Fallout

Quick TW: mentions SA

Chase

"Callum, are you home? . . . Okay great. Take both of them to our house. Now,".

"Why do they need to-"

"I can't tell you why. Not right now. You need to take them over there right now. For the night,".

"I'm not going to force them to-"

"I swear to God Callum if you do not have those two in our Livingroom in half an hour I will    fucking-"

"Okay, okay. Fuck dude, we'll go,".

I sighed, hanging up the phone. Would he show up there? I never thought he would pull something like this either but here we are. Clearly Saunders doesn't have a line to cross. I wish I could have kept going. He got off with much less than he deserved. All because I was pissed off at her. Sure, I still got out of the truck and dragged my ass up there, but I waited. I was too far away to know what was happening when it started. I didn't start running until I heard her scream and it still took me too long to get there. She had bruises on her neck for Christ's sake.

She looked like a ghost sitting in the back of the ambulance. All the color was leeched from her skin, making the hand print on her face that much brighter. I gave my statement already but I wasn't allowed near her until they were done talking to her. I knew how this looked, and I had a bad feeling that he was going to get away with it. She bit her nails down to nothing. Meaning there would be no scratch marks on him, and no fibers or DNA under her nails, no witnesses, no proof it was him. Yeah she had marks. They proved that someone hurt her. Not him specifically. They took photos at least, and told me to bring her to the station in the morning to make another report and file for a restraining order. That was a bad sign. They told her to go file for one, not that a judge was going to put on in place. They didn't think this would make it into a courtroom.

When the finally waved me over, I made sure I approached her slower than usual. I had no idea what I was dealing with. The fact that she didn't want to call Cass or Olivia had me worried, those girls told each other everything as far as I knew. She got into the truck silently, her eyes cast down. We were halfway home when Callum texted me that they were all there, and the girls were furious. I knew they would be.

Me: I know they're pissed. Something happened tonight. Willow is coming over, she doesn't want to talk. To anyone.

Callum: What happened? Is she okay?

Me: I don't know.

I fought the urge to crush the phone in my hands. The truth was I didn't know if she was or would be okay again. It could have been worse, but it's the worst thing that's ever happened to her and I let it happen. If I hadn't decoded to follow her up, she may not even be alive right now. The way he was acting was something I honestly never expected from him, drunk or not. He was a bigger threat than I ever imagined. I tossed my phone down, concentrating on trying to drive us home, and not back to Saunders place to kill him.

"Chase?"

"Yeah?" My eyes snapped over to her, noting the defeated look on her face. I grabbed her hand that way toying with the hem of her sweater.

"Earlier, when I said I had to tell you something-"

"We don't have to talk about that right now,". I said gently. My anger from that situation was long gone.

"Yes we do. It was about Will. He showed up at my house, and he's been texting me,".

I tried not to react but my knuckles were white while they clutched the steering wheel. Had I have known this she never would have been up there alone, client or no client. It wasn't Wyatt bothering her the other night. It was Saunders. I opened my mouth to tell her not to worry about it, but she cut me off

"There's more,"

Her voice was quiet, but she was squeezing my hand while she spoke to me. She wasn't looking at me and I couldn't blamer her. I had to try hard not to grip her hand the same way I was gripping the steering wheel. The way he spoke to her, The pictures, the shirt, the drive by's, trying to get the girls to tell him where she was. Just when I thought it was as bad as it could get, she dropped a bombshell.

"He fucking did what?" my foot slammed on the brakes before I realized, jerking us both forward. I was going to kill him. Drive to his house and fucking kill him.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's why I ran away the first time, and why I can't-"

"Don't you dare apologize to me for this, Willow,". I signaled, pulling off to the side of the road so I could look at her. I never thought I'd say this but I was almost relieved to see the tears welling in her eyes. She was reacting normally right now, not shutting down. However relieved I was, I wanted to murder Saunders for every tear she had and would cry tonight.

"I didn't know it triggered me to have someone touch me like that until you did it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you,". She sniffed, finally lifting her head to look me in the eye. I nearly lost it. He did all of this to her yet here she is, apologizing to me for it.

"You don't owe me an explanation. You didn't know what to do so you ran. You didn't want to tell me, I get it. That is your choice. You never have to tell me anything you don't feel comfortable saying. Yeah, I wish I knew earlier, but I know why you kept it to yourself. I'm not angry at you. None of this is your fault. This is all his fault. All of it,".

I unbuckled my seatbelt so I could turn towards her and grab both of her hands. She gently stroked her thumbs against my skin, silently taking in my words.

"You went through a lot with him. Now you're going through a lot right now because of him. You can tell me what ever you want to, whenever you want to. We have to go to the station tomorrow, but tonight is what ever you want to do. Cass and Olivia are at my place right now. I made Callum take them there, just in case. If want to talk to them instead I won't be mad. I didn't tell any if them what happened,".

"I don't want to see any one right now,". She choked out, a fresh torrent of tears coming out. "I don't want them to see me, "

"Then that's okay. You and I can go right upstairs,".

