ℂ𝕠𝕓𝕒𝕝𝕥 & ℂ𝕣𝕚𝕞𝕤𝕠𝕟 || 𝔸 𝕋𝕄ℕ𝕋 𝔽𝕒𝕟𝕗𝕚𝕔

11 || 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐔𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐏

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀ ꜱʜᴏʀᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ.

****

The two brothers, Leonardo and Raphael, are attempting to determine how best to assist Afina-Jade in this predicament. Based on his recent eavesdropping through Jade's window, Raphael knows that she fled from her ex-boyfriend after he physically beat her. It's unclear if he's looking for her. The cobalt and crimson brothers came together in the dojo where they had gathered earlier before Afina-Jade left and sparred with each other as a way of thinking through things.

"Being physically abused is not easy to talk about." Leo breathed, blocking one of Raph's blows.

Raphael answered, striking once more and missing his brother's shoulder. "That's why we gotta ease in... then, we help her defend herself. We don't know if her ex wants to find her."

Leo signaled his brother to take a short time out so he could get a drink of water from the side. He wiped the drenching sweat from his forehead and took a seat for a moment, looking at Raph who stood in the middle of the dojo. "Not just help her defend herself physically, but mentally, too."

Then out of the blue, Raphael asked his older brother a question that is possibly difficult to answer from their point of view. "How do you think she got here? She left her ex-- left everything behind."

Leonardo drank from his water jug, gulping down a great amount and looking at Raph. He shrugged at the crimson-masked turtle, indicating that he didn't have the slightest clue how a shy girl escaped her abuser. What matters is that she survived and lived to see another day. "I dunno, man. But you're right. We gotta help her. She just seems so..." He trailed off, not sure how to continue. Leo couldn't put his finger on it.

"Dedicated," Raph answered for his leader. Surprisingly, that was the word Leo was looking for and he nodded in agreement. "Let's help her out."

"Yeah," Leo answered hushedly. 

"Y'think we should visit her apartment tonight?" Raph asked.

Leo sighed with slight stress and uncertainty in his tone. "It might be the best thing to do if we want to help her, y'know? When someone gets out of their comfort zone, they might experience the greatest result."

Raphael didn't disagree with that. "And the faster we help, the better."

It's been decided. "We'll visit her tonight." Leo got up from his seat in the dojo and picked up his water jug. "I'll text Casey."

****

In the evening, Afina-Jade is sitting at home alone once again. She surrounds herself with a thick and soft blanket, drinking her caffeine and watching a flick or two before going to bed. Just when she was going to get that last sip from her mug, her phone notified her that she had received a text. She plucked her smartphone from the surface of the couche's cushion and saw it was an unknown number which she assumed was a spam caller.

Out of curiosity, she opened it and found the words:

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘. 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚎? 𝙼𝚊𝚢𝚋𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝... 𝙼𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚁𝚊𝚙𝚑𝚊𝚎𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚘 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 𝙴𝚃𝙰, 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚞𝚝𝚎𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚗𝚘 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖! 𝙷𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐.



Afina-Jade set her phone face down on the couch, instantly getting up from her spot to place the mug in the kitchen. If these brothers are coming here to her safe spot, she'll defend herself no matter what she is feeling. The knives she hid throughout the apartment were handy, and she always took advantage of them. She snatched the closest one, gripping it firmly and holding it at her side. Next, she cuddled up into her blanket on the couch and watched the living room window very closely. She waited for the curtains to sway, or listen to the window unlock itself...