Secrets & Slytherins

Chapter 16: Boxing Match

Grace hadn't moved in days.

She laid in her bed for so long that she was certain her legs wouldn't work if she tried to use them.

Hunger wasn't an issue. Grace's appetite was nowhere to be found. She didn't believe it would ever return.

She occasionally would take her hand out from underneath her blanket, only to reach toward the nightstand for the glass of water that the other girls in her dormitory had brought her. Every once in awhile, they would try to speak to her and start a conversation, but their attempts fell futile. Grace wouldn't talk to anyone.

She spent her days having staring contests with the walls and the ceiling. Once the night came, her eyelids took over as her new opponents. The darkness was overwhelming. The battles she was up against were too tough. The pain was too fresh in her mind. She longed for sleep to be an escape, but she was just stuck in the boxing ring, only to be aimlessly throwing punches at dark memories.

A few hours into a new day, Grace prepared herself for another attempt from the girls in her dormitory to talk to her. As the footsteps approached behind her, she took a silent breath.

"Grace," mumbled someone gently. Something, however, was off. That wasn't a girl's voice. Grace didn't need to turn around to know exactly who it belonged to.

Noah.

Noah Dolohov.

The boy who told her everything was going to be okay. The boy who said he was on her side. The boy who lied to her face. The boy who hid things from her. The boy who broke her trust. The boy that held her down. The boy that carved 'Mudblood' into her arm.

That fucking boy.

"One of the girls let me up. They thought it would be okay if I came in here," he explained.

Okay? None of this was okay. None of it.

Grace stayed silent. She didn't dare move a muscle. Her hair was sprawled across her pillow and the blanket covered every inch of her body except for her head. She made sure her eyes stayed in one direction, locked on the wall opposite of her. She didn't want to catch even a glimpse of the boy standing behind her. Grace knew that if she looked at him, all she would see was the last thing that happened between them— Noah hurting her.

She couldn't remember much after that horrible moment. All she could recall was Noah apparating the two of them back to Hogwarts. After that, her memory fell short. Perhaps a few repressed memories was her brain's way of coping with the trauma she had experienced.

"Look, I don't have an excuse for what I did to you the other night."

If he didn't have an excuse, then why the fuck was he still trying to talk to her? Grace swallowed hard as he continued.

"It's just my father. The way he acted, the things he did...Something in me just snapped and I-"

The footsteps traveled closer, but the sound in her ears was quickly replaced by her pounding heartbeat.

"Grace, please look at me," Noah begged, reaching his hand down to touch her.

Noah should have known. He should have known that the moment his hand came in contact with her, everything would go wrong.

"No, don't! Don't touch me!" she shouted, sitting up harshly. "Merlin, no, please! Stop it, it hurts!" She brought her hands up, tugging at her hair roughly. Tears rushed down her cheeks. Noah stood there, completely horrified.

"Grace, I'm so sorr-"

"Get out!" Grace shrieked, still keeping her gaze away from him. She stumbled into her nightstand. The glass of water fell to the floor, shattering and spilling the liquid onto the ground. "Just stop it! Please! I can't deal with this anymore!" Grace fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands as loud sobs left her lips.

Noah stood over her, his face as pale as a ghost. The broken girl before him was shaking in anger and fear. He knew that Grace wanted him to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Grace felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her. She struggled for a moment, but her body eventually began to relax, her mind telling her that this embrace was not one of danger.

The next few minutes were spent in complete silence. Grace's outburst seemed to have subsided. Noah's arms were no longer around her. Noah and Grace sat side by side on the floor, tiny shards of glass and small drops of water scattered around them.

Noah decided it was time to try again, as Grace seemed much calmer.

"I am so sorry, Grace. Something just came over me the other night. It was like I wasn't even me. I didn't have control over anything. Surely you can understand that, right? I know you can."

Grace wiped stray tears from her cheeks and focused on steadying her breath.

"I tried to get you out of there," Noah continued. "Once it was over, I tried to get you out of there as fast as I could. I know those words mean nothing to you, but I have to say them. I really tried, Grace."

Grace took a deep breath in, releasing it slowly. She waited for a moment before turning to finally look at Noah.

"What happened to your face?" she asked immediately, her eyes widening slightly. Noah's lip was bruised, he had several cuts on his face, and his eye was black and blue.

"My father happened," Noah replied.

Grace wanted to feel happy. Shouldn't she be glad something awful had happened to the boy who used a dagger to carve into her skin? Then why the hell was seeing Noah in this state absolutely killing her? Grace slowly brought her hand over to Noah, gently placing it on top of his hand, and locked eyes with him.

"Tell me everything."