***
•HOSPITAL•
Dove opened her eyes, and it took her ten seconds before she got to realize she was in the hospital.
Her whole body was in pain.
Dove looked at the belt marks on her body, and she began to cry silently.
Even her whole face was covered with bruises, and she had plaster on her forehead.
Niko beat her up to the extent that she fainted and Dove could not still believe Niko would do this to her.
All he did during the past few years was shout at her, and even up until now, she is yet to get used to him shouting at her when he is angry.
She knows she was wrong when she lied to him, but that doesn’t warrant him to beat her up like an animal.
Her dad has never for once slapped her, talked more of beating her.
Recalling how Niko beat her up mercilessly earlier, more tears fell down from her eyes.
From her head down to her toe was bruised up.
Even her cheeks were swollen because of the thunderous slaps he gave to her.
A nurse entered and Dove cleaned her tears.
“You are finally awake”
“How did I get here?” She asked.
“Your boyfriend brought you here. You must have been so scared when those stupid thugs attacked you. How can they beat up a lady to this extent?”
“What do you mean by thugs?”
“Your boyfriend said you were attacked by thugs and that’s why you had some many bruises all over your body” The nurse said.
Dove clenched her fist.
*How could he lie to the hospital about her beaten up by thugs, when he was the thug himself?* Dove thought within her.
“I want to leave this place”
“You should wait for your boyfriend, he stepped out to get you something to eat”
“I don’t want to see his face right now” Dove said, and before she could control it, tears started rushing down from her eyes.
“Why?”
“He did this to me! I don’t want to see or talk to him, please, help me get out of this hospital” Dove said with watery eyes.
“This is domestic violence, you should report him to the police. Regardless of what you did, he has no right to beat you to this point. Is he trying to kill you?”
“Please just help me get out of here, please” Dove said, crying.
***
Few minutes later, Niko entered the hospital room Dove was admitted in, but he couldn’t find her.
“Where did she go?” He muttered.
He has already calmed down and he is now regretting beating her up.
A nurse entered the hospital room, and Niko looked at her.
“Where’s my girlfriend?”
“What girlfriend?” The nurse asked.
“My girlfriend was admitted to this hospital. I step out to get her something to eat, but I can’t find her anymore”
“I dunno what you’re talking about. My shift just started, I came here, cuz I thought there was a patient here” The nurse said, and left.
Niko called Dove’s number, but it was switched off.
Niko recalled how Dove’s phone fell from her when he slapped her. It automatically went blind.
His eyes met with the blood stains from the hospital’s bed sheets.
He didn’t need anyone to tell him it’s Dove’s blood, cuz she was bleeding all over when he brought her to the hospital.
“Dove” He called her name, and in the next seconds he was already crying.
******
•NIKO’S HOUSE•
“What were you thinking Niko? Seeing how your room is so scattered means that you must have beaten her blue black!” Joaquin scolded him.
“I didn’t know what came over me. I went crazy when I found out that she slept at Vincent’s house” He said crying.
“You both have been dating for three years, don’t you even trust her? Maybe you have forgotten that you were the one who took her virginity! She isn’t a wayward girl, Niko! Just because she spent the night with whoever this Vincent is doesn’t mean they did something!”
Niko sniffles.
“She told me countless times that she didn’t do it, but I was so consumed by anger. Even when I saw her blood, I continued beating her up”
Niko was sitting on the bare floor, his face filled with tears.
“That’s why I have told you countless times to learn how to control your anger. You become a different version of yourself when you’re angry”
“I regret what I did to Dove, I love her so much and I don’t want to lose her. Please help me, Joaquin. Dove is my life” He cries.
“No man does this to the woman he loves”
“I know and I regret it”
“Have you gone to her house?”
“I did, but she wasn’t at home. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her dad that I beat up his daughter”
“You better not, he’d kill you for it. Mr. Jacob loves his daughters so much”
“She is avoiding me on purpose. I know she has every right to do so, but I just want to see her and apologize for my wrong doing”
“What about Izzy? Have you gone to Izzy’s house? Maybe you will find her there”
Niko looked at Joaquin, sniffling.
