back of Lissa's. "After Jesse was arrested, we went over to the condo to grab some stuff for you. There was a bag that looked like it had been packed already, so we brought it." He gestured to my gym bag sitting by the door.

I smiled gratefully at them. "Thank you both. I appreciate it."

"What happened, Rose?" Lissa asked quietly. "What set him off?"

I took a deep breath, pain tightening in my chest as I relayed everything that I remembered from last night. "I should have left sooner."

They didn't say anything – they didn't need to. A thought occurred to me then, and I grabbed LIssa's hand. "Liss, the picture -"

She shook her head sadly. "He destroyed it. I'm so sorry, Rose."

I nodded, closing my eyes, and let the tears fall freely. I barely felt Liss reaching over to wipe them from my face as we sat in silence.

Christian looked between the two of us, frowning slightly in confusion. Thankfully, he didn't voice his questions.

Finally, the doctor arrived to check my vitals. Doctor Olendzki was a tall, slender middle-aged woman with light brown hair and a kind smile. "Glad to see you finally awake, Miss Hathaway. You took a few pretty nasty hits to your head." She took out a notepad. "How are you feeling now?"

I shrugged, and immediately regretted it. "I feel like I've been hit by a wrecking ball."

The doctor nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid you're going to be sore for a while. It took us quite a few hours to get all of the glass out of you." She moved to the side of the bed, pulling a light pen out of her breast pocket and shining it in front of my eyes. "Any nausea or blurred vision?"

"A little," I replied honestly. "My vision was pretty blurry when I first woke up, but it seems okay now. Mostly it's my ribs, and I have one hell of a headache."

Christian and Lissa listened quietly as the doctor continued to check me over. Not only did I have a slight concussion, but two cracked ribs, some fairly deep abrasions, and a hairline fracture to my humerus. But luckily, nothing too serious.

"I want to keep you here for another few days for observation," Dr. Olendzki stated, placing her notepad back into her white coat pocket. "I would also like for you to see a counselor. Someone who specializes in domestic abuse cases such as yours. I can give you a list of some of the best in the area."

She left shortly afterwards. When she did, I turned carefully to Lissa. "How bad is it?" I asked, pointing to my face.

She grimaced, and I wondered if I have inadvertently lied to the doctor about the nausea. Silently, she reached into her purse and handed over her compact. "It's really not that bad, Rose."

I gasped as I took in the dark purple splotches along both sides of my jaw and up to my right temple. My right eye was swollen and black. "Shit."

Lissa looked at me sympathetically. "We can fix your hair to cover most of it. We'll stock up on some concealer, too."

When I didn't say anything, Christian cleared his throat, desperate to change the subject. "You're gonna need somewhere to stay. I don't think Jesse's going to give up that condo."

"I don't care about the condo," I murmured, closing the compact with more force than I meant to and handed it back to Lissa. "I'll find somewhere else."

"Obviously, you're welcome to stay with us," Lissa stated matter-of-factly. "But Jesse knows where we live, and we feel you won't be safe."

Christian snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Like I'll let that fucker get near her again. She'd be safe enough."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Regardless, we have a better suggestion."

I raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite myself. "Oh?"

She nodded. "The beach house. Jesse has never been there, right?"

I shook my head. "No, but he knows about it. We just never made it out there."

"That's what I thought. Hawaii will give you time to recuperate, relax, and you'll be far away from him. You were already considering it before this happened. You might even get some writing done."

I bit my lip, considering. It would be nice to get a way for a while. Resolved, I nodded. "Alright. Let's do it. As soon as I'm healed, we'll go."

"Well, you better do it soon," Christian informed me, "because we leave in five days."

Protective Christian is best Christian! What do you guys think about Big Brother Ozera? I'm not sure this chapter turned out exactly like I wanted it, but hope it's okay.

Next chapter, we'll finally get to Dimitri! I'm so excited! :D Aside from reading his westerns, what other hobbies would you like to see Dimitri have?