I closed my eyes, trying with everything I had in me to stop my tears from falling down my face. My hand slipped from the edge of the bridge. This was it, I thought. There is no going back now. I prepared myself for the hit I was going to have to face. My body hitting the water was going to be fatal. There was no way I would survive this.

I held my breath, waiting for my body to hit a cold hard surface but instead I fell into two soft arms, surrounded by a sweet scent.

I opened my eyes. My body had fallen backwards into Ava's arm instead of forwards into the deep waters.

Still holding my upper body with one arm, she lifted my legs from the edge of the bridge, making sure i was no longer in danger.

She looked at me, her eyes widened, her hands shaking and a single tear fell down her face. I felt bad for her, I didn't want her to see me like this.

"I'm sorry you had to see this, I'll going home now." I said. I tried to walk but my shaking legs prevented me from doing so.

She grabbed my arm. "Home? You're not going anywhere before you talk to me."

"Why? You made it clear you didn't care about me. I thought you were happy I was out of your life?"

She raised her eyebrow. "Where did you get that bullshit from? You were the one texting me you never wanted to see me again."

I sighed. It finally hit me. James had been lying to me all this time. I sat down on the ground, leaning my back against the bridge. I hid my face in the palms of hands. "That wasn't me." I quietly replied.

Ava sat down next to me. "What do you mean it wa-" She stopped talking as she looked at me. Her finger gently traced the bruise marks on my neck and arm.

Her already worried face filled with even more worry. "What happened to you?"

I turned my face away from her in shame. "Nothing."

She put her hands on mine. "Don't lie to me."

"Why would you care?"

"Because I care about you Rachel. I always have and I always will."

"Then why didn't you help me? Why didn't you look for me? Why was no one there?" I started quietly sobbing.

"I thought you wanted nothing to do with me. Your dad had called you in sick everyday and every time I texted you, you would shut me out."

"My dad? Oh." I let out a laugh. I hadn't even talked to my dad in years.

She turned her gaze to me. "Be honest please Rachel, what happened?"

"James happened."

"D-did he do this to you?"

I nodded. "I deserved it though. It was all my fault."

"Good God Rachel. Whatever happened it was not your fault. Don't ever think it was your fault." She said pulling me closer to her. "I'm gonna kill that guy." She said through gritted teeth.

I kept quiet, I didn't want to talk about everything that happened.

"Why were you sitting on the edge of the bridge, do you know how dangerous that is?" She said.

I bit my lip. I looked down without saying a word, playing with the bracelet on my wrist.

"I know."

"Then why would you put yourself in such danger?"

I kept looking down.

"Did you- Were you planning on..." She gulped. "Jumping?"

"I just don't see the point in life anymore." I quietly said.

"Oh baby." She said, I could hear the sadness in her voice. She put both her hands around me and pulled me in to her, closer than ever. Her hand was stroking my leg and for the first time in weeks I felt safe again. "I wish I was there for you. God I should have seen through this all." She said. I could feel her tears fall on my arm.

"It's not your fault." I said.

We sat there in silence for a while, both a little lost for words.

"I can't go back to him Ava, but i don't know what to do. He will post those videos and pictures of me the moment he finds out i'm gone."

She tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and cupped my face with both her hands. "We'll figure it out together okay? I'm not letting you go back to him. I'm not leaving your side."

I smiled. "Why were you at the bridge this late?"

"Oh don't worry about it." She said. "I don't want to bore you with that."

"Please, any distraction would be nice."

"Okay." She took a deep breath.

"When I was younger, a little around your age, I lost my uncle to suicide. He was my best friend. I could talk to him about anything and he would always give me advice no matter what the topic was. He never failed to amaze me with his advice." A slight smile appeared on her face.

"He was the funniest and friendliest guy I had ever met. He was one of those funny uncles, who you just can't help but love, you know? So when I lost him it was extremely hard on me. I lost my best friend and the one person I shared everything with. I never realized how badly he was struggling. He was always so upbeat and he seemed to not have a care in the world, but you never really know what goes on in someone's head. 12 years ago he jumped off the very bridge we're now sitting on. It took me months to be able to be at this place, it always made me sad. One day I decided to face my fears and I went up to this spot. After that I came here every week. When it's night and it's quiet I like to come up here and you know, talk to him. It may seem weird but this is my way of honoring his memory. I usually just rant about everything that's going on in my life and I ask for advice like I always did when he was still here."

