Ashton's POV:
Skye hasn't been at school for the past eight days. I was hoping to see her today, thinking that two weekends and a full week of school plus some extra days would have been enough time to heal whatever sickness she claimed to have. She hasn't replied to my texts in a few days, asking if I can bring over her late work. Maybe her phone broke?
Nonetheless, I decided to talk to Mr. Tomlinson about the situation during class today since he seemed pretty close with her. She'd mentioned that he took her home most days, too, so that was a plus. He cares enough about her to do that.
I waited patiently through scales and other random practices before Mr. Tomlinson finally told us to group up and work on our projects for a few minutes since he hadn't given us time to work on Friday due to a guest speaker.
"Mr. Tomlinson?" I went up to his desk that he'd just sat down at.
"Ah, Mr. Irwin, just the man I wanted to see." He greeted. "How's Skylynn doing?"
"Actually, that's why I came to speak with you. She hasn't replied to my texts or calls in days, and I feel like I need to go check on her... but I just don't know... I also have a bunch of late work to give her, but I really feel like I should spend time with her too. If she's really this sick then she must be miserable right now." I rambled.
"Of course. I can take you there after school, if you'd like? It's right across from my flat." He offered.
"That would be great, sir."
"Okay then."
Just then, the bell rang and my contemporaries scrambled to get their things together and get the hell out of here. I hung back, as I'd seen Skye do many times before.
"Ready to go?" Mr. Tomlinson asked after we'd gathered our things.
"Yes sir!" I said, slinging my backpack over my shoulders.
He led me to the teacher's parking lot where we had the misfortune of running into who Skye has dubbed the meanest teacher on campus, our English teacher.
"Well hello, gay-boy. Hope you're not bringing that poor child home for a quickie, because I'll have you know, that's very illegal." He sneered.
"I could very well have you reported for harassment of a faculty member and a student for what you just said." Mr. Tomlinson retorted.
"Yeah, well who is Vice Principal Saunders gonna believe? The man she sleeps next to every night or the first-year fag?"
Oh yeah. Did I mention that he and the Vice Principal were married?
Mr. Tomlinson frowned, protectively grabbing my shoulder and leading me to the car quickly.
"God, it's getting hard for me to turn the other cheek around him. I made the mistake of bringing my roommate Harry as my plus-one to one of the faculty banquets and now all he does is make fun of me for it. Christ, can't men be friends anymore?" He rants.
I make some kind of "hmmph" noise to let him know I agree as he starts the car.
The drive to Skye's house is short and silent. She lives with her uncle, aunt, and cousins in a small house across from a bunch of apartments. Mr. Tomlinson stops in front of her house and I open the door.
"I'll wait here and take you home, Ashton."
"Oh no, it's fine, sir. I can just call my mom to pick me up or something." I argue.
"No, no, no. I insist."
With that I thanked him and then grabbed my bag before making her way across the slightly unkempt lawn to the door. I rang the bell a couple of times and waited. A gruff man answered the door after the second ring.
"What the hell do you want, kid?" He slurred, obviously intoxicated.
"I have some papers I need to give to Skylynn. From school. I'm Ashton." I extended my hand to him, even though his build and height scared the shit out of me.
"Why thank you, I can take those for her." He ignored my hand.
"Can I come in? There's some stuff on them I need to explain to her." Something about this guy rubbed me the wrong way. I had to make sure she was okay.
"Sorry, you can't come in... she's asleep." He said after a little bit of hesitation. "Poor girl hasn't slept in days, she's really come down with something nasty." He continued.
"Well don't you think you should take her to the doctor then?"
"Oh, no, that won't help. It's just a virus."
"Can I just wait with her until she wakes up?"
"How many times do I have to say no, boy?" He raises his voice before laughing a little and continuing. "I mean I don't want you catchin' what she has, that's why I've kept her home from school in the first place!"
I hear the car door slam and turn to see Mr. Tomlinson heading in our direction. We both wait in awkward silence, wondering what he was going to do.
"Hello, sir, I'm Louis Tomlinson, Skylynn's music teacher." Mr. Tomlinson extended his hand to no avail.
"Music teacher, eh? Really scrapin' the bottom of the can, aren't ya?"
To my surprise, Mr. Tomlinson stays calm and collected.
"Is there any way we could see Skylynn for just a minute?" He presses.
"As I just told the boy here, she's asleep. That's that. So I'll just take the papers and you can leave. Good day to you." Skylynn's uncle says, yanking the papers from my hand and turning to close the door.
"Can you at least tell her to text me when she wakes up?" I pleaded.
"Goodbye!" He closed the door in our faces.
"Charming fellow." Mr. Tomlinson said, frowning.
"Yeah, I'm especially worried about her now." I say.
Skye's POV:
I knew he'd come.
Since Gary took my phone, I haven't been able to reply to what I assume is a large number of texts and/or calls from Ashton. He was bound to show up sometime.
I think it's been almost two weeks since I've gone to school. Since I've left the house. Since I've seen anyone I even remotely care about.
God, I wish they hadn't left. But at the same time, I'm really glad they did.
