"I'm gonna miss you so much," I mumble into Tyler's shoulder.
He hugs me back, kissing me on the top of the head. "And I'm gonna miss you, little sis. Be good while I'm gone." Ty pulls away with a smile, locking eyes with Luke over my head. "Take care of her," he says firmly.
Luke nods solemnly.
I turn back to my brother, ignoring my roommate's presence. Feeling tears gather in my eyes, I throw my arms around him one last time before stepping away. "Send Mandy my love," I say as he picks up his bag.
"I will," Tyler says with a smile. He waves goodbye, his eyes flickering to Luke. I know he likes Luke a lot more than he likes Ashton. One of the first things he told me this morning was that he wanted me to break up with Ash and be with someone who's better for me. He added a meaningful look in Luke's direction that I tried to ignore. It's nice that Ty wants me to be with him because once this thing is all over, he'll be mine.
I take a seat on the couch, turning on my phone to read the newest notification. It's from Ashton, like I knew it would be.
The boys and I are having a little get together at our place tonight. You should stop by ;)💕
No "Sorry I acted like a douche last night, I was really drunk." Either he doesn't remember it or he was hardly drunk at all. The thought causes me to shudder and I bring my legs up to my chest, burying my face in my knees. What am I going to do? I don't feel safe around him anymore, but at least we won't be alone. Unless he wants me to go to his room with him...
"Hey, what's wrong?" Luke mumbles as he sits beside me, putting an arm around my shoulders.
Wordlessly, I show him the text. His frown turns into a scowl as he reads the message. "I-I don't want to go," I choke out, feeling like breaking down into tears. "He must not have been drunk at all last night. He scares me, Luke," I add in a small whisper.
"If it was up to me, I wouldn't let him touch you again. I promise I won't let him hurt you, Izzy," he says, leaning in to kiss my forehead. "Is that why you haven't broken up with him yet?" he asks gently.
I nod. "If I do... I don't know what he'll do." Locking eyes with Luke, I say in a rough voice, "He could've hurt you last night and he almost did. I'd rather be hurt by him again and again than watch him hurt you."
Luke's expression changes and he leans in, tilting my head up to kiss me. His arms come around me as I shift to get closer to him, locking my arms behind his neck to drag him down to me. I shiver in pleasure as his hand grips my thigh, sliding up to my hip. I move my mouth down his jaw to kiss his neck, frowning when I feel him freeze against me.
"Izzy," he says, looking in concern at my leg. Dark black and blue bruises in the shape of handprints mar the skin of my thigh.
Biting my lip, I adjust my shirt over top of the marks to hide them. "It's nothing," I mumble, ignoring the way my leg throbs slightly.
"It's not nothing," Luke says, clearly distressed. His blue eyes are wide and concerned, flashing slightly with anger when he gets another glimpse of the handprints. "Izzy, you said he hurt you, but you didn't say it was like this. This isn't okay."
I place my hands on either side of his face, forcing him to focus on my face. "It's fine, I'm going to wait a little bit for things to cool down before doing anything. Maybe he just had a really bad day yesterday and he didn't know he was hurting me. It's probably just a one time thing, there's no need to worry about anything more than that."
He stares at me incredulously. "Izzy, I heard him last night, he didn't sound like he was having a bad day. He's always been a bit bipolar, but he acted like you were an object for him to control, not a human who has thoughts and feelings. And I'd gladly fight him if he does anything like that again."
The thought of Luke fighting Ashton causes me to feel sick. My heart speeding up in fear, I say in a pleading tone, "Please don't fight him. I don't want you to get hurt." Luke doesn't say anything and I start to panic. "Luke, promise me."
"Fine," he caves, "I promise I won't attack him."
"Good," I say, pressing my lips to his, kissing him slowly.
His hand slides up my leg to rest protectively on the bruises. "But I'm definitely coming with you," he murmurs, his mouth moving against mine. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you go there alone." Seeing my expression, he adds, "I'm not going to hover over your shoulder the entire time, I'm simply going to be present. Just in case he gets any more ideas."
"Just be careful," I say as I wrap my arms around him.
*
It's a small group gathered in the boys' apartment when Luke and I arrive, which I find comforting. Calum's sister showed again, throwing down shots in the kitchen with Tori when Calum lets us in. Michael and Ashton are finishing up a video game, the latter of which getting up from the couch to come over to me.
"Hey, beautiful," he says with a smile that looks more like a smirk. He kisses me roughly, his hand reaching down to grab my ass. I jump, slightly uncomfortable. I don't like people touching my butt, even if it is supposed to be romantic. Besides, his grip was hard enough to hurt.
