I'm afraid to love you back...

Chapter 9

Chapter nine

When he drops me off at Sam's with Camille he looks so much happier. Josh's brilliant smile made me smile and in turn made Camille smile. It was amazing. Camille never smiled like that.

Is this all really hurting her as much as it is hurting me? Is she getting hurt just watching it happen? Is everyone right? Should I go to the police? I have all the evidence on my body.

Stop. I can't go to the police. I know that. I can't let myself think of any hope. None of this is going to end. It's just going to go on until either my dad beats me to death or he finally dies. Even after Camille graduates it will never truly be gone. I know that despite what I told Josh.

As I walk up to the front door Camille by my side the door opens revealing Sam and Matthew. They both smile though Matthew's is more of a grimace. My face is worse than it is most nights.

"Before you girls go to have your fun I'm going to look at that wrist of yours," he says not even bothering with a greeting. I nod without speaking. I didn't know if I would ever get comfortable talking a lot.

He leads me towards their bathroom where he has me sit on the sink. He undoes the loose brace and grimaces at my hand.

"Tell me when it hurts," he says gently pressing his thumb into different places. I grimace and he catches it nodding a little.

"Are you guys almost done?" Sam groans from outside the door. Matthew rolls his eyes while I look down. He takes out a roll of wrap and puts it gently around my wrist. He then throws the brace into the counter.

"Don't take that off unless you're going to get it wet," he says and I nod. It felt weird almost better but almost not.

"Thanks," I mumble and he shakes his head.

"By the looks of it I'm not done yet. Those bruises are nasty," he says lifting my chin up with a gentle finger. I shake my head a little.

"They'll heal," I murmur slipping out of the bathroom again. He catches my wrist and I flinch.

"You know you are just hurting the ones who care about you more. Especially Camille," he tells me and I stare. How am I hurting her? I don't let my dad touch her...

I walk upstairs shaking my head. Camille will be fine. Yeah we are in a rough situation and have been for a while but she's strong. She'll make it through.

I knock on Sam's door before entering and greet her with a small smile. She is more enthusiastic though and grabs my wrists pulling me to her bed. She doesn't know my flinch or grunt of pain luckily.

Her blue eyes meet mine, "Camille went to help mom with dinner. Now tell me everything."

"What about?" I ask looking down. She scoffs.

"You and Josh of course! He dropped you off and he was smiling about it too," she says eagerly. I shake my head grinning at her in relief. If she would've asked about my dad I wouldn't have been able to answer.

"Oh. He caught me after school and I... I couldn't stay away," I mumble and she laughs throwing her arms around me. I stiffen waiting for the release.

"Aw you guys are so adorable. Do you know how upset he looked at lunch? It was literally killing him. I convinced him to give you some space but the way he was looking at you was in total pain. I know you feel it too. I saw you moping around all day," she says seriously, "Save you both from a little pain and don't push him away."

"Ok," I say but don't mean it. I can't promise anything at the moment. She claps her hands and points to her bathroom.

"Go take a shower. I bought you a whole bunch of new clothes and you don't smell great. We'll see what looks best after you are done," she says and I sigh. I stand from the bed and walk into the bathroom looking at my reflection for a few moments.