23

Shadows carried Izzy through the house, trying his best to be gentle as Izzy whimpered softly in pain. He carried her to her bedroom, her upper body still shielded by Jimmy’s jacket, hiding the grotesque slashes on her once flawless skin. Christ emerged from Izzy’s bathroom, his eyes wide with concern as he looked at Izzy. He nodded solemnly at Shadows who gave him a hard look before disappearing into the bathroom. The bathtub had been filled with warm water and liquid antiseptic, making the bathroom smell eerily like a hospital. Annie sat wide eyed on the edge of the bathtub, her fingers trailing in the water while she gripped a bottle of Savlon in her hand. Her head snapped up as Shadows approached her and Annie let out a small scream at the sight of Izzy’s battered and bloodied body.

“You need to calm down to help her Annie.” said Shadows firmly looking at Annie with a wary expression. “You’ll do her no good crying hysterically like that.”

“What the fuck do you want me to do you fucking jerk?” shouted Annie stamping her foot on the ground. “Look at her! How could you let something like this happen?”

Shadows tensed at Annie’s accusation, his eyes glinting angrily. He could feel his temper get the better of him.

“The deal was that you come here and not make a scene. This, Annalise, is unacceptable. Either you shut the fuck up and help her or get the fuck out of my house!” growled Shadows.

“This scene as you like to call it has only reared its ugly fucking head because I had no idea I would be walking into this. She’s fucking unconscious and beaten to a pulp.” screamed Annie, throwing the bottle of Savlon at Shadows, narrowly missing his head.

“Get the fuck out! Now!” roared Shadows, causing Annie to flinch, her eyes wide with fear. Shadows needed to get Izzy the help she needed and Annie was making that process difficult with her screaming and crying. Everyone was already on edge and Annie was only making a bad situation worse.

Jimmy walked into the bathroom, his features drawn in frustration as he looked between Annie and Shadows.

“You, shut up. Now.” Said Jimmy coldly as he pointed to Annie who glared at him furiously. “You, get the fuck out.” He continued pointing to Shadows. “Give Izzy to me, Annie and I will do this. You need to calm down.”

Shadows stared at Jimmy dumbfounded. Jimmy had never spoken to him with such iciness in his voice before. Deep down, Shadows knew that Jimmy was seeking everyone’s interests. Knowing that Shadows had been on his last sane nerve, Jimmy stepped closer to him, took Izzy out of his arms and gave him a reassuring smile.

“We got this Shadz. Go downstairs and pour yourself a drink. God knows you need it.” said Jimmy gently as he carried Izzy to the bathtub. Jimmy gave Shadows a stern look and watched him walk out the door with a heavy sigh.

Annie took the jacket off of Izzy and gasped at the sight of Izzy’s blood caked skin. The wounds covering her entire torso were angry and made Annie wince. She removed Izzy’s bra as Jimmy averted his eye sight, staring steadily at the ceiling. Next, Annie worked on getting Izzy’s jeans off of her, peeling the fabric awkwardly off of her legs as Jimmy shifted Izzy in his arms as best as he could.

“This is going to hurt like a bitch isn’t it?” asked Jimmy softly, the concern in his blue eyes evident.

“It will, but it has to be done.” Said Annie sadly as Jimmy lowered Izzy’s body into the warm, antiseptic infused water.

Izzy’s eyes flew open as the water touched her skin, a blood curdling scream ripping through her lips, causing her lower lip to split open again. Hot tears cascaded down her cheeks as white hot pain stabbed every inch of her torso. She continued to scream, her eyes wide and terrified. She thrashed wildly in the water and Jimmy grabbed her shoulders firmly, shouting her name. Oblivious to any other presence, Izzy continued to scream. She could hear a familiar voice calling her name but the pain was unbearable and all-consuming.

Jimmy’s face blanched as Izzy’s scream rang out shrilly in the bathroom. She continued to thrash wildly in the light pink bath water. Some of her wounds had reopened as she writhed in pain. Annie touched Jimmy’s shoulder softly, her eyes wide with fear and concern for her friend. Jimmy cast his eyes away from Izzy, no longer able to bear witness to her pain. His heart felt as if it were slowly breaking as her screams eventually subsided into sobs. Her eyes were vacant, staring into nothingness as Annie’s gentle voice attempted to coax Izzy back into reality.

