The Strength of Love by DevlishBrunette87 &...

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 10

"I'm sorry, Georgie. But I had to show you what happens when the wrong people make me mad. You don't want to do that again. I know you don't understand right now but you will. And then you will see that this hurt me more than it ever hurt you."
Jordan walked around her as she cradled the bear that Dillon had won for her at the carnival earlier that night.
"Goodnight, Georgie. I'll see you tomorrow", he bent over and kissed her forehead.
Her heart was skipping about every few beats and she was sweating. She pulled out the strip of pictures from beneath the edge of the couch and hugged them to her heart, as she did with the teddy bear. She lay on the floor, in a ball, hugging herself. She couldn't even find the strength to cry.
She still couldn't believe what had happened. She slowly stood and forced herself up off the floor, and then she walked slowly into the bathroom and ran her water for a soothing, hot bath.

Georgie woke the next morning, her eyes drifted off several times before she finally forced herself out of bed. The teddy bear that Dillon had won for her was in her arms and her pictures were beneath her pillow.
She squinted in pain as she stood up and headed for her bathroom and ran her hot water for her bath. Just then her phone rang. Heading in the living room she went to the ringing phone and lifted the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Georgie? You okay?" it was Dillon.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Because you sound like hell? You sure that you're okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Okay," Dillon said, still not confident, but decided not to press it. "You said you wanted to hang out today, so what would you like to do?"
"I can't, Dillon."
Dillon's voice got a little high as he wasn't as confident about something. "And why not?"
"Because I just can't. I don't feel too well and I'd much rather just sit and relax. I don't really feel up to going out, if that's ok."
"Um…Georgie, I'll be there in 10 minutes."
"Dillon, no."
"Make it five…"
"Dillon…"
"See ya", she was cut off when he hung up.
Georgie suddenly couldn't breathe as she realized that he would be there soon. So she went as quickly as she could to her bedroom and grabbed a pair of sweats and a long sleeved shirt. Putting them on, she shut off her water and sat on the couch, biting her lip, waiting.
As promised, about 5 minutes later, there was a knock at the door. And Georgie sat in the exact same position on the couch as she had 5 minutes ago.
"Georgie?"
"Come in," she mumbled still staring off into space at nothing.
Dillon stepped inside, turning his back when he shut the door.
"You had me so worried…" Dillon started but stopped when he turned around and began walking to her on the couch, and stopped dead in his tracks.
"Oh my God, Georgie are you ok?" Dillon said as he quickly sat down next to her on the couch.
Georgie sat there motionless, staring off into space. The silence was freaking Dillon out. He could tell by her appearance that something was not right and the fact that she was not looking at him didn't make his suspicions any less.
"Georgie?" Dillon repeated her name as his hand went to rest on her shoulder.
Georgie kinda flinched when she felt Dillon's hand on her shoulder.
"Whoa, hey are you ok?" Dillon asked, after seeing her flinch at his touch.
Georgie's eyes slowly made there way in Dillon's direction; and once hers she fell into his arms sobbing on his shoulder.
Dillon embraced her and fell against the couch with her safely in his arms.
"Shh, you're okay now. You're all right. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."
Her arms snaked around his waist as they sat there and she held him. Georgie felt that somehow the tighter she clung to Dillon, the better it would make her feel. She was safe now that he was here. And before, she had dreaded his arrival, but now she was relieved that being her best friend, he knew when she needed something.
"What happened, Georgie?"
She was silent as her sobs continued.
"Georgie, come on. You know that you can trust me, right?"
"Of course I can trust you, Dillon", she pulled back a bit just to look him in the eye. "Of course I do."
"Then trust me enough to tell me what happened."
She just collapsed against him again. His strong, warm body protected her.
"Please, Georgie? Because I know that I'm going to jump to the wrong conclusion."
"It's just my grades, Dillon."
Dillon almost laughed. "Georgie, there is no way that this is about grades. Now please tell me what's going on."
"I'm okay, Dillon. Just hold me, please?"
"I am holding you, Georgie. But you are honestly freaking me out here. I'm scared that something terrible happened last night."
"Please, Dillon. I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay, Georgie. Okay, I'm going to respect that but just for right now. That's not going to work forever."
Suddenly, his brotherly instincts took control, for he knew just who to suspect.
"Did Jordan hurt you?" he asked.
"Dillon, please. Just for now, please no questions."
Dillon thought that she was about to fall asleep when the phone rang, and he instantly wanted to beat up whoever the person was calling, for Georgie jumped.
"I'll get it", he told her.
"No I will!" And as they both began to reach for it, she stretched over him, her shirt raised up a bit and a bit of her hip was exposed. Same with her wrist, it had been exposed when her sleeve rose up a bit. And Dillon saw something blue and purple on her hip. And then his eyes went to her wrist where the same thing was found. All of it rushed in at him within a period of about 10 seconds, for she was still reaching for the phone.
She went to answer, a little uneasy.
"Hello?"
She quickly moved away from Dillon and turned her back.
"What is it?" she said into the receiver. "What? You can't be serious. Now?"
She was silent one more moment as she hung her head.
"Fine, bye."
She slowly hung it up and turned toward him. Dillon rose from the couch and shoved his hands in his pockets, for he was prepared to hit a wall.
"I know exactly what happened here last night. That bastard is never going to lay a hand on you again, because he's not going to have any fingers left when I'm through with him."

Georgie couldn't help but laugh. "You think that Jordan beat me? You're crazy."
She headed into the kitchen and Dillon followed.
"Then you explain to me how you got those bruises."
"Dillon, you know me. I'm clumsy okay. I ran into a couple of things last night, big deal."
"Yeah, and one was called Jordan's fist."
"Dillon come on now, you know me better than that. Do you REALLY think I'd stay in a relationship where a guy hits me? I mean think about it."
Dillon stood there contemplating what she just said.
"Dillon, you know me….better than anyone. And you happen to know how clumsy I can get."
"Georgie those aren't 'oops I bumped into a wall or a table' bruises, those are too big to be caused by that"
"Look, Dillon would you please just give this a rest? I'm really fine, ok?"
"You promise?" Dillon asked
"Of course," Georgie said.
Dillon stood there wishing he could believe what she was trying to tell him but a part of him wouldn't let him. Her bumping into a wall or a table would not have caused her to break down in his arms for a SECOND time. Something was up, he could feel it inside of him.
Georgie glanced at the clock and her heart plunged to her feet.
"Oh um…Dillon you have to go now" Georgie said, grabbing his arm and leading him to the door.
"Whoa, what's the rush?" Dillon asked, surprised.
Georgie knew it was only a matter of minutes before all hell could break loose AGAIN.
"I just forgot that I have a study group coming over and I still have to change and jump in the shower." Georgie lied. She hated lying to Dillon, and she knew that he could always see right through her lies; and she prayed he wouldn't question her on this and just go before Jordan saw him.
"You're all this freaked out about a study group?" Dillon said.
"Dillon please just go, now" Georgie pleaded.
"All right fine, just calm down I'm going." Dillon said opening the door.
On the other side of the door, just as Dillon opened it, was none other than the person Georgie was praying Dillon wouldn't see…Jordan.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 11

Dillon looked a little surprised as he watched Jordan stand there, for why would Georgie lie to him about meeting a study group? Jordan had no books with him, he had no book bag across his shoulder. So what was up? And why did Dillon get a strange vibe as Georgie nervously shifted her weight from one side to the other, her fingers playing with a strand of hair as she nervously came up with a way to get rid of Dillon.
But Jordan took care of it for her.
"Hey, man", he nodded to Dillon. "What's going on?" he extended his arm and pulled Dillon into his chest as he walked between them and into the living room. Georgie's hand was still on the door.
Dillon was going to answer but he got the hint that Georgie didn't really want him to.
"I'll talk to you tonight, all right?" he said in a low voice, being sure to connect his eyes with hers.
She did look at him, her eyes slowly shifting toward him. She took a deep inward breath that she hoped wasn't too obvious.
"Okay, I'll call you. Bye."
He didn't want to, but he forced himself to step out of her dorm as she closed the door almost as soon as he was out of danger from being hit by it.
"So, what was he doing here?" he asked, sitting down on the couch.
"He's my best friend, Jordan."
She sat down on the loveseat off to the side of the couch where Jordan was sitting. He realized that she was trying to avoid him.
"Oh, Georgie", he began, swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed.
Tears came to his eyes as he stood up from the couch. Georgie's eyes couldn't connect with his as her heart began to pound. She was terrified for several moments until he kneeled in front of her, his hands resting on her legs.
"Please, Georgie. Please, look at me. I can't stand the thought of you being mad at me."
She knew that there were tears in his eyes as he touched her cheek with his palm and slowly turned her head to look him in the eyes. She forced back the tears as he whispered his last word. "Please."
Her eyes were on his, she couldn't move them as his stare became more intense and his eyes filled with water, threatening to spill out at any moment.
She hadn't ever seen a grown man cry, well except for Dillon. She'd kneed him accidentally when they were teenagers. But this was different. Jordan was crying, his tears now spilled out over his eyelids and onto his cheeks as he told her how sorry he was.
"I am so sorry, Georgie. I didn't mean to lose my cool so bad last night. I'm so sorry, please forgive me?"
He slowly rose up on his knees a bit more and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her, his head resting sort of in her lap.
"I am so sorry", he mumbled through his sobs.
She couldn't stop them. Tears came to her eyes. But she was determined not to let them reach her cheeks. She swallowed them back. She still hadn't heard him say that he would never do it again. She needed to hear him say that it would never happen again. "Please, Georgie. Say you forgive me."
She tried to act cold, not touching him and not giving any care to the fact that this grown man was crying against her.
"Please?" he asked, his head finally rising as he looked into her eyes.
"Please say you forgive me", he whispered, his palms resting on her cheeks and pulling her in. If he could just kiss her once more, he could prove to her how sorry he really was.
"Please", he whispered one final time as he brought his lips closer and closer to hers, hoping that she'd let him in.
Their lips touched and Georgie felt a sick feeling go through her when she felt his tongue brush over her lips. When he didn’t feel her welcoming him in, he started to lean forward, trying to deepen the kiss where she wouldn’t have a choice. But Georgie still stood firm and finally something came over her and she found her hands moving and making contact with his chest as she pushed him back and forcing his lips off hers.
“No” Georgie said when she saw Jordan fall backward onto the ground in front of the chair, looking at her shocked.
“What the hell Georgie?” Jordan asked, shocked.
Georgie quickly stood up and moved to the other side of the room to get some distance between her and Jordan.
Jordan slowly stood up and turned to face Georgie. “Ok, I can see you’re still clearly very upset.”
“Upset??? Upset!!!” Georgie cried.
“Listen Georgie, I’m…” Jordan started but was cut off by Georgie.
”I don’t care if you’re sorry Jordan!!!” Georgie cried, tears spilling over. “You hit me, Jordan. Do you get that? You HIT ME!!!!! How can you possibly expect me to forgive that!”
“Georgie I’m so sorry. I never meant…”
“You what? Never meant to hit me and then leave me lying helpless on the ground?? You never meant to throw me up against the wall, causing me to cry out in pain??? Jordan you HURT ME!!!!”
”I know and I’m so sorry baby, you have no idea how much” Jordan said, tears continuing to fall.
“Baby? Don’t you dare call me that! I’m NOT your baby!!! And you are nothing but a monster!!! You hit me and then you think that a little apology is supposed to make everything all right? You hurt me Jordan! How am I not supposed to hate you for that!!!”
“It was a mistake! I made a mistake” Jordan pleaded. “Please Georgie you have to forgive me”
“No!” Georgie said. “Not a chance.”
“Georgie, please…” Jordan said stepping closer to Georgie, who matched his steps by stepping backwards away from him.
Georgie shook her head. “There is no way in hell I will ever forgive you Jordan. Do you get that? Now get out of here.”
“Excuse me?” Jordan asked.
“I SAID GET OUT!!!” Georgie screamed at the top of her lung as the tears continued to spill out.
Jordan stood there and his look of shock was replaced with anger. “Oh there is no way in hell I’m going anywhere.” He said as he started moving toward Georgie.
Georgie’s heart dropped to her feet in fear when she saw him approach her. “You touch me and I’ll scream so loud.” She said as she continued to back away as he drew closer.
”Go ahead and try,” Jordan said with a smirk as he continued to draw closer.
“Somebody he…” Georgie tried to scream but was cut off when she felt the sharp pain of his hand striking her, knocking her to the ground.

