Bean and me only!~

She smiled. "Then I'd love to stay, thank you," she sipped the last of her wine and went to the sink to wash it.

Andrew nodded, smiling. "Good, I think it should be pretty comfy, your bed." he said as he waited on Ashley. The bedroom was obviously neutral colors, pleasing whomever walked in, at least a little bit.

She finished cleaning the glass and set it upside down to dry on a towel and turned to him, smiling. "I'm sure it is," she said, ready to follow him.

Andrew led her to a bedroom just down the small hallway past his room. He opened the door to a plain guest room with a queen sized bed in the middle and a drawer with a mirror over it. It was simple. "Hope it's to your liking." he shrugged, chuckling a bit.

She smiled. "It's pretty," she assured him. "Thank you." She was surprised he hadn't asked why her back had started bleeding the other night, but she wasn't going to bring it up.

Andrew knew pretty much why but, why mention it? It wasn't exactly a topic to be brought up in normal conversation now was it? He coughed, looking away and a bit tempted to ask anyway. "Your back, is it alright?"

She nodded. "It still hurts a little, but I'm okay," she told him softly.

"How did you get that..?" Andrew asked finally. He had to hear it from her too, not just her bodyguard. Really, he didn't reveal whether he was told about the rape or not. It was just a question.

She bit her lip. "That night we went to the diner... On my way home, I was pulled into an alleyway by a man... He..." She fought back her tears, reliving the memory of it. "He raped me... And then cut my back with a pocketknife...."

Andrew stiffened, feeling his insides shrink a bit. It almost made him sick to think about it. "I....I'm so sorry that happened.." he said, gulping and trying to control his anger. "Have you gotten yourself checked..?" he asked, meaning checked for any stds or..pregnancy.

She shook her head. "I didn't have the money to stay at the hospital... I told them not to do anything and I just left," she said, her hand coming up to cover her mouth to try to hold back a sob.

Andrew slowly hugged her, knowing she was feeling emotional sorrow and pain. To be raped..it was just to awful. "I shouldn't have been so careless..leaving you alone when it's nighttime. That was stupid.." he said, rubbing her head and trying to comfort her.

She rested her head on his shoulder and cried, letting it out. "I don't blame you," she managed to say through sobs.

Andrew sighed, holding her gently. "This shouldn't have happened to you.." he said, biting his lip. How could he have been so careless? He honestly felt stupid and so naive. To leave a woman alone at night is just crazy!

She shook her head, trying to quiet herself. "But it did. And I have to live with it," she mumbled.

'I know...but, just know that it'll never happen again. Not on my watch. I know it's too fast to say this but I do care about your wellbeing.." Andrew admitted, closing his eyes. "Let me see your injury.." he said softly, knowing he'd have to at least look at it and determine whether it was infected or not.

She looked up at him as he admitted that he cared for her well-being. No one had really actually cared before. Besides her bodyguards, but they were paid to. "Thank you," she murmured and nodded when he asked to see her back. She turned around and lifted her shirt, wincing a little.

Andrew sighed, his hand pressing gently against the wound. It was really warm, a bit swollen and purple as well. The bastard had done a really bad cut. "You need a good cream on this...can I?" he asked, pulling his hand away and pulling her shirt down.

She winced. "Yeah, go ahead," she said, turning back to him.

Andrew told Ashley to take a seat on the bed and then left to go to his bathroom. He had an emergency kit always in the cabinet, so he knew it pretty well. Getting out some antibiotic cream and a gauze that could be wrapped around, he closed the emergency kit and came back to the guest room. "It's going to hurt a bit, I gotta say, but the cream cools the injury pretty quickly." he explained as he sat behind her and lifted her shirt. "Hold it for me please?" he asked, eventually spreading the cream across her wound and around, just enough to coat it well.

She nodded and held her shirt up and winced as he spread the cream on her wound. She bit her lip, obviously tense.

Once done, Andrew carefully wrapped the gauze around her waist and over her back. He tied a good knot and pulled her shirt down after he was finished. "Better at least?" he asked softly, smiling a bit.

"Yes, thank you," she smiled softly at him. "I don't know what to do to repay you."

"Nothing. Just to not let this happen again." Andrew said, pushing some of her hair away from her face with his hand. "Just sleep well for tonight, alright?" he said, getting up and stretching as he took the bottle of cream and whatever was left of the gauze. "Night, Ashley." he said, nodding towards her and leaving the room with a huge smile on his face. He knew he did well.

She blushed softly and nodded. "Goodnight, Andrew," she smiled at him. "Sweet dreams."