When I got home I pinned up blankets on the broken back door. I swept quickly and checked for bugs throughly in my room since my window had been open for so long.

After killing a mosquito, I decided I'd sleep on the living room couch. After that, I moped to the bathroom.

The swelling in my face had gone down but now I was left with ugly bruises and a blood vessel in my eye popped. My hair was oily and stuck to the semi-open wound on my forehead. Blood decorated my neck and chest, my back and side. I felt numb to my appearance. I took off my clothes and reminded myself to throw them away after my shower. The water was so hot my skin turned red, but I felt it was the only way to get today's events off.

I got dressed in leggings and a pullover and then went to the kitchen to make a sandwich. Ham and cheese had never tasted so good. After cleaning up, brushing my teeth, one last bathroom trip, I laid down on the couch and pressed an ice pack to my face.

Spongebob filled the empty house. My eyes burned and lips quivered but the tears never felt. In fact, my eyes were dry.

"You'll be okay," I whispered to myself. It was shocking to me what happened. It wasn't normal but knowing Rudy and Tyler were dead gave me peace. I wondered what would happen to the bodies, but I figured Sam would tell Rudy's people.

I was almost asleep when a thought popped.

Do I tell my mom about Tyler? She might not even survive past the news that he had been alive this whole time. With a pounding headache, my swirling thoughts put me to sleep.

When I woke up at noon, two men were at my door. I almost went to grab a knife, pan, something, but I saw a van behind them that read, Will and Son Repair it.

"Good morning, miss," one of them said. He was the oldest looking so I assumed he was Will.

"Hi," I mumbled. Cleared my throat and repeated,"Hi. You're here for the door and window." I let them in.

I showed them the damage, they discussed it and came back to me with good news.

"Amazing. Thank you so much."

Will smiled. "Ought to be thanking, Florencio. That is one expensive glass door."

I nodded and gulped. "Yeah. I'll think about calling him sometime." While Will called numbers to stores, asking about new glass for the door, I approached the guy measuring the door.

"Hi."

"Hi, miss. Uh," he stood up offered his hand to me. I shook it. "I'm Quinn." He stared at my face unsettlingly. "May I ask what happened to you?"

"I'm Parker and..." my eyes flicked to the tv I left on last night. Spongebob was walking down the stairs in his house. "I fell down stairs."

"Wow. A lot of stairs?"

"You have no idea," I breathed, smiling to show I was fine. Then, "Do you happen to do this kind of thing when no one is home?"

Quinn nodded and reached into his breast pocket. "Yeah, all the time." He handed me a business card. "People leave a spare key at the office," he pointed to an address on the card, "that's us. Then we fix up while they're at work."

"Oh, good. So, if I needed to run some errands for the rest of the day that'd be alright?" I was going to bother Florencio. It may have just been a day but I didn't want to wait. I wanted him back now.

"Of course! Just leave a key with me."

I quickly got ready and smeared some concealer over my bruises. I was sure it looked worse, but I didn't care. I kept on my pajamas and slipped on shoes. Rummaging through the junk drawer, I found the spare key and gave it to Quinn.

I was grateful the house next to us was empty and so was the one in front. Edith's car wasn't in her driveway yesterday and still wasn't today. Wherever she was, I was glad it wasn't here and in my business. Everything was taken care of. I felt decent for the first time in a while.

The drive to Florencio's felt effortless. Standing in front of his door was the hard part. I closed my eyes and rang the doorbell. I waited outside for almost ten minutes. Oh, come on. I knew his ankle was hurting, and his shoulder, and his hand... never mind. I knocked again. Nothing. His car wasn't here but Florencio was stubborn and would try and drive himself somewhere. I was thinking Sam took his car and left Florencio here alone. I swung around to the backyard gate and it was unlocked. The back door into the house was also unlocked.

I walked in and noticed a glass of water on the counter filled with ice cubes. Shivering, I pulled my hood on. Florencio could at least turn on the heater.

I searched for him everywhere. I was in the hallway upstairs when someone grabbed me from behind, restraining my arms. I tried to fight back but the back of my knees were kicked in and I fell forward. Before my face hit the floor, I was flipped over and a body was on top of me.

