Lights Will Guide You Home.
That was the whole point of Jaeden waking Olivia up. It was his day off. He didn’t want to spend it in bed when they could be out just seizing the opportunity and the moment. With a small shake of his head, he looked towards his girlfriend with a disapproving glare and inched away slowly. He wasn’t going to be giving into her so easily at this point. He knew it was fairly easy for her to trick him into laying in bed, after all it was something that they had been doing ever since she got to California that year, but today was his day off and the fact of the matter was, he had something planned for their outing and he was excited for it to happen.
“Olivia”, he started reprimanding her as he pulled away from her slightly, giving her a quick peck on the lips to show her that there was no ill will or harm. ”That’s precisely why we have to get up and go. It’s my day off. Who knows when I’ll have another day just to us”, he continued on in his rant and fully stood up at this point. Might as well get started on his daily ritual and routine before the yelling would began. He knew better than to mess with Olivia’s sleep at this point in time. ”So get up, I’m going to get ready and if you’re not even half awake by then, I’m leaving you to stay in here all day.”
The ultimatum would be a moot point, but at least he’d get his point across. So in that moment, he moved from his bed into the connecting bathroom that he had and started on his ritual of brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower to freshen up from last night. His outfit of choice would be common, a tank top and a pair of shorts with a fitted hat, making sure that Olivia wouldn’t dare to catch him on what he had planned for her at this point. A day at the beach was exactly what they both needed and since everyone was back in school at this point, it was going to be like they had the whole place to themselves.
Olivia let out a groan of mild frustration as she heaved herself out of their comfortable bed and made her way towards the bathroom where her boyfriend was. Her arms going to wrap around his waist while she buried her face into his back. “I’m up see?”, she said with a smile and stood on her tip toes to press her lips to the back of his neck smiling at him through the mirror. “Now out so I can shower and get your dried sweat and other fluids off of me.”, she stuck her tongue off playfully and pushed him out of the door to begin her own daily routine.
It felt good to shower and to let the hot water beat down on her body as she could feel herself relaxing immediately. Ever since she was little she loved to be and feel clean, it was just something about taking a shower that allowed her to collect her thoughts. Like the fact that she could see herself marrying Jaeden in the future. Sure, they’re only in their twenties but he’s been Olivia’s since they were thirteen and even when they dated other people she was always his. Would always be his no matter what.
Turning the water off and wrapping her hair into her towel, she grabbed a fluffier one to wrap around her frame and walked into his room fully to see what he was wearing and to accommodate her outfit along side with it. After gathering her tank top and a pair of denim shorts up over her hips and buttoned them up, she turned to her boyfriend wrapped her arms around his neck. “So, what do you have planned for us today?”
Lights Will Guide You Home.
Life had been going absolutely perfect for one Jaeden Ryans. For one, his career had taken off into full heights. His band was his absolutely closest friends, and they were making more and more music each and every day. They were gaining radio play and their television show had been a hit ever since it started airing. Soon enough, he was getting recognized on a daily basis, people were stopping him in the middle of the street just to take pictures, and the fact of the matter was, he was living his dream. His family was along for the ride, as was the most important person in his life at this point. The public knew of his relationship with Olivia Martinez and they ate it up, just like he basked in the glow of being in love.
Yeah, he said it. Jaeden Ryans was literally in love from the moment that he saw the girl when they were younger and now after a year of trysts and tribulations, they were finally able to get back to where they were when they left off. Sure, it was harder on him at this point; but the fact that she was living with him made it all the more better. He was there to protect her, just like he said he would, and he was there to tell her that she was his and that she was immensely gorgeous in his eyes like he promised. Life couldn’t be any better for Jaeden at this point. He had everything he could ever want and more.
But now, as he turned in his sleep and awoke from his slumber, he made a motion to just move towards the other person in his bed. He inhaled softly, taking in Olivia’s scent before moving just to press his lips to her neck once. Of course he knew that was the one of the weakest points she had on her frame and smirked inwardly when she stirred awake and made to scold him. That was the whole point of him waking her up. He needed to spend the whole day with his love, even if he saw her every night he managed to come home. It was one of the few days off in the week that he had and he was going to make the most of it.
