He was leaning back against the wall, watching Chloes sleeping form on his couch. He was thoughtful and even though they weren't mated and he hadn't marked her yet, he could feel the distress eating at her and it was making him antsy and uncomfortable.
He had tried to get her to tell him what was wrong, but she seemed lost for words and full of tears, they wouldn't stop and he had held her for over an hour until the tears stopped and she drifted to sleep in his arms.
He snapped out of his own thoughts when he heard ringing from Chloes jacket, he pushed off the wall and digged through her jacket pocket until he found her phone.
The caller I.D showed it was his sister and he sighed before stepping into his bedroom and closing the door behind him, pressing the accept button and putting the phone to his ear.
"Chloe? Chloe were are you?" Haley sounded worried and he ran a hand through his hair, hoping she would just let him handle this without her interference.
"Hales, calm down" he told her and heard her worried blabbering stop.
"Josh..?" he could pictured her frown and smiled a little.
"Yeah, it's me" he was tired and worried and he knew Haley could tell, but just this once he needed her to let him do things his way.
"Where's Chloe?"
"Sleeping." He opened the door slightly and looked outside to see her still sleeping soundly.
"Listen Hales, Chloe's gonna stay here tonight, I'll get her back to the dorm by tomorrow night" he promised and he could hear Haley was about to protest but then he heard another voice, Cam?, in the background and Haley sighed.
"Fine, just call if you need anything, any of you"
"I will" he promised and hung up the phone, he walked back into the living room and put the cell on the kitchen counter, he pulled one of the chairs over by the couch and sat down.
"Why can't you just talk to me Chloe?" he sighed to himself and leaned back in the chair, he was getting a bit sleepy himself but he was afraid to close his eyes in case she would disappear on him again when he woke up.
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"Hey, relax" Cameron said and sat up in Haley's bed, she'd been agitated and stressed ever since they got back to her room and Chloe took off like the devil himself was chasing her.
"I can't" she protested and looked at him from where she was standing by the window, she'd been standing there for the last couple of hours hoping to see Chloe making her way back, but no such luck and even after talking to Josh she couldn't seem to calm down.
"Haley, she is with Josh, she's safe and she's sleeping, I'm sure she'll call you first thing when she wakes up" he tried convincing her as he stood up and walked over to the window, stopping behind her and rubbing his hands up and down her arms in a comforting way.
"I know she's alright, I know she's safe, I know all that! I just... I can't calm down until I know what has her this upset to begin with" Cameron didn't say anything to that, he could argue that they didn't even know if she really was upset or not, but they had both seen her when they got back and to say she looked scared would be the understatement of the century, more like terrified.
"I can understand that, but standing here by the window for god knows how many hours won't do either of you any good. Get some rest, lay down for a few minutes and close your eyes, I don't like seeing you this worked up" she turned around in his arms and looked up at him apologetically, the way he was being so honest with her made her see things in perspective and instead of arguing with him, like she really wanted to, she just nodded her head and entwined their hands, walking away from the window and pulling him with her to the bed.
"Lay down with me then" she said quietly and crawled into the bed, looking up at him pleadingly, he didn't say anything as he walked over to the wall and flicked of her lights, he lifted up the covers and slid in beside her. She cuddled up to his side and rested her head on his chest.
"I sleep better when I'm with you" she yawned after a few minutes of silence and he smiled into the dark before kissing her head.
"I'm glad to hear it" he murmured softly and he could feel her smile against his chest, and he stayed awake until he felt her breathing become deeper and steady and then he finally drifted of to sleep as well, his last thought was the image of Chloe's terrified look and how scared Haley had been when Chloe disappeared.
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The smell of coffee and bacon was what stirred Josh from his sleep, his neck was a little sore and his feet were asleep, but other than that he was fine. As soon as his eyes were open they turned to the couch and he panicked for a moment when Chloe wasn't there, he sat upright and it was then he noticed the blanket draped over him.
"Your awake" he heard a soft voice say from the kitchen and he turned to look at Chloe, she was freshly showered and wearing one of his shirts, it was so large on her it was big enough to be a dress. To his surprise though he noticed she wasn't wearing anything but his shirt and underwear, her feet were bear and she blushed and smiled shyly at him when she saw him noticing that fact.
"I'm sorry, I didn't exactly bring a change of clothes last night" she said timidly and he shook his head and smiled at her.
"I don't mind, I actually like it to be honest" if it was possible she blushed even more and looked down, biting her lip in the process.
"I made coffee and eggs" she said and looked up at him beneath her lashes, "if you want any" she said and glanced over at the kitchen stove.
He didn't hesitate before standing up and stretching his legs and arms, smiling at her when he approached her and he was happy she didn't pull away when he grabbed her waist gently and pulled her close, leaning down to give her a kiss.
