"I never needed you like I do right now, I never hated you like I do right now
'cause all you ever do is make me cry"

❀

*warning: chapter contains violence*

I glance down at my phone for the first time today and wish I didn't feel the ounce of disappointment weighing down on my heart when I see that his name isn't displayed on the screen.

But I do, I feel it.

I feel all of it.

It hasn't even been a full twenty four hours since everything happened, but still there's this mood I can't shake- the ache in my chest, weight on my shoulders and sudden views on how life can be so mundane while also being so crippling at the same time.

I've been wracking my brain for his exact reasoning for doing what he did, and although all my answers point to the obvious, it still doesn't add up.

He has issues.

I know this.

Even though he doesn't tell me why he is the way he is, it's clear to me that something happened to make him so.

What we're going down is a slippery slope, there's no happy ending to this, right?

Right.

But then my traitorous body does it again- makes me remember how it feels to be so close to him. Have his breath mixed in with my own, have him speaking-no, provoking me with his teasing words, his calloused hands making their way up my soft skin, his unmasked wishes to kiss me, touch me, feel me.

Ugh, why won't my body stop craving him?

I'm angry, I have every right to be angry because he turned off my phone. I keep replaying it in my mind, imagining me wrapped up in his strong arms, my phone occasionally buzzing, him reaching into my pocket to pull it out, see who my messages are from and then turn it off, as if it meant nothing.

How am I supposed to react to that?

How am I supposed to get over all the red flags swaying back and forth right in front of my face?

I can't, and I won't.

I won't I won't I won't I won-

"So?" Jessica's voice interrupts my rambling thoughts as she sits on the end of the couch right next to me, her feet tucked under her, eyes twinkling with anticipation, "What'd you tell him?"

Oh, yeah right, that.

"I-I told him I'd think about it."

Her eyes almost fall out of her head, "Think about it? Are you out of your mind? I thought Aiden was who you wanted all summer."

I look down at my fingers and mumble, "Yeah, so did I."

Acknowledging the truth to Jessica's words only buries me deeper into the inexorable funk I keep finding myself in.

My shoulders slump as a heavy sigh escapes my lips. I can feel Jessica's eyes going over my face right before she places her hand on my knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Elle, what's going on? Why is this so hard for you?" She tilts her head, eyes filled with concern as she studies my face.

I roll my lips into my mouth, picking at my nail cuticle, "I just don't think he meant it."

"Why not? Has he given any reason for you to think that?"

"No, no, not exactly. It's just... Fuck. I don't know."

I cover my face with my hands, letting out yet another heavy sigh to try and relieve the tension building all over my body. Talking about this is giving me a headache.

This whole summer has been giving me a headache.

It's like he's taunting me.

I see flashes of him everywhere I look, the faint smell of his cologne randomly popping up in my head, sending my thighs tightening. I hate how his eyes are etched in my mind filled with nothing but sin, tormenting and crucifying my battling thoughts.

"Elle..." Jessica's voice breaks through my thoughts once more, bringing me back to the present. "Do you want this? Because I for one think he means it. Aiden asking you to be his girlfriend only shows that-"

"Girlfriend?"

I feel my stomach sink as the deep husky voice rings in my ears. I whip my head over to face where it's coming from, and there he stands, right behind me. I had no idea he was home, he never is in the mornings.

For a moment we just stare at each other, his glinting green orbs burning into mine. I swallow, trying to decipher the meaning behind his tensed jaw, the way his eyes darken with every second that passes and how it only lasts about three seconds before his face turns the same way it always is.

Emotionless.

"Ugh, Mason, please talk some sense into her!" Jessica's voice is hazy in the background while his eyes still remain on me.

He presses his lips together into a firm line before looking at the ground, breaking his magnetic gaze from me.

"What uh, what do you think I should do?" I hear myself asking him.

I don't expect him to confess his undying love for me right here in front of Jessica, but I hope he gives me something- some sign that I shouldn't do this.