Jimmy felt tears prick his eyes as Izzy sank down into the bathtub, the water sloshing gently as she did so. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever think that Izzy would be so broken, body and mind. His soul wept for the brave young woman whose eyes once burned with confidence and determination. Now all he could see was something broken, shattered on the inside, her physical wounds no match for the wounds inflicted so cruelly onto her soul. Jimmy blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. He couldn’t, no, he wouldn’t see Izzy as broken. He knew that she was strong, that she would overcome this. There was no way he would let her soul be lost to this cruel world. She never asked to be a part of the world in which he had dwelt for the majority of his life, she never asked to be taken away from everything she had ever known.

They were supposed to protect her and they had failed; their failure would forever be etched onto Izzy’s skin, on her soul, on Jimmy’s heart. Jimmy let his tears fall, hot and fast as they rolled down his cheeks. He failed Izzy; they all failed her.

****

Izzy felt warm, too warm as she lay still on a comfortable bed. She wanted to move, to throw the covers off of her body but pain still stabbed her every inch of her with its steely knife. Her mind felt blank, as if she had been sleeping dreamlessly for years. Why was her body hurting so much? What had happened to her? Glacial blue eyes swam into her mind followed by a malicious smile. Izzy’s eyes snapped up, memories of being tortured into nothingness flooding her mind. She surveyed her surroundings, her eyes roaming the room in which she was in. Relief flooded her body as she realized that she was in her bedroom. But how had she gotten there? She became aware of someone holding her right hand. In the dim lighting of her bedroom, Izzy’s eyes trailed from the fingers clasping her hand and up an ink adorned forearm. Her eyes followed the colorful designs each one of them more familiar than the last. Grey eyes finally fell onto the side of the face of the man holding her hand. He was snoring softly, his head resting on his left forearm on her bed. His breathing was deep and even and Izzy felt bad having to wake him.

“Shadows.” Said Izzy softly, her voice raspy even to her own ears. Izzy shook him gently, wincing in pain at the slight movement.

Shadows stirred after a moment of coaxing from Izzy. His eyelids fluttered open and Izzy was shocked by the haunted look in his hazel eyes. He stared at her for a few seconds, his face impassive but his eyes gave him away. He looked like a man who had lost everything. There was a profound sadness radiating off of him that tore at Izzy’s heart as she gazed at Shadows who gently squeezed her hand in his.

“You’re awake.” He said softly, his voice gravelly and sad.

Izzy nodded her head and forced a smile onto her face for Shadows’ sake. She had never seen such torment taint anyone’s face the way it did Shadows’. She winced again and gingerly reached up to touch her lower lip. She willed herself to bite the pain that flooded through her body. She made a move to sit up into a more comfortable position but a soft groan escaped her lips. Shadows leapt up and gently helped her move, his face rigid with concentration. Propped up against some pillows, Izzy gave Shadows a dejected look which he returned tenfold.

“How did I get home?” asked Izzy softly, watching as Shadows sat carefully on the edge of her bed.

“We came for you, me and Jimmy.” He replied “We were too late. Night had already done his worst to you.”

“How did you find me?” questioned Izzy “I heard your voice after the accident…..”

“Gates called when you were at the lake house with your mother and said that the two of you had been followed.” Words tumbled out of Shadows’ mouth. “He had no idea how many men Night had sent but we made sure to rally everyone. We all came but we were too late, they had already taken you.”

“Brian, is he alright?” asked Izzy, concern lacing her voice. Shadows stiffened at the sound of Gates’ real name escaping Izzy’s lips.

“He’s fine. He came to check on you not too long ago.” answered Shadows stiffly.

“Night…he wanted information about you, about all of you. He said that you didn’t give me the whole truth about my father.” Said Izzy in barely a whisper.

“Night has always been very conniving not to mention persuasive.” Sighed Shadows. “He will use your fears against you. Yours was your father and his death.”

“I chose you” murmured Izzy, her throat was beginning to dry.

“What do you mean?” asked Shadows with a confused look.

“He said that truth was relative in your world. He told me that your truth and his truth were two different things and that I could choose who I wanted to seek answers from. I chose you. I was beaten half to death for my loyalty to you.” Said Izzy quietly

“I’ve given you no reason to choose me.” Said Shadows quietly. “I don’t deserve your loyalty.”

“You’ve given me every reason to choose you.” Said Izzy sincerely. “You protected me, my mother. You gave me a home, a new life, amazing friends, a new family.”

“I failed you. You will always have the scars.” whispered Shadows

“Everyone has scars Shadows.” Replied Izzy gently.

