Athena sighed lowly. There was so much noise inside the apartment. Loud music and loud voices. Once again her boyfriend Erick was throwing a party without a care in the world about anyone else. Not her, not the neighbors. No one dared complaining to him anyway. One hard look from the bald man with the long, red beard, and they all went silent.

"Smile!" Erick barked.

She put on her best smile. It was a fake as anything else she showed him these days. He grabbed her jaw and kissed her forcefully. Someone whistled. She didn't care who. She didn't care about any of them.

"I love this color on you," he said.

He smirked as he ran his thumb over her blood red colored lips. He pressed down hard, smearing the lipstick out on her cheek on purpuse.

"You made a mess of yourself again," he mocked. "You're such a clown."

She stood up to go clean her face. He always set out to humiliate her one way or another. It was some sick game of his. She didn't get out before the sound of a bottle landing on the floor reached her.

"Oh, fuck!" Luke said.

She turned around and looked at Erick's best friend Luke. He had dropped his beer on the floor.

"Sorry," Luke said.
"Don't worry," Erick looked at Athena. "Athena will clean it up."
"I was gonna fix my lipstick," Athena said.
"And you will," Erick twisted a little smile. "After you clean up."

She nodded and went to the kitchen to wet a cloth. She didn't dare go against anything he said. It didn't matter anymore. She was used to being humiliated like this. She walked back to the living room and went down on her knees to clean up the spilled beer.

"You're looking good down on your knees," Bray said.
"Her favorite position," Erick chuckled. "Isn't that right, Athena?"
"Yes," Athena said.
"Yup, she just loves to suck daddy's dick. She loves to choke on it. She drools all over the place like the fucking clown she is," Erick said.
"Stop," Athena whispered.
"What was that?" Erick asked.

She didn't say anything. She kept running the cloth over the same spot without watching if she was actually cleaning something or not. Erick pushed her shoulder with his foot. She raised her head to look at him.

"I asked, what was that?" He asked.
"Please, stop," she pleaded.
"If you don't like it, you can always leave," he said.
"But you won't let me go," she said.

The room fell silent. All Erick's friends were watching him as if she had just challenged him. In a way she had. She had never said anything against him before.

"You don't want to leave. There's a difference," Erick said.
"So you're saying I can just walk out that door?" Athena pointed towards the front door.
"Sure," Erick shrugged.

She stared at him for two long seconds. She didn't believe him. He stared back. The challenge was still on. She finally stood up and walked over to the front door, only accompanied by the loud music. Everyone was watching her. She opened the front door, took one step and was immediately yanked back by her hair.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" Erick snarled.
"You told me to leave," she said.
"You don't fucking leave me!" He growled. "Ever!"
"I don't wanna do this anymore," she said.
"Tough shit!" He said.

He spat in her face. Another form for humiliation. Being spit on wasn't new for her. What was new was that she spat back. For some unknown reason she found some sort of will to fight back this evening. She knew she shouldn't have the second her spit landed in his beard. His eyes turned cruel like many times before.

"You fucking bitch!" He yelled.

He pushed her so she tripped down on the floor. She turned around fast, trying to crawl towards the door. He grabbed her ankles and yanked her back. The second she turned around to look at him, she was backhanded. He jumped down to straddle her while his fists did the talking. She wasn't sure how many times he hit her. Not as many as he would have if Luke hadn't stopped him.

"Come on, Erick. It's enough," Luke said.
"I decide when it's enough!" Erick yelled.
"Come on, dude. She's not going anywhere. You proved your point," Luke said.

Erick grabbed Athena's hair and yanked her head up so they were almost nose to nose.

"Are you still gonna walk out that door?" Erick asked.
"No," Athena cried.
"That's right," Erick said. "You're not ever fucking leaving me!"

He stood up and wiped his hands on his pants. He looked around at his friends who had been sitting there watching the show.

"Let's hit the town," Erick said.
"Sounds good," Bray said.

Everyone stood up. No one paid attention to her still on the floor. She sat up, staring down at the ugly, royal blue carpet while everyone left the apartment. She didn't look up until their voices were gone. She crawled towards the stereo and shut off the music. Everything around her was silence but it only lasted for a second.

"Are you alright?" Someone asked.

She looked towards the front door. They had left it open when they walked out. A tall, long haired man stood there. She hadn't seen him before.

"Never been better," she answered.
"Right," he chuckled sadly. "May I come in?"
"No," she said.
"Okay, I'll stay here. Do you wanna come with me next door then?" He asked.
"What happened to old man Regal?" She asked.
"I don't think William appreciates being called old," he laughed. "He still lives there. He's gone for the weekend. I'm just looking after his iguana."

She nodded and got back up on her feet. The guy kept standing in the open door, just watching her.

"Are you gonna stand there all night?" She asked.
"Until you either come with me or close the door in my face," he said.
"Has anyone ever told you you're annoying?" She asked.
"My mom says that a lot," he laughed. "Come on, love."

She didn't know why she chose to follow the stranger but she did. She figured if old man Regal liked this man, he couldn't be all that bad. She walked into the apartment and followed him into the bathroom. The bright light from the light tube almost hurt her eyes. He patted the table next to the sink, and she sat up on it.

"Let me see," he said.

He studied the woman in front of her. Dark brown hair and ocean blue eyes. It was a shame the red color her face had gotten this night.

"I can't tell what's lipstick and what's blood. I'll try being gentle," he said.

He wet a cloth and started cleaning her face. He really did have a gentle touch. She studied his face while he cleaned hers. It almost looked like he was hurting more than she was.

"There we go," he gave her a smile. "I would say good as new but you know that's not the case. You don't look too bad though."
"I've had worse," she said.

He let out a little sigh.

"Why do you stay?" He asked.
"One day I'll leave," she said.
"When?" He asked.
"I don't know," she shrugged. "One day."

He was still standing in front of her. Practically in between her legs. He was done cleaning her face but he kept standing close.

"What's your name?" He asked.
"Athena Dallas," she answered. "You?"
"Drew McIntyre," he smiled. "I'm Scottish in case my accent didn't give me away."
"Oh, it did," she smiled back. "Big time."

His own smile grew bigger. She was really beautiful when she smiled.

"There's something I wanna do but I'm sure you'll slap me for it," he said.
"What?" She asked.
"I shouldn't. Although I don't agree with it, you're still someone's girlfriend," he said.
"I don't follow. Just do it," she said.

She was taken by surprise when he leaned down and kissed her. His lips were soft and his tongue moved slow. There was so much passion in the kiss, and she almost whimpered when he broke it. He kept his eyes closed for a few seconds, and then opened them.

"No slap?" He asked.
"What did you do that for?" She asked.
"To show you not all men will hurt you. I figured you needed something good to finish this evening on," he said.
"Thank you," she said.
"Anytime," he chuckled. "I've never been thanked for a kiss before."

She felt weird thanking him for it but she didn't know what else to say. He was still a stranger. A very sweet and handsome stranger who had seen her at a very bad point and still taken care of her despite not knowing her. She felt drawn to him although she didn't want to admit it right that second.

"I better get back," she said.

He stepped aside so she could get down from the table. He followed her back to her apartment but kept standing outside the front door like he had done earlier.

"I'm here all weekend," he reminded her. "Maybe we can do something tomorrow if you're up for it."
"I don't think that's wise," she smiled sadly. "Thank you though. For cleaning my face and everything."