Rouge had left work earlier than normal to make her and her boyfriend Mathew a surprise dinner. It took her a whole hour to finish it before he came home. When she was finished, she washed up and set the table. "I sure hope he likes this." She said to herself. Just then she heard the door open. Mathew was home. But he had a cold expression on his face. He looked like he had been drinking again as well and didn't even bother to look at Rouge. "Why are you home early?" He asked her coldly. "I wanted to surprise you with a dinner I've made. Come on and sit." Mathew took one glance at the table and then turned around around again. "I don't want your hand made dinner. You should be at work right now." "I just wanted to surprise you! That's all! You're so ungrateful!" Rouge was furious. "What do you mean by that?!" Mathew asked and punched Rouge to the ground.
"You just like getting on my bad side, don't you?! I better teach you a lesson!" He shouted and continued to beat Rouge up. All Rouge could do is curl up and cry. "Stop! No more! Let me go!" She pleaded. Mathew grabbed her by her hair and slammed her head against the floor repeatedly. Rouge was bleeding profusely and was screaming in pain. Her entire body was covered in bruises and cuts. After we was satisfied, Mathew stoop up and went to take a shower, leaving Rouge on the floor crying in pain.
The next day, SnowFlake was going through the day's agenda. "Ok, Team. We've got a lot to do today." She said. Everyone nodded. "But, before I get in on it, we have to wait for Shadow and Rouge." Just then, Shadow came into the conference room holding a cup of coffee. "Good morning, Princess." He said, handed her the coffee. "Good morning, my assistant." She said, taking the coffee and smiling. "Thank you. Um...did you see Rouge on your way up here?" She asked. But Shadow just shook his head. After a few minutes, Rouge came in with a big bruise on her face. "Rouge? What happened to you?" SnowFlake screamed. "I hit the elevator wall. It's fine though." She said holding her cheek and trying to hide the bruises that are visible on her body.
Shadow knew Rouge too well by now and could sense something was wrong. So later in the day, he went to SnowFlake's office and knocked on the door. "Princess, can we talk?" "Sure. Come on in." SnowFlake answered and gestured for him to come in. "So, what's going on?" She asked and pointed to the chair across from her desk. Shadow sat down while looking worried and then said, "I'm a little worried about Rouge. She came here bruised up and sad. I'm She might be abused back home."
"You're right." SnowFlake said. "I was also a bit suspicious. Since she always wears long sleeves and pants to work." Then she had an idea. "Shadow, listen to me carefully. After work, I want you to go to Rouge's house after work today and see what's really going on." "Alright, Princess. I'll do that." They smiled and Shadow walked out of the office.
After work, he drove to Rouge's house. On his way, he decided to stop somewhere to buy some sweets for her. He stopped at a bakery called Cauldron Cakes and bought two boxes of chocolate chip cookies. He loaded them in the car and drove on. When he arrived at Rouge's house, he parked his car and went to the door. He looked around to see if he could find any signs of abuse or someone being bullied, but there wasn't anything from the outside. He sighed and opened his mouth and called out, "Rouge!" He waited for a reply but none was given. After a few seconds, the door opened. And Shadow walked in.
The house was a wreck. Broken dishes, holes in the walls, torn curtains, it was horrible. Shadow felt sick to his stomach at the sight. He held back his tears as he took pictures of all he saw and sent it to SnowFlake. SnowFlake immediately wrote back 'This is not right. We'll think of something to put this abuser in his place.'
The next day at work, Shadow went to talk to Rouge about what he had seen. He found her in the break area crying and walked up to her, handing her some tissues. "Here." "T-Thank you." She said. Shadow noticed she had dark circles underneath her eyes and her cheeks were tear stained. "Hey...Rouge, What happened to you? Did someone get angry with you? And if so, who was it?" He asked concerned. Rouge shook her head. "It's nothing." She cried.
But Shadow wasn't having it. "Rouge, Listen to me. Who's hurting you?" Rouge looked up at him and began to cry at her full earnest. Shadow pulled her into a tight embrace. "Hey, hey. Shhh...it's ok. Nobody will hurt you, alright? I won't let anyone hurt you again." He promise. "It's...It's Mathew. H-He's the one hurting me!" She sobbed, burying her face deeper into Shadow's chest. "I don't wanna live like this anymore! I can't take it!" "I know, I know. Don't worry. You can stay with me until we figure something out." Shadow soothed. Rouge sniffed. "I just want a life where nobody hurts me anymore. Please help me, Shadow." Shadow kissed the top of her head and hugged her tighter.
"It's ok. I'm here for you." He whispered in her ear. "And you'll never be alone. I promise."
After work, Shadow and Rouge left the office together. He helped Rouge get into the car and then got in himself. When they reached Shadow's house, Shadow helped her out of the car and inside the house. Then he bandaged her cuts, being careful not to hurt her. "You can stay in the guest room for now." He said. Rouge gave a weak smile and nodded. Shadow took Rouge to the guest room and laid her down. "Thank you, Shadow." She whispered. "It's no problem. I don't want him hurting you anymore." He replied, before kissing her forehead again and left her to rest.
As the night wore on, Rouge woke up and started sobbing. She curled herself up and mumbled to herself. "Please stop, Mathew. Please stop. I'm sorry." She sobbed. Shadow heard the commotion and went to check on Rouge. When he saw her, he sat down on the side on the bed and held her close. He started gently rocking her and stroking her hair. "Shhh...shhh...it's ok. Everything will be alright." He whispered. "No, it isn't! He is the only reason why I'm living this way. Why? What have I done to make him hate me so much?! He broke my heart!"
"Hey Hey. Shhh. It's alright. You're a strong girl, Rouge. We'll figure something out."
"It just...It hurts so much." Rouge buried herself deeper into Shadow's chest as she kept crying. "I know, Rouge, I know." Shadow said. "Just try to go back to sleep, ok?" Rouge shook her head and continued crying.
"I'll stay here with you until you fall asleep, okay? It's gonna be ok?"
"Ok." Rouge replied, finally calming down a bit. Afterwards, Shadow gave her a glass of water. "This should help you sleep." He said. Rouge nodded and took a few sips of water. Soon enough, she laid back down. "Goodnight." She said and closed her eyes. Before leaving, Shadow kissed her forehead and then walked out.