Across The Street // Luke Hemmings

Chapter Sixteen

A/N: This may be a bit triggering? I'm not sure if it is or not so I thought it's better to be safe than sorry and add this little warning! Cam's character is based off of a very real person who was in my life for a while, so it was somewhat therapeutic to write this haha I don't know if that makes sense ANYWAY BACK TO THE STORY....

Chapter Sixteen

I did not sleep well at all last night.

For the first time in weeks, I had nightmares about my relationship with Cam. I guess you could say they were more like flashbacks (which I had often), but in my dreams.

I hated when this happened. It forced me to relive every awful detail, and I had no control over it. It's not like I could just wake myself up from the nightmares.

The dreams felt so real, I woke up this morning and literally checked my arms and legs for bruises. That was usually where the brunt of the damage was left.

When Cam got drunk, he'd take out any sort of emotion that he was feeling on me. When he was angry, it would be a slap in the face, or something like that. When he was really angry, it was a bit more intense, and typically led to a black eye, or something along those lines.

However, the majority of the body bruises came from when he was sober. Those bruises were the result of him pinning me down, thinking he was being fun and sexy. He was so forceful and aggressive.

In the early stages of our relationship, I didn't think too much of it. Cam's a very athletic, strong guy. I thought that maybe it wasn't his fault. Maybe he didn't know that he was hurting me.

Technically, he was only intentionally hurting me when he was intoxicated, so I kept letting it slide. I was so wrong to do that.

I eventually realized that Cam was extremely attracted to me when I was in pain. It was awful, and it took me a long time to get out of the relationship. But now, I'm moving on. I have to forget about that part of my past.

Jill, Brooke, Peyton, and Sam were over, and I couldn't be happier. When the six of us are together, it's basically just a giggle fest. I needed this. As soon as they walked through the door, I felt so much better. I needed girl time.

"I'm so fucking hungry," Sam said as she made her way to the fridge. She pulled out the fruit salad that Katie made for all of us this morning and brought it into the living room.

"Awww yeah," Jill said as she shoved a piece of watermelon in her mouth.

"Can we please talk about the fact that our writing teacher smells like barf? Like, all the time. I get the sense that she's hungover, like, every time we have class. She's basically me in like, ten years. I mean, that's totally something that I would do," Peyton said.

We all laughed, knowing it was true.

"So, Peyton," Jill started to say with a hint of a smirk on her face. "What's the deal with you and Michael? I heard through the grape vine that you two have been getting pretty freaky in the sheets," Jill said, trying not to laugh.

"Oh my God, who the fuck told you that??!" Peyton's jaw dropped in shock, but it was evident that she was doing her best to mask a smile.

"Ash and Luke told us," Katie said as she popped a couple of grapes in her mouth. I started to giggle, remembering that they said that Calum walked in on them.

"That is so not true," Peyton lied as she turned red. Brooke and Sam couldn't contain their laughter.

"What about you, Chelsea?! Every time I'm at the guys' place to see Michael, Luke asks about you. Are you two a thing?" Peyton asked, and the other girls all seemed to lean in, waiting to hear the answer.

"No, we're just, like, friends. I don't know! Who cares. It's summer. We don't need relationships! We have each other, bitches," I said, causing Katie to roll her eyes.

"They're totally smitten with each other. It's adorable. Like, puppy love," Katie said to the other girls. I could feel my cheeks going red now.

"OH! That reminds me," Peyton started to say as she pulled out her phone.

"Michael called me when I was on my way over here. He told me to tell you all that the guys really want all of us girls to go to their show tonight! They have a gig in downtown L.A. at 8, and they want us there. I told them we'd love to go, is that cool?!" Peyton asked as the rest of the girls got so excited and nodded and said yes.

I played it cool, but I had a pit in my stomach. I don't think I wanted to see the guys tonight, especially Luke. Last night was so weird, and I know when I see him he's going to ask what was wrong with me, and I don't feel like getting into all of that. Not right now, at least.

I decided to just go along with the plans until the girls left, then I'd tell Katie that I wasn't going. She's probably going to kill me, but I don't care. Ugh. This is Cam's fault. He always finds a way to fuck me up.

"So, what should we do? Should we meet here before going to the concert? You guys can go home and get ready then meet us back here at like 7?" Katie asked and the girls all agreed to the plan.

Great. This is going to make it a little more difficult for me to ditch.

After hanging out for a few more hours, laughing and talking and snacking and gossiping, Jill, Brooke, Sam, and Peyton headed home to get ready for the concert tonight. Katie shut the door behind them after they left.

"Wooo! Are you pumped for tonight?!? What should we wear?" She asked me as she skipped into her room to look in her closet. I followed her into her room and sat on her bed.

"Hey, don't be mad, but I think I'm gonna sit this one out." I nervously fiddled with one of her stuffed animals.

Katie turned around to look at me. She frowned, then plopped down next to me on her bed. She looked at me sympathetically, and I could tell that she already knew why I didn't want to go.

"You're gonna have to talk to him at some point," Katie said as she started to play with my hair.

"You don't even have to tell him about Cam or any of that shit. Just don't shut him out. He's so good for you," she said.

I looked down at my lap, thinking about what Katie was saying. I smiled to show her that I was okay, and that this wasn't a big deal.

"I know. I won't shut him out. I promise. I just want to lay low tonight and stay home. When I tell the girls that I can't go, just act casual about it so they don't think anything is wrong. I don't want any drama," I said with a laugh.

Katie nodded, then gave me a little smile. "Luke's gonna be sad, though. Ughh, now I guess I'll just have to suck Ashton's dick and Luke's," she joked, slapping my butt as I stood up.

I started giggling. "Owww, you bitch!"

She continued to hit my ass until I walked over to her closet to help her pick out an outfit. I pulled together an outfit that was totally adorable. She changed into the clothes and grabbed a pair of heels that matched well.

"Daaaamn, girl," I said as she spun around to model the outfit for me. Then I slapped her ass.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: thanks for reading! please don't forget to comment and vote for this chapter.. thank you :)