Down Came The Rain
Penny roughly landed, her legs once more giving out from under her. Thankfully she'd landed on the fire escape of Matt's apartment, it was a fight in her own body at this point, every action hurt. That man had made her walk until her legs gave out just an hour before, which only compounded the aches and bruises from her 'tryst' with Castle. She tapped on the glass of the window hoping that Matt was home, she could only hold out for so long.
She heard footsteps approach the window, Penny looked up to see Matt at the window he had his phone gripped tightly in his hand. The tinny sound coming out from it let her know what was playing, the video that man had made Penny record. Her own voice echoed moaning and begging for more, for harsher treatment. "Matt, it's- please let me in." She was running out of will power and the man had only given her so much time with his last order. 'Get out of my sight but be back in two hours.' "Please help me, Matty."
The window clicked open and Matt kneeled down his hand coming in contact with her hair. She looked over at him, could see his jaw clench as the wind blew through her hair, Penny knew Matt would have smelt anything on her the moment he opened the window, but the wind would have really driven anything to him. She wondered what he smelled the most of, the sex or whatever that man was using to create the haze in her mind. "I don't have much time before he has full control of my mind again."
"Who did this?" He placed cupped her face in his hands, his eyes still not quite meeting hers but she knew he was focused on her with his full attention, waiting for her answer. So there was a smell to whatever that man did to her.
"I don't know, he didn't exactly tell me his name." She flipped through her memories finding things to help. "He mentioned Jessica, and getting payback." Penny let out a muffled sob and buried her face in Matt's shoulder. She felt his fingers skim up and down her back, tremors followed his fingers, Matt pulled her into an embrace holding her tightly. "Can I use your shower?"
Matt helped her up looping her arm over his shoulder, guiding her into the apartment. "Come on." They walked to the bathroom together Matt acting as a crutch for her when they made it she leaned against the sink. Her legs should be fine soon, the pulled muscle would heal her collapsed ankle would right itself along with the bruises littering her body. "Do you want me to leave?" Matt's hand brushed hers softly his voice and touch light but it didn't feel like pity.
"No, stay." She held onto to his hand, giving him a shaky smile "I'm gonna need to get undressed, Matty." He moved giving her space. Penny used the sink to support her weight as she pulled her tank-top and bra off first each one arm at a time, quickly taking off her shorts and panties. "You might need to too." Her lover stripped down efficiently and for once she didn't feel that burning attraction, not to say she didn't still find him attractive or love him, but right now she just wanted to feel clean, she pushed herself up taking a wobbly step on her own she took the two steps and gripped his bicep as he adjusted the water and turned it on.
Penny stepped into the shower keeping her focus on the water running down her body, Matt made sure she didn't fall over as she washed her body giving her arms and shoulders occasional touches. "Let me get your hair, Penny." The process was quick before she turned around rinsing the product out of her hair. Penny looked back at Matt, and found herself letting out the pent up emotions in her, quiet tears fell first mixing with the shower water a pained sound escaped her throat when he pulled her close to him tucking her head into his shoulder, allowing her to sob as he ran his fingers through her hair. She didn't know how long she cried wrapped in his arms but she pulled away wiping her eye's, a ringing phone shrilly broke the silence, "Jessica, Jessica"
"Go Matt." He kissed Penny's forehead as he exited the shower slipping into sweatpants as he went. Penny took a breath after he left collecting herself before turning off the shower, she found herself in front of the sole mirror in Matt's apartment, she stared at her reflection before she dug through the items finding a pair of scissors and place a towel down stepping onto it. She snipped the scissors before she started to cut her hair, long chunks fell at her feet it took a while to cut her hair so it'd look decent enough. When she stopped her hair had gone from ending at her mid-back to just barely under her shoulders. She gave her reflection a muted smile, this was the second choice she'd made for herself in weeks. She wrapped a towel around herself leaving the bathroom, she could hear Matt walking in behind her as she searched for clothes to wear settling on one of his t-shirt and a pair of boxers for shorts.
"What did Jess have to say?"
"She only knows one person who can do this and would have a grudge against her. But she thought she'd killed him. She wanted to talk to us in person so if you are okay to see people tomorrow she's going to come up. " He let her get dressed before guiding her to the bed the two curling up together on sitting on the edge of the bed. Matt once more skimmed his fingers over her back, she still stared at her hands so he cupped her cheek pulling her to look at him touching their foreheads together as he ran his fingers through her hair ending on the bruise Castle left on her neck. "Penny, I won't let Kilgrave control you. I'll keep you safe." He vowed which caused both warmth and dread to mix in her stomach as the haze she associated with that ma- Kilgrave started back into her mind.
Had it been two hours? Penny curled farther into Matt, he tightened his hold on her as she pushed back against the command in her mind shaking slightly as she banished Kilgrave from her mind though for now she didn't know for how long. She looked up giving Matt a chaste kiss on his lips. "I know Matty. We'll beat him together," she crawled to the pillows laying down she patted the bed beside her letting Matt know that she wanted him to stay with her. Penny felt the heat beside her curling up to it laying her head on Matt's chest.
She drifted off to sleep listening to his heartbeat.