“Liv”, he whined and rolled his eyes slightly, digging his face more into her neck and avoided being hit with the pillow. ”It’s not that early. It’s ten.”
And Olivia knew that Jaeden wouldn’t ease up until she was up and out of bed with him. She didn’t want to though and with a night like they had last night she wasn’t even sure her body was up for it. On a normal day when he would be going to work she would be awake long enough to kiss him goodbye and then go back to sleep until he was home from lunch. He was selfish and she knew that, she knew that he wanted to be with her on his days off as much as she wanted to be with him.
Sleep was just important to her. Maybe it was because of her zodiac sign that she was living up to or it was the fact that she actually valued her sleep. She did open her eyes to look over at her boyfriend and let out a little laugh. What was so important for the day’s agenda that she had to be awake at ten in the morning? She couldn’t resist him at times and with his hair looking fluffy and touchable and the way he was looking at her right now was just the cutest thing she’s ever seen.
She was going to fight it though at least for another hour or so of sleep. “Baby.”, she said in her best sad quiet voice as she snuggled her face against his cheek. “What do we have to even be awake for? It’s your day off. We should be taking advantage of this and sleeping.”, she said pressing her lips to his neck gently. Was it a battle worth fighting? Probably not, but it she knew it wasn’t going to turn into a serious argument or anything. She just had fun trying to see if she could get her way once in a while.
Lights Will Guide You Home.
The healing process of bruises would vary depending on how deep they were. Sometimes they could take days, like Liv’s light ones that had vanished after a few days of spending time with Jaeden, or a few weeks like her deeper and redder ones. With those, the brunette boy had brought a doctor to his house and explained the situation to the point where he had prescribed a polysulfuric ointment for him to put on his Olivia. And he did; always did to make sure that she was well taken care of before he had gone off to the either the television studio or the recording studio to work.He hated leaving her alone in the house and he hated the fact that she wouldn’t let anyone see her with her bruises. He wanted her to venture out with him, have some sort of good time in the weeks she had been in Los Angeles, not cooped up in his house. Fact of the matter was, with every new movie premiere that he had attended with the boys in his bad, he had begun talking about Olivia more and more. It wasn’t the fact that he wanted to appease the media with having her out with him, it was the fact that he just wanted to show the world that he had the perfect woman with him fully and completely.
However, today Jaeden was thankful that he had the day off. He was busy in the kitchen making lunch for Olivia and himself with leftovers for a snack for Presley to have if she wanted some after school. He normally wouldn’t be distracted, but when Olivia had ambushed him with a kiss, he couldn’t do anything but return it. Finally, just finally, he was able to have more than just minimal contact. He didn’t want to push it, of course, giving her time to take it as slow as she had wanted, and pulled away slightly when she had done. His wide smile gave everything that he had been feeling away, and only confirmed it when he pressed his lips to her forehead.
“You are crazy”, he said as he went back to making her lunch and handing her a solid plate of food. More and more each day he could see Olivia turning back to the girl that he once knew and he was so excited for it. ”I made Presley’s favorite today and set aside some for her already. So if you want seconds, take them.”
Olivia absolutely loved the time that she was having in California even if it was just from the comfort of his home and thanks to the sulfuric ointment that Jaeden had been so adamant on putting on her she was finally bruised free. Not a single mark could be found on her skin, her life in Texas for the past year just a distant yet painful memory. Just one that she pushed to the back of her mind now that the nightmares had stopped and Jaeden had lived up to his promise. Every day he told her how beautiful she was and for a while she didn’t believe him but now she did. She almost felt like her old self the cracks were still evident.
She could remember the first time that they had been intimate since she had been back to California. It was gentle in the fact that he had taken his time to kiss each remaining bruise that was on her body. It had also taken a while because she needed to get comfortable again being naked in front of the boy that she loved so much and still was very much embarrassed, but now that they were sexually active again she didn’t feel that embarrassment when it was just the two of them together.
And because she was bruise free she had done everything in her power to appease Jaeden. Going to premieres, meeting his band and just being with him like he craved from her and that she knew he craved because she craved it too. She was more interactive with his family and finally seeing his little sister after months of being in seclusion. She felt like they were back to their old routine when they dated back in school and it was comforting, it was safe and it was familiar. It was like all she knew how to do was be Jaeden’s girlfriend.