"Fucking, Parker," Florencio heaved above me. "What are you doing sneaking around? I-I thought you were one of Rudy's guys."

Somehow Florencio got my hands under his knees. "I can't feel my fingers."

He got off me and stood up with great effort.

His ankle!

"Let's go sit." I tried to help him to his room, but he shook me off and limped to his bed.

He took a deep breath and motioned for me to sit. To avoid angering him more, I sat on the other side of the bed.

He rubbed his eyes. "Scared?"

"Yes. What if you put me in a headlock?"

His shoulders shook. "You're not close enough."

Instead of laughing I shrunk away. "You don't want me close."

"Why are you here?" He asked me, a mean tone in his voice.

"Because I missed you." I itched to touch him. I wanted to kiss him until he felt better and he touched me the way he used to.

"Parker... you know what happens. Look at your face." He scooted closer and traced my battered face. "It's because of me."

I tried to press my face into his palm but he didn't let me. "It's okay. My eyes are better now and—"

"What are you supposed to tell your mom?" He said, exasperated. "You're always beautiful, but, you look like hell right now!" He stood up and limped to the dresser to support himself. "Are you okay with the scar that will be left behind on your forehead? The memories of what happened?"

I looked away, uncomfortable now.

"No, look at me."

He was hurting my feelings, but I did so.

"You're going to look in the mirror and remember I did that to you." He was so confident. My mouth curved angrily. How could he think that?

"Stop telling me what I'm going to think," I told him, getting up and walking to him. He tried to move back, but the pain in his body prevented him from doing so. My fist balled. "Do you not want me anymore? Is that it?"

He held my face carefully and this time when I pushed my face into his palms, he let me. The heat of his hands traveled through my face and down my spine. "I'm not careful with you," he admitted. "Honey, I can't get over your face." The white of his eyes turned red. "Tyler was going to slit your throat. All because of me."

"You're making this so hard," I hushed. "And you are careful with me." He didn't look convinced. "And Tyler didn't kill me, because of you."

"You were kidnapped because of me."

"Remember that one time I slapped you?" I blurted.

He grew weary. "Yeah, why?"

"Because you're making me very angry and I'm thinking about slapping you." I wasn't really, but I had to put my frustration into words somehow.

He sighed and let go of my face. I hugged him. If he wanted me to leave I would. I just needed one last hug. I needed to pretend we were okay and after this he was going to make love to me. I didn't deserve the fantasies though. I broke up with him and he was putting his foot down, saying it was over for good.

"I'm not mad you," he said quietly, leaning into me. "I don't want to let you go, Parker. I'm just so scared of hurting you again."

"You're hurting me right now," I whispered. "I hate that I left you and that you won't take me back. It's stupid and I deserve it."

He pulled me back slightly so we were face to face. I thought about the last time we kissed and how rushed and broken it was.

"Do you really want me to leave?" I asked, feeling defeated.

He shook his head. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes."

"I don't want you to hate me."

"I can't hate you."

"Parker." He kissed my forehead. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I don't want what happened to happen again."

"It won't," I said, frustrated. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry if I hurt you," I apologized suddenly. The breakup affected him too.

He squished my cheeks together. "You're apologizing? Have you not been listening to me this whole time?"

I gave him an indifferent look.

"I'm sorry, honey. You only deserve the best and I haven't given you that. I don't deserve you."

"Stop fighting me. Florencio, what happened is over now." He pushed me away again and walked to his bed. My heart was aching but I'd leave, if that's what he really wanted. "Bye, Florencio," I mumbled, turning and walking out of his room. It was extremely humiliating to hear my feet shuffle on the carpet and to painfully click on the hardwood floor.

"Parker!" I heard him yell. I was at the bottom of the stairs already and he was at the top. "You walk fast." His breath came out in short pants and he was sweating.

"Florencio don't..." he was breaking my heart. "We're not together anymore. Coming here was dumb." I turned quickly so he wouldn't see my sad expression.

"Just stay there!"

I waited and when he finally reached me and spun me around, I crossed my arms to put a barrier between us.

"I don't mean to fight you. I want you here with me. I'm sorry. It's just hard to think about everything, but I know I want you, if you'll let me have you."

I smiled hesitantly. "Yeah?"

