[M] She Ran

"Y-y-y-yes, great idea." He agreed, placing his hands on her hips and gently guiding her off of him.

He stood up and made his way over to his kitchen.

"I already have coffee brewed up, so it won't take long at all." He said with a smile. "While I mix it up, you can use a rag to clean off the blood." He offered. He still hated that she got hurt like that.

He poured a mug full of the coffee and added the shot of alcohol, sugar, and the cream. He then topped it all off with whipped cream.

"Bon appetit" He said with a dorky grin, passing the drink to her.

Fawzi padded after Tomaso when he made his way into the kitchen.

She wiped her face gently with the rag next to the sink, cleaning her face slowly. She was careful as she got to the split skin. It was still very, very sore.

"I'm sorry about your shirt," she apologised as she cleaned her chin and neck. Head wounds always bled too much. They made so much mess. She'd gotten blood all down her own shirt and Tomaso's.

"You're a star." She swiped her finger through the whipped cream, wiping it on Tom's nose with a little giggle before licking the rest off her finger.

Tom hadn't even noticed his shirt had gotten blood on it until she said that. He looked down and pulled it out.

"Na, don't worry about that. I have more, don't worry." He said with a crooked smile.

He was glad to see her looking more cleaned up, but her cuts still looked so sore.

Tom was shocked when she put the whipped cream on his nose. He wasn't use to that sort of playfulness.

He let out a nervous laugh and wiped the cream off his nose.

They were sore, but that was to be expected. She could deal with them. They'd heal up soon and she'd be fine.

Fawzi smirked when he wiped the cream off his nose.

He was so adorably awkward.

"Missed a bit." The woman leaned up, one hand resting on his shoulder as her tongue stroked over his nose, licking up the little smear of whipped cream.

"There," she breathed softly.

Oh God.

Oh God what was she doing!?

Did friends do that? Or was that more than friends?! How would Tom know? He'd never been in a serious relationship before.

But according to all the movies he'd watched, this was definitely more than friends material.

"Uh..Uh Fawzi?" He asked, his voice very timid.

Fawzi did like Tomaso. She'd like to think that there was something between them.

Tomaso was the sweetest guy she'd met. He was sweet and kind and gentle. It wasn't a bad thing that he was also insanely attractive.

She did feel a little bad, though. As much as she liked Tomaso, she was with Claudio.

Claudio...

"Yes?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I...." His voice trailed away.

He took a deep breath and tried again.

"I really...."

"I'm glad that you came."

Her dark eyes gazed up at him as he stuttered through his words.

Her lips curled up into a warm smile. "I'm glad, too."

Fawzi couldn't have picked a better person to come to after what had happened. Tomaso had cheered her up already just by being himself. It was incredible.

She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to lean up and press her lips against his; find out how soft they were.

He smiled weakly.  

Tom wished he wasn't so shy and socially awkward.  He wished he was like one of those guys who could boldly say whatever was on their mind.

But instead he was this way.  Been like it for as long as he could remember.  

He had no idea Fawzi was thinking about kissing him.

He thought she was probably thinking about what a weird guy he was instead.

The woman's lips parted slightly in anticipation as she pushed herself just a little closer to the Lycan.

Her dark eyes searched his, looking for any indication that he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him.

She didn't see that burning lust that she hoped. She saw kindness. She saw the soft expression someone wore then they gazed down at someone they cared about.

That, unfortunately, didn't equate to the look one gave when they wanted to ravage someone with a passionate kiss.

The woman dropped back onto the flats of her feet, lifting the mug she still had in her hand to sip at the spiked coffee gently, taking a step back.

Tom had looked right into her eyes, and she read him perfectly. He was not a man of lust, not even when it was during breeding season.

He'd never been that way, and probably never would be.

As a teenager he'd always felt like something was wrong with him because of it. But as he grew older he learned to accept himself.

Somehow Fawzi made him feel like a teenager all over again.

He battled within himself, not sure if he should tell her or not. On the outside he just stared at her blankly, zoning out within his thoughts.

Fawzi hid behind her mug for a few moments.

Maybe she had gotten the wrong message? Did he not like her like that?

That gaze was of someone that cared for her, certainly. But it wasnt the gaze of someone that wanted to be her lover. It was closer to a friend.

Did he just want to be friends with her?

No, that couldn't be it, could it? He had shown interest in her before. He couldn't just want to be her friend, could he?

Fawzi suddenly felt a little unsure.

When Tom realized there was a silence between them, he moved in so he was standing right beside her. He still had his own mug of coffee, and he took a sip before setting it down on the counter.

"Fawzi... how do you feel about me?" He finally asked. His cheeks got a rosy hue to them.

