A Broken Wing

Stillness

Sitting on the edge of the bed you pull the blanket tighter around you. A cold shiver runs down your skin. Thoughts of what would happen if you were found here let alone with another man. You needed to move, keep moving. You slide your feet off the bed and slowly step over to see if you could get a clear view of this man lying on the couch. You didn't know if you could trust him or not, but either way you needed to keep running. The further you could get from Bobby the better. By now he could have multiple people looking for you. And once they find the car it wont take them long to track you to here.

You start to tippy toe towards the door, till a board creek under your foot.

"Leaving so soon?" Comes from him lying there. Not a muscle moved on him, but you still froze in place. Catching your breath in your throat, you have to remind yourself to keep breathing.

"I'm not going to be safe till I get further away from him. If they find that car it will lead them here." Looking around the room you take a seat at a chair by the table. "He will kill you, then do...worse to me." You drop your gaze to the ground keeping your breathing steady as you could.

He removes his arm from covering his face and sits up to face you. "No one, and I mean no-fucking-one, is going to kill me in my home. As for you, you are safer here with me than alone back out there. Specially-" He motions to what you are wearing. "-With just that on." He leans his head into his hands rubbing his temples. "What's your name?" Turning his head to meet your eyes.

"Y/N." You barely whisper out, still feeling embarrassed to think you could go out into the woods in the middle of the night alone and survive.

"Ok Y/N, I'm Mike." He stands up and walks over to the table. Taking a seat in the chair across from you. "Look at me-"

You raise your eyes to meet his. There was softness in the years that have been etched into the wrinkles on his face. He raised his eyebrows then continued speaking.

"I promise you, I will keep you safe from whoever you are running from tonight. Tomorrow you have to do the heavy fucking work. I'll get your car towed into town so they don't have a chance to find it. I'll have a friend take you to the hospital so they can check you out. And if these-" he motions to the bruises up and down your arms. "Were not from escaping that bear, you have bigger fucking problems." He places his hands down on the table dropping his head. You could hear a long drawn out sigh coming out of his mouth.

"So what do I do now?" You whisper to him dropping your eyes back to the floor.

"Well, tonight you rest. Feel free to get cleaned up. I can find you something to wear seeing as that wont work." He points to your torn dress.

"Thank you for helping me. I don't want you in the middle of this shit storm I have coming, if he does fine me it won't be good for anyone around me." Looking back up you can see the softness twisting on his face, as if he was having some sort of internal struggle.

He holds up his left hand as if he was going to say something, but gets up from the table heading toward the bedroom. You sit there at the table as if frozen it time. The first time in months where you didn't have to worry about what came out of your mouth, where you placed your hands, how you were sitting. It all became so taxing to be under Bobby's thumb, but what choice did you have. He held over your head for months that you would be nowhere without him. He took control of your money until he didn't want you working anymore, one more thing he had control over. The first time you had to hide a bruise he had left on you was the day you sold your soul to the demons in him. The last one he left felt like your sold shattered into a million pieces. Looking down at your right arm you pull it out of the blanket examining the different marks up and down it. The different shades of black and blue, some with a deep purple, while others were a pale yellow.

Clothes being dropped on the table next to you startle you. Turning to look up at him and all you can see is a stern look on his face looking down at you, not you, but your arm. He reaches one hand up to his face shaking his head.

"He do all this?" He points to the darker bruises on your arm.

You shake your head as a lump forms in the base of your throat. Tears start to well up in your eyes as he squats down next to the chair you are sitting in. "Now this is a promise, he won't ever fucking touch you again. Once I find out who this little shit is, I'll handle it. If you want to take a bath there are towels in there." He points to the bathroom.

He stands back up and grabs an open beer off the counter in the kitchen and heads out the front door. You grab the clothes and head back to the bathroom looking around for a towel. There was one draped over the side of the porcelain tub. Turning on the water, making sure it got hot enough, you slip off the blanket you had adopted as a comfort, and then let it fall to the floor behind you. Slipping off your sandals you hear that familiar loud noise out front. Loud noises have made you skittish for a while now, so this was nothing new. Slipping out of your torn dress you step into the tub and slide down into the steaming hot water. It burned your skin at first, due to the chill most likely, but it felt better to sit in the heat and let the pain and aches drain away.

You hear the front door open and steps coming down the hall. Pulling your knees up to you trying to cover yourself, the steps stop just shy of the doorway. "What's his name?" You can hear his breathing was heavier, as if he was trying to keep his cool.

"Robert O'Brien III. He's bad news Mike. His family is IRA. Nasty business and even nastier people." Sitting up so you could make eye contact but still keeping yourself covered by the side of the tub, you see he is looking up at the ceiling clenching his left fist over and over.

"Alright, but I will find a way to make sure he doesn't know you are here." He turns around and walks back toward the front of the cabin. You hear the front door open and slam shut.

This makes you jump, splashing water out onto the floor. Sinking back into the tub you let the water wash over your face to clear the tears falling down your face. Grabbing the sides of the tub you step out and dry off with the towel. Putting on the clothes he gave you, feeling the warmth of them, made you feel safe if even for a split second. Taking light steps you walk toward the front of the cabin and open the front door. He was sitting in a chair in the corner of the small wooden deck. Head in his hands, a lit cigarette in his right hand.

"Hey, This is not your responsibility to help me. I'll be on my way tomorrow and you can forget you ever heard my name or his." Taking a seat on the bench next to him you reach out and touch his left hand trying to get him to look at you.

"Regardless, I made you a promise." He turns his head so he can look at you. "I intend to keep it."

"Thank you" You take your hand back off of his and look out into the dark night sky peering through the tops of the trees.

"No need." Reaching down next to him he pulls something off the porch. Placing it in his left hand he hands it to you. It was a lukewarm beer and after the day you have had, why not?

"You need to rest, after what I've seen and haven't seen, the least you could do is try to. I'll stay up until you fall asleep if that helps you." He turns you giving you a half smirk.

"You don't have to, but I will take you up on that rest." Standing up you walk back inside.

Heading down the hallway you set the can on the counter in the kitchen. Walking back into the bedroom you fall face first onto the bed and just lay there. A few moments go by and you pull yourself up onto the bed. Crawling up to place your head on the pillow. You roll onto your back staring up at the ceiling. No way in hell you were going to get any sleep tonight, but rest, at least your body gets a chance to rest.