"Alyx."

The word was so soft I barely heard it. Warm skin brushed against my hands, and I flinched instinctively, pressing further against the wall.

"Hey, hey, it's okay."

Cash. That was Cash's voice.

"How'd you find me?" I mumbled.

"You never showed up," he replied softly. "I got worried and went looking for you."

I let him slowly tug my hands from my eyes, let him peer into my face and examine the myriad of bruises peppering it.

"What happened?" There was an instant fury in his voice.

I looked up and saw cold fire blazing in his eyes.

"I..." Speaking felt like pulling razor blades from my throat. "There was...I was..."

"It's okay," Cash said gently. He grasped my hands in his, drawing circles over my knuckles with his thumbs. "Just breathe."

I sucked in a deep breath, wincing as pain spiked through my ribs. I released it slowly and drew in another one, focusing on the feel of Cash's skin against my own.

"Tyson," I said finally. His cruel face flashed into my mind. That wicked grin, those relentless fists. "He...jumped me. Beat me up."

I coughed suddenly, spitting blood.

Cash's face was a frozen mask, but his words were deathly quiet. "He's a dead man."

He helped me carefully to my feet, still holding my hands. "Can you walk? Do you need a hospital?"

"No." I shook my head. "I just need...I should..."

"I'm going to take you back to mine," Cash murmured. "Is that okay?"

I hesitated. I'd meant to say home. I should go home.

But staying at Cash's house sounded so much more appealing.

"Okay."

- - - -

The house was silent and dim when we walked through the front door.

"My parents aren't here," Cash said, by way of explanation. "They rarely are."

There was no bitterness in his voice. Just a calm matter-of-factness.

"C'mon, let's go to my room."

Cash riffled through his closest as I sat on his bed, pulling out blankets and thick jackets.

"Oh," he said suddenly, looking up. "Did you want to take a shower?"

"Are you sure?" I asked sheepishly.

"Of course."

He led me to a room down the hall and flicked on the lights, revealing a large, gleaming bathroom adorned in white marble and black tile.

"Take all the time you need." He handed me a fluffy white towel and a pile of fresh clothes, then closed the door behind him.

For a moment I just stood there, letting the last hour sink in.

Tyson had-He'd-

Oh god.

I pressed a hand over my mouth to contain the hollow sobs wracking my chest.

Oh my god.

- - - -

I took longer in the shower than I'd initially planned, but I found once I was under the hot water, the tears came fast and heavy.

I let them stream down my face, let them intermingle with the shower water and patter to the floor.

When I was finally done, I wrapped myself in the towel and stared at my reflection in the large bathroom mirror, examining the ugly patchwork of red and purple adorning my skin. My eyes were red-rimmed from crying, and my face was sullen. Tired.

Exhausted.

Putting on the clothes Cash had left was a process; the slightest movement sent pain shooting through me. But the hoodie and sweatpants he'd chosen were thick and baggy, and it was a comfort to be rid of the clothes Tyson had attacked me in.

"Hey." Cash sat up as I re-entered his room, setting down a large book on his nightstand.

"You're reading?" I teased, settling onto his bed. "On purpose?"

"Math revision." He pulled me closer, tucking me into his chest. "Being on the football team means I have to keep my grades up."

"How unfortunate."

"Mmm." He examined my face carefully, concern knotting his brow. "How are you feeling? Do you need bandages? Some painkillers?"

"No." I pressed my nose to his shirt, breathing in his scent. "I'm okay. It's mostly bruises."

"I can't believe Tyson would do this." That deadly calm was back in Cash's voice. "I mean, I know I saw him try and throw a punch that one time-"

He broke off, and we shifted uncomfortably, unwilling to acknowledge the past.

"But I never thought," he finished finally, "that he'd actually..."

"He's done it before," I said quietly. "That time when-"

"You showed up to English covered in bruises?" Cash's eyes widened. "Shit, Alyx, I had no idea..."

The worry in his tone warmed my heart, and I reached up and rested my hand against his cheek. His eyes closed beneath my touch.

"I'm surprised you remember that," I murmured after a moment.

"I...I cared, even back then." Cash's eyes fluttered open again, meeting my gaze.

My stomach gave a nervous lurch.

"I didn't know why," Cash continued. "But I did. I think," he added slowly, brushing the hair from my face, "that's why I was so mean to you. I-I wanted you so badly. And I didn't understand why, and I thought maybe...maybe if I was horrible enough, if I just kept pushing you further and further away, then I could force it out of me-The feelings."

We sat in silence for a while, letting the weight of his words settle in the air around us. I thought of the way I'd yearned for Cash back then-Yearned, and hated. If there was anything the past few months had taught me, it was how much lust and hate could truly mix-Could be one and the same.

"I'm gonna tear him to pieces," Cash said suddenly. His body was taut and tense beneath me.

"Tyson, you mean?" I asked, grazing my thumb across his bottom lip.

"Yeah."

"Good."

Cash laughed a deep, rumbling laugh that reverberated through his chest.

"Oh, that reminds me." I climbed from his lap and crawled to the end of the bed, reaching for where my school bag sat against it. I rummaged through it and pulled out an old book.

"I brought you this," I said, settling back into Cash's lap, this time with my back against his chest.

Cash gently took the book from my hands, smoothing a thumb over the worn cover of 'This Burning Heart.'

"I completely forgot we had to write that English reflection," he admitted. "Granted, I never read your book..."

He hesitated, then added, "Do you have a favourite book?"

"Yeah." I felt my cheeks burn, thinking of 'The Midnight Train' sitting on my shelf in my room. "But it's cringy and sappy-"

"I want to read it," Cash broke in. "Can I read it?"

"Okay," I said after a pause. "I'll bring it."

"Thankyou." He pressed a kiss to my neck. "Want me to read you some of this?" He held up the book in his hands.

"Do you have a favourite part?" I asked softly.

"Yeah."

"Read me that."

Cash complied, his soft, murmuring voice filling me with warmth, chasing away the darkness Tyson had left behind.

And after a while, when my eyes grew too heavy to keep open, I fell asleep, safe within his arms.

- - - -

Cash dropped me back home at eight o'clock that night.

As soon as I entered the house, Elena came rushing over, face flushed with anger.

"Where have you been?!" she demanded, hands fixed firmly on her hips. "I have been worried sick, Alyx, wondering where you were, who you were with-"

I winced guiltily, staring at my feet. After everything that had happened, I'd forgotten to text Elena and let her know I was safe.

"I'm sorry," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I totally spaced. I promise it won't happen again."

"Wha-How-" Elena gaped after me as I started up the stairs.

"Alyx Miller!" she shouted, following me up the first few steps. She paused on the fourth. "You can't just leave mid-lecture-"

"I'm really, really tired, Elena," I said, which was true. And I didn't want her to notice my injuries. I had to get to my room before she looked too closely. "I promise you can tell me off tomorrow."

Elena opened and closed her mouth, as though heavily conflicted. "Okay, fine," she said finally, shaking her head. "But tomorrow, you and I are sitting down and having a long talk."

"Can't wait," I called back, reaching my bedroom door.

But as I turned the door knob, Elena added suddenly, "Oh shoot, I almost forgot. You had a visitor, and I didn't know what time you'd be back, so I told-"

"Robert," I gasped, staring in open shock at the figure sitting on my bed.

He stood at once, gaze going straight to the bruises littering my face.

"What," he demanded, "the fuck happened to you?"

A/N: Thanks for reading!