XO, Joanne

Rescue

*Gaga POV*

I was playing piano when my phone rang. I was so relieved that Nicole called me. I was starting to get worried.
I asked her if she was okay and all she said was "help me" in a quiet, shaky voice. I immediately knew something was wrong. I heard a door slam and the sound of a man's voice. Nicole screeched and yelled out "HELP ME" once again. This time she was screaming, and she sounded scared. I immediately hung up and called the police, who went straight to her house after finding her address. As soon as they ended the call, I ran to my car and drove there as fast as I could.

I arrived at Nicole's house at the same time the police did. After knocking a few times and getting no answer, the cops broke down the door. I followed them as they ran upstairs.
Once we turned the corner, I was horrified by what I saw. Nicole was lying there, helpless, with most of her clothes scattered about the floor. She was shaking violently. A shirtless man was next to her, trying to zip up his jeans. One of the policemen told me to wait outside the room while they went in to examine the scene.
I could hear Nicole sobbing.
That was when I realized that I couldn't let her leave my side again.

*Nicole POV*

There were three police officers standing in the doorway. I sat against the wall, frozen. I couldn't stop shaking. One of the cops handed me my clothes to put back on while the other two put my uncle in handcuffs and took him out. Once I had the energy to stand up, I put my clothes back on quickly. I was surprised that nobody noticed my cuts. I heard my uncle cussing at the cops as they attempted to get him down the stairs. Eventually, the third cop had to leave the room and help escort him out. That was when I noticed Gaga standing outside my door. Tears were streaming down her face.
I immediately ran into her arms and hugged her as tight as I possibly could, burying my face in her shoulder.

"It's okay baby, I'm here."
Her voice broke and we were both crying.
We stood there for awhile, clinging to each other like our lives depended on it. When Gaga finally let go, she led me to my room and sat me on my bed.

"Y-you saved me." was all I could get out before bursting into tears again.
Gaga wrapped her arm around me and gave me a tight squeeze.
"You're coming home with me." she said.
"But Gaga, I-I can't. I don't want to burden you."
"You won't burden me honey. You're coming with me whether you like it or not. Now grab a bag and pack everything you want to take with you, because we aren't coming back."
I grabbed a suitcase and threw all my things in it. I didn't really have much, so it only took about five minutes to pack. I made sure to grab my spare razor that was hiding in one of my drawers. I definitely needed that.

One of the cops came back into my room and told us that my uncle was being arrested for attempted rape.
I grabbed my suitcase and he led us out of the house. Once we got out, he pulled Gaga aside and mentioned something to her. I assumed that it was about my uncle's arrest.
Once the police left, Gaga grabbed my stuff and put it in the back of her car. I was still shaking so badly that I could barely buckle the seatbelt. Gaga got in the driver's seat and looked over at me as we left.

"It's okay sweetheart. You're with me now."

The ride to her apartment was silent, but she held my hand the whole way there.

Once she opened the door, I was stunned. I've never seen anything more beautiful.
"Your home is amazing!!" I said.
"Thank you!" she replied, my hand still in hers.
"Follow me baby, you can stay in the guest room for now."
I walked in with my stuff and sat on the bed, looking around the room. Gaga sat next to me and put her hand on my shoulder.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" she asked sincerely.
I really didn't want to tell her anything. I was too terrified to even look at her. My eyes filled to the brim with tears as I stared down at the floor. I couldn't get any words out so I just shook my head.
"It's okay if you don't wanna talk right now, I completely understand. When you're ready, come to me and I'll be here."
I looked back up at her and saw the most endearing look on her face.
"Thank you.. for everything."
She gave me a soft smile before pulling me into a hug.
"Well I'm gonna leave you alone for a little bit. I'll be in the other room if you need me."

She left the room, and I got up a few seconds later, looking out the door to see if the coast was clear.
She was nowhere in sight.
I grabbed my razor and snuck off to the bathroom. The mental and physical pain was unbearable and I couldn't deal with it.
I locked the door and took a nice long look in the mirror.

"What a huge slut you are." I thought.

After constantly being told how awful I was, I started to believe it.

"You were asking for it, you dumb bitch. What a worthless piece of shit you are."

Maybe I did deserve it.

I took the blade and sliced my wrists multiple times. I was instantly calmed down by the sight of my blood. It always seemed to relax me for some reason.

Once I was done, I cleaned up and pulled my sleeve down so Gaga wouldn't notice.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Nicole, baby? Are you hungry?"
Luckily, eating was never an issue for me, and I was starving.
"Yeah, kinda."
"Well I was gonna order a pizza, do you want some?"
"Sure."
"Okay I'll call them right now."

Once I knew she was gone, I crept back to the guest room and hid my blade.

About thirty minutes later, the pizza came.
Gaga and I sat at the table eating. We didn't really talk much. Both her and I were still pretty shaken up from what happened earlier. Once we finished, Gaga and I went into the living room.

"Wanna watch a movie?" she asked me.
"Sure, why not."
"What movie do you wanna watch?"
"Whatever you want."
She dug through a huge drawer full of movies.
"How about this one?" she asked as she pulled out The Conjuring.
"Thats great!" I said. "I love horror movies!"
Gaga put the movie in and brought out a bunch of blankets. She sat on the couch and motioned for me to sit next to her. We threw the blankets over us and I turned to see her looking at me.
"Get over here pretty girl." she said as she pulled me close and wrapped her arms around me. I rested my head on her shoulder as she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

We snuggled up and watched the movie together.