DYLAN

"Take me to my room, " the tone of her voice freezes me. I've heard it in her voice before. There is a strange feeling that is induced by that. I spin around on my heels, she is starting into the blank space. Her eyes are glittery. The sad thing is I know what this means. Bringing her eyes to mine, she blinks the moisture away and says, "I want to go to my room."

"Now?" I frown at her. She is sitting on the bed, leaned against the pillows. She has been sitting there all day, sometimes reading her books, sometimes working on her laptop.

Suddenly, she straightens up and snaps, "Yes now. Right now!" Startled, I slowly begin to close the closet door behind me.

"Why? You were fine here? Is it Bear? 'Cause I'll bring him after you are done eating." She stares at my face and I see her lower lip quiver. She shakes her head and slowly clears her throat. "Avery, what's wrong?" I asked, hurrying towards her. Something has to be wrong. She was about to cry.

"I just want to go to my room, " her voice is little. I swear I heard it crack. I quickly move to her side and sit down the edge. I quickly take the bed table holding the tray and place it on the floor. I scoot closer to her and placing my hand on the other side of her legs, I bring my hand to her hair and carefully push it away from her face.

"Did I do something wrong?" I ask quietly. She keeps looking down at her hands which lay on her lap, limp, bruises covered all over them. Her fingers are playing together. She looks up at me finally and stops.

She stares at my face with a pained expression. I can see her facial expressions trying to convey something that I don't understand but soon, her eyes harden and gulping she says, "Yes. You brought me in here against my will and I don't want to stay here. You know people have something called the personal space and I would like that for myself too."

"You can have your personal space here too. I can sleep on the couch. It's really not a problem." I know this is not the problem. She can try to convince me as much as possible but I know this.

Rolling her eyes, she huffs and asks "Why am I staying here so important for you?"

"You need constant care. I don't want you to get hurt again." And I want you as close to me as possible.

"No! No! No!" She yells. "I don't need constant care. I have been hurt before and I made it through pretty well. I've been managing myself alone for so long. Don't try to make me feel as if I need you!" My frown deepens. Why is she acting like this?

I start, "I literally never said that! I am just-" but she doesn't let me finish.

"I don't wanna hear it! I want to get out of your room!"

"Okay, calm down. What's the big deal?" I try to laugh to lighten the mood but she was not having it.

"Big deal? You are suffocating me, Dylan! You just don't know when to stop!" What the-

"I'm - I'm suffocating you?"

"Yes! Yes, you are. Just take me back to my room. I'm uncomfortable here." I blink unable to believe that Avery is saying all this. I won't lie, I am hurt. A lot more than the last time she tried to get away from me. Maybe because this time she is giving me a good reason to be acting this way.

The last time I knew I did nothing wrong and she was just freaking out because of that dream. This time her anger seems justified. At least they can be justified in words.

I slowly nod and get up. "Fine. But then I'll have to keep tabs on you every now and then."

"No, you don't! Just leave me the fuck alone!" I flinch at the tone of her voice. She is clenching her jaw, breathing hard. Her words seem to be physically cutting through me. Somewhere I want to believe she doesn't mean it but then again what do I know?

After last night and the morning, I thought things were getting to where they should. I thought she was finally letting me in. Did I make a mistake by bringing her in here? No, I know Avery pretty well. If she wanted to leave, she would've left hours ago. She wouldn't have waited for so long. Did Brad say something?

I want her to talk to me. Tell me what's going through her head. I probably would've tried to make her tell me but you know what? I'm tired of this back and forth. Nothing can be worth this, can it? Moreover, I've got other things to worry about.

"I'll help you to your room and bring the food there, " I look away from her face and say.

"Thanks, " she lets out bitterly. Why so much hatred? What did I ever do to her? Except for marrying her. But she didn't have so much problem with me half an hour ago. What has changed now?

Instead of these questions, I try focusing on helping her out. I move the table from the floor towards the door so that she can step down. Her crutches were standing on her side, against the bed table. Taking them, she takes the first step and whimpers in pain. "Careful!"

"I'm ok, " she brushes me off and begins walking towards the door. I stand there behind her, not sure what to do. Maybe if I get a little closer to her just to help her work, she might get irritated.

I bend down and pick up the table with the tray on it and follow her. She halts and struggles to open the door. Finally, after opening it, she leaves the room and I follow. I will be worried about her all night, right, but I guess I need to remind myself about the status of our relationship. Pretty sure that'll help.

She enters her room and goes to her bed. I see her wincing a few times, why won't she, her whole body is bruised and honestly, as much as I try, I can not say that it didn't bother me but I guess me staying out of her matters is the best option. Her safety is my duty, I'll do it.

She sits on the bed, and I walk towards her with the bed table. Keeping it on the bed, I mumble, "I'll bring a few of your things here now so that you don't need anything at night. Tomorrow morning, Mrs Griffin will bring you the rest of your stuff."

I don't look at her but from the corner of my eyes, I see her nodding her head. As I said, I bring her toiletries and a pair of PJs and her towel to her room. While closing the door, I feel her eyes on me and look at her one last time, she quickly removes her eyes and pretends to have never looked. What hurts is this time, I no more want to dig in. I'm too tired of this back and forth.