Indulge

by Liv Morris

  “Matt,” she whispered.

  “What? That can’t be right.” I shake my head.

  “Before you tackled him in the hallway. When he pushed me up against the wall,” she whispers.

  My anger comes back full force. My jaw is clenched so tight it makes my teeth ache. That fucking bastard is D.E.A.D.

  “I’m sorry,” she says softly.

  I place her face in my palms as a single tear falls down her cheek. “Don’t be sorry, Angel.” I shake my head. “None of this was your fault. Turn around.” As she turns, I see a bruise has already formed on the right side of her back. It’s also a deep red color that runs diagonal across her side onto her back. “Is this where you hit the concrete barrier?”

  “I guess. I didn’t see what I hit.”

  Other than those three bruises, her upper body doesn’t look too bad. “Come on, let’s get your pants off.” She turns back to face me and allows me to undo her pants. I gently slide them down her legs; she has scratches and dried blood all the way down to her ankles. “I’m so sorry.” I can’t tell her enough how sorry I am.

  “It’s not your fault. Plus, I look pretty good compared to you.” She gives me a small smile that I can’t help but return.

  “How does your hand feel?” I gently take her right hand in mine and examine it.

  “It feels fine.” She opens and closes it a few times for me.

  “Angel, you don’t have to lie to me. If you hurt it, I want you to tell me.”

  “Honestly, my hand doesn’t hurt. It actually hurts the least.” She stares down at her hand. I know her side is giving her the most discomfort. She doesn’t have to say it; I can tell by the way she is holding herself. “The water is probably getting cold. Why don’t you go ahead and get in? I’ll be right behind you.” I kiss her forehead and open the shower door before she can argue.

  I walk out of the bathroom and see the pieces of wood from the door on the floor. I look to the hole then back to the floor.

  Fuck.

  I want to hit it again. What the fuck was I thinking? I ball my fists up at my sides, ignoring the pain.

  I take a deep breath as I step back in the bathroom. I see her bra and panties lying on the floor outside the shower door, and with shaky hands I get undressed. I’m not nervous about seeing her naked, but I’m nervous how I will react when I see her bruised body. I don’t know if I can take it.

  I step in the shower and she has her head under the water, facing me. When I shut the door, she opens her eyes and walks over to me. Before she can get too close, I grab a hold of her hands and hold her arms out, looking over her body. Now that the water has washed away the blood and dirt, I curse softly. She is covered in bruises, the worst of which are on her thighs and knees.

  “I’m okay. A little sore, but it’s not too bad.”

  “Maybe I should take you to the hospital.” What if she has internal injuries?

  She shakes her head. “I’m fine. I just want to clean up and go to bed. When I get out, I’ll take some Tylenol. I’ll be okay.”

  I want to argue with her. She is going to feel like shit tomorrow, and her body will be stiff and sore as hell, but we have fought enough already tonight. So I let it go. I hold her for a few minutes just letting the shower head soak our bodies. I look down and see dirt and blood flowing down the drain.

  I need to get cleaned off and out of here before I lose my mind!

  “Come on, let’s get cleaned up.” She nods and turns to face the shower head.

  “Was that your first time hitting someone?’’ I ask as I begin to wash her back.

  “No...” she answers cautiously.

  “What?” I say in a high pitch voice. “What other times have you hit someone?” I pick some gravel out of her shoulder.

  “My dad taught me to fight at a young age. Said every girl should know how to protect herself. I don’t start fights, but that doesn’t mean I back down when one presents itself.”

  I turn her around to face me, and place my hand on her hips. “I don’t care how many fights you’ve been in, or how well your dad taught you to fight. Next time you run.”

  She stares at me for a few seconds before she finally nods, but her eyes are telling me she is lying. God help me, this women is going to be the death of me!

  We finish up in the shower and get out. I hand her a towel so she can dry off as I go and grab her one of my t-shirts. I need her to get dressed as soon as possible because every time I look at her, my anger rises. Not towards her, but towards Matt.

