Resisting my step-brother 2

Last time

I had managed to pass out on the kitchen floor and was starting to come around to the sound of frantic banging on the front door. I couldn’t move, all I could do was lift my head slightly. I put my hand to my face and then examined my hand. It was covered with my blood. My blood was also spread across the floor where I was laying. The knocking stopped and suddenly a face popped up through the glass of the kitchen door. It was Gemma. 

“f**k! Elle!” She shouted trying to turn the handle. 

“Elle, I need you to unlock the door!” She shouted and it seemed like it was too far away to get to. I shut my eyes and put my hands flat on the ground to try and lift myself up. The agony from my wounds were excruciating and I yelled out in pain.

“I... I can’t... it’s... it hurts” I managed to mutter.

“Elle, come on! I can’t get in unless you unlock the door” she explained. I gathered as much strength that I could muster and dragged my body towards the kitchen door.i leaned myself against it and raised my arm above my head, turning the key inside the lock. She pushed it open gently and squeezed through. 

“Elle! Oh my god” she yelled and squatted down in front of me to examine my injuries.

“We need to call an ambulance” she stated, reaching for her phone. I shook my head and grabbed her hand. It had suddenly come to light. 

“Elle... who did this to you?” She asked me hesitantly. I was crying hysterically at this point from the realism of it all. 

“Did... did he... did Dan do this?” She stuttered in shock and I nodded. I could see the hurt and sympathy invade her eyes as she connected the state I was in with how Cameron would leave her. She gasped and took her phone out.

“Please, I don’t want...”

“I’m not calling an ambulance Elle, I’m calling Liam” she said raising the phone to her ear.

“No!” I screamed but it was too late she was already speaking to him.

“No Liam! For once you are just going to have to listen to me. Elle needs you and I can’t move her on my own. I need to get her out of here before he comes back!” She yelled and I felt helpless. Watching the drama unfold in front of me.

Moments passed and the dizziness was overwhelming. My eyes were beginning to shut and Gemma was sitting with me trying to attend to my injuries. My eyes were partially open but slowly dropping. I saw Liam’s feet step in front of me and I managed to look up to him. His expression was filled with worry and anger. He was panicked. 

“Okay, I’m going to carry her to the car, get the door for me and we will take her to my place” he said. Their voices seemed like they were fading away. Before I passed out I saw the roof of Liam’s car... everything went black. 

As my eye lids slowly parted, I tried to make sense of my surroundings. I was laying in a bed, my body was covered by the sheets and my body was bare. I looked around and noticed Liam sitting in a chair beside me. The room was a neutral colour, beige and cream. It looked very modern but warm. The furniture matched the beige wallpaper along with the bed covers. Liam looked exhausted, his eyes were shut and his arms were folded across his chest. Where am I? I tried to lift myself up but grunted at the pain that shot through my body.

“Agh” I hissed and Liam jolted awake.

“Woah, woah, take it easy” he calmed me and placed his hand behind my back. He helped me to sit up into a comfy position and perched himself on the bed beside me. I noticed that he had been crying because his face was blotchy and red. He must have cried himself to sleep whilst I was passed bout. He took my hand and held it on his lap.

“What happened Elle?” He asked me and I looked down at the quilt, ashamed and embarrassed of what my relationship had become.

“Gemma said that Dan had done this” he confessed and I started to sob. 

“I was late” my voice cracked. I cleared my throat and sighed.

“Dan assumed that it was because we...” I stopped as a tear fell from my eye. I didn’t need to finish my sentence, Liam knew and he cupped my cheek ever so gently. 

“Elle, I’ll kill him” he threatened. I shook my head and said “please Liam, I don’t want you to leave my side. If you go to him then I don’t know what would happen”.

“He can’t get away with this Elle!” He exclaimed and I placed my palm against his hand that rested on my face.

“I need you Liam, please... don’t leave” I begged him and his face softened. He took in a deep breath and nodded. 

“Fine, but you’re not going back there Elle!” He said. It went quiet for a minute before I noticed Liam was wiping a tear from his face.

“I’m sorry” I apologised and he tensed his brows.

“Don’t” he said bluntly. He placed my face in his hands and said “don’t you dare say sorry for what that prick has done. I watched it happen to my sister” he blinked.

“I’m not having it happen to you to” he whispered to me. Our faces were centimetres from touching and I could feel his breath but my lips. He edged forward slowly.

“Okay, I managed to get most of... your...stuff” Gemma stopped and stared at us. Liam turned to her and Gemma started smiling.

“Was I... interrupting?” She smirked and I shook my head. Liam turned back to me and flashed an apologetic smile.

“I’d better go and have a shower” he excused and slid off of the bed. Gemma grinned at him mischievously as he passed her and left the room. She walked over and sat in the chair next to me.

“I see there is still some unfinished business between you two” she said smugly. I rolled my eyes at her and dismissed her comment.

“Gem, where are we?” I asked and she sat forward in her chair.

“We’re at Liam’s” she replied.

“But I thought Liam was living with Mark still”. Gemma sniggered.

“No, he moved out a couple of month ago and bought this place, he’s doing really well in his job. He decided it was time to get a place of his own”. I scanned the room in disbelief that he could afford a place like this.

“Why didn’t he tell me?” I asked and she shrugged.

“Probably because it had never come up in conversation” she suggested. She shifted slightly in her seat and leant towards me to grab my hand.

“Elle, why didn’t you speak to me about this? I would have understood, more than anyone else could” she sighed and I looked down.

“He’s only hit once before today. That was only a little slap and it didn’t mean anything” I excused.

“It’s not just about the hitting. It’s about the control. Dan could have said something to you so that you change the choices you would normally make, or he might change his tone so you know to back down. It’s all a part of the abuse and it could have got a lot worse” she said. I thought back to all the times he raised his voice at me, gave me a sign of warning and manipulated me into changing me mind. I didn’t realise that Dan was like this. 

“Gem, he wasn’t like this at all. The first few years were amazing. What if this is just a little blip?” I defended and she let out a long sigh.

“Yeah, and what if the next time he actually kills you or you turn out like my mother?” She replied. The shame of the person I had become brought me to tears and Gemma reached over and hugged me.

“We are here for you Elle, you have to promise me you won’t go back to him. I’m talking from experience” she softly whispered.