Page 14 of Sinful Little Lies

There may be one other person I can trust wholeheartedly with my situation. One person strong enough to handle the reality of what I’m going through. One man who possibly knows me better than most and has told me plenty of times that he’d be there to help me, save me.

I’ve pushed him away more times than I can count, afraid of getting too close. Afraid of blowing my cover. Afraid of realizing sooner that Leo isn’t who I should be with.

The least I can do is try and hope for the best.

9

GRIMM

Balancingthe spoon between my teeth while my hands are filled with the snacks for my movie night for one, I walk towards my room. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I adjust the mountain of snacks to fish it out. My dad’s contact flashes on my screen. I’m really not in the mood to talk to him, especially when I know he’s just going to bug me to come home for family dinner.

Letting his call go to voicemail, I begin heading up to my room, but my feet abruptly stop in their tracks as I pass the door and a knock sounds against the wood.

Grumbling behind the spoon in my mouth, I walk over to the door and try to open it with the hundreds of items in my arms. By the time I get the lock flipped and the door opening, sweat lines my forehead. I could’ve set down my snacks, but it took me forever to get everything perfectly stacked in my arms and I’m a one trip kind of guy.

When my eyes look out the door to see who it is, my mouth opens and the spoon clatters to the ground as my pile of snacks drop to my feet.

“V?” I say, “What’s up? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?” She doesn't respond, rather she pushes past me and rushes straight up the stairs and into my room. My heartwas already thrashing wildly in my chest at the sight of her, but her nonresponse makes it pound harder.

My eyes bounce to the pile of goodies on the floor, to my favorite snack of all walking to my room, debating on if I should pick them up first. Coming to the conclusion that Verena usually shows up when she’s drowning in her relationship, I leave the snacks behind and rush after her.

The bedroom door is left open and when I step inside, she’s in her usual spot. The couch in the corner. Closing the door behind me, I walk over to my bedside table and pluck out a pre-roll. Sparking it up, I take a few hits and sit on the side of my bed, across from the couch and her. “Hello to you too, V. What the fuck’s going on?” I question, concern wrapping around every word. I hand her the joint and she takes a couple of hits, her body relaxing the tiniest bit.

She stays silent for a moment before handing it back, her legs bouncing between as she wrings her fingers in her lap. A white bandage is wrapped around her palm. What happened there? Her eyes close and I watch her chest rise as she takes a big inhale of air. When she lets it go, her eyes spring open to meet mine, and she begins to speak.

“He’s hurting me Grimm. I know you know and I know you see it, but I’ve never said it outright to anyone. I can’t do it anymore. It feels like I’m suffocating. Every day, I wake up close to tears, questioning why I couldn’t just die in my sleep,” Verena says, reaching for the joint.

Extending my arm, I hold it out, and she takes a long pull. Exhaling, she continues. “He burned me the other night. Usually after an argument he-”

Immediately, my vision blackens. “Verena, stop. What the fuck do you mean he burned you? How? Tell me, now.”

“I was making dinner. Earlier in the day, I was craving tostones, so I made them for us. He had a bad day at workand was angry when he came home. He started spewing all of these horrible insults at me. He said I shouldn’t speak Spanish because we live in America; he said the food smelled disgusting and he refused to eat it. My feelings were hurt, and I lashed out. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I was so angry. I love my culture. I love who I am. Is it such a fucking shame I want my partner to be proud of it and embrace it, too?” She stops, her breathing ragged.

Taking another hit, a tear drips down her face and my body reacts without a second thought. My finger reaches her cheek, catching the tear. Our eyes lock and for a moment, there’s no one else. Hopefully she came here because she wants my help and she’s not going to leave my heart empty and aching.

Eyeing the wrap on her hand, everything clicks. Pointing to it, I ask, “Is that where he burned you, V?” She’s silent but when her eyes lock with mine, I see the truth pouring out of them. “I will help you, but I need you to tell me everything.” I promise her.

“The tostones were still cooking. He grabbed my wrist and forced it into the pan. The oil so was fucking hot, and I tried to rip my arm away from him, but he’s stronger than me. He threw the pan and the oil; the tostones flew everywhere, then ordered for me to clean it all up. He’s always breaking plates and glasses, leaving marks on me, but never has he gone to that extreme. ”

She looks up at me, nervous for what my reaction will be. With every new confession leaving her mouth, my fists clench tighter and my vision turns darker. I knew it. I knew it this whole fucking time, and I didn’t kill him.

It’s just as much my fault as it is Leo’s and now I’ll do everything I can to make it up to her.

“I’m scared, Grimm. I’m scared that if I stay, it’ll get worse. The more I think about it, the more I realize that I don’t want to die just to escape him. There has to be something I can do to befree of him without living in fear and uncertainty for the rest of my life.” Verena confesses.

“What’s his address, V?” I ask, trying to keep my voice steady despite the fury thrumming through my veins.

“W-What? No, Grimm. He’s crazy and I don’t want him to hurt you, too.” I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles up in my throat and fills the room. He’s crazy? Does my little monster even know the person she’s sitting across from?

“What you need to understand is that I’m crazier. Now either you’ll give me the goddamn address or Eli will,” I demand.

“Grimm, you are my only chance at freedom, but there’s a difference between you helping me get out of this shit and putting yourself in Leo’s line of hellfire.” She speaks softly and her voice cracks.

Her only chance at freedom? As shocked as I am to hear the words come from her mouth, I can’t argue with them. Damn, right. I’m her best bet at getting away from Leo for good. If only she’d just fucking let me help.

I sigh while looking at her, “Verena, that’s the point. That’s what I’m trying to do. Let me help you. Please, for five minutes, stop being so fucking stubborn and let mehelpyou. You cannot expect me to sit back and watch when I know he’s hurting you the way he is.”

The frustration overtakes me. The joint went out, but she didn’t put it down, so I pluck it from between Verena’s fingers and light it up again, pacing. After a few pulls, I turn to face her. The question that burns through my mind every night rises to the surface once again, and I know it may be now or never. I’m so fucking thankful she chooses to come to me time and time again, but if she doesn’t let me take care of Leo now, who knows what will happen to her?

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