He was not good at having conversations like this.

But he needed to ask. She'd been coming on so strongly to him this night. If she had feelings for him then he'd have to tell her. It was only fair.

Her lips parted for a moment before pursing closed again.

She turned her gaze up to him, staring at him for a long moment before sighing softly.

She couldn't like to him. Even if it meant that she'd have to deal with things getting awkward later.

"I like you a lot," she admitted.

"I like you a lot too... More than any girl I've ever met before." He admitted. If she could be honest with him, he'd be honest with her.

He just hoped that what he had to say wouldn't drive her away.

Fawzi gave a little smile before it faded. She almost looked guilty.

She felt a lot more guilty than she looked.

"Look, Tom, I... I really like you and I'm so glad that you like me, too, but we can't- I can't-" She'd led him on long enough and as much as she liked him and wanted to get with him, she just couldn't. Not with a clean conscience.

"I want to do this but I can't. I have a partner."

The words stung her. She'd been a total bitch and she was falling for Tomaso and leading him on but she couldn't let it go on. She should just stop now.

Tom thought he didn't hear her right.

She was with someone?

Maybe he had misread her actions.

He felt like an idiot.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked, but then looked down.

"No, you don't have to answer that. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

It wasn't like they were dating, or had done anything sexual.

Still, the way she cuddled up with him, and the way she touched his body... it didn't seem like something a single woman would have done...

Fawzi had the decency to look ashamed.

"I liked what we had. What were were doing. Tom, I'm not lying to you when I say I like you. I really do like you."

But she had been with Claudio for five years now. Five long years. She owed it to the Vampire to not cheat on him.

She felt disgusted at herself.

She'd acted on feelings that she shouldn't have had. But she couldn't feel bad about them. That was the worst part. She did like Tomaso and she wasn't sorry about showing him that she liked him.

"I'm sorry I'm such a bitch." She felt like a whore.

"You're not a bitch Fawzi." He said, and she would be able to tell that he truly meant it.

How could he think a woman like her was anything but amazing?

So she made a mistake, who didn't?

The important thing was that she had told him.

"I have to ask though.... why didn't you go to your partner? Why come to me?" He couldn't help himself. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to." He added. He didn't want to overstep his bounds.

Her lips curled upwards in a sad attempt at a smile. She felt like one.

The woman's lips parted silently in that familiar action that showed that she was mulling over what she was about to say to change it. What she did when she was lying.

"He's-" The one that did this to her.

"He's busy. I didn't want to bother him at work." That excuse sounded so pathetic.

He was at work at this hour? And a job that took place at the wee hours of the morning was too busy that he couldn't be interrupted when his girlfriend got beat up? That didn't seem right.

None of this was right. He wanted to believe what she said, but the more he found out, the more he started to put the pieces together.

A sickening feeling formed in the pit of his stomach.

She was making up excuses, she had lied before... could it be?

"Fawzi..." He said her name gently and looked right into her eyes. "He didn't do this... did he?"

The woman froze up at his very correct guess.

Her eyes dropped and she stared at his chest, lips frozen in that same horrified expression as she tried desperately to come up with a decent lie.

"No. No, of course not! Why would he?" The words were too fast, too high pitched.

She was lying.

She didn't look him in the eyes. She had that expression he'd started to pick up on, the one where she had more to say, but didn't. Where she twisted the truth to try and keep things from him.

"I'm sorry,... I shouldn't have asked." He too looked away, feeling defeated.

It all made sense, but what if he was wrong? What if she really was telling the truth.

He really was an idiot, no matter how this played out. Either he believed her lie, and she went home to an abusive asshole, or he didn't believe her and looked like a obsessive jerk who couldn't keep to his own affairs.

Fawzi didn't think he was an obsessive jerk. She doubted she ever could. He just just too kind. Too sweet.

But what would happen now? Would he act on the knew knowledge that she was with someone abusive?

"Please...Please don't tell anyone."

If it got out to anyone and they confronted Claudio... She shuddered at the thought of what could happen.

The woman hugged herself, looking lost and scared. "Please. He can't know someone else knows."

So he was right.

The man she was with did this to her.

Tom clenched his fists and stared at the floor.

For the first time in a long time... he was angry. He was disgusted that someone would ever lay a hand on Fawzi that way.

She didn't deserve that. She deserved nothing but love. And he was wise enough to know that showing his anger was probably the last thing a battered person needed.

"I won't tell anyone Fawzi, you have my word." He said, looking back up at her. He wanted to hug her, hold her like he had been doing when she first came to his door. But he was worried he shouldn't, that it wouldn't be appropriate given the circumstances.