Harmonies

His words kept echoing in the girl's head. Next boyfriend. There was this voice telling her that he was a good guy and would be good for her, but the nagging hurt caused by her lack of a relationship with Steven. She was realizing now that her ex-boyfriend shouldn't have been given that label. He never cared about her the way that Benjamin did even after a year.

"Let's get you fixed up," she said, tying her hair back away from her face. "Did he hit you anywhere other than your face?"

The light from her lamp illuminated the defeated look on his face as he pointed toward his torso. Without hesitation she reached her fingers under the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it upwards. Her fingers brushed against his bare skin and he shivered. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked, freezing instantly.

"No, your fingers are cold is all." His eyes closed again and his mind began drifting. Instead of sitting on her bed being scolded, his mind pictured hovering over her. Her hands were still pulling his shirt upwards painfully slow and he instantly wished she'd just do it and get it over with. In his mind, her lips were red and swollen from their passionate kissing and then it was over when she spoke again.

Her voice was soft and fragile. "I can't make that promise to you, you know." When she met his now open eyes, he realized that she had his shirt in her hands. "It's not because I don't want you to be, but because I need a relationship, not someone else like Steven."

She left the room then and he watched the left and right sway of her hips as she left. Being compared to Steven, that monster that attacked her, hurt. Although, she wasn't necessarily comparing him to Benjamin. Just stating a fact. He leaned back on the bed so he no longer had to support his own weight.

The brunette returned a few minutes later; ice cubes had been shoved into a ziplock baggie and she carried a small washcloth with her. Wrapping the cloth around the bag and placing it gently on his cheek, just below his eye. "Hold that there."

"Arabella," he said quietly. She hummed in response. "Come here." Suddenly, the bed dipped down beside him and he placed the ice pack off to the side. Through the pain he stretched his arm around her, pulling her close. "Just the thought that you would compare me to Steven in anyway bothers me. I could never even think of using you like that. You're so beautiful and funny and precious. One of the reasons I want to be able to call you my girlfriend is to know that you're not being used or hurt or abandoned. I just want to know that you're safe and loved the same way you make sure Lennox is safe and loved."

She sniffed next to him and he glanced down as she wiped her eyes. "I know. It's just that having someone that does actually care about me making me realize how terrible my previous relationship was. And that kind of scares me. I've never been in a relationship like that."

"If you'll let me, I'll make sure you're never scared."

Instead of answering, she just looked up. She searched his face for any sign that he was just telling her what she wanted to hear so he could get in her pants. When she found only pure, raw honesty, she seemed satisfied and stretched up toward his lips and gave him a chaste kiss. "I swear if you hurt me, I don't give second chances. Now put that ice pack on your face. I don't want to be seen with you when you look like that."

At her tinkling laugh, he smiled widely and did as she told him to. Her cold hands rested on the bruises on his chest and acted as a second ice pack. "Go to sleep, Bella. I'll still be here when you wake up, but you've had a long day."

When she didn't respond, he knew she was already sleeping.