"What the fuck do you mean you think Ryan raped Luke?" Ashton seethed as he looked at Michael with a burning glare.
"I mean what I'm saying" Michael mumbled and shifted around in his seat, though he never broke the eye contact he had with Ashton.
"How is it possible to think something like that. Either you know it or you don't," Ashton spoke and clenched his fists, "So do you know or not?"
Michael sighed and ran a hand through his faded green hair before closing his eyes. "I don't know" he mumbled, making Ashton scoff.
"Then why the fuck would you say it, you assh-"
"Because when I met Ryan in the hallway after he had stepped out of Calum's room, I knew something fucked up had happened! And when I then found Calum on his bed not being able to move nor breathe, and Luke on the floor with messed up clothes while being in fucking paralyzed, I'm thinking Ryan did something fucked up to both of them!"
Ashton sat completely still as he watched Michael breathe heavily, looking frustrated but lost in what to do. Ashton didn't know either, he just clenched his fists and jaw harshly as he tried to calm his body down.
It was impossible though, and the stickers on his chest connected to the heart monitor made Michael hear just how riled up Ashton really was.
"What had Calum told you?" Ashton mumbled through gritted teeth.
"Barely anything," Michael sighed and ran a hand down his face in frustration, "I've tried to talk to him but he's too shaken up about everything, just like Luke is"
"Have they said anything? Just fucking something?" Ashton pushed and kept glaring at his friend even though Michael was no longer looking at him.
"We know that Ryan tried to kill Calum. He tried to strangle him but Luke apparently stopped him. That's what Calum told us" Michael spoke.
"And Luke?"
"He hasn't said much. The only thing he said was that Ryan had touched him, but he hasn't explained anything else. Every time we try to bring it up, he just shuts down. We don't want to push him, you know? Especially not with everything else going on"
"When did it happen?" Ashton asked as his body was tense in anger.
"The same day you.. died" Michael mumbled and Ashton sighed heavily as he clenched his jaw so harshly it started to ache.
"Fuck," he mumbled under his breath before running a hand through his hair and tugging, "Fuck!"
"I know" Michael mumbled and dropped his head forward to lean it against his hands.
"I'm gonna fucking kill that fucking dick! I'll kill all of them" Ashton seethed angrily kicked the sheets away from his body to stand up from the bed.
"No, no, no!" A female voice said and soon a nurse was by Ashton's side and held onto his arms, "You can't leave the bed without someone saying you can"
"Well, I fucking said I could so get off, I'm going home" Ashton spoke and shrugged the young woman away from himself easily. Michael only sat by the side and watched, not even trying to stop Ashton.
"That's not allowed, Mr. Irwin-"
"Don't call me that" Ashton snapped and glared down at her.
"You have to lay down in your bed again, you can't leave yet" she continued to speak, making Ashton roll his eyes while trying to pull out the needle in his left arm.
"I advice you to lay down again, Ashton," another voice spoke, making Ashton look up and see Luke's father in the doorway, "You have visitors" Mr. Hemmings said again, his voice unamused and dry.
And after that, two policemen stepped into the room, making both Ashton and Michael clench their jaws harshly.
"2 for 1," one of the officers said with a content smirk as he eyed both the boys, "I can work with that. There's always a place in jail for you two"
Ashton clenched his fists and bit his tongue to not say anything bad. Not in front of Luke's father.
"Fuck off, Asher" Michael mumbled as he glared at the two officers with pure hatred, just like Ashton did.
The two policemen ignored Michael's words and sat down in front of the bed while eyeing Ashton patiently, waiting for him to sit down.
"What the fuck are you staring at?" Ashton said dryly while ignoring the intense look Mr. Hemmings was giving him from the back of the room.
"We're waiting for you to listen to the nurse. Or do you want to have assault towards nurse on your papers as well?" officer Stahl spoke.
Ashton clenched his jaw and ripped his arm away from the nurse's grip before sitting down on the bed while eyeing the officers with a deathly stare.
"Aren't we supposed to be alone?" Ashton asked and glanced up to look at the nurse and Mr. Hemmings.
"Do you want them to leave? Do you have something to hide?" Asher asked and leaned his elbows against his knees, eyeing Ashton with a mocking look on his face.
Michael and Ashton's relationship with the police wasn't like how it was between anyone else. They knew everyone in the police department and it was only hate between them all.
They didn't go by rules, they only went for answers, and it didn't matter for Michael and Ashton, since they never gave the police what they wanted anyway.