That I shouldn't say yes to Aiden and be with him, only him.

I can hear my heart thundering in my chest, each breath I take requiring more energy from me as I impatiently wait for him to give me the sign I've been so desperately waiting for.

"Why the fuck does it matter what I think?" He shoots back at me and the ache in my chest intensifies.

"It-it doesn't." I answer defensively, trying my hardest to sound like his words didn't feel like he just kicked me in the stomach.

"No. It doesn't. Do whatever the fuck you want, Isabelle. It's what you always do."

And with that, he strides straight towards the front door and I slightly jump in my seat, a chill icing it's way through my bones from how hard he slams the door behind him.

Don't cry don't cry don't cry

I should be used to Mason doing this to me already, but him walking out on me now as if I mean nothing to him hurts just as badly as he did it the first time. My tolerance to it has never grown, it still burns its way down my throat, into the empty space inside me that he once filled.

"He's right, you know." I reconnect my focus back to Jess, shocked she's actually agreeing with Mason. "It doesn't matter what he thinks, or what I think. It's up to you to decide if you want this."

My shoulders deflate, and the dark cloud over my head follows as I bend down and rest my head on Jessica's lap.

"You don't need to figure it all out now-"

"I have until our next date Tuesday." I interrupt, quickly wiping the single tear that slides down my cheek.

"He gave you a deadline?" I can hear the disbelief in her voice, and I don't need to look at her to know that she's rolled her eyes.

"He just wants an answer."

It's silent for about thirty or so seconds while Jessica gently brushes her fingers on the top of my head, slowly but surely easing all the wallowing emotions inside of me.

"What if I end up making a big mistake?"

"You can't think like that, Elle-"

"But what if I do?" I swallow, "What if Aiden isn't really the one for me?"

Jessica stops her movements and I feel her hand go down to my own, giving it a tight squeeze. My voice goes quiet and I can't help the sadness evident in my tone. I know I should stop thinking about him but I can't just turn it off.

No matter how hard I try to.

"Then he isn't. And I'll be there for you for that, just like I'm here for you now. But did it ever occur to you that you might already know your answer?"

"What do you mean?"
"You have to think about it. The first time he asked you to be his girlfriend you didn't even let him finish getting it out before you screamed yes. This time it's different, and that's okay. All I want for you is to be happy, no matter who it's with. Does Aiden make you happy?"

I pause for a moment, "Yes."

But he's not the man I want to make me happy.

❀

It's been two days.

Two days of me sitting in my room binge watching every sappy romance movie while stuffing my face with the treat of my choosing. Two days since I've put on a pair of jeans, or brushed my hair, or eaten anything that didn't have chocolate in it.

Two days since I've talked to him, or anyone for that matter.

My self destructive misery only grows when I feel my thoughts drift off to him. I feel even more angry with myself that somehow in some way it feels as though I've lost something when he was never mine to begin with.

I let myself grow comfortable again, and I'm currently in the process of detachment.

Who knew it would be a fucking bitch.

I've been moping around this entire time, growing angier with each hour that passes. No matter what I do, his face still haunts me. I can't escape it, and it only ignites the fueling rage inside me, making me want to scream at the top of my lungs while crying him a fucking river at the same time.

My thoughts are interrupted by the loud shrill of my phone ringing next to me. There's a hopeful flutter in my stomach until the moment I look down at the screen and see Jessica's name displayed right on top of it.

I place my hands on either side of my body and push down so I'm able to unbury myself from under the mountain of plush blankets on top of me and sit up in bed. I reach over and grab my phone only to fumble it and have it drop, roll off the bed and hit the floor.

Shit, I'm such a mess.

After lazily reaching over to pick up my phone -while still being in bed of course- I quickly answer her call.

"Hello?"

"Elle!" She says, a little too cheerfully, "What are you doing tonight?"

Oh, boy.

