youngblood | a.i.

nineteen || chemical imbalances

FLASHBACK
Saturday, September 26th- 12:07 p.m. | Anastasia's Missing Memory

I watched as he yanked my jeans down my legs with one hand, the other covering my mouth. He held me to the bed with my arms pinned beneath me, taking all my fight from me.

My third-person self backed into a wall and slid down it, watching in horror, knowing there was nothing I could do. I shut my eyes as my body and soul both stopped fighting, just wanting it to end. I didn't care what I heard or felt, if I held my eyes shut, it would be over soon. Right...?

That's why when I heard Andrew groan, I didn't dare open my eyes. And when my soul locked itself back in my body, I squeezed them shut tighter. That's why I didn't open my eyes until I felt his body weight leave me.

As soon as I felt any sign of freedom, I immediately shot up, moving away from him, not expecting to make it back against a wall like I did. My mind finally registered what I was watching when I watched blood fly across the floor. With my back against the wall, knees to my chest, and tears streaming down my face, I watched as someone's fist collided with Andrew's face again until he was barely standing.

"Come on, you can hurt her but can't take it back!" he finally yelled.

Ashton.

Andrew shot back up, throwing his fist toward Ashton's face. Ashton ducked just in time, bringing his knee to collide with Andrew's stomach. He fell back, moving to clench his gut when Ashton stepped up again. He threw him back against the wall, holding him against it.

"You touch her again and I'll fucking kill you."

He threw another punch before throwing Andrew to the floor, kicking him one last time.

At that moment, Calum rounded the corner. His eyes first went to the bloodied Andrew on the floor, curled in fetal position. Next, it shifted to Ashton, who was breathing heavily as the red in his vision finally started fading. Then it fell to me, my body curled into itself as I tried to stop my cries with my hand.

They both started moving at once, Ashton reaching me first. I immediately retracted at his presence. Even if he had just saved me, I had learned the hard way to never trust a man; his physical touch was a nauseating thought. 

"Are you okay, Angel?" he whispered as I took a deep breath. I brought my hands up to wipe my eyes, trying to stand up as my legs turned to jello as the initial shock wore off. I fell forward into Ashton's grip as I tried to control my emotions.

"Get her out of this room," Calum finally called from behind Ashton. "She doesn't have good memories in here. She's only going to continue to panic the longer she's in here."

He nodded in response to Calum, looking back at me. "I'm going to pick you up. Is that okay?" he asked quietly, waiting for my response before moving.

I nodded back between struggled breaths, forcing my eyes closed to block out his touch. His hands slowly and carefully slipped under my legs, picking me up off the ground as he walked me out of the room and down the hall. I let out a few small cries as I buried my face in his shoulder, hearing his voice reassure, "you're okay. I've got you."

I watched over Ashton's shoulder as Calum did his own damage to Andrew, making sure the bruises Ashton had left wouldn't fade anytime soon. When Andrew's eyes met mine, my panic rose again. I could still see that same evil I couldn't even describe.

"This isn't going to help you, Irwin," Andrew yelled down the hall toward us.

"Fuck off, Wallace," he yelled back, turning so my back was facing them all- so I didn't have to look at him.