"I need to shower. I feel dirty. Like he's still-" She lifted one of her hands to her throat to brush over the bruises setting in. "He kissed me,".

"Then you can shower, or have a bath if you want. I'll find you something comfy to wear after. Do you need me to stop and get you anything? Clothes, food?

"Can we just go home?"

"Absolutely,". I leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead before putting the truck back in gear. She was still quiet the rest of the ride home, but she had a death grip on my hand. We pulled into the driveway where she wasted no time getting out of the truck. I walked in ahead of her, hiding as much of her as I could. I was suddenly thankful the stairs were at the end of the hall right by the kitchen. I used to hate it, but right now it was a lifesaver.

As soon as the door closed, I heard all conversation in the living room cease suddenly. I reached behind me to grab her hand and pulled her right behind me.

"It's okay,". I murmured as I steered her down the hallway. Once we came into view I saw Reid and Olivia stand up. Cass craned her head to look behind her from the opposite couch. Miles stood, putting his hand on Reid's shoulder. When I met his curious look, which was clearly a question, I looked him directly in the eye and shook my head no. He could see I meant it, and pulled both girls back, shaking his head. They sat back down, gaze's locked on mine. Willow stared at the floor until we go to the stairs where they couldn't see her. She had my hand in a vice grip.

We made it to the bathroom, where I locked the door behind us and took a deep breath. I turned around, realizing my mistake. She stood in front of the mirror, horrified. Her hands ran over her settling bruises and picked pine needles out of her hair. The hand print on her face was at least fading. The entire thing wouldn't bruise, but her cheekbone looked like it might. The bruises on her throat were the hard hitter. They were still a deep and angry red. She was going to bruise there for sure, and they wouldn't be light ones either. She was silent as she traced the places he touched her, and I didn't interrupt her. I didn't know what to do or how to help her. My fists clenched at my side to stop them from ripping my hair out. I wanted to touch her, to hide her away, to make her stop looking at herself like that. I wanted to be there for her the way I should have been earlier. Finally, she turned away from the mirror to look at me.

"Are you okay?" I knew the answer, but I didn't know what else to say. I wanted to tell her I still love her, but now was not the time to say it to her face for the first time.

She gave me half of a sad smile. "Yeah,".

I covered the space between us and wrapped her in my arms, lifting her up to sit on the counter. I smoothed down her hair gently, tucking it back behind her ears. I kissed her forehead, holding her face in my hands. I traces her cheekbones with my thumb and pressed a kiss to the fading mark on her face. I didn't dare go any lower after what she told me he did to her, knowing that it traumatized her like that. Like this. We sat like that for a few minutes.

"Do you want to have a bath or a shower? There's some Epsom salts in here, they could help. I use them after practice sometimes,".

"Okay, I'll still shower afterwards,".

I didn't bother questioning her. She could have whatever she wanted from me right now. I kissed her forehead again before stepping back. She followed me and sat on the closed toilet lid, watching me silently while I adjusted the temperature.

"Can I use your tooth brush after?"

The question threw me off, but I didn't comment "Yeah, of course. It's the green one by the sink. I'd offer you a spare but we don't have any,"

"That's okay, thank you."

I grabbed the bag of Epsom salts, dumping them in and using my hand to disperse it in the water. "Do you want me to go? I can stay if you want me to," I didn't want to pressure her, but I also wanted her to tell me which one she really wanted. She hesitated. "You can tell me to leave. It's okay,"

I turned to face her and she nodded. "Can I be alone, please?"

"Of course. I'll find you some clothes and put them on the counter. Can you leave the door unlocked? I won't look'". It was half true. I wasn't going to look, but I did want to be able to check on her.

She nodded before turning away from me and taking off her sweater. I took that as my cue to leave and pulled the door shut behind me. I caught sight of Cass standing at the top of the stairs. Of course they sent her. She was the calm one, but she did not put up with bullshit. She had her brow raised angrily. She opened her mouth but I put my hands up, silently shushing her.

She scowled. I jerked my head towards my bedroom, stepping back from the door to let her in. She looked at me for a moment until I sighed heavily. It was a weird silent exchange. She finally gave in and I followed behind her to click the door shut. I pressed my finger to my lips to tell her to talk quietly.

"I know you're pissed, ". I whispered.

Instead of telling me off, she just stared at me with her eyebrows raised. Originally, I thought Olivia was the one to be worried about, but I could feel her eyes burning a hole straight through me while she stared me down. I sighed, pacing over to my closet. I grabbed one of my old shirts and a pair of tie up sweatpants so Willow would at least be able to adjust them.

"It was Will wasn't it?"

I dropped my head, taking a deep breath. "Yes," I paused, trying to regulate myself. " I fucked up Cass. She's been quiet and withdrawn lately. She told me she had something to tell me that would make me leave her but she wouldn't tell me what," Now that I started talking, I couldn't stop. I ran a hand through my hair angrily. "I was pissed off and I let her walk up the trail alone for her shoot. I wasn't going to go up but after a while I couldn't just sit there anymore. I was still back a ways when I heard the first scream. Then I ran, but I wasn't fast enough,".

