"Lexi, dear. We have to leave soon," Aunt Jenna calls from downstairs. "Alice, wear something more sophisticated." I hear her say. Aunt Jenna and Alice arrived from America last night. Dad had to go with the boys on tour, so these two ladies made sure to be here with me.
"I'll be downstairs in a minute!" I reply, putting on a pair of earrings and the necklace that Liam had given me for my graduation. I touched it softly as it lay on my skin. How I wished he was here. I don't think I'll be able to face Richard without Liam by my side. I had no choice, though, but to do so.
I take one last look at myself in the mirror, taking in a deep breath. After putting on my high heels, I walk downstairs. "Finally," Alice says once she sees me. "I'm driving," she announces, grabbing my car keys from the table and heading outside. Aunt Jenna and I follow her as Alice rushes to the driver seat. I sit at the back, letting Aunt Jenna take the shotgun seat.
Once Alice starts the engine, my phone starts ringing. I take it out of my purse and I take a look at the caller ID. It was Liam. Just seeing his name light up in my screen made me smile. I answer it. "Hey," I say.
"Hey, love," he replies. "Are you already in court?" he asks.
"We're still on our way," I tell him.
"Ok. Make sure to call me once it's all done. I want to know everything," he says.
I nod, "I'll make sure to do just that," I reply.
"I'm so sorry I can't be there," he apologizes for the hundredth time.
"It's ok, Li. Don't feel so bad about it," I tell him.
"I just want to be there to hold your hand and tell you that everything's going to be okay. I want to be there when that jerk gets sentenced to serve in prison for what he did to you," he says with a stern voice.
"I know you want to be here, Li. I also wished you were here. But you're on tour and it's your job to be there," I say, feeling tears well up at the corner of my eyes because I miss him so much.
"But it's also my job to make sure that my girlfriend is safe and it's also my job to always be there by your side especially at times like these," he replies, causing some of the tears to escape from my eyes.
"I love you, Liam," I say, sniffing as I wipe away the tears.
"I love you too, Lexi. More than you could ever imagine," he replies, "Please don't cry, love. I'll try to come home as soon as I can. I promise."
"Okay," I say in reply, "Enjoy your time there."
He chuckles. "You know that I can't really enjoy my time here without you around," he says.
I giggle. "Cheesy," I tease, smiling.
"But romantic," he adds, laughing, "Admit it, you like it when I get all cheesy."
"Hmm," I say, pretending to think about it, "Maybe just a bit."
He continues laughing. "You are so in denial," he says.
"Oh, you wish!" I say, laughing. "So, how was the flight?" I ask. They left for France very early in the morning. Dad and Liam didn't want me to be tired so they decided not to let me come along with them to the airport. Even though they knew that I really wanted to drop them off.
"It was okay," he replies, giving out a yawn. I can hear him trying to stop his yawn by covering his mouth.
"Li, you better go get some sleep," I tell him, "I'll make sure to call you later."
"Okay, love. Bye," he says. But before he could end the call, he shrieks as someone grabs his phone from him.
"Leeeexxxiiiii!!" Louis shouts at the phone. "Make sure to give that Richard death glares, alright?" he says, making me laugh.
"Yeah, and if you have the chance, punch him real hard!" I hear Zayn shout.
"We're here for you, Lexi!" Harry adds. It was amazing how I can distinguish the boys' voices from each other. I mean, I've been spending loads of time with them for the past months, how wouldn't I be able to do so?
"We loooooveee you Lexi!" Niall shouts, making me smile.
"Okay. Give me back my phone," I hear Liam say. "Hey, love. So, I better get some sleep. Bye. Love you and I terribly miss you," he says.
"Bye, Li. I'll call you once it's all done. I love you and miss you too," I say, ending the call. Just as I put my phone back in my purse, Alice parks the car and tells us that we have arrived.
We three get out of the car and Alice walks over towards me. She entwines her arm with mine and give me a reassuring smile. Just as we were about to step inside, a police car pulls over - and out comes that monster.
He looked at me and smiled as he gets escorted out of the car by the cops. "Let's go inside, honey," Aunt Jenna says, ushering me inside so that I won't have to look at Richard any longer.
