Arcadia [h.s.]

Chapter 38

The following day was so different from the past few weeks, that Harry wondered if last night was a nightmare. Unfortunately, it wasn't just a horrible imaginative occurrence. It was worse. And as soon as they arrived at Noel's apartment, things only got worse.

Last night:

"Noel, are you okay? Can you talk to me?" It was stupid to ask if she was okay, he knew that but she hadn't said a word to him after the police had taken her statement from the night club— and even then she barely said a word. She practically refused to say what had happened to her, which the details of actually broke Harry's heart.

He tried to tell the police that she wanted to go home, that they'd do this later but he knew her best chances of getting any justice was if they took her statement then.

How could he have been so dumb to leave her alone at a nightclub crawling with people they didn't know? Not that that aspect mattered— apparently this Damian guy was her co-worker which made Harry even more furious that they would employ someone capable of such violence.

But he also had so many other questions, like who was this guy? What past did he and Noel have? Why did he think he could just do that to her?

"Noel," he spoke louder as they made it inside her flat. She ignored him as she went straight to her closet and began undressing. Harry sighed in frustration and walked into the bathroom to rinse the blood off of his knuckles.

When he got back to the room, she was changed into pajamas and already under the blankets. Her eyes were closed when he kneeled at the edge of the bed in front of her, reaching up to touch her cheek.

"Don't touch me," she mumbled and turned the other way so her back faced him.

"Noel...I understand you don't want to talk... But I am so, genuinely sorry for what happened."

She didn't respond of course.

And now that it was a new day, Harry had woken up to the sound of the shower running which partially relieved him because he was so worried that something similar would happen to when she was last incapacitated. He probably should have questioned that situation a little deeper. Was it something that happened often to her? Or was it really because he had hurt her and she was experiencing heartbreak?

The more he got to know Noel, the more he questioned her actions, thus the harder it became to understand her.

While the sound of the showerhead running was relieving, Harry couldn't help but notice the soft echo of occasional sobbing.

He immediately rushed to the bathroom to see that Noel was sitting in the tub of soapy water, crying as she violently scrubbed her arms with a bath sponge.

"Hey," he rushed to her, kneeling to grab her shoulder. The first thing he noticed was the dark bruises that rang around her neck as well as her wrists and he tried his hardest not to get angry again, "What's wrong?"

"I can't get it off," she sobbed as she began scrubbing her neck in a panicked manner.

Instantly, he knew what she was talking about and his heart broke into a million pieces because no one should ever have to know what that felt like. Like your skin was crawling with physical sensations of disgust. It was like being plagued by a thousand tiny ants groveling at your flesh. Harry could remember doing this until his skin bled and he had so many sponge scrapes along his body that his teachers began asking him questions.

He knew what Noel was going through. There was no "saving her." But there was the option to make sure she wasn't going through it alone.

"Princess, look at me," he said and cradled her jaw gently so she could face him. She stopped her movements, closing her eyes due to embarrassment, "come on out, yeah? I've got something that'll help," he said gently and Noel just sniffled before taking the hand he held out. While holding her, he reached for the nearby towel and wrapped it around her body as she stepped out of the tub.