Truly, Madly, Deeply: A Dark Louis Tomlinson Fan Fiction

Chapter 42: Alive

"He knows." I whispered in disbelief. "He knows we're after him."

Almost immediately, my father sprung into action. "Orsa, send out a dispatch to every officer in this city. Also, radio headquarters and try to trace the cell phone, by the time we find out where he was, he can't have gone far."

Orsa nodded, grabbing his radio to do as he was told. My father, who on certain occasions was still an active officer with the Miami PD, grabbed his bullet proof vest and gun belt off their hooks by his desk, begging to dress himself.

"Wait, what about Louis?" I asked hurriedly. "He's what Ryder is after, you have to let him get to safety!"

"No, I need you to get to safety. But a deals a deal, Gonzalez, go get Mr. Tomlinson." My father curtly ordered one of the police officers. "Niall," he turned to face my boyfriend. "Do you have anywhere you can take her, preferably far away from here?"

Niall thought long and hard. "I'll take her up to Tallahassee, my brother Greg is at Florida State, we can hide out at his apartment."

"Perfect. Stay there until I send an all clear, okay?" Dad gave me a harsh look. "Stella, for once in your life please listen to me and stay with Niall, okay?"

I nodded, gripping Niall's hand tightly. "I promise."

Officer Gonzalez had returned with a weary looking Louis in tow. "What's going on?" He asked worriedly. "No one's telling me everything."

"There's a city wide warrant out for the arrest of Ryder Hartley. He's after us, all of us." I explained quickly. "Especially you. Louis, get yourself to safety."

"What about you?!" Louis yelled. "Stella, he'll kill you!"

"She's going with Niall up to Tally. Louis, you and I are going to my Grandma's condo in Sarasota." Liam cut in.

"No." Louis said coldly. "I'm not going without Stella."

"Louis, mate, I hate to say this but she isn't your concern anymore." Harry put a hand on Louis' shoulder. "Niall would die for her, I think she's in good hands."

"Fine. What cars are we taking?" Louis fumed, obviously not fine.

"You and I will go in mine, Harry, trade with Niall, just to throw Ryder off." Liam instructed. Harry dug in his pocket without objection and tossed Niall the keys to his Lexus. Niall surrendered the keys to his Mercedes, his hand not once leaving mine.

"We've got a long drive up to Tallahassee, we better get going. Everyone, stay in touch, and be safe." Niall told them, his voice laced with panic. He began pulling me towards the exit, and I turned around to give everyone one last wave goodbye, just in case. It was the biggest mistake I ever made.

Tears were streaming down Louis face as he watched me leave, as if it was the last time we were ever going to see one another. I wanted to run back, to tell him it would all be okay, but I never got the chance. Niall and I were already outside, engulfed in the media hailstorm.

I couldn't even understand what they were asking me, their words all sounded like one deafening roar. At one point Niall pulled me into his chest, blocking me from the camera flashes, but it still felt like a millennium until I was safely nestled in the passenger seat of Harry's sleek black sedan.

Niall squeezed my hand gently. "Don't worry baby. Your dad has put worse men behind bars, they're going to get Hartley."

"I know." I whispered, and I did. But at what cost were we finally going to get Ryder for good?

I stared absentmindedly out the window as we drove away from the city, finding solace in Niall's hand and the soft pitter patter of rain that had just started falling. To keep myself from thinking too much about the terrible situation we were in, I focused instead on my breathing, taking deep breaths in and out.

I stayed like that for hours, until finally I fell asleep somewhere around Gainesville. But it was fitful, and I kept waking up in a cold sweat, the only thing calming me down the fact that Niall was still holding my hand. He was calmly singing along to the radio at one point, the next, talking on the phone to someone, and when I woke up for the third time he was drinking a large cup of coffee from a McDonald's drive thru, obviously struggling to stay awake. At this point, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, Niall had been driving for hours with no sleep.

"Babe." I gave him a little push. "Let's stop so you can get some sleep."

"No, we're almost there." He said tiredly. "I can make it."

"No." I said forcefully. "There's an exit for a Holiday Inn coming up, we're going to stop there and i'll get us a room. Ryder's not going to search every hotel in Florida looking for us."

With a nod, Niall conceded, taking the exit for the hotel. I wasn't quite sure where we were, but it didn't matter. We were safe, and we were together.

