Three days had passed since Eleanor has been assaulted.

Three days of pure hell.

Eleanor was released from the hospital the afternoon of that horrible day when the doctors made sure she was fine to go home. Her mother was so desperate to discharge herself from the hospital and go home with her daughter, but after a lot of convincing from Eleanor and my mom she finally gave up.

I didn't see the scene though. I heard from mom.

Because Eleanor didn't want to see me.

Imagine the pain that I went through when I heard she didn't want to see me. I only wanted to hold her all the time and reassure her and myself that she was safe but she didn't let me.

She must have blamed me for what happened and she had every right.

She must have hated me with passion.

She had every right to hate me.

Mom kept reassuring me that Eleanor only needed time after that drastic event that happened to her. And I kept telling myself that mom was right, that I should only wait for a few days. I couldn't think otherwise. The pain of never seeing her again was too much for me that my mind used every trick, lie and false hope to relieve me of it.

Mom, Emmy, and Mia stayed with Eleanor at her house for two nights. Eleanor didn't come to school for three days and didn't come to work for two nights. And she was coming back to work tonight, although Mrs. Pine had given her a week off strictly after she heard about what had happened.

I was so against her decision, not wanting her to tire herself. But mom said it was good for her to be distracted. I could see that mom was worried for Eleanor but she wouldn't let anything show on her face for my sake. But I knew something was wrong.

So after pestering her, she finally gave in and told me that Eleanor was not showing any emotions. She hadn't even cried for three days not even talked more than necessary. She was mainly in her room, staring out of the window with emotionless eyes.

I still could remember when I went to Eleanor's house that day after they left the hospital.

I just stood outside and looked at the lights inside her house. I was devasted. I knew she was hurt, but I was hurt as well. Why she didn't want to see me? Did she really hate me? Was our love over? Was she going to leave me just like that?

I didn't know how long I stood there, drowned in my miserable thoughts. I was brought out of my thoughts when the front door opened and a pale and dazed Liam walked outside. He stood there for a moment, just staring at me and I could see tears gathering in his eyes.

He sat down on the first stair and wrapped his arms around himself. I walked forward and sat beside him. We didn't talk for some minutes, We just stared ahead, drowned in our thoughts.

"I really don't know how to thank you, Chris." said Liam finally breaking the silence.

I glanced to my side a bit startled and saw him staring at me with teary eyes.

"You saved Eleanor today." he said. "You saved my mom as well. I owe you everything. Thank you, Chris. Thank you."

I pulled the now weeping boy into my arms and rubbed his back. It should have been so hard for him, thinking of himself as the only man of the family that have to protect his loved ones but not having the power or money to do so.

"Shhhh," I tried to calm him but a tear slipped down my eye as well. His pain was contiguous, seeping into my heart as I softly whispered words that my father had whispered to me not an hour ago that even I didn't believe at the moment.

"Everything will be fine. I promise. I will make sure of it."

And over the past three days, I had desperately clutched to those words and begged them to not be empty words.

So you could understand my excitement and nervousness to see her after three days. Mom had dropped Eleanor at the hotel that afternoon and there I was pacing in front of women's locker rooms, waiting for her to come out so I can at least say hello and tell her how much I have missed her.

My heart literally sank when I heard the creak of the door and I whirled toward it and saw my angel walk out, still oblivious to my presence. My heart leaped at the sight of her, happy to see its love after three agonizing days.

"Hello, Eleanor." I greeted her softly, not wanting to startle her.

She looked up and my heart clenched at the sight of her dead eyes. Her eyes looked so tired. She had covered her face with makeup and thankfully only a small cut was visible near her bottom lip or I would have burst into tears right there and then. She looked more thinner and fragile.

"Hi." she answered with a barely audible voice and dropped her face and began to fidget with her fingers.

"I'm so happy to see you, angel." I answered and took a step forward but my heart shattered as she took a step back and flinched a bit. "I won't hurt you, angel." I choked, hardly controlling my tears.

She was silent for a moment. "I know." she whispered and relieved me a bit. "I should get to work."