Right now though, she was sleeping peacefully until she could feel a pair of lips on her neck and her cheek. She grabbed her pillow to place it over her head to get away from him and to fall back into the deep sleep that she was in before he had rudely interrupted that. “Jae.”, she whined out using one of her hands to push his chest away from her. “Lemme sleep.”, she said opening her eyes and looking at the clock. “I know you have a day off but it’s early.”
Lights Will Guide You Home.
It was a sight to see all on its own. The bruises on Olivia’s face were one thing, but to see them all over her frame was another. No, he didn’t turn his head away, but he looked at her with something on his face. It wasn’t pity, it wasn’t anger; but rather it was curiosity more than anything. How could he leave a girl that was so strong willed, so independent to the point where everyone had wanted her because she was self sufficient, and have her turn into—not a sort of weakling, no—but a strange sort of broken piece of a woman? His eyes did roam over her frame; he only tilted his head at the bruises before shaking his head.
He didn’t say much, but he did stand up and put his hands around her waist fully. Of course he made sure not to place them where there were marks and even then he treated Olivia just as gentle as he could. Jaeden didn’t want her to feel any pain, didn’t want her to actually feel as though it would be painful for him to see any of it. If anything, he wanted to know more. How had this worthless little shit of a man did this to her was beyond him because in his eyes, Olivia was his perfection.
“No matter what he said”, Jaeden started speaking, his eyes fully locked in on Liv’s at this point to make sure that he had gotten her attention. ”No matter what he did to you, I will make sure that every day I tell you how gorgeous you are and that you are always beautiful to me, no matter what.” And in that moment, he moved his lips to her forehead. Sure, it was the only form of contact they could have now until she was fully healed, but it meant the world to him that he was finally able to do this at this point. ”So lets get you rest and I’ll unpack a few of your things here and call your parents again to tell them that you’re going to be getting a phone in about three hours.”
Days had turned into weeks for Olivia and most of her bruises were gone. The only ones that remained were the bigger ones that had once looked red, purple and angry were just yellow, green with a mixture of brown. She was healing nonetheless and she loved the affection she was getting from Jaeden since that night he had told her he would do anything to make sure that she was beautiful. And he did, he didn’t pressure anything out of her and she was thankful for that, she didn’t know how much her body could take at that point. She missed kissing him though and she wanted to kiss him. It was just that she had to wait for her lip to heal.
Every week she had looked at herself in the mirror and watched the gash on her lip slowly close to a scab to now where it was gone. She was smiling more that was for sure, mostly because she was happily with the Ryans family. She still refused to let his sister see her—or anyone for that matter, she couldn’t recall when the last time she had stepped outside and off of their property. She would go into the backyard at times and sit in the sun with Jaeden in the backyard but that was the extent of it.
Throwing her hair up into a ponytail, she wrapped her cardigan around her body checking her phone to make sure her parents had called her while she was examining herself in the bathroom. It was only noon, so she was still free to walk around the house before Priscilla got home from school. Bouncing down the stairs that lead to the foyer and then making the right to go to the kitchen, once again she bounced towards Jae with a smile on her face while wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a while now.”
Lights Will Guide You Home.
Those words weren’t all true, at least in Jaeden’s mindset. He knew that it was mostly his fault only because he had put the notion in his head in the first place. If only he wasn’t so stubborn; none of this would have happened and Olivia wouldn’t be so bruised as she was now. There was no point in her trying to deny anything. Anything he had done in persuading her to move on just once and see the world lead her up to this, and he was the main person to do this. The blame game was all on his shoulders at this point.
But as of right now, he was thoroughly content in just leaning his head against her forehead to gather some of that closeness that he had craved from her. He didn’t want to push her into doing something that she wasn’t ready for—who knows how much trust he would have to gain back from her at this point, but he was willing to do it. ”I love you too”, he spoke to her, making sure his voice was as low and as genuine as he could make it before she went away from him. He only merely stared as she walked away at this point, letting out a small sigh as he did so.
