Because You Said Forever
Part 10
Nick's P.O.V
I press my back against the counter cabinet, crying into the towel as I use it to absorb the blood spilling from my nose. I should have known not to mess with Joe. I stand up off the floor, my legs shaking. I take the towel away from my nose and look at the large dark red splotch on it. My breathing is shaky while I press it against my lip again, though the bleeding seems to have stopped. This isn't the first time Joe's hit me, though it's not common for him to either.
One day, he'll be screaming at me or going out on a date, or forcing me to make out with him. Later, he'll be nice and sweet and ask me to forgive him. And I always say yes. I get control of my crying, and the bleeding has stopped. I reach up to it and try to wiggle my nose a little. It hurts so bad that I want to scream, but at least I know it isn't broken. I look at it in the mirror and wipe the blood off my lip and the tears from my cheeks. The only thing I can think about is that at least I won't see Joe until tomorrow.
After a couple minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I hear a series of knocks on the door. I know it isn't Joe - he would just use keys - and I shuffle to the door curiously. I look through the peephole and grumble at who I see. "Joe isn't here," I say immediately as I open the door for Damien, once again drawn to his amazing features. I can't tear my eyes away from him and I'm suddenly horribly self conscious.
"Where is he?" Damien asks, striding into the apartment, which irks me slightly.
"I don't know exactly."
Damien turns to me, a serious look in his eye and from his body language I can already tell something's wrong. "I want to talk to you, Nick," he says solemnly. For a moment I'm slightly stunned, not knowing what Damien would want to talk to me about. "About Joe..." Damien murmurs heasitantly, and I twitch slightly at the mention. "Nick ... did you know he was cheating on you?" he asks the blunt question very softly, and I feel tears threateningly prick my eyes, a bit startled by the sudden question.
"Yes..." I mumble, ashamed of myself, and not sure if I should be talking to him right now.
"And it never sunk in? You never did anything about it...?" he tilts his head and looks at me with warm, sympathetic eyes. I debate for a couple seconds in my mind whether to tell him about it all or not, and my heart wins.
"I didn't know what to do. And I can't leave him..." I whisper, looking down at my feet.
"Why can't you?" Damien slides a finger under my chin and tilts my head up, making me look at him. "Do you enjoy getting treated like just another one of his millions of boyfriends? I dated him long enough to know he's an asshole."
"He's all I have," I blink a couple times. "And I'd never get anyone else."
"Did Joe tell you that?" Damien asks, a firm tone in his voice while I shrug helplessly. Damien sighs. "He's really screwed you up. Nick, believe me when I tell you that you're beautiful and you don't need Joe." I shift on my feet, more embarrassed than flattered by the compliment, trying to keep eye contact with him, but it's hard because I have to keep blinking away the tears due to the conversation, and the pain pulsing through my face. "Life really hasn't been blowing you kisses, has it?" he asks solemnly, thumbing away a tear under my cheek. I start to shake my head slightly, but something catches me on the lips. My breathing hitches with the feeling of the unfamiliar kiss and my heart jumps.
"What the fuck?" I hear a deep voice shout from the door, and I instantly know it's Joe. I gasp, gulping with fear and separate myself from Damien. But suddenly, in Damien's presence, I'm not scared of him.
"I thought you were on a date."
"I forgot my cell phone!" Joe yells, still standing in the doorway with a shocked and furious look on his face.
"Damien, what the fuck are you doing here? You can't just come in here and kiss MY boyfriend."
"Your boyfriend? From what I've heard, you treat him like a peice of crap!" Damien yells at Joe, curling an arm around me. I feel so protected with him next to me, but I don't open my mouth.
"You have no right to come in here and start a fight. So get the hell out of here before I get violent," Joe warns, and I flinch and close my eyes, turning my head away from the scene on fear of him actually hitting one of us. Damien squeezes me and doesn't move, and I squint my eyes open just in time to see Joe pull his back and shove it forward. Damien ducks out of the path of the punch, but Joe's fist smashes into my eye.
The impact makes my legs give out and I yelp and almost fall into the floor, but Damien catches me, gaping. "Why the hell did you hit him?!" I hear him scream, crying now as I press my hands over my bruised eye painfully. Damien leads me to the kitchen and rips open the freezer, wrapping some ice in a couple paper towels and handing it to me quickly. I'm not looking but I hear Joe's footsteps and angry breath following us through the kitchen. I press the makeshift icepack against my eye, feeling it chill my whole face but it doesn't do much for the pain. Damien holds me tightly and utters the words, "Joe, I dated you long enough to know you're an asshole. You've never been faithful and you're nothing but a selfish bastard who's only in it for the sex. Don't you see how much you hurt the people you're supposed to be showing love to? Nick deserves so much more than the abuse you just demonstrated and you're never going to get anyone to love you because you don't give it back. I hope you enjoy dying alone." I open my eye timidly and look at Joe, with his arms crossed and his face still red, crossed arms, listening to him.
Damien curls his arm around my shoulder, walking out of the kitchen with me whilst I'm pressing the bag against my eye, my whole face hurting intolerably from the first and most recent punch.
