the storm inside - charles

[tahlia sommers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,10px,true] [/style] [STYLE=border:2px solid #000000; width:380px; color:#5D5D5D; font-family:calibri; font-size:11px; line-height:90%; padding:20px; text-align:justify; border-radius: 0px 10px 50px 10px; box-shadow: 3px 3px 3px #9d9d9d; text-transform: lowercase;]Tahlia had been watching the news about the incoming hurricane with worry, she didn’t want any of the people she cared about to get hurt and wanted to check to make sure they were safe. Someone on that list of people she wanted to check on that list was Charles and that was either going to be a fight or impossible with Logan in the apartment with her. She had already gotten into an argument with him once over the fact she’d thought it would be best to go to the center where they were letting people stay for awhile to be safe when he’d not liked that idea. Looking at her phone she stood and picked it up mumbling a quick “I’ll be right back” to the man sat on her couch flipping the channels she went to move around him toward the kitchen but he reached out grabbing her wrist to stop her movements. She pulled her other hand back as he reached for her phone and sighed. “I just want to make sure my friends are okay and things…with this storm and all.” she explained trying to keep her phone from his reach and failing as he stood up to take it from her. ”You don’t need to be calling anyone. If they’re stupid enough not to be safe that’s their problem. Don’t think I don’t know you’re just going to call that guy I don’t like you talking to.” was his answer and she frowned. She hated that he cut off her contact with Charles the way he did, hated that she couldn’t just call her friend when she worried about him or whenever she just wanted to talk to him at all. ”He’s my friend Logan, this is a really big storm and I’m worried…I just want to check that he’s safe. It won’t be a long call.” she said hoping he might let her because of the worry clear in her tone or because maybe he’d be nice for once and understand that this was a special situation not just her wanting to call Charles at random. She should have known better and when his hand hit her face she stumbled back dropping her phone as she lifted her hand up to press to her cheek an eye where he’d hit. The yelling started then, her trying to calm him down by saying sorry a lot and him ranting about how she just wanted to go fuck another man and how she didn’t really want to be with him, how she didn’t deserve to even be with him if she was thinking of other men. She kept saying sorry even as his hand gripped her throat and he gave her a shake as he made her look at him. She hated this, hated that one moment everything could seem okay and like they were happy then the next this was happening. She hated it but he loved her despite it and she enjoyed it when he loved her instead of yelling at her…she could deal with the rest for those moments.

[CHARLES ASHMORE]

the right time to roll to me

the wrong guy, the wrong situation

.

he sat in the darkness of his apartment, a layer of sweat covering his body as with the window being shut, the air was rather warm in his apartment. with the dog curled up next to him under the covers, charles tried to close his eyes and forget about everything for just a little bit but it was just made it that much harder. his mind was on overdrive and he was soon kicking the blankets off his body only to have them return moments later with the need for warmth but then he would grow cold once more and the cycle continued until a low groan escaped his lips and charles rose out of his bed, slipping on a pair of jeans and slipping on a random t-shirt that was on the bed. he patted his dog on the head, scratching her behind the ear and letting her drift back to sleep before his footsteps took him out of the bedroom and to the comfort of his own living room. reaching for his jacket, he physically jumped to the howling wind that was outside of his door as he pried it open regardless of the force of the wind. he threw his hood up, looking from the street to his car and realizing that he was never going to be able to drive in the flooded streets. taking a deep breath, he remembered exactly who he was going for and began to his trek braving the cold, the wind and the rain that hitting in directly in the face. he learned to lift his feet instead of trudging through the water that was rising with every passing second, a flaw to the idea of a coastal city. sighing softly, he continued to trot his way, his pace quickening and even having to catch his balance a few times with the wind but he managed to get to her residence. the sound that he heard caused his brows to furrow because even in the whipping of the wind and the rain smacking into objects, loud voices could be heard. he gave the door a soft knock only to have it be answered by the very male that charles hated and then slammed back in his face before charles could even open his mouth. not hearing the lock click, he waited a moment, stunned by the gesture before finally making the bold move to open the door where the sight that he beheld caused the male to see red. ’what are you doing!?”

[/b] he shouted loudly, slamming the door behind him with his foot before taking the two steps needed to reach logan and tahlia. charles had never been an aggressive person but at this instant, it was difficult as he ripped the boyfriend away, throwing him into the wall. ”tally..you okay?”[/b] he asked, stepping closer, the boyfriend being a complete after thought as he brushed his fingers over the various bruises that were visible clear as day indicating the abuse that she had endured since their last encounter. [/div][/center]