“I told you never to cross me Georgie, you got what you deserve. Now the only thing left to do is get rid of your memory of Dillon altogether.” Jordan said just before he disappeared down the hallway towards her room leaving Georgie curled up in pain on the floor. Georgie tried to scream at him to stop but it hurt her to speak. She felt like she had a million knives plunging into her all over her body. She couldn’t find the strength to move. There wasn’t a part of her body that didn’t ache. Her eyes drifted slowly until they came upon her purse which lay on the floor a couple feet away from where she was. She remembered her cell phone was in her purse. As much as it hurt her to move, she did so with the hope of getting to it and calling for help.
Flinching in pain she began to pull herself toward her purse. She felt pain shoot through her with every move. After what seemed like an eternity she reached her purse. She knocked it over, spilling the contents onto the floor right in front of her face. The contents included her cell phone. She picked it up and hit speed dial number one dialing the number of the one person she knew would be able to help her.
“Hello?” Dillon’s voice boomed through the receiver.
Georgie tried to speak but it hurt her too much.
“Hello?” Dillon repeated. “Is anyone there?”
“Dillon…” Georgie managed to get out.
“Georgie?” Dillon asked
“Dillon, help me.” Georgie managed to get out before she heard Jordan in the hall. Before she could hear Dillon respond she hit the end button for fear Jordan was heading back in her direction.
When she didn’t see him in the next few seconds, she decided that now was her chance to get the hell out of there. With her cell phone gripped in her hand, she forced herself to crawl to the door, trying to ignore the pain she was in. When she made it to the door, her breathing was quickened and she felt like she lost all the strength she had left, and couldn’t move a muscle. It wasn’t until she thought of what Jordan could do to her once he returned that gave her the strength to push through the pain. She pushed herself up to a sitting position, cussing to herself in pain but trying to hold it in so Jordan wouldn’t hear. She managed to reach the door knob and pull herself to her feet, ignoring the pain that shot through her. She turned the knob just as she started to hear Jordan’s voice draw near. Something went through her and she opened the door and quickly got out of the room and found her feet moving quickly down the hall.
Just as Georgie disappeared into the hall and the door hit against the wall, Jordan reappeared in the room.
“GEORGIE!!!!” Jordan screamed.

Georgie continued to move as fast as her legs would carry her. She knew he was following her and he couldn’t have been far behind because she felt like she was moving like molasses.
“GEORGIE GET BACK HERE!!!!”
She heard Jordan call from behind her. He still seemed to be farther away from her but slowly inching closer. She continued to move as fast as she could. She approached an empty alley and saw a dumpster along the side and a little hole to the side of it. She took this as her opportunity to hide. She tried to pick up the pace as she entered the alley and started toward the little hole in the corner. She got to the hole and it was like her feet gave out on her and she collapsed to the ground, breathless out of sight.
Just then Jordan walked right passed the alley. “Georgie when I get my hands on you you’re…” She heard him say as he passed the alley still thinking he was hot on Georgie’s trail.
Georgie’s face was wet with tears as she tried to catch her breath. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized she still had her cell phone gripped in her hands. Her hands, shaking to say the least, managed to hit speed dial number one and dial Dillon’s number.
“Hello?” She heard his voice and it was like God was talking to her.
Georgie breathed heavily into the phone.
“Georgie? Is that you?” Dillon asked when he heard the breathing.
“Dillon, I need you. Please…”
“Georgie?”
“Please help me,” Georgie whimpered.
“Oh my God, Georgie, where are you?” Dillon asked, very concerned.
“I don’t…I don’t know.” Georgie whimpered. “Please Dillon…”
“Sweetheart, I have to know where you are so I can help you” Dillon said, trying to remain calm. “What’s around you?”
“I don’t…I don’t know…it’s an alley, I’m behind a dumpster” Georgie said.
”An alley?” Dillon asked, now very scared.
“Please Dillon, he could come…”
“He?” Dillon asked. “Georgie talk to me!”
“He could come back” Georgie managed to get out.
Dillon’s heart suddenly plunged to his feet. “Oh God, come on Georgie please try to think. What do you see around you? Come on you need to give me something so I can come and get you.”
Georgie tried to gather up enough strength to move to look at what was around her.
“Georgie? You still with me?” Dillon questioned frantically when he didn’t hear her speak.
“Tall buildings” Georgie said. “I see tall buildings.”
“Tall buildings?” Dillon questioned to himself trying to think of an alley behind tall buildings. “The library! Georgie did you see the library?”
Georgie tried to remember back to when she was running to get away from Jordan. Everything was a blur. But it was as if God was watching out for her when she remembered seeing the library sign and almost running into it due to lack of strength.
“Yes” Georgie managed to get out.
“Oh God, I’m on my way!! Georgie u still there?”
“Dillon please hurry,” Georgie managed to get out.
“I’m coming, stay right there! Don’t move” With that Dillon hung up and grabbed his coat heading out the door.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 12

Dillon ran out to the parking lot, fumbling desperately with his keys as he hopped in and turned the ignition. His hands were shaking, for he didn't even bother with the seatbelt. Backing up, he pulled out and shifted into gear quickly. His adrenaline was running and he intended to beat the hell out of the person who had put Georgie in any pain at all.
And as he turned the wheel, turning into the alleyway, he watched along the sides, hoping that he'd be able to see something. And thankfully, he saw that dumpster that Georgie had been talking about. Quickly, he put the car in park and hopped out, not even shutting the door. His feet had him there by that dumpster in a matter of seconds, and he about broke his neck as he looked in search for her.
And then he heard a cry, a whimper from behind him. After hearing her voice for 10 years, he never ever thought that she could sound that upset, that helpless. And although he had prepared himself for the worst, he never ever thought that he would have to see that look in her eyes, and her body so…mangled.
He slowly turned around, his lips slightly parted, for he now had no idea what to expect, his eyes were watery as he saw her hand peeking out from behind the dumpster, pressed into the ground, she was trying to move it to get his attention. And as she slowly began to crawl out from behind, he saw everything. He saw her bloodshot eyes from the streetlight, and he saw her beat up body and bruised face. He saw her red arms. He saw a line of blood running down the side of her face, along with her tears.
"Dillon…" she fought to say.
In an instant, he was by her side. He was sitting there in that grass, on that ground, holding her in his arms, rocking her back and forth. They were both crying now. Dillon couldn't remember a time where he had cried so hard, but the tears were there and they were running into Georgie's hair. He continued to rock her as they both let the tears come. And for those several minutes, words were not necessary.
"Georgie", he said through his tears, trying to think rationally. "I have to get you out of this alley…"
"No, Dillon", she gripped onto Dillon's arm even tighter, which he would have never thought that was possible. She was gripping so tight that it cut off the circulation in his arm, but he didn't care. He didn't care at all. All he cared about was making that little bastard pay for what he'd done.
"Please, don't let go of me, Dillon. Please."
"Georgie", his tears began to come even harder as he tried to make her understand.
"I have to get you home because if he…"
"Okay, okay. I understand", she choked on her tears as she tried to calm herself. "Just give me 2 seconds. 2 seconds. That's all I need."
He bent his head down even farther, kissing her hair. "Shh, it's going to be all right, Sweetheart. I promise you that I'm going to fix this. I'm going to take care of you now. You have nothing to worry about. That little bastard is never going to hurt you again. I promise you that."
Georgie nodded, she knew that he would protect her. Dillon didn't know how he did it, but he made it up off of that ground and his arms scooped Georgie up and carried her to his car, sitting her in the passenger seat. And as soon as Dillon hopped in on the other side, Georgie lay down and curled into a little ball across the two seats. Her head lay in Dillon's lap. He knew it would be difficult to drive like that. But hey, he'd find a way to do it for Georgie. She needed this. She needed him.

Dillon cut the ignition and gently moving Georgie's head up off his lap and down onto the seat while he went around to her side of the car, he opened her door and scooped her up once again. Her arms instinctively went about his neck as he carried her to his apartment and waited for the elevator.
Dillon carried her to his place and opened the door, kicking it shut behind him, he lay her down on the couch. As he sat her down, her arms didn't release his neck.
"Georgie…I have to run your bath water and get you a blanket from the closet. I'll only be a minute."
"A minute is too long. Please, Dillon. Just hold me?"
He sighed and she forced herself to lift her top half so that Dillon could sit beneath her body and hold her on the couch. His hands warmed her body and made her feel protected as he held her.
"Georgie", he whispered a few moments later.
"No, just please hold me."
"I will, I am, Georgie. But we need to get you cleaned up."
"No, not yet. Please?"
"Okay, okay." He took a deep breath as he tried to wipe away her tears that were still coming. Suddenly, Dillon took a long hard look at her, his fingertips following along her jaw.
"Georgie, please tell me what happened tonight. Please tell me everything."
"Dillon, you're not going to like it. You're not going to like it at all."
"I know I'm not. But please. So that I can protect you, I have to know."
"Please don't make me explain it right now. In a little bit, just hold me and talk to me", she told him, digging her face into his chest.
He sighed and lay the side of his head in her hair. And suddenly he just started telling her what he was feeling.
"I was scared to death tonight, Georgie. I don't think that I have ever been so scared in my entire life. I thought I was going to lose you. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to find you. I don't want to feel that way ever, ever again. I don't want you to ever hurt the way you hurt tonight ever again. I care about you so much and I couldn't stand it if something were to happen to you. And I promise you from tonight on, that I'm going to protect you no matter what the cost. He is never going to touch you again. I promise you that."
"Dillon, thank you for coming after me."
"Don't thank me for that Georgie. You don't need to thank me for that. Just don't shut me out, okay? That's what you can do for me. Don't shut me out, will you
promise me that?"
Georgie moved her head up a bit and dug it into Dillon's shoulder, slowly nodding.
"I promise."
"Okay, now please let me get you cleaned up? Let me run your water and get you a blanket?"
"In a minute."
"In a minute", he repeated. "In a minute."