  “Are you allergic to any medications?”

  “No.” she shakes her head slowly. I walk out of the bathroom and go to my nightstand to get the pills she will need for her pain. I run to the kitchen to grab her a bottle of water. “Here, take this. It will help with the pain.” I hand her the pills and water. She takes them without any questions.

  I unwrap the towel from my waist, throwing on a pair of boxers. I finish up in the bathroom and crawl in bed, snuggling in beside her. She is already asleep, so I pull her gently into me and kiss my angel good night. I close my eyes and smile, knowing she is safe here with me.

  She screams out my name, but I can’t get to her fast enough. My hands are clammy, and my heart is racing. I’m scared and angry at the same time. I can see the horror in her big green eyes and the tears run down her face. Matt has her by the arms as he shakes her. She struggles to pull away, kicking and screaming. He lets go of her, shoving her to the ground. She lands facing down on the concrete, she tries to crawl away from him, but she’s not fast enough. He comes to stand over her and pulls her up by her hair as she screams out in pain. He pushes her up against the wall, and start yelling in her face…

  I sit straight up in bed, covered in sweat and trying to get my breathing under control. I look around frantically for a moment until I realize I’m in my bedroom, and Angel is sleeping like a baby next to me. I get my racing heart to slow and my breathing back to normal as I lay down next to her.

  “Just a dream.” I whisper laying down, rubbing my hands over my eyes. Fuck, where the hell was I? Why wasn’t I helping her? I place my hand on my chest and feel my heart pounding so hard my chest feels tight, and it’s soaked from sweat.

  I shove the covers off and get out of bed, walking to the bathroom. I turn on the sink and start throwing water on my face. It doesn’t help, it’s not helping cool me down. Placing my hands on the counter top I look up at myself as water runs down my face.

  Matt had told me he was going to make her pay for hitting him. Once Josh had taken her out the exit, he started screaming all the things he was going to do to her. He got a few hits in on me as I had been looking at Holly. She was terrified as she stood there wide-eyed at Matt’s words. I yelled for her to leave and to get Angel to a safe place.

  I look down and fist my hand that I had punched him with. That fucker deserved a lot more than what he got. I close my eyes taking a few deep breaths. It’s all over. I rinse off my face one more time and then dry it off. I walk out of the bathroom and crawl in next to Angel. I let my eyes wander over her body. When we were in the shower earlier, all I could do was try to tone down my anger every time I looked at a bruise or scratch. Now my body wants her. She is lying on her left side, facing me. Her left arm is stretched out under her pillow, her right arm is lying out in front of her, with her hair wild on her pillow.

  She’s wearing one of my t-shirts. I let out a moan, knowing she’s naked underneath it. I scoot closer to her. As I reach out my left hand, lightly laying it on her thigh, I slowly let it wander up her smooth leg, cupping her tight, firm ass. I continue upward to her hip, then let my hand wander to over her flat stomach. Fuck, I want her so bad right now. I pull my hand away because I know it’s not going to happen. Her body needs time to heal.

  I lay back down on my back. My body doesn’t feel nearly as bad as I thought it would. My jaw is sore, along with my hand, but other than that I feel pretty good. Matt was drunk, and his moves were sluggish,
so even when he did make contact, they were not as hard as they could have been. Angel’s little body definitely got the worse part of the deal.

  The ringing of my phone gets my attention. I look over at it on my nightstand to see its Josh. I unplug it, and get out of bed to head to the hallway, not wanting to wake Angel.

  “Hello,” I answer once I’m in the hall.

  “Hey, man. I just wanted to call and see how you and Sam were feeling.”

  “I don’t feel too bad, and she is asleep. I gave her one of my muscle relaxers that I had from last New Year. It will help her with her soreness once she wakes up.” We had all went on a skiing trip last year, and I had ended up hurting my back on the slopes. I’m not one for medications, so I had only taken one of them.

