"Hey beautiful," Lance whispered. Whip sat up and wrapped her arms around herself again. She knew she had to tell him about David. She'd thought that part of her life was over with and it killed her to know that Lance had seen her like that. Peering at him, she looked away again quickly, but not before seeing the curiosity in his eyes. Whip frowned and turned towards him. She was just going to have to tell him.
"Look, Lance, I know that what happened today came as a huge shock." Lance nodded, but kept his expression neutral. He didn't want to push her too much. He just let her speak at her own pace, even though the millions of questions buzzing around his head were hard to ignore.
"Frankly, it came as a shock to me too." Seeing his confusion, Whip shook her head and quickly continued.
"What I mean is, I never thought I'd see David again," Whip took a deep breath and started at the beginning. She told Lance about David and that he'd swept her off her feet 5 years ago, when she was 17. They'd gotten married only 5 months after they met and at first, she was happy. Then David started changing. He was more demanding and they fought a lot, but it was almost a year before the hitting began.
Lance ached inside for her as the words tumbled out of her mouth. He wanted to pull her into his arms, but he knew she needed to get this all out, no matter how much it hurt. He boiled inside when she told him about the first of many beatings. David had come home one day from work and Whip had been out in the backyard, chatting with one of the neighbors. David had come out there with them and talked a little before excusing both Whip and himself. He had put his arm around her and led her inside. As soon as he shut the door, he had turned and slapped her across the face. It had surprised her more than it had hurt and she had brought her hand up to her face, staring at him in shock. David had yelled at her about how she shouldn't be out there flirting and teasing the neighborhood. He'd called her a slut and a tramp and by the time he was finished administering his "punishment", Whip was lying, curled up in the corner, silent sobs wracking her body.
That was what he had always called it; his "punishment". Whip had cringed inside everytime she heard him say that, along with calling her Precious. She had known from his demeanor when he walked in the door each evening what kind of mood he was in and if she would be able to enjoy a rare, quiet evening or end up stifling her yelps as his fists and booted feet slammed into her again and again.
Whip was crying openly now. Lance's hand covered hers and she took his hand in her own, squeezing it. The turning point had come when David had come home to find that she'd invited her mother over. Again, he'd been cordial in front of Whip's mother, but afterwards, he had beaten her so badly that she'd had to be taken to the hospital. Four broken ribs, a fractured wrist, and numerous scrapes, bruises, and contusions later, he had been arrested. Whip had pressed charges, but his lawyer had painted a picture that had shown her as the unstable one and he'd gotten off. She had left town then. She'd filed for divorce and when he didn't show up, they had granted it automatically. She never thought he'd come after her again. Whip hadn't seen or heard from him in over a year and she'd pushed those memories to the back of her mind. Now, he'd found her and he wanted to punish her for leaving him and being with another man.
When Whip finished, she looked at Lance, expecting to see disgust and blame etched on his face. What she saw shocked her. He was crying. Tears slipped down his cheeks, matching the ones on hers. Tentatively, he reached out a hand, caressing her cheek.
"Oh God baby," he rasped, "I'm so sorry."
Immediately, he pulled her into his arms and held her there while they both comforted each other. After awhile, Lance pulled back and cleared his throat.
"Uh....baby, there's one little problem we have to worry about."
Whip just looked at him, furrowing her brows in question. Lance swallowed and took her hand again.
"He got away," The fear in Whip's eyes spurred Lance's anger even more, "I don't know how, but the son-of-a-bitch got away. Don't worry about it though baby, we'll do everything we can to make sure he never hurts you again."
"But....Lance, I don't want to endanger you," Whip told him earnestly, "He is dangerous and this time, he'll kill you," she looked away, her voice dropping, "And then he'll kill me."
Lance wrapped his arms around Whip and settled his chin on her shoulder. No he won't, he thought to himself, not if I have anything to do with it.
~*~
When they arrived, the other guys all made their way up to the front of the bus. They were cracking on each other and playing around, but as soon as they saw Whip, they all quieted down. Lance sat up and, put his arm around Whip's shoulder.
"Ok guys, the asshole that thinks it's okay to beat up on my woman here is still loose. I'm gonna talk to Anthony and Tiny, but we have to be extra careful. I don't want her left alone for a second."
"Don't worry Whip," Chris raised his arms and one leg, doing a poor crane imitation, "If he comes near you, I'll go king-fu on his ass!"
"Chris, you couldn't go kung-fu on a lamp post," Justin shoved him and he fell over onto the seat opposite Whip and Lance, bringing a small smile to her face.
"Seriously Whip, we're behind you a hundred percent," Justin told her, "That fucker shows his face around here and he's gonna get beat down......hard."
"Whip tried to give him a smile and Justin nodded at Lance before stepping off the bus. Chris and JC followed, but Joey hung back, looking concerned.
"Everything ok man?" He asked.
"Yeah, I think so. I just hope that they catch him soon."
"Whip," Joey shuffled his feet, not looking at her, "I'm sorry that I screwed up. I thought he was out cold. I should have checked again."
Whip didn't say a word. Wincing, she stood up, shrugging off Lance's hand when he tried to help her. She walked over to Joey and stood in front of him until he looked at her. Leaning up, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and then put her arms up around his neck, hugging him. Joey, not wanting to hurt her, lightly placed his hands on her sides. Lance watched them, smiling. After a few seconds, Whip let go of Joey. "Thank you."
"For what?" Joey was confused now.
"For being there. For being Lance's friend and for helping me."
"I didn't do a very good job of it."
"It's not your fault," Whip assured him, "It's just David. He's the one who's the asshole. You did everything you could."
Joey nodded and raised his hand to Lance before getting off the bus to follow the guys. Lance pushed himself up off the seat and took Whip's hands in his own.
"You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Whip said. Lance grabbed her bags and turned to follow her. Whip just smiled at him before slipping her arm around his waist.
"Besides, with a man like you on my side, how can I go wrong?"
Lance grinned and brushed a kiss against her lips. They stepped off the bus and walked into the hotel, Lance's arm snaking around Whip and hers slung low on his waist. They didn't even notice the man in the business suit, standing on the other side of the lobby, his eyes following them until the elevator doors shut. A slow smile creased his face and he pushed away from the wall, greeting the receptionist brightly.
"I'd like a room please."
"And how long will you be staying sir," the woman asked him cheerfully.
"Oh, I'm only going to be here for the night."
"Very well sir, is this business or pleasure?" David flashed his heart-melting smile at her, making the woman blush.
"Well now, I expect it will be a little bit of both."
David smiled at her again and leaned against the counter. She gave him his keycard and thanked him for staying there. He flirted with her just a bit longer and then headed off to his room. It wouldn't pay to be seen too soon and he had plans to make. Those two pricks and that little bitch were going to pay for what they'd done to him. He was going to make sure his precious never, ever left him again.