Luke clenches his jaw tightly to keep from saying anything as he shoves past us, taking a seat beside Michael on the couch. Mike passes his friend an unopened bottle of tequila sitting on the coffee table and Luke smiles.
"Saved it just for you, buddy," Michael says, patting Luke on the back as they start another game. Calum joins them, perched on the edge of the sofa as he watches.
"You look amazing," Ash murmurs as he presses his mouth to my neck. I shudder as I feel his teeth on my neck, digging in painfully. But I don't make any noise, don't try to fight him. He's much too strong for that and I don't want to anger him. Luke promised me he wouldn't fight Ashton, but I don't think it will hold up very well if Ashton gets mad.
I pull Ashton over to the couch, hoping that staying close to Luke and the rest of the band will shield me from the worst of whatever Ashton will try tonight. He sits down in the armchair off to the side, pulling me onto his lap. One of his hands grips my knee so harshly that I'm sure he can feel the bone there. I watch Michael and Luke play Mario Kart, driving in laps on a computerized racetrack. Luke's not bad at it, but Michael's obviously the professional here. He makes every turn, passing players with ease. Luke maintains a steady position in the top five, managing to pull off a second place win at the end.
Ashton yanks me against him tightly and I gasp in surprise. His hand on my leg strays up to where he made the bruises last night, the marks covered by my black skinny jeans. Ash's other hand slips down into the waistband of my pants and I inhale sharply, wishing desperately that I could run to the safety of Luke's arms.
"Ashton," I say in a small voice, my tone a warning. "Please stop."
Luke glances up at the words, his ocean eyes full of concern and anger. But when I shoot him a look, he backs down, clenching his hands into fists at his sides.
Ashton doesn't stop, picking me up instead, his lips traveling down my neck to where the neckline of my shirt dips low. He's not kissing me, his mouth just roughly sucking on my skin, small pinpricks of pain that I try to ignore. He sets me back down on my feet in the hallway, pinning me against the wall with his body as he continues to "kiss" my neck. I shudder, willing someone to help me. But I told Luke not to and no one else thinks it's anything out of the ordinary.
"Ashton," I say again, this time with more authority. I start to walk away from him but I only get a few steps away before he grabs me roughly and pulls me back.
"You do what I tell you to," he growls in a low voice that sends shivers of terror down my spine. He grips me so tightly that I let out a small whimper. Desperate to get away from him while protecting Luke, I slip out of Ash's grasp and make a run for the couch. Ashton swings me around to divert my path and I slam into the wall, my head pounding. "I didn't tell you to leave," he says in a dark tone.
"What's your problem?" Calum explodes, getting to his feet. He remains a few feet away from Ash, his dark eyes full of incredulity and anger. "Let go of her."
He does and I scramble to get away from him, running into Cal's open arms. Ashton scowls, starting toward Calum when Luke gets up and blocks his path. "Leave her alone," he snaps furiously.
"I feel like I've already had this conversation with you," Ashton says, his upper lip curling back in a snarl. Faster than I can process, he lashes out and smashes Luke's head into the glass coffee table. It shatters and Luke crumples to the floor.
"Luke!" I scream, moving to kneel by his side, ignoring the sharp pain in my knees as glass shards dig into my skin. His eyes are closed and he doesn't move when I try to shake him. Michael crouches beside me, concern etched across his face.
Tori and Mali come out of the kitchen to see what all the commotion is. Tori starts to panic at the sight of Luke's unconscious body on the ground, blood slowly leaking from the side of his head. Michael instructs her to go bring her car around and she pulls out her keys with shaky fingers.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Calum yells at Ashton, pushing his friend's shoulders. Scowling, he says, "I'll deal with you later." Glancing at Luke, he turns to get down a rag from the closet in the hallway, tossing it to Michael, who presses it to the gash on the side of Luke's head.
Everything's blurry through the tears falling from my eyes. I try my best to wipe them away, hoping that no one else is paying too close attention to it. I want to reach out and cradle his limp body, but that would give too much away so I don't. His crystal blue eyes won't open and I bite back loud sobs.
"He's always had a bit of head problems ever since the car crash," I hear Calum say to Michael. "This isn't good at all."
Everything's a flurry of movement as Michael and Calum work together to carry Luke out to Tori's car, Mali saying that she'll stay behind with Ashton. I follow them out of the apartment, focused only on Luke.
Michael slides into the passenger seat, leaving me to sit in the back with Calum and Luke. Cal holds the rag to staunch the blood flowing out of the sizable gash and I grip one of Luke's hands where no one can see, my breath coming faster to let me know that I'm having a panic attack. This can't be happening.