"I..." I try to think of something I can tell her that will give me the chance to get out of this. "I, uh-"

"And don't tell me some lame ass excuse as to why you can't see me tonight."

Fuck am I really that predictable?

"And yes, you really are that predictable." She tells me and I roll my eyes, biting back the smile trying to escape past my lips.

"Sometimes I think we've known each other for too long."

"Clearly not long enough if you think I'm going to let you sit at home eating ice cream all night again. Come out with me, Corey's throwing a party tonight and your presence is mandatory."

I sigh, a party? I can't ignore the fact that drinking something besides hot chocolate doesn't sound tempting. But then there's the painful reminder that there's no way in hell Mason isn't going to be there.

"I don't know, Jess... I'm not really in the partying mood." I tell her, fiddling with the end of one of my blankets on top of me, suddenly finding it more interesting than whatever she has planned for tonight.

"What if I told you that Natalie is going to be there?"

I stop my movements, feeling a small tug on my heart over the reminder of why she left in the first place. I should feel excited that she's back, but it only adds to my guilt.

"She's back?"

"She's coming back tonight."

There's a long pause over the phone before Jessica speaks up again.

"She misses you."

I huff, "I find that hard to believe."

"It's true, it's the whole reason why she's coming tonight." Wait, what? "...I sort of told her you already agreed to come." She tells me carefully, as if she's trying to choose her words as wisely as she can.

"Jess..." I groan, as she repeatedly apologizes over and over while I do so.

"I didn't think it would take this long to convince you. But hey! Look on the brightside, what's a better ice breaker than a party?"

I think over this for a second and roll my eyes internally.

I hate it when she's right.

"And you can even bring Aiden." She suggests and I'm unable to stop the laugh rumbling out of me.

"Something tells me that's the last thing Aiden would want to be doing tonight."

"Well if he's going to be your boyfriend, he's going to have to get used to it."

Hearing her referencing Aiden as my boyfriend instinctively makes my stomach stir. But she's right, again and I hate it. I look over my laptop right in front of me, the half melted ice cream already creating a small ring on top of my nightstand, the empty white mug that was earlier filled with hot chocolate and the pile of warm, fluffy blankets enveloping my body.

I'm not ready to face him again; one look at him and all my walls, all my instincts and past knowledge come crumbling down, and I stop myself from starting over.

But before I know it, I reluctantly find myself agreeing.

❀

I tug my skirt down a bit more, already finding myself feel a tad uncomfortable with just how short it is. But since I knew Mason would be here, I decided to have my fun picking out my outfit tonight.

I ignored the look Aiden gave me when I sat down in his car, and the way he eyed me silently as we walked into Corey's house. I also ignored the way his mouth practically fell to the floor when he saw just how crowded it was.

Right when we entered we were greeted with a wall of smoke. I could smell a mixture of both marijuana and cigarette smoke in the air and my heart leaped over the familiarity of it all.

Corey is known for his parties, and after walking into one I'm now finally seeing why that's the case. There are bottles and red solo cups scattered everywhere. Music blaring over the speakers around the house so loud I can feel the floor vibrating to the bass. It's dark, the only source of light are the neon lights masking the entire floor.

And there's drugs.

A lot of drugs.

After I ran into Jessica I asked her where Natalie was, I could feel myself starting to feel nauseous over seeing her again after so long. She told me that she's probably just running late, and kept trying to coax me to relax and take a breather- which resulted in us doing shots of course.

I lost track of time, letting myself enjoy a night out for the first time in a while. Sometimes I'd look back to smile at Aiden glaring down at me, but to my surprise the second or third time I did so he wasn't there. I wanted to look around and try to find him, but I was scared of who I could possibly run into in the process.

I tried to take my mind off of all my unraveling emotions, and not let my eyes wander off to accidentally find Mason. I didn't want to give him a reason to come up and talk to me, but also another part of me was afraid of what I might find him doing here.

I told him to leave me alone.

