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And then he's throwing up again, my ripped skirt falling out of his grasp. I crouch down next to him, rubbing my hand down his back.
"I'm so sorry." I'm sorry that I betrayed you. That I'm causing you this much pain, especially after your surgery.
He sits there silently, slams the toilet closed then flushes. He then gets up, my hand falling from his back and brushes his teeth.
I get up slowly, cautiously standing next to him as he rinses him mouth then spreads his arms on the counter. His head drops, his eyes shutting closed as he breathes heavily.
"I'm so sor-" I begin to apologize but before I can even finish my sentence, he pulls me into his arms. His arms around me, his head dropped onto my shoulder.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so fuckin' sorry, baby." His low, devastated whispers cause me to cry again.
Why is he sorry? It was my fault.
"You didn't. You didn't cheat on me. It wasn't your fault." He pulls back to look me in the eyes and his bloodshot eyes break my heart.
"I didn't say no. I told him to stop but I didn't say no. I should've stopped him."
His head starts shaking in disapproval, his hand cupping my cheek and that's when a tear falls down his cheek.
Please don't cry.
"Listen to me, it's not your fault. Non of it is. What he did is not your fault." He wipes my tears. I bring my hand up wiping his.
Then he pulls me back in his arms, holding me tightly against him. And we break apart. We fall apart in each other's arms. We cry. We sob. We hurt. We break. And in the end, that was us; an ugly painful mess.
Love is not invincible. It does not make you invincible and we'd be foolish to believe so. We would be foolish to believe that love would protect us from all the ugliness in the world. We loved each other with all our being, yet it didn't erase the ugly.
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
"We'll come pick you up in a few hours." Alessio says, sitting in the back of the car as Nilo drives us. "You'll be safe at Callan's apartment." I look to Callan standing outside the car, waiting for me.
"Alessio," I begin, my eyes falling on his rage filled ones. I want to beg him not to hurt his father but I can't get myself to. I can't get myself to beg for the safety of the man who assaulted me and most of all the man who also abused Alessio.
"Don't kill Buck." He averts his gaze, not wanting to talk. "Gio, please. It wasn't his fault. He helped me. I like him, he's my friend" He doesn't seem to care. "He has a son, Gio. A seven year old son and a wife that he loves. He has a family."