"You're going to come running back to me, Lexi. I'm sure you will," he shouts, causing my body to tense up. He has definitely lost his mind.
-
"And how long has he been sentenced to prison?" Dad asks. We just got home from court and I immediately logged on my Skype and called Dad. I fix the pillows around me as I sat on my bed with my Macbook on top of my lap.
"Six years," I reply, "And a restraining order was put along with the two other men." The two other men who had helped Richard assault me were complete strangers - I didn't know who they were. They were also sentenced to six years in prison, just like Richard.
"Yes!" Louis shouts along with everyone else. All five boys were currently in Dad's hotel room since they also wanted to know what happened.
"Finally," Liam sighs, "We don't have to worry about him anymore."
I nod, smiling. "I feel so safe now," I admit.
"Good, that's good, honey," Dad says. The door to their hotel room opens and in comes a man who was holding a clip board.
"The concert is going to start in half an hour. We have to get going," he says. Then he closes the door, leaving the boys and Dad to give out a sigh.
"We better go, honey. Bye. Love you!" Dad says, getting up so that the boys could say their goodbyes in front of the webcam.
"Bye Dad! Love you too!" I tell him.
Niall shows up on the screen, smiling. "Virtual hug!" he says, spreading his arms wide open. I do the same whilst laughing. "Bye, Lexi! I'm really glad he's finally behind bars."
"Same here," I say. Zayn shows up, followed by Louis and Harry who all gave me virtual hugs - as Niall had called it.
Liam was last and he was smiling. "Bye! I can't wait to see you again!" he says.
"Likewise!" I say, smiling too. I spread my arms open. "Virtual hug!" I tell him, but all he does is pout.
"Only a virtual hug? No kiss?" he asks, making me laugh.
"Nope!" I reply teasingly.
"Come on?" he begs, making a puppy face.
"Liam, we have to go," Niall says, grabbing him by the arm.
"Just one?" Liam asks, as Niall lifts him up from the seat.
I laugh. "Bye, Li!" I shout as I wave goodbye. "Good luck on your concert!" I add. I hear the door close as I end the Skype call.
I sign in my iTunes account and start playing some of my favorite music. I get off my chair and head towards my closet, wanting to start packing. I have tons of things to pack, I might as well start. I'll be leaving for New York in a few weeks. I feel quite excited, but sad at the same time. Liam had promised that he will help me move my things to New York though, since their tour in France will be finished by then.
My phone beeps and I check it to see that I had received a message - from Anthony.
Anthony:
Hey, Lexi. Do you have any plans for tomorrow? Want to have some coffee?
I type in my reply, feeling quite guilty for declining on him.
Me:
Hi. I'm sorry, but I'm quite busy for the next few days. Next time, maybe? :)
A few seconds after I send my reply, he immediately texts back.
Anthony:
No worries. Just send me a message whenever you're free.
After reading his message, I shove my phone back in my pocket, not wanting to reply because I was in desperate need of ice cream. I walk towards the guest room where Alice was staying in. I knocked on her door and waited for her to open it, but she didn't. I slowly open it, peeking inside.
"Hello? Alice?" I ask, looking around the room. I step inside to see Alice sitting on her bed as she stared at something in her computer screen with her eyebrows furrowed. "What's wrong?" I ask, worried by the expression she had on her face.
She looks up, quite surprised that I was there. She immediately slams her laptop close and puts on a smile. "Nothing, really," she says. She rubs her palms on her denim and places her laptop at the bedside table.
I decide to just ignore it. "Want to go outside for some ice cream?" I ask.
She nods and gets off her bed, "Sure. I'll meet you downstairs," she says.
"Okay then," I say, stepping out of her room.
My instincts tell me that there's something wrong and Alice is not telling me. By the really worried look she had on her face as she stared at her laptop screen earlier, I know something's up.
Something really bad.
-:-:-:-:-:-
Hiiii
Thank you so much for reading! Please comment, vote and follow. If you want me to dedicate a chapter to you, please send me a message.
I'll keep this short because I have an author's note next. Please read it!
Katie :)) xxx