๓ครợยгค๔є

[Unbreakable Justice]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAll the broken pieces left unglued
xxx → Should never find their way
xxxxxxx into the hands of x( x s o m e o n e x )x like you !

Damian nodded to her when she explained that she wasn't going to give up Vincent. He knew that fully now, but he hadn't in the moment. To the best of his knowledge, she could want him dead in a mater of seconds simply because she was so against him. It was horrible thing to think, but that was the real reason of the precautions. Even now as she continued to further elaborate that she wouldn't feel better with his death either way of knowing. That too was knowledge that he understand now that he was home. Prior thinking of that idea, he felt terrible for having that disposition of her installed so firmly in his head that he thought it real when in reality, she was no more of a threat to Ryder than Damian was - actually far less of one.

He nodded again as she continued over how she was having problems with the possibility of his death and even just understanding what kind of violence he caused. Once again, he understood that fully. He had been at the brunt of an attack like that before. When Vincent first arrived, he was little more than a raging animal. He had almost killed someone because he felt like he was being threatened by the men ho wanted his inheritance instead of himself. The fact that Vincent nearly beat someone to death over Belle getting almost raped, didn't surprise him for a single second.

He stood and turned to face her as she was on the verge of tears again. Gently he reached out to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in close while rubbing her back. He kissed her head fatherly like and started humming to her soothingly. "I know and I understand, Miss O'Dear. With you knowing, what he did from behind that mask; all of it is brand new stuff that we'll have to relearn. Just give it a bit of time, okay? When Vince wakes up, we can go from there. We'll make up some rules or codes or what ever is needed. Right this second though, we both need sleep, desperately. I'll make food for us when we get up then we'll talk about it," he assured her, shifting to stroke the back of her head as he soothed her.

「 I'M IN THE DARK... 」xxxxxxxxxx

 

[VVanderIust]

ＳＡＲＡＢＥＬＬＥ ＦＡＹ Ｏ' ＤＥＡＲ

……………………………………………………………………

Belle watched Damian as he seemed to just nod to everything she said, like he agreed whole heartedly. She could almost tell that he was beginning to understand her frustration with having this secret kept from her and the ridiculousness of keeping it from her. She knew that he hadn't meant to hurt her with the words he had said and by now, they were forgiven. She knew what was going on now and as long as they didn't try to keep more things from her in the future, she was sure that she could find a way to work past this. She was fighting to keep tears from her eyes as her churning emotions and exhaustion were creeping up on her, so when Damian moved forward and wrapped her up in his arms, she accepted the comfort readily.

It was almost odd to think how much like a little family the three had become, Damian feeling more like a fatherly figure than ever before as she stood in his arms, letting a few tears escape her as he hummed a calming tune. She nodded against him slightly when he asked her to just give it time, hoping that he was right and that it would be okay once they figured out how to go about life with this new development. She knew it wasn't the end of the world, but it felt like a huge problem, especially with her feelings for Vince out in the open now. Not only did she have to deal with the fact that the man that she took care of and was friends with was Ryder, but the man she loved was Ryder. Sighing heavily, she gave herself a few more moments of Damian's comfort before she gently pulled away from him, giving him a weak smile.

"Yea, sleep is probably a good idea. It's been a long day. Thanks Damian." she mumbled, unsure of what else to say to the man. There was so much that needed to be discussed and explained, but she was glad that everything was finally out in the open. And for the first time in the 24 hours since that call, she was actually glad her hours at the hospital had been cut back. She had much more pressing matters to attend to here anyways. "Make sure you get plenty of sleep too, it's been a long day for everyone of us." she reminded him before heading out of the room whether he joined her or not. She said goodnight to him when they parted ways, even though she had absolutely no idea what time of day it was, and headed back to the room that sat beside Vince's. Pushing the bag of clothes that she hadn't unpacked yet off the bed carelessly, she watched as they fell with a soft 'thud' to the ground. She then returned to the door, closed it and turned off the lights, and stripped down to just her underwear and a big t-shirt that went down to her mid-thigh before climbing into bed. Though it normally took her longer to fall asleep, she was out seconds after her head hit her pillow - too exhausted emotionally and physically to stay awake and rack her mind with all the problems that faced her any longer.

