Chapter 10

Julia My eyes widen and I pick myself up, but instead of standing I sat and watch Rome who was now standing next to me. He didn't glance at me not even once, instead he was focused on Xavier and Gina who run out to stand behind him.

"Do I have to repeat my question? Or are you going to give me an answer?" Rome asks with his hands in his pockets.

From the look on Xavier's face, it was evident that he knew who Rome was. "We just had a misunderstanding; all I want to do is teach the little lady a lesson."

"Mm-hm," Rome says taking a step towards him, "And what lesson would that be?"

Xavier raises the bat over his shoulder.

"You know, the one to show who's more superior around here."

Rome nods as if he was contemplating something.

"Alright so that's how things work around here. You beat people—women—to show you're superior?"

Xavier grins as if he just found out that he won the lottery, "That's right."

I don't know why I'm surprised that he admitted it.

"In that case then," Rome says, narrowing the distance between himself and Xavier. He raised his hand and grabbed the bat from Xavier before bashing it into his knees, "I'm superior."

I sat there with my mouth agape, unable to get the sound of his bones breaking out of my head.

I watch as Xavier falls to the ground in pain and Gina stood watching with a panic look on her face.

Rome tosses the broken bat to the side and walks away from them.

"Pick yourself up and come on," he says when he passed me. Again, he didn't even look at me.

I did as I was told and took the suitcase and pull it along with me. He had already put the other two in the car and was waiting not so patiently for me to arrive with the other.

As soon as I did, he took it from my hand and ordered me to get into the car.

He got in next to me and took off, I look in the review mirror to see Gina helping Xavier who was struggling to get up. The sound alone was proof that something was broken, but I couldn't help the smile from forming on my face.

"Thank you," I mumble while looking at Rome. He wore a grim look on his face, and he didn't even look at me, instead he grips the steering and reach for a phone in the drink holder and toss it in my lap.

I look down to see that it was my phone, so that's where I left it, I thought with a smile.

"You should return that little girl's call," he says before taking his own phone and scrolling through it before pressing it to his ear.

I glance down at my phone in my hand, wondering what Emmie said to him.

"I won't be able to make it today," Rome says into his phone, he didn't even greet the person before, how rude.

"That's none of your business Josh. Whatever, man."

I watch as he ends the call and places his phone back into the cup holder. We drive in complete silence, and it is killing me.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as he drove through the exit of Greengrove.

"To a homeless shelter not too far from here."

Rome I ignore the look she was giving me as I pull into my driveway. There was no homeless shelter around here. I told her that to get her reaction. Instead of saying anything, she kept silent the entire way.

"I thought you said you were taking me to a homeless shelter," she says as I park the car in the garage.

"Come on," I open the door and make my way to the back to remove her bags.

I watch as she makes her way towards me to take the smaller bag. The hood was still over her head, but I got a glimpse of the black and blue mark and it looked infected.

"You don't have to let me stay here. I know you were uncomfortable with having me here in the first place, so just take me to the shelter."

Ignoring her I took the bags and make my way inside. I could hear her following behind me up the stairs. Making my way to the guestroom, I push the door open and let her enter first.

This room seems perfect for her. There were three doors, one leading to the restroom and another led to the closet. The glass door led to a small balcony.

The interior designer didn't do too much in here. The colors she chose were grey, black, and white. There were two side tables and on both were a chandelier looking lamp. The only picture in here was the large portrait of a flower in a vase hanging on the wall over the bed.

"You can stay here for as long as you want," I told her as she looks around the room.

I walked over to her once I realized that she was distracted and pulled the hood from her head. She took a step back in surprise and tries to put the hood back over her head.

I took her arm and pull her closer so that I can see the damage. It was infected like I thought. My anger grew as memories starts to resurface.

"Did he do this to you?" I asked trying to contain my anger.

Julia avoids eye contact, "She did."

"Who is she?"

Her hazel eyes met mine and a small smile made its way on her face, "The woman who gave birth to me."

I move away from her and turn my back towards her. I was even more furious now.

"Why would you say that with a smile on your face?!" I turn back around to lash out at her.

I just could not understand. She's hurting physically and I'm damn sure emotionally, yet she smiles while talking about her abuser.

Instead of looking scared from the anger I was now showing she just smiled and shrugged, "I can't let them steal my smile, I've always been told that my smile could brighten anyone's day."

"Why would you want to brighten someone's day when yours seem so far away from the light?" I asked taking a step closer to her.

"I love to see when people are happy because of me, that alone gives me some sort of comfort."

I didn't get it. I didn't want to either, that was the most bullshit I have ever heard.

"Come on," I told her as I made my way to the restroom.

There was a first aid kit in all of them, I personally made sure of that.

She stood at the entrance looking at me like a timid little rabbit. After retrieving the kit, I placed it on the counter and waited for her to come in.

"Don't let me tell you again Julia."

She wore a silly smile and practically skips over to me like a child. I wasn't even going to ask why she was suddenly much happier, instead I patted the counter for her to get up on.

She struggled a bit and ended up hurting her already injured wrist. I rolled my eyes; it wasn't a hard task. The counter wasn't very tall, and she was about 5 feet 6 inches.

I place my hands on her waist and help her up while ignoring the look she was giving me. I wash my hands before removing the things I'll need.

She flinches as my fingers touch her face. I need it in a better angle for me to see clearly what I was doing.

"I'm going to need you to keep still," I say a bit irritated.

"I'm sorry," She mumbles.

I move closer to her and begin to clean the bruise. She flinches each time.

"It's infected, did you even clean it?"

"It must have been that cheap concealer," she mumbles.

I stop what I was doing to look at her. Her big hazel eyes met mine and something in them refrained me from scolding her.

"Unbelievable," I say instead.

"I didn't know it would make things worse," She says as I continue to clean the bruise.

I add some ointment on it before covering it with a bandage.

"You look like the walking dead right now, but at least with the proper care it will prevent them from accomplishing what they wanted to."