Bittersweet Sugar - An ACOTAR fanfiction

Chapter 2 - Fall Back

Shit.He was meant to be on his break for another....shit! Feyre had estimated the time to be about 10:35, when Tamlin would be five minutes into his fifteen-minute break, but it was 10:46 already!
"Rhysand. Why are you here?" Tamlin asked a shade too flatly.
Rhysand raised an eyebrow. "Getting a drink? Unless I was misled by the beautiful barista here and this is, instead, a cult?"
"Shut up, shut up, don't," resounded in Feyre's head.
Tamlin straightened.
"I wouldn't be surprised if you were misled so easily, Rhysand," he said stiffly.
Was that a dig at her? Feyre couldn't tell anymore. The lines had been blurred.
The smile never left Rhys' face.
"Well, Feyre darling, I must be going. It's been fun," Rhys purred at her, ignoring Tamlin as though he was an insect that buzzed on his shoulder.
That was Tamlin's breaking point. He grabbed Rhys, upsetting the drink in his hand. The overpriced drink spilled over Rhysand's (what looked to be incredibly expensive) suit.
Feyre gasped. It would cost so much to get it cleaned that she couldn't help it. Tamlin had been...violent... in the past, but he promised he had changed! Tamlin might have to pay for that, then it could come out of her wage and then she wouldn't be able to pay her or her sisters' rent! She would be homeless!
Feyre knew she was overreacting but she couldn't help it. The tension broke by Tamlin roughly grabbing her by the t-shirt she wore and dragging her into the staff room.
"Tamlin!" Feyre hissed as soon as they had shut the door.
"What, Feyre? Rhysand shouldn't have said that shit if he didn't want to get hit," Tamlin reasoned.
"It doesn't matter if he was asking for it! You shouldn't have done it! It's beastly!" escaped Feyre's traitorous mouth. She'd really done it now. She had pushed it too far and now...
Tamlin's face darkened. His eyes shuttered and narrowed. Tamlin raised his fists and before she could stop it, the blows came. One to her face - a hard, brutal slap - and one to her stomach. The latter almost threw her across the room. Feyre screamed in pain, but Tamlin didn't stop. Wouldn't stop until he was done.
It wasn't the first time he'd done this.
Feyre snapped out of her thoughts- or rather, Tamlin slapped her out of them. Her cheek burned. Maybe this was her fault. Why else would he be so angry.
Feyre started pleading. Pleading in vain. Tamlin wouldn't, couldn't, didn't stop.
Words escaped her anyway.
"Stop! Tamlin! Please! I'm sorry! Just stop! Please!" Feyre whimpered.
Stop. Stop. Stop. Please, please, please. No, no, no.
Useless whimpers and pleas. Tamlin wouldn't, couldn't, didn't stop until he was done.
He wasn't done yet. She felt blood slide down her cheek.
Feyre shuddered as the blows finally came to an end.
Tamlin froze. He recoiled from the extent of what he'd done. At the sight of it.
"I'm so, so sorry Feyre," Tamlin choked out, tears threatening to fall from his pine green eyes.
Feyre thought, rather cynically, that he shouldn't be the one that was horrified. It should be her crying.
     Feyre gathered her courage and walked out of Spring Sugar three hours too early, ignoring Tamlin completely.
She crossed the road, not entirely sure where she was going, moving as thought guided to, eyes firmly on the ground.
  Feyre came to a stop. The bloody, beaten girl raised her eyes to the sign adverting Night Owl coffee shop. Why she was here, Feyre didn't know.
Night Owl had a beautiful exterior, black and silver paint on iron. Black stained glass windows, stark white writing reading "We don't sell overpriced coffee, so why not come here?" and elegant silver script covering the door to Night Owl. It read "for the ones who dream". Feyre pondered on that. Caught in her reverie, she didn't notice when the heavy door swung open, revealing a male figure who stood behind her and spoke in rich baritone.
"Come for a better time?" Rhysand asked quietly.
"I suppose," Feyre replied half-heartedly.
She turned to face him and even Rhys' normally expressionless face shifted into an expression of anger, then deep concern. Concern deeper than Tamlin had ever shown her.
"That's not fair," Feyre thought to herself. 
"He's just mad and you love him and he loves you. He's just mad."
Rhys reached out to wipe away the tears that streamed down her bloody cheek. Feyre hadn't even noticed she'd been crying.
Rhys said,"Quit," as though it was a viable option.
"I can't."
"You could...you could come work here. At Night Owl. I'm not stingy on pay, you know. It would be just a matter of you quitting and then I'd hire you. It's not a fun job but you could progress. There's a position open anyway."

Rhys sounded so hopeful. Feyre had never heard him fumble for words. But she couldn't quit. Tamlin had often said that she could barely do a barista's job. Tamlin! She couldn't just leave Tamlin. He loved her. She loved him.
None of these thoughts left Feyre's mouth.

  "I-I can't. It's very generous of you, but I-" Feyre stopped. Why couldn't she? Tamlin wouldn't care. She'd get a better job where she wouldn't be belittled or abused if her boss was feeling moody. Feyre could finally get a head start on organising her finances. Pay off her tuition. Get that 'dreamy' paint set she'd wanted for two months now. Nevermind that Rhys had never once been anything but nice to her.
What was she thinking? She couldn't leave Tamlin.
Why?
Why indeed.
The pain must have fucked something up in her head. Oh, the pain. Adrenaline had closed the door to it until then. Feyre leaned onto the nearest thing to stop herself from falling backwards. The nearest thing.
Which conveniently happened to be Rhysand.
"Sorry! I'm-I'm so sorry!" Feyre spluttered.
Rhys frowned, shadows covering his face. He raised his hand. Feyre automatically flinched and covered her head. Then she watched his hand travel back down from where he'd been swatting at an insect on his left shoulder. Idiot. Of course he wasn't going to hurt her, they were in plain sight!
Rhysand sighed then murmured to her,"This isn't the first time he's done this, is it?"
"No," Feyre admitted, eyes downcast in shame.
Rhys sighed again then asked,"Is it the worst he's done?".
"No," Feyre whispered again.
Then Rhys did something completely unexpected. He gently tilted her chin up, smiled, then wrapped his arms around her gently.
And for a moment, for the first time in her life..
Feyre felt safe.