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[Unbreakable Justice]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAll the broken pieces left unglued
xxx → Should never find their way
xxxxxxx into the hands of x( x s o m e o n e x )x like you !

Damian nodded to her as she pulled away. He let her walk away with a gentle smile and rubbed his face. When she was fully gone though, his smile dropped and he leaned forward on the table with a huff of air. He was beyond stressed out at this point. There was so much going on right now that he didn't have an idea how he was going to do it all. He had to take care of Vincent and Belle, calm her down over the whole issue, and keep Vincent from teetering one way or the other as his violent spree. This was a lot harder than it had been with Nicholas and his girlfriend.

The older man let out a huff of air again and headed up stairs to sleep, planning on continuing his work tomorrow as he needed the rest. He headed upstairs and slipped off his suit to fold up neatly off to the side to be washed later. He climbed into bed and let out a heavy sigh before collapsing into his bed exhausted.

At about nine, Vincent was awake again. He only had slept for a mere five hours, but he was up again. He woke up because of his alarm telling him that Belle would be there in roughly half an hour. Vincent let out a breath of air as he slowly started to get up, pain filling every breath he took as his entire body throbbed with pain. He could barely breathe anymore from his ribs being busted and his abdomen shredded from the claws of the b*****d he played with the night before. Still, he slowly managed to sit up, relying on his arms a lot to even move. However, he didn't have the strength to get up onto his feet this time. He had neither the blood or the desire to suffer more.

"
Right on cue though, Gypsy came bounding in, fully of energy and excitement. The little dog came squirming up to the bed, but still couldn't quite jump up on her own. Vincent grabbed the puppy by the scruff and pulled her up to run laps around on the bed. He smiled as he played with her, careful of his hand as he kept it out of her tiny teeth. The excitable puppy was soon warn down enough though that she curled up in his lap and passed out. He smiled to her as he rubbed her face, absently watching the TV as a Batman cartoon played.

「 I'M IN THE DARK... 」xxxxxxxxxx

 

[VVanderIust]

ＳＡＲＡＢＥＬＬＥ ＦＡＹ Ｏ' ＤＥＡＲ

……………………………………………………………………

Belle slept rather soundly for everything that had happened in the past 48 hours, but it didn't last long. Only about six hours into her sleep, she was jolted awake with a soft scream by a nightmare that started off in a similar way but ended much differently. As she sat up in a cold sweat, she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them there, burying her head against her knees and rocking back and forth. She didn't want the aftermath of what she had just seen in her sleep in her head. It had started replaying what had happened to her with Andrew two nights ago, but it quickly evolved as Vincent showed up as Ryder. And then there were more people there - criminals, gang bangers, the low life that came out at night.. and then went for Vince. One by one they beat him down and no matter what she tried to do, she couldn't stop them. It was a flurry of fists and blood and painful cries and just as she was sure that he was going to die, she had been jolted back to reality.

But reality didn't feel that great considering everything that she knew now and she simply wrapped herself up a little tighter, letting tears stream from her face. It didn't take her long to realize that she needed to make sure Vince was okay though and she quickly pulled on a pair of cropped leggings, heading out of her room and pushing open the door to Vince's next door. She probably looked like an utter mess, but on locking eyes with him to seemed to be visibly relieved. "Ok, you're ok.." she mumbled quietly under her breath, slowly making her way over to him and sitting on the bed beside him. She looked outright distraught as her eyes scanned over his body, checking to see if he had any new injuries that she hadn't been aware of last night. She didn't say anything as she brushed a few strands of hair out of his face, her expression unreadable. "Are you okay? I mean, how are you feeling?" she asked quietly, stumbling over her words a little and trying to focus on his eyes so she wouldn't break down. Her hands were trembling ever so slightly from the fear that the nightmare had evoked deep down into her core, but she felt like she had to be strong for him. He was so hurt and even though she was dealing with a lot of emotional pain, he was the one who needed to be cared for right now. There was no time for her to be the one that needed help.

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[Unbreakable Justice]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAll the broken pieces left unglued
xxx → Should never find their way
xxxxxxx into the hands of x( x s o m e o n e x )x like you !