  “Is she that hurt? I’m so sorry. I was on my way to grab her when she first yelled for you to stop, but Matt’s other friend came out of the restroom. After I hit him a few times he took off, but by then she had already jumped in and hit Matt. I don’t know what the fuck she was thinking,” he growls.

  “I know. I saw some of what was going on. It’s okay. It’s not your fault. Thanks for helping me with her.” I lean on the wall, placing my head against it. “I don’t know what I would have done if she’d been badly hurt.”

  “How bad is it?” he asked hesitantly like he’s afraid of the answer.

  “She has bruises on both arms where he grabbed her as he shoved her against the wall outside the bathroom. She also has a bruise on her side, and smaller ones with scratches on her legs from her fall. I’m going to kill him,” I say with a clenched jaw

  “Fuck! I’m sorry, Slade.”

  “Hey, it’s not your fault,” I try to reassure him.

  “I’m still sorry. I wish I could have done more,” he says sincerely. “Well, I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to check on you guys. Call me if you need anything.”

  “Thanks. You too, Josh.” I hang up, then go back to bed to cuddle up to a still sleeping Angel. I can’t go back to sleep. I don’t even want to close my eyes. I face her, placing my hand on her face and just stare over her beautiful features, thinking how lucky I am that she is here with me.

  As I open my eyes, I notice it’s very dark in the bedroom. How long have I been out? I go to stretch my body and flinch. Every part of my body hurts. Not like a sharp pain kind of hurt, just extremely sore.

  “Are you okay?’’

  Slade is propped up on one arm, laying on his side and looking at me. He is wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. I decide he looks pretty good as I let my eyes wander his face and arms. He has a light bruise on his jaw and a small cut on his lip and left eyebrow, but other than that I can’t see much damage.

  “I’m sore.” My voice sounds scratchy, and my throat is dry. I clear my throat. “Everything feels heavy and sluggish.”

  “I gave you a muscle relaxer last night. It will help with the soreness. That’s what is making your limbs feel heavy. I’ll be right back.” He gets out of bed and walks out of the room, rather fast for someone who was just in a fight if you ask me.

  I wish I felt that good.

  I think back to our shower last night. It was the first time I had seen him completely shirtless and, well, naked. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the star tattoo on his chest. I remember my mouth had watered as I looked at his muscular body from head to toe, and it had knocked the wind out of me all over again. He wasn’t thinking of me the same way, though. He had a scowl on his face every time he looked at me.

  Slade enters the room carrying a tray with toast covered in jelly and some orange juice. “Here, you need to eat something. It will help.”

  “You made me breakfast?” I smile and put my hands flat on the bed as I try to sit myself up. Everything in the room starts to sway back and forth, and I feel lightheaded like I may faint. I give up and let my body fall down onto the mattress.

  “You okay?” He lays the tray at the end of the bed and rushes over to me.

  “Yeah. I just got really dizzy.” I close my eyes.

  “The muscle relaxers can do that. Here, let me help you.” He places his arms between me and the bed and lifts me up, placing my back against the headboard.

  “Are you okay?” he repeats as he pushes hair off my face.

  “Yeah. It feels better to sit up, actually.” He nods his head in understanding and places the tray over my lap.

  “You’re not hungry?” I ask as he sits down beside me.

  “No. I’ve been up for a while. I ate earlier.”

  I take a bite of my toast as he reaches over and grabs something out of his nightstand. “Take this,” he says as hands me a pill.

  I give him a questioning look. “Is that what I think it is?” It looks like the muscle relaxer he gave me last night.

  “Yes. You need to take it. It will make you sleepy, though, and when you wake up you may feel light headed again, but it will pass. You will feel better by tomorrow.” He leans over and kisses my forehead as I take the pill from his hand.

  “Okay.” I pop it in my mouth and rinse it down with a drink of juice. “You look like you feel good,” I say through a mouth full of toast. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until now.

  He chuckles. “Yeah, I feel all right.”

  “Have you talked to Josh or Micah this morning?” I shove another piece of toast in my mouth.