[tahlia sommers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,10px,true] [/style] [STYLE=border:2px solid #000000; width:380px; color:#5D5D5D; font-family:calibri; font-size:11px; line-height:90%; padding:20px; text-align:justify; border-radius: 0px 10px 50px 10px; box-shadow: 3px 3px 3px #9d9d9d; text-transform: lowercase;]Tahlia wasn’t thinking about the storm outside anymore, she was still worried about those she cared about but right now she was too busy trying to calm her boyfriend down to think about that more. She knew his patterns now, he would get angry and rage at her for a bit then he’d just walk out and calm down before coming home with flowers or something as his way of saying sorry. She knew with the storm he wouldn’t be walking out and she didn’t know how he’d calm down if he couldn’t because being around her seemed to just keep him angry. If he stayed angry this would keep happening and she didn’t know what exactly would happen to her if he didn’t hit his stopping point this time. He said he loved her, he showed her that he loved her other times but when he was angry like this she didn’t think that love connected, didn’t think he saw her for who she was. She had taken to hoping that it was someone else he was truly this angry at, hoping that he just didn’t see her properly when he was like this and then when he came back to himself he felt bad about it when he realized. He’d mentioned an ex-girlfriend before and he got angry talking about her so that was who Tahlia thought he was truly angry at in this moments…though a deep part of her mind knew that her hopes were wrong and that the man knew exactly what he was doing and who to. She looked toward the door at the knock thinking that it just couldn’t be a good thing if someone was showing up in this storm. She wondered who it could possibly be and was surprised when the door was slammed on the person’s face without her even getting to see who it had been. Backing away as Logan came at her again seemingly even more angry now she tried to dodge his grip as he pushed her against the wall one hand on her throat again this time gripping harder. When the door opened and she saw Charles coming in she felt her eyes growing wide surprised that he was there, and realizing why Logan was so mad now. She tried to push Logan back again and was surprised as the door slammed after Char-Bear of all people shouted. Watching as he threw Logan into the wall she sucked in a breath coughing a little and using a hand to cover her mouth as she got her air back. Looking at him as he asked if she was okay she shook her head and motioned toward the door grabbing his arm. ”We have to go…now.” she said knowing Logan would be back to trying to choke her or attacking Charles soon and she didn’t want that. ”Please Char-Bear we have to go.” she said her voice soft and nearly begging now because she wanted out of there thinking if they stayed Logan would never calm down and she’d be in a more serious situation than Charles had walked in on to begin with now that he’d stepped in.

[CHARLES ASHMORE]

the right time to roll to me

the wrong guy, the wrong situation

.

the passive male had never felt such an anger before in his entire life, even the time that little boys were throwing rocks at the dolphins that charles often claimed as his. he had never seen this much red in his vision and a lack of clarity in thought when he suddenly lunged for the form that he believed to be logan, pushing him harshly into the wall and taking a deep breath to control his anger. tahlia had just experienced a traumatic thing, a repeat of such, but the effects were still there, and charles needed to keep calm for the moment that he had to turn around and face her and see the bruises that the male littered across the creamy skin of her neck. she looked tainted when he actually got a good look at her once his vision returned to normal and his eyes softened, she appeared skinnier, her eyes were bloodshot and her skin was covered with makeup which meant that she was covered in the evidence of the abuse. he took a daring step closer, sweeping the hair out of her face and just as he was about to speak, she beat him with a desperate tone to her voice but his eyes flitted to the window where branches were being knocked against it followed by the harsh rain and he realized that he was going to have to brave that storm for a second time. shedding his jacket, he nodded to her, looking over his shoulder to see logan slowly coming back to his senses which charles found to be a little threatening and began to move faster in wrapping tahlia in the jacket, leaving him with nothing but a t-shirt to cover his body. ”okay..we are going, no…um…arguing with me though..”

[/b] because tahlia always had to spoeak her mind even when it came to a grievance which he was quite certain this was going to be. he quickly turned around and laid a foot into logan’s chest, allowing a little time to be bought before ushering tahlia into his arms. ”just…close your eyes..”[/b] he mumbled before charging for the door and being hit with a wall of wind and rain. his vision instantly blurred to the whipping of the droplets into his face but he began the trek with a quickened speed, curling her body closer into his to protect her from the harsh elements. [/div][/center]

[tahlia sommers]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,10px,true] [/style] [STYLE=border:2px solid #000000; width:380px; color:#5D5D5D; font-family:calibri; font-size:11px; line-height:90%; padding:20px; text-align:justify; border-radius: 0px 10px 50px 10px; box-shadow: 3px 3px 3px #9d9d9d; text-transform: lowercase;]Tahlia had never seen Charles like this, he was normally such a laid back teddy-bear of a man but seeing him push Logan and the look he’d given him was surprising to her to say the least. She was for once in her life speechless, not knowing what to say to calm Charles down or just not knowing what to say at all right now. Her throat was sore from Logan’s choke hold on her and her face hurt from being the target of his fists…old bruises on her arms ached a little from her struggle to get free of the man too but she didn’t notice any of that at the moment. Pulling in shaky breaths and trying to make sense of the situation she looked at Charles. When he turned to look at her she was sure there was not a single thing hiding the evidence that what he’d just seen wasn’t the first time it had happened. Charles always did know her too well to be fooled by anything and she had no doubts that now would be the same in that aspect because she wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore now. When he pushed her hair away from her face she snapped out of it realizing what had just happened and what could come from this whole situation. She begged him to leave so that Logan couldn’t hurt him, couldn’t hurt her anymore right now. He needed time to calm down and come back to his senses like he did when he went for his walks or whatever after leaving from an argument. She was more than willing to give him that time right now by leaving with Charles so he could have the apartment to calm down in. She opened her mouth to argue the fact that he didn’t have a coat now that he’d wrapped his around her shoulders but stopped herself as he spoke to tell her no arguing with him. ”Okay…” she said though she was one of those people who always spoke her mind no matter what but this was one situation she felt it was best to actually listen for a change. She didn’t look when he turned back to Logan, trying to figure out where her jacket was and if she could trade fast enough but couldn’t see it or remember where she’d left it in time. Sticking close to Charles she didn’t close her eyes but she did keep her eyes down so the rain wouldn’t get into them as they moved. Staying close to him she knew that coming out in this weather had been a foolish idea but they’d had to get away from Logan or things would have ended way worse she thought.