Vincent turned his attention from the TV to the door when he heard it open. He looked over to see Belle and instantly calmed down, sinking back into his bed. However, upon processing the way she looked, he tried to get up by his stomach kept him down. He snarled and sunk back into the bed, panting a little from the bit of energy he tried to splurge on. When she said that he was okay though, he nodded to her, pursing his lips.

Though the gesture of her just pushing his hair out of his face was small, it felt really strange to him. He hadn't forgotten the kisses the night before and that was why it was so weird. If she had been doing it prior, it would have just been a friendly gesture, but now it like more than that. When she continued in asking if he was okay, he nodded again to her. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just lethargic and in pain," he confirmed softly. Seeing the wreck she was in though he lifted one of his hands up to her face and pushed some of her own hair back before pulling her down so he could hug her. "What was the dream about?" he suddenly asked, skipping over whether she was okay or not. She was clearly not okay, there was no doubt in his mind over that. He knew there was a difference between her waking up and looking like a mess because she just woke up, an this.

He gently rubbed her shoulder as he could still feel the clamminess on her skin from her cold sweat. "Was it about he and I again?" he continued in asking, still dragging his knuckles across her shoulder softly as he kissed her forehead. "Even if you don't want to talk about it, you can just lay here if it'll make you feel better."

「 I'M IN THE DARK... 」xxxxxxxxxx

 

[VVanderIust]

ＳＡＲＡＢＥＬＬＥ ＦＡＹ Ｏ' ＤＥＡＲ

……………………………………………………………………

Belle watched Vince with concerned eyes as she waited for his response to whether he was okay, her fingers resting gently against his forehead. She could tell they were shaking ever so slightly, so she moved them away, not wanting to bother him with her shaky touch. She nodded gently when he confirmed that he was okay, just hurting and tired. That was better than she had expected to see when she woke up, so she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, taking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself. When she opened her eyes again, Vince's hand was on her face, brushing hair out of her face. She was sure she looked absolutely terrible right now, but the fact that he was still looking at her the way he was made her feel slightly better.

She didn't protest when he pulled her down next to him and gently curled up by his side, being careful not to touch any spots that would hurt him too badly. Tears seemed to immediately leave her eyes when he asked what the dream was about and she chewed her lip, burying her face lightly against his chest. She felt like she had to be careful about how she touched him and it was mirrored in her movements. She didn't respond right away, trying to control the tears that trickled down her cheeks at the mention of her dream. She sniffled a little more at his next question, nodding a little bit against him. It had started that way. He reassured her that she didn't have to tell him anything if she didn't want to and she remained silent minus the few sobs that escaped her for a while. She was just so scared and she couldn't even escape that feeling in her sleep, which was even worse because she needed sleep more than anything.

She let herself cry like this for a while until her tears slowly and she mumbled something like an apology to him for just crying on him for however long she had been. Taking a deep breath in, she released it gently, looking up to meet his eyes. "It started out with you and Andrew. Like it has for the past two nights." she said quietly, wiping some tears from her eyes and looking away from him again to rest her head where it had been on his chest. "And then people were coming after you all at once, gang members, low life criminals, the works.. and they kept hitting you.." she mumbled, a shudder running down her spine at the thought. She swallowed hard and nuzzled her head gently against his tone body, regaining her composure. "I'm afraid of losing you." she admitted, not looking at him but keeping her head where she could hear his heart beat in his chest.

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[Unbreakable Justice]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAll the broken pieces left unglued
xxx → Should never find their way
xxxxxxx into the hands of x( x s o m e o n e x )x like you !

When she started crying worse, he leaned into her a little more, encouraging her to take comfort against him despite his wounds. He gently rubbed her shoulder, trying to ease her the best he could. When he couldn't do anything to ease her pain though, he just let her cry as much as she needed. No mater how stupid she felt for it or how much it hurt him as she shook against him. He kissed her brow as she started seeming to get past it, forcing herself to breathe slower and easier finally. When she looked up at him, he wiped a few of the tears away as she explained that she was still having nightmares over what he had done to Andrew.