After Ashton rang the doorbell the first time, Gary stumbled into my room and told me to shut up or there would be consequences. Not like I was making much noise, anyhow.
Ashton rang the bell a second time and Gary finally reached the door. I heard the entire conversation, the lies he told Ashton.
No, I'm not asleep. No, I'm not sick, nor contagious. And no, I probably wouldn't be allowed to text Ashton later.
To my surprise, Mr. Tomlinson showed up too. I guess he must've taken Ashton here.
Gary shoos them away before they can become too suspicious and then makes his way back into my room.
"You rotten kid." He growls.
I am at a loss for words. I haven't even done anything!
"You're just a burden to them. Why the hell are they wasting their time looking for you! Look at me, dammit!" He grabs me and pulls me up from my bed so that I'm forced to meet his eyes.
"You're a good-for-nothing bitch, and don't you forget it." He drops me down, luckily back onto my mattress, and leaves.
His words should hurt me more than they do, but I'm kind of glad I've been feeling so numb recently. Sadly, the numbness does nothing to soothe my aching body. I'm wondering when, if ever, he'll stop beating me so that I will have time to heal and return to school.
A little while later he comes back.
"Text that boy and tell him thank you for the papers. Tell him you're still pretty sick but you'll be feeling better soon, and not to worry. Tell him not to come around anymore, you'll get the work when you return to school." He commands. "And no funny business, or you will deeply regret it."
This is it.
This is my chance.
I quickly sent a "help me" text to Ashton before deleting it from view and then typing what Gary told me to. I sent it and then handed the phone back, where he checked the messages.
"Good girl."
Ashton's POV:
"help me"
That's the text I woke up to after my pre-dinner nap. It was followed by a bunch of writing that I would bet her uncle made her send.
I knew she hated him, but I didn't know how terrible of a person he was until now.
Was it him that was holding her hostage all of this time? Was she actually sick? I needed to contact Mr. Tomlinson. I needed help.
Skye's POV:
I watched my uncle put my phone away. I watched him hide it under the couch cushions through the crack in my door.
I waited until late at night to go grab it. Then, I quickly texted Ashton. He wasn't replying, so I called him. That would wake him up.
On the fifth call, he picked up.
"Skylynn?" His groggy voice asked.
"Thank god. Ashton."
"Are you sick? You don't sound sick." He stated the obvious.
"I'm not. My uncle is keeping me in the house. My aunt and cousins left. I need you to get me out of here."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" He was obviously stressed.
"I dunno, he's friends with basically the whole police force, they won't lock him up for this, otherwise I would've called 911 by now."
"Christ. Okay, I'll find a way. Hang in there, alright?"
All of a sudden, I was hit in the back of the head with such an intense blow it knocked me forward. I wish it had knocked me out, but of course I wasn't that lucky.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Gary screamed, grabbing the phone and hanging up on Ashton.
I was in some deep shit now.
Louis' POV:
I was surprised to see Ashton bright and early the morning after I'd taken him to Skylynn's. He looked distraught and was breathing heavily. He must've run here.
"Skylynn needs help. She called me--last night. She's not--sick." He gasped.
"Alright, alright, calm down. We're gonna help her. It's alright. Deep breaths, now." I tried to calm him.
"She told me that the police won't believe her story because her uncle is friends with them."
I frowned. This was definitely going to complicate things, then.
"Oh." Was all I could offer.
Just then, the minute bell rang.
"Are you alright to go to class or would you rather stay here?"
"I can't miss class. See you later, sir." And with that, he hurried away.
~~~
I thought throughout the day about what to do. I decided that there must be something he's doing wrong, something illegal. Cops can't deny it if it's downright illegal.
I found Ashton sitting alone at lunch. He wasn't really eating his food, so I brought him back to my empty classroom.
"I figure we need to find something illegal that he's doing. Something cops can't deny. Holding your own legal child hostage isn't a crime, is it?" I begin.
"I don't think so. See, I don't know what he's doing, I heard him yell something at her over the phone before it shut off, but yelling isn't a crime, is it?" He questions.
"I don't know. This definitely seems fishy, she wouldn't be in desperate need of help for nothing, though. She's not one to make a mountain out of a molehill." I return.
"Yeah."
"Well one thing he is doing is hurting her attendance record. She's gonna have to go to credit recovery if she misses one more day."
At these schools, an automatic failure is given with ten or more absences, unless you go to the after school credit recovery sessions. Today was day nine for her, and I don't think she'd been absent before this year.
"Wait. That's it!" Ashton begins. "My homeroom teacher told us that if you're not at school for two consecutive weeks, the cops show up."
"Good lead, good lead. The problem is, something tells me that the cops aren't just sitting around waiting for kids to hit the two week point."
"True."
"We could try getting the principal involved? Or the counselors?"
"Something tells me Skylynn wouldn't like that." He counters.
"Well, something tells me Skylynn doesn't care right now."
A/N: So how's everyone liking the new album? :)))) Hardcore loving Olivia, Made in the A.M. and End of the Day.