Everyone in their group were professionals, so they knew just how to act and just what to say to get the police to leave them alone.
They had never been arrested, they've only been held in jail for a few days. They had been suspected, but never convicted for anything.
They knew how to negotiate, and they were far ahead of the cops. So they weren't intimidated by the police. Not in the slightest.
"No. I'm like a fucking open book, I have nothing to hide" Ashton spoke and gave the two officers a bored look before relaxing down on the bed to make everyone see how careless he was about all of this.
"You too, Mike? You feeling good about sharing?" they spoke, making Michael roll his eyes.
"Have I ever had anything to hide?" Michael spoke and crossed his arms over his chest, giving them both an irritated look.
"Fine then, I'm glad you're so comfortable" they spoke with confident looks on their faces, thinking they would easily be able to take down the two boys once and for all.
"Just get on with it, fuckers" Ashton mumbled and leaned his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes.
"How's life at home. How's Ty treating you?" they started, making both Michael and Ashton roll their eyes.
"Good" both mumbled in a monotone voice.
"Great. Now, we're gonna start at the beginning," Asher started and licked his lips before speaking again, "2 months ago there was a fire by a warehouse around 5 miles from your home. In that fire were pieces of 3 men found who have yet not been able to identify. Have you heard about this?"
"What day was it?" Michael spoke while mindlessly playing with his fingers.
"August 14th. Tell us everything"
"Yeah, I remember it," Michael spoke and sighed, "I was at home, being forced to lay in bed by Ash since I had reached two panic attacks that day"
"And why's that?" they asked.
"Because a week before I had seen my biological mother walk around in the city and shadowed her for around a week. I always thought she was dead, so when the truth hit me, it hit me hard" Michael spoke.
"What's your mother's name?" Stahl asked and looked at Michael intensely.
"Karen. Her surname used to be Clifford but I'm not sure what it is now. She works as a lawyer in the city, seems to make a shitload of money, and she doesn't care a single shit about me" Michael spoke and Ashton chuckled on the inside when knowing Michael had just brought them even more stuff to convince the police they were completely innocent.
"Confirm the story" one of the officers said and turned to Ashton.
"He was freaking out, I had to hold him down and give him a shitload of pills to make him calm down. When he had fallen asleep, I left the house"
"What time? And to go where?"
"I don't fucking know. I got a call from Luke saying he would be home alone and he doesn't like to be home without company so I drove up as soon as I could-"
"Who is Luke?" Asher asked and Ashton could feel the burning glare Mr. Hemmings was sending his way.
"Luke Hemmings, my boyfriend"
"For how long?"
"Since July or something. I don't know, I don't keep track of time" Ashton spoke, still keeping his eyes closed like if he was about to fall asleep.
"And when did you arrive to Luke's?"
"Just before his family left. It was late, something about his dad working and his mom driving his brother somewhere, probably football practice. I arrived and I climbed up the window to make sure no one saw me, since both Luke and I doesn't want anyone to know we're seeing each other-"
"And why's that?" one of them asked, making Ashton roll his eyes.
"Because I don't fucking look like a Prince Charming now, do I? He wanted to show me off but I stopped him, knowing fully well that if more people in his family knew, they would stop it. And with those words, Luke let it go because he wanted us to stay" Ashton spoke.
"'If more people in his family knew'? Who knew in his family?" Asher asked.
"His brother. He sent your fucking friends to illegally talk to Luke about staying away from me. That didn't happen though since he knew better" Ashton mumbled.
"Because you forced him to stay with you?"
"I didn't fucking force him to stay with me. He called me crying after the way your ducked up colleagues approached him and I had to drive there once again to comfort him. So, great fucking job, guys" Ashton spoke sarcastically and glared at both of them while avoiding Mr. Hemmings eyes.
The two officers clenched their jaws but didn't comment on it. Instead, they changed the subject back, "Okay, back to August 14th. How long did you stay and what did you do? Step by step"
"I arrived at his home, I climbed up to his window, I greeted him, I took a shower, I watched TV with him. The time went and before his family came home we went upstairs. I stayed until he had fallen asleep before going home to make sure his family didn't catch us"
"That's the only thing that happened?" Stahl asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"I may have left out some personal details that you don't have to know about" Ashton spoke and gave them a dry look.
"So you had sex?" Asher chuckled, like it was obvious.
Michael sat silent on the side, feeling a bit uneasy by the situation but couldn't help but smirk small at the whole thing. The police had nothing on them, and Michael knew that they had both Calum and Luke on their side.