"Okay, Georgie. I'm going to get up and run your water and grab that blanket all right?"
"No, not yet."
"Georgie, the only way that I can help you is get you cleaned up and warm."
"You're helping me right now, by being here with me and holding me", she mumbled into his chest.
He kissed her forehead and cuddled her close.
"Are you ready to tell me what happened?" he asked softly.
Georgie took a deep breath, her face still hidden in his chest.
"He was jealous."
"Jealous? Of what?" he asked, not following her.
"Of you."
"Why would he be jealous of me, Georgie?"
"Because he said that I was happier when I was with you then when I was with him. And he said that when I was him I wanted to be with you. And then that night I came home from the carnival, he saw the bear you had won me and our pictures."
"And?" he forced himself to ask.
"And I held onto the bear and hid the pictures beneath the couch. I held onto the bear while he beat on me."
Dillon clutched his hands, he imagined throwing them into Jordan's jaw, his rib cage, his stomach. For a moment there, he thought that he'd lost all self-control as he imagined standing above Jordan, kicking him in the stomach over and over again as he lay helpless on the ground, just like he had left Georgie.
"And those bruises that I saw…"
"Those were from that night."
"And when was the first time, Georgie?"
"The night that I came over here, crying. Telling you that it was just my grades.
Georgie collapsed against him, for telling him everything and finding the strength to finish her sentences wore her out even more than running 10 miles would do to an Olympic gold medalist.
He held onto her, for that was all he needed to hear. It was all he could force himself to hear. Someone hurting Georgie like that? They would have to pay.
And then the realization hit him like a pound of bricks being dropped on his stomach.
"You mean…you mean that scum did this because of me? He did this to you because of me?"
Georgie found the energy to shake her head quickly as she looked up at him.
"No, no. Please, don't blame yourself, Dillon. Please. That's the last thing that I want. Jordan, he, he had reasons for doing this to me. But they were excuses. If it weren't for you then he would have found other reasons to do this. It's who he is. You can't change someone like that. Please, please don't blame yourself. You're who got me through it."
"Me? How is that?" he wasn't following again because all he could think about was shoving Jordan up against the wall and beating him into it as hard as he could.
"Because I held onto the teddy bear you won for me that night. That's how I got through it, Dillon. I got through it because of you. So please don't blame yourself."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Did you not trust me enough?" he forced himself to ask.
"No no, it's not that", she hung her head. "It's just that, he promised me that he would never do it again, and foolishly I believed him."
"But Georgie, how could you stay with him after he..." Dillon started.
"Because after he promised he'd never do it again, he kept his word. He didn't hit me at all after that...until...until tonight." Georgie said, her voice choking.
"Georgie sweetie, why didn't you come to me? I could've protected you from this bastard?"
"I couldn't." Georgie said, tears falling.
"Why?"
"Because I was afraid for you."
"Me?" Dillon asked confused.
"Yeah, I was afraid of what he would do to you. He told me that he would hurt you if I said anything."
He couldn't listen anymore. He thought that he would be sick.
“So please don’t blame yourself. Please.” Georgie said, as she cuddled closer to his body.
"I don't, Georgie", he lied. "But now I do have to run your water. Can I please go do that so that I can take care of you?"
She nodded as he carefully slid her body off of his legs and back on the couch. He went to the bathroom and ran some warm water into the tub. And as it filled, he felt nauseous. And then two seconds later, he turned toward the toilet bowl and found himself throwing up everything that he had eaten earlier that day.

Rinsing his mouth and wiping a cool cloth across his head so that Georgie wouldn't suspect anything, he went into his bedroom and got out a blanket for her from the closet. Heading back into the living room, he draped it across her. She was still awake but she was also still in shock. He sat down in front of her on the coffee table, holding her hand.
As his fingertips ran gently over her knuckles, his eyes felt moistened again as she lye there, relaxing her eyes. So many emotions were running through his body at that moment as he watched her all beaten up, and scraped up, lying on his couch, trying to have one moment of relaxation. He had made up his mind that once he had Georgie safe, feeling better, and back to her old self again, he would find that piece of trash and beat the living hell out of him. But first things first.
"Come on, Georgie", he whispered.
She moaned.
"Come on, sweetheart. You need to get cleaned up."
He held out his arms and helped her get to her feet. Supporting her, he led her through the kitchen and to the bathroom where her bath was ready, bubbles and all. He let her sit on the counter.
"You going to be okay?" he asked.
"Yeah, yeah I'm okay. Thank you, Dillon."
"Of course. Yell if you need anything."
"I will."
A little at a time, Georgie peeled off her shirt, and then her sweats. She felt sticky, tired, and irritable. The pain had sort of gone away, that or she had just gotten used to it, for she'd been in pain for the last 4 hours.
And after discarding all of her clothing, she slowly stepped one foot into the water, and then the other. Slowly, she lowered herself into the water and let the warmness relax her aching body.

Climbing out of the tub, she grabbed a towel for her body, wrapping it snugly around her. And then she grabbed another for her hair, twirling it around her head.
She put her things in the hamper and peaked out of the bathroom door.
"Dillon?" she called, her voice a little raspy.
He was standing at the stove, boiling some water.
"Yeah sweetheart, you okay?" he asked concerned.
"Um, do you have something that I could possibly borrow, to wear?"
Dillon shook his head, cursing himself.
"Duh, Quartemaine", he mumbled. "Of course", he went into his room and quickly grabbed her some pajama pants, a plain wife beater, and a hoody.
"Thank you", she took the clothes and backed into the bathroom once more.
When she came out, fully clothed, Dillon had her tea sitting on the table.
"Drink up, babe", he told her as she came to sit beside him.
Dillon watched as she slowly lifted the mug and brought it to her lips. While she was getting her bath, Dillon had thought about a lot of things. But what he couldn't get his head around was how someone could do this to such a wonderful, amazing woman. First of all, what kind of man could raise a hand to a woman? He did still want to beat the crap out of Jordan, but Georgie was first. He would deal with Jordan in his own way, on his own time. There would be plenty of time to deal with him. But now, he concentrated on Georgie.
There was suddenly a knock at the door and Georgie about literally jumped out of her seat. She immediately grabbed onto Dillon's hand that rested on the table.
"Dillon…" her eyes filled with tears as Dillon's heart skipped a beat.
"Does he know where I live?"
"Yes", she said. And Dillon thought he had never seen her more frightened in his entire life.
"Georgie, I don't want to scare you, but please listen to me. Go hide in my closet."
She found herself nodding and immediately she headed for his room, but she stopped at his doorway.
"Dillon…?"
"Yeah?" he turned before heading into the living room.
"Be careful."
"I will, babe. Don't you worry about that. Now hide."
Dillon's heart skipped beats as his hand found the doorknob. He paced himself as he pulled the door open. And there he was. Jordan was standing against the side of the door, his arms folded across his chest.
"I know she's here."
When Dillon saw that arrogant, cocky face, he wanted to throw in a few punches, but he remembered Georgie in the other room and that wasn't what was going to help her now. So he tried his best to ignore his own fists curling up at his sides, ready to fight out the battle.
"Who's here?" Dillon asked, as calmly as he could.
"You know damn well who."
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, dude", he began to shut the door, but he walked straight on in.
"So, this is your place, huh?'
"Um, yeah. And I'd like you to leave."
Jordan turned toward him once more.
"Okay enough of this small talk, where is she?"
"Who? Georgie? I thought she was with you?"
“Listen man, I don't have time to play games."
"Well neither do I, but I seriously don't know what the hell you're talking about."
"Georgie, come out right now!"
He listened for a moment and when he didn't hear anything, he turned back to Dillon.
"I swear, when I find that bitch…"
Dillon looked away with a smile, his lips curving in a way that said he knew that was going to happen. And when he quickly turned back to face the piece of scum standing in front of him, he pulled back his fist and quickly made smooth contact with Jordan's face.
Jordan's hands flew to his face, holding it in his hands.
"What the hell was that for, man?"
And when his hands pulled back, he saw blood, and his eyes went wide.
"You better get out of here man, you have no idea how nasty I can get. You haven't seen anything yet." Dillon gave him one more final chance to get out. But even if the loser had been smart enough to run, Dillon wasn't sure that he would be able to let him out of the apartment alive.
"Oh yeah? Go ahead and try me."
So Dillon took his advice. He threw back his fist and again prepared to make contact, but this time he stopped him, catching Dillon's fist in his hand.
So when that didn't work, Dillon took him off guard and used his other fist to catch him in the gut, causing Jordan to go down on the floor. And as Dillon hovered over him, punching his face in once more, he saw Georgie out of the corner of his eye.
She was crawling on the floor toward him through the kitchen, trying not to risk being seen by Jordan. She lifted her hand to her ear in a motion for the phone, telling Dillon that's what she was trying to do. Dillon nodded and flipped Jordan on his stomach. Dillon hovered over him, holding him down on the ground. Then he nodded to her, telling her that it was okay for her to come out, for the phone was in the living room.
And as she headed for the phone, picking up the receiver, Jordan heard footsteps and turned his head which was pinned on the ground, but he did get it turned just enough to see her there.
"Don't you dare", he told her.
"You shut up!" Dillon told him, lifting his hair with his hand and ramming Jordan's head hard into the carpet.
"Call Georgie", Dillon told her.
"Hello?" she answered. "Yes, I have to report an emergency. Yes, my boyfriend is beating me. Please hurry, now. Come to 1887 N. Scottland Street. We'll be waiting. Thank you."

