Broen

Monday night blurred into Tuesday morning. Madi awoke with a sore back and groaned quietly. She might have complained if it weren't due to her and Dimitri squeezing onto the couch together. He looked so calm when he slept, his lips curled into a gentle smile as he held her with eyes closed, she couldn't resist brushing her lips over his cheek before carefully and quietly extracting herself from his grip. It had been almost two days since she had showered and she could feel the stink on her skin. Sleeping next to Dimitri had been wonderful, but a bit warm. Sweat made the tank top beneath her sweatshirt stick to her skin.

She padded away from him, careful with her weight as not to make the floorboards creak. Dimitri had done a bit of cleaning last night. At least gotten rid of all the trash and such, and cleaned up most of the blood. In truth, overall he had done nothing but treat her perfectly. Leave it to her to find prince charming after being... being... she couldn't even bring herself to think of it. She swallowed heavily, shoving it all down into that spot somewhere behind her abdomen where all this bullshit sat.

Only after she was certain the bathroom door was locked did she shrug off her sweatshirt and wriggle out of her sweatpants. Pressing her back to the wall, Madi could see as low as her belly button. She looked awful, her eye was black and swollen shut, her lip puffy and scabbed over. Bruises in the shape of fingertips marred her milky breasts, bigger, darker bruises dotting her rib cage. She looked like something out of some TV cop drama, it was enough to make her sick to her stomach.

Fingers moved to free her curls from their bun before she stepped into the spray, closing her eyes and listening to the rhythm of water against tile. Tears flowed easily, she made no attempt to stop them, she was giving in. The walls were crumbling and she had nothing left to cling on to. All she had worked to hide was bubbling over, it was all she could do not to scream, she couldn't wake him. SHe let herself sink to the floor beneath the shower's spray, crying quietly.

Dimitri awoke disoriented. Eyes grazed his surroundings before he remembered where he was. A smile played across his lips as thoughts of Madi crossed his mind, he could still feel the pressure of her mouth on his. MADI! Where had she gone? He moved to his feet, walking to the back of the house, her bed was empty. He swallowed hard, there was no need to panic. She could just be in the bathroom, or have run down to check the mail. Knuckles gently tapped against the wood of the door of the bathroom. "Madi?" He was relieved to hear her voice come back through the door.

"Oh, sorry, I'll be right out."

"Don't worry about it, hun. I was just making sure you hadn't disappeared on me." She felt the heat in her cheeks, a blush spreading over her face. "Don't rush, I'll be in the living room." He yawned and stretched making his way to lie back down on the couch. Madi reappeared a while later in a tank top and a fresh pair of sweatpants. Wet curls were quickly soaking the tank top.

"Hey" she wiggled her fingers in a half wave, stopping to lean against the door jam. He scrambled into a sitting position, clearing room for her beside him. She giggled, quickly plopping down beside him and biting her lower lip.

"Madi?" His eyes were serious and concerned. She felt her pulse beginning to pound. He was going to ask, she could feel it. He was going to sit and listen and then leave without a second thought about her. She wasn't sure which half was harder, trying to answer or watching him leave. Tears were burning the backs of her eyes, a lump in her throat making her breath catch. She waited, fidgeting with the drawstring of her sweatpants. "Madi," he leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers. She forced herself to kiss back, he couldn't know how badly the thought of him leaving hurt. They were just friends who had kissed, that was all. "If you ever need someone to listen, about anything, call me first." He kissed her again. "If you ever just need someone to stay over because you don't wanna be alone, call me first." He kissed her again, a hand moving to brush against her cheek. It was about all she could take, the tears flowing from her eyes. "What's wrong, Madi?" She was trying so hard to avoid his eyes.

She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes and nose. "You should leave." She stood, walking to the back of the house, waiting to hear the door slam behind him. Instead there were footsteps coming in her direction. A hand on her shoulder made her nearly jump out of her skin.

"I didn't mean to scare you, but I'm not leaving unless I have a good reason." He leaned to kiss her cheek, tasting the salty wetness of tears. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!?!? My psychotic ex boyfriend is back in town he threatened to fucking kill me WHILE he fucking raped me and I'm supposed to just fucking be okay? And now all of a sudden you're interested? What the fuck is wrong with you? You think beat up looking bitches are hot or something?" Madi was irate, she was exploding, and then she was sobbing. She could barely breathe or move, she had let it slide, the truth had bubbled out of her and there was no taking it back. She felt sick, she felt dizzy, she wanted to hide. She cried and tried to stumble back away from him.

