Zac's POV
*buzz buzz buzz buzz* I wake up to the nonstop buzzing of my phone on the nightstand. Without opening my eyes or moving from my comfortable position, I reach for my phone with my left hand while I lay flat on my front.
"Hello?" I say sleepily as soon as I pick up.
"Zac? Zac you have to help me, please. Marco put something in my drink and I think I'm gonna pass out." I hear her frantic voice on the other line causing me to jump up from my laying position.
"Jess? Where are you right now?" I ask filled with concern. My heart racing so fast and blood pumping through my veins.
"I don't know Zac. I'm scared. Oh my god." I hear her cry and all I can think about is finding her and making whatever it is that's happening stop. I try to speak as calmly as possible so she doesn't panic.
"Jess... Jess.. listen to me." I try to speak hoping she hears me over all the noise in wherever the hell she is. "I'm coming to get you... I need you to leave your GPS on. Do you hear me? I'm going to track your phone so I need you to accept the request on your phone." I speak as loudly and as clearly as possible. Thank god I knew how to do simple tech stuff. I put the phone on speaker as I struggle to get my ass into a pair of jeans.
"I'm scared Zac. I'm at a nightclub and he's coming for me. I can't fight the stupid drug any longer. I'm gonna pass out." She cries and panic rises in me.
"Jess.. you're going to be fine. Try to get to the ladies and stay there...he won't be able to get you there... I want you to stay on the line with me... Did you turn your GPS on?" I ask as I make my way into my car to get it started.
"Yea." She says, almost inaudible.
"I'm coming baby, stay on the line," I say, not knowing why that just came out but hoping it assures her, deep down I'm panicking, not knowing if I can really make it there in time. If that asshole so much as touch her, I just might kill him.
I hear her sniffles and cries as I begin driving, I managed to track her location and realized it's Marco's nightclub. I've been there before. What the hell was she doing there with him? Alone even more. I have so much to say but I know, this isn't the time. Thank God the club is only 10 minutes from where I live. As I get closer I hear a shriek from the phone and a loud knock indicating the phone had fallen from her hands.
"Jess!! Are you okay?" I shout. My heart racing as I step on the gas.
"No please don't!!" I hear her say in a sloth-like tone. "Oh come on, baby. It'll be fun." I hear him say.
"GET OFF HER!!! I'LL F****ing KILL YOU!!" I scream into the phone but I don't think he heard me. I drive my car to the back of the club where it's nearer to the bathrooms hoping I'll find her there. I park my car and run in like a crazy person
"JESSICA!! JESSICA!!" I scream as I make my way to the ladies, pushing everyone out of my way. I see a row of women in front of the bathroom and push them to get through. No Jessica. My heart drops, I told her to wait in the bathroom dammit! As I step out and continue looking. I hear a sound of struggle coming from near the kitchen area and I run there to see that disgusting piece of shit have her pinned against the wall.
I rip him off her like a piece of trash and begin beating the shit out of him. I'm filled with rage. How dare he touch her with his filthy hands. I beat him till I hear a cracking sound coming from his nose or jaw I'm not even sure cause all I see is red.
"Zac?" I hear Jessica's soft voice from behind me and remember I was supposed to check on her first. I was filled with so much rage that I completely forgot to see if she was okay. I leave Marco's almost unconscious self on the ground and run to her side.
"Hey.." I call out to her kneeling by her side I cradle her face in both of my palms as she fights to keep her eyes open. My heart broke immediately looking at the strong confident women I know, now laying here helpless with tear-stained face.
"You...you came?" She says so softly I could barely hear her.
"Of course I came. I told you I'd come." I say, placing a kiss on her forehead and whipping her tears.
"How did you know where to find me?" She asks sounding almost like a little girl.
"Don't worry about that. Come. I need to get you out of here." I say. Placing one hand under knees and the other under her back as I lift her up bridal style and carry her out of there. It's crazy how nobody seemed to notice I have an unconscious girl in my arms.
"I gently place her in the passenger seat and instead of taking her back to her place, I decided to take her home instead. At least I can watch over her there.
I get into the driver seat and take a glance at her and she's completely knocked out. I guess she finally stopped fighting the drug. I can't believe that asshole drugged her. What the hell is wrong with him? I have so many questions for her and it starts with what the hell was she thinking?
I pull up into my garage and park the car turning off the engine. I get out of the car and go over to her side picking her up and using my leg to shut the door. I get into the elevator and press my floor, it opens into my penthouse, I step out carrying her sleeping body straight to my bedroom cause my guest bedroom is a bit of a mess at the moment. I remove her boots and tuck her feet under the sheets.
She shuffles a little bit under the covers and I pick my jar of water from the nightstand and pour it into the glass for her in case she wakes up thirsty. I take a seat at the side of the bed inspecting her. She's got marks on her neck and arms that showed he put pressure on her and I feel my blood boil again at the thought of him abusing her like that. I can't imagine what would have happened if I didn't arrive in time. I shudder at the thought.
