I feel something lick my face, and hear heavy breathing. I open my eyes, and I see Bruno hovering over me with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. I smile, and I start petting him gently while he's excitedly barking and licking me. I start laughing, and he sits in my lap, wagging his tail.

The aroma of something being cooked fills my nose, and then I see the door open. I see Dr. Rian, and his hair is messy. He holds a plate of food in his hands, and smiles at me.

"Bruno is really friendly," he says. "He loves people."

His morning voice is husky, and I find it pleasing to listen to. It sounds much deeper than his normal voice, and I'm trying my hardest to not have any more inappropriate thoughts. There's no reason for these thoughts to form anyways because he hasn't given me any reason to think of him sexually.

"I can tell," I say through a laugh. "He's so adorable. How old is he?"

"He's three years old, and I've had him ever since I started working at the hospital. He was a stray, I took him to the vet, and I just fell in love with the little guy." He explains with a smile on his face.

Bruno barks, and then shakes his body, like he just got out of a bathtub or something. He jumps off of the bed and stands still while wagging his tail again. I can't help but smile because he's just too cute, and the story of how Rian found him makes me adore him even more.

"I knew you'd be hungry, so I made you breakfast." He says, and I smile up at him.

"Thank you." I say politely, and I take the plate from his hands.

"You're welcome." He says and winks.

Why does he always wink at me?

The plate has two over easy eggs, and a couple pieces of bacon on the side. I also see French toast, with Nutella spread on it, and strawberries.

"This is really good," I say with a mouth full of food.

"Why thank you. I'm no high class chef, but I try my best."

I smile at him, and then dip the toast in the runny egg yolk. It drips down my finger, and I put my finger in my mouth and suck it off slowly. I can feel his eyes burning on me as I do this.

"Once you're done eating I'm going to check on your welt and bruises. Just let me know when you're finished." He says.

He smiles at me, and Bruno follows him out of the room. I'm left alone, devouring the delicious breakfast that Dr. Rian has prepared for me. Once I've finished the meal, I set the plate down on the dresser, and then lay back down on the bed.

I inhale the scent of the blanket, and it smells like strong cologne, and slightly antiseptic like how the hospital smells. I close my eyes, but when I do, I see my mothers face. I cringe inwardly and try to shake the thoughts of her beating me, but it doesn't work.

It's like I can still feel her hands, and I start crying. Again.

Why am I so weak?

I'm so vulnerable, and with my knee being in its current condition, it's making me even weaker. The past few years of my life have been nothing but absolute hell, and all I want is to try and find my heaven.All I want is for this to end, and for me to finally move on and receive some peace.

Why does my life have to be so convoluted?

I wish I was born into a life where my mother didn't feel the need to abuse me, and that my father was still alive, and I didn't have any emotional damage. A life where I had more happy memories than sad ones.

I just wish my life was normal.

"Alex, are you okay?" Dr. Rian asks worriedly.

I'm startled for a moment because I didn't even hear him enter the room again, but then I sigh before staring directly into his eyes. I don't even want to lie to him and say that I'm okay, because truthfully, I feel as if I'm falling apart all over again.

"No, I'm not." I say, barely audible.

The look in his stunning blue eyes says it all. He pleads for me, and he looks sorry. I don't want him to see me like this, like I'm some weak girl, but that's exactly what I am. Weak.

"What's wrong?" He asks, softening his voice.

"I just wish my mom wasn't the way she was." I whimper, and wipe tears off of my cheek.

"Oh, Alex." He says sympathetically, and pulls me into a hug.

I cry for a while, and my tears wet his shirt. His large hands rub my back carefully and slowly. I feel that warmth come back, starting in my chest, slowly spreading everywhere else, which slightly makes me feel better.

"It's okay, Alex. Everything will be okay, I promise." He whispers into my ear, and his breath tickles my skin.

"No, it's not!" I nearly shout, choking on a sob.

"Alex, shh. It's okay, I'm here." He consoles me.

I pull myself from his arms, and his hands rest on my waist. He way his large palms feel against me really makes me feel comforted and supported, like he'll have my back. He's the only person that could make me feel better besides Xiu and Savannah.

I hide my face in my hands, embarrassed at my vulnerability.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. For all of this." I sniffle.

"Don't apologize, Alex." He says.

"I just hate crying in front of people, because I don't want them to think that I'm weak." I admit.

"Alex, don't do that to yourself. If you need to cry, then cry. You're a human, and you have feelings. Don't try to hold them in." He advises me, rubbing my lower back.

