Protective Instinct

Jordan stumbled to the side and slouched against the wall, both hands on his face.  

"That felt good," Brody muttered as he shook out his hand.  I gaped at him.  A burly bouncer approached us angrily.

"Out!" he directed.  "All of you!"  We happily obliged him, moving quickly outside.  I had forgotten it was snowing and was surprised to see a light dusting on the ground.

"Holy shit," Alex said, staring at Brody.  "That was awesome."  I grasped Brody's forearm and looked at his hand in the dull light from the streetlights.  It was already swelling, and he grimaced as he flexed his fingers.  I sighed.

"You should probably get that checked out," I said.  He shook his head.

"It's fine.  I'll put some ice on it.  Nothing feels broken."  He flexed his fingers again and ran the fingers of his other hand tentatively over his knuckles.  He suddenly became aware of the snow and cold and looked at me.  I had my arms crossed and was shifting from foot to foot.  "Let's find a cab and get back to your place before you freeze," he said, sliding his arm around me and pulling me close.

I leaned into his chest as we waited for a cab.  We let Lauren, Alex, and Christian have the first one.  Brody, Kinsley, and I took the one that pulled up a minute later.  It dropped Kinsley off first, then stopped in front of my house.  Brody handed the driver some cash as I hurried up to unlock the door. 

The snow was slowing down, but it was still cold, and I was happy to get inside my house.  I walked straight to the kitchen and grabbed an ice pack for Brody.  He sat on the couch and put it on his hand, then looked at me.

"You're pissed at me for punching that asshole," he observed.

I sighed and sat next to him.  "Pissed isn't quite the right word.  I certainly didn't mind seeing him get punched, and I'm glad to know that you've got my back.  But I hate that the whole thing happened and I wish we just would have left right away."

He nodded.  "I wish we would have left right away too.  If we would have, maybe he wouldn't have put his hands on you again.  I'm sorry I didn't listen when you asked to go the first time.  I'm not sorry for punching him though."  I laughed at the petulance at the end.

"I have a question," he said after a second.  I raised my eyebrows.  "So, that guy?  He's James's brother?"

"Yes," I said, nodding.  "Unfortunately he is."

"So, why did you make it seem like he was just some random guy when you told me about it the first time?"

I grimaced.  "Because I didn't want to give you any reasons to dislike James even more than you must have already, and I knew if you knew that his brother was the one that had done that, you'd probably think less of him," I said.  "I didn't think that it would ever matter."

"Well, you were right.  What the hell kind of guy would let you be around his brother when he knows full well his brother is like that?"

"He didn't let me be around his brother," I replied.  I paused, considering how much to tell him, and I decided that if I was really "all in", I should be completely honest with Brody about what had happened.   I told him the whole story, figuring that was the best way to explain what had happened.  It did little to assuage Brody's protective anger.  By the end of my story, Brody's jaw was clenched so hard I was worried he was going to break his teeth, and his eyes were flashing with anger.

"Liv, I had no idea it was that bad," he said, after a few seconds of silence.  "I can't believe James let him just walk away like that.  And I wish you would have told me sooner."

"When?  The day you came back and saw the bruise?  The day we had lunch to talk about Savannah?  Last night?  There really wasn't a 'sooner' to tell you.  And I didn't even tell James everything.  You, me, and Jordan are the only people who know everything that happened."  I was already agitated from what had happened tonight, and just re-telling the story had caused a knot to form in my stomach.  I didn't need to be scolded for this too.  I leaned back and rubbed my hand across my eyes, fighting back frustrated tears.

"Hey," he said, his voice gentle now.  He pulled my hands away from my face and tilted his head to make eye contact with me.  "I'm sorry.  I just hate the thought of anyone hurting you.  I'm pissed that I wasn't there to do something about it, and I wish James could have protected you better.  That's all."  I sighed again.  I hated the thought of needing anyone to protect me, but I appreciated his concern. 

I scooted closer to him and leaned against his chest.  He wrapped his left arm around me and kissed the top of my head.  I carefully moved the ice pack to look at his hand.  It had stopped swelling, but it was still considerably puffy compared to his left hand.

"It better heal fast," I commented, looking up at him with a devilish grin, "because your right hand has many very important uses for me."  He laughed and shook his head.

"I guess I'll have to learn to be just as good with the left, huh?" he replied.

I laughed and relaxed against him, glad that nothing worse had happened and hopeful that we'd never run into Jordan again.

When we went to bed, I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly.  Unfortunately, it didn't last, and I was soon wide awake, gasping and drenched in sweat.  Brody sat up quickly next to me and fumbled for the light.  "What...are you okay?" he asked, confused.  He looked at me in the soft light from the lamp and his face immediately grew concerned.  "Liv?"  He slid over to my side of the bed touched my arm gently.

"Nightmare," I managed, when I had caught my breath a little.  "I'm fine."  I got up and walked into the bathroom.  I splashed water on my face and dried it.  I heard Brody get up and walk out of the bedroom and I stood in the bathroom for close to a minute, my face resting against the cool tile of the wall.

I turned off the light and walked back into the bedroom.  Brody held out of a bottle of water that he must have gone downstairs to get.  I took it and took a drink before climbing back into bed.  Brody turned the light off and curled around me protectively, pulling me tightly against his chest.  "Was it about...?" he trailed off, not wanting to say Jordan's name.

I shook my head.  "Maybe, but I don't remember anything," I replied.  "I just remember being absolutely terrified, and then waking up."  Brody's arm tightened around me even more.  I wiggled around so that instead of having my back against his chest I was facing him.  I pressed my face against his shoulder and shut my eyes.  The fear from my nightmare wasn't fading as fast it should have been, and I was wide awake.

Brody ran his hand up and down my back and I forced my brain to focus on that.  After what felt like forever, my mind and body started to relax, and I managed to fall back asleep.  I made it the rest of the night without nightmares.