I told him that I was done.

So, why can't I get that through my head?

I took a shot for every time he would uninvitingly pop up into my head. At one point, Isaac, a guy who graduated in Corey and Alec's class came to join us. I noticed how he'd try and move closer to me from time to time and each time he did I'd move away without making it too obvious. He cheered for Jessica and I as we linked our arms together, throwing our heads back for the clear liquid to slip out of both of our shot glasses and into our mouths.

It felt nice, I wanted to take more and I would have if it weren't for Aiden tugging on my arm, pulling me out of the kitchen looking absolutely livid.

His grip on my wrist is tight- too tight, and I wince slightly when I feel his fingernails start to dig into my skin.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He snaps at me after he whips his body around to face me.

"What?" I ask, taken back by his tone. He's never spoken to me this way before.

"Why did you bring me here, Elle? Why'd you invite me if you're just going to embarass me?"

"I-" I begin but he cuts me off.

"What are you even wearing? I mean why do all of this, bring me here just for me to stand to the side like some wallflower? Is this what you want, this life?"

"There's nothing wrong with any of this Aiden, if you stopped being so judgmental for one fucking moment you'd see that." I blurt out, and my eyes widen a bit once I'm finished.

His face morphes into something I don't recognize and his grip on me only tightens. I jerk my wrist roughly away from him just as his nails continue to break through my skin.

"You've had too much to drink." He tells me, his eyes narrowing before he lets out a heavy sigh. "I'm ready to leave now, let me take you home."

I let out a couple wavering breaths, suddenly feeling like all the smoke in the air is starting to suffocate me, and for the first time tonight I let my eyes wander around the room. I need to look at anything other than the fuming man in front of me and let myself think for one moment.

It doesn't take long for my eyes to find him. He's sitting down on the couch in the living room surrounded by a group of people, cigarette in hand while different colored pills lay scattered all over the table in front of them along with lines of white powder.

There's one thing I notice more than anything, one thing that sends the nauseous feeling I had before right up to the surface.

All his friends sit around him, legs spread apart while women straddle their laps, moving slightly side to side as if they're all trying to give them lap dances.

Him as well.

I can't tell if he's enjoying it or not. He's looking down at her while she moves against him, bringing the lit cigarette to his lips, almost as if he doesn't have a single care in the world.

And just when I think this night can't get any worse, his eyes meet mine.

For a second I feel like he's shocked to see me, I'm not sure if it's because I'm here or that I've just caught him with someone else.

I quickly look away, swallowing the bile rising in my throat and ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach. I shouldn't feel jealous, Mason was never mine to begin with.

If anything I should feel angry.

And I am.

"I'm just going to use the restroom real quick and then we can go." I tell Aiden, and it takes him a second or two to nod, but when he does I walk as quickly as my feet will take me upstairs.

I need a minute alone, I have a whirlwind of emotions trying to break free and I can't let myself lose it in front of either of them right now.

I squeeze my way past the swarm of people and feel relief to find that it isn't as crowded upstairs as it is downstairs. The bathroom door is already open and I hurriedly walk inside and close the door behind me, leaning against the wood as I suck in a deep shaky breath.

I walk over to the mirror and grip both my hands on either side of the sink, letting my head fall down as I close my eyes and try to calm my nerves. I can't get the images of another woman being on top of him out of my head.

Just breathe.

I open my eyes and immediately notice the nail marks on my wrists. Hurt fights its way into my body and I swallow, blinking back the tears. Just as I lift my arm up, lifting my wrist back to me the bathroom door bursts open.

I feel my heart pick up and I turn around to find Isaac stumbling inside. My shoulders deflate over the relief I feel that it isn't Mason, and my hand instinctively moves up to my chest as I try to steady my rapid heartbeat.

"Oh, Isaac you scared me."

"My bad, Elle. I didn't know anyone was in here." He slurs his words and I swallow the thickening saliva in my throat.

