Ashton's POV:
Soraya was still asleep, not that I was surprised. I know how terribly she had been sleeping before last night, so knowing that she was finally safe, that Adam was locked up and never going to be coming after her again... she could finally relax.
Me, on the other hand, between staying up until four this morning to get Xav settled and then rocking up here at exactly eight AM, which was when the nurses said they would let me back in again... the coffee I'd had to drink wasn't enough to combat the three hours total of sleep I managed to get in between flashbacks of panic and terror.
I sat down on the chair next to her bed, my hand resting next to hers but not touching. After what happened last night I wasn't sure if we were back to square one or if we were okay.
Her parents told me they would be here at eleven, they had police to talk to and more statements to give. Kelley and Dave wanted someone with her as often as possible, so I told them I would stay with her. I didn't say that I was unlikely to leave once they arrived, but I'm sure they would figure that out in their own time.
I felt movement in the bed, and when I looked up I saw Soraya squinting against the bright lights before her eyes landed on mine.
"Jesus, it's like the light of a thousand suns in here." She said.
"Would you like me to turn them off? I didn't think about-"
"It's fine, just give me a minute." She said, her eyes finally adjusting as she looked at her hands, seeing mine lying an inch away from hers. "You know, you don't have to ask my permission to hold my hand when we are what we are." She had a small smile on her face, her hair tussled from sleep.
"I just... after last night... I wanted to make sure you were..." I didn't know what to say, and instead of letting me stumble my way through my words she took a hold of my hand.
"I feel strangely light." She said, her dark blue eyes landing on mine. "I'm not saying I'm cured or anything, but knowing that Adam has been caught definitely eases my fears."
"That simple, huh? Should have done this months ago then." I joked, she laughed.
"Yeah, definitely should have." She responded with a sarcastic nod. But then her smile fell from her face. "I am going to need so much therapy after this is all done."
"We all do..." I trailed off. "You, for obvious reasons. Me because what happened last night traumatised me as well. Xav because of last night and the abuse he's faced over the years. Alistair, similar reasons. Well, Willow might be okay though."
"You know, the response I was looking for there was something along the lines of 'no you don't' or maybe a joke like 'I can fix it for you' and then you kiss me or something. Not an admission that it is indeed the best course for everyone in our group except for Will." She said, a smile on her face.
"Therapy is always a good choice, how do you think I'm coping with my Dad's death so well?" I asked her, she tilted her head to the side.
"I..." she didn't seem to know how to respond.
"After this year we all need to heal." I said, she nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Although, I'm not saying that what happened to you wasn't the worst out of all of us if that is also what you were fishing for." I said with a smile, she returned the look.
"No, I wasn't. The only feelings I have about last night are that I'm glad it's over. The cops told me Adam had to come to hospital though, what happened?" She asked, I took a deep breath.
"Well, I came out and saw him dragging you so I had a very audible meltdown and Alice ran out along with everyone else at the party. Adam dropped you to run, but, Alice got to him first. I will hand it to Adam, he thought he stood a chance and so he went to strike first giving Alice perfect evidence for a self-defence case. Four hits and Adam was done though. One to the sternum, one kick to the balls, one to throat and then a nose breaker." I explained, Sora grimaced.
"Don't read the grimace as sympathy, it's more pity." She said. "So everyone else is okay?"
"You're the one who got a double dose of GHB and could have died last night. Yet you're asking how everyone else is?" I asked her, she shrugged her shoulders. "Everyone else is fine. Xav's at my house now, he's not going back, I think Zeke stayed with him last night I'm not sure, I fell asleep the second I could. Judging from the text messages I had when I woke up I think Alice spent the night at Will's. Anyone else you want to know about?" I asked, she shook her head.
"If you have text messages and aren't sure, Will possibly messaged me so we can find out for sure. There's no way she wouldn't have messaged me about something as important as that." She said, so I grabbed her phone from the table and gave it to her. She unlocked the screen and immediately laughed, she turned the screen to me briefly and I saw that there were forty-three unopened messages from Willow. She turned the screen back around once I started laughing too.
"First one says 'hey, I know you're probably sleeping and everything after what happened but you know what I'm like so I'll keep you posted on everything that happens'." She said through her laughter, she kept reading through the messages. "Number nine. 'Just gave my statement to a very attractive officer. Don't tell Alistair I said that, I told Alice to his face that the officer wasn't hot to make him feel better but it was a lie'."
"Jesus Christ." I whispered, watching as her eyes scanned through more messages.
"Ah, here we are. Number... I don't know, I lost count. 'Alice just dropped me off but my parents were waiting out front, I'd already told them what happened so they weren't angry but Alice was terrified. They brought us inside and made us drink some hot chocolate.' Then there is two messages about the hot chocolates and then we have this beauty, in all caps, but I don't feel like shouting. 'My parents told Alice that he could stay the night, that it was too late for him to drive home, but that he had to message his mum first to make sure she was also okay with it'. Next message is 'Eliana approved, he's staying. My parents said they can't be assed setting up the spare bed and didn't want him to sleep on the couch so he can sleep in my bed with me!'."
"So he did sleep there." I said, watching her smile grow as she read another message.
"Last message. 'Okay, I know you're in hospital and whatever and not even reading these but I thought I should clarify that nothing is happening. We're just sharing a bed. Want to be clear on that. Anyway, goodnight, I'll message you in the morning.' Holy hell, what a journey." She said, she looked up at me with a sparkle in her eyes. "Thanks for treating me normally..." She trailed off, tilting her head to the side.
"I know better than to treat you differently." I replied, standing up so I could hold her cheek in mine. "Can I kiss you?" I asked her, she rolled her eyes.
"Yes, you may." She said, and I didn't waste a second longer and placed my lips against hers, feeling at ease with her warmth taking over my body from the small contact.
I pulled away too soon because I heard her notification tone, she smiled at me with what could only be described as an evil grin before she looked at her phone.
"Twenty bucks that they fucked." She said before she even looked at her screen.
"I am not willing to bet against that." I replied, she smiled as she unlocked her screen and went to her messages.
"Good call. Willow messaged this; 'okay, good morning. The last message I sent was a lie. I mean, it wasn't at that point but... well... you know. We were safe, don't worry, but I'll tell you more when I see you in person'. Who would've guessed that was going to happen?"
"Fear is a great aphrodisiac." I said.
"You saying that from experience?" She asked me.
"Why do you think I keep cuddling with you during horror movies?" I asked her, she smirked.
"Knew it." She said, looking at her phone before she looked back at me. "I have a cruel idea..." She trailed off, and I had a feeling I knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Yes?"
"Should we video call them?" She asked, I looked at her phone before I looked back at her. I squeezed myself onto the bed next to her.
"Oh definitely, I'm surprised you haven't hit the button yet. However, before we do that..." I trailed off, she looked at me with a furrowed brow.
"What?"
"Well, I haven't asked you to be my girlfriend yet, so I thought I should do that."
"Was that you asking? Because that was terrible if it was."
"Will you be my girlfriend, Soraya Kingston?"
She smiled as she dropped her head onto my shoulder and interlaced our fingers again. I sighed at the comfortable feeling of her hand in mine, of how perfectly they fit together.
"Of course I will, Ashton Klarence."