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 13

Georgie hit the end button on the phone as she clutched the phone to her chest, scared to death. “The cops are on their way.” She said, surprised she could speak.
“Oh you’re so gonna pay for that,” Jordan said before Dillon rammed his face into the carpet again.
“You shut the hell up!” Dillon said. “There is no way in hell you are ever getting near Georgie again.” Dillon said as he pushed down on his wrist, sending a wave of pain through Jordan’s arm.
Jordan grunted in pain. Dillon leaned right down near Jordan’s ear and whispered. “You hear me you asshole, you touch Georgie again and you’re gonna be begging me to kill you.” Dillon said.
“Oh yeah I’d like to see you try to keep me away from Georgie,” Jordan threw back.
Dillon sat back on Jordan’s back, chuckling. “Cocky are we?” He said putting pressure on his wrist again.
“Ow damn man you’re gonna break my wrist!” Jordan cried.
“You know maybe I should. See how you like being feeling helpless and left lying on the ground in pain you asshole!”
“Get the hell off me!’ Jordan said trying to get Dillon off of him, but it was no use. Dillon had a firm grip on him and had him pinned to the ground.
Jordan tried to use his free hand to push himself up only to have it be grabbed by Dillon’s other free hand.
“Georgie grab me some rope from that end table right there.” Dillon said motioning with his head to the end table next to the couch.
Georgie started toward the table. When she stepped too close to Jordan and Dillon, Jordan got his hand free from Dillon’s and reached out and grabbed Georgie’s foot, causing her to scream and fall to the ground.
Dillon instincts kicked in and his both of his hands went to Jordan’s hand on Georgie’s foot, allowing Jordan to get free from Dillon’s pin and turned around and used the hand, although in pain, that Dillon had pinned behind his back to push Dillon away from Georgie and to the other side of the room. When Dillon went backwards he bounced back and his head hit the wall, but not hard enough to knock him unconscious.
Once Georgie felt her foot free she quickly scrambled to her feet at almost the same time Jordan did. She turned around to see Jordan coming at her.
“DILLON!” Georgie screamed when she say him coming at her.
“Scream all you want but you’re gonna pay” Jordan said as he grabbed her arm and pushed her up against the wall.
“AHH!” Georgie screamed in pain.
“I told you never to cross me or you’d pay,” Jordan said lifting his hand up ready to smack Georgie.
Georgie squinted her eyes shut as if she could already feel the pain his hand was gonna cause her.
Jordan’s hand started to go forward but came to a stop when Dillon’s hand grabbed his and spun him around. The next thing Jordan knew, Dillon’s fist connected with his jaw, sending him to the ground.
“Georgie get in the other room, GO!” Dillon said.
Georgie turned to toward the hallway as Jordan kicked his foot up and kicked Dillon in the stomach, making him fall backwards. Standing up he took off toward Georgie and caught her around the waist.
“LET ME GO!!” Georgie said managing to get out of his grasp only to advance a few feet before Jordan pushed her from behind into a half opened door and sending her to the ground in even more pain.
Dillon came up behind Jordan as he charged toward Georgie again and threw him back down the other end of the hallway. He charged toward him and rolled him on his back and started to punch him continuously.
Jordan threw his hips up and managed to get Dillon off him and knock him to the side. Jordan got up and went to Dillon throwing a punch and knocking Dillon down to the ground once again.
Dillon got up to his feet while Jordan tried to take another swing at him. Dillon ducked out of the way just in time and got to his feet regaining his balance. When he did he charged at Jordan pushing him back and running him into the wall behind him.
“DAMN!” Jordan cried in pain.
Dillon continued to punch him in the stomach while he was up against the wall. Jordan tried to get away from Dillon but it was no use. When Dillon pulled back a little further Jordan too this opportunity to push him back, trying to regain his breath that Dillon had just punched out of him; only to be slugged across the face by Dillon’s fist. He tried to stand back up only to have Dillon’s fist meet his jaw again…and again. He looked up and his eyes met Dillon’s, and the next thing he knew everything went black as he fell to the floor unconscious.
Dillon immediately turned to look down the hallway to see Georgie standing in the doorway practically glued to the wall terrified.
“Georgie?” Dillon said, out of breath.
Georgie’s eyes went from an unconscious Jordan on the ground to meet with Dillon’s. The next thing she knew she was running down the hall and into Dillon’s arms, sobbing.
“It’s ok, it’s ok” Dillon soothed as he held her tightly against him. “He’s never gonna come near you again.”
Georgie just continued to sob in his arms, clinging to him like he was the only thing she had left.
Just then there was a knock at the door and Georgie clung even tighter to Dillon.
“Hey, hey it’s ok,” Dillon said.
“POLICE OPEN UP!” A policeman yelled from the other side of the door.
Dillon started to let go of Georgie and tried to pull away only to have her cling to even more. He knew there was no way he was gonna be able to get away from her grip, so he just replaced his arms around her waist and just called. “It’s opened!”
Two policemen came into the room and saw Jordan unconscious on the floor and Georgie crying on Dillon’ shoulder.
The cops came in, their guns pointed outward, prepared for the worst. And after looking at the scared woman, and then the man on the ground, the younger one placed his gun in his belt around his back.
"This is the abusive boyfriend?" he asked Georgie.
Her head still against Dillon's chest, her fingers on her lips, she nodded and turned her head the other way so she wouldn't have to watch.
"How long has he been unconscious?"
Dillon shrugged, he could care less as he held Georgie against him. "A few minutes", he muttered.
The other gentleman kneeled down to the floor and lightly smacked Jordan's face a couple of times.
"Come on, man. You need to wake up, come to. We have a few questions."
Jordan's eyebrows rose up as his eyes slowly opened. And when he saw a policeman standing above him and another kneeling down beside him, his eyes went wide.
"Come on", one said, pulling him to his feet and roughly turning him about.
Jordan rolled his eyes as the policeman stood behind him, cuffing his hands behind his back, and reading him his rights.
"You have a right to remain silent, anything you say can, and will be used against you in a court of law. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"
His eyes moved about the room as he saw a very terrified Georgie hugging on Dillon.
"Yes", he mumbled beneath his breath.
"Then let's go", one man began to lead him out of the apartment. But as he reached the doorway, Jordan looked back behind him at Georgie. Georgie felt Dillon's embrace stiffen, tighten even more around her waist.
"You're going to regret tonight Georgie. And when I get out of jail, I am coming after you, baby. I'll finish the job. I promise you that."
"Oh you know what…" Dillon broke through Georgie's embrace and was halfway across the room in an instant, preparing to break every single bone in Jordan's body. But the second police officer's hands raised and went to Dillon's chest, stopping him. Dillon would have gone through him anyway if it hadn't been for Georgie. She held her ground, grabbing onto Dillon's arm.
"Dillon, Dillon. You can't go after him. Dillon, please", she begged. "Let the police handle it."
And instead of holding him back, she stepped in front of him and wrapped her arms tightly around his body. Now Dillon and Jordan were facing each other. And if looks could kill, Jordan would have been long dead and buried in the ground. But Dillon kept his cool, tightening his arms around her. Jordan couldn't touch her as long as Dillon was there. Jordan would never touch her again as long as Dillon had anything to say about it.
The police officer who had tried to stop Dillon from going after him turned toward Jordan and the other gentleman.
"What are you standing there for? Take him downstairs, get him out of here."
And when the two were gone, he turned to Dillon.
"I need you two to come down to the station and file a report. You will be pressing charges, is that right, miss?" he looked to Georgie. But she didn't have to answer.
"Yes, definitely", Dillon replied. "But I'm taking her to the hospital first."
"Well, we can't wait for long to do this…"
"I know, but she's going to the hospital first. And then when I know for sure that she's okay, I'll bring her down to the station later on tonight, is that cool?"
"Sure, just don't wait too long. Get down there just as soon as you can."
Dillon nodded. "Thank you."
The police officer walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.
And only then did Dillon allow his embrace to release a bit, for he wanted to look into Georgie's eyes. But she still wasn't having it. So, he didn't either. Keeping his arms about her body, he rested his chin on her head, holding her tight against him, and then she spoke.
"I was so terrified that he was going to hurt you, Dillon. I was so sure that he was going to take you away from me. I was so scared…"
"Shh", Dillon calmed her, rocking her a bit back and forth.
"No, Dillon. He could have hurt you. Do you understand that?" her head pulled back so that she could look up into his eyes, but the rest of her body was pinned down to his, and wasn't going anywhere for a long time.
"But Georgie", his fingertips brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Why would you be scared of what he would do to me? I was terrified that he'd hurt you."
"Because…" she dropped her head against his chest.
"Georgie, please tell me."
"She looked up once again as she began to tear up, "Why do you think I was so determined not to tell you?" she asked.
Dillon shook his head, "I have no idea. Why?"
"Because he said that he would come after you, that he would hurt you. And Dillon, don't you understand, that was the last thing that I wanted to happen. I was prepared to do anything to stop that from happening. That's why I kept it from you. And that's why I was so damn determined not to let you find out. Because I knew that if I did…"
"Oh, sweetheart", he pulled her back into his chest and cradled her body close to his. He felt as if someone had just stabbed him in the abdomen, the wind had been knocked out of him as he listened to what she had said.
But he knew that he couldn't think about that right now.
"Come on, baby. I have to get you to the hospital."
"What, now?"
"Yes, now. We have to find out if you're all right, okay? Now, come on."
Dillon went to the stand and grabbed his keys. His arm was wrapped around the back of her waist, keeping her steady as they walked down to the parking lot and headed for the hospital.

Dillon walked her into the waiting room and instructed her to sit and wait there while he went to the front desk.
"Hi, Georgie Jones was, um…" he took a deep breath, "Beaten, earlier tonight and I need to find out if she is okay."
The receptionist's mouthed dropped open a bit. "And have the police been involved in this, sir?"
"Yes, we're headed down to press charges against the scum just as soon as she's checked out and is safe to go home."
"Okay", she picked up a phone. "I'll have a doctor be with you in a few moments, sir."
"Thank you."
Dillon sat next to Georgie, her head against his chest and his laying on her head as she proceeded to argue with him.
"Dillon, I don't want to be checked out. I just want to sit here with you…"
"No, Georgie. I have to be sure that you're okay."
"I'm fine, Dillon. I don't want some doctor asking me questions. Now if you were the doctor, then okay. But I am not talking to a complete stranger or going into one of those filthy hospital rooms alone with someone I barely know."
"Georgie, it's a doctor. A doctor will take care of you. You're in the best of hands."
Georgie sighed and groaned aloud. "Okay, well what are they going to do to me?" she asked, a bit scared as she tightened her grip on a bit of Dillon's shirt.
"Well, they're going to check your cuts and bruises, and bandage the cuts. Then they're going to check for a concussion", he explained.
Georgie sighed. "Kay."
Suddenly, a man with dark hair and glasses, carrying a clipboard joined them. He sat down in front of them on a small coffee table.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Johnson." He extended his hand to Dillon for a quick, firm shake. Then he looked to Georgie who was safely tucked away in Dillon's arms.
"I understand what has happened and we offer support groups…"
"I don't need a support group", Georgie tried to say.
"She'll need that support group soon, thank you doctor", Dillon corrected.
"Okay, Georgie I would like to take you into my office if that's all right."
"Can Dillon come too?" she asked.
"Well, he can come see you after the checkup. I promise."
Georgie raised her head up off Dillon's chest for just a minute. "Okay…" she looked at him.
And Dillon smiled, making her feel a sense of comfort as she pushed herself up off the chair and stood.
Dillon took her hand and looked up at her.
"I'll be here when you get back. I'm not going anywhere."
"Thank you", she told him and then tried her best smile as the doctor led her into a hallway and down a few doors.
Dillon sighed as he headed toward the lobby, grabbing a handful of change from his pockets and depositing them in a payphone.
Dialing, and then pressing the phone to his ear, he waited for an answer.
"Hey, it's Dillon. Is your mom there?"

