Here's My Heart

Chapter IX

Laura POV

     The lights were blurry from the tears threatening to spill. I wasn't going to give that sick fucker the satisfaction of seeing me cry again. My thighs were burning like hell, but I wanted to be here.
     "What the hell is going on here?!" My father's voice boomed. I flinched and turned, looking at my father with fear in my eyes. It was dark out so the red and blue lights were the only thing producing light.
     I heard a door open and then the sound of rapid feet. The guy, who was apparently named Trey, was running away from his trailer. "Logan Stokes! You shouldn't be here!" My father yelled, clearly pissed off.
     I was confused as I looked at everyone surrounding me. Alice and Ezra were looking at each other nervously. Nash looked like he was going to go after my father. And he did.
     He started running towards my father with rage in his eyes. Before he reached my father, I ran into him. We crashed to the ground together and before he could push me off, I straddled him, pinning his arms down.
     "Do you seriously want to be charged with assaulting a cop?!" I yelled at him. He looked away from me, clearly pissed off and ashamed. "No." He muttered, still refusing to meet my eyes. I turned his head towards me and I did the only thing I could think of. I kissed him. It took him a moment to register what was going on but after that he kissed me back and relaxed. The kiss was filled with passion and made my skin tingle.
     I pulled away after I heard a snort. I looked up and all eyes were on us. I blushed a bit before I realized what position we were in too. I blushed even deeper at that thought and got off of him.
     My father started walking toward me angrily. I let out a low whimper and Nash stood up and was holding me in an instant. I hid myself in his chest as a tear fell down my cheek. I had no idea why I was crying. "Laura! Get your ass in the damn car before I cuff you in it again!" He screamed. When I moved to go to the car, Nash tightened his hold on me.
     "You're not going anywhere with him." Nash whispered in my ear. "Nash," I paused to look up at him. "He's my dad. I have to go with him." I told him. "No you don-" He was cut off by my father "Laura! You better get in that fucking car!" He yelled. "I take it back. I'm going with you." I whispered so only he could hear. "Okay." He said.
     He removed his arms but put one around my shoulders. "Alice." He said, nodding his head towards us. She walked over with Ezra holding her hand, limping. "What do you need?" She asked. "I need you to go get the car and bring it over to us." He said quietly. Alice nodded and went to get the car.
     My dad grabbed my wrist and reached for his handcuffs. "I'M NOT GOING WITH YOU!" I screamed hysterically. His grip felt too similar to Alex's and it sent a flood of tears down my face.
     All of a sudden, it felt as though I couldn't breathe. My chest tightened painfully and it left me gasping for breath. My heart was racing. I dropped to the ground, gasping and clutching my chest. My father tried to hug me but I started screaming and sobbing. "GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" I cried out. He let go of my wrist. My mind started flooding with flashbacks of that night.
     "Breathe laura." Nash said in a soothing voice. He demonstrated how he wanted me to breathe and I copied him to the best of my ability. The memories faded away to the back of my mind. My heart rate was starting to even itself out. My breathing was still rough but my chest had stopped hurting. When I looked at my dad he looked horrified at what had happened. Nash hugged me to his chest, his heartbeat calming me the rest of the way.
     Alice showed up with the car seconds later. Nash helped me up and I got in Alice's car without looking at my dad. Once we were in the car I looked at Alice. "Get me the fuck out of here and stop at my house so I can pack a bag or two." I said with a new type of anger. Alice did as I asked and stopped at my house.
     Nash got out with me and I looked at him in question. "Alice, we can walk to my house. If he recognizes your car he can get you in a lot of trouble." He said. "Also, thank you for taking me there tonight. And Ezra? You were fucking amazing against him. You're stronger than most people are." He added with a small smile.
     Alice drove off and I walked into my house, nash following close behind me. We walked up to my room and the minute we stepped in, I went for my backpack. I grabbed that and a duffle bag and went for my closet.
     I stared pulling random clothes off of the rack and threw them on my bed. I grabbed one of my makeup bags and grabbed some makeup and my toothbrush and threw those in the bag. I went for my box of tampons and brush and shoved them in my backpack.
     My hands were shaking and my eyes were filled with unshed tears. "Do you need any help?" Nash asked me softly. "In my closet, there's a huge box that says 'emergency'. Can you grab it please?" I said, my voice shaky. "Of course." He replied and went over to my closet.
     I started folding clothes up and putting them in the duffle bag. I grabbed my picture of mom and put it in the bag as well. After it was full of clothes and other necessities, I zipped it up.
     Nash brought the box over and set it on my bed. I opened the drawer on my nightstand and pulled out a small knife. I cut the box open and dumped the money into my backpack. I had been saving since I was about six years old. I zipped my backpack up and picked them both up.
     Luckily my father hadn't come home yet so we didn't have to go out the window. I started walking down the stairs, Nash following close behind me. He took the duffle bag out of my hand and moved so he was in front of me, blocking me from moving. "I'm not going to stop you, but are you sure you want to do this?" He asked. "I've never been so sure of something in my life." I told him honestly. He moved out of my way and continued walking.
     We left the house and walked down the empty street. We approached an apartment building that looked like it had seen better days. "This is my apartment." Nash announced with a nervous laugh.
     We walked in and went up two flights of stairs and down a hall before we came to a stop in front of a door that was covered in band stickers. Nash unlocked the door and walked in with me right on his heel.
     I looked around and the first thing I noticed was the table. There were quarters covering it. I forced myself to look away and take in the rest of the area.
     The cupboards were a dark grey and the walls were dark blue.the living room and kitchen were one area. There was a light grey couch with a single teal pillow that had a white flower on it. The apartment was gorgeous.
     "You can put your bags in there." He said, pointing towards a door. I walked into the room and immediately noticed that it was plain. I set my bags down in the corner of the room.
     Nash walked in a few minutes later. "Was that a panic attack?" He asked me. "It was." I admitted. "Why?" He asked. That one word had me telling him everything. "M-my father's touch. It was so much like his," I let out a small sob, tears in my eyes again. "And when I felt Alex, it felt like I couldn't breathe. My heart was racing and my head was spinning."
     He walked over and hugged me gently. The hug felt to loose. Like I could slip away from him. "Hold me tighter. Please." I begged him quietly. His arms tightened around me almost painfully, but it felt like I could finally breathe again. A couple of tears of relief escaped my eyes.
     Nash guided me over to the bed and sat us both down. He pulled me into his lap and I looked up at him. His eyes held so many emotions but the most potent one was anger.
     We laid down together and I went to move away but Nash pulled me closer to him. "Why did my dad call you Logan Stokes?" I asked him curiously. He sighed and looked down at me. "That's my real name. After I left my house, I changed my last name to my middle name and went by my middle name." He explained as he played with my fingers.
     "Can I call you Logan?" I asked hopefully. He chuckled and nodded. "What's your middle name though?" He asked me. "Calliope." I responded shyly. "Can I call you that?" He asked me in return. "I guess so." I said, smiling up at him. With that I went to sleep in Nash's arms.