Beautifully Hurt (Beautifully Broken)

Probably because it would trigger her own trauma.

“She’ll be here at the crack of dawn to check on you,” Alex says, giving Eli a sideways hug.

Eli pulls me to the house, but I stop, then call out, “Alex.” He turns to look at me, and I quickly close the distance, hugging him tightly. “I’m so glad you heard me.”

He embraces me. “I’ll always come running when you need me.” His hold on me tightens for a moment, then he lets go. “Try to get some sleep.”

I nod and then walk back to where Eli’s waiting.

Eli locks the front door behind us, then asks, “Can you give me five minutes to fix the back door’s lock?”

I nod and follow him to the kitchen. While Eli takes care of the lock, I take two bottles of water from the fridge.

I haven’t realized how thirsty I am, and I down half of the water in one go. I set the bottles down on the kitchen table, and taking a seat in one of the chairs, I look down at the scrapes and bruises covering my body.

My eyes drift shut as the evening replays in my mind.

“Come on, baby,” Eli suddenly says, then his arms slip beneath me, and he lifts me to his chest. “Time to get you cleaned up.”

I glance at the backdoor as I wrap my arms around Eli’s neck and see it’s closed.

“I should’ve known when I saw the door standing open you’d never make a mistake like that,” I mutter as we head up the stairs.

“It’s okay,” Eli murmurs, walking to our bedroom.

He sets me down in the middle of the bathroom, then reaches into the shower, opening the faucets.

Taking hold of my dress, I pull the fabric over my head and drop it to the floor. I tug off my underwear and bra, and when Eli’s naked, he pulls me under the warm spray.

Before I can reach for the body wash, Eli takes hold of the bottle and squirting some on a loofah, he carefully starts to wash the dirt and dried blood from my body.

I overheard he killed one of them, and for a moment, I wonder if I should keep quiet, but then I whisper, “Thank you for killing him.”

Eli’s eyes snap to mine, and we stare at each other, then he says, “I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt you.”

He continues to clean my body while my eyes remain locked on him.

Today was a page straight out of my nightmares, but knowing Eli will always protect me makes the trauma less potent. It doesn’t dig into my soul like before, and maybe it’s because I saw one of them die.

Maybe.

But I think it’s because deep down, I know Eli will never let anything terrible happen to me again. He’ll always be there, a strong force to be reckoned with whenever trouble comes knocking.

“I never thought the seventeen-year-old boy I fell in love with would turn out to be my hero,” I whisper as an emotional tear blends with the water.

Eli’s eyes find mine again, and lifting his hand to my cheek, he brushes his thumb over my skin. “I’ll do my best to always be your hero.”

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I rest my cheek against his chest. Eli starts to wash my hair, and I close my eyes, soaking in how protected he makes me feel.

ELI

At first, I waited for the trauma to overwhelm Quinn and drag her back into a deep depression. But as the days have passed, the fear lessened.

Watching her as she goes over the list of cupcakes she wants to bake, I can only admire how strong she’s become.

Her eyes lift to my face, then she asks, “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. “Just admiring my strong woman. You amaze me.”

A bright smile instantly jumps to her face. “I’m only strong because I have you.”

My phone starts to ring, and pulling the device out of my pocket, I answer, “Eli Jackson.”

“It’s Harry,” the sheriff says. “We’ve finally identified the bodies. Want to know their names?”

I almost say no, but then I think of Jason. “Yeah.”

“Steve Aldrin and Jerry Mosby. They’re from Wilmington. No prior records.” Harry lets out a sigh. “We found out they met while in a psychiatric hospital. They were both mentally unstable, and I guess it was a case of evil meeting evil, the result turning them into killers.”

“Why Quinn and Conleys?” I ask.

“Could’ve been the fight at the bar that triggered them. They probably fixated on the girls and watched them before attacking. God only knows, Eli.” Harry takes a deep breath, sounding tired. “At least they can’t hurt anyone else.”

“Yeah,” I murmur. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“You can collect your gun,” he says.

“I’ll stop by,” I reply, “Need anything else from us?”