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 14


Dillon was getting some coffee from the machine when a blond-haired woman came up behind him, instantly wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Hey, Max", he said. And then he saw Mac and Felicia coming up behind her.
He reached down for his coffee when Maxi pulled away.
"How is she, Dillon?" Felicia asked concerned as Dillon lifted the cup to his lips.
"Much better now. She's still in there with the doctor. But please, like don't ask too many questions. She's understandably been upset all night and as it is, she's going to have to repeat the story to the doctors, plus the police when we go down there to press charges. I can answer anything you want to know."
"How long was that little bastard hurting my sister?"
"Is she up for visitors?"
"That scum better pay. What did the police have to say?" all three members of her family asked at the same time.
"Whoa, whoa. One at a time." He turned to Maxi. "Ever since their first date" he replied bitterly. Then he turned to Felicia. "I'm sure she'll love to see all of you." Then he turned toward Mac. "The police have him in custody, sir. But hey, let's just sit down and wait for her. Instead of crowding around this coffee machine thingy."

Maxi laid her head across Felicia's lap and Mac's arm was about Felicia's shoulders. Dillon was sitting on the loveseat alone, his cup of coffee getting cold as he stared off into space. Then Georgie appeared, her jacket in front of her. She immediately began smiling when she saw everyone.
As they walked toward her, Mac saw the cuts and bruises all over his daughter's body. It made him want to rip out the insides of the one responsible. And he saw that Felicia was developing tears as she walked toward her youngest daughter.
One by one, all of them approached her and embraced her, covering her face and cheeks in kisses.
"Whoa, I am SO glad that you're all here, but how did you find out?"
They all backed away slowly so that all she saw was Dillon in front of her.
"Whups", he said with a red face. "I thought they should know", he told her.
"And I love you for it", she wrapped her arms around Dillon's neck in a hug. He quickly returned it and when she released him, his arm snaked about her waist behind her.
"Georgie, we've discussed it and we feel that you should come home with us for awhile", Felicia told her.
"Yeah, it's really not as bad as it used to be. Mac's lightened up a bit", Maxi added, gently shoving Mac in the shoulder.
"Um…" Georgie looked up at Dillon, and then back to her family. "Don't misunderstand me at all, really. I am so so grateful that you all showed up here tonight. But I'm not going back to my place and I'm not going home. Dillon and I discussed it and I want to move in, for just a little while, with him. I'm terrified to go back to my place. And if I went home with you all, then I wouldn't be able to stay in school. And I want to go back on Monday…"
"Whoa, whoa. I agreed to all that, but you're not going back there on Monday. You're taking a few days off", Dillon corrected her.
Georgie rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Okay correction, I'm taking a few days off from school, but that's all."
Mac and Felicia looked at each other for a moment and Felicia's eyes dropped.
"Well maybe we could stay with you tonight?"
Dillon nodded. "I don't mind. Really, that works for me."
"But all I'm going to be doing is sleeping and I don't want to put any of you out", Georgie told them. "Really, I'm fine."
Felicia nodded. "Well I can see that you are clearly being taken care of, but you promise me that you'll call the second you need anything, or just want to talk?"
"I promise, Mom", she said with a smile and held out her arms, pulling her in for a hug.
"Okay, everyone. We have to get down to the police station", Dillon was forced to say.
"Okay, well we'll miss you, little sis", Maxi stepped forward and hugged her sister.
And then Mac stepped forward and kissed her forehead.
"I don't know what we would do if anything happened to you, Georgie", Felicia got a little misty eyed, and Mac gently rubbed her back.
"Obviously she was a little worried the whole way down here."
"I'm okay, Mom. Thank you all for coming."
Felicia nodded and embraced her daughter once again. And when she pulled away, she took Georgie's face in her palms.
"I love you, baby."
"Oh, I love you too, Mom", Georgie nodded, her voice cracking a bit.
"Thank you all again for coming to see me", she told them as they began to walk toward the elevator. Maxi turned around and dramatically blew them both a kiss as she stepped on the elevator with her mom and dad, causing both Dillon and Georgie to giggle a bit.
"So", he turned toward her, holding out his hand, which she gladly took. "You ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be", she replied.
"Then let's go."

Dillon walked with her into the police station. Both Georgie's arms went around his waist on one side as she walked with him, her head buried in his chest.
Dillon's palm rested on her arm that was around his stomach as he looked for the officer who had been in his apartment earlier that night. And then he saw him. When the two made eye contact, the police officer nodded and started their way.
"I'm so glad you two could make it tonight. Miss. Jones, are you prepared for questioning?" he asked. And Georgie slightly nodded.
"Okay, follow me", he instructed.
They were led down a pathway that consisted of desks and mini walls that kept each department private. They were led to the officer's desk and instructed to wait there for several moments.
As he walked away, Georgie reached for Dillon's hand, taking a deep breath.
"You'll do fine, Georgie. I know it."
"Thank you for the confidence."
And then, Georgie was terrified as she looked to the side and out of one of the doors came a man struggling between two police officers to be free. Georgie's whole body stiffened and she suddenly forgot to breathe as she began to feel dizzy.
"Um, Dillon…" she got out.
"What is it?" he asked. And then he looked to where her eyes had wandered and watched as he couldn't stop Jordan from licking his lips provocatively at Georgie and then puckering his lips and mimicked a kiss.
Dillon began to stand up from his seat, which caused Georgie to snap out of it. She immediately stopped him.
"Dillon, you can't. He's in custody. They would throw you in jail so fast, and then who would I have?"
Dillon watched as the two men forced him into another area. And then, only then did he allow himself to sit back down next to Georgie.
"Are you okay?" he whispered.
"Yes, I'm okay."
A few moments later, the same officer appeared and sat down in front of them.
"I'm sorry that it took so long. I have just a few questions."
"Shoot", Georgie told him.
"All right, who did this to you, Georgie?"
"Jordan Miller."
"Where did you meet this Jordan Miller?"
"At the library, in our college."
"And was tonight the first time, or were there more occurrences such as this?"
Georgie's grip tightened around Dillon's fingers until they began to turn a white color, but it wasn't as if Dillon cared about that.
"Um, could you repeat the question, please?"
"Of course. Was tonight the first time, or were there more occurrences such as tonight?"
"Um, do you mean were there other times where he beat me? Or other times where there were other physical threats?"
"There were other times, then?"
"Yes."
"Okay, the first time, when was that?"
"The night of our first date."
"And what happened then?"
"He shoved me against a wall and threatened me with words, but he never like, he hit me like once but then he stopped. He wasn't to the point where he beat me just yet. That was later."
"Okay, and when did the actual beatings begin?"
Georgie's eyes filled with tears as she froze up.
"I'm sorry. I can wait. There is no rush."
"Can you just get her some water?" Dillon asked.
"Sure", he stood from his desk and left them alone.
Dillon dropped from his chair and kneeled down on the floor in front of her.
"Georgie? Are you all right? I know that this is difficult for you."
Georgie sniffled as she tried to wipe the tears away, but more and more just kept rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry. I just, it's really hard."
"I know, but you have to do this. We have to do this."
"I know", she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and took a deep breath.
"Okay", she whispered.
He came back with a paper cup and handed it to her. She took several sips.
"Okay, are you ready now, miss?"
"Yes. Okay, the first beating was…" Georgie looked to Dillon, trying to think of the night. "Dillon and I had gotten back from the carnival late…"
"The 20th", Dillon replied.
"Yeah, the 20th. He wanted to know what Dillon and I had done until 1:00 in the morning. We had gone out for a celebration and he took it the wrong way. He wouldn't believe me that nothing happened."
"Go on", the man urged.
"Then the next morning, he called and said that he'd be over later that night. And when he arrived, he started to apologize. But when I got mad and started yelling at him for what he did to me and I told him to get out, that's when he did it again", she took a deep breath and Dillon squeezed her hand gently. "Only this time", tears rolled down her face as she continued. She didn't bother to wipe them away. "Only this time, he didn't stop. He just kept hitting me, and shoving me against the wall, kicking me down on the floor…" She was sobbing as she looked around at nothing in particular. "I kept telling him to stop hitting me, I kept telling him that he was hurting me but he wouldn't listen. He just kept kicking and hitting me like a crazy person. And those eyes, I looked at those eyes and I got the chills. He was a completely different person. He just kept hitting me, hurting me. Why?" she asked. "Why did he do that to me? Why?" she begged. "Oh please, someone tell me why he did this. Why did he hurt me like that? Please, someone answer me!"
The gentleman looked stunned, he wanted to help but he couldn't. It seemed that the only person who could do that was the gentleman sitting next to her.
Dillon's eyes were watering over again as he sat there, holding Georgie in his arms, comforting her with his touch.
"Shh", he hushed her. He rocked her back and forth in his arms, kissing her forehead and holding her against him.
The gentleman looked to the picture on his desk of his daughter who had just recently become a teenager herself. He got a little misty eyed as he thought of how he would feel if something like this ever happened to her. The man who did it certainly wouldn't be alive to tell the tale.
"Listen you two, I want to let you go home now. There's no reason to keep you here. I just want you to come back down in the morning if that is all right with you?"
Dillon nodded. "Thank you, officer. We'll be back in the morning."
"No problem. I'll see you then. For now, you can stay here as long as you need to", he stood and walked away.
"You ready to go home and get some sleep, sweetheart?" he asked her.
"Yes, sleep is good. Sleep sounds really good."
Dillon smiled and stood, his fingers linking through hers as he pulled her to a standing position.
"Let's go home", she told him, leaning on his chest as they walked out of the police station.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 15


Georgie and Dillon pulled in the parking lot of his apartment building. Dillon put the car in park and looked over at Georgie who was staring back at him.
“Hey,” He smiled
“Hi.” Georgie smiled back.
”You ready to go inside?” Dillon asked.
“In a minute. But first I want…”
Dillon turned to face her more waiting for her to continue.
”Dillon, I don’t know if there is any possible way I can say thank you for everything you’ve done for me tonight.”
”Georgie, you don’t need thank me. I’d do it again.” Dillon said pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Really?” Georgie smiled.
Dillon smiled. “In a heartbeat.”
“I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” Georgie said taking his hand in hers. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without you tonight.”
“Well you’re never gonna have to find out, because there is no way I’d ever let anything happen to you. Not ever. And Jordan is never gonna get near you again.”
“God I was so scared he’d pull out a knife or something when you guys were fighting. I mean imagine if he would’ve, you could’ve gotten…you could’ve gotten stabbed or worse!” She said, tears forming in her eyes.
”Georgie, Georgie, stop it. That didn’t happen. Stop thinking about what could’ve happened and just try and focus on the fact that you’re safe now.”
”I always feel safe when I’m with you. There’s no one in this world that I’d trust my life to.” Georgie said.
“Come here,” Dillon said as he leaned forward and gathered her up in his arms and hugged her.
“I love you Georgie,” Dillon said as he hugged her. “I always will.”
Georgie let out a content sigh when she felt Dillon’s arms around her. “I love you too, Dillon.”
They pulled apart and smiled at each other. Dillon’s hand touched the side of her face. “Come on let’s get inside and get you to bed. You’ve got to be exhausted.”
“Oh you have no idea,” Georgie chuckled.
“Come on,” Dillon said, climbing out of the car, while Georgie did the same. He met her around on her side and her hand immediately found his and her fingers intertwined with his as they headed inside.

