The sound of the shower pouring rouses me from my deep sleep. I peel my eyes open, expecting sunlight to blind me. Instead, I'm met with pitch black darkness. A smile tugs at my lips; Nik must've put the blinds down last night after the Doctor left.
As soon as we arrived at Nik's place last night, I was rushed to his room where his personal doctor Dr. Volkov attended to me. Dr. Volkov ended up having to close up a gash at the back of my head with 10 stitches. Which explained why I'd been feeling dizzy for a while. He also disinfected and cleaned the rest of the cuts and bruises on my body. After administering some pain meds he left, and I slipped into a dreamless slumber.
Now that I am awake, I can really feel the damage my body endured the night before. Trying not to let those dark thoughts take a hold of me, I look over at the bedside table. A gasp escapes my lips when I see that it is already 3pm in the afternoon.
I've slept close to 16 hours. That's an insane amount, even for me. A chuckle leaves me, I suppose that's the least of my worries considering I haven't paid a visit to the police station to do my statement. I kind of just shut my brain off to the world and let Nik deal with everything.
Speaking of Nik, I can't believe he snuck out of bed to shower without me. The audacity.
I shake the covers off of me and stretch out like a cat, hearing pop after pop as all the tension that had been trapped inside my body whilst sleeping disperses. I sigh as the relief is short lived. The aches and pains in my body become more pronounced, as what I can only assume is the pain medication wearing off.
I quickly swallow another dose of pain medication so that I don't curl back up in bed. The warm hum of numbness flows through my blood stream and I feel happier already. Ready to leave the bed, I pad over to the bathroom.
When I open the door, I'm stunned into silence. Instead of admiring Nik's godly body, my eyes zero in on the pink water being sucked into his fancy gold drain. My nose scrunches at the unmistakable metallic scent of blood permeating the air.
'Jas don't.' Nik says in a commanding tone, almost like he's trying to hold me together with his words alone. Except I can't hear his words over the buzzing in my ears and my eyes glazing over.
Flashbacks of last night flood my brain. The smell of my blood. The smell of Rob's body odour. The acrid smell of the warehouse. The feeling of Rob's body weight on me as he tried to rape me.
Nik covers my eyes with his wet palms, and whispers in my ear, 'Come back to me Jas.'
His soft voice is like a caress against my cheek and pulls me out of the dark memories. I clutch onto his arm and squeeze it hard like it's a lifeline. Nik moves his other arm to my waist. A whisper of movement, as he gouges my reaction. Bit by bit my body relaxes against him, and I remove my death-grip of his arm. He uses his other one to turn me around and press me into his scalding chest, as he engulfs me in a hug. 'You're safe krasotka. That monster is never going to touch you again.'
Tears leak down my face. I look up at him. The brokenness I feel inside is reflected in my gaze. 'You don't know that Nik.'
'I do.' He says with such conviction that the cage of fear around my heart melts away.
Nik wipes away the tears on my face. 'I've taken care of him. He'll never bother you again.'
His phone vibrates and he ushers me out of his room onto the balcony, which has a complete breakfast spread of all my favourite food. Despite my confusion, my mouth waters, and my stomach growl
He sits me down and pushes in my chair loading my plate with assorted fruits, pastries, scrambled eggs & bacon. I don't even thank him as I inhale the food in seconds. I hadn't realised how hungry I was. When I come back down to earth, my eyebrows knit together. 'When you say you've taken care of him…?'
Nik drops his croissant and grabs both of my hands, as he looks into my eyes. Gazing into the depths of my very being. I get so distracted I almost don't hear him when he says, 'I'm never going to lie to you Jas, but there will be some things I will shelter you from out of my love for you. All I'm going to say about that animal, is that he's gone forever.'
While I had my suspicions, hearing Nik confirm it, has a strange feeling well up from the pit of my stomach. The heaviness that had weighed down on my chest since the incident has finally lifted. Dare I say, I feel relieved. Tears stream down my face.
Nik lifts me up from my seat so I'm in his lap straddling him. 'That's it, let it all out Jas.'A sob breaks free from my soul, and I hold onto him like he's the only thing keeping me on earth. His strength melts into my body making me slump in his arms as I release all my pent-up fear, rage, and resentment. When my sobbing stops and my tears dry out, Nik tilts my chin up so I'm facing him. 'Do you feel better?'
My voice breaks when I try to respond. So, I clear my throat, 'Yeah, I do. Does that make me a terrible person?'
Nik grabs both sides of my face with a fierce expression, 'Don't ever feel bad for that animal again. It does not mean that you are a terrible person just because you don't feel bad that evil is gone from this world. He did terrible things to you. If I hadn't got there in time, you wouldn't be here right now.' He lets out a pained groan and bumps his forehead against mine with his eyes closed, 'And that is a world I wouldn't be able to live in.'
Somehow this man is still able to shock me speechless. I grab Nik's hands that are by his side and entwine them in my hands, bringing them up to my face. I grab hold of his face with my two hands and tilt it up so we're eye to eye. 'I've never said it but thank you for saving me Nik.'
His eyebrows drawer together like he's about to argue, but I stop him with a finger to his mouth. 'Let me finish.' I kiss the corner of his right eye, 'Thank you for always protecting me, even when I'm stubborn.' I kiss the corner of his left eye, 'Thank you for always looking after me.' Lastly, I kiss him on the lips, 'Thank you for being you. I love you Nik.'