Since Niall was 18, I had him get us a suite and charge it to my card, despite his protests. The lady at the desk gave us a disapproving look the whole time we were checking in, but I didn't have the energy to explain. I grabbed the key card with a small smile and followed Niall over to the elevator.

The room was small, but there was a bed, and a tv, and a fridge, all we needed. Niall collapsed on the bed, blinking rapidly to keep himself awake.

"Go to bed." I told him. "Staying awake wont do you any good."

"No." He whined. "Not until you're in here with me."

I sighed, a strong sense of deja vu overtaking me. "If I get in there with you, do you promise you'll go to sleep?"

"Yes, just get over here already." Niall replied sleepily, kicking off his shoes.

I did the same, unlacing my boots and taking off my coat. When I was done, I slipped under the covers, and he spooned me into him, folding his hands over mine. He didn't try anything: no kisses, no sneaky grabs, and within a few minutes the steady sound of his breathing indicated he was fast asleep.

"I love you." I whispered, even though he couldn't here, I just wanted him to know.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep myself. This time I slept soundly, not waking up once. By the time my eyes fluttered open, it was dark outside again. We'd slept all day.

"Babe." I shook him gently, but he didn't move. "Nialler." Still no response. "NIALL!" I shouted, giving him a push.

Finally, his eyes popped open. "What?"

"We slept all day. It's 7 in the evening." I pointed to the face of my Mark Jacobs watch.

"Oh shit." He mumbled, turning over to check his phone. "That's weird, nothing from Liam, Louis or Harry."

"They're probably okay then." I said confidently, my mind put at ease. "Are you okay to finish up the drive to Tallahassee, or should I?"

"No way, i'm driving." He leaned over to give me a small kiss. "You've been through enough. Just let me take care of you the way you deserve."

We checked out of the hotel, then went to grab a quick dinner at Subway before heading back onto the road. In just under an hour, we were driving past a large brick sign that read "The Florida State University".

"Do you know where Greg's apartment is?" I asked, looking forward to finally being able to settle until my dad gave us the all clear.

"Greg wont be at his apartment. We'll have to go get the keys from him." Niall said, sounding annoyed.

We were driving past a street lined on both sides by large sorority and fraternity houses, and with a sinking feeling I suddenly knew where we had to go to find Greg.

Niall pulled the car up in front of a large white house that had the greek letters for "Alpha Tau Omega" spelled out over the door. The only reason I knew the greek alphabet was because Ash had been a Delta Tau Delta at UM. He had taken me to one of his frat parties once, and it had traumatized me so once I had vowed i'd never step foot in another frat house.

"I'm not going in there." I told Niall. "Do you know what happens at frat parties?"

"Dude, I want to go in even less than you do. Last time the boys and I came up here to visit Greg, all I can remember from the one night we spent is waking up in the backyard of the Tri Delta house the next morning surrounded by a bunch of very angry blondes."

"All the more reason for us to not go in there then. Can't you call and ask him to come outside?" I asked.

"He wont answer, and Denise, his girlfriend is probably in there too." He shrugged, climbing out of the car. "Come on, it'll be over before you know it."

I sighed, but unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car as well, Niall locked it, reaching out a hand for me to take.

Some unidentifiable rap song was blaring from the house, which was surrounded by drunk frat boys and sorority girls stumbling around or hanging all over one another. Niall simply pushed passed them and straight into the house, which was so poorly lit and packed with people I had to blink a couple times for my eyes to adjust.

"There he is." Niall pointed to a pool table, where Greg was funneling from a keg, surrounded by an adoring crowd cheering him on. He began pushing his way through the sea of people, shouting Greg's name.

After about 10 times, Greg finally turned to face us, dropping the funnel. "Niall, is that you?"

"Yes Greg, it's me." Niall said unenthusiastically. "Can we have the keys to your apartment? We need a place to hang out for a few days."

"Stella? Stella Parker, is that you?" Greg said, stepping off the table and throwing his arms around me. "Nialler, did you finally seal the deal?"

"Greg, did you hear a word I just said?" Niall asked, exasperated.

"Sorry baby bro, i'm a little fucked up. Why don't you and Stella shotgun a beer with us?" Greg nodded towards a group of three girls who were shotgunning beers with a Brother. One of them, a tan brunette, threw her empty can on the floor before shouting "I love ATO!" and tripping over the heel of her wedge.

"Um, we'll pass. Is Denise around?" Niall answered for the both of us.

"She's with the other Chi Omegas, out in the backyard." Said Greg.

"Alright, Stella, i'm going to go find Denise, she'll actually be coherent. You stay right here so I can find you."

"Wait, but-" I started, but Niall had already disappeared off into the crowd. I turned to talk to Greg, but he had gone to shotgun a beer with the three sorority girls. I was all alone in the middle of a frat party I had no desire to be attending, just like when I had gone with Asher to the Delt house at UM.

"Hey there beautiful." A voice came out of nowhere. "What are doing standing here all alone?"

A very handsome boy in Sperrys, khakis, and a sky blue polo shirt the color of his eyes was standing next to me, holding a red Solo cup. Under any other circumstance, I probably would have thought he was attractive, but right now I really just wanted to be left alone until Niall got back.

"I'm Mitch." He stuck out a hand for me to shake.

"Stella." I said blandly, taking his hand.

"Where are your sorority sisters?" Mitch asked. "Did they just leave you here all alone?"

"Oh, um, i'm not in a sorority." I replied absentmindedly, scanning the crowd for Niall.

"Oh, okay." Mitch said, as if I had told him I had just moved here from Africa. "Well can I get you a drink?"

"No, i'm fine." What would it take for this guy to get the hint and leave me alone?

"Stella! Stella I got the keys. Thank god for Denise." Niall suddenly appeared by my side. However, the smile he had on his face dropped off when he saw Mitch. "Who's this?"

"Who are you? Are you a pledge?" Mitch asked. "Shouldn't you be driving people around?"

"I'm not a pledge." Niall said curtly. "Now Stella-"

"Hold up, if you're not a pledge and you're not a brother than you can't be here." Mitch interrupted. "She can stay but you've got to go."

"Listen here mate." Niall said angrily. "Believe me, I don't want to be here. Maybe if you'd shut up for five seconds i'd actually be able to leave."

"What did you say to me?" Mitch said, slamming down his cup.

"I said get the fuck out of my face you roided up douche bag." Niall said. "Go bother someone else, my girlfriend isn't interested."

Mitch made a move forward, but before he could do anything Niall's fist was plowing into his face, causing him to go reeling back.

Once he caught his footing, Mitch gave Niall a homicidal look, but was immediately restrained by a couple of his fraternity brothers.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Greg reappeared. "Schmidt, that's my fucking little brother!"

"He just fucking punched me in the face Horan! Mitch yelled. "Get him the fuck out of here before I kill him!"

Greg turned angrily to Niall. "Go straight to my apartment. I'll talk to you about this later."

I didn't even look to see if Niall was following me, I began to high tail it out of there. I was so furious, I couldn't see straight. What was wrong with him? How could he be so perfect, such a dream come true one moment and then completely flip a switch the next? I knew that this situation wasn't easy for any of us, but he didn't have to go off punching everyone who annoyed him in the slightest.

"Stella, wait!" He was calling after me. "I'm sorry!"

"No!" I whipped around. "Don't apologize to me, Niall. Don't apologize that despite the fact it's my life that's on the line, you're the one going around beating up everyone who stands in your way!"

"He deserved it, he was a total douche! I'm just stressed, okay? How do you think I feel, being dragged into the mess Louis Tomlinson made of his life? I'm not even friends with him! To be honest I could give two shits whether he lives or dies, i'm doing his ass a favor." Niall yelled.

"A favor? You see protecting me, your girlfriend as a favor? Well here, let me help you out with that one."

I turned around and started to angrily stalk away from him, despite his protests. I needed to be alone, that was the only time I seemed to have any control of my life whatsoever.

When I was far enough away that I couldn't hear Niall's voice anymore, I plopped down on a brick wall and put my head in my hands. I wasn't a religious person, but I could really do with a good prayer right now.

Before I could even begin to start begging to some unknown entity however, my phone started ringing, the caller ID reading "Louis".

"Oh thank god." I said in relief when I answered. "I've been so worried about you."

For a while, on the other end, there was silence. Then finally, a reply.

"Stella, i'm sorry he couldn't keep you safe."

For a second, I was confused. Then panicked, and finally, filled with dread.

I could run and play hide and seek all I wanted. But in the end, there was nowhere we could go where we wouldn't be found. No where we could go where we could be safe.

No where we could go where we wouldn't be lucky to make it out alive.