Page 57 of Injustice and Absolution

“How can you say you’re okay?” he asks, and I know I’m going to have to explain it to him. “You were attacked. He… He wasonyou, Delilah. God, if I hadn’t been here...”

The concern in his eyes makes me want to let him in. To reassure him that I’ve been through worse. But that conversation will have to wait. Instead, I choose to focus on what needs to happen next to distract me from all of the thoughts threatening to drag me into a downward spiral.

First things first, we have to report the break-in.

“I need to call Élise, the owner. Will you call 911 for me?”

Drew looks at me questioningly, but I push myself off of him and climb to my feet, holding the ripped fabric of my shirt closed. After properly buttoning my pants, my legs threaten to give out on me as my body still shakes from the shock of everything that happened and how quickly it took place.

Drew’s panic about him not being here invades my brain. I try not to think about what could have happened if he was working tonight. All the other ‘what-ifs’ plague me as I fight, desperately, to quiet them.

“Delilah...” he implores, trying to get me to talk to him.

“I can’t think about what happened right now!”I snap, though I don’t know if it’s at him or my own intrusive thoughts.

I’m on edge way more than I’m allowing myself to admit. I clutch the ripped fabric of my shirt over my chest to give me something to hold onto. My pleading eyes find his, requesting a moment of forgiveness while I go through the motions of what needs to happen next.

“I’m sorry, Drew,” I take his uninjured hand in mine as a tear slides down my cheek. “I promise, we can talk about it later. But for now, all I can do is go through what needs to happen next in regard to the store.”

He nods to me as he pulls his phone from his pocket. While he dials the authorities, I find my phone exactly where I left it on the counter, as though my world hadn’t been tipped on its axis since laying it down. Picking it up with shaky hands, I scroll through it until I find Élise's contact info and make the call.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

DELILAH

The drive to Drew’s house in Harrisburg’s Shipoke neighborhood has been a quiet one so far, leaving me plenty of time to relive the events of the evening.

As we were giving our statements, Drew explained to the cops how he got his injury and that he chased the assailants away but couldn’t catch them. As much as I would have liked them to be caught, I’m glad Drew wasn’t able to get his hands on them. A two-on-one fight could have ended in disaster. Thank God they left the knife behind. I’m certain they would have turned it on Drew to fight him off if given the chance.

Though the cops told us, while petty criminals will use weapons to deter their victims from fighting back, rarely do they bring them along with the intent to use them. I’m hoping the cops are at least able to get a fingerprint off of it.

Both Drew and I declined medical assistance. Drew’s cut is very minor, thankfully, and I hadn’t been harmed physically. One of the officers gave us his card and said they’d be in touch as they investigate the incident further.

Élise gave me the rest of the week off and swore, moving forward, she will always have two people on the schedule at all times.

Drew squeezes my leg, bringing me back to the present, and I realize we’re sitting in front of his townhouse already.

“Hey,” he whispers.

I turn my attention to him, the pained smile on his face causing my chest to constrict. Lifting his hand to my cheek, he wipes away a tear I didn’t realize had formed.

“Let’s get you inside,” he suggests.

I nod my head before my eyes take him in. He’s shirtless now. Before we left, he escorted me into the fitting room at the store. The care he took to help me out of my ruined shirt and bra and into his undershirt almost ended my resolve then and there.

I feel another tear fall as I reach for my door handle and exit the car. Once inside, I crumble to pieces at his feet. He scoops me into his arms before carrying me upstairs and into his bathroom.

Placing me on the edge of the tub, he gets the water running while I try to calm down. I tell myself I’m acting silly. That I've been through much worse and didn’t fall apart like this.

But nothing helps.

Drew slowly undresses me before lowering me into the tub and climbing in behind me. I twist my body, curling into his so my cheek is resting on his chest. We lay like that for a while. Countless thoughts run frantically through my mind, moving so quickly they swirl together, keeping me from being able to see where one ends and the next begins. Until finally, I push them all away and focus instead on Drew’s knuckles as they trace soothing circles along my back the way he did at the store.

Finally feeling safe in the warmth of both the water and his arms, I open up to him like I’ve done with only one other person.

“This wasn’t the first time I’ve been assaulted like that.”

Drew’s hand stops moving. It’s the only indication that my confession has affected him.

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