“You don’t deserve scars. You deserve everything good and true and right in life.” Said Shadows earnestly, his hazel eyes swirling with a multitude of flickering emotions. He caressed Izzy’s face with his fingertips, her eyes never leaving his as he did. “I want to give you everything.” He confessed softly. “I want to give you everything you deserve and more.”

Without thinking, Shadows leaned close to Izzy and captured her lips, kissing her softly, tenderly. Her eyes fluttered closed and she instantly returned the kiss as Shadows cupped her cheeks with both of his hands, holding Izzy gently as he kissed her with everything he had in him. They broke apart moments later and Izzy registered the love, care and concern in Shadows eyes as he studied her, his eyes searching hers. He gently pecked her lips as someone cleared their throat from near the doorway.

Shadows released Izzy and the two of them looked in the direction from which the sound had come.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt.” Said Gates, his voice soft yet filled with iciness. “I had no idea you two…”

Shadows gave Izzy a small smile which she shyly returned before he got up from her bedside and walked towards Gates whose fists were clenched in mounting frustration. He stared blankly at the wall, avoiding eye contact with both Izzy and Shadows. He could feel Izzy’s gaze on him and it took everything within him not to look at her.

“I know you’ve been worried, why don’t you stay with her for a little while. I’m gonna grab some soup for her and the medication that Doc left.” said Shadows, his voice lighter than it had been for weeks. It made Gates’ blood boil.

“Sure.” Replied Gates without looking at Shadows as he walked out of the room, leaving Gates and Izzy alone.

“Good to see that you’re finally awake.” Said Gates, his voice cold and deadly soft. He made no move to proceed further into the room.

“Glad to see you’re all patched up.” Replied Izzy with a feeble voice.

Gates and Izzy regarded each other, the silence between them deafening and awkward. Gates shifted uncomfortably, his body filled with mounting tension as Izzy gazed at him from the bed. Even in the dim lighting, the bandages that peeked out from beneath her loose fitting pajama top stood out to him, a stark contrast against Izzy’s caramel colored skin. The bruises on her face were purple and sinister looking. Gates tore his eyes away from Izzy, unable to see her in such a state.

“Brian?” Izzy’s voice sounded weak and filled with mild discomfort. Gates’ head snapped up and chocolate brown eyes unwillingly met deep grey ones. He stiffened at the sound of his name falling from her busted lips. He bristled ever so slightly, knowing that he had given her his real name willingly in what had been a display of his affections for her yesterday. Everything he did for her was born out of his affection for her; the shopping, the surprise visit to her mother, picking her up every day from work. He had grown feelings for Izzy over the past few months. She was everything he could want in a woman but clearly he was not what she wanted. The weight of that realization weighed heavily on Gates’ shoulders.

“Brian? Why don’t you take a seat instead of just standing there like a statue?” smiled Izzy faintly.

Gates forced his feet to move forward and he stiffly sat in the chair that Shadows had so recently occupied. He made no move to say anything to Izzy for he was, for the first time in his life, lost for words.

“Thank you for yesterday; for taking me to see my mother.” Said Izzy softly, her grey eyes searching Gates’ brown ones.

“You’re welcome.” Said Gates rigidly with clenched fists.

“Can I ask you something?” asked Izzy, curiosity getting the better of her.

“If I said no, would that stop you?” replied Gates sarcastically.

“Probably not.” Smiled Izzy with a painful shrug of her shoulders.

“Then why bother to ask?” snapped Gates, his irritation and frustration bubbling over.

Izzy regarded him indignantly for a moment. “You’ve been giving my mother updates almost twice a week so she knows how I’m doing and you took me to her even when you knew it could be dangerous. Why?”

Gates looked at Izzy coldly, his brown eyes darkening to pools of ebony. “You know why. You just never took the time to see it for what it really was.” With that, Gates got up and left Izzy’s room and snapped her bedroom door shut.

Izzy stared at the door with startled eyes. The minutes ticked by and pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. Everything he had done for her over the last few months began to add up and Izzy felt her heart constrict painfully at her realization of Gates’ feelings for her. Suddenly her bedroom door flew open and Jimmy bounded into the room, his eyes twinkling and a large grin dangling from his lips.

“You’re awake! I brought movies for us to watch!” squealed Jimmy excitedly as he half-skipped to close the distance between Izzy and himself.

“Brian is in love with me, isn’t he?” asked Izzy softly. She watched Jimmy’s smile falter slightly, his eyes losing their sparkle.

“Yes, Brian is in love with you.” said Jimmy quietly as he lowered himself onto Izzy’s bed carefully. “He’s been in love with you for months.”

Notes