Her things must have still been in the car if she was wearing the clothes that she slept in last night, so he did the gentlemanly thing. He grabbed her keys that she had left randomly somewhere earlier that morning and took a look at the car that she drove in, licking his lips as he did so. It was the car that her parents had gotten her for her sixteenth birthday, but it was so worn out. That idiot Gabe must have used it to the brink of destruction and Jaeden wanted to make sure everything was fine before she would drive it once again. He’ll call her parents in a moment to tell them where she is; but for now, he started moving boxes and boxes in and out of his house and into his bedroom.
“I found your keys”, he said as he turned to Olivia, shifting his weight on the bed to get comfortable. ”So Dad and I have been moving your stuff in. Prissy wants to see you, but I told her you were sick and she got mad that I got to see you and she didn’t. She’s on her way to school now, so you’re safe”, he sighed and brought a stray strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. ”You wanna call Mom”, he asked of her then. He had always called her mother Mom. It was habit and still he calls her Mom to this day when he does.
Olivia had nodded at Jaeden, sitting up gingerly and taking his phone from his nightstand since hers had been broken for weeks. It was a tearful conversation she had with her mother but her parents were glad that was away from that situation and with Jaden, even if that meant she was smiles away from them. It was such a nice feeling knowing that she was completely safe now and it put her parents at ease that she was with the Ryans family. After she had composed herself and telling her parents that she’d call every night, she handed Jae back his phone and moved to take her sweatshirt off.
Licking her lips she curled up into his side and sighed. She was debating on letting him see her completely and letting him see the damaged. It was a big step, but it was one that she knew she swore she wouldn’t show him. Yet, in a sense she knew that she had to. Olivia knew that he wouldn’t judge her in anyway and that he would still find and call her beautiful. As much as that’s what she wanted to hear she knew that she’d be able to hear Gabe’s voice in the back of her head telling her that she’s nothing and she’s ugly.
“I don’t want Prissy to see me like this though.”, she said crawling out of his bed and closing the door gently. “No child should have to see this especially at her innocence right now.”, she said quietly standing awkwardly at the foot of his bed her hands playing with the hem of her tshirt. Soon enough she found herself pulling the fabric over her head and letting it fall onto his bed as she stood there in sweatpants and a bra. This is what she looked like now and Jaeden needed to know what had happened.
And soon she found her hands pushing down her sweatpants leaving her in just her underwear. She was completely scared right now. Not even letting her eyes meet his but being completely focused on the wall next to her. It was like she was losing her virginity all over again like it was the first time that she was showing Jaeden her body. It was just as uncomfortable as that moment and she didn’t think that it was going to change right now. She was imperfect right now and she knew that he felt the blame for every bruise when he wasn’t.
Lights Will Guide You Home.
Just as quickly as sleep had overcome Jaeden the night before, it washed away as the morning sun came in through his window. It was only really the time that he had gotten to see Olivia in her bruises. What he saw had ached him greatly, and that was only the beginning of it. He was sure there were were more that were hidden underneath his red covers. He would just have to ask her when she would awake. It was then that he managed to move slightly, making sure he didn’t awake her at all. He needed to talk to his mother more than anything.
It was then that he saw the woman that he needed to speak to making the coffee for the rest of the day. Jaeden explained to the woman the situation and shook his head while doing so. Ever since they had moved from Texas, they had been out of the loop, yes, but the fact of the matter was that he knew in his heart that his mother thought that Olivia was like a daughter to her and for the woman to hear such things would nearly break her; but it had to be done. It wasn’t until that he saw his mother break her favorite coffee mug that he turned around and saw the subject of their conversation.
His heart ached for Olivia, surely, but he wanted to let his mother get in some time with the girl and from the looks of it, he wasn’t going to get her back anytime soon. It was then that he decided he needed to clean up that glass and licked at his lips, shaking his head and mopping up the mess. He’d make sure that when his mother was done with her that it would be his turn to take care of her. He had already gotten the ice pack from the fridge and moved slightly towards Liv when her mother had pulled away and pressed it ever so gently to her forehead.