This was just easy.
Ashton shrugged and ignored Mr. Hemmings glare as he spoke again, "Something like that. And I'm not going into fucking details, you-"
"He is 16, he wouldn't do that. I know my son, and he isn't ready for anything like that. And I swear to God, if you pressured him into anything-"
"Dr. Hemmings," Asher poke, both to calm the doctor down but also in realization of what just had been said. Ashton could almost feel how content the policemen were right now.
"I would never force myself on anyone, I'm not fucking psycho. I love Luke, and there's no shame in that," Ashton spoke and eyed Mr. Hemmings, "And I'm sorry to burst your bubble, sir, but Luke is more than ready for it. He was to one asking me if we could. And who was I to say no?"
Maybe Ashton should show some kind of sympathy or hold back a bit when speaking so openly about Luke with Luke's father, but he had never done that before so he saw no reason to do it now.
He knew Mr. Hemmings already hated him, so why would he kiss ass for something so pathetic as a father's approval. Ashton knew neither of Luke's parents would ever approve of him, but that doesn't mean Ashton would leave Luke.
Ashton would never leave Luke.
Mr. Hemmings eyed Ashton with pure hatred, both angry at Ashton and his son. He never thought Luke could ever hide something so big from him and his mother. Even Jack had held it a secret, and it made him furious.
"Moving on," Asher spoke and glanced between Ashton and Mr. Hemmings before looking at both Ashton and Michael again.
"It's no point, Asher. We haven't done anything, and if we would have, there's no fucking evidences for you. You can just give up" Michael mumbled and carelessly removed some dirt from his nails.
"We'll sit here all day until you have dropped something we want" they said and locker their jaws, making Ashton chuckle humorlessly.
He couldn't wait to get the fuck out of here.
**
Luke was seated on his bed while scrolling through his phone. He was bored and scared, always feeling so vulnerable without Ashton.
He was relieved though, now when Ashton, Seth, and Calum were okay he had nothing to worry about, but he still did because they weren't home yet. He just wanted everything to go back to how it used to be.
Ben had been holding him company ever since Luke had came home from the hospital. He had listened to Luke talking about how Ashton had woken up and how happy he was. Ben had smiled and hugged him, but hadn't said anything.
Luke knew it was because Ben was unsure of how to think about Ashton, but he was still happy for his little brother. He was happy to see his brother smiling again.
Ben had left about 30 minutes ago to meet up with some friends, leaving Luke alone with his mother, but Luke didn't feel like socializing with her. He just wanted to be alone for a bit. To think.
He was interrupted in his thoughts when someone knocked on his door. Without Luke saying anything, the door opened and his father stepped in.
"Dad? Why are you home? Mom said you worked until 10," Luke spoke and raised his eyebrows, "Is Calum okay? Is Ashton okay? Don't say they're not, I can't-"
"Luke," Andrew spoke with a stern voice, immediately shutting Luke up, "They're all fine. But I want to talk to you about Ashton"
"Oh," Luke breathed out and shifted in his bed as he looked down in his lap, "What about him?"
Andrew sighed and walked over to his son to sit down on the bed beside him.
"Why have you never told us you two were together?" he asked, making Luke bite his lip.
"I don't know" Luke mumbled, making Andrew sigh.
"Luke, I want you to tell me. I'm not in the mood for lies after the day I've had" Andrew spoke, making Luke widen his eyes slightly at the stern voice his father used.
"I-I didn't want you to know because Ashton said that if you knew, you wouldn't condone it" Luke mumbled.
"Of course we wouldn't!" Andrew exclaimed, making Luke jump as his father raised his voice, "He is a damn criminal, Luke! He's in the hospital because someone shot him, probably because he has already fired a bullet at that person! What were you thinking, Luke?!"
"I-I-" Luke stuttered with wide eyes, "He's not a bad person, dad"
"Is that why the police was there and talked to him and Michael for hours?" Andrew pushed, making Luke furrow his eyebrows.
"Or maybe it was because Ashton just got shot?" Luke asked, feeling himself grow defensive. He would do anything to make Ashton look good.
"There's so much more, you know that," Andrew said and gave his son a stern look, "I was in the room when they spoke and I know that boy has done some horrible things. The police even knows the boy, Luke!"
"Did he say he had done something?" Luke asked and bit the inside of his cheek to keep his nerves from showing.
"No, but-"
"Then you can't say anything dad! It's rude to judge people by their looks and first impression, you've said so yourself" Luke spoke and looked at his father with a hurt expression.
