More Than Just A Friend (A Bruno Mars Fan Fic)

Chapter 26

the next day

He feels so damn tired as he'd stayed awake most of the night keeping an eye on Leila and he hadn't been asleep long when she'd woken him up screaming from a nightmare at 2am and it had taken him almost 3 hours to calm her down and get her to go back to sleep and Bruno had stayed awake as long as he could in case she had another nightmare and thanks to someone who knows what happened yesterday and had leaked it to TMZ it was public knowledge that Leila had been attacked yesterday and there's paparazzi parked outside their home and he'd spent almost an hour on the phone with her parents assuring them that he is taking care of Leila and physically she'll be fine and he'll get her to call them when she wakes up, he had held back a lot and told them it would be best if Leila tells them what happened, which was true but he'd said that because he wasn't sure how much Leila will want her family to know.

He turns as he hears footsteps and he watches as Lonnie walks into the family room and he stops in front of Bruno and tells him, i'm sorry, I know you're probably mad as hell with me and you have every right to be, I have no excuses and I don't know how Luke got into the house yesterday, I hope Leila is going to be alright and Bruno takes a deep breath and tells him, I am mad at you but i'm mad at myself more and Luke told Leila that he sneaked in when the caterers arrived yesterday and Bruno closes his eyes and tells Lonnie, I hope Leila is going to be alright too, but right now she's not doing too good and he looks at Lonnie and tells him, I want you to get security cameras for the gates and in future other than our families, friends and my band, nobody gets through those fucking gates unless they're cleared by me or Leila first and if we ever have another party I want a couple of your guys in the house and Lonnie tells him, consider it done boss, i'll get cameras and have them installed tomorrow morning and Bruno tells him, good, i've arranged for the office door to be replaced tomorrow morning and the cops called and they're coming tomorrow morning too.

He walks out of the family room with Lonnie and walks up the stairs and goes into the bedroom and he sees that Leila is still sleeping but she's restless and she moans stop softly in her sleep and Bruno fears she's having another nightmare or the start of 1 and he shakes her left shoulder gently and tells her, wake up baby and she wakes up looking panicked and he tells her, hey it's ok, it's just me, and Geronimo who is lying beside her on the bed rubs his face against hers and licks her cheek and Leila rubs his head and Bruno asks her, are you ok and she looks away from him and tells him quietly, I can still feel his hands on me and she starts to cry and he pulls her into his arms, kisses her head and rubs her back and Bruno wishes he could get his hands on Luke again and beat the shit out of him.

She knows she's lucky that Bruno and Eric had broken down the office door when they had yesterday but Leila can't get how close she had come to being raped or how Luke had touched her out of her head, she feels violated and dirty and she wonders if she'll ever feel clean again and if she'll ever feel like herself again and she holds onto Bruno tightly as he holds her and rubs her back.

He had convinced Leila to have breakfast and he made them bacon, eggs, toast and coffee and had brought it to their bedroom and Bruno watches as Leila just drinks the coffee and he sighs and tells her, baby you haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon, please try and eat and she tells him, ok and she eats a little bit of bacon and half a slice of toast and tells him, i'm sorry, I can't eat anymore and she finishes drinking her cup of coffee and reaches for his empty plate but he tells her, it's ok, i've got it and Bruno takes their plates and cups back to the kitchen and he clears up and loads the dishwasher and goes back to the bedroom and he hears the shower running and he changes the bed sheets to give himself something to do while he waits for Leila to come out of the bathroom.

She had scrubbed her body as hard as she could in the shower but she still feels dirty and Leila wipes her tears away and she looks in the mirror and sees the bruise on her left jaw and she looks at her breasts and at the bruises there that Luke had made when he'd grabbed and squeezed them and she looks away unable to look at the other bruises on her body and she puts her robe on and opens the bathroom door and sees Bruno sitting on the bed and she tells him, i'm just going to get dressed and he smiles at her and tells her, ok and she walks into her closet and closes the door.

He can tell that Leila has been crying again and Bruno wishes he could put off talking to her but he has to and when she comes out of her closet with her hair in a ponytail dressed in a baggy gucci t shirt and black leggings he pats the bed beside him and she walks over and sits down beside him and he turns to her and asks her, how are you feeling now and she tells him, not great and he tells her, i'm sorry but I have a few things to tell you and Bruno picks up her right hand, kisses it and holds it and he tells her, someone told TMZ that you were attacked yesterday, no details of how or who did it but there is a lot of paparazzi parked outside and your parents called and I told them physically you'll be fine and that I thought it best that they hear what happened from you because I don't know how much you want them to know and I told them i'd get you to call them when you woke up and Leila closes her eyes and tells him, ok and Bruno tells her, the cops are coming tomorrow morning and he gets no further when Leila pulls her hand from his and she stands up and tells him, they know I didn't tell them everything, how do they know and she starts to cry and Bruno gets up from the bed and stands in front of her and he takes her hands in his and he asks her, what didn't you tell them and she tells him, I was going to tell you, I don't know when, but I was, we agreed not to keep things from each other anymore and not to lie to each other to protect the other, but the cops can't know and the panic in her voice has Bruno feeling uneasy and he tells her, it's ok, tell me now and Leila looks at him and tells him, I didn't tell them, or you yet, that Luke said I owed him for every punch and kick you gave him because of me and he said he was here to collect and Leila tells him, i'm sorry as Bruno says son of a bitch and he wraps his arms around her and tells her, it's ok, you have nothing to be sorry for baby, I promise.

She feels relieved that Bruno knows everything now and Leila asks him, so you're not mad at me for not telling you yesterday and Bruno pulls back from her enough that she can see his face and he tells her, no, i'm not mad at you, you can relax, the cops are coming tomorrow to ask us some follow up questions and to give us an update about Luke and the charges against him, I can't believe with everything you went through yesterday that you held that back from the cops to protect me, you amaze me and he kisses her gently and tells her, please stop crying baby and Leila smiles a little and tells him, i'll try and Bruno smiles back at her and tells her, good and he leans his head against hers and tells her, I love you and she tells him, I love you too.

He strokes Leila's arm as they watch Below Deck Mediterranean, which isn't Bruno's kind of show but he knows Leila loves it and he'll do anything to make her happy and to take her mind off of Luke attacking her yesterday and her phone call with her parents, and just like him she had kept a lot back from her parents and he understands that and she had told them that he was taking good care of her and she'll be fine and she'll call them tomorrow and that they're not to worry about her and she'd felt guilty when she'd got off the phone with her parents for not telling them everything even though she told him she thinks she was right not too and to take her mind off her guilt and Luke, Bruno had suggested that they curl up on the sofa and watch tv and it was just his luck that 1 of her favourite shows was just starting and watching it had relaxed Leila, he could feel it as she leaned against him and Bruno is surprised when Below Deck Mediterranean finishes that it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be and he decides that he's going to stop making excuses not to watch it with Leila in future.

He watches Leila as they watch reruns of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air and Bruno can't get everything Leila has told him about Luke attacking her yesterday out of his head and Bruno can't shake the guilt he feels about it, but he's going to make damn sure that in future the 1 place that Leila will always be safe is in their home and he'll do anything to keep her safe and help her get over Luke attacking her.