“Tell me truthfully”, he had started speaking to Liv, keeping his full attention on her. He could already hear his mother’s footsteps leaving towards the bedroom, already probably briefing his father in on how to tell his little sister. ”Do you need to see a doctor? I’ll take you to see a doctor if you need one. I’ll bring the doctor here if need be”, he pleaded at this point, his voice just breaking slightly to show his emotion through the words. ”I’m so, so sorry, Livia. I’ll make this up to you, I promise.”
As much as Jaeden’s heart was breaking at the sight of Olivia, Olivia’s heart was breaking just at the sight of Jaeden right now. She shook her head when he apologized. “Please don’t tell me you’re sorry, you haven’t done anything. This isn’t your fault.”, she told him quietly, she wanted to make it known that it wasn’t his fault because it wasn’t. This wasn’t anyone’s fault—it wasn’t even her fault. How did she know that her boyfriend after Jaeden was going to do this to her? How did she know that he would have verbally abused her to keep her away from Jaeden before laying a hand on her to make sure she didn’t go back to him?
She allowed him to press the ice pack against her face, her eyes closing at the cool sensation while her arms wrapped around his waist to pull him closer to her. She didn’t care about her looks right now all that mattered to her was the boy taking care of her. She licked her lips opening her eyes to look into his and shook her head at his previous statement. “I don’t think I need a doctor, but I don’t want you looking at me like this.”, she said quietly vowing to herself not to even be in a towel around him.
She was ashamed of how her body looked right now. And if a sense would anybody be proud of how they looked if they looked like her? It was different thought, she knew that Jaeden loved her no matter what but she was still ashamed. Licking her bottom lip she pulled her hands from around his waist and brought them up t cup her face. “I love you so much.”, she whispered out bringing his head down to press their foreheads together. Her bottom lip was fat and ugly and she didn’t dare press her lips against his yet. She wanted them to be healed, so for now, this was fine for her.
In all she was just happy to be with him again, happy to be in California. There was just a few fears in her mind right now. One, she didn’t want his little sister to see her like this, and two, her things were still in her car. “I really don’t want Prissy to see me like this.”, she said quietly breaking away from Jaeden completely to make her way towards his bedroom. She crawled back into the covers and sighed while staring up at the ceiling. She needed to get her things, she needed to call her mother and she needed to see if her parents could get her a new cell phone actually. But she didn’t want to do much of anything. She wanted to sleep the pain away. Sleep until she was pretty again.
Lights Will Guide You Home.
Jaeden sighed slightly at the interactions between he and Olivia. Of course he was hers—had always been hers to the point where he would compare ever girl he had ever met to the brunette in his arms at this point. Did it matter that it wasn’t really voiced until now? No, not really. However, he still couldn’t help but feel guilt over the situation. He was the one, for his own selfish reasoning of wanting to make sure that she would never regret her decision of being with him, that had told her to move on the first place. He was the one that supported her when she did and he was the one that honestly didn’t see this moment in his head; but he was thankful for it because Olivia was right. They did always seem to find a way back to each other.
But before he could answer her latest question, she had fallen asleep and he smiled slightly to himself. From then on, he promised to himself and any other who was listening in his thoughts that he would take care of her girl in his arms no matter what the cost. He shifted slightly, making it so that she would be as comfortable as she could when she would fall asleep before settling down himself. He knew in a sort of gut feeling that there were going to be even more bruises that he’d be angry about in the morning, but he’d ice them enough and let her rest for most of the day if need be.
But as the excitement of having her here started to wane and sleep wanted to overcome his being, Jaeden made no motion but to simply shift back down in to his bed and press his head against Olivia’s temple slightly. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he needed to tell her at this point, even if she was asleep through it. ”Yours”, he merely whispered out. ”Forever yours.” And just like that and just like Olivia had done before him, he let the best sleep that he has had in a long while wash over him.
Olivia was terrified once that morning had rolled around. One, she didn’t know where it was for a moment and two, the empty side of Jaeden’s bed proved that he had been up for a while and had seen her. Sitting up from the bed she clutched her head gently, she had such a headache from the night before—mostly from crying as hard as she did. She did take the moment to look around his room before bringing the covers off of her body and made her way towards the bathroom that was connected to his room. From the looks of it though, it looked a nice house.
