Rainbow Italian Ice 12

After the first class, I had a break before my next one and walked over to where the skaters hung out. Patrick had broken my skateboard awhile back because of something he thought I'd done so I could join in, but I still would sit and watch the others do tricks.

"Kai!" I jumped as I heard my name yelled across the courtyard. Fear instantly gripped me as my eyes fell on the flaming red hair of the man who'd controlled me for the last two years. I jumped to my feet and turned to run, immediately taking off in the direction of the nearest large crowd. Four days I'd been gone now, so I knew he was pissed and likely whatever Valerio had said or done to him at the library had only made it worse.

I ran through the school, dodging around as many people as I could. I was fast and I had decent agility, but his legs were longer and he was still gaining ground on me. It was one of those times I kind of wished I could do the same style of free running that Valerio did. Then maybe I'd stand more of a chance of escaping. I rounded a corner but my shoes missed the grip on the concrete and my feet slipped out from under me. Pain radiated up from my knees and palms at the impact, but I still tried to push myself up quickly. I was just too slow.

"Oh, don't even think about it," Patrick hissed, grabbing my bicep tightly as he jerked me to my feet. We were near the building that was only used for night classes and I dug my heels down as he started toward the doors of it. If he got me in there, there'd be no one to hear me scream. "Stop the useless struggling, Kai," he snapped, throwing a fist into my stomach. I gasped as the air left my lungs and I lost the resistance I'd had in going where he wanted me to.

"Four days, Kai," he growled throwing me against the cement stairs. I grunted as I caught myself, but not before my shins connected with a step edge. "Four days and I haven't seen you. Haven't heard from you. And now... You've cut your hair and taken your glasses off. You trying to bag you another man, Kai?" I turned, glaring at him even as I tried to back away from him up the stairs.

"It's over, Pat," I said as firmly as I could manage with pain radiating up legs. "I'm done with you. I'm done with this." I could see the rage bubble up behind his eyes as his face turned various shades of red. I had known better that to say those words, but they had to be said. I had to cut the lines cleanly.

"I'll give you one chance to take those words back, Kai," he hissed. If this had been a cartoon, there would have been steam starting to pour out of his ears, like a tea kettle getting ready to scream.

"It's over, done, finished," I reiterated. I'd barely gotten the words out before his fist connected with the side of my face. I fell sideways and had to spit, my mouth filling with blood.

"No one leaves me, Kai," he ground out, moving up the steps so that he could stomp on my side. I gasped before I started coughing, choking on the blood in my mouth. "The sooner you get it through your thick skull, the better." I cried out as he stepped on my arm, putting enough weight on it to break it if he wanted to.

"Stop... Stop, please!" I begged as the pain became too much for me to bear.

"Hey! This building is off limits during the day!" someone yelled from the landing above us. "Get out of here before I call campus police!" Patrick shifted his weight off my arm and I immediately cradled it against my chest. He spat on me before quickly hurrying out of the building as the sound of heels clicked down the steps. "Oh God! Are you alright?" she asked and I shook my head.

I closed my eyes tightly as I listened to her call an ambulance. I didn't want this kind of trouble. I just wanted out of that relationship and mostly because I was tired of this pain. It seemed that no time at all had passed before I was being picked up from where I'd balled up on the floor. They were kind enough to keep the sirens off though as they drove me to the hospital for xrays of my arm and ribs.

I refused the doctor when he offered to call the police for me. I wouldn't be able to tell them why Patrick had been about to beat me into submission before he raped me. It was too embarrassing to have to admit that I'd been a 'battered wife'. I just wanted to get away from him, but I was beginning to wonder if it was even possible. It was nearly four in the afternoon by the time I was allowed to leave the hospital with a cast on my arm. It wasn't exactly broken, but had a hairline fracture in both bones of my forarm and they wanted to make sure they had a chance to heal properly.

I pulled my phone out of my laptop bag and finally turned it back on. I had a voicemail message and knew instantly it was from Valerio. He was the only person who had my number after all. I pressed the keys to get to the voicemail and listened as his voice said he was checking on me and to call him back when I was able. I sighed and hung up, calling a cab before calling him back.

"Hello?" Valerio said as the ringing finally stopped.

"Hey... You called?" I replied, keeping my eyes open for the cab.

"Yeah, I heard some rumour about this guy that got beat up in a stairwell by some ginger and I was worried. Are you alright?" he asked. I sighed and almost broke down. I hadn't cried yet, but if he had heard that much, then the entire school had to know.

"I've been better... And I've been worse," I said softly so that my voice wouldn't crack on me.

"Where are you? Do you need me to come to you?" he asked anxiously. I shook my head even if he couldn't see it.

"No... I called a cab... I just..." I paused to take a deep breath before I started crying. "I'm at Roseland Memorial. Can I just come to you?" I asked, shifting my weight a bit. My shins and knees still hurt, but I could live with it.

