Ali's POV
I wake up happy, happier than I have been in quite a while. It feels good. It feels like I could conquer the world. But, instead of that, I decided to finally clean up a little. I borrowed a vacuum from Hunter and brought out my Clorox wipes to wipe down the kitchen counters.
It surprisingly took shorter than I thought. I was able to finish by noon. I felt proud of myself. I even opened the curtains. Who knew that opening up that tiny window would let in a lot of sunlight. After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes I hear someone knock on my door.
"Jay? Are you ok?" His eyes are red and had tear stains on his cheeks. It was obvious that he hasn't had any sleep due to his hair and his growing beard. He seemed out of breath and panicked.
"That doesn't matter right now. I have to tell you something." he says entering my apartment.
"Yeah, sure anything. Is everything okay?" I ask concerned.
"No." he says running his fingers through his hair. "Oh, god. You're going to hate me." He sits on my bed still panicked.
"I can never hate you." I say sitting down next to him and putting my hand on top of his shaky ones. "Just tell me what's wrong."
He looks at me with a look that he might start crying. I become scared of what he might say. If Jay is crying, then that's a big deal because he never cries. What if something bad happened to him, or will happen to him? What if his life is in danger?
"I- I-" he stutters, "Ali, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it." I nod for him to go on.
"John is coming."
John is coming.
John is coming.
I feel my heart stop and beat faster at the same time. It feels like I forgot how to breathe, and I can feel myself shake. I want to speak, I want to ask him questions but I feel so numb that I can't form words let alone make myself move. I'm so paralyzed from fright I don't know what to do.
"W-what? H-how did he find me?" I ask. My heart is pounding harder than ever before. I start to think of the horrible things that he will do to me once he finds me. I wouldn't be surprised if he kills me.
"How did he find me? When is he coming? What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? Oh god. What if he already has Leo? No, no, no. He's going to kill me." I say now standing up pacing the floor.
"Ali," he says but I keep pacing the floor while biting my nails and talking about all the things that John might do and how he'll kill me. "Ali!" He screams at me grabbing both of my shoulders causing me to stop pacing.
"There's something else I have to tell you." he says with guilt in his eyes.
"Wait." I say with a new fright in my chest. "How did you know John is coming to find me?"
"Ali, I think you need to sit down." he says not looking me in the eyes anymore.
"No! I don't want to sit down! Tell me, how did you know that he's coming to find me?" I scream at him. He doesn't answer me. He just turns his head to the floor not saying a word. I feel anger boil inside of me. My life is on the line right now and he doesn't have a word to say.
"Tell me Jay! How do you know? Why do you look so guilty, Jay? Tell me!" I say now pounding on his chest with my fists.
"Why won't you answer me?" I yell again.
"I told him!" He yells back grabbing my fists.
"What?" I ask in a barely audible voice.
"I told John. I told him where you were, where Leo lives, where you work. Everything." he says with tears coming down his cheeks.
"You're lying." I say backing away from him.
"Ali-"
"Tell me you're lying!" I yell at him.
"I wish I was, Ali. I really wish I was." he says trying to step closer to me, but I just back up even more.
"Why?" I ask in a hushed tone.
"Grandma got worse, she needed medicine and I didn't have the money. John knew what was going on and he told me that he would give me the medicine if I told him where you were."
I stood there in silence. It felt like hours, but I know that it was only a couple of seconds. In those seconds I had a lot of thoughts go through my head. Like, what happens to me now? Will John take me back to New York? Will he make me his slave again? Am I ever going to see daylight again? Is Jay really my friend?
"He's coming in a few hours to get you, and Leo. I came here to tell you because I couldn't bare it anymore. Ali-"
"Go." I say.
"Ali, please listen-"
"Go, Jay! Leave!" I yell at him. He stares at me for a minute, but soon enough leaves.
I was left there. Scared and alone once again. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I couldn't stay here. I begin to pack up all of my clothes and such in my luggage. I had to go warn Leo. We had to stay together now. Because Leo is all I had now. I didn't notice I was crying the whole time I was packing until I looked in my bathroom mirror. I was a mess, but then again, I was always a mess. I can't believe this. Once I thought that I was free, and once I was about to let go and let people in, everything came crashing in.
Once I finish packing I quickly put on my shoes and run out the door. But before I can even leave the lobby I bumped into the one person I didn't need to see right now.
Luke.
"Are you okay?" he asks. He glances at my luggage in confusion then back at me. "Where are you going?"