"Good morning" he murmured against her lips and she rolled her eyes but smiled none the less.
"Morning" she answered and pulled away walking into the kitchen and pouring to big mugs with coffee, she brought her own to her lips and watched him help himself to breakfast.
He was putting away his plate when he noticed her standing by the window, she seemed deep in thought and he could feel the emotional termoil she was going through like it was his own feelings.
"Are you gonna tell me what all is this is about?" he asked finally and she snapped out of her daze turning around to face him and she was quiet for a long time, debating on whether or not to tell him anything.
"It's a long and complicated story" she said quietly and he wiped his hands on an apron before going around the kitchen island and leaning back against, folding his arms and telling her with his body that he had all the time in the world.
"Okay" she said and nodded her head, it was more like she was convincing herself to tell him, then actually agreeing to tell him.
"Here goes"
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New York 2011
She was hurrying down the street, it was freezing outside and everytime she breathed a white cloud of frost appeared in front of her. She was wearing the new winter coat her grandparents had gotten her for christmas and she was glad it was so warm, at least she wouldn't have to freeze to death right away.
She felt relief as she was coming up on the Whitney Museum, only a few more blocks and she was there, she couldn't wait to get inside and hit the shower, snuggling into her flannels pj's with a cup of hot cocoa and a movie under her favorite wool blanket.
One thing about living in New York though, it might be ice age temperatures at wintertime, but at night when the sky was dark except for the stars, she was sure there was no place as beautiful as the big apple if you could see all the lights and hear all the people. She especially loved the singing, New York was a city full of music and song, during christmas there were carollers everywhere, and on the subway their was plenty of streetmusicians, and a lot of them were really talented, she could sit down there for hours and listen to some of them.
It was friday night and she was on her way home from dance class, her parents were visiting her grandparents in Wisconsin for the weekend and Chloe was home alone with their dog Champ, he was a four year old husky and probably the thing she loved most in this world, not that he was a thing, but you know. Sarah was coming over later, but she was out with her boyfriend and wouldn't be around until like ten or eleven, which when Chloe checked her cell, would be two or three hours from now.
She lived in a tall apartment complex on the upper east side not far from Central Park, and she usually took Champ for a jog there every morning, it was like the only daily routine she had, even during weekends and holidays. And yes, she even jogged during the winter, only a lot slower, shorter and far more careful, she was terrified of slipping on ice and breaking her back.
"Good evening miss Brant" the doorman Harrison greeted her and she smiled at him, he'd been working there since before she could remember and he had been a steady face growing up, it was weird but she almost considered him family.
"Hey Harrison" he opened the door and ushered her inside and away from the cold, he stepped in after her and both of them trampled of the snow on their feet.
"How was dance class?" she grinned and pulled of her scarf and gloves, stuffing them in her bag and removing her french cap, letting out her hair.
"Exhausting" she joked and he laughed, it was nice knowing that even though her parents weren't home she still had someone she trusted in the building.
"How's your granddaughter, Caitlyn right? Mom told me she's going to college now" he smiled and nodded his head.
"Caitlyn is having the time of her life, thank you for asking. It won't be long until you head of to college now either" he said with a wink and she laughed but nodded her head in agreement.
"Two more years" she said gleefully and he smiled kindly at her.
"Let me know if you need anything miss Brant, I will be here until tomorrow morning" she thanked him and gave him a hug before she grabbed her things and headed for the elevator.
"Oh miss Brant, I almost forgot" she turned around and Harrison was still smiling her way.
"A young man came by earlier this evening asking for you, I told him you weren't home at the moment" she frowned, she didn't know that many young men who would come asking for her, except for maybe Sarahs boyfriend Alex, but he usually just called her if he was having a hard time reaching Sarah.
"Did he tell you his name?" she asked just as the elevatorbell ringed to indicated the elevator was there, she picked up her bag and Harrison seemed to contemplate it before he shook his head.
"Not that I can remember, but he said he would come by later" Chloe shrugged and waved as she stepped into the elevator, she kept thinking about who it could be, but nobody came to mind immediately.
She pulled out her keys as she neared the apartment and froze as she saw the door was already slightly open, had she forgotten to lock the door as she left for practice? No, she was positive she'd remembered to lock it, but she couldn't make sense of how the door was open if she had.
"Damnit" she cursed and pushed open the door, she had no idea how long the door had been open and if she was really unlucky, Champ was all over the building by now.
"Champ!" she called out and dropped her bag by the door, moving into the apartment and flicking on lights as she went.
"Here boy!" she whistled but there was no response, no barking or sounds of paws anywhere, she was hoping he might have hidden out in her bedroom again.
