BAD BOY ABUSED (male pov)

#41 She had no idea what she just did to me.

I heard her climbing up the wooden planks and I quickly wiped away the tears from my face, probably not doing a great job of hiding the fact that I was crying due to my blood shot, swollen eyes and involuntary sobs. She peered in the doorway, staring right into my lost eyes.

"You can't be here Liv... not again ... not when I'm like this." my voice came out raspy and broken with huge sobs rippling through the middle, giving everything away.

"You're telling me to leave my own treehouse" She said in a joking tone but I couldn't even muster up a slight smile.

"Please." I begged, desperately trying to cling onto the last bit of dignity I had.

She climbed in and sat beside me, the opposite of what I wanted her to do. I said nothing but with her next to me I tried to pull back my emotions and lock them inside, keeping my head hung low in shame and hiding my tear stained face from her prying eyes. She sat silently beside me, patiently waiting for me to recover some of my strength.

"Don't shut me out." she whispered in the darkness.

Very slowly she reached up and I followed her movement out of the corner of my eyes, anticipating her touch. She pulled me close to her and wrapped her arm around me tightly. I melted against her, resting my head against her chest and let loose every ounce of emotion I tried so hard to keep inside.

The crying was loud and messy, I knew I would back and feel ashamed I acted this way in front of her but right now her warm embrace, the comforting strokes of my hair and the smell of safety, love and care that radiated from her in a tropical aroma was all I needed to get through. I wore my pain on the outside for her to see clearly but I felt in on the inside, threatening to kill whatever remained of me.

As my tears fell silently down my cheeks she whispered "You could tell someone, they would help." My eyes instantly darted to her face, allowing her to look at me for the first time, witnessing how afraid I was and how utterly broken I felt through the windows of my blue eyes.

"No! Liv! You can't tell anybody! Promise me you won't tell anybody!" My voice was full of panic.

"Shhh... I promise. I promise." She settled my head back down against her chest, like I was small child needing a cuddle. I managed to holt my crying, playing down the situation to her in case I scared her into revealing my secret to someone. "Why do you come here? I mean Jordan has plenty of room. Can't you stay with him?"

I looked at her like she was dumb. Did she honestly think Jordan knew about my lifestyle? I guess he suspects but we've never discussed it and I wouldn't admit anything to him anyway.

"I have nowhere else to go and this place is oddly comforting. Jordan doesn't know about my home life. No one does, except you." I sat up to face her, wincing with pain and clutching my ribs. I needed her to understand the severity of the situation because I was trusting her with my life right now. "You can't tell anyone." It was warning, one I hoped she would follow.

"You're badly hurt?" She asked with a face full of concern and her eyes darting towards the ribcage I was holding.

"I'll live" I said, not wanting to appear any weaker than I already look right now.

"Take your shirt off, let me see."

I froze. Olivia has seen me shirtless four times but never directly after I was badly beaten with the boots. I knew what the display waiting under the material looked like and it wasn't a very nice one. She would coil over in horror or run away from my troublesome life. I really didn't want see the way she looked at me when she discovered what was underneath my clothing.