"Blood On The Ground" – Part 5

Summary and notes in part 1.

Disclaimer: Do NOT own Degrassi!

5-

It was Sunday afternoon and the Torres residence was tense. His parents wanted to press charges but Adam resisted, convinced that would make things worse. Drew was on the fence. He understood his brother's worry, but he felt like Owen deserved to be punished to the fullness of the law. He wanted to break his face, though according to Adam's tale it was already in bad shape.

"Adam, this guy attacked you. What would have happened if your friend Eli hadn't intervened?" Mr. Torres reasoned.

Adam looked away. "Look, I can handle it myself."

Audra scoffed. "We're going to the police today. End of story!"

Adam shook his head. "That's just going to make things worse."

"Worse?" His mother let out a wry laugh. "Look at your face! Your ribs were bruised. No, we're going to handle it my way. He had no right to do what he did. He knows that you're a girl—"

"I'm not a girl!" Adam roared.

"Physically, you are!" Audra countered.

He sucked in a shaky breath. "This is bullshit!" he yelled, throwing up his arms.

"Adam! We don't use language like that in this house. Apologize to your mother!" his father scolded.

The doorbell suddenly rang and Drew all but skipped to the door, happy to leave the ongoing argument behind. He raised his eyebrows surprised to see who was at the door.

"Fiona?" he said shocked. She was supposed to be in New York until Tuesday.

She marched in with a scowl on her face. "Adam!" she called out.

"Wait!" Drew ran to catch up with her.

She was fast. In no time she walked into the living room where she found her boyfriend and his parents. Adam was standing in front of the TV. He looked at her stunned for a few seconds.

"What are you doing here?" he blurted out.

Fiona narrowed her eyes. "What am I doing here?" she repeated incensed. "I learned that my boyfriend had gotten jumped on Twitter! That's what I'm doing here!"

Adam looked down. The news was out – everyone heard about it by now – but he was hoping she would be too busy with her parents to catch on. He didn't want her to found out that way but he didn't know how to tell her. When they spoke on the phone last night he hadn't mentioned it. He knew she would be worried and immediately hop on a plane. Now that she was here it was a moot point.

She walked closer to him. When she got a good look at his face she froze. Adam's right eye was purple and bruised. He also had a cut on his cheek that was covered with a band-aid.

He fidgeted under her scrutiny. Every time he saw pity in someone's eyes it chipped away at his pride, but with Fiona it was different. It hurt to see her hurt. He was almost scared to meet her eyes.

"Adam," Fiona said choked up. "Why?"

She just didn't understand why anyone would want to hurt the incredible person standing before her. He was kind, funny, caring, protective, smart, friendly, and full of life! She loved him with all of her heart. She didn't get why anyone would want to hurt the man who was so gentle and loving towards her. Adam wasn't a callous person. He wasn't petty. He wasn't cruel. He didn't deserve this. Any of it.

He pulled her in for a hug as she started to cry. He held her close and whispered soothing words into her ear as her sobs continued. She didn't have to speak, he could feel her fear. For him.

-oOo-

They were silent as they sat on the edge of the bed. Time was of no concern as they watched one another. It was amazing how quickly life could change. There was no urgency to discard clothes. No teasing laughter. No physical closeness even. Right now they were locked in their own thoughts.

"So, what are you going to do?" Fiona asked ending the quiet reflection.

Adam shrugged. "I don't know," he answered honestly.

She tentatively reached out to touch his cheek. Adam flinched.

"Sorry," she said in a small voice.

He grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. "No, it's alright."

Again, her eyes filled with tears.

"Fi," he said gently. He moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her. "It's going to be alright," he assured her.

"How?" she questioned. "That piece of shit jumped you, Adam! How is that okay?"

"It's not," he agreed with her. "But I'm still standing. Believe me, he didn't walk away unscathed."

She looked at him with concern. "Adam, what did you do?" she said slowly.

He looked away. "I fought back."

A tear fell down her cheek. She remembered when they first started dating. In the beginning she never thought being together would cause someone to want to hurt Adam. When Holly J told her Fitz and Adam had almost gotten into a fight, right after they went public with their relationship, it terrified her. Over time she kept comments and flirtations she received to herself because she didn't want him to get into fights. This thing with Owen was ugly and had quickly become about more than her.

The bully seemed determined to establish dominancy over Adam. Losing their tussle in the hall was a blow to his ego, so he decided to come after her boyfriend outside of school where he could stack the odds in his favor. She was truly scared of what he was capable of.

"Hey," Adam said softly as he wiped her cheek. "No tears."

"Please. You have to bury this," Fiona pleaded. She didn't want him to hurt anymore. His face looked awful she knew he had grimaced in pain when she hugged him.

He looked at her for a long moment. "I will," he promised her. Things had gone too far.

"We have just two weeks until the semester is over," she reminded him. "Please."

"I said I will," he reiterated. He softly pressed his lips to her forehead. "I will."

.

tbc

A/N: Well, I'm sure most of you have seen the promo. I have no words…

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