River had just taken Jade to Madison's house so she could babysit. She was walking down the street, about to light a cigarette when someone bumped into her, causing her to drop the cigarette. She groaned and turned to the person with an annoyed look. "Hey! Watch where you're—"
She then saw Mabel, her ex-girlfriend. She hadn't seen Mabel in about seven months. They had dated for a good two years before Mabel decided to keep a secret and broke up with River. But River gasped when she saw Mabel. She had a black eye and a busted lip. When the short girl noticed it was River, she quickly covered her face and tried to turn away.
"Mabel?" River questioned as she moved towards her. "What the hell happened to your face?!"
She grabbed Mabel's arm and pulled her towards her, but Mabel tried to move away. "No, River. Don't look at me. I don't want you to look at me. It's really ugly."
"Mabel, hey hey, who did this to you?" River asked, sighing as she pulled Mabel close to her and hugged her. She felt her shirt start to get wet and she rubbed her head. "I'm here, I'm here."
River and Mabel were at River's apartment, sitting on the couch. The moment they got there, Mabel asked where Jade was. Throughout their relationship, Mabel cared about Jade like a daughter; they were pretty close. So when River and Mabel broke up, Jade was 'mad' at River for a week.
Currently, River had a wet cloth in her hand as she gently moved it over Mabel's eye and lip. Mabel winced slightly, and River let out a sigh. Mabel still hadn't told River who had caused her injuries, but River was determined to find out at some point.
"So, are you going to tell me who did this?" River asked, placing the cloth down. Mabel sighed.
"No," she chuckled, trying to make a joke out of the situation.
"Mabel..."
"River, I am fine. You don't have to worry about it. I'm just grateful you did this for me." Mabel went to get up, but River quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down.
"Mabel, you're my second favorite person in this world. Of course, I took care of you, but I want to know who did this to you." River said, sternly.
"God, I forgot how stubborn you were." Mabel looked at River with a tight smile. "Okay, fine. These guys... Week..."
River nodded before pulling Mabel towards her, not needing her to say anything else. That night, Mabel fell asleep on River's chest. Later, River snuck out of bed and moved to her room. She retrieved the gun from her drawer that Danielle had given her a while ago. "Thank you, Dani," River whispered under her breath as she tucked it into her pants. Determined, River snuck out of the house to track down Week.
When River found him, she wasted no time. "I heard you liked to hit women." And let's just say River beat him up and shot him where it hurts. Hopefully, he knew never to touch Mabel again.
The next morning, Mabel woke up next to River, who was cuddling her, and Mabel smiled. She hadn't felt this way in a while, and she liked it. She then felt someone kiss the back of her neck, and she giggled. River knew that was her tickle spot.
"Stop that," Mabel laughed before pushing River away and turning over.
"So, you stayed here last night." River said, looking at the smaller woman with a smile. "How do we feel about that?"
"I don't know, it's been a while," Mabel said, covering her black eye with her hair and rubbing the side of River's shoulder.
"I know. Jade missed you," River told her. Obviously, the young mom missed Mabel as well, but that's kinda embarrassing to say you missed your ex.
"Yeah, I miss Jade too," Mabel smiled before she pulled River towards her and gently kissed her lips. "Thank you for taking care of me last night."
"I'll always protect you, Mabel. No matter what." River made sure she knew.
"I know."