She stared at herself in the mirror almost not being able to recognize herself at this point. At least most of the swelling had gone down around her eyes. But the bruises on her face were the most fresh, he made sure that if she was going to run away to Jaeden that she wouldn’t be pretty for him again. Gabe had done a number on her and it was just now that she was actually looking at damage he’s inflicted on her face, she could see two sets of hands on her arms where he’s grabbed her roughly numerous of times. Her rib cage was just as purple and angry as her face and she didn’t even want to look at herself anymore.
Licking her swollen lips, she took the hoodie she had taken off and placed it back over her frame. She debated on going downstairs or to just hide in his room until her body was better. But she knew that she’d have to face her demons at some point and it might as well be with the family that loved her like her own did. So as slowly as she could she exited his bedroom and crept down the stairs. The house must have been new because the stairs didn’t creak like she thought they would have. It was nice though because she just didn’t want to be seen just yet.
It was scary for her and she could feel her heart beating faster and faster, must like it had done when she would hear Gabe’s car pull into the drive way of their apartment back in Dallas. But this was a different type of fear. She didn’t want to disappoint anyone with the way she had let herself become. She had already known that Jae had expressed some point of disappointment and she didn’t want that for anyone. She also didn’t want his sister to ask questions, she knew that at six there’s bound to be but she wanted to keep the girl innocent.
She could hear the chatter of the family talking in the kitchen and she could see Jaeden’s back turned towards her as he was leaning over the island. The family was in a serious discussion and she knew it was about her. Pulling her hair back into a messy bun she made her way towards the kitchen. There was no point in hiding her face now, he had seen it and obviously had told his parents about it. But what she didn’t expect was for his mother to gasp as loudly as she did and drop her coffee mug right onto the tiled floor.
She could already feel the tears welling up in her eyes because she could see the stares that the family was giving her. It was much like her own parents had done and even when her father had done something the abuse never stopped, it agitated it more. The way his mother was covering her mouth and staring at her, she felt like a monster and in a way she was. She was too skinny for her own good and her face looked like her and yet it didn’t.
It was when she saw the older woman push past her son and husband to get to Olivia and pull her into a tight hug it was when the girl broke down sobbing again. She figured this was what most of her day was going to be like today. She didn’t want to be crying but she needed to get it out of her system. It’s not like she was going to be better in a day. This was going to take time and she had his family to help her with this process. She was upset that her mother wouldn’t be with her with her recovery but she couldn’t be in Texas right now and she didn’t know when the next time she would be comfortable with going to Texas. For now though she clutched to Jaeden’s mother as she cried her heart out. “I’m so sorry I let this happen to myself.”, she said between sobs and hid her face into the woman’s neck.
Lights Will Guide You Home.
This was all his fault. Jaeden knew it. There was no point in trying to deny it. He was much of the cause of all the bruises on Olivia’s frame more than anything at this point. Had he still been in Texas, none of this would be possible. She wouldn’t have been broken such as this, and he wouldn’t have felt the guilt that nearly just crippled him at this point. It was all a game of what ifs. What if he had stayed, what if he hadn’t told her to try to move on; it was all just very wrong, so very wrong and he couldn’t help but feel to be the cause of every bruise on her frame.
He wanted to help her, wanted to make sure that she was okay and that everything was going to be fine; but it wasn’t going to be as easy as that. He wanted to speak, wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay now because she was here in California with him where she should have been all along. However, none of that was possible because in that moment she decided to fling herself towards him. His arms automatically going to wrap around the girl as best as he could. He didn’t want to agitate anymore of her injuries.
But he was right in his thinking. As soon as he picked Olivia up, he could tell that she hadn’t been herself. The girl was light as a feather and he was just enraged at the fact that she would let herself go like this. The Olivia he fell in love with was a strong girl and he could see her still in this petite, broken woman. ”Liv”, he said quietly and started his way up the stairs while carrying her. ”Come on, let’s put you to bed. You must be tired”, he whispered out. If anything, he’d explain to his parents and take her to see a doctor soon. Tonight, it was his turn to take care of her.
“I’m glad you got out when you did”, he said as he gently put her down on his bed, doing everything that he could to make her as comfortable as possible. ”I can’t help but feel this to be my fault. I’m the one that told you to move on”, he continued on, sitting on the bed and bringing his head down to press his lips to her forehead, making sure that he wasn’t agitating anything. ”I feel like I failed you.”
