You Saved Me

Four

Scarlett's POV:

It was nearly midnight and I was finally undressed and ready for bed. I stayed up late because I didn't have to work the next day, thank the heavens. I knew I was going to sleep amazing tonight since it was pouring down rain - that's the best kind of sleep. I crawled into my bed and buried my face into my pillow, inhaling a scent I've never smelled before. My sheets felt so nice on my freshly shaven legs.

I was almost asleep when I heard a knock at my front door. "What the hell?" I mumbled, "Who could that be?" I got out my bed and grabbed my robe off the couch, tying it up. When I looked out the window I saw someone in a hooded sweatshirt. I had no clue who it could be, so spoke against a closed door. "Who is it?"

"It's-It's Taylor. Can I come in?" She sounded very cold like she was shivering. I opened the door confused. "Thank you."

"Taylor, what's wrong?" I asked, brining her further in. She was drenched from just running from the car. I turned on the kitchen light and she removed her hood. "Taylor, what the hell?" Her face was swollen and her lip had dried blood on it. "What happened?"

She shook her head, "I didn't know where to go." Her voice remained calm as she spoke. I examined her face and saw these were definitely new marks. "Can I stay here?"

I nodded my head. "What happened Taylor? You didn't get jumped so don't say that." She tried to speak but her voice broke and a tear rolled down her face. I had never seen her cry. I immediately wrapped my arms around her, my motherly instincts kicking in. "Talk to me." Taylor began to sob uncontrollably into my chest and I just held her tighter. "It's okay." I soothingly rubbed her back. We stood there for a minute but I knew she was freezing in the wet clothes since she was shaking. "Come with me." I led her through my bedroom and into my bathroom, motioning her to sit down on the edge of the large bathtub. I gently pulled on her wet sweatshirt."You need to take this off." I went to go retrieve a towel and when I came back she was sitting there in a black sports bra and wet jeans. She had old bruises all over her torso. It was obvious now that something more serious had been going on all along. I quickly wrapped the towel around her so she didn't feel exposed but she avoided eye contact.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up." her soft voice managed to mumbled out. She traced up my body and met my eyes and that's when I finally realized I was only in my silk robe with nothing underneath.

I tied it tighter, feeling a little uncomfortable. "Um, I had just gotten in bed. You didn't wake me." Grabbing the first aid kit from under the counter, I bent down to her level and tended to her cut on her lip, wiping up the blood. "You should ice all of this." I needed to know what happened, but I knew she wasn't ready to talk, so I wasn't going to budge. Although, I had a pretty good idea where these came from... or should I say who. She slowly nodded her head. "Do you want to take a bath?" I asked her, knowing that would warm her up. She thought about it, then she nodded her head again.

I leaned over the tub and plugged the drain, turning on the water till it felt a nice temperature. "I'm really sorry, Scarlett."

I looked over my shoulder at her and for the first time since I've known this kid I saw her broken inside and out. She was always messing around and cutting jokes with my daughter, but I had never seen her look this way before. I let the water run and sat down beside her. "You know I've always been there for you." She nodded her head, not looking. "I know you've never had a good home life and a mother should never be the reason for a daughters hurt." She finally looked at me knowing I finally figured it out. Her eyes pooled into mine and a tear rolled down her cheek, but I quickly brought my hand up and wiped it. "Stay here, okay? She's not gonna hurt you anymore." Taylor nodded her head for what seemed like the hundredth time.