Chapter 28 : Don't Leave Me

Waking the next morning, I felt stiff joints in my body protesting against the altercation that happened the night before. James had been a man of his word. He stayed with me all night and held me until the rising sun shone through the curtains.

Unsure of how to take everything in, I slid from the bed and made my way towards the bathroom, my eyes not wanting to look into the mirror to see how awful I looked, and even though James told me it wasn’t bad, I knew otherwise.

The pain radiating across my head proved just how bad it was, and as I found the courage to look in the mirror I gasped.

My hands came to my mouth as I took in the sight before me.

Massive bruises covered the side of my face from my cheek down to my jawline. A minor cut slashed the top of my head from when I hit the wall when I fell. Even my arms had small bruises on them, and more were black now that time had passed.

“Oh, my god…” I gasped again, wiping the few stray tears that escaped my eyes.