On the road to recovery (Marree)

Kalina stood in front of Tyler, her hands still on his chest as he belted out another retort back at his neighbor who had yet another go at them. What was the guys problem? They had done nothing wrong, but it seemed as though her presense there made him angry, but for what reason? Had her one time interruption by knocking on his door put a bullseye mark on her? She heard Tyler defend her to him. Telling him not to even speak to her. She closed her eyes. This was only the second time she had been to his apartment, but that man was always ruining it somehow. First, by coming up to his apartment and starting the trouble, this time, he didn't even have to leave his own home. He took to yelling up the stairs.

Kalina looked at Tyler's eyes. She could tell he was angry. He wasn't pleased with what the man was doing. Something flickere in Tyler's eyes. Something she wanted to know why, before something grabbed her arm. Something yanked her away from Tyler. She almost stumbled and fell if it wasn't for her balance just then. His grasp was tight, squeezing her arm. She fidgited trying to get him to let go.

"Ow! Let go! Your hurting me. Let go!" She cried out, as he began to pull her, shove her toward the door. Suddenly, Tyler had pushed him and the grip on her arm was loosened then gone. She rubbed her arm, holding it close to her body as Tyler stepped in between them. His fist met with the man so suddenly and his left arm was touching Kalina, holding her behind him. Kalina jerked her face away from the scene and then suddenly went for the door past the man. She didnt want to be around when the man got up. She didn't want the man to have another go at her, for whatever reason his sights were on her maliciously.

She passed the doorframe quickly, her motives were to just get out of the line of fire. It wasn't but halfway through door that she thought about Tyler being in there by himself. What if the man got up and they really began to scuffle? If the man was to have hurt him by further injuring his leg again? She stopped, her hands going up to her mouth. Her fear being realized that she just left him in there. Against her better judgement, she turned back. In the mere moments, she missed a big event. Her eyes suddenly searched the stairs where they were just at. Where was Tyler? She didn't see him at all. Nor did she see his neighbor. Suddenly there was a 'thump' coming from the old mans apartment and she heard the man again.

"Cripped and lame! They should have disposed of you in the hospital! And that girl of yours..." Kalina's heart dropped and she ran to the old mans door, peering inside. From behind her, she heard another mans voice.

"What's going on?" Kalina didn't have time to waste telling the other neighbor what was going on. The scene in front of her ticked her off. As much as she was no match for him, Tyler was leaning against the wall while his neighbor was clinching his fist again.

"Please... be okay Tyler." Her voice was meek as she took a breath. A deep breath that suddenly lunged her forward toward the man. "Leave him alone!"

Kalina ran into the man, her best effort to throw him off balance but he only stumbled and glared back at her with hateful look. He took one quick motion grabbing her arm and jerked her back. He wrapped his arm around her tightly. Kalina yelped out suddenly when he used his strength against her body. Squeezing her tightly, his other hand going to her chin.

"Now, now... little girl. What's wrong? You scared for your little boyfriend? You need to stay out of it! This is between me and him. Got it?" The man hissed into her ear. He looked at Tyler with a winning grin. He had his prize and he was about to win this fight. "I want you out JAmes. NOW!"

The man's voice in her ears makes her flinch. The hot breath of his hatred sending chills down her spine. His grip was ever tight on her chin and his arm seemed to want to never let go. He chuckles menicingly to see Tyler backing up after his demand for him to leave. Kalina groans as his grip on her chin tightens once more, his neighbor still reacting to her actions. She yelps once more and tries to shake her face to make him let go, which only earns her rough jerk on her face to stay still. Kalina's eye beg with Tyler as he says for it that it'll be okay. He has never steered her wrong yet, and he was always there for her in comfort but this situation was so much more dire. She felt hopeless in this man's grubby arms. His stench pulled at her nose and she tried to hold her breath for the moment.

Tyler had made it to the door way, before the man gave another chuckle, his attention turned away from Tyler. "So, little girl... lesson learned? You'll stay away?" He whispered into her ears. "even your boyfriend is scared of m.. ARGGGH!"

