I looked up into Kai's eyes as he knelt next to me on the floor. The halls were deserted, it must have been a while since school ended. Time passed strangely when you were in pain, sometimes it was excruciatingly slow, and other times minutes felt like seconds.

"Do you need help getting up? He asked me, looking down as if examining my injuries.

"I... I think so, yes." I whispered, my teeth clenched, fighting back stinging tears. Kai nodded and lifted me up from under my armpits. My arms felt like lead, it was a mystery as to how he managed to hold me up. I leaned against his body for support as he wrapped his strong arms around me, one on my waist the other in a tight hold on my arm, steadying me. We walked slowly, or more like limped, outside and towards the student parking lot.

"What time is it?" I asked him as we stopped in front of a beige pickup truck. He let go of my waist and leaned me up against the truck as he opened the door with his key.

"Four." He said with a worried expression.

"Oh." I whispered. I had been kicked at and beaten for an hour, and Hell did it feel like it. I was dizzy from just standing there and all I wanted to do was break down and cry, but I couldn't. It felt like all my emotions were numb, like the throbbing in my stomach.

"Here, let me help you." Kai said as he came around the passenger side and helped me in gently. "Should I take you to the doctors, or do you want to go home?" He asked quietly.

"I think I just need to clean up first." I said as I looked down at my blood splattered t-shirt. Today I had worn a grey shirt, so the blood had stained it black.

"Yeah, okay. I'll take you to my place so you can change, you can have a shower if you want too."

"Thanks Kai." I said not looking meeting his eyes as he nodded and closed the car door.

The ride to his house was filled with an empty silence; neither one of us knew what to say. Eventually he pulled into the driveway of a small rancher. It had a large garden that wrapped around the front of the house. Tall trees loomed over the cute, white picket fenced house, it looked like something out of a movie. Kai parked the car, got out and came around to my side, opening the door and helping me try and get out of the truck. My chest and stomach felt bruised and it was hard to breathe, so it wasn't helping when Kai put his gentle hands on my waist to steady me. He was facing me, his eyes closed as he exhaled a deep breath.

"You don't deserve this you know." he opened his eyes slowly and I saw a twinge of hurt in his gaze. I didn't know how to reply so I just nodded my head.

"Thanks." After another second or two, Kai let go of my waist and took my arm, helping me walk to the front door. When we went inside the first thing I noticed was how pristine it was. It looked like a magazine home, everything had its place, and nothing extra was placed on a table or couch. It wasn't very cozy, it almost felt too clean. The second thing I noticed, or rather someone, was a thin, pale lady standing in the corner of the living room tidying a shelf of china plates.

"Hey Mom." Kai said as she turned around and gasped, covering her mouth with a thin, wiry hand.

"What happened?!" She said as she slowly walked over to us. Kai still had one of his hands wrapped around my waist in support, while the other was holding my arm tightly. I was wobbling a little, my legs feeling like jello.

"He got beaten up, do you mind if he cleans up in the bathroom?" Kai said flatly to his mother. I saw a flash of hesitance in her eyes before she nodded slowly.

"Be careful of the towels, only let him use the black ones, Kai." That took me aback, was she really worried about her towels getting dirty? I stood confused as Kai pulled me through the living room and down an empty hallway that held not pictures, no children drawings, not even a decoration. It was blank and pristine white, cold like the rest of the house. Kai opened a door at the end of the hallway into a small bathroom. Everything was white, the shower curtain, the tiles, the sink, the walls... except for a drop of red blood that had dripped off of my shirt and onto the shiny tiles.

"I'm sorry to cause you all this trouble." I whispered to Kai as he opened a small cupboard and got out a black towel, handing it to me.

"You're not. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure it's okay with your Mom?" I asked unsure what to do with the towel.

"It doesn't matter Jasper, She's always like that." He opened the shower curtain and started the hot water going for me. When he turned around he stood, staring at my tiny, almost too-thin frame, covered in blood and hunched over in throbbing pain. "Do you need any help?" He asked shrugging towards me. I looked down at the shirt that was plastered to my skin and thought, how was I supposed to take this off when I can barely lift my arms from my stomach?

"Um... can you help me...?" I said playing with the ends of my stained t-shirt.

"Of course." He said, his face laced with concern as he stepped forwards. His strong arms reached out gently and took the bottom of my shirt, his soft hands grazing ever so slightly along my bruised skin making my stomach contract in pain and butterflies. He started to lift my shirt up, revealing my beaten chest, bruises lined my skin like polka dots and gashes left from heavy boots were imprinted into my skin like tattoos. I saw the concern in Kai's face set hard,like stone and his soft eyebrows pulled together in anger as he lifted the shirt up to my armpits. I tried to raise my arms so I could get out of the sleeves but a stitch in my side prevented me from getting there on my own. Before I knew it, one of Kai's hands lifted up to my arm and guided it smoothly out of the shirt, being careful not to cause me extra pain. His face was focused in on the task but hints of anger were still very evident in his eyes.

"I can't believe this." He grumbled as his eyes scaled over my stomach and chest. The shirt was off and I was left bare-chested in front of a very attractive person. Before I knew it I felt a hand on my side where a gash was still bleeding. Kai's eyes were glazed over as he started at me, his mind elsewhere as his thumb traced circles on my bruised skin. Although in any other circumstance I would have loved the affection, he was putting too much pressure on the bruise and cut that was there.

"Um... Kai?" I asked awkwardly, "You're hurting me." A flash of realization shot through Kai's face and he snatched his hands away, tuning his gaze to the floor.

"Uh, I'll let you shower... and I'll bring some clothes that you can borrow." He said then cleared his throat awkwardly and left the room, closing the door quickly behind him.

I stepped into the hot water, the crystal clear liquid cleansing the crimson marks off of my pale body. Around the drain a swirl of blood pooled on the bottom and I looked at my feet, drowning in it.