******
•IZZY’S HOUSE•
“Aren’t you done cooking yet?” Izzy asked Angel, who happens to be her little sister.
“Just give me a few minutes, Izzy,” Angel replied from the kitchen.
“Please hurry up, I’m hungry” She said, sitting on the couch.
Someone knocked on the door, she went to open the door, but she didn’t find anyone.
“Are the street kids playing pranks again?” Izzy was about to enter the house, when she heard a sipping sound.
She looked at where the sipping sound came from, and she saw Dove hiding in an alley.
“Dove?”
Izzy quickly went to the alley, and she gasped when she saw Dove’s bruised face.
Dove was wearing a jacket and long trousers, so Izzy couldn’t see the bruises in her body, but sincerely speaking her face was scattered with bruises.
“What happened to you?”
“Niko did this to me,” Dove said, crying.
“Niko, what? How dare that monster do this to your face”
“You’d be shocked when you see my whole body. He used his belt on me, and threw me away like a piece of paper. He only stopped beating me when I fainted”
“What’s his problem?! What warrants him to do something like this to you?”
“I don’t know how he found out that I slept at Vinny’s house. He took it the wrong way, and beat me up”
“Your dad is a cop, right? You need to report him to the station. He needs to be thought the biggest lessons of his life”
Dove shook her head and balls of tears fell down from her eyes.
“I don’t want to see his face right now. Help me, Izzy. He knows your house, and he will definitely come for me if I choose to stay in your house. He is the last person I want to see right now”
“Then let’s go to Jovita’s house. Niko doesn’t know where she lives”
***
Angel came out from the kitchen but couldn’t find Izzy in the living room.
“Where did she go now that I am done cooking?” Angel was about locking the door that was opened when Niko approached her.
“Good afternoon, Niko”
“Afternoon. Where is Izzy?”
“Izzy? She stepped out”
“Okay. What about Dove? Is she here?”
“No. I haven’t seen her”
Niko looked at Angel, and it was so obvious she didn’t know what was happening between him and Dove.
“Where could she be?” He said, sadly.
“Is everything okay, Niko? Why are you crying?”
“It’s nothing” Niko wiped his tears.
******
•SNOW’S MANSION•
Jovita banged her hands on the table wearing an angry look on her face.
“That boyfriend of yours needs to be beaten up! How can he beat you up like an animal!”
“I’m thinking the same thing, Jovita”
Dove said nothing, she was just crying.
She was wearing a singlet and a bum short, so the entire bruises on her body were exposed.
Snow told her to wear light clothes, so that her bruises won’t get worse.
“I need to tell Vincent. He needs to know about this” Jovita tried calling Vincent, but Dove took the phone from her.
“Don’t call him”
“Why?”
“I don’t want any trouble” Dove sniffles.
“Niko was the one who started the trouble! Have you seen your face? It’s covered up with bruises, and your body as well. Vincent said he loves you, right? So tell him to help you teach that Niko a bitter lesson”
“Vincent loves who?” Jovita asked.
“Your cousin is in love with Dove,” Izzy said.
“Really?” Jovita asked with a smile.
“I am not sure if he is being sincere, you said it yourself, he is a bad boy”
“Yes he is, but Vincent doesn’t joke with words. He needs to fight for you. That Niko will be a goner if Vincent learns about this”
“That’s why I don’t want him to know”
“Dove! Don’t tell me you still love Niko, with what he has done to you?” Izzy asked
Dove slowly cries.
“Can I stay here till I recover from my bruises, I can’t go back home like this. My dad is going to ask questions”
“That’s why you need to tell him what kind of monster Niko is” Izzy said.
“You can stay here as long as you want Dove, but what will you tell your dad?”
“I will come up with a lie to tell him” Dove sniffles.
“What about your phone?”
“It’s at Niko’s. It’s no longer working”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to tell Vincent?” Jovita asked.
“No, don’t tell him. Your mom went to get medicines from me, right? Please tell her not to tell Vinny”
Izzy and Jovita sighed, they were not happy with Dove’s decision.
