|| warning : this chapter contains sensitive themes, involving domestic abuse ||

"I'll call you later?" I asked Nolan as I was standing in his doorway, prepared to leave. 

"You better." He cracks a smile, and gives me a rye wink.

"Alrighty, bye Ducky." And with that, I stepped out of the doorway, striding towards my home. The lights were all one, which is strange for this time of night, since I didn't expect my mom and him to be home yet. 

Placing my key in the door, I can hear faint voices, and it sounds almost like an argument. Here we go again.

I step into the walkway, throwing my keys into a dish sitting on a front table, walking upstairs to toss my backpack into my room. But as I ascend the stairs, the shouting voices grow louder, and I can identify them as mom and Jerry almost right away. 

Tip-toeing, I sneak past the slightly opened door to my mother's room to my bedroom, and I almost make it in without being noticed when her door bursts open, and a red-faced and furious Jerry appears.

I freeze, my bag held in mid-air and my pulse racing in my throat. I've never seem him get this mad, sure he's been pissed at times, but his eyes are as red and bloodshot as his face, causing fear to pulse through me. 

"Where have you been?" He growls, breathlessly. I frown at him, gently placing my bag on the ground. 

"At Nolan's..." I respond gingerly, cocking my head to the side in confusion. 

"Oh, of course, because that's where you're spending all your time now, huh?" He slams his hands down on his hips, his frown growing deeper. 

"I-I-" I stutter, words escaping me. 

"That explains the D you got on your most recent physics tests!" He nearly screams, his hands shooting forward, fingers splayed apart. He looks absolutely insane, and he's genuinely terrifying me. 

But then his words begin to register, and a pit knocks in my stomach. 

"I-I studied so hard f-for that t-test." I stutter, twisting a ring on my finger nervously. 

"Don't lie to me!" He points violently to his own chest, squinting his eyes in suspicion. "You were over at that boy's house, doing god knows what, I wouldn't be surprised if you were pregnant already!" 

My jaw drops open at his words, anger, shock, and horror filling me. 

"What the- Nolan is my friend, Jerry!"

"If that's what you kids are calling it these days!" He lets out a humorless laugh, his throat sounding dry and hoarse. With his exhalation, I can smell alcohol on his breath. 

"Jerry, please calm down." My mother's voice appears behind Jerry, and I can finally see her face, and I gasp audibly. There is a newly forming bruise on her cheek, and terror fills me. 

"Shut up, Karen!" He screams, his eyes wild, and I flinch violently at his words. My mother cowers behind him, disappearing into herself. 

"Don't speak to my mother that way!" I snap without thinking, and after the words leave my mouth, Jerry's head turns back to me slowly, like an evil child from a horror movie. I begin to move backwards, my entire body shaking horribly. 

"How dare you, you little slut." He hisses.

This has to be a nightmare. I don't really like Jerry, but it's because he's generally annoying and odd, but this... I've never seen him do anything like this. And this fact terrifies me even more, because I officially have no power over this situation at all. 

"You're a failure. Failing a fairly easy subject, whoring around with the neighbor boy, having the nerve to fucking talk back to me?!" He starts to advance on me, and I back up farther down the hallway, stopping only once my back hits a wall. I cringe, turning my head to the side, waiting for the blow to come. 

He is right in front of me, and I can smell whiskey and cigarettes on his breath. He is breathing heavily, like a boar ready to charge. 

"You must be punished!" He screams in my face, spit splattering over my cheek, and I whimper pitifully. 

And his fist connects with my cheek, and I swear I hear a crack. Stars are swimming in my vision, and a scream escapes my mouth as I fall to the ground in a heap, clutching my cheek. 

The sound of an infant's cries fill the house, and I let out a slight sigh of relief. Jack. Jerry's head whips around, and I don't think. I just slip underneath his arm, grabbing my backpack as I fly down the stairs, his screams following me down each step. But I don't look back. I just grab my keys, flinging the door open with such force that it slams against the wall, no doubt leaving a mark. My legs carry me faster than I've ever run before, and I make a beeline for the one place I can think of. 

My fists pound on Nolan's door, tears flowing down my face and fear striking me, as I keep whipping my head around to see if Jerry is following me. The heavens have opened and rain pummels me, soaking my entire body in moments. 

"Nolan!" I scream, tears choking my throat. "Please, open up! Nolan!" 

The door flies open, and Nolan stands there, water droplets dripping from his hair and a towel wrapped around his waist. His eyes scan my face, and his brows furrow in confusion and anger. 

He grabs me to him, pulling me into the door, and locking it behind him. 