"It's alright, I was just leaving-"

"I know what you're doing, you know." He says as he takes a couple slow steps towards me.

"Excuse me?"

"I can see the way you've been looking at me all night, parading yourself around me like a fucking tease."

The sinking feeling in my stomach grows, but is quickly overlapped by fear. There's something dark and lecherous in his eyes that makes me want to run for the hills.

"Isaac, you're drunk." I say, trying to play it off as I try to step aside and walk towards the door but his tall frame only gets in front of me, blocking the way.

"Where you going?"

I try once more to get past him but when I do he grabs ahold of my waist and forcefully pushes me against the wall. I wince in pain at how hard he pushed me, and he quickly uses this time to place his arm on the side of my head to keep me from escaping.

My heart beats so fast I feel like it might give out on me. My body freezes still and my stomach leaps in my throat as he inches his face closer to mine.

He takes his index finger up and twirls it around a strand of my hair. I can feel my breathing start to go shallow and every single one of my nerves spike from just how scared I'm starting to become.

"I heard you like it rough." He whispers to me and I blink back tears, trying to move my head away from his, "Do you know what it feels like to have a real man inside of you?"

The tears start to run down my cheeks before I have a chance to stop them.

"Isaac stop, get off of me." I use all my strength to push him off but it's no use, he uses one hand to push me back against the wall while the other takes both my wrists and forcibly pulls them over my head, holding them in place.

"Stop? I haven't even started, baby."

He ducks his head down to my neck and latches his lips onto the skin. I feel the hand that was gripping onto my waist slide off and move towards my body, grabbing and squeezing any place he can and I scream in fear.

With one quick motion he brings the hand that was holding my wrists together down to cover my mouth. I try like hell to move, push him off of me or scream loud enough for anyone to hear but the sounds are muffled from his sweaty hand and my running tears.

His lips move all across my neck while his large hand squeezes my breast and I squirm. My vision becomes blurry through the wetness of the tears pouring out from my eyes and I feel my whole entire body go numb.

His hands go down further until they reach the top of my skirt, I can feel him search for the zipper while he continues to hold me in place and I cry out even more.

"No, no, please, please, no." I close my eyes, shaking my head as I try to get the words out through his hand.

Suddenly I feel Isaac's body being ripped apart from mine, and I let out the shaky breath I was forced to hold in. I open my eyes to see Mason towering over Isaac's body on the floor throwing punch after furious punch.

I press my hands over my face, feeling my body start to tremble as I watch Mason retreat back his arm, and with a tremendous force he releases it, arching it forward headed straight for Isaac's bloody face. His body was jolting with vigor as untapped rage boiled inside him while he repeatedly reeled back and socked sharp punches to his face.

The furry in his actions were almost animalistic.

I became paralyzed by the sight before my eyes. Mason is standing in front of me, losing every ounce of control he's ever held. I can see all he wants right now is vengeance, and the only way he's going to get it is through pain and suffering.

The grunts coming out both their mouths were making it harder for me to breathe. And when I heard a crack I let out a frail scream which Mason ignored, continuing to mercilessly attack him until he used one palm to cover Isaac's mouth and the other to hold his nose shut.

"Mason..." I cry out and Isaac begins to squirm under him, trying to push Mason off of him so he's able to breathe. "Mason, stop!"

He only grips his hand over his mouth even tighter, completely blocking any hope of oxygen getting through to him. He burns his hateful vision into Isaac, jaw clenched and I desperately think of how to stop this.

"You're going to kill him!" I make an effort to shout through my tears and Mason doesn't even look at me.

His eyes held a certain focus as Isaac's body convulsed under his, seizing and shaking for a few seconds just before Mason let him go.

I hear him gasp for air and all the fear leaves my body in a whoosh. I try to catch my breath, hiccuping through the tears staining my cheeks and before I have time to say something I feel someone tug on my hand.

