Darkness Before Dawn - 1

Duncan limped up the stairs to his front door. It was late, probably close to 3 AM. Luckily, it had come a downpour and he found walking through the deep puddles in ditches soothed his ankles.

He slowly opened the door. It was not locked. That told him that Courtney was still awake, wondering where he was… He could just picture her right now. Doubled over on the couch, watching the door with a cross in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably. The image hurt him. It made his heart ache and caused his wounds to sting even more than they previously had.

He turned the knob with a painful moan, as his wrists were torn down and, he knew that there was probably no skin left on them. He stepped inside, drenched. He looked around, no sign of Courtney.

And then, as if a siren had gone off to alert his arrival, Courtney came bounding around the corner like a raged bull. She had a tight tank top on which made her belly stand out more than usual, and her face was red and tear stained and she looked as though she might be ready to commit a murder. “Where the hell have you BEEN!?!” she screamed, flipping on the light.

She froze, almost instantly.

Her eyes were fixed on him like a hawk. Her body slowly relaxed from its previously tensed and angered stature. Duncan stared back at her, his head slowly dipping down to look beneath him at the blood stained tiles of the foyer of the apartment.

“D-Duncan….” She whimpered, slowly taking baby steps towards him. “W-what happened to you…”

Duncan had his eyes fixed on her stomach now. His baby was in there. And he would see her in less than a few months. Under normal circumstances, the thought would have excited him… but right now, he felt as though he could trust no one anymore. He even found himself backing away as Courtney approached him.

“D-Duncan.. Its me, Courtney… Princess…” she slowly held out her hand, and gently touched his shoulder. He flinched slightly, but eventually accepted it, and closed his eyes. Courtney ignored his blood covered clothes and got as close to him as she could, and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him.

“D-Duncan…. C-come sit down honey…” she cued him to follow her but he seemed to be lost In thought, and did not move from his spot at the door. “Duncan….” she whimpered, holding out her hand, and he then slowly looked up, looking at her with a confused look on his face.

“Come sit down…” she sat down, and patted the sofa cushion next to her. Slowly, almost as if he was taking his first steps in life all over again, he limped towards the couch, and allowed Courtney to help him sit down.

“Tell me what happened, Duncan.” she whispered, trying not to break down, as she rubbed his back gently, wondering how worse he’d look without his clothes on.

He shook his head slowly, his eyes fixed on nothing in particular straight ahead of him.

“Duncan honey… please tell me… who did this to you?” She inched closer to him, and it made her ache when he flinched. She didn’t understand how he could be so timid. Whatever happened couldn’t have been that bad, could it?

“Y-you wouldn’t understand…” he finally moaned, his voice raspy and broken. Courtney looked at him with worry, and when she placed her hand on his leg, he jumped so much he nearly fell off of the couch. Courtney gasped, and grabbed his arm, and pulled him back so he was safely on the couch.

“Duncan.. Calm down.. I’m not going to hurt you….” she whimpered, now being more careful of what she did.

Duncan eyed her carefully, his body shaking lightly, his hands gripping unto his now ripped and tattered jeans.

Courtney held her hand to him, eyeing him as she waited for him to comply. “Take my hand, Duncan.” she whispered. He looked up at her as though she had lost her mind, but after a moment or so, finally grabbed her hand, very, very slowly.

Courtney stood, and he stood with her, but much slower than her. “I’ll bathe you, Duncan…” she whispered, nervously. “You need to be cleaned up…” She went to lead him to the bathroom, but he did not follow, causing her to yank back towards him as their hands were conjoined. He was shaking his head violently. The last thing he wanted was to be naked around anyone again, any time soon.

“Duncan… come on… please…” she cried, grabbing his hand with both of her hands now. “You have to let me help you…. And you can’t clean yourself up with those wounds on your hands…” she eyed him strongly, and careful. She stared straight into his deep blue eyes, that once sparkled with spirit and life, now were dulled and full of terror and scars.

After nearly 5 minutes, she finally convinced him to follow her into the washroom.

Courtney was about to let him undress himself, but she then decided she did not want to leave him alone. Not with the way he was acting.

As slow as she possibly could, she reached for the bottom of his shirt. He took a step backwards. “Duncan, come on, cooperate with me.. Please…”

He stared at her, his hands shaking lightly as he finally allowed her to lift the shirt up and over his head.

She lost her breath when she saw his chest and stomach. She decided to hold her tongue, and go ahead and get his jeans off while he was in the moment.

She tried to watch him and remove his jeans at the same time, nervous he would jump or panic, but much to her surprise he stay still, but his body was violently convulsing.

Once she had his jeans removed, she turned on the water, and was thankful when he did not seem frightened by it. She was growing more and more scared and wanted to know what had happened to him more than anything she had ever wanted in her entire life.

“Do you want to keep your boxers on?” she decided to let him have the option, much to her hesitation. He did not reply, simply watched the running water as if he was in a daze. She decided to at least attempt and remove his boxers, and when she pulled them down, he had absolutely no reaction, simply continued to stare at the water.

“I’m going to keep the water on and the drain open so the filth doesn’t pool up, that would make for a pointless bath now wouldn’t it?” She tried to add a little lightness to the situation, but as same, he had no reaction to her words. It was though she did not even exist.

Courtney turned around, and for the first time got a glance of his lower regions and almost fainted. Besides his thighs, it had to be the most wounded part of his body, and she now had ideas of what had happened to him, but tried not to let herself believe that.

“C-come on… Duncan,” she grabbed his hand and helped him step into the tub and sit down. He winced as the warm water pierced his wounds, and he let a small whimper escape his vocals as he gripped at the no-slip shower mat.

Courtney gave him a few moments for the pain to die down, and when he seemed to relax, she took a small cup and gently poured water over his arms and back.

“You have to tell me what happened eventually….” she moaned as she dabbed at his face with a washrag. “I know your terrified honey… but I’m not going to hurt you, I love you… I’m here to help you…. To take care of you…” she preached as she washed him, holding him gently when he flinched at her rubbing his wounds, the soap burning them intensely.

“It’s okay….” she whispered soothingly into his ear, already he looked a thousand times better than he did when he walked in. She washed all the dried blood and dirt away, and washed out his hair with a shower handle.

“Do you feel better honey?” she asked as she dried his hair with a fuzzy towel, hoping the softness would comfort him. He very slowly nodded, and was shaking as she helped him step out onto the rug. “I’ll go get you some warm clothes to wear, and you can go to sleep, okay? Do you think you’ll be able to talk better in the morning?”

Duncan nodded faintly through his shaking, and she was surprised when he actually willingly followed her out of the bathroom and too the bedroom. Courtney took out something for him to sleep in, and helped him put it on. “You lay down honey, do you want any tea or something?” she asked gently, fixing the bed for him.

He jumped into the spot she prepared like someone sleep deprived. The warm, thick covers and the padding of the bed felt like heaven to him, compared to the hard, cold cement floor he had been crushed against for hours. “Y-yes…. T-tea.. Please..” he mumbled, curling up into a ball. He was finally accepting her, he was finally trusting her again.