I stand in his foyer, soaked and sobbing, a complete and utter mess. 

"Piper, what the hell is going on?!" He asks frantically. 

"J-J-Jerry, he-" I break down, collapsing onto the ground, holding a hand to my temple. Nolan kneels in front of me, and his calloused thumb lightly brushes my bruising cheek. 

"I'm going to kill him." He growls ferociously, standing up and starting for the door. 

"Nolan! Stop!" I scream, scrambling to my feet and wrapping a hand around his bicep. His head turns to me, complete confusion crossing his face. 

"He hit you, Piper! He hurt you, and I'm going to make sure he gets what he deserves!" 

I take a choking breath, my throat hitching and hiccuping. 

"N-nolan, he'll just end up hurting you too! J-just...Call the police or-or something, but please!" I plead, my grip around his arm tightening painfully. 

His eyes move about my face, to the bruise, and back to my eyes that are no doubt puffy and red. And he releases a short exhale. 

"Fine. But I'm calling the police right now, and you're not going back there, you're staying here tonight." He grabs my hand and drags me up to his room, shutting the door behind him and picking up his cell phone from a charger on the wall. He quickly dials 9-1-1, and I just sit on the bed, rocking back and forth. 

"Yes, hello, my name is Nolan Howard, and there is a domestic incident occurring at 145 Timberland Road, please come quickly." He says frantically in the phone, and he hangs up after a few moments. 

He appears in front of me, smoothing my hair off my forehead, where the rain caused it to stick. 

"You're okay." He whispered, and pressed his lips against my forehead gently, lingering there for a moment. 

"He hit my mom." I whimper, hiccuping again. 

Nolan's eyes grow darker with anger, but he keeps his calm. 

"She's a strong woman, and so are you. The police are gonna haul his ass to jail and you're going to be okay. I promise." He whispers against my skin, and I wrap my arms around his torso, hugging him to me. Then I realize that he is still only in a towel, and I blush scarlet. 

"Nolan?" I say, motioning to the towel.

"Right, sorry." He stands up quickly, moving to the dresser and opening a drawer. I place my hands over my eyes, only removing them once I hear the shuffle of fabric against skin. I look and see he has pulled on a pair of sweatpants before grabbing another pair and a t-shirt. He hands them to me gently. 

"Here, go change." He whispers, and I smile gratefully, disappearing into his bedroom to slip on his clothes. The sweatpants are a bit too big, requiring tight tying of the string and the shirt is huge, but I don't care. They're soft and they smell like Nolan, like cologne and warmth. I look into the mirror and sigh. Black streaks appear under my eyes, and I grab a hand towel to wipe my face clean. Even after the wash, my eyes are still puffy and red from the tears, and the bruise is only growing darker. 

I exit the bathroom, and see Nolan at his window, peaking out. I join him, my shoulder brushing his. He turns to me, and wraps an arm around my shoulder. 

I look out at my home, and watch as two officers knock on my door, and it opens to reveal Jerry, and then they all disappear from our view. 

"It's going to be okay, Piper." Nolan whispers in my ear, placing a kiss on the top of my head. I nod, and turn to face him, wrapping both arms around his torso again, placing my head on his bare chest. He flinches when my wet and cold hair makes contact with his skin, so I pull away, only to have him pull me back, placing his chin on top of my head. 

We stay like that for what could have been hours before exhaustion begins to pull at my eyelids. I yawn, and pull slightly away from Nolan. 

"Come on." He whispers, and leads me to his bed, pulling the covers back for me. I climb in, expecting him to do the same, but he only settles in the bean bag chair on the floor. 

"Nolan?" I whisper into the darkness. 

"Yeah?"

"Could you-" I trail off, suddenly nervous to ask. 

"What?" He prods gently. 

"You don't have to sleep on the chair." I settle for, my gaze dropping to my shaking hands. There is a pause, and then I hear him moving towards the bed and me, slipping underneath the covers. He keeps a safe distance, as if trying not to touch me. 

So I turn, and cuddle into his chest, my head nuzzling at the base of his throat. I hear his breath hitch, probably at the coldness of my hair. Slowly, I feel his arms wrap around the small of my back, and he pulls me into him tighter, giving me another kiss on the top of my head. 

"Thank you, Nolan." I whisper against his chest. 

"I'm always here, Piper." He responds hoarsely, and before I can answer back, I am swallowed by the world of sleep. 

|| so excited to continue this story, it's a little different from my usual werewolf, just giving it a shot :) so please let me know what you think and please share this with friends :) ||

|| love, 

|| n o ë l l e ||