Stalker; A.F.I

18

-Vanessa

I wake up in a cold sweat and sit up.

I hear water running which means Ashton is in the shower. Knight is pacing by the door.

I slowly get up and slide my slippers on. The door creaks open and Ashton stands there with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. "Morning beautiful. How did you sleep?"he asks, walking in. "Fine. I think Knight has to go out."I say and stand up. "I'll take him out later."he says and walks over to his wardrobe.

He scans through clothes and takes out a random match.

"So, the guys are coming over again today. I'm pretty sure that I might be leaving again."he says and drops his towel. I cover my eyes and blush. "Where are you going?"I ask.

He laughs quietly and there's a short pause before I feel his hands on mine and they're removing mine from my face. "It's okay to look, angel. It's only me."he chuckles. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks. He looks into my eyes and raises an eyebrow. He begins to lean in to kiss me.

"So where are you going?"I ask again. He smirks at my shyness and links fingers with me. "Somewhere. It's none of your concern, doll face. But I'll be back in 2 days. I promise."he says.

"2 days? What do you do for a living?"I ask. He drops his smirk along with my hand. "We'll talk about that later, okay love?"he says in a soft voice. He looks at me with hard eyes and I know not to say anything else.

"Okay. Will I be allowed to go to the park again?"I ask. He begins getting dressed and laughs at my question. "I know you love to go outside but unfortunately I can't let that happen yet-"

"Why not?"

"How the situation is right now, I don't think I can let you, sweetheart."he says and gives me a small smile. He finishes getting dressed and looks at me.

"You just don't trust me, is that it?"I ask, crossing my arms. "No, babe, that's not what I meant."he sighs. "Then what?"I ask. He shakes his head.

"Can we not argue? Please?"he asks. I sigh and sit back on the bed.

He walks towards me and takes my hands in his. "Believe me, beautiful. I do trust you. There's just things that need to happen first."he says. "Things like what?"I ask. "I can't tell you."he sighs. I nod. "Okay."I say.

"Hey, I love you....okay?"he says and kisses my hand. I nod.

The door closes downstairs followed by Knight barking. "That must be the guys."I say. He nods.

We both stand up and walk to the door. I pick Knight up in my arms and smile at him. "Good boy, Knight."I laugh.

We walk downstairs and see his friends talking about whatever. I see Luke and my blood boils.

Michael meets my gaze and smiles. I smile back. "I see you got a dog?"he says and looks over to Ashton. He nods. "His name is Knight."he says. Luke look at me and my smile turns into a glare.

"So, we have to go get some things back at the warehouse. Ash?"Luke says. "I'll go with you."he says, nodding. He looks over to me and I feel my anger rising.

The tension in the room is evident and awkward.

~~
"No! Stop! Don't hurt him! This is my brother! Please!"

"Nessa, I'm scared."he whispers.

"How did you find us?! Did she tell you she was here?!"Luke yells.

"No! I was coming through here as a shortcut! I was going to a friend's house!"Jared lies.

Luke rolls his eyes and loads his gun.

"NO! Please!"I cry and wrap my arms around him.
~~

I shake it away and turn to Ashton. "Can I take Knight outside? He hasn't gone out since last night."I say. He nods and points to a door in the back.

"That's the backdoor, there's some space."he says. I nod. "'Kay."I sigh out and glance back at Luke once more. He  plays with his lip ring and continues his conversation with Ashton.

I walk to the back and open the door, letting Knight go. He runs out of the door and runs around the fenced in yard.

I see a small swing set and my smile reappears.

-Luke

"So what was with the glaring between you and Vanessa?"He asks me before crossing his arms.

"Hm? I dunno."I shrug. He narrows his eyes at me. "Hm. Okay, well I'm gonna go pack my bag for the trip."he says. We nod before he runs up the stairs and leaves.

Michael looks at me with a hard glare. "Alright, what did you do?"he asks. "Nothing, what do you mean?"I ask. "Everyone could see you and Vanessa obviously have some hate war. What is it?"he asks.

"I don't know? She keeps staring at me so I did it back. I don't know what her problem with me is."I say honestly.

"Maybe it's the fact that you held a gun to her little brothers head?"Calum pipes up. I look at him and roll my eyes. "She had to have seen that coming. The kid saw too much."I shrug. They both shake their head in disapproval at me.

-Ashton

I make my way downstairs with my bag in my hand and see Michael talking with Luke. "Hey, I'm ready."I say. Luke nods.

"I'm gonna go say bye to Vanessa, 2 minutes."I say. He sighs and nods before I walk to the back.

I open the door and see her on the swing set smiling while Knight runs around her. I laugh and make my way way towards her. She meets my gaze and stands up. Knight runs over to me.

"Hey, I'm on my way out. Knight has food in the kitchen on the bottom shelf where his bowls are."I say. She nods. "2 days?"she asks. I nod. "Who's staying with me?"she asks. "Michael and Calum, hey is there a problem with you and Luke?"I ask. She looks to the side. "V?"I say.

She drops her smile and rolls her eyes. "No, it's nothing."she mumbles and looks down to the floor. I take her hand. "Tell me."I urge. She keeps her eyes away.

"No. I just.... he put a fucking gun to Jared's head."she snaps and finally looks into my eyes. I see the hurt and fear in her. "Babe... I'm sorry-"

"Jared's a fucking 11 year old boy! He's been through enough as it is! But now he has to deal with me being gone and then Luke puts a gun to his head! Who the fuck does that?"she rants.

I can tell she's past pissed just by how much she's cursing.

I pull her into a comforting hug.

"I know, babe, I'll talk to him."I say.

She sighs and wraps her arms around me. "Jared's my little brother... He could've killed him."she says quietly. "I know, I'm sorry I let that happen. It won't happen again, I promise."I say and kiss her head softly. She nods.

I tilt her chin up and kiss her lips softly. She surprisingly presses back into the kiss and leans into me. I smile and separate from her. She still has the same distressed look on her face.

"Alright. I have to go. I'll be back in around 2 days, be good."I say. She nods and takes my hand in hers. "Hurry back please."she whispers in almost a scared tone. I furrow my eyebrows. "Of course. I love you, V."I say. She nods. "I know you do."she sighs out. I press another kiss on her head before grabbing my bag from the ground and walking back inside.

I walk to the door where Luke is waiting. "Alright, lets go."I say trying not to say it with anger. He nods and grabs his keys from his pocket.

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1371 WORDS YEEEEY

(not my longest chapter but still)

-Jenna