I'd rather trade it all while somehow saving you[a Synyster Gates story]WTTYAWDS

Chapter thirteen

~Brian’s POV~

I walked out onto the balcony and closed the doors behind me. I went to the railing and gripped it tight. I couldn’t think straight. The only thing in my mind was finding that bastard and killing him. I looked down at my hands and realized my cigarettes were still in my hands and I was gripping the railing so tight, I had crushed them all. I threw the pack over the balcony and sunk down in a chair. I dropped my face in my hands and closed my eyes. The doors opened and someone sat down beside me. It was Val.

“Are you okay?” She asked softly. I sighed and looked up at her.

“Never better.” I said dryly. She half smiled at lit a cigarette.

“Can I bum one off of you?” I asked. She nodded and slid her pack across the table. I took one and lit it and took a hungry drag.

“Thanks.” She nodded.

We sat in silence for a few minutes.

“Look, I’m kind of in the dark here. What exactly happened to Kate?” She asked. I took a long drag then turned to face her.

“She was with this guy for about a year and everything was fine until he started doing drugs, then he started hitting her. Once he beat her so bad, she had to go to the hospital. Then she got a restraining order and broke up with him. She changed her locks and everything. Well the day we were leaving New York, he went to her apartment. She thought it was us so she opened the door. Then he went crazy and started beating her and shit. When we got there, he was standing over her, holding a lamp and was going to hit her with it. Matt and I stepped in and probably saved her life.”

Val’s eyes were wide and mouth was agape. She shook her head from side to side.

“I can’t believe it! How could someone do that?” She was almost in tears. I shook my head.

“I don’t know. And I don’t know how a judge could just let someone like that out on the streets.” She shook hers too.

“Brian how…how bad did he beat her this time?” She asked quietly. I closed my eyes. I could still see her lying on the ground, bloody and crying.

“Bad Val. Her lip was split, her face was almost purple, her whole back was basically black. But somehow, she made it out of it was nothing more serious than the cut lip.” A few tears slipped from her eyes.

“That’s horrible Brian.” She said. I nodded and took another drag from my cigarette. She wiped her face and put her cigarette out.

“Val, try not to act different around her though.” I said. She nodded.

“Do you think that he’ll come after her?” I sighed deeply and stood up and went back to the railing.

“I’d like to say no. I really would. But I really don’t know.” I looked out at the sky and inhaled the nicotine into my lungs. I held it there for a minute then blew it into the sky.

“Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.” She said. I turned around.

“I know. Imagine being Kate.” She shook her head and stood up and went back inside.

I finished my cigarette and followed her. Matt was standing by the door. He stopped me and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, we’re gonna do everything we can to keep him away from her.” He said. I nodded and sat down on the couch.

The whole rest of the day was a complete blur. Around midnight, I called it a night. Kate stayed in bed the entire day. When I went into the bedroom, she was curled up into a tight ball and tears were rolling down her cheeks. I quietly walked over and wiped them away. She smiled slightly in her sleep, then shifted towards the wall. I sighed and got into bed and went to sleep.