Time stood still from the moment she caught Tyler coming at them with the baseball bat. The old man must have sensed it too because he flinched suddenly, jerking her with him and while he took almost the full hit, Kalina's shoulder took a portion of it, too. She closed her eyes as the pain took only moments to register and she suddenly found herself falling. He shoved her away and she crumpled to the ground. It was all so fast how it happened that she felt her world spinning trying to keep up with what was going on. She lay on the ground for a moment before the realization started to hit her. Her shoulder was stinging as well as her chin from the forceful grip he had. Her vision caught on to the movement beside of her as she looked over. The old man went after Tyler wildly, throwing him back, taking him down with his weight. The baseball bat he used to hit the man was under his back. Tyler's hands at his throat. She choked back a sob.

"TYLER!" She yelled out as the man from across the hallway came into view, surveying the situation. He looked desperately to Kalina then to the two scuffling on the ground. Kalina pushed herself up to a sitting position and watched helplessly as the man from across the hallway dashed in toward the man who had Tyler under him. The dark haired gentleman tried to pull him off Tyler, but all he got in return was a forceful shove away. The man was fueled by the rage and adrenaline coursing through his veins, but it couldn't last forever.

Kalina's voice doesn't seem to reach Tyler at this point. Instead he seems to have lost it. Even as the neighbor man had been shoved away, the stranger retaliates even when it wasn't his problem to deal with. The dark haired gentleman once again pulls the man off, but instead of Tyler quitting, he takes it as his chance to make him pay for what he had done. He starts to beat him up. Blood appearing over the old man's face; a broken nose her e, bruising his cheek. The old man was yelling at him to stop. It was too much for Kalina to even think about. So much going on that it frightened her.

"Tyler.. stop! Please! Stop it!" Kalina pushed herself up and walked closer to the pair fighting. The dark haired gentleman then went after Tyler. He wrapped his arms around Tyler, pulling him away. Kalina stands there in shock, watching as the old man groans, his two hands covering his face and begins rolling around on the ground in mock form of pain. Kalina looked to Tyler though. Wondering why he went after the old man, when he had been given the chance to stop.

Kalina watched as Tyler struggled against his other neighbor. She put a hand up to her shoulder as she walked close to Tyler, wondering why his eyes looked so feral. Her eyes, trying to meet with his. Her eyes wet, but not a tear fell. "Ty? Are you okay?"

"Ty? are you okay?"[/b]

Kalina hears her voice echo in her head of those words after he took to defending her against the man. If only her mother knew about what happened here, but she was sure, she would see the marks that would appear on her face or the mark on her shoulder. Even the red eyes when she would return home that night, but for the moment, Kalina was more than happy to see that Tyler was alright for the most part. She walked toward him, but stopped when he made eye contact with her. Did he see the unrelenting fear that radiated in her eyes? Fear that he would get hurt. Fear that the man wouldn't learn his lesson. Afraid of what was going through Tyler's head because of her actions to try to help. Then he breaks the eye contact and the motion that he acted as though he had something to say to her and instead goes over to the man. Kalina silently gasps, expecting him to start hitting him again, but instead he comes out with a very *domineering* voice.

You don't harass or touch her anymore. You got me?

Kalina understands his need to take care of the guy. She watches him with a look in her eyes that is a mixture of confusion and compassion. Once again, he was the one to protect her from the storm, but he himself had the rage that those storms carry and that's what Kalina was worried about. Could she tame the raging storm? Once Tyler gets the comfirmation from the man, who still lays on the ground, not to even think about touching her again, he calls out to her to follow. She followed without a word, listening to the neighbor man who came to help in their time of need. Was this man trouble before she even got there? Perhaps, it was her presence that sent him over that fine line into a future that included the pain that had him sitting where he was.

Exiting the man's apartment, Kalina stayed by Tyler's side, hearing his reasoning. That the man shouldn't have touched her. What about the other women, if any, in the building? What had he done to harass them or was she the first one that he went after? She shuddered and looked over to Tyler as they began to make their way to the stairs. Just before they got to the first step, Kalina's silence finally broke.