"Yes, but I'll constantly be telling you how sorry I am."

He was beating himself up and wouldn't stop. He was trying to repair the damage and I'd do the same.

"I love you," I told him, hoping it'd cheer him up. I knew he loved me too and wasn't afraid of his response. This should've been the first time we said this. Not like before when we confessed it quickly, afraid to let the other go.

He smiled. Not a fake one either. A big one that showed off his teeth and made the corner of his eyes crinkle. "I love you." I threw myself into his arms and he gasped, falling over.

"Oh!" I landed on top of him and he groaned, curling away from me. "Your shoulder, ankle, hand! Gosh, everything is wrong, huh?"

That made him laugh. "It's okay. It just hurts a lot."

Despite his playful tone, I still felt bad.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, pulling me back on top of him. "I'll be careful this time." He was referring to last time when he grabbed my face too hard.

I nodded, feeling nervous. When he pressed his lips to mine, I shuddered. He kissed me softly and held my face gently. The more warm I felt, the more love seeped into my heart and I felt safe.

Later, we laid on his couch. I was worried about his shoulder, but he kept insisting I lay down how I wanted to.

I held his bandaged hand. "Thank you." I looked up at him and he shrugged. "Does it hurt?" Another shrug. "Florencio!"

He chuckled. "It was just stitches and he didn't even get me that deep."

"You shouldn't be walking a lot on your sprained ankle."

"Okay."

"Also letting me lay on you! What about your shoulder?"

He just hummed and ran a hand through my hair.

Questions about yesterday bothered me.

"Florencio, about yesterday—" immediately he tensed. "Y-you shot Rudy and Tyler?" Although them being gone ensured my safety, it was... disturbing to imagine Florencio committing such a evil act. Even if it was to evil people.

"Rudy killed Tyler," he told me after a minute.

"Rudy told me he was going to do that, but I just thought that maybe he'd kill you first."

"No. He shot him and then tried to get me." His hand pet my hair more firmly. "Honey, are you... disgusted by what I did?"

"No." I kissed his chest "You did it to protect yourself. It's just weird that I have to imagine you in that situation. No one should have to go through that."

"You're too sweet."

We talked for hours. Much of it was nonsense but I was happy. However, I did get irritated when Florencio said he'd buy me a new phone.

"Don't, I can—" he shut me up by kissing me.

"Just take it," he murmured against my mouth.

He kissed me until I forgot what we were talking about. "Fine. That reminds though, I have phone calls to make."

Florencio let me barrow his phone to call my mom. Thankfully, she hadn't texted me really at all and didn't question that I "dropped" my phone in the toilet. Next was Gina. She said she tried to call me and decided to not visit my house when I didn't answer. She was embarrassed she had gotten so mad at me.

"It's okay, G," I assured her. "I'm sorry for not being there for you. Are we okay now?"

"Yes!" She squealed. "I missed you. I hate fighting."

"Me too," I agreed. We talked for a few for minutes before hanging up. I jumped when I turned and Florencio was behind me.

He frowned slightly. "It's okay."

I hugged him and kissed his chin. "I know."

"Spend the night?"

Nodding, I let him take me to his bedroom. After getting ready for bed, I stripped out and of my pants and threw on one of Florencio's shirts. I snuggled into his soft sheets and fell asleep to him murmuring such sweet things to me, I told him I loved him over and over again.

-

Mom didn't come back until later that next week. Thankfully my bruises were in the phase of being yellow and green. My forehead head was scaring over, but it looked kinda badass. Mom was pissed I fell down the stairs at Florencio's house. She said I needed to be more careful. Well more like, "you need to be more careful! What if during the wedding you had a broken leg and a neck-brace? Imagine how ugly those pictures would've looked."

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't that.

She pulled a white slip out of her suitcase. "Pretty right?" I was looking at the dust on her nightstand so my reaction was late.

"Oh, yeah. It's okay."

"Okay?" She repeated, offended.

"It's pretty!" It was simple and long. I wasn't looking forward to having to wear spanks though. With a material that thin, it really outlined every curve and roll I found distasteful. I thumbed the spaghetti straps. I prayed it got cold and I'd have to wear a sweater.