I watched her walk past me. It took all of my self-control to not pull her tightly in my arms and shower her beautiful face with kisses. Instead, I idly watched her leave, taking my poor heart with her.

"I will wait for you here after your work, okay?" I asked loudly, not going to give up on her so easily. "I will take you home."

She stopped with her back to me and was silent for a moment. "Okay." she said quietly. "Thank you."

And then she walked away. I sighed in relief. At least she wasn't that repulsed by me. Or maybe she was just afraid of going home alone after what happened to her. Shaking my head to remove the last thought I began to walk toward Jax's office. Whatever her reason was, she was coming with me and not hiding anymore.

I went to stand at the locker room's door at exactly 11 o'clock. I was nervous as fuck.

What if she only accepted to come so she can end our relationship and be done with us?

Was it why she accepted to come so easily?

The thought sent a shiver of fear down my spine. No! She couldn't do that. I wouldn't let her. I was ready to give her space as much as she needed but I wouldn't give up that easily. I wouldn't let that beautiful love go down the drain.

Never!

I practically jumped when the door opened and Eleanor walked out. She looked up into my startled eyes and for a second I could swear I saw concern in her eyes before they turned back to emotionless and dull eyes. She looked exhausted, or better to say drained. She was like a walking corpse, pale and dead. Seeing her like that was torture for me.

I cleared my throat and took a step closer to her. "Are you ready, angel?" I asked softly.

She nodded and began to walk down the corridor toward the elevator, clutching the handle of her bag in her hands. Her knuckles had turned white from her tight grip. Not being able to control myself anymore, I gently put my hands on top of hers and pried them away from the bag handle, grabbing her left freezing hand in my right.

She tensed at first and her cold hand was rigid in mine. I didn't look at her, just stared at the numbers that were changing on top of the elevator door, but I internally sighed in relief when she didn't pull her hand away and relaxed eventually.

We walked slowly out of the hotel, with no rush. All through the drive, we were silent and all of my attention was on Eleanor and every little thing she was doing. I was on edge, expecting her to turn to me any second and tell me that she hated my guts and didn't want to see me ever.

But she remained silent, looking out of the window. Her body seemed more relaxed than before. Her drooping eyes would close slowly only to snap open a second after like she was afraid to go to sleep.

I parked the car in front of her house and turned off the engine. I didn't want to rush her at all. All lights were off in the house, indicating Liam and Daisy were asleep. I glanced at Eleanor. She was once again clutching the handle of her bag while staring at her house.

"Liam and Daisy are not home." she eventually said. The vulnerability was evident in her weak voice. "Daisy was so restless in the past three days seeing me like that. She wanted to be with mom, so Liam took her to the hospital. They will stay in mom's room for the night."

She then turned her head to me. Her tired eyes were full of anxiety and fear. "I don't want to be alone." she choked, pleading with her tone and eyes.

"Do you want me to stay?" I asked softly. She nodded and I smiled warmly. "I will stay then."

My heart leaped with joy at hearing that she still trusted me enough to ask me to stay with her and at the same time was mourning for its angel's suffering.

I parked the car on the driveway and we walked into her house silently and walked up the stairs. I stopped before entering her room and moved on my feet uneasily. She turned to me and looked at me questioningly.

"Um," I scratched the back of my neck nervously. " I can stay in Liam's room if you will be more comfortable."

My heart sank as a ghost of a smile appeared on her face for a second. Or maybe it was only the trick of light on her face because of the shadow that it was creating on her face. The whole house was in darkness except for the room she was currently in.

She shook her head and walked inside the room and toward the wardrobe. I watched as she pulled out the long sleeve shirt and sweat pants that I wore last time and put them neatly on the bed before going back to rummage through her drawers.

"I washed them after the last time you wore them. They are clean." she said and then turned to me with a pile of clothes in her hands. "I'm going to take a quick shower."

I waited till she closed the door of the bathroom before I let out a tired sigh and walked to the door. I was tired. I have not slept well for the past few days. But a small smile tugged at the corner of my lips when I didn't hear Eleanor locking the bathroom door.