He bit his lip and looked down at his hands when she mentioned it. It had to be hell for her to constantly keep bandaging his hands when every night she dreamed of the time he tried to kill him. Every pass with the gauze must only haunt her more and more to what he had done to the other man. The thought alone made his throat burn with bile and guilt. When she continued on in explaining what she feared, he felt guilt fill him even more. And now fear.

"I know, I know, Belle," he whispered, his heart starting to race in his chest as he wrapped his arms tighter around her despite his stitches being pulled at. He rested his head against hers and let out a breath of air, his body shivering at the thought, but he held his composure for her. "I am deeply sorry for the horrors I exposed you to. I shouldn't have lost my temper, especially not in front of you. And I will not let them take me from you. That, I assure you as well."

「 I'M IN THE DARK... 」xxxxxxxxxx

 

[VVanderIust]

ＳＡＲＡＢＥＬＬＥ ＦＡＹ Ｏ' ＤＥＡＲ

……………………………………………………………………

As Belle lay in Vince's arms, she wished that the circumstances were different. He placed a gentle kiss on her brow and she couldn't help but wish that they didn't have so much to worry about and could just enjoy being together in a different way instead. But instead of him holding her and kissing her just because they had finally reached that point in their relationship, he was doing it to try to make her feel better over everything that had been revealed to her. Even his fingers brushing across her face served a purpose, to remove the tears that stained her cheeks. She just wanted things to be normal and easier than this, but she knew that wasn't really an option right now.

She noticed the way he reacted to her talking about the part of her dream that was about Andrew, wondering why he reacted that way. Though Vince's violent outburst was definitely a factor in her nightmare, it wasn't as haunting as the reminder of how Andrew had tried to force himself on her. She didn't ask though, not wanting to talk about it any longer and just settled against him as carefully as she could, despite his body language that told her that she didn't need to be so careful. She just didn't want to accidentally hurt him more. She wanted him to heal so that he could take care of himself out there.

She welcomed his tighter embrace despite the fact that she knew it wasn't good for his body, feeling safe wrapped up in him. She could feel his body shiver at the mention of losing him and she knew that it couldn't be something that he liked to think about either, but it was something that they had to consider none the less. She focused on her breathing to keep herself from crying anymore as she lay with her head buried against his chest. She felt calm right now, safe in his arms with his head resting on top of hers. She liked this closeness, but she was still afraid. She shook her head a bit when he apologized for what he had done in front of her, then paused for a moment at his next sentence.

Carefully moving her head from underneath his, she looked up at him, pulling a hand free to rest on his cheek gently. "You and I both know that you can't guarantee that. You're already in such bad shape Vince, you just keep getting worse week after week.." she said quietly, her fingertips resting along his jawline as she looked up at him. She didn't know how to be confident that everything was going to be okay when he just kept getting worse.

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[Unbreakable Justice]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAll the broken pieces left unglued
xxx → Should never find their way
xxxxxxx into the hands of x( x s o m e o n e x )x like you !

Vincent nodded at what she said, agreeing once more that he couldn't promise his survival. But that wasn't what he had said. He gently held her jaw and made her look up at him. He gently leaned over more towards her and placed his busted lips against hers, the kiss far more powerful than the night before. He let it stay longer as well, giving what he had and then more for her. When he broke contact, he met his eyes with hers, tears filling his own. "I didn't promise that I would survive. I said I wouldn't let myself be taken. I'm not going to just lay down and die, ever. I will make sure that I come back every night, as long as there is a breath in me, I will fight my way back. I can promise that," he told her as he placed his forehead against hers.

A single tear fell on her face as he closed his eyes, despite having fought back them for so long. He stroked her face again as he held her against him, gently rocking her the best he could with Gypsy sprawled out across his groin. He kissed her again, almost seeming careful this time as he did as his body twisting hurt his stomach. "I'm not going anywhere for a while, alright? I can't even stand at this point, so you don't need to worry about me running away," he told her as he laid back against the headboard again, a hand moving to cradle his bandaged torso. "And what I did last night still stands, I really do care for you as I said last night. I wasn't saying that in the heat of the moment. I meant it."