"Elle, we're getting out of here." I hear beside me, but my gaze never leaves Mason's, who's still staring down at Isaac wheezing for air. "Now."

Without another word Aiden's pushing me out the doors and I follow beside him until we're out of the house and in his car.

Images of what just happened keep playing on repeat in my mind and as Aiden pulls out of his parking spot, my mind instantly wanders over to Mason. He seemed so precise with his movements, those green irises of his pertained a certain focus and aggression.

"Did you see that back there? See that is exactly why I don't like you going to things like this." Aiden breaks the silence and my head whips over to face him.

"What are you talking about?" I ask him, still in shock over the whole thing.

"Mason. He almost killed Isaac in there. I've never seen anyone look so angry before. Doesn't that scare you?"

"Mason would never hurt me."

Silence.

"You seem so sure." He says to me, almost hinting something that I don't have the energy to try and figure out. "He's dangerous, Elle. And if what just happened doesn't change your mind about him then-"

"Then what?" I interrupt him. "Why are we even talking about Mason right now? He was only protecting me-"

"Oh is that what you call it?"

"Yes." I say firmly, "Mason saved me back there. Can you imagine what could have happened if he never came? If anything you should be grateful, but here you are still finding something about him to hate on. I thought you would have been relieved that I was okay, but no, instead were here talking about Mason, again. I mean, seriously is that all you care about?"

Hurt flashes through his face and he lets out a heavy sigh before turning his head for a quick moment to face me.

"I'm sorry, you're right, I apologize. Of course I'm happy you're okay, Elle. I guess I just wish that I was the one to save you and not him."

I look over at him in disbelief, "Whatever."

"Elle, I-"

"It's fine, just take me home."

The rest of the car ride we both sit in silence and I try to ignore the glances he sneaks over to look at me. This night has mentally, physically and emotionally drained me, and all I want to do is curl up in a ball and forget it ever happened.

When he pulls up to my house I quickly unbuckle my seatbelt, finding pleasure in the fact that the night is almost over.

"I'll uh, I'll see you tomorrow?" He asks me and I look over at him and nod my head. "Text me if you need anything."

And with that, I get out of the car, closing the door behind me and watch as he pulls out and drives away. I can feel the stains on my cheeks from my tears and immediately start to dread walking into my house and having to explain it all.

This night has been a disaster, I thought it would lift my spirits up but instead it pushed it down, dumped more shit onto it and lit it on fire.

I sigh, turning around and begin walking up to my front porch when I see a dark figure sitting down on the porch swing, elbows resting on knees, face down in hands.

There's a snap below me from my foot accidentally stepping on a twig and the head jolts up like it's in a panic, within seconds the body is making its way toward me and I stand there frozen until I see the familiar face.

"Isabelle," He says to me, practically running over and grabbing the bottom of my chin with his hand, turning my face side to side as he looks over it. "Are you hurt, did he hurt you?"

His voice is frantic and only sends another emotion piling onto all the others I feel. I move myself out of his grasp, hitting his hand off of me with my own and his eyes only widen.

He grabs a hold of my arm, gently pulling it over to him.

"Did he do this to you?"

I look at my wrist and back up at his face, while he tries to make sense of what's in front of him. I can't help but feel almost embarrassed, because Isaac didn't do this to me- Aiden did.

He ghosts his fingers over the markings, his face flashing from shock, anger to remorse in seconds. I notice his bloody, cut up knuckles already starting to bruise and I swallow the pit forming in my throat over how Mason somehow got hurt in all of this.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Isabelle." He murmurs solemnly, "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let you go up there by yourself."

I can feel the tears brimming my eyes once again, and I blink them away while he continues to hold my wrist in his hand, staring down at it. I can't be next to him right now without wanting to fall apart.

I just can't.

"I don't have time for this." I say, ripping my wrist from his grasp and trying to make my way toward the door but he stops me.

"Wait." His body is in front of mine, sorrowful green eyes staring down at me and I sigh. "Come back to Jessica's with me."

