My body was hurting, but it was nothing compared to the ache of my broken heart.

Gabriel sat by my side, stroking my hair and expressing how sorry he was. He never meant for this to happen. He loved me. I was everything to him. But also that I knew how he viewed Cameron. I should know better than to question him again.

His words washed over me, not fully penetrating the thick fog that surrounded me. All I knew was that his apology sparked deeper fears. Would this happen again? Was he being honest?

After the first time, I thought we had moved past violence. I had trusted him to never harm me again, but trying my hardest to please him hadn't been enough.

Tears fell to the floor, tears for myself but most of all for him. What had happened to him in order to make him this way? If only he would let me help him.

I blinked, feeling dizzy and slightly nauseated. The fog refused to give way even though I tried to reach through to Gabriel on the other side.

"Adam, are you all right? I'm so sorry, baby. You know I don't want to hurt you like this."

Careful touches grazed tender spots on my scalp, they were meant to soothe and comfort, but all I wanted was to lick my wounds in peace. I leaned away.

"Don't be that way, baby. You have to forgive me. I'm so sorry." He roamed my body, carefully stripping me of the protective shell I'd tried to erect around me. I didn't want his hands on me. Not now.

Words tried to form in my head, but the sounds leaving me had nothing in common with them. I couldn't talk.

"Answer me, Adam." His voice became clearer every time he spoke. Perhaps the fog was finally lifting.

"Y-yes."

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I couldn't answer. I didn't want to explore what the nausea meant. My head ached after the repeated impacts with the floor. Each hit hadn't been too hard, but perhaps it was enough to give me concussion. I wasn't sure, but it felt like something was wrong.

"You have to stay awake for a bit, baby. Don't fall asleep on me."

My eyelids were heavy, but I knew he was right. At least I could try until he called the hospital.

Gabriel didn't leave my side, he sat by me, carding his fingers through my hair while constantly making sure I was awake. I had no concept of time, seconds blurred into minutes...into hours, but I kept hoping that someone was on their way.

* * * *

I woke up with a throbbing headache, closing my eyes to the piercing light filtering through the blinds. Gabriel lay curled around my back, still as if he had passed out from exhaustion. He must have stayed up by my side until he no longer could keep either me or himself awake.

Wincing, I tried to sit up. The world spun on its axis, but I fought to remain steady. My parched throat and full bladder begged me to move even as my head protested. I threw a glance over my shoulder, feeling guilty at the sight of Gabriel's harrowed expression. Objectively, I knew that it wasn't my fault that he had stayed up too long, but I still felt bad. Something was wrong, and I wanted to fix it. I wanted to fix him.

I made my way to his tiny bathroom, walking on unsteady feet that barely carried. The image in the mirror had me looking in the other direction. I didn't want to see the mark of his fist displayed across my face. Not again.

As I began to strip out of my clothes to get into a much-needed shower, my phone rang. Cursing the soft signal, I wobbled out of the bathroom to fetch it as fast as possible. I didn't want Gabriel to wake up and see me like this.

I pressed answer without seeing the name on the display.

"Hi." My voice came out as a whisper, dry and feeble.

"Adam, I'm a bit tired of not seeing you in class. What's going on?" Cameron's reproach had caught me at the worst of moments. I wasn't ready to deal with his disappointment.

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you. You don't sound well. Are you in your room?"

"No..." I replied, feeling horrible as Cameron's worry fed my anxiety.

"Will you at least come to the studio this afternoon?"

I took a deep breath, preparing for the inevitable failure. "I can't."

"Why not, Adam? What is it that you're not telling me?"

I wanted to bite back that he had no reason to pry. What I did with my life didn't concern him, but the words lodged in my throat.

"Look. It's none of my business, but I'm worried about you, Adam. Something is wrong, and I won't sit back and regret it later. I have a vague guess where you are, and I'm sorry, but I'm outside your building. I'm coming in."

The call ended as I slid along the concrete until I sat on the floor. Gabriel stirred where he lay, blinking his eyes open. I feared for what might happen, but I had to believe that Cameron was on his way to my room, not Gabriel's.

Gabriel yawned, stretching his limbs one by one until his eyes became focused. "What are you doing over there, babe?"

I wanted to ask him not to call me babe or baby, not when I was still in turmoil after what had happened, but I remained silent. Stirring up more arguments would be a bad start of our day.

"Come here." He motioned for me to climb into his arms. I stared at him, trying to wade through the dizziness.

A sharp knock disturbed the odd atmosphere.

"Did you call anyone?" Gabriel accused, his voice changing from soft to cold in an instant.

I swallowed, trembling as my boyfriend rose to his full height. "Did you?"

"N-No." I hadn't. Cameron had called me, but it couldn't be him. If it was, I would be in a world of trouble.

Gabriel ran a hand through his ruffled tresses and straightened his clothes. The knock sounded again before he reached the door.

A cool draft breezed past as he opened it enough to speak. "What are you doing here?" Gabriel said, moving to stand in the way to prevent me from seeing who was on the other side.

"Can I come in for a bit?"

Fear coursed through me at the sound of Cameron's voice. He shouldn't be here. He couldn't be here. It was all wrong. If he saw me like this I would have to come up with yet another lie.

Gabriel straightened his back. "It's a mess, and I have to get to class. Why are you here anyway?"

"I'm looking for Adam."

"He's not here."

"I would like to make sure." The decisive tone was new. I hadn't heard it in Cameron's voice before. He was on a mission. Too bad I didn't want to be in the range of said mission. It would only mean complications for both of us. It wasn't his place to interfere.

"You don't have the right to search my room."

"Why are you being defensive?" Cameron asked, and I knew the game was lost. Cameron was determined to find me, and the only way to stop a disaster would be to stand up and defend my boyfriend with lies.

"Gabe. It's fine," I said, hoping he would understand what I was trying to do. Based on the fiery anger boiling beneath the surface, he was less than pleased with my interruption.

Cameron pushed past Gabriel despite their difference in size. He knelt and touched my forehead as if a fever was my likely affliction. I shook my head at the nonsense, but that only worsened the dizziness that hovered around me.

"Stop, Cameron. I'm fine." I tried to wave him away, but he wasn't having it.

"I'm taking you to the hospital."

"We've already been there. It's just a mild concussion," Gabriel said from behind. A surge of nausea followed his words. Why had he lied?

"You were there and they let him home like this?" There was a strange undertone in Cameron's voice that I didn't understand.

"Yes, they did, it's nothing serious," Gabriel replied.

Cameron glanced at me. "Well, I'm taking you for a second opinion then. Can you stand?"

"This is none of your business." Gabriel's anger was on its way to the surface, and I knew I had to deflect the situation before it got out of hand.

"Cameron. I'm fine. Just leave and I'll call later." Please, I added silently.

His deep amber eyes searched mine, but his certainty never wavered. "You're not fine, and I'm not leaving you here."

With strength I didn't know he possessed, he lifted me into his arms and carried me toward the door. Circling my arms around his shoulders, I hid my face from the confusing world and hoped that nothing would happen while Gabriel's curses rang in the background. I knew I should have fought to remain, but some part of me also wanted a chance to recuperate in peace.

The door slammed shut behind us, causing tears to fall from my tired eyes onto Cameron's flannel shirt.

"You'll be okay, Adam. Don't worry."

I wasn't sure what he meant because the fog was back, enveloping me in a strange sense of calm—a place where nothing really existed, where nothing mattered. There was pain, but a silent pain instead of that screaming ache that tore my heart into shreds. Perhaps I could rest for now.