They walked into Dillon’s apartment and Georgie headed for the couch and collapsed onto it. Dillon shut the door, setting his keys down on the table by the door before joining her on the couch. Georgie’s head rested on the back of the couch as she stared at Dillon with a smile on her face.
“You know you should really get to bed. You can have my bed, I’ll sleep out here on the couch.” Dillon said.
“Dillon, I don’t want to take your bed, I’ll sleep here out here on the couch.” Georgie insisted.
“No arguments, you’re sleeping in my bed and that’s final.” Dillon said. “Come on, let’s go,” he said getting up off the couch and holding his hand out to her.
Georgie looked up at him and smiled before placing her hand in his. He pulled her off the couch and headed for his room. “I’ll go to your place tomorrow and gather some of your stuff up, ok?”
“Ok,” Georgie said.
Dillon pulled back the covers and moved to the side so Georgie could climb in. He pulled the covers over her. “Sleep well, sweetheart.” Dillon said as he kissed her forehead.
Georgie smiled up at him and nodded. Dillon turned to leave only to be stopped when Georgie reached out and grabbed his hand. “Wait.” She said.
“What’s the matter?” Dillon asked, turning back around, concerned.
“Will you just sit here with me until I fall asleep?” Georgie asked.
Dillon smiled. “Sure I will.” He said as she sat on the edge of the bed while she held onto his hand.
She smiled up at him as he eyes got heavy and slowly drifted shut. Her breathing was steady and she seemed so peaceful at that moment. He waited a few minutes, making sure that she was really asleep before he slipped his hand from hers and left the room.

Dillon tried to sleep but he couldn’t seem to close his eyes. After what happened that day, he just couldn’t close his eyes. He was too worried about what he let happen to Georgie. How he wasn’t there to protect her from Jordan. He knew it wasn’t gonna do him any good to think about what he should’ve done so he decided to put it out of his head, at least for now, and try to just relax. He sat on the couch and reached for the TV remote flipping through the channels. He got the American Classic Movie Channel and saw “To Have And Have Not” and set the remote down, and relaxed into the couch.

Dillon started to doze off as he watched the movie, he was about asleep when he was woke up by Georgie’s voice.
“No, stop it! No, let me go!!!! NO!!! DILLON!!!!!” Georgie screamed from his room.
Dillon immediately sprung up from the couch and ran into his room to find Georgie tossing and turning.
"Georgie, Georgie!" he ran to her, clicking on the lamp on the nightstand by his bed and shaking her awake.
"Wake up, sweetheart. Wake up, it's only a dream"
Georgie's eyes flew open and when she saw Dillon standing above her, she immediately grabbed onto the collar of his shirt and pulled him down next to her, embracing him tightly.
"Whoa, whoa. Georgie, it's going to be okay. Shh."
He now sat on the edge of the bed, against the headboard, holding her.
"Tell me what happened, sweetheart. What happened in the dream?"
"Dillon, it was horrible", she cried into his shirt.
"Tell me", he said gently.
"Okay", she sighed, taking a breath. "Well, it was exactly like what really happened tonight up until I went for the phone."
"Hmm, hmm. Go on."
"And instead, I never made it to the phone. He came after me and started beating me worse than he ever did in real life. I was bleeding everywhere. And then you came to and started after him, getting him off me and onto you. You told me to run and then…" she began sobbing worse than before. Her hands started shaking as she forced herself to go on. "And then he pulled out a knife out of nowhere."
Dillon closed his eyes, for he knew now that the dream would be even worse than what had really happened.
"And I ran into the closet. I waited as I heard…really terrible, sickening noises coming from the other room, but like a dumbass I waited in the closet waiting for you to tell me that it was okay to come out…"
"Wait, okay let’s get one thing straight, Georgie. If that had happened and I told you to hide, I'd want you to hide. I'm serious. You weren't dumb for hiding in the closet, and you weren't dumb for waiting for me to do that. If that ever did happen, that is exactly what I would want you to do."
"But Dillon, no", her palms cupped his face as she looked him in the eye and went on. "When I did finally come out, you had been stabbed. And I was crying and when I was trying to check for a pulse, he came after me again. And then he started hitting me ten times as hard as before. He wasn't going to stop and I knew it. And finally, finally", her fingertips brushed his cheeks, as if she were truly afraid that she'd never have another chance to touch her best friend.
"Finally, I saw your face when I woke up. And it was over."
She took a deep breath as she came to rest against him.
Dillon wanted nothing more than to take a little drive down to the police station and slam Jordan’s head against the bars several times. Or be sure that he dropped the soap while he was taking a shower.
"Georgie, I'm going to get you a drink of water…"
"No", she immediately grabbed onto his arm and pulled him back.
"Please, stay."
She held onto him tightly and she thought that she'd never let go.
Finally, after several moments had passed, he told her he had to get her drink.
"Okay, but hurry."
As promised, he brought back the water and handed it to her. She gulped it down in 10 seconds flat.
"Damn, babe!"
"Sorry", she exhaled quickly.
"Don't be", he took the glass and set it on the dresser. And then he settled back into her.
As Georgie laid her head on his chest, she laced their fingers together.
Dillon's heart started to pound for reasons he wasn't quite sure of. He watched Georgie as she lay there against him and he thought of what he would have done if he hadn't gotten to her in time, if he hadn't been able to find her in that alley. And then he told himself to stop it, he had told Georgie just a few hours ago that she couldn't think of what could have happened, only that she was safe. And that's what he thought about, she was safe. She was in his arms, and she was safe. That's all that mattered to him right now. The rest of the world could just fade away right now, for all he cared about was that she was safe.
When he thought that she was asleep, he began to move her hand away and sit up, but she grabbed onto the collar of his shirt before he could.
"Don't leave."
"Georgie…"
"Just stay here with me. You don't have to sleep on that uncomfortable couch."
"It's not uncomfortable, Georgie."
"I know your couch, Dillon and it's uncomfortable to sleep on all night. Please, stay with me? Don't make me say that I am afraid to sleep alone tonight."
He nodded, and let her fall back to rest across his chest.
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
"Night, Dillon."

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 17


"Okay Georgie, you're doing really well. I am so proud of you", the police officer coaxed her on. "But now I have to get to a couple questions that may be even more difficult then what we just did. Do you think you can do that for me?"
Georgie closed her eyes and nodded, clutching just a little tighter to Dillon's fingers than before.
"Okay Miss. Jones, did this man ever make sexual advances toward you?"
Georgie's jaw about dropped to the floor. She had no idea that they would bring up that. Biting her lip, she nodded.
"Okay, did this man ever force or contribute into sexual relations?"
Georgie suddenly felt dizzy, for she had a little hard time getting oxygen to breathe.
"Um, yes", She managed to say.
Dillon found himself squeezing her hand a little tighter as he brought his hand to his forehead and when he brought it back down, he curled it into a fist, preparing to knock someone out. He thought that he'd have to throw up at any second.
She looked over to Dillon who looked nothing short of angry. She knew that there was smoke practically coming out of his ears.
"He tried", she went on. "But I, I pleaded with him to stop."
"And did he, Miss. Jones?"
She looked to Dillon again, who now turned his eyes back to her, he was getting the feeling that she wasn't saying everything that needed to be said.
"No, he stopped."
"And what did he do, was he angry?"
"Yes, but I got him to leave." She took a deep breath. "Anymore questions?"
"I don't think so, Miss. Jones. I'll be right back though. Just one moment."
Georgie nodded and as soon as he was out of sight, Dillon leaned into her. She saw tears in his eyes.
"There's something you're not telling the cops", he simply said.
"Dillon…"
"Don't lie to me, Georgie."
She noticed the officer coming back. "Let's not talk about this right now, Dillon."
The officer came back and Dillon found himself watching her, knowing that something wasn't right here.
"Thank you officer", Dillon said, taking her hand and leading her out.
"Okay, Jones", he began when they were outside the station. "Why the hell did you lie to the cops?"
"Dillon, stop. I didn't lie."
"Damn it, Georgie! If that monster touched you, if he forced himself on you in any way, I swear I will make that little bastard pay…"
And Georgie knew that he would. He would always protect her.
"He didn't, Dillon. Now let's go home."
Dillon was about to punch a wall, but decided to follow her to the car anyway. He was silent all the way home.