I place a soft kiss on her forehead and get up to leave but I suddenly feel a grip on my hand. "Please don't leave me." She whispers with eyes still closed. I don't say anything, I just climb into bed on the other side. She rolls in and lays on my chest, wrapping her arms around my torso. I can't believe that a few hours ago I was gonna cut her off and now she's laying here in my arms. Staying away from her is going to be an impossible task.
What I want to know is why she chose to call me instead of Jason? That's another question I need to ask her tomorrow. Why me and not Jason? I end up falling asleep with all these thoughts swirling around in my head.
"No! Stop...Please!" I wake up to Jessica kicking and shouting in her sleep. I try to catch her hands and she pushes me screaming "No! Please stop!"
"Jess..hey.. hey, it's me Zac," I say, sitting up, towering over her to calm her down. Realization suddenly kicks in for her because she opens her eyes, looks at me and whispers "Zac?"
"Yes, you're fine... You're fine." I assure her. She calms down a little and I reach over to grab the glass of water next to her "here, drink this." She takes the glass from me and begins gulping. I watch her every move intently and once she's done, she hands the cup over to me and I take it from her.
"You alright?" I ask her and she nods
"Thanks." She says and lays back down. I place the cup back on the nightstand and move closer to her, spooning her as she falls asleep almost immediately.
Jessica's POV
I wake up from the burning heat of the sun blazing into my eyes. "Arrrgh!" I squeeze my eyes shut and open it. Wait. Where the hell am I? This is not my bed or my room. I look around to find anything familiar but found nothing. I climb down the bed and walk to the bedroom door opening it. I'm still in last nights clothes. I can't remember what happened.
I slowly walk down the stairs and I hear Zac's singing coming from the kitchen. I'd recognize his voice anywhere. It's husky and very rocky. I follow the voice and end up in his kitchen. He's facing the stove and his kitchen is filled with the smell of coffee, eggs, and bacon. He turns around to place a plate filled with scrambled eggs on the kitchen counter when he notices me.
"Hey, you're awake. I made some breakfast and there's coffee too." He says and it triggers something cause suddenly flashes of last night appear in my mind and I remember everything that happened last night. I remember Marco drugging me and his sinister smile. I remember running from him and calling Zac, and he promising he'll come and get me. I notice Zac's right hand and his knuckles covered in bruises and I remembered him beating Marco up and then I can't remember anything. He kept his promise.
"You actually came for me," I say out loud but more so to myself.
"What?" He asks looking at me confused.
"You said you'll come and you came," I say, it's not that I doubted he'd come but after the fight, he seemed really angry and I can't believe he kept to his word. He realizes what I was talking about.
"Hey, of course, I came for you. I promised didn't I?" He says walking over to me. "What happened tho? What the hell were you doing with him?" He asks, standing in front of me.
"I was such an idiot. Matt my publicist said Marco wanted to meet me to discuss a potential collab and I was excited but when I got there I had a bad feeling. Even more the way he was talking to me, he didn't even talk about music at all, he was talking about me at the afterparty and was trying to get me to drink and stuff and when I got up to go to the bathroom, I left my drink with him and came back and drank it. How stupid can I be? I know these stuff Zac. I know you should never leave your drink sitting out and if you do, never go back and drink it. Why was I such an idiot?" I say, using my fist to knock my head as I recall everything from last night.
"Hey.. stop it." He says, grabbing both my hands "it could happen to anyone." He says. "But it didn't. It happened to me. Cause I was such an idiot." I say as tears begin to well up. "Hey, look at me." He says and I look up at him. He stares into my eyes and says "You're fine and you're here, that's all that matters." He says and he's right. I could have been raped or killed but nothing happened and I'm here. I nod and crack a weak smile.
"Are you okay?" He asks, using his thumb to caress the side of my face.
"Yea. Thanks." I say
"Are you hungry?" He asks.
"Very much," I say chuckling.
"Great, cause I've got tons of food."
We get comfortable around the kitchen counter and begin digging in. We eat in silence with small talks here and there and after breakfast, he begins washing up and I help him clear the counter.
"Jess." He calls as he dries his hands with the kitchen towel, he turns to face me, leaning his back against the sink and I turn to look at him too. "What made you call me?" He asks. A question I still don't quite know the answer to. Why did I call him?
"I don't know," I say shrugging as I prop myself up on his kitchen counter and crossing my legs. "I just.. I just thought of the last time I felt safe and realized it was with you." I say surprising myself.
"You feel safe with me?" He asks, sounding just as surprised.
"Yea...and I can't believe you actually found me. You came there yourself and didn't get someone else to do it. I thought you were mad at me." I say. I would think he'd call the police or something but no, he showed up as a hero.