Dr. Rian's large hand tracing simple designs on my back makes me feel tingly and excited, which temporarily pushes my sadness aside.

I do as he recommends, and I just cry some more. I'm sharply inhaling and sniffling, and I probably look like an animal or sound like one, but I know that Dr. Rian wont judge me.

Once I feel like I've got it all out, I let out a enervating sigh. He wipes a tear from under my eye, and my whole body feels like it's about to combust. His large thumb pushing the tears away makes my entire face heat up, and it's like I can still feel his finger there.

I look at him, and his blue eyes are gleaming which forces a smile out of me. Not only was he right about crying it out instead of holding it in, but just seeing him makes me feel better.

Alex, stop it.

"There's that smile." He says, and his smile appears on his face.

We just sit, gazing at each other intently. He looks down, and his cheeks almost automatically redden with scarlet. Kind of like last night when he had to examine my breasts to see if any bruises had formed. I look down and remember that I had taken my pants off before I went to sleep, and I'm still not wearing them. I want to hide from his burning stare, but at the same time I want him to keep staring at me hungrily.

"I need to check on your bruises again, Alex." He says while shaking his head.

"Oh, okay." I reply.

He does a similar examination like last night, and I can't help but feel a certain wanting whenever he touches me. Like a fire starting in my body, and slowly spreading out. Every part of me knows that it isn't right to feel this way about him, but I can't help it.

"Let me get some ice for that welt."

I clasp my hands together while I wait for him to bring me the ice. Once he comes back, I give him a small smile and he returns it back. He presses the ice to my welt, and my head jerks back at the unpleasant frosty impact the ice makes on my skin, and the welt still slightly stings. I wince, but then I feel his hand on my shoulder, kind of like he's comforting me.

"Sorry if this isn't very soothing, but this'll help." He says softly.

"It's okay," I say, and I look up from my lap. "Thank you."

I take a long look at his face, and he's not really concentrated on me, more so on my welt. His blue eyes are wide, and his eyelashes are long. His jaw is clenched, and his lips are slightly parted. He's so close that I can feel his breaths against my face, and I shiver. He makes me tilt my head, and I feel his hand grab the side of my face. His long, cool fingers slip behind my ear, and I feel them in my hair.

I inhale slowly, and as his eyes dart to mine, I look away. I don't know why I can't just look at him. I guess it's that embarrassment that I'd feel if he catches me looking at his perfectly sculpted features.

"I'm going to use this ice on your side as well, Alex." He says, bringing me back from my fantasies.

"Oh, okay." I say.

I prepare myself for the ice, and the coolness startles me, but it doesn't feel as bad as it did on my welt.

"Pretty soon you'll have to go to the hospital, and they'll take your splint off and you'll get a brace, which is much more manageable." He informs me.

"Got it." I say while nodding.

"I have to work, are you sure you'll be okay here?" He asks.

"Yeah, I have Bruno to hang out with." I say and laugh.

He laughs too, and he walks to the bathroom. I hear shower water running, and I hear music playing. After about twenty minutes, I see him in his usual doctors uniform, and his hair is still slightly damp.

"If you feel any pain, the medicine is in my bathroom." He says.

"Okay," I say quickly while pulling the blankets over me. "Bye, Dr. Rian."

"Goodbye, Alex." He says.

He looks over, and Bruno has a sad look on his face, and I suppress a laugh at how cute he looks.

"Bye Bruno, you be a good boy while daddy's gone!" Dr. Rian says in a silly voice, and a snort comes from me.

I hope he didn't hear that.

He starts laughing, and my cheeks flame like usual whenever I'm embarrassed. He snorts too, which causes me to laugh even harder than I already was. I'm just now noticing that whenever he smiles, he has dimples, but they're very small, which is why I never noticed them until now. His cheeks are red, and his eyes are squinted. Laughter bubbles from the both of us, and Bruno just stares at us like we're deranged.

"I should get going before I'm late." He says while holding onto his stomach.

"Okay." I say through a laugh.

He says goodbye to me one more time, and to Bruno before heading out of the door. I sigh, and a smile spreads across my face as I think about him. I shake my head.

Foolish.

I call out for Bruno, and he jumps onto the bed, and I bury my face into the memory foam pillow before the sound of Bruno's snoring causes me to regain consciousness.

"Damn it, Bruno. You snore loud." I groan.

I take my headphones and put them in my ears, and I play a few of today's hits before I finally doze off.