"Thank you... for what you did back there. Are you okay, Ty? I mean... are you hurt?" She stopped him suddenly, her hand going to his arm. HEr eyes searching him for any evident signs of pain; facial expressions. Limps (other than his casted leg). She gets closer to him as she places a hand up to his face, gently brushing her hand across his cheek. He had done so much to protect her from that man, where he could have just left, hoping that the man would let her go.

Kalina's hand brushed his cheek. She felt of the heat that radiated off his skin, the anger from the fight. The exersion that it caused and now he was beginning to calm down. His cheek reddened from either a hit or the exersion. She waited for what seemed like hours before she finally saw something she wanted to see on him, however faint it was. A smile. Then his eyes met with hers. She wanted nothing more than to just hug him and to release her fears into his chest, but now wasn't the time. By now, the man would have helped his neighbor up and they were still exposed. Still open to the eyes and ears of anyone on the first floor. His voice comes out with questions and then one statement for the man still in his apartment.

"I'm fine... Ty." She was truthful to a point. What was bothering her was the fact the man had his hands on her in a fashion that wasn't welcomed. His grubby arms wrapped around her torso and his stubby fingers that was latched on to her face and his nasty breath on her ear. She brought a hand up to her chin, trying to reassure herself that the unwelcomed touch was gone, but the memory was still alive. The actions were still being played in her mind. Of her. Of the man. Of Tyler. How all of it started because of the man who had done nothing but harass the people of the house.

C'mon He suddenly voiced out. His voice playing the melody she liked to hear. She followed him up the stairs, a hand close to him incase he was to stumble, but surprisingly, he done quite well. On the landing, he stops making Kalina think that he is hurt, but his hand is gently placed on her shoulder. His voice sounds sad, almost regretful as he confesses to her about the man and what happened to him to get so angry like that. She shouldn't... no, she wouldn't blame him because he had done nothing wrong at all. He had done something more courageous and brave than she ever though she would see in her time. She doesn't answer him, and she feels his hand touch her face. That was a welcomed touch. One that she allowed to give her chills. Even in the aftermath of what just happened, she would never feel anything less than comfort around him.

I'm sorry if I scared you. I'm not... Kalina started to shake her head to that comment, but he continued. He dropped of his last statement early, leaving it open for Kalina to finish it off.

"Ty, I'm not scared of you... I was scared for you. Terrified, even." She touched his hand that he had placed on her face moments ago and brought it back up again, hugging it to her cheek then searched for his eyes. Looking closely at them, feeling totally at ease within them. "You didn't have to go after him at all, but you did for me. For that, I can never express how much that meant to me and i'm so sorry about that... that you had to... "

Kalina pulled his hand away from her face and stared at his knuckles. She noted how blood red they were and she felt the sting in them just by looking at them. She brought her face down to his knuckles, her lips touching the skin and she let them rest there for a few seconds before she pulled away and using her other hand to massage his hand. "I know just from today.. that I will never be so lucky as I am now to have met you that day. That's all I need to know. I've seen what you can be to me... the rest is just part of the package deal." She flashes him a playful grin. The hand she was using to massage his knuckles goes up to his face, brushing the side of his cheek once more. She wanted to let him know that it was okay. That what he did to protect her meant more to her than ever to have him around. Just maybe, this was all part of the beginning. She stood on her toes, leaning forward and placing a kiss on his lips for a mere moment before she pulled back slightly.

Of course. Every guy should stand up for a girl, you know?
Kalina hears his voice. His reasoning. Although, she couldn't help but to think that it felt alot more deeper than just taking care of a girl. He had a way of showing that it was more than just 'taking up' for her. There was something more into it that she couldn't put her finger on. Especially when he voiced out to her that everything would be okay. She had felt okay and she trusted him with her life and in the end, it all worked out, sort of.