"But," Andrew spoke again, giving Luke a glare when the boy had interrupted him, "He said a whole bunch of other stuff, and I'm so disappointed in you"
"Why?" Luke whispered.
"Because he told me so much about you and him, and I don't approve even the slightest, Luke. I'm mad at you for even going close to a boy like him, but for you to start a relationship, an intimate relationship, with him makes me furious"
Luke tensed up at those words, not understanding why Ashton would ever tell his father what they did in their relationship. Ashton was the one who wanted to keep them as hidden as possible. He barely told the guys in his group about them.
"What?" was the only thing Luke was able to say while watching his father's angry stance.
"What did you think when you started having sex with a criminal? You are too young and it's not acceptable that you are with a boy like that!"
"I-I haven't had sex with him" Luke spoke quietly and moved around in his seat, feeling so uncomfortable speaking about this with his father.
"Oh, is that so? Because he said you had and he said you were the one wanting it" Andrew spoke, making Luke's cheeks redden.
"W-We haven't had sex, we've just done stuff," Luke spoke and bit his lip when seeing his father fume in anger, "And I love him, dad. I care about him and he cares about me. Mom's always told me that if the feeling's mutual and both are willing, sex is a beautiful thing-"
"Stop," Andrew spoke and closed his eyes in frustration, "I don't ever want you to talk about him again. I don't want you to speak to him, I don't want you to see him, and I don't want you even be a part of his life"
"Dad,-" Luke breathed out and furrowed his eyebrows.
"I don't want to hear it, Luke," Andrew spoke and gave Luke a sincere look, "You're not old enough to make these kind of decisions and I will not let you die because of him-"
"He keeps me safe!"
"You don't have to have someone to keep you safe, you need someone who doesn't even bring you into dangerous situations in the first place!" Andrew exclaimed.
"But he doesn't bring me into dangerous situations! He keeps me away from them!" Luke spoke and stood up from the bed to fully face his father, "He's not bad, dad, he's amazing"
"It's just an act, he's only acting to take advantage of you. And you let him"
"Dad!" Luke said and frowned, "You can't say anything because you don't know him like I do"
"It doesn't matter, Luke, because now you won't be knowing him anymore. You can't argue with me on this, because you won't ever see him again" Andrew spoke and stood up from the bed to walk out of the room.
"What's wrong with you? You can't just ban me from seeing my boyfriend!" Luke yelled, feeling tears form in his eyes.
"He's not your boyfriend! He is nothing to you, do you hear me?!" Andrew yelled back, causing Luke to shut his mouth while letting tears fall from his eyes.
And with that, Andrew left the room, leaving Luke completely alone and completely broken.
Luke was sad, absolutely miserable, but just because his father had made him feel this way and just because he had banned him from seeing Ashton, it would never happen.
Luke could never leave Ashton, because Ashton loved him, Ashton kept him safe, and Ashton was the only comfort Luke had. So no, Luke would never leave Ashton.
That's why Luke furiously wiped his tears away from his face and sobbed before ripping up the door of his room and ran down, ignoring the calls from his father, as he grabbed one of the car keys and exited the house.
He wasn't planning on running away, he just needed to see Ashton. He just needed to be with his boyfriend.
**
Ashton was lying on his bed, the hospital starting to calm down as it was starting to get late and visitor hours were soon ending.
He was mindlessly looking straight into the wall as he heard some of the doctors and nurses move around in the hallway just outside his room.
As the door to his room opened, he didn't even react to it. He was tired of all those nurses checking up on him every second because of his earlier behavior.
"Ash?" a small voice said, immediately making Ashton turn his head to watch Luke enter the room.
"Luke? What are you doing here?" Ashton asked and sat up in his bed before noticing the blonde's bloodshot eyes. "What happened?" he asked, his voice immediately growing worried.
"Ash" Luke spoke again and hurried over to the older boy to throw his arms around him and sob quietly. Ashton slowly curled his arms around Luke's slim frame and held him close to himself.
"Was it Ryan?" Ashton spoke through gritted teeth but relaxed for a second when Luke shook his head as no.
"N-No," Luke spoke through quiet sobs, "It was my dad"
And right then Ashton knew it was all his fault. It was his fault for letting Mr. Hemmings stay in the room while he talked to the police, it was his fault for sharing so much about his and Luke's personal relationship, and it was his fault for continuing to act like such a fucking ass in front of Luke's father.
