Saving Leah

Chapter 5

Midnight snacks

Warning: sensitive content

"Leah. Come here. I want you to meet a friend of mine."
I turned to look up at the elderly man my Uncle was with. He gave me a leery smile. His hair was a speckled salt and pepper colour. He had deep frown lines and an intense stare. His eyes gave me a once over.
"She's a pretty little thing." He sneered, raising a single dirty finger to my cheek. My uncle gave me a warning glare as I recoiled at the strangers touch.
"Will you pay or not?" He muttered to the man.
The creep nodded, counting out 12 dollars. He shoved it in my uncles palm with one hand and grabbed me with the other. "An hour." He grunted, pulling me away to my bedroom. "No! Stop! I don't want to go anywhere with you! Let me go!" I screamed, pulling away from him. The man's grip tightened and he flung me unto the bed, quickly locking the door behind him. He made a quick lunge for me, pinning me down. I was smothered under his weight. His fingers reached for his belt and he pulled it off with a flourish. I felt his cold hands touch me in places I didn't want to be. I felt the tears glide down my cheek. I screamed as he progressed. Screamed. Screamed. Screamed.

"Leah!"

I sat up, wide awake. I was caked in sweat and felt tears well in my eyes.

Aidan was beside me, concern written all over his face.

"I'm...I'm sorry." I sniffed. "I didn't mean to wake you. "

"Hey, hey it doesn't matter. I can always sleep later. Did you have a bad dream?"

"More like a bad memory." I said honestly.

Aidan bristled. "Was it about him." He said, referring to my Uncle.

"Kind of. It was about one of his... friends." I said ruefully.

I shivered involuntarily. What if my Uncle found me? What if i had to go back there. To his place?

Aidan gently reached for my hand, caressing it softly. "Leah. I want you to to know I'm sorry. That you had to go through what you did. For the hurt. The abuse they put you through. Those rats should be in jail. They deserve to rot." He finished angrily.

"I know." I said simply. "But even they did, that still leaves me. Look at what they did to me Aidan. Do you think that's gonna go away? We can cover it up with stupid tiger balm, but it'll still be there. The dreams. The hate. The fear. They will still win."

I looked out onto the black night sadly. The moon hovered in the sky, pale and white.

Aidan tugged my arm sending a jolt of electricity through. "No. That's only if you let them."

I turned back to him. The moonlight flooded his face, casting its gentle beam on his breathtaking features.

I gulped.

"You really think that? That I can move on with my life just like that? Because you're wrong. I'm still-"

"Broken? Used?" Aidan suggested, his eyes fixed on mine.

"I-"

"You aren't a toy Leah. You've been hurt. But from what I can see you're still standing. They didn't succeed in breaking you."

"They still took from me. They still stole my virginity, Aidan! Why can't you see that?"

"I can Leah! And it eats me up inside that you lost it before you were ready. Sure you can't change what happened to you, but you can change how you see yourself Leah. I know that much. But I wish you could see yourself the way I do."

"How's that?" I said, curious.

What did he see in me?

"Smart. Funny. Achingly beautiful. Special. And 100 percent worthy of living a happy good life."

I clamped my lips together, suddenly overwhelmed with tears. I fell into Aidans open arms silently. In his warmth, I crumbled, letting out my unshed tears. He held me close and I breathed in his scent, trying to calm down.

"Come unto me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Aidan said quietly.

My ears pricked. "What's that?"

"It's one of the things Jesus said. It means if you're feeling overwhelmed, He can come and save you."

"Do you believe that? That someone like me could be saved."

"I do. With all my heart. If I could be saved, I'm sure you could too."

"I'll think about it." I said finally. The words Aidan had said comforted me. If this Jesus guy was right and could save me, maybe I could finally be free from my past. "But I still need time."

"I meant what I said, Leah. I'm here for you. When the time's right - you'll know."

I nodded, snuggling deeper into him.
Suddenly my stomach rumbled. I blushed, embarrased.

"Sorry."

Aidan smiled, taking my hand.
"I'm hungry too. Stay here. I'll make you a snack."

Aidan came back a few minutes later with some grilled cheese sandwiches. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "It's grilled cheese. I hope it's okay. I'd make better, but it's midnight. If you don't like it, i could always run to the store and-"

"Aidan!"

He stopped mid burble.

"I love grilled cheese." I took a big bite out of the sandwich. My eyes closed as the last notes died on my lips. If I were a cat I would have purred in delight. It was DELICIOUS.

"Omg, this is so good. Have you considered being a chef? You can really cook."

Aidan blushed, rolling his eyes. "Jeez, woman- it's just grilled cheese." He said as I rubbed my stomach contentedly. He looked down at my plate, gasping. "You ate almost all of it."

We both reached for the last piece. Our eyes locked . I grabbed it, waving it around in victory.

Suddenly, Aidan lunged at me, and his lips crashed onto mine. Our bodies became entangled in the sheet. He made a dive towards the sandwich, astriding me.

Not so fast, buddy boy

I spun us round, reversing our position. I may have accidently knocked the breath out of Aidan.

He could only stare in defeat as I took the final bite of the cheese sandwich, dancing around in victory.

Aidans mouth dropped open. "Leah!"

I smiled sheepishly. "Whoops." I let out a laugh.

He huffed in annoyance, tutning towards the wall. I climbed under the covers and began to place small kisses behind his ear.

His breath hitched ever so slightly. I loved the effect I had on him.

"Forgive me." I whispered.

"I dunno."

"Hug?"

Aidan scowled. "Fine."

I beamed at him, before wrappingg my hands around his waist and cuddling him.

He pulled me in closer, till there was barely an inch between us.

"That's better."