Even as Kalina had kissed his hand and rubbed the reddness that shown through, he didn't want her to worry about him. Then he touched her shoulder, the one that got hit. She winced as he did, but tried to hide the dulling pain. "It'll be okay. It doesn't hurt all that bad." She paused a minute, still feeling his hand on her shoulder. She didn't want him to look. She didn't want him to see it because if he did, then he would surely feel bad for it and she didn't want that at all.

"I know, Ty. It wasn't your fault that he moved. He jerked when you aimed at him. It is all on him, you hear me? You did nothing but try to protect me. To get me out of his grasp..." She shuddered and watched his eyes. He was trying to see if it had made a mark upon her skin but he dared not go beyond the cloth of her shirt. She could feel it though. She was also sure that the man would have one heck of a bruise as well, being the one to take almost the full and lasting hit of the bat. It was horrible timing for all of them.

As she had leaned up to kiss him, he came back with a return gesture. The moments took Kalina to a new form of admiration for the man in front of her. Their intimate moments lasting only just that, but meaning so much more each time. She stayed in the embrace, not wanting to move. Wanting to keep his body close to her. Comfort. Warmth. Protection.

Kalina only nodded to Tyler when he wanted reassurance that she was okay, but she couldn't bring her voice to come out to tell him anything more. She pulled away from the embrace and took his hand, leading him to his apartment. To get out of the hallway and to save them the glances of any who may come out to see the aftermath of the fight from down stairs. The groceries were still left on the table but for now, she only wanted to relax and unwind from their unfortunate ordeal. She went inside his apartment and closed the door. Then walked over to the couch, sitting next to Tyler. Her body too stunned to fidget like the last time they had a run in with the neighbor. Too stunned to realize what happened until now with everything starting to replay in her mind. She leaned up against Tyler.

Kalina molded herself against Tyler, letting her musles relax and letting her head rest against him. The whole situation was taking a toll on both of them in different ways, but for the moment it worked in both their favors as they rested on the couch. She looked up at him momentarily to his accusations. Fights were definately not a norm for her and to see them first hand like that, when she was part of the action, had never happened before. Of course, she had squabbles with her middle sister, but it never amounted to anything more than a hit on the shoulder or a shove, but that was when she was younger. The most physical combativeness she ever got was fighting with the limbs of trees in her daily work life.

"No. I can honestly say that I don't." She tells him and grins to him saying that the fights usually find him. "Oh, lucky you, right?"

Kalina felt him wrap his arm around her and once again, she is blanketed within him. Within his comfort. Wrapped up with the feelings of their most recent intimate moments. His chin resting on her head, she allows her body to calm down more. The tense feelings she was experiencing earlier, started to take effect on her. If she felt like this, there was no telling how Tyler was feeling. He was the one to put in so much brute strength and punches while she merely was the object being fought over to protect.

"This is your home though... I would hate to think you'd have to move just because of him or me." She innocently whispers as he rubs her shoulder. She flinches, feeling the effects of the hit. It takes all she has not to walk off to the bathroom to expose her shoulder to look, but Tyler notices and gets up and bring back a bag of frozen vegatables. She takes the bag, and holds it to her shoulder, wincing at the weight, but once the bag molds to her shoulder, she steadily leans her head back into Tyler's chest.

"I'm not really sure if I should. I mean, she'll find out eventually, but I know she'll want to know how it is that found someone like in one of her stories. Of brave men in uniform, acting through chivalry and valour to protect some girl in danger. She'd love to hear a real life version." She decides to give Tyler the big head. To give him something to feel good about. She peers up at Tyler as he speaks again, and watches his lips.

"It does?" She teases him. She places her hand on his chest, which in turn finds the side of his cheek yet again. What is he thinking? What is going to happen now that the fight has taken away any possibility to fully relax in his arms? "Do tell me, Tyler what this 'one good side' is? Because I'm pretty sure it's not going to be that I get to use a bag of frozen vegetables as an ice pack." She waits, wondering what is going on through his head. Waiting for an answer to the question that he brought up. Her eyes delve into his, her hand gently placed at his face.