PARADISE//mitchel cave

chapter twenty-four

I tended to the cuts on his knuckles while he stared blankly past my face. I had no clue the thoughts that could possibly be running through his head.

"Mitchel, baby, I need you to talk to me." His chest was rising and falling quickly and I was worried he was freaking out on the inside. Who am I kidding? Of course he's freaking out.

I spoke before he had the chance to, "you didn't do anything wrong. You were protecting me, we'll just explain everything and you'll be fine." I tried to be reassuring.

I thought back to Mitchel relentlessly beating Jake's head into the ground. My heart felt like it was going a hundred miles an hour I can't even imagine how fast his was going.

"I hurt him really bad, Kayla," His voice was soft and shaky and sent chills down my spine. "You saw him hurting me," I explained but he shook his head. "Anyone who sees him will know I did a lot more than just get him to stop hurting you." I thought back to Jake's unrecognizable face, it was covered and blood and swollen.

Mitchel finally met my eyes, "I don't know what happened. One minute I saw him hurting you and the next I was in a different time."

I held his hands in mine, "what do you mean?"

"I never told you this but my dad used to do the same thing to my mom." I was surprised he'd never told me more than anything.

"Why'd you never say anything to me? You know I would've understood better than anyone," he looked down before answering, "I didn't want you to have to carry the weight of my family on top of your own weight."

"Mitchel, we have to hold each others weights that's how we work." He wiped at his eyes like he was trying to keep tears from falling. "I know, I'm sorry, I should've told you."

He continued, "when I saw Jake and you something switched in my mind. I saw a memory from when I was younger of my dad and my mom fighting. I thought Jake was my dad, honestly. I never had the guts to stand up to him, I was never old enough then." It was a lot to take in at once but I tried to process his words in my mind along with everything else that was going on.

"What happened to you is not your fault, it's like you've always told me, I'm not responsible for what happened to me."

He tapped his leg anxiously, "what happens from here?"

I had been thinking the same thing. "Honestly, here's what's most likely going to happen." I wanted to present the reality of this situation
to him in the calmest way possible. He knows I'll be honest with him even if it's hard to hear.

"The Alexander's are a really wealthy family. They'll attract a lot of attention and interest into this. They know who you are and they've most likely already reported you to the police. Usually, this would just be a misdemeanor but we're dealing with something different with this family. Depending on how Jake's doing, they'll want to punish you to the fullest extent the law will provide. He had a very good lawyer that will try and make this seem like your fault or my fault. we know it's not, we just have to convince them. We'll have to tell our story, easy as that." He nodded slowly, I knew it was a lot to throw at him at once.

"When will court be? Where do we go?" I bit my lip thinking about the worst part.

"They're probably going to arrest you baby," his eyes widened, "but it's okay we'll get you out at soon as your bail is decided and then we'll be home until court."

"I have to go to jail?" He asked, I could hear the innocence and fear in his voice. This was someone who so obviously doesn't belong in a jail cell my heart aches to think of him alone behind bars.

"If the Alexander's called the police, yeah." He rested his head in his hands, the sight broke my heart. "Which they definitely did," he was right, there's no way they didn't call the police and an ambulance after that.

"It's okay Mitchel, we're gonna sit here until you're ready, and then we're gonna face this thing head on." He sat, silently, for about ten minutes before taking a deep breath and leaning back in his chair.

"Okay, let's do it." I wish I knew everything that was going on in his mind but I knew he wouldn't tell me right now. His favorite way of coping is by not talking about it until he's dealt with it.

"I love you so much," he managed to create a small smile at my words, "I love you too, that's how we're going to get through this, because no matter what happens I'm loved by you and that's everything I could ever ask for."

I leaned forward across the booth and grabbed his face, leaving a kiss in his lips. Our lips molded together perfectly like always and I wanted to cry.

To think I was the one who put him in this situation killed me. He's too good for what he's gone through. To think the son of an abusive man could be such the opposite. He's kind, pure, soft, gentle, and his father instilled something in him that made him capable of what he just did to Jake. My heart broke for the little boy inside my boyfriend that wanted to protect his mom, and my heart broke again for my boyfriend who just wanted to protect his girlfriend. He deserves so much better than me, I've only brought him harm.

___

We pulled back up in front of my old house to see blue and red flashing lights from the distance. I got nervous and suddenly terrified for the scene we were walking into. Mitchel squeezed my hand, "we have to face it head on, we'll be fine, we didn't do anything wrong."

The car came to a stop and I could feel my heart beating in my throat. We stepped out, hands holding onto eachother desperately, knowing it wouldn't last much longer.

I watched as Jake's mom, who was talking to the police pointed at Mitchel. The officers turned around abruptly, their body language changing. They began yelling but it sounded muffled to me. Mitchel put his hand up, looking at me next to him while following the orders the policemen gave him. He placed his hands behind his head and tears went down my face as they twisted his arms behind his back and tightened the hand cuffs on to his wrists. I cried out involuntarily as he winced while they forced him down onto his knees. "It's okay, baby, I'm fine, stop crying, we'll be okay." He used his words to comfort me, which only made me more upset because I felt this crushing guilt. I was the reason he was in those hand cuffs, and he was trying to comfort me.

They drove away with him in the back as I approached my parents and Jake's mom. I'm sure I looked like a mess but I didn't care in that moment, I had only a few things I needed to hear from them and then I never planned on seeing them outside of a court room ever again.

"Is Jake okay?" I asked shakily. I wasn't worried about his well being, but I needed to make sure my boyfriend didn't just murder someone for me.

His mom spoke up aggressively, "he's in surgery thanks to you and your crazy ass boyfriend. They say his brain has a bleed and they don't know if there will be long term damage when he wakes up." I kept trying to remind myself to breathe but I couldn't find any air. "Mom, dad," I turned towards them slowly, not even bothering to respond to delusions. "I hope it was worth losing your daughter." I tried to speak calmly but my voice broke.

The ride back to my apartment was long and painful. Every thought in my head was about Mitchel. Was he okay? We're they treating him fairly? What if he gets hurt? What if something happens? How could I do this to him?