Forever and Always

Chapter 5

"Peter?"

Y/n's soft and quiet voice woke me up. I slightly lifted my head and before fully realizing that she was awake and sitting up the rest of the way. I wiped the sleep from my eyes as I removed my hand from Y/n's.

"Hey, you're awake!" I stated with a sleepy smile.

"How long was I out?" She asked.

I grabbed my phone and looked at the time. "About two hours."

She nodded slightly and tried to sit up, wincing and groaning as she gripped her stomach and ribs. I stood up quickly and helped her sit up a tiny bit, propping her up with pillows before handing her the pain meds and glass of water.

"Here, take these. They'll help with the pain."

She hesitated and looked into my eyes.

"You don't have to take them if you don't want to. I won't make you." I assured.

She flashed a small smile before taking the pills along with the glass of water. She tossed them into her mouth and downed the water, handing the empty glass back to me and leaning her head back against the wall.

I waited a second before trying to ask her what happened. I didn't want to pry but I wanted to know who hurt her and why.

"What happened?" I blurted.

"Nothing." She responded.

"Y/n, this clearly isn't nothing. Who did this to you?"

She sighed before sitting her head up and looking me in the eyes. "My grandparents...I accidentally broke a picture frame and they got mad at me. They made me pick up the broken glass with my bare hands. I missed a fairly large piece and my grandpa picked it up before striking it against my bare shoulder. When I winced, he cut me again, this time across my stomach and ribs. I tried to stand up but my grandma slammed her fist into the side of my face, followed by a punch to my lip. I fell back and smacked my head on the wall..." She paused as tears started to spill from her eyes.

I couldn't help it as a few tears fell from mine as well before she started speaking again.

"My grandma kicked me in the ribs one more time as my grandpa took the blood covered glass and dug it into my leg. They laughed at my pain and yelled at me, telling me to "get the hell out of our house, you worthless piece of shit." I mustered the strength to run out the front door and down the street. That's when I called you."

I wiped the tears from my eyes and stood up, pushing my chair back to where it was and pacing back and forth while running my hand through my hair.

"You're not going back there. I'm not letting you go back there." I stated.

"Peter-" Y/n tried to speak but I interupted her.

"No, Y/n! I'm not letting you go back there knowing you are being abused!"

She flinched at my raised voice and I immediately felt bad. I stopped pacing and sat down on the bed beside her feet.

"I'm sorry. I just- I can't let you go back there. I can't let you get hurt again." My voice was practically at a whisper at this point.

"It was my fault. It wouldn't have happened if I wasn't such a klutz. They won't hit me as long as I don't make them angry or break something. I deserve it when they do hit me." She looked down at her hands and picked at the blanket.

"Just because you make a mistake doesn't mean that you deserve what they do to you."

She didn't say anything, just kept fiddling with the blanket while silent tears slid down her face.

"I can't let you go back there, knowing that you can get hurt again." I turned to look at her.

"They won't hurt me unless I deserve it." She mumbled. "Not letting me go back will only make it worse, Peter."

"Please, just stay with May and I for a little bit until you are healed."

She nodded slowly and I wiped the tears from her eyes before getting up and walking out of the room. I grabbed some snacks from the kitchen before coming back into the room. I handed her a sandwich.

"I'm not hungry." She lied and pushed my hand away.

"You need food, Y/n. Eat, please." I pushed the sandwich into her hand and gave her a stern look.

She took it in her shaky hands and took a bite of it before smiling weakly. I pulled the chair back to the side of the bed and sat down as we ate in silence. After a few minutes of complete quiet, Y/n spoke.

"Can I take a shower?" She asked sheepishly.

"Yeah, of course. I'll go get it ready for you." I smiled and stood up, making my way into the bathroom.

I grabbed a towel and sat it down to where Y/n would be able to reach it from the shower. I turned on the water and waited a second for it to warm up before allowing the bathtub to fill up and making my way back into my room.

Y/n was slowly pulling the blanket off of her legs and sliding them off the side of the bed as I walked through the door. I rushed over to her side and she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. I tucked one of my arms underneath her legs and gently picked her up, walking into the bathroom and placing her on her feet slowly. She shifted her weight onto her non-injured leg and placed her hands onto the sink for balance.

"I figured it would be easier for you to take a bath since you could sit down." I stated.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Uhh...May's shampoo is sitting on the ledge, you can use that. She won't mind. The soap that is in there is new and hasn't been used so you can use that as well. If there is anything else you need, just call for me. I'll be in my room."

She nodded and I slipped out of the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar so I would be able to hear her if she yelled for me. I walked back into my room and waited patiently on my bed for her to get done.