"Luke, I-" I begin to say but I really couldn't find the words to say, "I'm leaving."
"Are you going to vacation?" he asks.
"No, Luke. I'm leaving for good." I say feeling myself begin to cry again. My make-up is probably running down my face.
"What? Why?" he asks with a crushed face.
"It's complicated. I just have to go." I half-sobbed.
"Why is everything complicated with you?" he asks. "Just tell me, what's going on?" he asks taking a step closer to me.
"I have to go, Luke. I have no time. Please, let me go." I beg.
"What about last night? All the things we talked about, all we been through?" he says. "What about us?"
I don't know why, but I laughed. I laughed at him. I could see his eyes beginning to tear up, but all I do is laugh.
"You really thought there could be an 'us?' That's so sweet, but Luke, we both knew that there would never be an 'us.'" I laugh bitterly.
"Ali, I know you're lying." he chokes.
"A girl like me could never date a guy like you." I say honestly. "I'm sorry but I have to go."
I run out before he can say anything. I ran until my feet hurt, and even until then, I kept running. I ran all the way to Leo's house. I couldn't tell Luke now. I had no time. John could be here any minute.
Once I make it to Leo's house I heard yelling. That could only mean one thing. He was here. John. I felt my heart beat faster. I forgot how scared I felt every time I hear John's voice. I felt like that scared little kid again listening to him screaming.
I quietly opened the front door and the screaming immediately became louder. I heard their voices in the living room. I tip-toed quietly over to them peering from behind the wall. John's back was facing me, and Leo was facing me so I can see his face. I couldn't move. Being in the same room as John makes me so scared that I can't breathe. I feel like crying. I have never been so scared in life. I didn't want to face him again, but here I am.
"You and your sister are coming with me back to New York, now!" he yells at Leo.
"No, we aren't! You can't tell us what to do! You're not our father! Plus, what are you going to do with us anyway, huh? Make us work to pay off your debt? Beat up Ali some more? What's the point?" Leo yells back.
"Shut up! You guys are coming with me now!"
"No! We will never go back with you!"
"That's not your choice! It's mine! Now get your ass in the car!"
"We're staying here! I'm in my twenties, and Ali just turned 18 so we can legally do whatever the hell we want, so leave us the fuck alone!" Leo yells again.
"You're a sick man, you know that?" Leo says. "You need kids to pay for your bills because you're always spending money on Scotch and drugs. It's not like you can do it yourself anyway. You're too much of a dumbass to do it yourself."
The next thing I see is John's hand come in contact with Leo's face. And right there, I lost it. I felt all the anger I felt because of John build up all at once. I don't want him controlling me anymore. So I did the only thing I could do. I jumped on him.
"What the hell?" John yells.
"Ali?" Leo says in surprise.
"Don't you dare touch Leo!" I yell pulling at his hair with one arm, and punching the side of his head with the other.
"Get off me you little brat!" John yells. He was now walking and made his way near the stairs trying to get me off his back.
He managed to hit me against a table they kept near the front door that held frames and lit candles. Although it hurt, I held on. I grabbed one of the lit candles and smashed the hot wax against his exposed neck.
"Shit, what the hell? You're going to regret this you lousy kid!" he spats. "Get the fucking candle off my neck you fucking shit!" he hisses in pain.
"You deserve this you fucking bastard!" I yell with tears streaming down.
He slams me against the wall multiple times until I finally fell off of him. I felt something wet on my head. I placed my hand on it and saw that it was blood. I looked up to see John towering over me just like he used to. He had the same evil smirk that said that he was going to do serious damage. He swung his hand at me and hit my face. I felt the familiar stinging on my cheek. I began to cry harder from the pain. I began to feel light headed as well. John began to kick me in the stomach over and over again just like he used to.
"How about that kid? Do you feel like you can beat me now?" He says in his low, dark voice.
"Don't fucking hurt her!" Leo yells throwing a punch at him. John turns around and starts punching him as well, but Leo doesn't back down.
I tried getting up to help him, but I couldn't. I couldn't move my legs, and my venison was going blurry. I felt like I was going to die, right there, but I knew that I wasn't I felt like this before. I knew how to handle it. I could hang on a little longer before I will let myself blackout.
John now had his back facing the stairs and Leo was endlessly punching him, and so was John. It felt like they were fighting for hours. This was the first time I saw John hit Leo. It hurt seeing it. And now I think I understood why Leo left me alone. He couldn't handle seeing me hurt. So he left. He didn't know what to do. I also now realized how young we were. Leo was still a teenager when he left. A lost, lonely teenager with no clue what to do. He didn't know what to do, especially with a situation like this.