Olivia just melted to his touch much like she had always done when he wrapped his arms around her. He was her safety net; he was the reason why she always felt so at ease and comfortable with him. As soon as she felt her feet leave the ground her legs wrapped around Jaeden’s waist and her head fit right into the crook his neck. She didn’t know where they were going but she did figure that it was the way towards his bedroom and she was thankful for that. She wasn’t ready for his parents to see her just yet, not while she was so exhausted.
It was the moment that her body had been placed on his bed had she realized how tired she actually was. She shook her head repeatedly it wasn’t his fault what so ever. She never even felt at all that this was Jaeden’s fault. Never once would she ever. “No, baby it’s not.”, she said quietly bringing a hand up to caress his cheek gently even smiling softly at the feel of his skin against her hand. “I get to be with you now. Looks like we always will find a way back to each other.”
All she wanted to do now was sleep. And now she could sleep as peacefully as she ever so wanted to just knowing that Jaeden was going to be next to her. Sitting up gently, her face wincing as she did even at the tiniest of movements. Most of her bruises were yellow faded and ugly but the fresh angry and red ones were the most prominent at this point but she needed to take that hoodie off in order to feel more comfortable. She was nervous for the morning, when her bruises couldn’t be hidden from the darkness of the house and she was fully revealed to Jae.
Right now though all she wanted to do was sleep. And she just wanted his arms wrapped around her. So, she grabbed his covers with still shaky hands from crying and cuddled right into him. She didn’t care about her injuries right now; she just needed to feel safe again. “I’ve always been yours.”, she muttered out sleepily draping an arm over his chest. “I’ll forever be yours. Are you mine again?”, she asked before finally falling asleep. The most rested she had felt in the past year.
Lights Will Guide You Home.
To say that Jaeden was worried about Olivia for the past two weeks was an understatement. The brunette boy couldn’t sleep mostly, just worrying about the girl who had his heart back in Texas and it showed through in the morning when he would show up for work. Thankfully, all of the recording of the songs had been done and all that was left was to film the television series. In between scenes, they’d have breaks; but it was in those breaks that he got to thinking about Olivia more and more to the point where he had almost taken a plane back to Texas to bail her out himself. The fact of the matter was that if it hadn’t been for his friend Matt who kept in touch with him over Olivia’s situation while he stayed in California, he would have been punching that idiot Gabe for all the money in the world.
There was only but one thing Jaeden didn’t tolerate and that was abuse. No one had the right to put down anyone or anything at all; no matter what the action or the consequence was, there was no point in the matter to belittle someone just because they had a different mindset. Hell, even just thinking about the trauma that Olivia had gone through—even though he didn’t know much at all—set him over the edge. With a sigh, he had wanted to make his way towards the kitchen of the house he had shared with his parents and little sister while they were asleep. He didn’t want to disturb them at all, but the knock on the door would prove otherwise if he didn’t go to get it.
It was three-thirty in the morning when he checked his watch as he walked to the foyer of the house and opened the door with a slight yawn. He was growing tired, but the sight before him quickly sobered him up. There was Olivia yes, but she didn’t look like Olivia. Her skin, to him, was pale—pale enough to consider her for anemic and so thin that it looked like her clothes were wearing her. ”Wha—”, said Jaeden before he ushered his one and only love in to get a good look at her, but the sight just nearly broke his heart more.
He could see the faint bruises that formed over her gorgeous brown eyes more than anything and soon enough, he could feel the anger rising within him. No, it wasn’t anger that was directed at her, but the anger that had postulated and directed towards Gabe Santos and even more so himself for letting this happen. ”Liv”, he spoke to her softly, using the nickname that he had given here when they were five. ”What the fuck happened? You said he didn’t hit you.”
It was like a trigger response that as soon as Olivia had seen Jaeden she could feel her bottom lip quivering. She could feel the sting of tears welling up in her eyes before rolling down her cheeks. “He never did.”, she choked out quietly and crossed her arms over her chest letting her eyes look up at the ceiling. “It started that night that you called. He broke my phone so I couldn’t call you again.”, she said refusing to look at the boy who meant everything to her. “Matt tried to intervene and to stop it but he just threw me into the bedroom and locked the door.”
