Confession

I was awaken by a small sound.

For a split second, I thought I was back home in my bed and then everything came back to me. Living with Allan had made me become aware of every small noise. Especially when I was sleeping.

I looked at the alarm clock that was by my bed and saw that it was five minutes after twelve. I was about to go back to sleep, when I heard a creaking noise again. Curious as to what made that noise, I got out of bed and tiptoed to the door. I opened the door slowly and stepped out into the hallway.

As I stood outside the door of the room, I saw a figure coming up the stairs. "Carson?" I whispered.

Carson looked up quickly when he heard my voice. "Kayla, what are you doing up?" He asked in a hush voice.

"I heard a noise and I know that you weren't home as yet." I explained. Carson was now standing at his room door, which was beside mine. Now that he was closer to me, I could see him clearly and I noticed that cuts and bruises were all over his face. "You're hurt." I said quietly.

"It's okay. You should go back to bed." He said as he began to open his room door.

I stepped closer to him and place my hand on his arm. "Let me clean those for you first."

He looked at me for a second, before he cracked a small smile. "You are stubborn, you know that right?"

"I've been told before." I replied. Carson shook his head and opened his room door. He stepped inside and I followed behind him, closing the door.

I then led Carson into his en-suite bathroom and turn on the lights. The room erupted with brightness and I could see Carson much clearly.

The cuts on his face were worst that I had thought. His left eye was dark and slightly swollen. There was also a small cut underneath it. My eyes landed on his bottom lip and saw that a small part was burst open. The other bruises on his face were minor. My eyes then caught his hands and saw that his right knuckles were bleeding.

Carson, who noticed me looking at him, sighed. "I'm fine, Kitten. These are only small bruises. I'm used to it." He said.

"Well in any case, they still need to be tended to or they won't be able to heal properly." I said taking his hand and leading him to the edge of the bathtub to sit. He sat down obediently and I took out the first aid kit from the cabinet above the sink.

I went back over to him and sat beside him on the tub. First, I took out a gauze pad and lifted his right hand. I put it over his knuckles to stop the bleeding. After, I used an antibiotic ointment to clean the cuts. He flinched for a second, but then he relaxed.

I then used a bandage to wrap around his knuckles. All the while I did that, I felt Carson watching me. Every movement I made, his eyes never left me. Feeling uncomfortable under his intense gaze, I took up an alcoholic wipe and turn to face him. When I did that, I become aware of how close I was to him. Ignoring the fast beating of my heart and Carson's stare, I used the wipe to clean the bruises on his face.

"There you go. All done." I said as I closed the first aid kit and stood up, throwing away the used cloths. Wanting to put some space between us to tame my racing heart, I went over to the cabinet to put away the first aid kit.

When I turn back around, I saw that Carson had stand up too. "Thanks." He said, giving me that heart warming smile of his.

"You're most welcome." I said. I stand there in the bathroom, not knowing what to do.

Carson lifted his eyebrow at me and grinned. "You can leave now or do you want to bathe me too." He teased lightly.

I felt my face heat up with a blush. "Um...what...no, of course not." I spluttered. "Don't flatter yourself, Knight."

Carson burst out laughing at my reaction. "Don't pretend, Kitten. I know you want to."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever makes you sleep better at nights." I replied, then open the bathroom door. "Good night, monkey brains."

He smiled. "Good night, Kitten."

******

On Monday, I got a ride to school from Carson. As soon as I got to school, my friends were outside in the school yard. They lifted their eyebrows curiously at me when I stepped from Carson's car. I knew I had some explaining to do.

When I walked over to them, the bell rang for homeroom. At least they won't have to grill me now. After homeroom, we went our separate ways to our classes.

The day went by and now it was lunch time. I collected my lunch and my friends and I sat at our usual table to eat. During lunch, Jasmine, Lucas and Kevin kept looking at me alternatively. Finally, Jasmine rest her hand on the table and looked at me. "Okay, spill."

"Spill what?" I asked, acting like I don't know what she is talking about.

"Carson drove you to school this morning and I know that Carson doesn't live anywhere near where you live." Jasmine said, her gaze never leaving mine.

I put down the fries that I was eating and looked up at my friends. I couldn't lie to them anymore. I couldn't go on feeling guilty. They were my friends and has found a way to become my family. They were all I have. "I'm staying at Carson's for a while." I said quietly.

"What!" They all shouted at once.

"Shhh," I said, calming them down. "Keep your voices down."

"What do you mean by your staying with Carson?" Lucas asked, quietly this time.

I took a deep breath and looked down at the table. It was confession time. There was no harm in telling them, because I know they wouldn't judge me. They would also keep it to themselves. If I told Carson, I know I could tell them too. "Guys, please don't hate me when I tell you this. I just couldn't tell you before." Even though I tried to stop it, I felt my eyes filling with tears.

"Kayla, what's wrong?" Kevin asked, his eyebrows was creased with worry.

"My stepfather, he...he abuses me." I said in a whisper. I said it so low, it wasn't possible for them to hear me. However, by the looks that were on their faces, I knew that they did.

"What? Kayla, are you serious?" Jasmine exclaimed.

I nod my head in confirmation. "Yes. Ever since my mom died, he started to hit me."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Kevin asked.

"I was afraid. I just thought that it would be best if I didn't say anything. He threatened me not to tell anyone." I explained. "You don't know him. He can be real mean. Most days, I was afraid to go home, because I didn't want to run into him. Every chance he got, he would hit me. That is why I never want you guys to come over and why I didn't leave the house much. I was afraid of him seeing me."

"Kayla, he can't get away with this." Lucas said, his voice filled with anger. "He should rot in hell for what he did to you."

"Yeah Kayla, he's a monster." Jasmine agreed. I remained silent, so she added. "What does Carson have to do with this anyway?"

"He found out about what my stepfather was doing to me and he suggested that I stay with him." I explained.

"That's a good thing, because I don't think you should go back there either." Lucas stated firmly.

"Yes." Kevin agreed. He then looked at me and sighed. "Kayla, I really wished you had told us. He can't expect to mess with you and not expect us to do something about it. If he ever lays a hand on you again, he will have all of us to deal with."

Lucas and Jasmine nodded their head in agreement to what Kevin said and I smiled at them. "Thanks guys. I don't know what I would have done without you." I said and I meant it.

I was so glad that I have all these people who will have my back no matter what. I was lucky to have so many important people in my life. Jasmine, Lucas, Kevin and now Carson.