Catch Me If I Fall

Bruised

Adelaide looked up at Brodie. All of a sudden she had forgotten what she originally wanted to say. She stood there, looking at him with her mouth open, not really knowing how to respond for what seemed like an eternity.
"God, just SAY something!" she thought, "anything!"
Brodie tilted his head to the side, not entirely sure if she had understood what he had said to her. "Oh my god, you look like an idiot Adelaide, just say something to the poor guy!" she pleaded with herself.

She noticed he had two dimples on either side of his face and a small scar under his left eye. It was so small that no one would notice unless you really took a look- which was exactly what Adelaide was doing in the time she had spent not saying a single word.
"Sorry?" Adelaide responded, eventually getting the words out, half laughing at herself. It had been so long she had forgotten the original question. Brodie smiled sweetly, showing off his dimples.
"Are you alright?" he said again but in a gentler, more even tone.

He stood there waiting for an answer but all Adelaide could do was wait for the words to form in her mind, to describe how she felt.
"I'm, I'm ok." An obvious lie.
"Thank you for helping me" she whispered.
Brodie looked down at her. He felt sorry for her. He didn't really know why Lachlan had grabbed her, or what had gone on between the two, all he knew was that Adelaide didn't deserve that to happen, no one did. The more he looked at her the more he realized how beautiful she was, with her auburn hair and emerald green eyes. He was almost certain that her smile would be infectious, even if he hadn't seen it before.

"No, you don't need to say thank you, I just want to make sure your aren't hurt or upset " he replied.
"I'm alright thanks!"

Adelaide looked down, there was a sudden pain radiating up her hand. She pulled up her sleeve and saw red marks all over her wrist from where Lachlan had grabbed her. He had held on to her so tightly bruises were starting to form. Her hand started to shake, and her arm hung limply. She didn't want Brodie to see the tears starting to form in her eyes. She pulled her sleeve down quickly which drew Brodie's attention to her hand. He could see red marks all down the side of her thumb and small finger.

"Your hand" he exclaimed, pointing to her arm.
"It's ok, it's no big deal."
"No big deal?" He questioned in an annoyed tone. He took her hand, lifting it gently and pulling up her sleeve. Adelaide became tense. His mouth fell open in shock and he looked to her with sincerity and worry in his eye.
"I'm sorry" he whispered.
"You have no reason to be" she muttered back, one tear slipped down her cheek. Her wrist was really starting to hurt and she felt so embarrassed. She took a sharp right turn and made a bee-line for the bathroom. Brodie watched as she walked away.

Adelaide pushed her shoulder against the bathroom door forcing it open. She stumbled in and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was red and puffy from her tears. Her hand was throbbing. She gripped the bathroom sink for support but her knees buckled from under her and she collapsed to the floor, in floods of tears. Moments later, Alaya and Kellie burst into the bathroom and saw Adelaide sitting there. The both sat down and wrapped their arms tightly around her.
"Hey Adelaide?" Kellie said quietly.
Adelaide turned to look at her, wiping her tears away with her jumper. She raised her eyebrows waiting to hear what she had to say.
"Brodie's kinda cute isn't he!"
The girls burst into laughter. Thank god Adelaide had them.