Take Care of Her

A Warning

I hear Aiden go into my bathroom, throwing things as he looks for me.

"I know you're here, Jennifer," he sings out. I close my eyes, hoping this is just a really weird dream.

I hear my closet door open, and I know it's not a dream. Noah is still on the phone with me, which I'm grateful for, so I'm sure he heard when Aiden grabs my foot and drags me out of the closet. I gasped and dropped the phone in my shock.

"There you are," Aiden says, standing over me. I lay on my back, eyes wide, his face covered in bruises. "What didn't you miss me?" He asks me, touching my face softly. I turn my head away from him.

"I don't want you here, Aiden. You need to go," I say to him, my voice surprisingly strong. He frowns, and his eyes turn dark. He puts both of his hands on either side of my face and forces me to look at him.

"Don't say that. You're mine, Jennifer. I have a right to see you." I keep chanting to myself, 'he won't hurt me,' as I close my eyes to avoid looking into the eyes that suddenly have no warmth, no love.

"I need you to leave Aiden," I tell him calmly. Suddenly, pain shoots across the back of my head, and I groan. I wasn't expecting him to pick up my head and crash it back into the ground.

I open my eyes with a start, but Aiden's face has now split into two, and he seems to be spinning in a circle. I blink, trying to refocus my eyes. I could feel warmth spreading across the back of my head and had the quick thought that I'm probably bleeding.

"Where's Justin now, hmm?" He hums out, touching the side of my face softly. "He wasn't there last time, and he's not here now. Why is it you trust him so much?"

I couldn't understand what he was talking about, my head hurt so bad I felt like I could pass out.

"He'll be here," I groaned out, confident that Noah and Justin would be here any minute.

Aiden frowns again, before suddenly smiling.

"He'll show up for you after the fact. That's what he did last time, right? When he killed my father." His words took my breath away. His father, who's his father?

"That's all he's good for, showing up way too late and trying to make up for it," he explains with a crazy grin on his face. I feel him trail his fingers down my throat softly. I swallow out of habit, my head buzzing.

"He'll listen to you when you panic and tell him some crazy story, like you didn't want it." I turn my head away from him, suddenly feeling like I need to throw up.

"I didn't want it," I whisper out, trying to move my legs unsuccessfully, as he was sitting on them.

"Liar!" He shouts, his hands around my neck suddenly. I gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. "I was there that day! You wanted it, I saw it all! You're nothing but a w***e that doesn't want to get into trouble." his fingers keep tightening, and I open my mouth to try and suck in a breath. Unsuccessfully.

Right when I think I'll pass out from lack of oxygen, he releases me and stands up. A rush of oxygen hits my lungs, and I cough. I turn to my side and try to get up. My head is pounding, and my chest is tight. I continue to cough as I crawl away.

"Of course, we don't want the party to start too soon. Justin has to stick to the script." I had no idea what he meant, but I heard someone shout my name downstairs.

"Now, be a good girl until I come for you again." He says, leaning down and touching my hair as I fall onto my side, unable to keep myself upright.

As I'm still trying hard to breathe properly, I spit at him. He growls before slamming his elbow into my cheek. My head hits the floor, and everything goes black.

_____

*Noah*

I've never driven so fast in my entire life. I was sure I'd get either hit or the cops on my tail. Which would be a good thing. Lead them to the problem.

My heart races as I continue to listen for Jenn. I can't hear much, but I knew when Aiden found her because it sounded like the phone was dropped. Anger swells within me, and my foot slams the gas pedal down to the floor of the car. I have to get there.

I pull up to her house and get out of my car almost before I can put it in park. Her front door is wide open, and her furniture is all turned over or broken.

"Jennifer!" I shouted, hoping she'd answer and I'd know she was okay. Silence greeted me. As soon as I went to race up the stairs, I heard a loud thump. My heart speeding, I basically jump up the stairs and rush into her room.

I stop dead when I see her lying on her side in front of the closet. Blood on the floor near her, and her face sunken in. I fall next to her, my hands shaking. Bringing my hand to her neck, which I notice is red, I look for her pulse.