She still trusted me.

I fished my phone out and texted my mother, telling her that I will stay the night with Eleanor. I then sat there for a few seconds just running my hand through my hair thinking about what I should do. I glanced back at my phone when it vibrated and saw my mother's reply.

Be careful, Chris. That girl is so fragile.

Don't you dare to act like an idiot or you have to face me.

No funny business, young man.

I chuckled and sent a reply, reassuring my mom that I understood. I then stood up and grabbed the clothes that Eleanor had left me before walking out of the room and to the bathroom in the corridor.

I quickly freshened up and changed my clothes, before walking back into the room and that was when I froze in my steps and my eyes widened at hearing the sound of crying, coming from the bathroom.

My heart wrenched at hearing her agonizing sobs. I quickly threw the clothes in my hands away and walked to the bathroom.

"Eleanor!" I called as I knocked on the door. "Eleanor, love, what is wrong? Are you fine?"

No reply came but her crying increased.

Would she think about suicide?

I banged my fist on the door, getting worried by the second. The thought only increased my fear to 100 in a second.

"Eleanor, say something or I swear I will open the door and come inside." I yelled panicked.

Again no reply came from her. Only her cries got muffled a bit.

"Angel, you are killing me." I banged my fists on the door while speaking pleadingly. "Are you decent? Can I come in? Please say something."

No reply came and that was my cue. "Eleanor put something on." I hissed. "Because I'm coming in, in 20 bloody seconds. I swear I will come in."

I began to count loudly for her, hoping to hear her voice telling me she is fine and will come out or open the door and hug me. But nothing. I still could hear her crying.

"Fucking 20." I yelled. "I'm coming in."

I turned the knob and walked inside. What I saw broke my heart to the extent that I didn't know was possible. I didn't know to be angry, sad, scared, or anything.

Right in front of me, Eleanor had been sitting on the ground with her back to me. She was in her underwear and bra. Her long hair had fallen around her. One of her hands was on the floor, trying to clutch on the tiled floor and the other certainly was pressed to her mouth. A long bruise was visible a bit from under her hair on her back from top to bottom, certainly from where she had been slammed to the wall.

I was snapped out of my frozen state after a few seconds of just staring and mourning and rushed to her. I knelt on the ground and gently scooped her into my lap. She didn't resist. She threw her arms around my neck and buried her face into the crook of my neck and wailed loudly. Her tears soaked my neck slowly.

Tears formed in my eyes and ran down my face. Her pain was killing me. "Baby, please." I pleaded with her as I rocked us back and forth. "Talk to me. Just talk to me. Don't let your emotions bottle up. Please."

"I can't sleep." she wailed. "I want to sleep but I can't. Every time I close my eyes I see them. I see their feral eyes. I hear their nasty chuckles. I feel their touch."

I closed my eyes and pressed my lips hard together to stop my own sobs. It was too much pain. Too much. My heart couldn't function properly.

"I can't look at myself in the mirror." she continued to stab my heart. "Every time I look and see the bruises, It reminds me of them and their touch."

She then pulled away, her bloodshot eyes full of pain and agony got fixed on mine. She had wiped her makeup and my eyes zeroed in on the handprint shape bruise on her face, filling me with pure white anger.

"Chris, I can't continue like this." she shook her head furiously. "I'm scared and I can't do anything. I have made everyone who is important to me sad. You, mom, my siblings, your family, my friends. Tell me what I should do. Tell me."

I took a deep shaky breath and wiped my eyes, I then cupped her face in my hands and stared into her eyes with determination.

"I don't fucking know but you are not alone." I said. "I will be with you on every single fucking step. We will fight. We will go to therapy together. We will be fine, I promise. We will defeat this devil together. Do you trust me? Do you?"

She nodded her head and once again hugged me around the neck tightly as sobs shook her fragile body. I let her cry. I knew she had kept all of those feelings inside of her. Only God knew what kind of torture she had gone through in those three days.