"Ready to give up?" John says with a smirk while wiping off the blood coming from his mouth.
"Yeah. I give up." Leo says putting his fists down. I felt confused about what was happening. If he was joking, it's not funny.
"You two-"
John was about to say, but knocked out and feel to the floor. I was so confused to what in the world has happened. Why did John just knock out? Is he dead?
But then I saw it. And I felt my jaw drop to the floor. There she stood, Nikki, on the steps of the stairs holding a piece of a shattered vase. I forced myself to get up using the table as support.
"Are you guys okay?" I ask.
"We should be asking you that." Leo says.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"You're bleeding the most, and," he says touching my arm causing me to wince back in pain, "I'm pretty sure he broke your arm."
"I'm alright. Just call the police before he wakes up." I say.
"Good point." Leo says. "Nikki, will go and call them?"
"Already did upstairs. I'll get some ice for your face though." She says looking at Leo's bruised cheek. speed walking towards the kitchen.
"I knew I liked her." I said once she's out of our line of vision.
"Come here." Leo says wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. I wrap my hands around him as well. I felt his chest rise up and down. He's heart was beating as fast as mine was. He tightened his grip on me then let go.
"I'm so sorry. I should've never left you in New York with him." Leo says moving strands of hair away from my face. "I should've stayed and took care of you."
"It's okay, Leo." I say honestly. "We're okay now. He's going to jail."
"You are the strongest person I have ever met, you know that?" Leo says giving me a toothy grin.
"Oh stop, you're going to make me cry." I say trying to keep in some tears.
"Alright, here you go." Nikki says with a bag of ice for Leo's face.
"Nikki, that was pretty impressive. What you did." I say referring to her smashing the vase on his head. "But I am surprised that he knocked out."
"Oh, I saw that his head was already bleeding badly, so I thought that one more blow would surely knock him out."
"You're so cool." I laugh.
"Is your head alright?" Nikki asks.
"It hurts. And I'm a bit light headed. I'm alright though." I say with a smile.
"Your brother is right, you know." she says wrapping her hand around Leo's waist. "You are a very strong girl."
"Thank you." I say.
And right there we heard sirens which meant that the police and ambulance was here. A few officers ran inside and so did people with a gurney. They put John on it and rolled him outside. The officers lead us outside as well and we told them everything that happened from the beginning all the way to now. It was hard to explain, and it was terrifying, but they understood.
People in the ambulance took me to wrap bandages overhead and give me cast for my arm. They all looked at us with pity. I could tell that they wanted to ask us questions about our story, but they decided not to.
"Hey." Leo says walking over to where I sat on the ambulance.
"Hey." I say. "Where's Nikki?"
"She's talking to one of the cops." he says.
"I've never seen so many cop cars in one place." I say looking at all of the cars parked in front of Leo's house. There was about five cop cars and three ambulances. Everyone was scattering around. I don't really know what they were doing. A lot of them were going in and out of the house and some of them just looked they were walking in circles.
"Me either." Leo agrees.
"So, what happens now?" I ask.
"I don't know." He says putting his arm around my shoulders.
"John's going to jail?" I ask with a lump in my throat.
"Yeah." He says softly.
"So, this means," I say, "This means we don't have to worry about him?"
"Never again. We're free." He says in a soft voice. I feel weight lifted from my shoulders. It felt so weird, but satisfying. I never do smile though, as much of a happy moment this is, I can't bring myself to smile.
"This is so weird." I blurt out.
"Weird?" He asks.
"Yeah. I always dreamed of being free from him. I imagined me skipping off into the sun set in a valley of flowers or something. But," I trail off.
"But?" Leo says.
"But," I say again taking a deep breath in, "I feel like something's missing."
"Missing?" Leo asks.
"Yeah. It's probably nothing though. I'm just shocked is all." I say laying my head on his shoulder.
"I think I know what happens now." Leo says.
"Hm?" I hum.
"We can move. Somewhere that's not New York, or Sydney. Nikki and I have the money for it." Leo says.
"I've always wanted to visit California." I say.
"That sounds good." He says. I can hear his smile. We both always loved California. Mom use to always talk about moving there. Getting a house near the ocean and being able to hear people on the beach having fun.
"Then it's a plan?" I ask.
"It's a plan." Leo says.
Author's Note-
I feel proud of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
- Olivia (: