NOT EDITED!!!! 

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-&-

Chapter 16

        The clicking of my window sliding open yanked me out of the first dream less sleep I had lulled myself into in days, and the sight of Rex's dark head of hair pushing into the open space was the only thing that kept me from screaming.

         "Rex? What are you doing here?" I whisper-hissed against the cold of my room as he pulled his wincing body inside.

        "I-I need your help Rose...." His voice was soft, barely a mumble, but it was enough to have me jumping up in worry.

        "What's wrong?" I all but ran to his hunched over side as his legs began to wobble.

        "I got... hurt." His voice was airy and breathless and as I wrapped his arm around my shoulder and dragged him to my bed, my heart dropped to my stomach.

        "What happened Rex?" I urged as he laid gingerly down on my bed and rested his head against the pillow.

        He murmured something underneath his breath that I didn't catch as his palm pressed firmly against his stomach, his shirt soaked in something dark and thick.

        "Rex... let me look at it." I tried to hide the tremor in my voice, but thankfully he was too out of it to catch my fear. I gently pried his fingers away from his stomach and jumped slightly when the wet soaked fingers clenched tightly around mine.

        Blood.

        I gulped.

        "Oh my God..." Rex's grip on my hand was the only thing keeping me from screaming at the grotesque sight in front of me. Rex's shirt was sliced open across his stomach... as well as his skin, and the blood that had gushed out onto his shirt was slowly starting to crust.

        "It's not as... bad... as it looks." He murmured even though his eyes were closed and his grip on my hand was loosening.

        "Rex, you need to go to the hospital. Now." I started reaching for my cellphone in frantic worry before his eyes snapped open and he pulled me back to face him.

        "Don't Roza... Don't get anyone else involved. The knife only cut through my skin, nothing else... Like a flesh wound alright?" Even though his grip was starting to grow weak his dark eyes were hard and determined.

        I could only nod slowly.

        "L-let me get the first aid kit..." I stood up on wobbly feet and with shaking hands I nearly ran out of my room and into the hallway bathroom. Luce always kept the medical stuff in the cupboard beneath the sink and I wasted no time in grabbing it and running back to my room.

        So much blood.

        Rex was still awake, but just barely as I sat on the bed next to him and rested the kit in my lap. "I-I need to take your shirt off..." He arched an eyebrow at the stutter in my voice but gingerly placed his arms in a way where I could cut the fabric away from his cut and pull the rest of the shirt off of him.

        I tried not to gape at him like a fish, but that boy was fine. Even though I already knew that. I saw his chest and insanely muscly stomach at that fighting match, touched it too, but now that I was freely running my hands over his six pack next to the cut, I couldn't help but blush.

        "This is going to sting." I mumbled more to myself than to him as I tore open one of the antiseptic wipes and place it carefully over the bloodied wound.

        "Fuck!" I jumped at the out burst but didn't stop dabbing the wipe over the cut.

        "I told you." I mumbled at his gritted jaw and eyes that were sealed tighter than a vault.

        "Just hurry up." He growled as I dabbed all the blood away that I could.

        "You're right, I don't think it will need stitch's, but I should probably wrap it up anyway." I sighed and shakily threw the bloodied wipe in the trash can beside my bed.

        Rex just grunted in response and tried to gently move into a sitting position, but I ended up having to help the stubborn fool. I grabbed the giant cotton square used to stop bleeding and placed it across the cut before wrapping the sticky gauze around his beautiful torso carefully.

        "You know I'm going to ask again Rex." I mumbled out as I finished the final wrap and patted the end down.

        His face was facing away from me, his eyes hard and dark as they glared holes into my wall. "I know." He grunted before allowing me to push him gently back on my bed.

        "What happened?" I turned in my sitting position to face him and gently rested my palms against his face in a cupping gesture. I wasn't sure if that was too personal or not, but it just felt like the right thing to do.... and I was right.

        His hard eyes stared up at me until he let out a heavy sigh, that caused him to wince, and the dark brown turned into his warm chestnut once again. "I haven't gone back to the matches yet, if that's what you think." He started carefully, his voice labored as if he was trying to decide what to tell me.

        I felt something relax in my chest and my breathing came easier at his words. He hadn't gone back, he hadn't broken his promise... yet. After he dropped me off at home two days ago I finally convinced him to swear not to fight again... but I think he only said that to get me to shut up.

        "Then how did you get hurt?" I stroked my thumbs across his tanned cheeks as he blinked heavily up at me and that action alone caused butterflies to swarm in my stomach.

        "A guy from a few fights ago didn't feel like I won... fair and square." He paused and searched my eyes for a moment before continuing.

        "He wanted me to give him the money he thought he was cheated out of, but I didn't have any to give." I didn't need him to say anything else. I might be naive and stupid most of the times, but I wasn't an idiot. I got the gist of his story.

        "How did he find you?" I made sure my voice was soft and warm as I brought one of my hands away from his face to run softly in his hair.

        "It was my fault. I shouldn't have taken that damned street to my house like a fucking dumb ass." He growled under his breath as he closed his eyes and groaned at the ceiling.

        I moved my hands away from his face and hair as he pressed his against his forehead, but his other hand shot out and grabbed my wrists before they made it very far. "Don't stop..." He mumbled and brought my hand back to his hair.

        I let the smile that tugged against my lips seep across my face as I gently played with his hair. "He was waiting for me with that fucking knife." He grunted but kept his eyes closed as he rested his cheek in my palm.

        The warmth that blossomed in my stomach at that small action was enough to make me teary eyed in happiness, but I pushed my twelve year old girl hormones aside and continued to rub his hair.

        "Why did you come to my house T'? I'm sure Trey's was closer-"

        "Trey can't know." He instantly cut me off and his eyes opened slowly to stare at me with the up-most seriousness. "If he found out... hell is going to freeze over a lot faster than any of us want."

        I raised my eyebrows at him but he just closed his eyes again and rubbed his palm across his forehead. "Trey is like my manager in a way, and if he found out one of the guys tried to take his temper out on me while were not in the rink... Let's just say, it won't be a pretty sight."

        I pursed my lips in confusion and halted my fingers long enough for him to open his eyes once again. "I still don't see why we shouldn't tell him-"

        Rex rolled his eyes and reached over to grab my hand that was pressed against his cheek. "A lot of fighting, and a lot of bruises, is what will happen if he finds out... And you don't want that, right?" He arched an eyebrow as his promise flashed across my mind and I shook my head in defeat.

        "Besides, if I went there he would get his mom to fix me up and that's a whole shit ton of questions that I can't answer." He growled up at my ceiling and despite the small smile I put on my face, my stomach turned distastefully. For a minute there, I thought he came here just because he wanted me to take care of him.

        "Why didn't you just go home Rex?" I had pulled my hands back so they were resting in my lap as his eyes followed the lines in my ceiling.

        A deadly silence fell between us as his jaw clicked and his eyes hardened. "No one there can help me Roza, that's all." I would have pushed harder but the tone in his voice was hard and clipped. I knew not to pry.

        There was a few moments of awkward silence again with me just sitting beside him with my hands in my lap before he spoke. "Thank you Rose." His voice was only a whisper but it was enough to send those butterflies in my stomach on overdrive once again.

        That was the first time he had ever told me thank you. Not that I had ever given him a reason too, but I knew for a fact he never said thank you to his friends, or anyone for that matter. Why was it always the little things he did that made me feel so... important?

        "I-I think you should stay the night... just in case it starts to bleed again." I said instead of 'you're welcome'. I felt like he didn't want me to, so I wouldn't.

        "Are you sure? I don't want your dad or sister walking in and getting you in trouble." He asked softly even though his eyes were already starting to close.

        I smiled.

        "Yes Rex, I'm sure. Dad's still on a business trip and Luce is staying at one of her study partners houses tonight." I didn't bother to mention Tate was down the hall though. Rex had other things to worry about right now and I locked my door anyway.

        "If you say... so..." I tried not to giggle as he fell asleep right then and there. Then again, losing a lot of blood will do that to a person.

        I sighed and got off of the bed before pulling the blankets up to his chest and grabbing a pillow that was sitting uselessly beside him. I picked off my quilt from the end of the bed before walking over to my window seat.

        I closed and locked the window before curling up against the glass pane and the wall with the blanket thrown over me and the pillow propped against my back.

        Sleeping like this couldn't be as bad as not sleeping at all...

        I wasn't sure how long it took before I finally drifted off to sleep, but the nightmare that plagued my mind made me wish I had just stayed awake to begin with.

        It wasn't until I felt something strong and stone like wrap under me did I tear my mind away from the terrors. Rex had lifted me off of the window seat and was walking back to the bed like I was as light as a pillow pet, despite the giant cut in his stomach.

        "Rex? What-"

        "Sh, go back to sleep Roza." He murmured against my ear before lowering me back into the covers with him right behind me.

        Before I could stop myself I cuddled into his chest and pressed my face firmly against his skin. Rational me could worry about this later, sleepy me was going to enjoy as much of Rex as I could get.

        "You're freezing Rose." He grumbled as my arm found its way around his back until I was clinging onto him like a body pillow.

        He pulled the blankets up to my shoulders and wrapped his own arm around my back as the other wrapped around the back of my neck till I could use it as a pillow.

        "If I had known you were planning on sleeping on the fucking window seat, I would have left Roza." He growled groggily into my ear and I frowned.

        "I didn't think you would be okay with me sleeping in the bed with you." I felt myself yawn in the middle of my sentence but I was too tired to care. He could ask me anything right now and I would probably answer truthfully. I was so out of it.

        There was a pause before his hand wrapped in my hair and held my head against his chest. "Don't be dumb Rose, it's your bed.... and I would never complain about sleeping next to you." He murmured against my forehead and despite my groggy mind I felt myself blush and pushed my face farther into him.

        "Rose..." He started softly a moment later, despit the fact that he told me to go back to sleep.

        I pulled my face away from his chest just enough to blink up at him with tired eyes. "What Rex?"

        He sighed and pressed his lips into my hair before continuing. "I'm so sorry Roza, about... about the other day. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or make you upset. I just already have to worry about keeping an eye on Trey's sister for the party and if you're there my whole attention would be focusing on keep you safe and I just-" His voice trailed off quietly as I snuggled further into him.

        He was so cute when he was flustered.

        "It's okay Rex, I understand."

        "Do you really mean that? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better? I know you do that a lot..."

        I smiled and tilted my head until my face was pressed in the crook of his neck. "I really mean it T', I promise." His hands wrapped in my hair and held my head where it was as he sighed.

        "Get some rest Roza, I can tell you haven't been sleeping well." He murmured against my hair and despite my efforts to enjoy this as much as I could, I felt my eyelids drift close.

        "Good night Rex." I murmured against his skin as my eyelids drifted close.

        "Good night baby flower."

-&-

        Rex was gone when I woke up the next morning, and despite the fact that I was glad he wasn't here when Tate picked the lock and came barging in to wake me up, my chest felt empty at his absence.

        It was times like these where I feared I had dreamt the whole thing. Not that I wanted Rex to get hurt, but it was the little moments we spent together that made me fall in love with him more each day.

        It's obvious how much he means to me now, how much I find myself relying on him... So what happens when I wake up one morning and he no longer wants anything to do with me? How am I going to readjust my whole system to a life without him?

        "Rose? You okay?" Tate's worried voice pulled me out of my mental ramblings as he sat across from me at the kitchen table.

        "Yeah Tate, I'm fine." I smiled at him at scooped a forkful of pancakes into my mouth. He didn't seem convinced and as his eyes narrowed at me in warning and he opened his mouth to respond, I changed the subject.

        "Do you know when dad's coming back?" I dropped my eyes to my food and twirled my fork around innocently.

        His eyes softened. "Luce says he should be back this afternoon, baby doll."

        I perked up immediately. "That means he'll be here for Halloween!" He smiled as I jumped up and dumped my empty plate into the sink.

        "Yeah Rose... Do you want us to take you Trick or Treating this year?"

        I paused with my hands in the soapy water as I mulled over his question. To tell you the truth, I really wanted to go to that party Rex was going to.... But there was no way I was going to tell Tate that.

        "Um, I don't know. I kind of want to do something with Luce this year..."

        Tate came around the counter and dumped his plate in the sink as well before raising an eyebrow at me. "Your sister hates anything to do with the holidays-"

        I was saved from answering anymore awkward questions when the doorbell rang and Tate's face fell. "I gotta go Tate! That's my ride, see you later!" I gave him quick hug, and ignoring the furious snarl that replaced his smiling face, I grabbed my bag and ran towards the door.

        "Hey you." Rex smiled down at me as I threw open the door and quickly stepped onto the porch before Tate could stop me.

        "Hey." I blushed like the little girl he always turned me into as his hand slipped into mine and he lead me down the steps.

        "You're in a hurry." He chuckled as I took the lead and began dragging him towards his car.

        I glanced back at him with a nervous smile as Tate's looming form stood in the doorway. "Tate's home, and he's, uh... kind of upset." Rex stopped dead his tracks, making me coming to a blistering halt as his hand pulled me to a stop.

        "No Rex, please don't start anything." I begged quietly and tugged on his hand, but he just shook his head and gritted his teeth.

        "If that fucker is pissed off that I'm bringing you to school, he can get over it." He growled through a clenched jaw and began to turn around, his hand still firmly gripping mine.

        "Rex please, please don't get into a fight. Let's just go to school, I'm sure the others are waiting for us-"

        "No Rosalyn. He needs to fucking learn that your not his responsibility, you're mine."

        The double meaning in his last words made something in my chest tighten until I couldn't breathe. H-he... he... I was his responsibility? I was his...?

        My whole body went numb and I lost all capability to resist him, which he noticed. He turned and glanced back at me as I stumbled to a stop behind him. "What?" He raised an eyebrow at my awe struck face, but all I could do was stare at him with an open mouth.

        "You- You... You just said I-I was yours..." I mumbled like a gasping fool as something dark past over his eyes.

        He tore his gase from mine. "Yeah? So what? It's not that big of a deal..." He growled under his breath but the faint tint of pink that started to creep up his cheeks made my knees weak.

        "Let's just get to school." He grumbled under his breath and began pulling me in the opposite direction, completely forgetting the furious Tate who had slammed the door closed already.

        Two hours later we were sitting in third period with Rex's arm draped over the back of my seat and me falling asleep against the desk top.

        His chuckle caused my droopy eyes to snap open and glance up at him. "What's so funny?" I yawned and straightened up in my seat as he glanced down at me.

        "You are."

        I raised my eyebrow at him but he just sent me a sneaky smirk before glancing around the room. His black eye had faded immensely only to be replaced with that blistering cut in his stomach that would make him squirm uncomfortably every few seconds.

        "I'm fine Rose." He sighed a moment later before his eyes glanced over to me. My worried face only grew but he just rolled his eyes and stood up as the bell rang.

        "Did you find something to do for Halloween?" He asked a moment later as he walked me towards driver's ed. Turns out they didn't punish him for the whole driving accident but they did take him out of the class... permanently.

        I shrugged and huddled closer to him as the crowd swarmed around us. "Luce is probably just going to take me trick or treating or to the movies or something..."

        "That's cool." His words were directed at me but I could tell his mind was somewhere far away from here.

        The rest of the day past by in a boring blur and it wasn't until Rex had dropped me off after school did things start to get interesting.

        "Hey dad!" I ran squealing into my father's arms as he stood from the couch in the living room with a warm smile on his face.

        "Hey kiddo, I missed you."

        Sure he did.

        I shook the hateful thought from my head and buried my face in his chest. "How was your business trip?" I mumbled around his shirt as he chuckled and patted my head.

        "It was fine dear, how was school?"

        I shrugged before letting go and flopping down on the couch with my backpack. "It was school, same old, same old." He grunted in response as he sat down beside me.

        "Are you going to have Luce and Tate take you trick or treating?" He asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

        "I was thinking about it, but there was actually this party I was thinking about going to."

        What am I thinking?

        "Really?" He raised his eyebrows at me in surprise as I shrugged and glanced up at the TV.

        "Yeah, I was hoping Luce could take me shopping for a costume tomorrow too."

        What am I doing?

        "Well that's... a wonderful idea, honey. You know, I was trying to think of a way to start... socializing you more. You need friends Rose, every teenage girl does." He patted my head awkwardly before clasping his coffee cup once again.

        Thanks dad...

        My father wasn't necessarily the most sensitive person, even though I know he tries to be. He had to be both parents to me ever since I came back and he's not particularly good at the whole mom part... but at least he tries.

        "Well I'm going to go do my homework, I'll see you for dinner." I stood and kissed his cheek before grabbing my back pack and heading for the stairs.

        Sometimes I just needed to be alone, away from everyone, even my family, and I had a feeling that tonight was going to be one of those nights.

-&-

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