******
“What? She doesn’t want to file charges against him?” Snow asked, coming out from the pharmacy.
She just finished buying drugs for Dove.
“Yes mom. She doesn’t want to tell Vincent either. It turns out that Vincent loves her”
“I already know that, he told me about it, but Vincent said he can’t date her, cuz she has a boyfriend”
“An abuser? Vincent might be a bad boy, but he will never even think about slapping a lady, talk more of beating her up like an animal. I can testify to that. I did lots of annoying things to Vincent while we were growing up, but he never for once beat me, just because he is older. Niko is a monster!”
“Vincent and Niko are two different people, and the sad thing is that Dove doesn’t want to press charges”
“I understand her though, but even so, she needs to break up with Niko. Anyways she needs the medicines, please hurry up”
“I will” Snow ended the call.
She was about entering the car, when Diego held her hand, preventing her from opening the car door.
“Diego,” Snow said with fear.
Diego is one heck of a dangerous man, so Snow is afraid of him. Sometimes, she wondered why her late sister would date a man like him.
“Who is Vincent? Is he my son?” He asked.
******
•SNOW’S MANSION•
Izzy left already because she needed to go back home to Angel, while Jovita stepped out to receive what she ordered from china.
Dove was the only one at home, she tried sleeping for a while, but she couldn’t, cuz her whole body was in pain.
She heard some noise in the living room, and thinking it was Jovita or Snow, she stood up from the bed.
In pain, she went downstairs and she gasped when she saw Vincent.
Vincent was in the dining area, pouring some cornflakes in a bowl, with a smile, but the smile on his face vanished, when he raised his head up from the bowl of cornflakes and sees the numerous bruises on her face and body.
He rushed to her.
“What happened to you? Who did this to you?” His eyes were already burning in anger.
“No one. Why are you here? You hardly come to this house”
“I happened to visit a client that was closed by, so I decided to drop by only to find the house empty. Back to my question, who is the idiot that did this to you?”
“My life isn’t yours to worry about, Vinny”
“Your life matters to me, Dovey”
Dove looked at him, and she could see the sincerity in his eyes.
“Dove, please talk to me. Who beat you up to this extent”
Dove hesitated before speaking. “It was Niko. He found out I spent the night at your house, and he beat me up thinking I had s*x with you”
“That fool did this to you?” Vincent went straight to the door.
Dove held him.
“Don’t do anything to him, please”
“Sorry Dovey, no one touched you, and walk away freely” He takes his hand from Dove and leaves the house, before she could stop him.
“Vinny, please come back!”
Vincent entered his car with an angry look on his face, guessing where Niko might be, he increased the speed of his car, and zoomed off.
******
Niko walked one step after the other, he was just coming back from Dove’s house.
Jacob told him Dove hasn’t come back home yet.
Niko was still walking like a walking corpse, when Vincent’s car pulled in front of him.
Vincent came out from the car in a rush, and gave Niko a flying kick that landed him on the ground.
His head began bleeding immediately.
Vincent didn’t give Niko the chance to recover, before he started punching Niko’s face.
The more Dove’s bruised up face and body appeared to him, the more Vincent punched him.
Niko was bleeding dreadfully, but he didn’t stop punching and kicking him until Niko began gasping for air like he was dying.
His face was occupied with bruises. One of his eyes already closed and blood circulated on it, cuz Vincent was just punching and kicking him in every area of his body.
“I didn’t intend to beat Dove,” He said in a weak voice.
“You didn’t intend to beat Dovey? Is she your punching bag or something! She didn’t even sleep with me, so why would you do that to her!!!” Vincent shouted.
His eyes were red and it was at the verge of producing tears.
Vincent is heartbroken to see what Niko is capable of doing to Dove, a girl he loves so much.
“I won’t have done it if she didn’t sleep in your house”
“So you still have the mouth to talk?!”
Vincent angrily kicked him, and Niko flew to a distance, and he began coughing out blood.
Vincent walked to Niko and he grabbed his hair, Niko screamed hellishly.
“How do you want to die? Is it by hanging you or by butchering you?”
……
TBC