"What did he do?" I couldn't look at her while I spoke. I stood with my forehead against the door frame to the closet, eyes closed while I tried to keep my voice down.

"I think he booked the shoot with a fake name. That's the only way he would know she was there. He hit her. Slapped her. Hard. He. . . he tried to choke her out. It's going to bruise,". My voice cracked with emotion. " She didn't tell me exactly what happened. I saw the marks and when I got there he had his hand on her throat and her pants undone. The cops don't think it's going to hold. If he has someone cover an alibi for what I did to him, they can't prove he was even there. No camera on or around the trails. I Didn't know what he was doing to her. I swear Cass, I never would have let her go up there alone if I knew,"

She was silent for a moment before responding. " I know,"

I turned to face her, surprised. I was expecting to be yelled at, blamed, maybe even hit. I was almost hoping she would. I would have fully accepted it. I should have been with her and she knew that.

"She told us about everything. After he stopped by Wednesday she said she would tell you tonight. I told her if she didn't tell you herself that I would. We are just as much to blame as you are, if not more. We knew and you didn't. I told her to take you with her tonight. I should have told you why,".

I didn't know what to say to her. She looked just as upset as I felt. Her eyes were brimming with tears.

"It's not your fault Cass,"

"It's not yours either,".

My eyes met hers and I nodded. I knew the words meant the same thing to her as they did to me; Nothing, they didn't change anything. I walked past her, back through the door and to the bathroom. I knocked on the door before opening it. Thankfully she had the doors to the shower closed.

"Brought you some clothes. They're on the toilet. I'm going downstairs for a bit. Yell if you need anything,".

"Thank you,"

I set her clothes down and moved her phone before leaving the room. I was thankful Cass knew enough not to come in and try to talk to her, but she did wait outside the room for me to come out.

"You need to tell them what happened," She whispered.

I shook my head no but she interrupted. "You made us come over here because you thought he would go to our house. It's only fair that we all know what he's capable of,"

I sighed. She was right, but it felt like betrayal to tell them something like that. The guys would never talk about it with her, but she would be upset that they knew. The girls knowing would be good for her though. They will know what to do. Finally, I nodded. She was going to hate me for this.

Cass and I walked down the stairs to the living room, where everyone turned to look at me. I huffed, sitting down. All I wanted to do was pace right now, but this needed to be a serious sit down conversation. I ran my hands through my hair, trying to shake off some of my frustration.

"Before I tell you anything: This stays between us. Nobody else outside of this room finds out unless willow says so." I looked at everyone individually, locking eyes with all of them until they agreed. "And none of you bring it up to her. Do no try and make her talk about it,"

By the time I was done, they were silent. I looked around the circle around me. Reid was livid, Olivia and Cass were horrified, tears making tracks down their cheeks. Callum, Miles, and Owen were in a state somewhere between rage and disbelief. They all shared glances and waited for one of them to speak. Nobody did for several minutes.

"What the fuck do we do about this?" Reid asked

I sighed in irritation " We have to see about hat tomorrow. I don't think it will make it to a court room. We will be lucky to get a restraining order. I want to be optimistic but I can't,"

"He might actually get away with this?" Miles was incredulous.

"Yeah. It makes me want to fucking strangle him. From now on, Willow does not go to our games alone. She doesn't go to a Raven's game Period. If she has to do a photoshoot one of us goes with her, whether its 'unprofessional' or not."

"And you two," Owen said looking between Cass and Olivia "Should stay here for a few days. If he does this shit when he drinks I don't think it's a good idea for you guys to be anywhere near him. If he shows up drunk and she's not there,"

"It could be bad," Callum finished.

For the first time since I met them, both girls agreed without talking back, making a joke, or giving attitude.

"Someone needs to tell her brother before Will gets the chance to lie about it,". Olivia stated. She was right. He needed to know what his friend is capable of, and what he's done to his sister. "He may not believe it based on the way he's treating her lately, but if he sees the damage with his own eyes it could sway him,".

"I'll handle that,". I said. He was going to speak with me whether he wanted to or not. His childish bullshit was going to end

I heard the water turn on, meaning Willow was getting out of her bath and starting her shower. "Don't be offended, but she may not want to see anyone yet. She's pretty bruised already,"

Cass nodded. " I figured. She will come around when she's ready,"

I nodded, holding up her cell phone. "If I'm not back inside when the water turns off, come get me. I don't want it to be a surprise, and Ihave to be the one to tell her,".

"Got it,". Miles nodded.

I walked outside to stand on the porch in order to get some privacy before I pulled up Wyatt's contact information. To my surprise, considering the way he's been with her lately, he answered on the first ring.

"What do you want, Willow?" His tone was harsh, and I was suddenly thankful I called him and not her.

"We need to fucking talk,"