I press my back against the counter cabinet, crying into the towel as I use it to absorb the blood spilling from my nose. I should have known not to mess with Joe. I stand up off the floor, my legs shaking. I take the towel away from my nose and look at the large dark red splotch on it. My breathing is shaky while I press it against my lip again, though the bleeding seems to have stopped. This isn't the first time Joe's hit me, though it's not common for him to either.
One day, he'll be screaming at me or going out on a date, or forcing me to make out with him. Later, he'll be nice and sweet and ask me to forgive him. And I always say yes. I get control of my crying, and the bleeding has stopped. I reach up to it and try to wiggle my nose a little. It hurts so bad that I want to scream, but at least I know it isn't broken. I look at it in the mirror and wipe the blood off my lip and the tears from my cheeks. The only thing I can think about is that at least I won't see Joe until tomorrow.
After a couple minutes of feeling sorry for myself, I hear a series of knocks on the door. I know it isn't Joe - he would just use keys - and I shuffle to the door curiously. I look through the peephole and grumble at who I see. "Joe isn't here," I say immediately as I open the door for Damien, once again drawn to his amazing features. I can't tear my eyes away from him and I'm suddenly horribly self conscious.
"Where is he?" Damien asks, striding into the apartment, which irks me slightly.
"I don't know exactly."
Damien turns to me, a serious look in his eye and from his body language I can already tell something's wrong. "I want to talk to you, Nick," he says solemnly. For a moment I'm slightly stunned, not knowing what Damien would want to talk to me about. "About Joe..." Damien murmurs heasitantly, and I twitch slightly at the mention. "Nick ... did you know he was cheating on you?" he asks the blunt question very softly, and I feel tears threateningly prick my eyes, a bit startled by the sudden question.
"Yes..." I mumble, ashamed of myself, and not sure if I should be talking to him right now.
"And it never sunk in? You never did anything about it...?" he tilts his head and looks at me with warm, sympathetic eyes. I debate for a couple seconds in my mind whether to tell him about it all or not, and my heart wins.
"I didn't know what to do. And I can't leave him..." I whisper, looking down at my feet.
"Why can't you?" Damien slides a finger under my chin and tilts my head up, making me look at him. "Do you enjoy getting treated like just another one of his millions of boyfriends? I dated him long enough to know he's an asshole."
"He's all I have," I blink a couple times. "And I'd never get anyone else."
"Did Joe tell you that?" Damien asks, a firm tone in his voice while I shrug helplessly. Damien sighs. "He's really screwed you up. Nick, believe me when I tell you that you're beautiful and you don't need Joe." I shift on my feet, more embarrassed than flattered by the compliment, trying to keep eye contact with him, but it's hard because I have to keep blinking away the tears due to the conversation, and the pain pulsing through my face. "Life really hasn't been blowing you kisses, has it?" he asks solemnly, thumbing away a tear under my cheek. I start to shake my head slightly, but something catches me on the lips. My breathing hitches with the feeling of the unfamiliar kiss and my heart jumps.
"What the fuck?" I hear a deep voice shout from the door, and I instantly know it's Joe. I gasp, gulping with fear and separate myself from Damien. But suddenly, in Damien's presence, I'm not scared of him.
"I thought you were on a date."
"I forgot my cell phone!" Joe yells, still standing in the doorway with a shocked and furious look on his face.
"Damien, what the fuck are you doing here? You can't just come in here and kiss MY boyfriend."
"Your boyfriend? From what I've heard, you treat him like a peice of crap!" Damien yells at Joe, curling an arm around me. I feel so protected with him next to me, but I don't open my mouth.
"You have no right to come in here and start a fight. So get the hell out of here before I get violent," Joe warns, and I flinch and close my eyes, turning my head away from the scene on fear of him actually hitting one of us. Damien squeezes me and doesn't move, and I squint my eyes open just in time to see Joe pull his back and shove it forward. Damien ducks out of the path of the punch, but Joe's fist smashes into my eye.
The impact makes my legs give out and I yelp and almost fall into the floor, but Damien catches me, gaping. "Why the hell did you hit him?!" I hear him scream, crying now as I press my hands over my bruised eye painfully. Damien leads me to the kitchen and rips open the freezer, wrapping some ice in a couple paper towels and handing it to me quickly. I'm not looking but I hear Joe's footsteps and angry breath following us through the kitchen. I press the makeshift icepack against my eye, feeling it chill my whole face but it doesn't do much for the pain. Damien holds me tightly and utters the words, "Joe, I dated you long enough to know you're an asshole. You've never been faithful and you're nothing but a selfish bastard who's only in it for the sex. Don't you see how much you hurt the people you're supposed to be showing love to? Nick deserves so much more than the abuse you just demonstrated and you're never going to get anyone to love you because you don't give it back. I hope you enjoy dying alone." I open my eye timidly and look at Joe, with his arms crossed and his face still red, crossed arms, listening to him.
Damien curls his arm around my shoulder, walking out of the kitchen with me whilst I'm pressing the bag against my eye, my whole face hurting intolerably from the first and most recent punch.