"Champ, come here boy, where are you?" when there was still no response she sighed and shrugged of her coat, even if she had to search the entire building she didn't need her wintercoat for that.
She hung it on one of the hundreds of coathangers and leaned down to dig out her phone from her bag, it was first then she actually took a look at the door and felt a cold shiver down her spine, she hadn't forgotten to lock up the door, it had been broken open. She swallowed and got to her feet slowly, she had no idea if whoever had broken into the apartment was still there, and oh my god, where was Champ?!
She kept her phone in hand and dialed 911 as she made her way through the apartment again, cautiously this time, not as loud as she'd been earlier.
"911, what's your emergency?" she lifted the phone to her ear and swallowed before she opened her mouth and spoke in a lower whisper.
"Yes hi, my name is Chloe Brant and I just got home, I think someone broke into my apartment"
she was coming up on her parents bedroom and she stopped when she heard a noise, it sounded horribly lot like whimpering.
"We're sending a patrol over right now miss Brant, what's your adress?" she was so caught up in the whimpering that she didn't even think to respond, she took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
"Hello, miss Brant?" at first she couldn't see anything because the room was pitch black, but when she flicked of the lights she dropped the phone to the ground and heard a terrible screaming, it took her two minutes to realize it herself that was screaming. She fell to her knees by her parents bed and crawled over to Champ who was already half dead, his stomach was sliced open and he was lying in a pool of blood, she could see organs, that's what it was that was pertruding from his belly she realized, it was his organs and she didn't know what she was doing when she with shaking hands tried to stuff it all back inside his stomach and close up the wound.
There was so much blood, he was lying in a pool of blood and she was covered in it, he was whimpering from pain and she was sobbing incontrollably.
"This isn't happening, this isn't real" she kept chanting over and over again like it was all just a horrible dream she would wake up from any second now.
"Your going to be okay, your going to be fine, it's all okay" she whispered and put her forehead against Champ's temple.
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"That's how the cops found me fifteen minutes later, rocking back and forth sobbing uncontrollably with Champs limp body in my arms." "It wasn't until about thirty minutes later when the cops finished taking my statement and Sarah came with her dad, that I noticed the writing on the wall. It spelled "another night" it was written in Champs blood" she said quietly and it took her a second to realize she was crying, and she jumped slightly as Josh used his thumbs to dry them away. She had no idea when she'd moved over to the couch or when he'd joined her, but all she knew is that she was glad he had, she felt safe with him.
"I spent the night with Sarah as the cops searched the apartment for any leads, I don't remember much from that night after that. They found fingerprints and DNA in my parent's bedroom, so they caught the guy about three days later. When they searched his apartment they found pictures of me, pictures of me at school, at dance class, jogging thru the park. At the end of the investigation, the police told me I should consider myself lucky, if I'd been home that night they suspected it would have been me lying in a pool of my own blood instead of Champ." Josh was speechless, he didn't know what to say or do, all he knew was that he was going to do whatever he could so that Chloe would never have to feel that type of hurt or fear ever again.
"His name was Dean Carter, a guy I'd datet during the summer but I broke it off early because he was becoming threatening and controlling, and for the first few months after the break-up he made threatening calls to me and my friends, and he promised me that one day we would be together again, but then it just stopped and we all thought it was over with, until that night.
He was sentenced to five years in prison for stalking, breaking and entering and killing Champ, but my dad called last night and told me he'd gotten out early because of good behaviour, and I just... I freaked" she admitted and felt a fresh wave of tears, she hadn't thought about that night in so long and she had just started to live her life again, it wasn't fair that just the mention of Dean would ruin her life all over again.
"I'm so sorry" Josh said and pulled her into his arms, and she let him, and she let herself feel safe and protected and she never wanted to let go of that feeling or of Josh.
"I'm so sorry all of that happened to you, I wish there was anything I could do to make it all go away" she leaned into him and breathed in his scent, closing her eyes and pretending for just a few minutes that she wasn't a victim and that she didn't have all this baggage, and that she was just a normal girl cuddling up to her normal and safe boyfriend. The truth was, she wasn't normal and she had all that baggage, and it had taken her two years to get her life together, but she had and she'd come out stronger than ever, and she wouldn't let anything or anyone ruin that for her.
"You already are" she whispered and closed her eyes, all she needed right now was this moment with Josh and he was all too happy to give it to her.
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Hello people, I'm back!
I apologize for the extremely long wait, and I would like to thank all of you for your incredibly kind and sweet comments, it means a lot to me.
And I apologize for the graphic content in this chapter, it was really hard writing it, but I hope you enjoyed the good and sweet parts at least.
Comment, review, tell me what you think and I promise you won't have to wait too long for the next update! <3
-L