  “Yes. Josh called earlier this morning. He’s good. Micah called a couple hours ago. He said he has a few bruises, and his hand hurts, but other than that he’s fine.”

  “You guys were lucky,” I say to my plate.

  He wraps his fingers under my chin, pulling my head up to face him. “You were lucky.”

  He bends down slowly as his baby blue eyes search mine. I push myself up to meet him. It was soft, just our lips touching, and I open my mouth a bit to let him know he can give me more. He doesn’t hesitate as his tongue enters my mouth softly, slowly exploring as his hand moves from my chin to cup my cheek. He continues kissing me as I feel him shift his body on the bed to get closer to me. He pulls away and moves the tray out from in front of me, then returns to me. His lips make contact with mine, and he kisses me harder. I place my hand on his sweatpants and feel his erection.

  “No.” He pulls back. “We can’t. You need your rest.” Before I can say anything, he picks up the tray at the end of the bed and walks out, turning the light off behind him.

  What the hell was that about? He is confusing the hell out of me!

  I don’t get much time to think about how odd that situation was because within minutes I’m snuggling under the covers and falling asleep.

  The next time I wake up, it is bright in the room. I sit up and realize that it is a lot easier. I feel a bit heavy, but not nearly as sore.

  I push the covers back and slide my legs off the bed. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to walk. They feel like jelly! As I stand up slowly, the room starts to spin, so I place my hand back on the bed to keep myself standing up. Damn. What kind of muscle relaxers are these?

  I make my way slowly to the bathroom to brush my teeth. It is hard work and took a lot of effort. Once I’m done, I brush my hair, then start to search for Slade. As I’m walking down the hallway, I hear him talking on his phone. His office door is open, so I lean my body against his door frame to help hold myself up.

  He has his back to me as he shuffles through some papers. He has a light gray shirt on that fits him like a glove, pulling along his broad shoulders and muscular arms, and a pair of black shorts. His hair is damp and messy, and he looks mouthwatering good. I just want to take him back to bed!

  He turns around, and our eyes lock. He doesn’t look surprised to see me, and as he talks on the phone, his eyes look me up and down. The heat that comes off of them makes me squirm.

  “Okay, email me the documents and I’ll look it over.” He pauses. “Absolutely. Have a great day.” He hangs up and sits his phone on his desk. He comes to stand in front of
me, never taking those beautiful blue eyes off of mine.

  He bends down and gives me a sweet long kiss. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.”

  “No, you’re fine.” He looks down at me. “How do you feel? You look like you feel better.” His eyes roam my face and my arms as I nod. “What’s wrong, Angel?”

  “Nothing. I feel fine,” I lie. I don’t feel fine, and I’m having a hard time staying upright.

  He continues to stare at my arms as an awkward silence fills the room.

  “Well, I’m going to get out of your way.” I turn slowly, hoping I don’t fall over from dizziness. I would hate to fall flat on my face in front of him, especially since I’m only wearing his t-shirt. I walk out of his office, heading back to his bathroom to start packing up my stuff.

  How the hell am I going to get home?

  “Why are you packing your stuff?” He leans up against the countertop and crosses his arms over that glorious chest as I start packing my stuff into my purse.

  I have to take a deep breath, when I look up at his face. The messy hair and baby blue eyes do funny things to my body. “Because I figured you would take me home sometime today.” I look down and place my hair brush in my bag.

  “You want to go home?” He tilts his head at me while his baby blue eyes look down at my things.

  “Uh, well I figured you’d want me to go home.” Am I missing something?

  He pushes off the sink and comes up to me, placing his hands on my hips and looking deep into my eyes. “I want you to stay. Stay with me.” God, those blue eyes make me go weak at the knees.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I shake my head. “Plus, my car isn’t here.”

  “Look...I want to tell you something.” He lifts me gently from the hips, careful not to touch my side, and places me on top of the counter. Putting both hands on either side of my body, he bends over to look in my eyes.