11. His Achilles Heel (bwwm) Completed #Wattys2016

15

Making his way back to her room he paused outside her door listening for any movement.
"Great she must me asleep."
He just wanted to see that she was asleep. Each word she had said rang loudly in his ears. Tormented his dreams but he just had to see her. Make sure she was sound asleep, getting some rest.

Gently opening the door he peeked in finding the bed empty. His eyes must have been deceiving him due to the swelling so he walked further into the room, closer towards the bed. Indeed it was empty, thus he decided to wait for her return. She most likely was using the bathroom.
Sitting down he looked at his bruised hands recalling the events of the night. Twice, no thrice he had laid those hands on her in a harsh manner. He had done what the idiot Malcolm had done. Standing up he went towards the bathroom only for his feet to come into contact with water as he reached the door.

Swinging the door open his heart slammed against his ribcage. An action he had never experienced ever before. He stood paralyzed with fear, something he knew nothing of. Her words came back to mind:

Thank you for teaching me a lesson. Never will I trust another man. Ever again. Don't talk to me, touch me. Matter of fact treat me like I am the plague or you will never see this baby or myself again. And where I go, not even your best man can track me.

This must have been what she meant, he thought to himself as his legs moved automatically towards her. Grabbing towels from the rail he quickly wound the cloths around her wrists turning the water off. Feeling for her pulse it felt too weak, sending him into panic mode. Lifting her up he placed her on the bed calling Alexis immediately.

By the time Alexis arrived two men had lost their jobs, one was sporting a broken nose and Max had received several threats from his boss.
"She will live. I just need to know what triggered such a reaction," Alexis said as she looked over her friend.
"I did," Marcel whispered in a pained voice as he kept looking at her.

-----

As soon as she opened her eyes tears welled up. Why couldn't death just take her away from this prison. Turning to look around the room she found him there. This man was becoming infuriatingly bothersome. Didn't he get it, she clearly didn't want to see him. Looking at him she cursed her poor heart for feeling sorry for him, he looked beyond terrible and was sporting her mark on his rich lips.

"It's rude to stare," he said as his lips cracked into a small smile. The same smile he sported the first days he actually spoke to her. The same smile she didn't know she had placed there. It fell once he realized what he was doing. Fell once he realized how he had gone about it all the wrong way.

One would expect a different reaction at such a sight, a gasp, a reflection of worry of pain at the sight of the man before her silently crying as a lone tear rolled down his face. But she did none of these things. A smile appeared on her face, not just any random smile, but a smile of pure triumph appeared on her lips. His expression remained the same as many questions ran in his mind. One of them being, had he damaged her so much that she had finally snapped?

Leaving the room without another word she waited for the others to come in. The noise outside her room had clearly indicated that they would not go anywhere without seeing her as Helen spoke harshly to her husband, clearly they still hadn't worked out their differences.

-----

Marcel's POV

I needed to fix us or else I would lose her completely. She looked at peace as she slept as I slowly climbed into bed. She would fight me all she wanted but I would keep her close. Keep both of them close no matter what. Placing my arms around her I pulled her closer to me as she subconsciously snuggled into the warmth I provided unknowingly.