Their Violence, Your Silence.

How I'd made it home and managed to get into bed without alarming anyone was a miracle. I guess it said something about this neighborhood...

I'd stumbled about getting off the torn clothes, wanting to get rid off them as soon as possible. It was lucky that I'd left my sweatpants and a sleeping shirt on my bed this morning where I could easily find them by touch.

It took me nearly twenty minutes to get out of the torn clothes and into the more comfortable sweats but then I collapsed gratefully on the bed. Pulling the blankets over me so I could shut out the world.

I didn't care about the blood still occasionally dripping down the side of my face onto my pillow. All I wanted now was to sink into oblivion where I could forget about the agony in my forehead and the screaming in my sides.

Now that I was in a safe place I could no longer keep the pain at bay and vertigo swept over me despite the fact that I was already lying down.

I might have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew was the sound of the front door opening and closing and then Jared's voice as he sang something horribly off key. I wanted to get up then but it seemed like my limbs were made of rubber and my throat was so sore and parched that I couldn't get any sound out.

It seemed like an eternity then while I struggled to get control of my body so I could warn Jared. But I couldn't even seem to open my eyes.

Then there was a loud banging on the front door and I could hear Jared curse about it.
'Caleb... what are you doing here?' said Jared, he sounded surprised and hostile. But I was elated. Caleb came looking for me!

'Is Winter home? Have you seen her?' that was indeed Caleb's voice and he sounded anxious, angry worried... Was it possible to have that many emotions reflected in your voice? I could almost imagine Caleb grabbing Jared's shoulders and shaking him.

'Didn't you drive her home? I just got here myself...' Jared sounded confused now. I could understand that, he must think Caleb brought me home.

Then I heard a sound that made my heart beat speed up: footsteps on the stairs. It was only a few seconds and then the footsteps echoed in the hall. Was that Jared or Caleb?

The door swung open with a creak and I heard a sharp intake of breath. That was Caleb wasn't it? I tried to get my gritty eyes open again but it seemed like they were stuck.

'Caleb what the hell!' that was Jared coming up the stairs now, so it was Caleb standing in the doorway. I tried desperately to move and then wished I could curl up even more. I looked like a total wreck and it was yet again Caleb who found me...

I heard a tingling sound and then Caleb barked out: 'Get in and start the engine! We're taking Winter to the hospital, now!'

It surprised me that almost immediately I heard a set of footsteps retreating. Jared was actually obeying Caleb? Did I really look that bad?

'Winter?' his voice was soft but I could hear the contained anger underneath it clearly. I'd seen him angry often enough to recognize it.

I could hear Caleb moving into my room slowly and then felt the bed dip a little as he sat down beside me. My breathing hitched in my throat as the thought struck me that Caleb Thornleigh was sitting on my bed in my bedroom.

Then coherence went out the door. Caleb pulled the blanket down and although he probably did it gently it must have been stuck to the blood on my forehead. Searing pain shot from my head to my toes and a shiver ran down my spine. It jogged the bruises forming there so that my whole torso felt like burning.

'Winter?' he said again and this time he sounded much more worried then angry. He touched my cheek and it was such a soft touch that I barely felt it. I struggled with my eyes again and this time succeeded in opening them a crack.

I wanted to groan in frustration when I still saw barely anything. Everything was a blur and more so then usual without my glasses. I concluded that this was probably due to the tears that were still pouring from my eyes.

'I'm going to lift you up okay? Wrap you in the blanket and take you to the car? I'm sorry if it'll hurt,' Caleb was saying and I could feel the pain flare where he tucked the blanket in around me. How could I be so sore and still conscious?

His arm underneath my knees didn't hurt but as he slipped his other one underneath my shoulders it seemed I finally found the use of my vocal cords again. I groaned and the sound was loud in my ears.

Caleb hesitated a short moment and then effortlessly lifted me up and started moving out of the room.

My head spun and when it cleared I found a little strength to move at last. Rolling my head to the side to rest it against Caleb's shoulder wasn't very hard. Moving it away after that damn near impossible. Well he'd just have to forgive me for bleeding on his shoulder then.

I didn't think he'd mind that much.

My right hand moved to grab onto the nearest part of him it could find and latched onto that with a surprising amount of strength. I wasn't going to let Caleb leave my side now.

It was cold outside but I could already hear the purr of Caleb's car as it idled at the curb. Jared must have done exactly what Caleb said. The sound of doors opening and closing and then more pain as Caleb had to reposition me to sit down in the backseat.

I was in his lap as he cradled me to his chest, his arms warm around me. Any other time and this would have me blushing like mad and tripping over me tongue to say something about letting me go.

Now I leaned more in to him and closed my eyes again tiredly. I felt safe now, inside this by now familiar car with Caleb's arms around me and Jared driving.

As on cue Jared said: 'What happened?'

And Caleb told him. His words clipped short and his sentence's consisting of hardly any
words. But his hands were gentle as he adjusted his old on me and at last it felt like some of the pain started to fade away.

On the fore front now was the searing in my forehead and the burning of my throat.

Still I tried to open my eyes again and smile at Caleb, just to put his mind a little at ease. I think it worked because he stared at me a moment and then let out a choked sound before saying: 'Silly girl is smiling now... Think she'll be alright?'

I wanted to frown but that hurt, I was not silly!

Jared in the drivers seat laughed a little, although without much humor. 'That does sound like Winter, trying to put our minds at ease...'

Then we reached the hospital and everything became a blur. They must have given me some kind of painkiller because all I remembered was clutching on tightly to Caleb's shirt.