She took a deep breath. "I already went this week but I was at home and I couldn't sleep. I was worried about you. I felt lost and I had the urge to come up here. I ignored it at first but the feeling wouldn't go away, so I eventually decided to come up here anyway. 'Talking' to my uncle always gives me a great deal of comfort so I was going to do exactly that. When I arrived here I saw a girl sitting on the edge of the bridge. I wasn't sure what to do at first, I was a little scared. I never expected it to be you when I asked her if she was okay."

"I don't know what to say. I am so sorry for your loss and I'm so sorry I put you through this. I didn't know you-"

She put her finger on my lips and stroked my cheek with her other hand. "Don't worry sweet girl, you have nothing to be sorry about."

I looked up to her. "I really thought you hated me."

"How could I ever hate you, if anything I'm madly in love with you."

"Do Sam and David hate me? James told me they were happy I hadn't been at school."

"No no no, not at all. They actually reached out to me yesterday, asking if I had heard anything from you. They couldn't get a hold of you and you hadn't been at home for quite some time. They care about you Rachel."

I nodded, still not fully believing what she said.

"Will I ever be okay again?" I bit my lip, fighting back the tears.

"You will be more than okay baby. We'll get you the help you need and we'll go to the police tomorrow."

"I can't go to the police, he did nothing wrong it was my fault."

"You can't see it right now, but this guy deserves to be in jail. Trust me when I say going to the police is the best way to deal with him." She said stroking my hair.

"Okay I trust you."

She stood up and hold out her hand. "Come on, were going home."

I shook my head. "I don't want to go home."

"My home, silly."

I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up. She put her hands around my waist and we slowly walked towards her apartment.

"Do you maybe want to shower or take a bath?" Ava asked me once we arrived at her apartment. "I wouldn't mind to take a bath." I replied. "Will you join me?"

"If that's okay with you, I would love to."

I smiled. "I wouldn't want anything else."

The bath was filled and Ava had already made her way inside. I was a little nervous to be naked in front of her. I was struggling to feel confident with my body covered in bruises, not to mention the amount of times James had made it clear how ugly I was.

I got undressed and slowly made my way to the bathroom. I covered my body as much as possible with my hands and arms, ashamed of what I looked like.

Ava looked me up and down. I could feel her eyes burning on all the places I had bruises and wounds. She gulped. I knew she wanted to say something, but she decided not to.

"You don't have to hide yourself for me, ever. You're beautiful."

"I'm sorry, I just don't feel very confident right now."

"I'll be confident for the both of us, because if you could see yourself through my eyes, you'd never be insecure again."

I smiled. "Now come in, it's cold." Ava said.

I stepped over the edge and set foot in the water. I sat across off Ava.

"Are you really gonna sit so far away from me?" She asked with a pouty face.

I laughed. "You're needy." I turned my body around and laid down in between her legs, my head resting on her chest. I had missed the comfort of being with her. My body on hers felt comfortable and safe. There was no danger, just safety.

She put her arms around me and we just sat there in silence for a while.

"I almost lost you today." She suddenly said with pain in her voice.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"Don't be sorry, I just... It's hard to think that things could've turned out really different tonight."

"I don't know what had gotten into me. I won't try it again."

"I want to help you, but I don't think I can. I can only do so much." She played with my fingers. I could tell she was nervous.

"I'll find help, don't worry."

"I don't want to lose you."

"You won't." I said.

"Good." She smiled. "I will always be by your side."

"Promise?" I asked.

"Promised." She replied.

She placed tiny kisses on my neck and for the first time in a long time I didn't flinch. I let my head fall back a little, allowing her touch on my body.

"I'll keep you safe, sweet girl. He will pay for what he did."

I didn't quite understand what she meant by that, but I didn't care enough to ask. I felt safe. She made me feel safe.

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just wanted to quickly thank you guys for commenting and liking!!!! there are always a handful of people leaving comments and it makes me extremely happy!!!!!! much love 💗💗💗