"Come on, Jenn," I feel her pulse and release a breath, "Open your eyes, Jenn." I encourage. She doesn't, and I go to pick her up and notice the back of her head is covered in blood.

"s**t!" I swear loudly, throwing off my jacket, I fold it up and place it on the back of her head, hoping to put pressure on it. Picking her up and making sure the jacket stays in place, I rushed out of her house and to my still-running car. I place her carefully in the passenger seat and hop into the other side.

I drove as fast as I could to the nearest hospital. On my way, I pass cop cars heading toward her house. I shake my head and focus on getting to the hospital in one piece and as quickly as I can.

Looking over at her, I could only swear again, "Hold on, Jenn," I said more as a prayer than anything.

Pulling up to the hospital, I rushed out of the car and grabbed Jenn. I go through the doors shouting for help.

A nurse runs over and guides me to an empty gurney. I place her on it gently, and the nurse starts shouting for a doctor.

"She has a cut on the back of her head. I tried to keep pressure on it. Her house was broken into, so I'm not sure what the extent of her injuries are," I explained quickly, watching as a few more people came rushing over, pushing the gurney towards surgery.

"Please help her," I whisper to no one in particular. A nurse grabs my arm and drags me into the hall.

"Do you know if she has any allergies to anything?" I didn't look at the nurse as she talks, my eyes staying on the doors as they pushed Jenn through.

"Penicillin," I mumble off distractedly. She rushes off before giving me the 'stay here' motion.

I move like a zombie to the waiting room. I try to call Justin, but he doesn't answer, and anger builds in my chest. I call Tyler, not having Jan's number, and he answers.

"Noah? What's going on it's late?" I guess I never noticed the time; at least it had nothing to do with the 'business'.

"Jenn-" I pause, taking a deep breath, "Jenn's in the hospital. I couldn't get a hold of Justin." I explained, trying not to let the anger come through.

"We'll be right there," Tyler says quickly before hanging up. Since I couldn't get Justin to answer, I sent him a text explaining what was going on.

I continue to sit there with my head in my hands, ignoring the blood still on them and on me.

"Noah!" I look up and see Jan rushing to me, tears streaming down her face. "What happened?" She sits down next to me, trying not to break completely.

"She called me, saying someone was in her house. I got there as fast as I could. She told me it was Aiden. When I got there, she was unconscious and bleeding from her head. So I rushed here," I explained quickly, feeling empty and angry.

"She tried calling me earlier, but when I tried to call back, she didn't answer," Tyler admits, looking at his wife and her tearful face.

"Yeah, she said Justin wouldn't answer either," I tell him, hoping he wasn't trying to take the blame. "I tried calling him, but no answer. I sent him a text letting him know what's going on." Jan nods, trying to keep it together as she silently sobs.

"You're the young man who brought in the girl? Jennifer White?" A doctor says, coming towards the small group. I stand and walk towards her, nodding.

"She's out of surgery, she had a skull fracture on the back of her head and a shattered cheekbone. We sutured up the cut on the back of her head, and the skull will heal with time, though she will have restrictions. We did have to place a plate and a couple of screws to fix her cheek. Looks like no other major trauma," she explains while looking at the papers in front of her, "She does have bruising and swelling around the throat, her throat will be sore, and talking might be difficult at first, but that should heal nicely." She continues. I close my eyes, trying hard not to let the anger take over.

"Thank you, can we see her?" I ask, she nods, and leads me to her room. I didn't stop to see if Jan and Tyler were following. I knew they were.

When we enter, I see Jenn lying there, her head wrapped, and she has a giant gauze covering her cheek. Her throat is definitely bruised, and her heart monitor is beeping consistently, soothing something in me. I closed my eyes before I moved to the side of her bed, pulling a chair to sit there with her.

I knew when Jan walked in because she started sobbing loudly. I didn't look at her; I couldn't take my eyes off Jenn. She looked so broken.

Nothing like the fierce woman I was so used to seeing.

Nothing could be more heartbreaking.