「 I'M IN THE DARK... 」xxxxxxxxxx

 

[VVanderIust]

ＳＡＲＡＢＥＬＬＥ ＦＡＹ Ｏ' ＤＥＡＲ

……………………………………………………………………

Belle watched Vince's movements as he nodded in agreement to her again. She wanted him to say that she was wrong and that he was going to okay for sure, but she knew that was a ridiculous request. Her eyes followed his fingers as he took her jaw in his hands, tilting her chin up to look at him. And then he was leaning forward again, kissing her deeply. She kissed him back eagerly, her fingertips sliding from his cheek to his hair as they kissed. Though this kiss was much more than what he had been able to give last night, it still ended too soon and Belle let a soft sigh escape her lips when Vince's lips parted from her own. When she met his eyes again however, they were filled with tears. She bit her lip to keep it from quivering as he spoke, her own eyes welling up tears in the corners as he placed his forehead against her own.

She didn't want to here the words he was saying, to know that the reality of the situation was so dire. But she also knew that he was sincere in his words and that he would do everything he could to to come back every night, to come back to her. "And I'll be here every single time waiting for you." she said gently, running her fingers through his hair soothingly. Even though this wasn't easy, she wasn't going anywhere. She was staying right here by his side, whether he wanted that or not. She felt a tear hit her cheek that wasn't her own, but she didn't react, just watching as he closed his eyes and seemed to try to regain control of his emotions. She felt comforted in his arms as he slowly rocked her and she pressed her lips back up against his gently when he kissed her again. She could tell just by the change in his kiss that he was hurting and she watched as he moved away from her, leaning back and cradling his wound with his hand.

"I meant what I said too Vince, even if it did only come out because of the heat of the moment." she said gently, referring to the fact that she had basically blurted out that she loved him. "You're still hurting though, I should let you get some more rest.." she started, shifting to move away from him so that he could rest without worrying about her being too close to him or accidentally leaning up against a wound. Though she wanted nothing more than to stay close to him and feel his lips against her's again, she was pretty sure that he wasn't physically up for that right now.

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[Unbreakable Justice]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxAll the broken pieces left unglued
xxx → Should never find their way
xxxxxxx into the hands of x( x s o m e o n e x )x like you !

When she tried to move away from him, he reached out and took her by her wrist. He pulled at her gently, trying to encourage her to stay with him. "Please, don't. I can't sleep right now and I don't want to leave you alone... I don't want to be left alone," he told her, correcting himself. He tried to sit up to talk her into it more, but even as his muscles simply flexed for the normally easy motion, his body tensed up and gave him enough pain that the IV wasn't even holding it back anymore. "I just really want to spend time with you as more than your patient and nurse. Whether that involves you falling asleep watching a movie, a thousand more kisses, or just mocking bad movies; I want to spend time with you," he further explained, letting his arm slide down to her fingers where he lightly squeezed them between his.

「 I'M IN THE DARK... 」xxxxxxxxxx

 

[VVanderIust]

ＳＡＲＡＢＥＬＬＥ ＦＡＹ Ｏ' ＤＥＡＲ

……………………………………………………………………

When Belle felt Vince take her wrist in protest to her moving away from him, she couldn't help but smile. She had been hoping he wouldn't let her go. She turned back into him gently when he said he didn't want to be alone and looked up at him, smiling. "Alright, alright, you've convinced me." she said with a playful grin, teasing him a bit. It obviously didn't take much for him to get her to stay there with him.. she hadn't wanted to leave in the first place. She squeezed his hand back gently when his fingers found her own and looked up at him, meeting his captivating green eyes. "As long as you tell me if you're hurting and don't move around so much, then we can do whatever you'd like. I'd love to spend more time with you." she said, smiling brightly up at him.

It was odd laying against him when he was almost completely stripped down and she was fully clothed. Although she had seen him nearly naked so many times before, this was different because she was feeling his muscles pressed up against hers, not because she was checking for injuries. She listened to the way his breathing sounded and the way his heart beat in his chest, smiling to herself as she rested up against him. She absently traced her fingers along the sculpted muscles of his chest, enjoying feeling the way they tensed and relaxed under her touch.

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