Phoebe

For the first time, I have felt an attraction towards another man, and now, because of my stupid decisions, I have to unveil my secrets.

I look up at Noah, angry that he called the cops, and I look at the two female cops looking down at me like I'm a victim. I am not some damsel in distress that needs to be saved-

"Miss. Marshall?" The blonde say's pulling me from my thoughts, "Just take your time and start from the beginning of that night."

"I-" I fiddle with the thing on my finger. I am so uncomfortable-

"Take your time." She clicks her pen, making me jump. When they notice me getting uncomfortable with Noah just sitting there staring at me, they ask him to leave.

"You sure?" Noah asks me, standing up from the recliner. When I don't answer, he gets the hint, "I will right outside, okay?" He leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

"Is that better?" The blonde cop asks, sitting down in the chair. I nod my head, staring at my fingers. "Just tell us what happened, Miss Marshall."

"Two nights ago, Jace Tyler Mathers came over, and he was pissed that he ran out of money. He knocked me over the head with something hard. Then that morning, I woke up with a giant cut on my forehead and boot-shaped and fist-shaped bruises all over my body." I feel bad that Noah thinks he caused the cut on my forehead.

"That night, Jay came over calling me all the names in the book and raped me twice in one night." I felt myself rushing to tell them that, "I ran into the bathroom after he raped me the first time and I told him to go home, that he was too tweaked. But now pissed, I ran. I told him no..." I hurry to say, "I shouldn't have ran! I-I should have just laid on the floor so he would leave!" I shake my head, feeling so stupid.

"Miss. Marshall. Men like him- he would have done it anyway. You did nothing wrong okay." She says, continuing to write down what happened to me.

"If I didn't run into the bathroom, he wouldn't have broken down the door and made everything worse. He raped me harder; he kicked me harder; he punched me harder... He almost killed me!" I finally shout, feeling pain in my side. "He ruptured my spleen this time, and he broke my ribs again!"

"Do you want to press charges?" The cop asks me, putting the notepad and pen in her waist belt. Do I? I shake my head at my stupid thoughts, of course, I do.

"Yes." I breathe, "It's time." I nod my head, feeling mixed emotions flood through me. She hands me a card then tells me she hopes I recover fast. They both leave, closing the door entirely to the room. I was expecting Noah to walk back into the room, but he doesn't.

I lay there, feeling tears fall from my eyes. I let a sob leave my mouth, and the tears fall faster and harder. I hear the door open, and I quickly hide my face silencing myself.

"Doctor McGuire was rushed to the OR. He will be back as soon as he can." The nurse tells me, and I nod my head. I see a thing of tissues come into the view of my face, I look at her, and she smiles softly. "Everything will be okay." She leaves me, and a sob escapes.

After a while, I turn on the television and watch a few episodes on HGTV. Suddenly, I feel Noah's intense eyes on me, but I keep calm and continue to watch the TV screen. Through the corner of my eyes, I see Noah sitting in the recliner chair.

"Are you okay?" He whispers, adjusting the chair. I nod my head, still not wanting to look at him. Afraid- Not of him, but-

"Phoebe, look at me." Noah says, making me look into his eyes, "Are you okay?" He puts his hand on mine, but I flinch shaking my head.

"I'm sorry." I finally say, seeing his face filled with sorrow. "I'm sorry. I-I am so sorry." I'm breaking... I bring my hands to my face trying to hide my sobbing face.

"Hey. Hey. Hey. It's okay. It's okay." I feel Noah making his way into the bed slowly, holding onto me carefully. It took me a while, but for the first time in six years, I felt comfortable being held in someone's arms. He adjusted all the wires connected to me, making sure they won't disconnect and slowly and carefully pull me to where my head in on his chest.

"It's okay. You're safe." Noah says, stroking my hair back, "I won't let anything happen to you." He presses his head against mine. Then he does something unexpected; he kisses me on top of my head.

After a short while, we are just laying in the bed watching a home get remodelled. But all I pay attention to is the sound of his steady heartbeat. I sit there listening to it carefully, feeling my body relax to his touch. I go to move out of his arms, but he makes it clear that he doesn't want me to move. "I'm okay." I finally say, and he lets go of me to look at me in the face as if making sure I mean what I say.

"I want you to know that I'm not going anywhere," Noah states, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "You don't need to be afraid of me or be scared to tell me what happened to you."

I don't know if it was instinct or the fact that I couldn't bear to look him in the eyes any longer. But I lay my head back onto his chest and tell Noah everything.

"I met Jay when I was in college." I start, zoning out, "I was in the campus library trying to find a book on other famous photographers." I remember how stressed I was about my final paper before graduation. "I grabbed a bunch of books, from the shelves and rushed to my work." I feel Noah's large hand rub my arm slowly.

"I was headed to the cafe which was connected to an art gallery I worked at, at the time." I smile, feeling a tear fall down my face as I remember Rose and Daniel, my old friends. "I walked inside the gallery, crashing right into someone. I was so frustrated- but apologetic." I chuckle slightly, "I look up ready to cuss this person out, but there he was." I feel Noah's head move to look at the monitor's connected to me, then pull me closure to his chest.

"You don't need to finish. It's okay." Noah starts petting my hair slowly, making me close my eyes. My Dad used to do this to me when I was growing up... I smile softly, continuing.

"We um- started talking, which turned into dating, then it turned into six years of hell," I admit, my voice breaking slightly "Everything started great until we moved in with each other. Soon I- I wasn't allowed to go out with my friends, and no one was allowed to come over. Then I had to tell him exactly where I was going and why. If- If I didn't make it convincing enough or he thought I was lying, I wasn't allowed to leave, and he would lock me in the bathroom." Tears start falling down my face as I remember every single time I lay on that cold marble floor... I feel Noah's hand reach for something, and through teary eyes, I see him holding a tissue in front of me.

"Then, I tried to leave." I feel my voice is shaking more as I grab the tissue holding it up to my nose. "He- uh. He told me I was never allowed to leave him, and that was the first night he- raped me." I admit, struggling to say those two words.

Noah doesn't say anything, but I can feel his jaw tighten and loosen. But he starts playing with my long hair. "That was over three years ago." Noah's hands stop as I take in a painful breath, "He has been raping me almost every single night for the past three years." A sob leaves my mouth as I finally unveil my secret.

Noah continues holding me, laying his head on top of mine repeating "You're okay." over and over until I fall asleep in his arms.

-

• If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a vote and answering the questions below. •

-

Hi! Hello! How are you today/night? You on a binge read? Those are always the best. I hope you enjoy my book then. It's okay, continue on.

Questions:

1. Do you think Jay will find Phoebe? Or do you think he will be caught?

2. Just in general, what do you think about everything Phoebe went through? How does it make you feel?

Thank you to my lovely wattpaders!

- Anna