"Is Florencio looking forward to coming?" She asked, pulling out a clothes bag cover. Her eyes widened. "Oh, shit. I forgot. I just remember talking to you about that so I..."

I shook my head. "It's fine. Uh, we got back together." I waited for her displeased reaction but she didn't give me one.

She raised an eyebrow. "You still want to invite him? It's so recent."

Smiling, I thought back to our time together this past week. "Yes. It's solid this time. I'll ask him."

"Well, do whatever you want to do I guess. Get out so I can try on my dress. Also, iron your dress please and hang it up. Wedding is in a month!"

-

"Florencio," I called sweetly. He turned to look at me.

"Parker, it's eight am. Aren't you tired?"

I crawled from my side of the bed to his. I would always be amazed at how big his bed was.

"No, I'm wide awake."

He rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. My eyes drifted to his hurt shoulder and he caught me.

"I'm fine," he reminded me. I was always asking if he was.

"I know." I smiled. "Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to go with me somewhere." It had been a few days since I told my mom I'd invite him.

He hummed.

"To my moms wedding."

His eyebrows scrunched together and he pushed me away, turning his back to me. "I don't think she'd want me there."

"Yes she does. She invited you personally." I turned him over. "Please? I need someone to hang out with. I won't know anyone there except for my grandma."

"Will it make you happy?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yes."

"Okay then."

"Thank you!" I leaned down and kissed him. "I'm wearing white so you can wear whatever color you want." Not that I expected him to wear blue but what if he did?

He closed his eyes and pulled me

down on him. He placed kisses along my exposed shoulders and neck. The tank top I was wearing allowed me to pull a strap down.

His eyes fluttered open and a knowing smile appeared on his face. "So pretty," he praised me, sliding his hands under my shirt.

Florencio was very gentle with me these past two weeks. Every time he touched me, I fought to ask him to touch me harder. I was too embarrassed to ask or initiate, but we hadn't had sex yet. Florencio healed quick and was back to walking somewhat normally. So he resumed his schedule as did I mine. You'd think I'd be over being so shy.

When he didn't move to pull my shirt down lower, I slipped out of the straps and pulled my top off. My breasts spilled out and Florencio's grinned. I let out a breath of doubt I was holding. He glided his tongue over my nipple and rolled the other between his fingers. They pearled painfully. My breaths came out in short pants. I yelped when Florencio bit me. The pleasure traveled from my chest, zoomed through my stomach, and straight to between my legs. He looked up at me and lifted up slightly while holding the hard nipple between his teeth. He smiled and kissed me. It started soft but soon I was whisked away into a growing aggression. His tongue traced the seam of my lips and I opened. Eventually I pulled back and heaved air back in my lungs. My lips felt swollen and bitten. Florencio grabbed my jaw and claimed my mouth again.

"Can I take off your shorts?" He asked, moving his mouth down to my neck. I rolled my head to the side and nodded yes. He pulled my shorts and panties off. I parted my thighs and Florencio's hand stayed on my hip, going up to rub my torso, then teasingly pinch the fat on my thighs.

"Please, please," I begged, spreading my fingers over the firm, hot skin of his body.

He didn't make me wither any longer and gave me what I wanted. His hand slipped and I was given the pad of his finger circling the throbbing bud. Another finger fitted inside of me and I gasped when he pressed against what he was looking for. Squirming, the tightness in my abdomen built and my hips humped to the movement of his hand.

"That's it, honey," Florencio coaxed me. "Come all over my fingers." His finger sped up, mashing on the place where I couldn't contain my cries. Panting, I clamped his hand between my shaking legs. Sweat beaded down my forehead. I breathed in and out steadily to try and clam down.

I felt Florencio kiss my lips, but I was too out of it to respond. "Is my girl done?" He murmured.

"No."

He laughed and kissed all over my face. "Good. I want you to do something. You up for it?"

I perked up and nodded. "Yes. I am."

Whatever he wanted me to do, he didn't tell me, because his face was back on my chest. He suckled on my breasts, leaving small bruises behind. His smooth tongue and fingers created the ache again between my legs.

"Florencio!" He prodded me open again and I was so sensitive I was already wanting to finish again. He pulled his hand away before I could and kissed my distressed face.