"What?" I scoff, trying once more to move past him but his body quickly steps in front of mine again.

"Jessica and Natalie are there waiting for you."

I look up at him, noticing just how red his eyes are in front of me. He looks almost as tired as I am, and I fight the urge to place my hand on his cheek to somehow melt all the pain away.

"I uh," He clears his throat, "I figured after what happened tonight you wouldn't want to be alone."

There's a warmness in my heart from his words, the first ounce of warmth I've felt in three days.

"Please," He begs, his voice still as soft as before, "I won't be able to just walk away if you say no, so please just come with me."

I've never seen so much emotion on his face before, and my heart aches at the sight of it.

I hate how much I've missed him, even now when I'm standing here with tear stained cheeks and am without a doubt pissed at him for everything he's done to me, there's still this feeling I can't escape whenever he's near.

I give in, nodding my head to his pleas before he guides me over to his car. I can tell he's trying not to touch me and I'm glad, one more touch from him and I might just fall apart altogether.

The first couple minutes we sit in silence, the two of us afraid to say anything to ruin the comforting feeling enveloping us in his car.

But I can't help myself.

"How did you know I was in the bathroom?" I ask, turning my head slightly to face him.

He tightens his grip on the steering wheel before answering, "You were taking too long to come down so I went upstairs to find you. That's when I heard you scream, and everything... everything just went red."

I roll my lips into my mouth, trying to grasp onto what he told me, and before I have any time to answer he speaks up again.

"I wanted to kill him." He says to me, gaze focused on the road ahead of us and my stomach sinks from his blatant honesty. "I wanted to watch as the life slowly left his body from what he did to you."

I swallow.

"And I would have in a heartbeat if he hurt you."

My heart hammers in my chest, and I don't know if I should feel flattered or scared for my fucking life at this point.

"Does that scare you?" He asks me, almost as if he's reading my mind.

He keeps his focus straight ahead, not daring to look over at me and before I can think about my answer, I hear myself already speaking up.

"No."

❀

The both of us stand right in front of Jessica's house, and I feel all my nerves slowly start to leave my body over the fact that I'll be spending the night with my best friends rather than just sitting at home alone.

He reaches over to turn the doorknob and I quickly place my hand over his, trying to be as gentle as possible so I don't hurt the cuts and bruises on his knuckles.

His body stills as he looks over at me.

"Thank you." I say to him, my voice still sounding a bit weak from everything that's happened.

His eyes are glassy and grief stricken as they flick over to meet my own.

"I'm never going to let anyone hurt you again, Isabelle." His low rugged voice speaks above me, "Ever."

His eyes stay locked with mine, and I see guilt painted in them. Aiden thinks Mason is dangerous, he thinks that he's capable of someday physically hurting me and there's not an ounce of fear in my body when it comes to the man standing right in front of me.

No one sees him like I do, he's capable of emotion, more than even he knows.

He makes me feel angry, and sad, and oftentimes like I'm losing my fucking mind.

But he also makes me feel safe.

We stare into each other for a moment, and I want more than anything for him to show me another side of him, another emotion that he's neglected to show for so long.

But just when he opens his mouth to speak, the front door opens up, revealing Jessica and Natalie on the other side of it. I hurriedly step away from him, clearing my throat in the process.

"Elle! Oh my god, are you okay?" Jessica asks me, "When I get my hands on Isaac he is a dead man."

And I know she means it.

My eyes flick over to Natalie standing right next to her, and my heart stills in my chest. She looks over at me and everything falls silent before she takes a couple steps and wraps her arms around my body, bringing me into a hug.

I feel the tears start to come again, and when Jessica joins us, tightening her arms around me and nuzzling her head into my shoulder I let them fall free.

I watch as Mason walks past us, looking back over at us to sneak in a second glance and I mouth one more thing to him before he gives me a no teeth smile and turns around to leave.

'Thank you'