Thanks again! I've never written anything this quickly in my life.

Lisa was on tenterhooks. She couldn't settle, couldn't sit still for more than two minutes at a time and was snapping at Justin when he tried to calm her down. She watched the door nervously, interspersed with checking her phone every few seconds. Justin was worried as well, but he hid it so as not to stress her out further.

After what seemed like hours she heard a click of a keycard in the door and saw it pushed open. Wade stalked into the room, throwing his bag and jacket to one side and walking straight to the bathroom.

She breathed a sigh of relief that he was all in one piece and there hadn't been any obvious marks or bruises, but his demeanour and the anger clearly visible in his stature worried her greatly. She looked over at Justin and her eyes met his concerned gaze. He nodded carefully and stood up, pushing the bathroom door open and, when not faced with an expletive, followed the Englishman inside.

After a short conversation he walked back into the bedroom and Lisa was a little relieved that Justin seemed less worried than he had been, although there was a disquiet about him that unnerved her. He smiled softly and walked over to pick up his wallet. "I'm gonna give you two some space for a while, you need to talk to him. Go in there. He's... he's ok."

"Are you sure?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah. I want to talk to Heath anyway."

"Thanks J," she pulled him into an appreciative hug, "I love you."

"Love you too doll."

She had to steel herself before entering the bathroom. Despite Justin's reassurance, she wasn't sure what she would find. Pushing at the door, she tentatively called his name before stepping into the bathroom. He was stood in front of the mirror, hands gripping either side of the basin in front of him. He was stripped to the waist, his shirt thrown to the floor. There were smudges of what she thought might be mud on his jeans. Her eyes drifted to his knuckles, white as they gripped the porcelain. She saw grazes and bruises. As her gaze took in his back she saw a few cuts. Eventually her eyes met his in the mirror and she saw a grim satisfaction and something else that she didn't recognise.

"He won't be coming near you again."

Those were words she had longed to hear, but they rang hollow in her ears. He was so uptight, so cautious, so angry. It scared her. She didn't feel safe, despite his words. She was afraid for Wade.

"I didn't hurt him, much. Nowhere that people will see. I made him promise to stay away from you."

"How?" The word slipped past her lips before she even realised. She wasn't sure she wanted to know. When his shoulders slumped and he took a deep breath, she became even more worried.

"I became close to what I despise. I became close to what he is." He did not break away from her gaze but she saw something akin to horror and self-loathing within him.

She took a step closer to him but he shook his head.

"I wanted to protect you, but as I was beating him I saw myself forcing the issue as he forced himself on you. I threatened him what I would do to him if he so much as looked at you wrongly, and what I threatened him with made me sick."

"What did you do?" He was scaring her, but she couldn't help but move closer to him, resting her hand on the small of his back. She could feel the tension within him, and a tremor running through his body.

"I threatened him that I would do to him what he has done to you. That I would leave him living in fear. That I would stalk him, that I would make him feel dirty, ashamed, alone. Just like he made you feel. I was a man who would have done that with no qualms several years ago. I thought I had moved beyond being that person."

"You're not that person. You might have said it, but you're not him, Wade," she whispered.

"I would do it in a second to protect you," he replied vehemently, the intensity of his words surprising her. "I hate that I am capable of this."

Lisa remained silent, trying to work out exactly how she felt about Wade's revelation. She knew she should be scared, that she should distance herself from this man, a man who had just admitted to her that he was as capable of being cruel and manipulative as the man she truly feared. Yet she wasn't scared. She couldn't explain it, but she knew within her heart of hearts that he would never turn that cruelty on to her. He would never direct his anger or venom in her direction.

"I know you would never hurt me." His gaze dropped at her words and his whole body appeared to sag, hands rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I wish I had as much faith in myself love," he shook his head. "The fact I know I could commit such acts makes me feel like I should distance myself from you, to keep you safe."

"Don't you dare," before she could even think, she responded to him, pulling him around to face her, "you listen to me Wade. I need you, ok? God knows I have no idea what's going on in your head, but I need you and I know you would never do to me what Drew has done. I know what you feel for me."

"How can you be sure?"

"I don't know. I just know I feel safe with you."

Wade shook his head again, "Lisa, how can you trust me if I can't trust myself?"

She turned away, that question cutting deep into her heart, and deep into the heart of the matter. How could she trust him? After what Drew had done, how could she keep herself safe by giving her trust to someone who openly said he didn't deserve it? She had trusted Drew, once.

"Because you know what you're capable of, and he never did." Gently, she took his hand, grabbing a washcloth and soaking it through with warm water. She pushed him slightly, putting his hand under running cold water to bring out the bruising on his knuckles. With the washcloth, she gently brushed it over his back, wiping away dried blood and some specks of mud. He hung his head, ashamed of himself, unwilling to allow himself to enjoy her touch. With a large towel she wiped away the excess water and ensured that all of his injuries had been washed clean before speaking again. "Those jeans are filthy. Take them off, then come and sit with me." With that, she walked off back into the bedroom.

He remained still, trying to process her words and actions. She had much more faith in him than he had in himself. In a way, that scared him as it made him feel as if he would be even more likely to let her down. Yet he found himself following her directions, pulling off his shoes and socks and stripping down to his boxers before walking back to the bedroom where she awaited him.

She was sat on the double bed in the room, leaning her back against the headboard, and Wade took a seat on the single bed next to it, still tense. He felt vulnerable, an unfamiliar sensation, and incredibly uncomfortable. His eyes darted to his suitcase and he quickly grabbed a t shirt, pulling it over his head. She appreciated the gesture, and touched the bedding next to her.

"Please, don't distance yourself from me."

He nodded awkwardly and sat next to her. As she snuggled into his arms he felt things become more natural.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, almost to no one. She heard his words and looked up.

"I know. I'm sorry for causing this. I know you're conflicted. I never meant for that to happen." She took his hand and gently traced the bruising forming on his knuckles. "I wish I had never dragged you into this."

"You didn't drag me into anything."

"I knew, when I told you, that you would do something. Maybe subconsciously I wanted you to. I don't know. Either way, I knew. I should have handled this on my own."

"And what, you'd have had to carry on with him assaulting you every time you were alone with him?"

She shrugged and absently continued stroking his knuckles. "Maybe. At least it was only me struggling with it."

"I don't ever want to see you cry like that again," he sighed. "I know you're strong, Li, but we've always been honest with each other. Him turning and doing something like that, you couldn't have predicted it and you couldn't have handled it on your own. I know me and him have never got on and yes, I guess that coloured my view of him a little, but any man who did what he did would get the same response from me."

"You're sure he'll stay away from me?" Lisa asked meekly.

Wade nodded grimly, "let's just say I extracted that promise from him."

She felt him tense and knelt up a little so that she could face him, "thank you." She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and forced a smile.

Somewhat nervously, he lifted his hand and stroked her cheek with his bruised knuckle. She closed her eyes at the gentle touch and for a moment, felt like everything was going to be ok. Then he dropped his hand away from her and she opened her eyes to see doubt cloud his features. His eyes swam with unspoken worry and she hated herself in that moment for causing that.

She lifted his hand to her lips, pressing soft kisses to the bruises. If she couldn't find the words to tell him, she would at least show him. She curled up at his side again, resting her head on his chest. He understood what was unsaid and held her close, a smile curling on his lips as she leaned over him to grab the tv remote. There would be no more conversation tonight. They had revealed as much of their hearts as they were ready to.