Georgie slid off her coat and hung it up, heading to the couch. Dillon followed behind and sat down next to her. He still hadn't said one word to her.
"Dillon?"
"What is it?"
"I want to talk about what's bothering you. I don't understand why you're so upset with me."
"Georgie, don't you get it?" he turned toward her. "If he forced himself on you, you have to tell me so that I can…"
She shook her head. "Dillon, I promise. He didn't rape me, all right?"
Dillon nodded his head. "But? There is more than you told the cops, right?"
She looked down but Dillon gently raised her chin with his fingers, cupping her chin with his thumb.
"You know that you can trust me, right?"
"Yes, of course. I've never trusted anyone as much as I trust you, Dillon." She took a deep breath, and then went on.
"Okay, at first when we would kiss, he was so sweet and gentle. And then the first time we began to make out on my couch, I just didn't feel so comfortable with going so far so fast. And I lied and told him that I was tired. And we fell asleep on my couch. At that point, I did like him. But I just didn't trust him enough, you know?" she asked. And Dillon nodded, urging her to go on.
"Okay, so the next time he came over and we began to kiss, he kept telling me that he wanted to and I still kept saying no. And at that point, he had only shoved me against the wall. He'd also hit me once but I had no idea that it would get worse", she looked down as her voice cracked and Dillon pulled her against him. He lay back on the arm of the couch, his back against it. And he pulled Georgie in to rest against his chest. They both lay on the couch together. She took a deep breath and just let the tears come.
"That was the first night he got really, really mad at me. I saw that look in his eyes and it scared me to death. He came at me and I tried to get to my room, but he knocked me down onto the ground on my stomach and flipped me over onto my back, straddling me." She replayed it all in her mind, wiping the tears away as Dillon's heartbeat calmed her a bit. She clutched his shirt as she went on.
"He pinned me down and tore at my clothes. He told me things that made my skin crawl. He said he was going to have his way with me." And then she stopped, realizing that the last thing she needed was Dillon to hear those things he had repeated.
"Anyway, and then I lifted my leg and kneed him, getting my chance I ran to my room and locked my door. My clothes were torn and my cheeks were red. I was crying, hoping that he'd leave. But he just stood outside my bedroom and said that I was a tease and stuff. And then after staying in there for a couple hours, I was curled up in a corner, waiting and hoping that he wouldn't still be out there."
She sobbed against him as Dillon felt like his head would explode. He wanted to go down to that police station so bad…
"I didn't get mad enough at him to have the courage to yell at him until he beat me a couple nights later. And then he left. When he came back to apologize, that day you came over and I lied, saying that I had a study group. And he kept saying that he was sorry for hitting me. He begged me to take him back and when I yelled at him, he just came at me twice as hard. And then we went to the carnival. He was so jealous, Dillon. I was terrified. That's when he beat me the worst."
Finally, it was out. She was done. He was her best friend and now that she was sure that Jordan couldn't touch Dillon, she could tell him what he had done to her. She needed to talk about it. But it was hard. She buried her head in Dillon's chest, clutching his shirt as Dillon held her tight and rocked her, his arm gently running up and down hers, whispering soothing words into her ear.

Dillon had left Georgie in the living room, on the couch where she had fallen asleep. But Dillon couldn't sleep, not after what he heard. His hands clutched the bathroom sink. And then suddenly he kicked the cabinet below the sink. Not even stopping to notice the dent in the cabinet, he turned around and pulled back his fist, quickly making contact with the wall behind him before he could stop himself.
And the damage was already done before he even realized that he was crying. He leaned over the sink, his head in his hands as he felt the wetness on his cheeks. But then he felt the stickiness on the hand that he'd used to hit the wall with. He pulled it back and saw the blood running down his knuckles.
"Shit", he mumbled. He couldn't even feel it, he was too angry with everything. He hated how Georgie hurt. And he beat himself up that he couldn't stop him from hurting her.
But he turned and saw the big dent in the wall. So he quickly wiped away the wetness on his cheeks and placed a towel over the whole on a hook so that Georgie wouldn't see. Then he took another towel and placed it over the cabinet beneath the sink, hoping that she wouldn't notice.
Then he turned to the sink and ran some water, grabbing some bandages from the cabinet, which fell to the floor.
Dillon took a deep breath before bending down to pick them up. And when he stood, he saw her. Georgie was standing in the doorway with her arms folded across her chest.
"I thought you were asleep too…" and then her eyes traveled to his hand. "Oh, Dillon! Come here", she led him into the kitchen, grabbing the bandages. Leading him over to the sink, she stuck his hand under the water, frantically trying to get the blood off.
"Dillon, I can't believe how much blood…What happened?"
Dillon bit his lip as he found himself watching her, frantically fixing him up. She turned off the water and led him to the table, getting out the bandages and sitting across from him.
"Answer me, Dillon", she told him as she wrapped his wrist in gauze.
"I was fixing the sink, it had a leak."
She looked up, crossing her eyes. "Right." And then she went back to wrapping his wound. "How about the truth this time?"
He sighed, not wanting to tell her how upset he was.
"It was nothing. Just let it go."
"I will not let it go! Tell me what happened, Dillon. Hold this", she instructed as she took out the tape, cutting it with her teeth.
He continued to hold the bandage while she taped it up. "I'm waiting."
"Georgie, it's nothing."
He watched her as she prepared the bandage, so intently determined to fix him up as good as new.
She was sitting in front of him, kneeling in front of his chair, looking up at him.
"It's because of me, huh?"
"Georgie, don't do this."
"Well, stop pissing me off and tell me what happened then."
He sighed. "I wish you'd drop this."
"Well, that's one wish that's not coming true."
He groaned. "I hit the wall. And no, I don't want to talk about this."
Georgie looked up at him, tears forming. And suddenly she dropped her head into his lap, hugging him about his waist.
Dillon didn't realize it, but one single tear fell into her hair as he wished that he could somehow fix it all so that Georgie was all right and happy again.
"Okay", she lifted her head, wiping away the tears. She stood, taking his hand. "Let's go watch a movie."
"Is that your solution for everything, Jones?" he cracked, following behind her.
"Shut up, it is tonight. Sit", she instructed. "Tonight is my night for movies."
Dillon sat, and both of them knew that it was Dillon's but he wasn't going to say anything.
She put the video in and went to sit by him, curling up against him.
"What movie did you choose, babe?" he asked.
"Boys and Girls."
"Nice choice", he told her, wrapping his arm about her shoulders as Georgie settled even more into him.

She hugged him, crying.
"I don't know what's wrong with me", she said.
And he goes "Maybe you're getting your period."
She hits him and says "Yeah, maybe."
He is staring at her.

Georgie was almost off the couch at this point.
"Kiss her, Ryan! Kiss her, you idiot!" she yelled at the screen.

He stares at her and then leans in, and kisses her.

"Yes!" she yelled. "You go get her!"
"Um, Georgie?"
"What?"
"You've seen this movie before. Did you think it was going to be any different then last time?"
"Shut up!" she hit him.
"Right, I'm sorry. You were having 'a moment'," he said dramatically.
"You hush!" she hit him.
"I'm sorry if I ruined your 'moment' but you are so freaking corny."
"Ohh!" she went after him, shoving him back against the armrest of the couch, climbing on top of him and tickling his sides.
"Georgie, don't! Don't!"
"Take it back!"
"Come on, I have a bad wrist. Please, give me a break!"
"Yeah. Having that bad wrist didn't keep you from keeping your mouth shut, did it? Did it?!" she tickled him some more.
"Fine, fine! I'm sorry! Happy?"
"Yes", she crawled off him and got back to the movie.
After a few minutes, she settled back into him again as she watched the movie. Her body was imprinted into his, his arm was around her. He looked down at her and smiled to himself. She was safe and in his arms, that's all that mattered. He would do anything it took to keep her safe. And he would walk to the end of the earth to make that girl happy.

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 18

Nearly a week had passed and still, Dillon refused to leave Georgie alone for even one second. He was supposed to go back to her place to pick up more of her things, but he'd just decided to take her out shopping for new stuff instead. She'd grown accustomed to living with Dillon, feeling safe and secure. Hell, it was as if she lived with him before considering she was always over there.
She was in the kitchen, washing dishes from dinner when the phone rang, causing her to jump. As she washed the plate in the soapy water, she still found herself getting a little panicked when she heard the ring, for you never know, something could have happened and Jordan could have been set free. Her hand flew to her chest and she let out a breath.
But after about the third ring, she snapped herself out of it and grabbed a towel from the drawer with shaky hands, drying off her hands and walking across the floor to the phone.
"Hello", Georgie answered with some reservations.
She let out the breath that she didn't even know she'd been holding when she heard one of Dillon's friends introduce himself.
"Hi, is this Georgie?"
"Yes, it is, whose this?" Georgie asked a bit nervous.
"This is Kevin, a friend of Dillon's from class."
"Oh, sure. I remember, hello Kevin." She remembered meeting him in the park one day when Dillon had introduced him. At least now she could breathe.
"Hi. Is Dillon there by any chance?" Kevin asked.
"Um, actually Dillon's in the shower right now. Can I take a message?"
"No, I was just wondering if everything was going ok with him lately?"
Georgie's eyebrows bunched together.
"Yeah, I mean why wouldn't Dillon be okay?"
She'd been with him all week, what could have happened that she didn't know about?
"No, I mean I know that he's okay and all but I was just a little concerned that he's not back in class yet. We have a lot of final stuff coming up and I didn't think that he would miss it unless it was something really important. And I did hear about what happened to you with that guy, I'm really sorry."
She rolled her eyes, everyone had heard it seemed like.
"Yes, that's why he's been out. I haven't been able to convince him that I'm okay…"
And she was okay now. She'd been trying to convince Dillon that she was okay all week. But she knew deep down that the moment she was alone and the moment that Dillon walked out that door, her mind would drift back to that night where anything could happen.
"Are you?" he asked.
"Am I okay? Of course."
She heard the water turn off in the adjoining bathroom.
"Um, I need to let you go. But Dillon will be in class tomorrow."
"All right cool. Thanks Georgie."
"No problem. Bye Kevin." She hung up the phone and ran back over to the sink.
Just then, the bathroom door opened and out came Dillon in a towel. She concentrated on washing that dish as she thought about how to ask him what was going on. With the towel around his waist, he threw his things into the hamper.
"Why are you doing my dishes, huh?" he asked, coming up behind her to take a look.
"Didn't have anything else to do", she stated.
"Oh, you didn't have anything else to do huh? Didn't know my place was such a bore."
She dried the dish that she'd been working on for the last 5 minutes and raised up on her tip toes to place it into the cabinet, revealing a little hint of her stomach as she did so. And Dillon caught it.
"You know you would have had something to do if you would have joined me in the shower. Really, I wouldn't have complained."
And then the second towel that he had, he used to wind up and hit the back of her legs with it. She turned around and with the black wind nozzle that was connected to the sink, she sprayed him. But she missed, for he was already in his bedroom with the door shut.
"Ass", she mumbled to herself, but she did find herself laughing.
A few minutes later, Dillon came out in some flannel pajama pants and a plain white T-shirt. Georgie was straightening out Dillon's table, flattening the plain, white tablecloth.
"I need to get you a new one", she commented as he sat down at the table.
He looked at her, scrunching up his brow.
"A new what?"
"Tablecloth, this one is too plain."
"That's because a guy lives here. What, you expect me to have a flowered pastel tablecloth? I don't think so", and then he pulled her down on his right knee.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
She hung her head and then asked her question, swinging her arm about his neck.
"Why didn't you tell me that you had some important finals coming up?"
Now it was Dillon's turn to hang his head.
"Come on, Georgie. It's not a big deal."
"Hey, it is to me. And it would be to you too if you weren't spending all of your time worried about me."
Dillon rolled his eyes and scooted her off of him, coming to a stand. He went to the doorframe to the living room and leaned up against it, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Dillon come on, you need to go back to class. Please?"
He shook his head. "Yeah? And what are you going to do while I'm there huh? Worry about whether or not he's going to come after you again? You'll be alone and who would be here to protect you if something happened? I sure as hell wouldn't be able to stop it!"
His words were harsher than he had intended. And it had been the first time that he'd brought him up when they weren't into a conversation that had to do with him or when Georgie felt the need to talk about what happened. Otherwise, he'd never brought him up until now.
She bit her lip to keep the tears from pouring out.
"Yes, I would be scared while you were gone, but I am a big girl. I can take care of myself."
His tone calming down a little, he said softly, "I know that you're a big girl Georgie. And I know that you can take care of yourself all right. I would just feel a little better if I was here with you and I knew that you were safe."
"I'm safe here, Dillon!" she looked around. "Look, I can lock the door. And there are no special traps in the floorboards that he can climb through to get me. And also, he's in jail! He can't get to me now!"
She didn't know why it was so hard to convince herself of all that, but it was. She didn't believe one word of what she'd just said but she needed to get Dillon back to class before he gave himself a nervous breakdown, worrying about her too much.
"I'm fine, Dillon! You'll only be gone for a few hours! Just to go to class! You've protected me long enough…"
"Yeah, like I protected you that night he beat you? Yeah, Georgie I left you there with him remember? We got back from that carnival and I left you there with him! And then when you told me to leave because he was coming as part of a 'study group' I left you then too. You'd think I would have learned my lesson, I knew that guy was a creep. But I left you alone with him anyway. I can't believe that you don't blame me for that!"
Dillon's eyes were glazed over as he backed up from the wall, closing his eyes to take a deep breath, immediately regretting his words.
He watched as a speechless Georgie forced herself to push the tears back.
"You…" she choked, "You blame yourself for what happened to me?"
Dillon turned around, with his arm wrapped across his chest, staring at her for a second and then looking away, not saying a word.
Georgie walked up to him and stood in front of him. “Dillon, what happened to me wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault.”
Dillon’s eyes remained off to the side. He couldn’t bear to look at her. He didn’t want her to see the failure he felt inside.
“Dillon you didn’t MAKE me stay with him. I…I was the one that did that. Me!” Georgie said, her eyes now watering at the thought of what Jordan did to her.
That’s all it took to get Dillon to look at her.
“No, it wasn’t you, Georgie.” Dillon said, trying to remain calm and not lose it.
“Yes it was Dillon! I was the one who let myself stay in a relationship with someone who…” Georgie trailed off, turning her back to Dillon as she crossed her arms across her chest and the tears started to fall. “Someone who I let hurt me.” She finished her voice barely audible.
Dillon’s tears overflowed and fell down his face. “Georgie, please don’t say that. If it wasn’t for me you would’ve never ended up in this position to begin with.”
Georgie just shook her head.
“Yes it is true, Georgie! The whole reason you stayed with him when he started hitting you was because of ME!!” Dillon said, his voice getting louder and more emotional. “You were trying to protect ME!!!” He yelled.
Georgie spun around
“Because I LOVED YOU!” Georgie yelled, tears still pouring down her face. “I love you!”
Dillon’s face turned to one of surprise.
“You what?”
Georgie wiped the tears with the back of her hand as she stepped closer to him.
“Dillon, I don’t know when it started, but somewhere along the line, I fell in love with you. And when Jor…” Georgie cringed at the thought of saying his name. “when he threatened to hurt you, everything inside of me knew I didn’t want anything to happen to you.”
Dillon watched Georgie pour her heart to him and all he could think to do was to step forward and pull her into his arms and hug her.
“Dillon, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just throw all that out there on you. I just...I couldn’t keep it inside anymore. And these past couple of days I have felt safe with you. Like when I’m with you nothing bad could ever happen to me.”
Dillon still didn’t say anything and Georgie began to think she’d overstepped her bounds.
“I realize you might not feel the same about me but I just…” Georgie started as she pulled out of his arms, only to be cut off by Dillon.
“I love you too.”