She was doing her best to keep her voice at bay and quiet knowing that his parents and his six year old sister were sleeping. She brought a hand up to push some hair behind her ear before gently wiping her tears not wanting to aggravate the angry bruises any more than they were. She was thankful for the dark foyer and that there wasn’t any light except for the moon. She knew that Jae was angry not at her but at the situation and at Gabe. Licking her lips she brought her gaze finally to his face.
“I never wanted this to happen to me.”, she told him quietly and shook her head. “I shouldn’t have tried to move on, I should have just been with you when you came down. I don’t know what I was thinking when I said I’d try to move on.”, she sniffed again and covered her face with her hands just remembering everything that’s happened with her along with the relief that she was able to get away. She was a victim yes, but she left him after weeks of trying and doing everything she could.
Olivia didn’t want to stand by herself anymore she had dreamt of this moment for a year and now she was here. She was standing in front of the boy who she loved the most. All she did was take a few short steps until she felt her body collide gently into his and took her hands from her face to wrap them around Jaeden’s body tightly. Her hands taking fistfuls of tshirt on his back. She had never realized how much she missed him at this point until she was finally there—yeah, she always missed him and always would miss him but she missed this comfort.
She was safe now and she knew it. She had instantaneously felt it. Olivia didn’t want him to see her though not like this. Not with her face looking the way that it was. Especially not when she knew that new bruises had formed just from the night before she didn’t care about her pain though, all she wanted was to be with Jaeden again. She just felt so ugly right now the fact that her face was bruised along with the rest of her body. Not that those thoughts mattered right now, her body was tired and worn out, but she just continued to hold onto him as tight as she could.
Lights Will Guide You Home.
Olivia had always sworn to herself that she would never be one of those girls. The girls that are trapped inside of a relationship because she was scared to let go, the girls that only saw the good in their boyfriends and made excused for them. Most importantly, she swore to herself that she’d never be the victim. Here she was though, in the middle of the day packing everything she owned into boxes and suitcases before her ex came home from work. She had broken it off with him the night before even sleeping on the couch to be away from him. She was afraid of what he might do if she stuck around.
Olivia used to love the person that she was—well more loving who she was when she was with Jaeden—she used to love going out and having fun. The past year had broken her so and she knew her friends and family saw it, but she would fake a smile through her inevitable pain. He had never been physical with her; it was always his words that would slice through her like a knife to butter. It wasn’t until he caught her on the phone with Jaeden that night that he came home was when he actually laid his first hand on her.
It had taken her two weeks to finally get the courage to break it off. To tell Gabe that it was over and she felt relieved. Even if he had called her nothing and worthless, even if he had called her all types of horrible names and different scenarios on how Jaeden wouldn’t even touch her now with all of her new bruises. She didn’t care though. Broken spirit, broken home, broken phone she was finally getting away from it all and she was finally going to be with the one person who ever mattered to her.
Thankfully it was still pretty chilly in both of the southern states as she heaved all the boxes into her car along with the suitcases and drove towards the post office to mail them. She hated herself for who she became, the girl hiding behind hoodies and oversized sunglasses to hide the physical damage the relationship had caused her. She wasn’t herself and she knew that. She knew that she was hidden behind her clothes now—her frame a lot smaller than it had ever been.
Then she was off, destination California. She had his address saved thankfully for the times where she would mail him letters and send packages. It’s a twenty-two hour drive she was willing to take nonstop if it meant that she got to be with Jae again. Nothing else mattered but her goal at hand to be with him. She was nervous though; completely nervous as to how he was going to react towards her. She knew that he’d be furious with Gabe more than her, but all she wanted right now was to be in his arms while she just let out the past year of turmoil that she had built up inside of her.
Which was why at 3:30 in the morning she was sitting in his drive way desperately trying to take some deep breaths before she excited her car and rang the doorbell, her hands running through her hair to make her appearance somewhat presentable. Trying to make herself look somewhat pretty and decent for him. Her sunglasses long forgotten in her car as she rubbed her arms to warm herself up again. Wincing at the slight bit of pain in the limbs still fresh from the few nights before.