I should have come to her sooner. I should have tried to comfort her sooner. But it was what it was. I couldn't change the past, but I would remain on her side until she felt fine enough, no matter how much she would try to push me away. That was a promise.

I sat there, still rocking us a bit and whispering sweet promises in her ear while caressing her hair. Finally, she calmed down and her sobs turned into sniffles and hiccups. I pulled her away from me a bit and brushed the hair from her face, kissing her forehead.

"Come on, angel." I said. "Shower, and then we will sleep tightly."

We slowly stood up, but Eleanor was in no condition to stand on her feet. Taking a quick decision, I peeled off my shirt and took off my sweatpants, standing only in my boxers and holding Eleanor up all the time.

Thankfully, Eleanor didn't even flinch as I stood in front of her almost naked or when our almost naked bodies got pressed together. My heart swelled in my chest at the amount of trust she had in me.

I guided us under the shower and turned on the water. I tried not to look at the bruises that had littered the front of her body. Even a simple glance was making my blood boil with anger and my jaw clench to the point that I could feel pain.

But I made sure that my touch was gentle as I washed Eleanor's hair and body, making sure to not touch her private parts at all. I felt honored to tell you the truth. Washing her was making me calm as well. I could say from her body reflexes that she was relaxed completely as well.

"Okay, angel." I whispered softly as I turned off the water after rinsing her and turned her to face me. Her puffy red eyes were half closed as she stared at me. She had to take off her underwear and bra and complete her shower.

"I'm going to stand in that corner, facing the wall with closed eyes. Can you complete your shower and wrap a towel around yourself? Do you think you have the energy to do so?"

She nodded slowly. I kissed her forehead before going to the corner of the bathroom and closing my eyes, facing the wall. I heard the water running for a minute then I heard a shuffling.

"You can turn now." She said softly after a few minutes with a hoarse voice.

I turned and saw she had wrapped a white towel around her body and her hair was covered by a towel hat on top of her head. Her clothes were on her hands. Her cheeks were flushed and she was looking everywhere other than at me.

"I will go outside to change so you can shower too." She said shyly, before opening the door and leaving, shutting the door softly behind her.

I smiled a bit and shook my head amused. I quickly washed my hair and body before taking a towel from the cupboard under the sink. I wrapped it around my body and brushed my teeth with the toothbrush that I had used last time before throwing on my clothes. Thankfully the ground was dry when I had sat on it and so my clothes were fine. I quickly washed my boxers as well, putting them on the heater in the bathroom in the hope for them to be dry tomorrow morning.

I then walked out and found Eleanor sitting on the edge of the bed. She was in a baggy sweater and sweatpants. Her hair seemed dry since she had used the blow dryer.

I towel-dried my hair, before dumping the towel in the basket. I turned off the lights and walked to the bed. I got under the blankets and called Eleanor.

"Come here, angel." I said softly.

She shyly turned to me and slowly crawled on top of the bed, toward me. I kept the covers up for her and admired her as she settled herself beside me and lay on her back. I lay down as well and pulled the covers on top of us.

I then snaked my arm around her waist and gently turned her to face me, pulling her more into me and putting one of my arms under her neck. To my delight, she snuggled into my chest as I began to play with her hair.

"I'm sorry for my breaking." she whispered.

"Don't." I answered firmly. "You should have not bottled those emotions up from the start. I'm so happy that you confided in me."

"Chris?" she called and I hummed in response. "Do you really believe that everything will be fine again? Do you think I will be fine?"

"Of course, you will be." I answered firmly one more time. I pulled away from her, wanting her to see my serious face and I was happy that I could see her hopeful eyes staring at me. "That's a promise. We will go to see a therapist tomorrow after school. We will take every step together. You are not alone, my love."

"Thank you." she whispered. I could see unshed tears in her eyes again. "Thank you."

I pulled her to my chest again and kissed the top of her head. "No need to thank me, my love." I whispered near her ear. "Now, try to sleep. I'm right here. Nothing will hurt you."