[JRK Archiver]

Chapter 19

Georgie’s eyes were locked with Dillon’s. Dillon looked back into Georgie’s eyes and all he could think at the moment was how beautiful Georgie looked. A smile curled on his lips and as he stared into her big brown eyes began to fill with tears.
"Would you mind…repeating that for me…please?" she asked him, not being able to help her voice shaking a bit.
Dillon smiled. "I love you too, Georgie.” Georgie smiled.
"But…" she began to step away so that she could make it real, and see him as he told her what was in his heart. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
Dillon nodded his head. That was a fair question. He was having a terrible problem deciding on where his hands should go, for he wanted to latch onto her and let her know that no matter what, this was for real and that he cared, more than she'd ever realize.
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Um, well. Because I didn't think that you felt the same. We're best friends Georgie, I wasn't going to ask for anymore than that. And yes, I was always so protective over you in the way that a brother protects his sister, but that wasn't the only reason. And I didn't want you with that loser because well, I wanted you with me. I wanted to be the one you kissed each night. I wanted to be the last thing you thought about before you went to bed and the first thing on your mind when you woke up because God, Georgie…" he was looking into her eyes now, he couldn't keep them trained to the floor, no matter how hard he tried. He walked toward her, wrapping his arms snugly around her waist and looking down into her big beautiful brown eyes.
"That's what you were for me."
She didn't care that she was crying like a fool. Dillon had just told her that he returned her feelings, and that was something that she wasn't expecting. A very well said speech of how much Dillon cared for her as a friend or as a little sister, now that was more like something she was expecting.
And so, when Dillon's palm rested on the side of her face and then his other arm curled around, cupping her face with his hands, she only did what came natural.
He leaned in, a little at a time, allowing her to be sure that this is what she wanted, he finally captured her bottom lip with his own and slightly began moving his lips with hers.

Dressed in her pajama pants and tank top Georgie headed over to Dillon’s bed and kneeled beside a sleeping Dillon. She smiled while she remembered the events of the night before. They had finally admitted that they had feelings for each other. She actually felt a hint of happiness since the whole thing with Jordan went down. There was something about Dillon. There had always been. She knew that deep down in her heart that Dillon would never let anyone or anything hurt her.
She reached forward and ran her thumb across his lips while she remembered to when he kissed her the night before. She’d waited so long for him to do that. She would’ve thought that she’d be hesitant to get close to any guy again. But Dillon wasn’t just any guy. He was the one that was always there for her, no matter what. He was the one that made her feel alive.
Dillon stirred awake when he felt something on his lips. Slowly, his eyes opened and he felt her touch. Immediately, a smile spread across his lips and he whispered "Hi", taking her hand and kissing her fingertips.
"Hi", she whispered, her face a flush.
Dillon smiled, and then he scooted back just a little and pulled back the covers. Smiling, she obliged and climbed into bed next to him. Pulling the covers back up around them, Dillon wrapped his arms around Georgie's waist as she lay in front, her back facing him.
"By the way, just so you know, you're going to class today."
"No way", he answered quickly, nibbling a bit on her neck.
She forced herself not to laugh, for it tickled and he knew it.
"Yes you are, you're going to your classes. I'll be here when you get back."
"Georgie…" he sat up in bed as she turned around to face him.
"What is it?" she whispered.
He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. "I made the mistake of leaving you alone once before…"
"Oh come on, Dillon. I told you, that was not your fault."
"And I'm not doing it again, okay? End of discussion." He pushed away the covers and climbed out of bed on the other side.
"Dillon…Please don't fight me on this."
He couldn't believe what she was doing. There was no way in hell that he was leaving her so soon, and he thought that after last night, she'd understand. He went to his dresser, pulling out a plain white T-shirt and pulling it on over his head.
"What would you like for breakfast?" he asked, ignoring her last comment.
"Dillon, please…" She climbed out of bed and went to him, her hands running along his back as he faced the doorway.
She knew he wouldn't be able to resist as she stepped in front of him and held him around his waist. "Please, please do this for me?" she begged him.
Dillon just looked at her, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to say no.

Half an hour later, Dillon was out of the shower and dressed, looking everywhere for the rest of his material he'd need for class and shoving it all in his bookbag.
"I still can't believe you're making me do this", he shoved his last notebook inside, closing it up and slinging it across his shoulder.
She just smiled and hugged him for a moment. "Yeah but you're doing it for me. Now go", she shoved him out.
"Just hold on, now remember I'll be calling you on my lunch break, and after every class. Got it?"
"Dillon, really, it's sweet when you get all worried but trust me, I'm fine. Now scram!" she kissed his lips very quickly, realizing that she shouldn't have done that when he took a second look at her, begging her to let him stay home with her all day.
"Go", she whispered. He shook his head and waved as he walked down the hall and toward the stairs.
She was smiling as she walked back inside, but just as soon as she closed her door, she knew it was a mistake to make him go. Pretending that she was okay to get Dillon back into his classes was something she'd convinced herself she had to do, for Dillon. But as she looked around, she realized that indeed she was alone.
"Get to work, Georgie. Just keep yourself busy. That's all there is to it", she told herself.

Dillon sat in his second class of the day, and he couldn’t be more distracted if he tried. As the professor continued to talk about camera angles and how to get the perfect shot, the only thing on Dillon’s mind was Georgie. He’d called her after his first class and she once again tried to convince him that everything was fine and that she was doing fine. It didn’t matter how much she tried to convince him she’d be fine or that she was fine, it was all still the same thing to Dillon…he was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to protect her again. Every time he thought about what that Jordan freak did to Georgie, it made his blood boil with anger. He wanted so much to go to the scumbag’s jail cell and show him what it’s like to be beaten senseless and left for dead, just like he did to Georgie.
“Mr. Quartermaine?” A voice said breaking into his thoughts.
“Huh? What?” Dillon said as he snapped out of his thoughts.
“The answer to the question please,” the professor said.
Dillon looked around the room at all the eyes that were now on him. His eyes found the professor’s again when he said. “What was the question?”
“Mr. Quartermaine, if you are not going to pay attention to my lectures, then I’d appreciate it if you would just leave now.”
“No, I’m sorry, its just…”
“Actions, Mr. Quartermaine. Not excuses.” The professor said. “Mr. Adams? Answer please.”
“An over the shoulder angle sir” Kevin answered.
Dillon glanced over at Kevin who looked from the professor over to him with a questionable look on his face. Dillon’s attention was then turned back his book that lay in front of him on his desk. It didn’t take long for Dillon’s attention span to drift off again. Only this time he was snapped out of his thoughts when the music sounded, signaling the end of the period. Dillon let out a sigh of relief as he threw his book and notebook in his bookbag and stood up and headed out of the room as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He walked over to the wall, out of passing people’s way, and dialed the number to his apartment. The phone rang and rang…there was no answer. She wasn’t answering. Dillon’s heart dropped when his answering machine picked up. He wanted for his voice to end and he heard the beep signaling for him to start his message.
“Georgie? Georgie are you there? It’s Dillon.” There was no answer. “Georgie pick up the phone. Georgie” Dillon’s heart went right through the floor as he hit the end button on his cell phone and took off out of the building running as fast as his legs would carry him in the direction to his apartment.