Huntley looks up at me and the expression on her face is enough to break my heart. I walk over and stop in front of them.
Holy shit.
Demi’s face is already starting to bruise.
There’s a cut on her forehead and her lip is busted.
I clench my fists and suppress the anger I feel building. What the fuck gave Tommy the right to smack Demi around like this? No man should ever lift his hands to a woman, no matter how angry he gets.
I look at Huntley, “You ok baby?” She shakes her head and more tears slip down her face.
I turn my gaze to Demi and kneel in front of her. She flinches slightly at my closeness and I cringe. How is she supposed to trust another man again?
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I tell her, my voice soft and reassuring. “Are you ok to leave with us or do we need to take you to the hospital?”
“I need to get out of here,” she whispers. Her voice broken is and desolate and it’s so foreign in contrast to her usual perkiness.
“I’m so sorry Dem. We’ll make him pay for this. Have you called your parents or the police?”
She shakes her head. “No. My parents are away on holiday and I don’t want to get the police involved.”
“Are you fucking kidding me Demetria?”
Our heads all spin around at the sound of Brody’s angry voice.
“He beat you up and you don’t want to press charges?”
“Don’t yell at her!” Huntley scolds.
“Brody,” Demi says, “He found out about us and got angry. What did you expect? You know he has a temper on him. What we did was wrong. How do I explain this to the police and to my family?”
Brody walks over to us and kneels in front of Demi. “I’m sorry baby, I didn’t mean to yell. But he needs to know that he can’t get away with it.”
Demi cups Brody’s face and the gesture appears very intimate. I feel like Huntley and I should leave and give them some privacy, but I’m beyond fascinated by the tenderness between the two of them.
“He’s right Dem,” I say. “We need to have it seen to immediately. They’ll need to take pictures of your face and get a statement. You might not want to press charges, I get that, but we have no way of knowing whether or not he’ll come back. The least we should do is try get a restraining order. I can call my dad and have him meet us at the police station.”
Huntley grips her hand tight and nods. The look that they exchange doesn’t go unnoticed, something about it unsettles me. Demi sighs, “OK. But then can we go home please?” she pleads, looking at Brody, his expression contrite and angry.
He slips his arms under Demi’s legs, lifting her off the bed. He cradles her in his chest and leaves the room. Huntley and I follow behind and I make sure the front door is bolted until we can get it fixed.
I watch as Brody puts Demi in the front passenger seat of his truck before pulling away.
Huntley’s in my truck when I get in. She’s fiddling with her fingers nervously so I grab a hand and thread our fingers together, hoping to reassure her.
I kiss the back of her hand and say, “Everything will be ok my beautiful girl.”
Her mouth tilts to the side slightly, and I know somewhere deep down she believes me.
I pull away from the sidewalk outside mine and Brody’s house and follow Brody to the police station. I give my father a call and ask him to meet us at the police station. They start processing Demi’s clothes, take pictures of her face and then proceed to take hers and Brody’s statements.
A few minutes later, two officers drag Tommy through the door. When Demi sees him, she immediately stands behind Brody and starts crying. Her tiny frame shakes uncontrollably, making her look like a terrified animal.
Tommy tries to lunge for Brody but the officers stop him. “You asshole,” he yells. “You were supposed to be my friend!”
“I’m sorry we betrayed you. But our friendship ended a long time ago.”
“So that gives you the right to fuck my girlfriend?”
Brody hangs his head and for the first time I can see that he’s ashamed of what he’s done. But I also know he’s the kind of man who will take responsibility for his actions.
“What we did was wrong Tommy, and I’m sorry. But you had no right to do to Demi what you did.”
Brody reaches behind him and pulls Demi to his side. She hesitates, and Brody looks down at her with reverence and adoration shining bright in his eyes and over his features. “It’s ok,” he whispers, “I’ve got you.”
When Tommy see’s the condition of Demi’s face, he pales and stares at her, completely immobilized. The realization of what he’s done hits him like a freight train. “Oh God” he breathes. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…” he trails off, leaving the remainder of what he wanted to say hanging heavy in the air.