Dimitri just stood and glared, jaw clenched tightly. Her ex boyfriend had done this? He could feel the blood in his veins throbbing in their angry heat. Madi didn't deserve his anger though, he moved to wrap his arms around her. She slapped him away as she cried, finally submitting and sobbing into his shoulder as her knees went weak, her weight sinking towards the floor and taking Dimitri with her.

"Shhhh..... it's okay, baby. He'll NEVER touch you again. I promise." He was rocking her, his voice an even-keeled whisper. A hand stroked her hair as he kissed her temple. She shook as she cried, clinging to him.

"I'm sorry. I don't usually cry. I'm usually better than this. I'm really not this much effort, I can be good." The words were those of a desperate child, a chill ran up his spine as he gripped her tighter. "Shhh... you are good. You're great. Come on, you'll be okay." It seemed there was no stopping up the dam now, she had released the deluge and he had no choice but to hold her and hope she might smile again sometime soon.

It seemed like hours crawled by as they sat in that backroom, Madi sobbing and mumbling incoherently. Finally he convinced her to call the police and file a proper report. The officers were careful with their words, and at least seemed concerned. Dimitri swallowed hard as he was forced to listen to what Madi could remember. He wished he had said no when she had asked him to stay with her while she spoke with the officers. No, he was glad he was here, holding her hand. By the end of things, she seemed drained. "Are you okay?" His voice was soft as he pulled her closer on the couch, her head instinctively falling to lie on his shoulder.

"I'm tired. And my back hurts." The words were mumbled, as though she were barely aware of what she was saying. He chuckled, standing slowly as he bent to press his lips to her cheek. He ruffled her hair as she lay down, moving to kiss her forehead.

"I'll be back in a few." Madi watched him disappear into the bathroom, and listened to the rushing water. A shower, of course, he hadn't taken one yet today. She sighed contently, curling up with a pillow and closing her eyes. She was surprised when he returned, still fully dressed. He pressed his lips to her temple, whispering beside her ear, "are you still awake?" She half-opened her eyes, looking up to him as she nodded. He had never seen her so sexy, heavy-lidded eyes made him hungry to taste her lips. "Good, come on." He tugged on her sweatpants gently, forcing her onto her feet and towards the back of the house. She was surprised to see a tub full of bubbles and a few of her favorite scented candles lit in the room. "With the bubbles, you can be in the tub and I can still rub your back without being a pervert."

She giggled, and blushed. "Dimitri, I was just whining you don't have to—"

"Didn't we make a promise about nonsense? Get in the tub." With that he walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him so she could change. It was a few moments before he heard her muffled voice. He re-entered. His gut tightened as he saw the pile of clothes on the bathroom floor, he swallowed hard, kneeling beside the tub. "Turn your back to me, let me rub it." She blushed but turned obediently. Her skin shone with wetness, trails of suds clinging to the whiteness of her flesh, it would have been perfect had there not been a large purple bruise beside her spine half way down. Hands moved to her shoulders, massaging tense muscles. "If you're too sore anywhere... let me know" She simply nodded, a small groan pushing past her lips as she let her chin fall to her chest. Lips pressed to the back of her neck as he rubbed more firmly.

"Thank you, Dimitri." Her voice was quiet, her muscles relaxing against the movement of his fingers. Teeth moved to tug at her earlobe. The sigh she released made it impossible to stop, teeth moving to her neck to alternate between licking, sucking, kissing, and biting. He wasn't sure which was a better reward, the occasional moan or the way he could see her rib cage expand and collapse as her breathing became heavier.

"Stop with the thank you's, Madi, we already had this conversation." She giggled, It was a pleasant surprise, how kind Dimitri was being. Well, not his kindness so much as the interest it surrounded. She wasn't so sure about the massage anymore though, it was starting to make her sleepy.

"You're making me all sleepy." She still leaned into his hands, she wanted to pull him into the tub with her, to just lay in the water with him, but fear kept her hands at bay.

"You want me to stop?" He grinned, moving his hand along her spine, letting his fingers move beneath the water.

"No... but yes. I'm gunna pass out." She laughed and he nodded, kissing her cheek one last time before disappearing from the bathroom. She drained the tub and wrapped herself in a towel, carrying her laundry with her. Teeth sunk into her lip as she thought of him sitting in the other room. It was a few minutes before she was looking at him again, her body wrapped up in a matching tank top and boyshorts, hands shyly trying to cover the rough patches of stitches on the outside of her left leg. It made a smile spread across Dimitri's face as he held out an arm, beckoning her closer. She sat beside him on the couch, curling up with him beneath the blanket to watch a movie.