The Storm Within

The next morning, El woke up to her alarm. In the moment she gained her senses she could feel her whole body aching. 

She endured through the excruciating pain and exhaustion and walked herself to the bathroom. 

Her eyes widened in shock when she saw herself in the mirror. 

Her merely half naked body was covered with bright red marks everywhere especially on her neck and breasts. 

Her wrists were bruised too. 

She turned around to not look at her dishevelled state. But she couldn't turn around from the pain, every part of her body hurt, especially her core and her scalp. 

She tried to freshen up quickly and carry on with her daily routine. 

She subconsciously turned the doorknob to step out, but to her surprise the door didn't open. 

She tried turning the doorknob again but to no avail. She kept trying harder. 

"What are you doing?" She heard Alec's sleepy hoarse voice from behind.

 "The door seems to be jammed." She said and continued trying to unlock it. 

"I've locked it." Alec's voice turned cold. 

El was startled to hear it, her hand dropped and she stood still in utter dismay. 

Alec expected her to react hysterically with anguish, he knew what he did wasn't right. 

He couldn't cage her forever even if he was capable of it, because that way he'd actually end up losing her. 

End up losing the essence of her to which he fell for and the physical body present that he locked in wouldn't be El anymore. 

But he had to do something, anything to lessen the distance he felt with her, it made him restless which is why he locked them both in. 

He saw her standing still facing the door, as he prepared himself for an emotional outburst. 

She slowly turned to face him, 

Alec was shocked at the sight of her, her body was covered with bright red bruises and hickey marks. 

To his surprise, she was calm and walked towards him gently, her agonising state made him feel guilty, he cursed himself for being so rough on her. 

If it was any other woman, she wouldn't even be able to move from the bed but he saw El walking elegantly towards him enduring through the pain. 

She leaned towards him, 

"What's troubling you Alec?" 

She said as she gently stroked his face. Her voice was extremely soft. 

Her reaction took him by surprise, this is not how he expected her to react. 

Her tenderness instinctively lowered the walls he had erected around him and he let his emotions flow. 

"Recently,.." he was hesitant to express what he truly felt. El nodded with widened eyes and a faint smile. signalling him to continue. 

"Recently, I've been feeling very distant with you. Like, you are a different person." 

El's smile faded when she heard his words and guilt engulfed her. 

"I know the rumours are all fake and you'd never lie to me, but.. but there are certain things that make me feel like I don't know you." 

He allowed himself to be completely vulnerable to her and spoke honestly. 

His words only multiplied her guilt by several folds. 

The pain of her lies were much more excruciating than the physical pain she felt. 

"I'm sorry Alec, it's all my fault." El teared up.  

She didn't wish to keep her secret for long from him. She wanted to tell him her truth and unburdened herself, but at the same time he feared losing him.

 She tried to not think about anything and just tell him the truth. 

"Alec…I.." the air around her felt suffocating as she tried hard to breathe between her words. 

"I am.."

she sobbed harder with every next word she uttered. 

"Alec.." she wept uncontrollably. 

"I'm so sorry Alec." Looking at her pitiful state, Alec hugged her tightly..

"No, I'm sorry." Even Alec was guilty. 

"Look at you, you look so miserable and I did this. I'm sorry, El.  

"How you manage to walk in this state is beyond me, but you'll be resting today alright?" 

Deep inside he feared what she wanted to tell him, he feared that it wouldn't be pleasant, 'Is there some truth in the rumours?' was a question he was terrified of seeking an answer to. 

He couldn't even manage to articulate his fears in his thoughts. He was equally scared of losing her as much as she did. 

"I'll ask Ben to apply for your leave at work." Alec said, ignoring his thoughts. 

She indeed needed rest so she agreed to his words. 

Although she was tired, it was a bright day outside so she could only manage to sleep for an hour. 

Unable to sleep any further, she decided to step out. The door was already unlocked and Alec had left her a message saying that he has to leave early for work.

 She covered her body as much as she could and went downstairs. She leisurely sat on the sofa and had her coffee. 

"Not preparing breakfast today Miss. El?" She heard Dwane's voice from behind. 

She turned to him and his eyes fell on hickey marks on her uncovered neck. He turned his eyes away from it and walked towards her. Sitting on the armchair beside the sofa he said, 

"You are up late today." 

"Hm. Didn't you have your breakfast yet?" She asked him. 

"No." He lied. 

" Would you mind preparing?"

"Sure" she would rather prepare breakfast for him than engage in an uncomfortable conversation. 

Saying this she got up and walked towards the kitchen. A few minutes later, she felt someone wrap his arms around her waist. She flinched and turned around. 

"Alec, you are back." She sighed in relief. 

"You scared me there." She continued panting. 

Alec chuckled at her, every expression of her, every contortion of her face amused him. Raising her chin he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"I had asked you to rest." 

He still had his finger below her chin, looking into her eyes,

 "Why do you always have to defy me?" She lowered her eyes in regret and made a remorseful face. 

Alec found that sight of her face adorable, 

"What will I do with you El Wilson." He shook his head feeling helpless towards her captivating face. 

On the surface they seemed like a lovely couple but deep inside both of them were dealing with a plethora of mixed feelings of fear, guilt and anxiety which made them feel distant.