Trust Me, Don't Leave Me

~~~~Grace’s POV~~~~
After a moment, Liz got her expression under control. Then she walked calmly over to Olivia, but the way she was walking reminded me of a hunting wildcat.
“Jealous…bitch?” she said slowly in a calm, frightening voice. She looked directly into her eyes, and Olivia stared back with an expression that screamed I’m-not-scared-of-you-you-fucking-bitch.
“Yeah, a jealous bitch, that’s what you are,” Olivia said in her hateful voice, flicking her hair over her shoulder.
“OK then,” Liz said, pulling her hair back into a hair-tie. She turned around and stepped away from her. Then, quick as lightning, she spun back and her fist connected with Olivia's nose as Dougie walked in. We all heard a sickening crack.
“My nose!” Olivia shrieked, her voice going nasally as she clutched her face. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
“I dislike stuck-up hateful skanks. Especially when they decide to insult me.” She looked at her knuckles. “Oh, shoot! I got your blood all over my hand!” She turned to grin menacingly at her. “I’d lick it up, but I don’t want any part of any hateful hag inside me.”
She walked into the kitchen and I heard some water running. “You may want to leave,” I said to Olivia, “before she decides to come back and finish what she started.” Olivia jumped up and ran for the door. When we heard it slam shut, the guys started cheering.
After the cheering stopped, we realized Liz hadn’t returned. Then we heard a thud in the kitchen and Star ran in, followed close by Dougie.
~~~~Dougie’s POV~~~~
I ran into the kitchen to find Liz huddled on the floor, clutching her hand to her chest. She was cussing and tears were running down her cheeks. Then she saw me kneeling by her side, reaching for her, and her eyes widened. She glanced down at her kitten, who was hissing at me.
“I’m fine,” she forced through clenched teeth. She pushed herself up with both hands, wincing as her right hand stretched against the floor.
“Let me see your hand,” I said before she could stand up, reaching for her hand. She pulled her hand away from me, pushing herself up facing away from me. But I grabbed her arm and pulled her down, wrapping my left arm around her waist. “I’m trying to help,” I said, grabbing her right hand in mine. It was stiff and awkward. I shifted my grip so my thumb was under her middle knuckle on the back and my middle finger was in the same place on her palm.
“Would you stop that?” she snapped. Then she gasped slightly as I squeezed and we heard a tiny pop as her middle knuckle slipped back into its proper place. She relaxed and a moment later, Star was purring and cuddling against me. Liz rested her head against my shoulder for a moment. “Thanks for that,” she whispered and I felt the warmth of her breath against my neck.
My heart was beating hard. Without thinking, I turned my head and pressed my lips to hers. She hesitated for a moment. Then she kissed me back, relaxing even more in my arms.
But then she stiffened and pulled away, not looking at me. She stood up, walking over to the glass doors that led to the patio. I stood and started following her. “Dougie,” she muttered, meeting my eyes in the reflection, “I don’t want to hurt you. This can only lead to pain. On both our parts.”
“Liz,” I whispered in her ear, putting my hands on her shoulders, “can we just go with it, whatever it is? If pain comes, we can deal with it then. I don’t want to be protected from it if it means we can’t be together.”
“Living in the moment?” she whispered. I nodded turning her around.
“I…I can tell you want to let go,” I muttered, seeing desire and pain warring in her eyes. “So just…let go.” I leaned down and kissed her again.
For a moment, she was frozen with uncertainty. But I could almost feel her letting go of her restraints as she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed back.