off the table

twenty eight

tw ⚠️

Ariana's pov

I decided to text my mom and tell her that Dalton and I would be staying at her place for two nights so that she wouldn't freak out and think someone broke in if something in her house changes the next time she goes to New York. We pulled up at the driveway and went inside her house. I could finally relax. We unpacked our suitcase and let the dogs roam around.

"I'm hungry, can we order something for dinner?" I asked Dalton.

"Of course baby," he smiled. We decided on what to order and ordered our food.

"I'm sorry for making things complicated for you," I mumbled against his chest.

"Don't be sorry baby," he softly caressed my cheek, "I understand that you're still healing, and that's okay. It's part of the process."

***

the next morning...

Dalton's pov

Ariana was still fast asleep in my arms when suddenly, she scrunched up her face and began mumbling something. In no time, she was starting to shake and eventually began sobbing. She must've been having a nightmare. I had no choice but to wait until she wakes up. Her therapist told me that these nightmares are unprocessed trauma. Waking her up would just make it harder for her brain to process all the trauma. She's still having weekly therapy sessions and monthly appointments with her psychiatrist to make sure her medications are working.

"Baby," she softly cried onto my chest as she opened her eyes.

"I'm here baby, you're safe with me," I rubbed her back, "Do you want to talk about it?"

She lightly nodded and I moved a strand of hair away from her face.

"I-I had a flashback of the time P-Pete p-pushed me down the stairs and r-raped me," she sobbed.

"You're safe with me now baby," I cooed and softly kissed her head. Her breathing slowed down and she eventually calmed down.

***

Ariana's pov

"We're finally getting rid of the rat!" Dalton beamed as we walked from our car to the headquarter.

"You're a lot more excited than I am, huh?" I giggled.

"Definitely," he smiled, "he had been treating my princess like a piece of shit, he deserves it."

"Hi, are you here for Mr. Lipman?" the lady at the front office of the building asked. "I am."

"Alright, follow me," she said and led me to a room. She then knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice replied. She opened the door for us and let us in then left to give us some privacy.

"Hey Ariana," Mr. Lipman greeted. "Hi."

"You must be Dalton right?"

"I am," Dalton smiled.

"Nice to meet you," he shook Dalton's hand.

"Have a seat," he said and we sat down on the chairs provided.

"So, you're here to sign these papers to terminate your contract with Scooter Braun, am I right?" he asked. "Yup."

"Okay, so you just need to read these and sign underneath the last page," he said, handing me some papers. I read the papers, which consisted of a list of my rights and the actions I could take if they are violated. I signed the last page of the papers and turned them in.

"Alright, that's it, you're good to go," he smiled, "Hope you have a great day ahead!"

"Thanks, you too," I smiled and we left the headquarter.

***

We're currently cuddling on the couch in my mom's living room after having lunch. We'll be flying back to LA tomorrow, and I couldn't wait. I could never feel safe in New York since the incident. I switched on the TV and the news was the first thing that came up.

"Pete Davidson was released from Clinton Correctional Facility earlier today on bail. Back in November 2018, the comedian was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole and was given a fine of $100,000 after being found guilty of raping and abusing his former fiancée, Ariana Grande, and making threats to murder her and her family. The judge settled a bail of two million dollars, and the amount was paid off after spending a total of 18 months in state prison. Davidson still has an active five-year probation and a permanent restraining order against the singer and her family."

I froze and looked at Dalton in fear. He held me tight and turned off the TV. I could feel my airways getting narrow as it was starting to get harder to breathe. I began shaking and couldn't take it anymore, I sobbed onto his chest. My mind was all fogged up.

"H-he's gonna come after me," I sobbed.

"He won't baby, I promise," he cooed, "you have an active restraining order against him, remember? And as long as I'm with you, I won't let that happen"

"H-he's gonna kill me!" I sobbed. His voice started ringing in my head.

"Baby, I need you to name three things you can hear," Dalton said before things got worse.

"Your v-voice, t-the cars outside, the v-voices."

"Now name three things you can see."

"Y-you, t-the couch, the T-TV."

"You're doing great baby, now I need you to name three things that make you happy."

"Y-you, music, my f-fans."

"You did amazing baby, do you want a glass of water?" he offered and I lightly nodded. He went to the kitchen and I followed him, too scared to be left alone. He filled in a glass with water and gave it to me. I drank the water and we went back to the living room.

"I-I think we should book an emergency flight home," I said quietly, "He k-knows the address of this house."

"Of course baby, here, I'll book the flight for us," he said and I nodded, since my hands were still shaking. I wouldn't be able to book with my shaky hands.

"Okay, I've booked the flight," he said, "the private jet will be ready in one and a half hours from now, so let's start packing."

I nodded and we began packing everything up. When we were done, I connected the dogs' leashes to their harnesses. Dalton brought our suitcase and we went inside the car and began driving to the airport. As soon as we arrived, we immediately went through security check and went to the gate, just in time. We boarded the plane and went to our seats. We buckled up our seatbelts and I placed my head on Dalton's shoulder as we took off.

"I'm scared," I mumbled.

"I'll always be by your side to protect you, I promise," he lightly smiled, wrapping his arms around me.

"Thank you so much for always making me feel safe," I mumbled against his chest and he softly kissed my head. "It's my job."