"Luke-"
"What did you say to him?" Luke whispered and pulled away slightly from the hug to look Ashton in the eye, "He came home and he knew so much. He just started screaming about how you were no good and how I'm too young and then he started talking about how I could never speak to you or see you again and then he banned me from seeing you and I-"
"Luke," Ashton spoke again to cut Luke off, "I didn't tell him anything, it was the cops I talked to. With you in my life and as a witness, I can make myself get out of so many different things. So when I talked to the police, I talked about you, and your father heard everything. I didn't stop though, because I'm not ashamed of being with you, and I wanted him to know that"
Ashton licked his lips and eyed his pretty boy before reaching one hand up and caressed Luke's cheek softly.
"I wanted him to know that I love you" Ashton whispered while wiping Luke's tears away.
"I won't listen to my dad. He doesn't know that without you I won't be able to survive" Luke whispered and closed his eyes as Ashton placed his forehead on his.
"I know, angel," Ashton spoke softly and breathed in Luke's scent, "You belong to me"
Luke cracked a small smile and nodded his head before connecting his lips with Ashton's, moving them softly against his. Ashton happily did the same, pulling Luke closer to himself while still being slow and gentle.
As they pulled away, Ashton looked into Luke's teary eyes and sighed. "Are you going home again now?" he asked, watching Luke's shoulder's slump.
"I don't know. I guess I have to, but I don't want to see my dad right now" Luke whispered while twirling a finger in Ashton's hair.
Ashton furrowed his eyebrows in thought and bit his lip before glancing away from Luke and nodded towards the bag in the corner of the room, making Luke turn around to look at it.
"Hand me that bag" Ashton said and started to take off the heart monitor stickers from his chest.
"What are you doing?" Luke asked and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Just hand me that bag" Ashton said again before holding his breath and pulling out the long needle from his arm. He held a hand over the bleeding part, making Luke gasp.
"Ashton, are you insane? You can't leave-"
"Luke. The bag" Ashton repeated and grabbed the rolled up bandage from the side table and rolled it around his arm to stop the bleeding.
As he was done Luke handed him the bag, making him stand up from the bed and rip off the hospital gown and look at Luke.
"Keep an eye out for the door, beautiful" Ashton said as he opened the bag Chase had packed for him, filled with clothes to change into for when he could leave or at least move around.
Luke blushed at the nickname but was hesitating on doing what Ashton had told him to. He did it after a few seconds anyway, and walked over to the door to open it slightly, looking out for anyone coming their way.
Meanwhile Ashton was getting dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie. He put the hood on and tied his shoes, throwing the bag over his shoulder before walking over to Luke, grimacing very lightly by the pain from his stomach.
"Let's go" Ashton spoke and grabbed Luke's hand before hiding behind the hood and walked out of the room.
"Where are we going?" Luke asked as he hurried to keep up with Ashton's quick steps. They had gone the opposite way of the elevators, and Luke had no idea how they would be able to exit the hospital this way.
Ashton didn't answer, he only kept dragging Luke through the hallways without being seen, and reached the emergency stairs case down to the first floor.
Luke kept quiet the whole way, only letting Ashton drag him out the parking lot before speaking again.
"Ashton, you can't just leave like this. You wen't supposed to leave for days, you'll start so much because of this. You don't have to do this because of me-"
"Yes I do," Ashton spoke and turned around to look at Luke sincerely, "Ever since I got into this fucking hospital, everything has gone south for you. I won't let you suffer more than you have already done. It's my job to keep you safe, and I'm doing it properly now"
"But you're still hurt" Luke spoke quietly and eyed Ashton with a worried expression.
"No," Ashton said and shook his head before placing his forehead against Luke's again, "I'm fine"
"You don't have to lie" Luke whispered and fisted Ashton's hoodie to hold on tightly.
"I wouldn't lie to you, Luke. When I'm with you, I'm fine," Ashton spoke and gave Luke a chaste kiss before pulling away.
"Did you drive here?" he asked, making Luke nod his head slowly, "Give me the keys" he said and held his hand out as Luke hesitantly placed the car keys in it.
"Where are we going?" Luke asked again and bit his lip as Ashton grabbed his hand once more, and intertwined their fingers.
"We're going home, angel" Ashton spoke and pulled Luke close because he wasn't ready to let him go.
He would never be ready to let Luke go. Ever.
-
guys, you made this book win the bromance award!!! god, you are so incredible there's not even words for it. thanks for voting, but mostly thanks for even reading this story and actually enjoying it.
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i fucking love youuu