"Well, I was mad at you." He admits "but when I heard your voice on the phone, I couldn't stay mad at you, I had to come." He says. "Why?" I ask, I still don't understand how he's still around, running to my aid and being there for me when I keep pushing him away. He stays silent longer than I'd expect, playing with the dishcloth in his hands. "Cause I... cause I love you, Jessica." He says and looks at me. His words leave me frozen. Did he just say what I think he said? "Huh?" I ask in shock.
"Yes. I love you dammit. I'm in love with you which is why you could do any possible damage to me and I keep coming back like a freakin dog cause I can't help it." He says in frustration throwing the dish towel down and walking out of the kitchen. I couldn't move, frozen by his little outburst. I mean I knew he really liked me but love? He loves me? I try to go over every event and conversations we've had that could possibly tell me he was in love with me and realize yes, he's always been there for me and last night tops it all. He would do anything for me but... but so will Jason. Right?
"Zac!" I call out to him as I walk to the living room. He's seated on the armrest of his leather black couch. "What?" He asks, frustrated.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" I ask him.
"Why? Would it have changed anything?" He asks looking up at me from the couch.
"Well I don't know... when did you know?" I ask him still can't believe he's in love with me, what the hell?
"I knew I was falling for you that night we stayed up working on your damn songs and I was sure I was in love with you last night when you called. I knew if something bad were to happen to you last night, I could never forgive myself." He says.
"Oh Zac, I wish you told me this before," I say, I don't know why I said that because I don't even know if I would have given him a chance but I guess at that time things with Jason and I weren't certain but now, it's different. Jason and I are officially together.
"So what if you know now? You can still make a choice cause I know you feel something here too and it's not just me." He says getting up and walking towards me.
"Zac.." I try to warn him.
"No just. Please.. please give me a chance! If you give me a chance, I promise I can make you happy. You know I will. I can't promise that I'll be perfect but I promise I'll never do anything to hurt you." He walks closer to me as I move backward. Two steps back and I'm against the wall with Zac hovering over me.
"Zac.." I try again. "No please Jess." He begs as he slowly leans into me. His huge palm grips the side of my face as he moves in closer to me I can feel his breath fanning across my face. "Please Jessica, I'm begging you...please give me a chance... Leave him." He says, bringing his lips so close to mine I can almost feel them touching.
"Zac I can't." I immediately turn away dodging his kiss. "Why not?" He asks, irritated. "Cause.... I...I love Jason." I say still looking away from him and he slowly begins to back away from me as if I'd just said a malicious thing. He looks at me with disgust in his eyes. I don't know if I really love Jason but I do know that he needs me and I want to be with him.
"You love him?" He spits in disgust.
"I know you don't understand but.."
"I think you should go." He cuts me off and his demeanor changes.
"What?" I ask surprised by his sudden change in attitude. He turns serious and looks at me like I was a small peasant in his eyes.
"I'll call you a cab." He says and walks out of the living room. No! He cannot just do this to me every single time he doesn't get his way.
"How dare you!" I shouted behind him as I walk up to him. He shoves both his hands in the pockets of his sweat pants and looks at me as if I'm way below him.
"How dare I what?" He questions.
"You don't get to act like an asshole every time things don't go your way." I scold.
"Oh really? So you get to string me along and I don't get to be an asshole about it?" He says mockingly.
"What the hell are you talking about? I never strung you along." I defend. I never lead him on, did I?
"Really Jessica? All the times you came to me when you're in trouble, you cuddle with me, you told me you felt safe with me all of that was not leading me on? Or were you just using me?" He questions. Oh my god! I never thought he felt that way.
"I can't believe that's what you think of me Zac. I go to you cause I thought you were my best friend." I say
"Your best friend?" He spits and laughs mockingly like it was a joke. "Well guess what Jessica? I don't want to be your best friend and I really think you should go now. I'll call you a cab." He says walking over to his phone on the table. I'm humiliated, hurt and really pissed right now.
"It's fine, I can figure out my own transportation. You've done enough." I say, feeling humiliated as I walk towards the stairs to get my stuff from his bedroom.
"Don't be dramatic, the car will be here in 10 minutes. You can wait in the living room he says walking away. I go up to his room and grab my stuff as tears begin to well up in my eyes again. I'm so hurt by the stuff he said at the same time, I'm confused. Did I really lead him on? Does he really feel played by me? Cause that was never my intention. I don't wanna lose him. I can't give him what he wants but at the same time, I want him around. I know I can't be selfish. I chose not to wait for his car, I have way too much pride for that. I grab my stuff and heed downstairs but he's nowhere in sight so I take the elevator down to the lobby calling myself a cab, I leave without saying anything to him. I need to stay out of his life cause he's right. I was taking everything he was giving without thinking of how it'll affect him. I was using him.