"Of course, Baby," he said instantly. "I'm still at work. I'll wait outside for you." I looked up as my cab pulled up and ran over to it.

"Alright... I'll see you in a few," I muttered as I slid into the backseat and told the cabbie where to go. I hung up the phone and leaned my head against the window, glad that the swollen and bruised side was facing the other way. I didn't want to see it. It took only a few minutes before the cab pulled up in front of the university library and I quickly paid my fare before getting out. He hurried over to me as the cab pulled away.

"Oh, Baby..." he breathed, gently lifting a hand to my face. "That bastard... I'll kill him for this," he growled slightly. I leaned into him, finally able to relax.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I tried to run... but I slipped and then he was there..." I shuddered slightly at the memory of the fear and feel of his hand on me.

"It's not your fault," he said, lightly kissing the top of my head. "Come on, let's get you inside. You want something to drink or eat?" he asked, leading me towards the doors of the library.

"Just something to drink... I can still taste the blood in my mouth... And they don't really offer drinks while you're sitting around the emergency room," I said, trying to lighten the mood a bit, though I felt like absolute crap. He gave me a smile and kissed the top of my head again.

"I'll get you something," he said, gesturing to a large stuffed chair before hurrying off to the vending machines and came back with a bottle of water quickly. "Here, Baby." I gave him a weak lopsided smile as the swelling wouldn't let that side of my mouth work quite right.

"Thanks..." I took a quick drink from the bottle before holding it against my cheek. I leaned back in the chair to take the pressure off my bruised ribs and sighed deeply. "He said I couldn't leave him..." I muttered, letting my eyes drift closed for a moment.

"Bull," he said, sitting down beside me. "You already left him. And now you're with me, remember?" I smiled faintly and nodded, resting my hand on his thigh.

"I remember," I replied softly. "He didn't hit me that high. And I told him I was done with him... That's why he did this and would've done more..." He frowned some and put a hand to the uninjured side of my face.

"I suppose I need to go have another talk with Patrick," he muttered. "Nobody should ever hurt you like this." I leaned into his hand, letting my eyes close for a moment to just feel his warmth.

"I don't suppose I could convince you that that is a bad idea, could I?" I murmured. "I don't want to see you looking like I'm sure I must."

"I don't think I could possibly look that beautiful if I tried," he replied, leaning forward to give me a brief kiss. I flushed despite myself and hit him with my bottle.

"Incurable tease," I said and shook my head a bit. Still, it made me happy that he could look past the bruises. He chuckled some.

"It's one of my many flaws," he said with overly sugared sweetness. "But I need to get actually get back to work for a few minutes so that my boss doesn't notice I'm not working on her rounds. I'll be back soon." He gave me a slightly more satisfying kiss before getting to his feet. I nodded a bit.

"I'll be right here," I murmured. As soon as he was gone, I pulled my legs up and laid my head on the armrest. I didn't dare close my eyes though as I was afraid the librarian would come by and think I was a bum just catching a nap. I must have lost the fight as the next thing I knew someone was shaking my shoulder.

"Baby, wake up," someone said softly but my drugged mind couldn't place the voice and I jerked up with a muted cry of fright. I blinked my heavily lidded eyes open and tried to focus on the face in front of me. Finally, Valerio's face appeared and he smiled some. "Time to go home, Baby," he said, sliding his hand down my should to my wrist. "I'll carry you if you need me to." I shook my head and pushed myself up to my feet. I swayed slightly for a moment before I got my bearings. I felt drunk.

"He didn't break my legs... yet..." I mumbled sleepily. "I can walk." He frowned some.

"No, your legs aren't broken. But you've got enough drugs in you to knock you out cold it looks like." He got to his feet and swept my up into his arms, making me dizzy at the suddenly movement. "This is probably safer. Just go back to sleep, Baby." I hugged my laptop bag to my chest as I curled into him, mostly to fight the dizziness.

"Sorry... I think I may have told a few untruths when they were trying to figure out my dosage..." I muttered.

"A few untruths?" he echoed. "Like what?" I giggled a little, in complete randomness, just because I found it funny.

"Mmhmm... Like if I'd eaten today... and my weight..." I mumbled, still giggling a bit. "My size hasn't really changed much... but I don't have... as much muscle as I did the last time... I knew my weight."

"I see... Well then, you go back to sleep. I'll get us to the apartment," he promised. I giggled again, this time because I knew he'd end up hopelessly lost.

"Before or after we stop for orange juice?" I asked finally trying to stifle my giggles. He sighed some.

"I can find my way from my house to my job, Baby. There won't be any stops for orange juice," he said patiently. I giggled, tilting my head up to kiss his cheek.

"I know you will... I have faith in your sexy ass," I murmured before curling back up and letting the sleepiness take back over. I was vaguely aware of a familiar engine roar, but pushed it off as something else.