Breathe Me Back To Life •Patrick Stump+Fall Out Boy•

Chapter Thirty One: I Thought I Buried You

Read the AN at the end- battery nearly dead. xD

||Cole Wentz|| First Person||

"Cole, Cole, deep breaths, please." Patrick is whispering, his voice shaking almost as badly as my body as his hands land over my shoulders where he squeezes them lightly. I can't help but gasp for air, clutching my smartphone in my hands as tightly as possible. I felt sick- even more than I did when I saw what I honestly believe to be Derek last night. It terrifies me to no end to see that he still has my number, and he knows about my current whereabouts.

"I can't, I can't-" I whisper, my voice hoarse as I press my face into Patricks neck. "We have to go back. Pete," I tell him, and Patrick nods, slinging his guitar case over his shoulder quickly but carefully. He looks like he's debating carrying the picnic basket, but after a quick second of debating, he picks it up with the same hand he picked the guitar case up with. He takes hold of my hand with his free hand before he's leading me down the paved pathway, much more urgently this time around.

"What did it say exactly?" He asks me again as we are leaving the park, referring to the text message I received from Derek just moments before. I shake my head, putting my free hand over my forehead in a lost kind of way. Patrick's look of concern intensifies.

"It just said, 'hey babe, I miss you you looked so pretty last night'." I respond in a low voice, leaning closer to Patrick. "Oh my God, Patrick, I'm so scared."

"Listen, Porcelain, please don't be scared. Derek will never hurt you again, alright? We will never allow it." Patrick says, leaning down to kiss my temple. I know that text makes very little sense to him, but it will kill Pete because he'll know immediately.

Derek Skinner delivered pizza to our hotel room.

After that, we quicken our pace up and move must faster to the bus stop, where we take one bus, get a transfer, and take the other longer bus ride. It's almost ten AM by the time we get to the hotel again because of the bus delays. Patrick and I jog up the steps to the hotel doors, some worker opening the door for us. Patrick smiles his thanks to him, pulling me forward into the hotel lobby. My eyes are burning with unshed tears and I feel sick to my stomach already. I'm practically out of it the entire time- my eyes are hazy and unfocused while my head is a blurry thing. I keep on remembering the last time I saw Derek. The second we head for the elevators, we bump into Hayley.

"Oh, hey guys! Cole, Pete's been looking for you." Hayley smiles at us, clearly not informed of what's been happening. She looks down at our hands intwined, not noticing that my hands are shaking so badly. She grins softly, thinking that it was just a simple act of love. Little did she know, it was to keep me from breaking down into a shaky mess. God, I feel like I'm going to cry so badly.

"Yeah, about that-" Patrick begins, looking down at me and biting his bottom lip. I nod at him, lying to him that I'm alright when I'm really not. "We've been looking for him."

"I think he's in your room with Brendon, Dallon, Ryan, Joe, and Andy. Don't know what they're doing though- probably getting their shit together for the whole Superfly Ziplines thing." Hayley answers easily, pressing the UP button on the elevator door with her manicured finger. The nails are all painted a smooth black- I can't tell if she did it herself or she got it done professionally. "Is there any specific reason you're looking for him?"

"Derek." Is all I whisper, clearly confusing Hayley to no end. Before she can inquire any further, the elevator doors part in anticipation of us entering. We slip in and Hayley presses the tenth floor button.

"Colby, stop it." Derek demands, his voice filled with annoyance. "Stop moving, now." He hisses into my ear, his bitten down fingernails digging into the skin around my wrist, little crescents imprinting into my skin.