The Sweet Silver Song || An Ashton Irwin fanfiction

Twenty two.

I didn't want to leave my apartment anymore; I felt like someone would come and stab me in the back as soon as I'd put a foot out in the street. All the curtains were closed; my door was carefully locked and I made sure not to listen to music anymore so that if someone tried to come in, I'd surely hear him.

But I knew this situation couldn't go on forever; I knew Ashton or one of my friends would call me eventually and ask me to hang out... I knew Greg and Chris would contact me shortly and I would have to do whatever they asked me to for my brother's sake. And not being able to do anything about it was driving me crazy.

Ashton had sent a text just after I met Greg and Chris; he was telling me that he was performing with his band at a small venue and that, of course, I had to be there. I gladly accepted; I didn't know if it would be enough to get my mind off of things but I thought it was worth a try.

All I could do was write; and it kind of worked. I knew I would never be able to post what I was writing on my blog, because it said too much, but it allowed me to express myself; to express my feelings; and it felt good.

The day of the show came a lot more quickly than I had expected and I was nervous about seeing Ashton; I knew I was going to have to act naturally; but I didn't knew if I had it in me; and I didn't know if he would buy it.

My phone buzzed in the middle of the afternoon and my heart started beating a lot faster as I reached for my phone. It was like that each time my phone rang; each time I received an e-mail; each time I heard even the slightest noise in my bedroom...

Send Ashton a text and tell him you can't come to his show because you're hanging out with me xx Greg

I placed my phone back on my desk and placed my head in my hands as I started crying again. That was how it was going to be from now on; I was going to receive messages giving me orders and I would have to execute them without complaining... I wanted to scream; throw everything against the floor and just punch every wall until this apartment would be completely destroyed. But someone's life was depending on whether or not I was going to be able to stay focused and I knew I didn't have much choice.

Hey, baby! I won't be able to come tonight, I'm really sorry but I know you'll be perfect, as always! Rock out xx

I pressed 'send' and hoped that he wouldn't ask any question. I knew I was playing with fire here but I could just picture his face filled with sadness if he had to read that I was going to see Greg instead. The reply came shortly after and I hurriedly opened the text.

Oh no :(((( why? You can't not be there xx

I knew what I had to do. I let out a big sigh and let my fingers slide across the screen.

I'm hanging out with Greg but I swear I'll be here next time! Will you call as soon as it's over? I'll want every details xx

You serious?

I'm sorry, baby... Just please try to understand xx

He didn't text back and I spent the rest of the afternoon biting on my nails as I tried to figure out a way to get out of this. I opened Greg's text again and took a screenshot before transferring the picture to my computer and putting it in a hidden file. I didn't know how it was all going to end but I thought that keeping some proves couldn't be that bad of an idea.

Someone knocked on my door and my whole body started to shake as I slowly made my way over it and looked through the peephole as my mouth became really dry. The two men I didn't want to see were standing just on the other side of the door and I had no choice but to open it and invite them in.

"Hey, honey!" Chris said and his nonchalant tone made me want to throw up.

"What do you want?" I harshly asked and he rolled his eyes before opening the door to my balcony and mentioning for me to follow him out.

"Oh relax! We're just here to give you a few hickeys!" he chuckled and I chocked on my own saliva as I watched him light a cigarette.

"Wh- no! Not happening" I protested and I was about to go back inside when Greg's arm stopped me.

"Okay let me make sure things are clear, you're not making the rules here!" Chris retorted and I could see he was starting to lose patience. "I'm going to give you a choice because I'm not that cruel; either we give you hickeys either I burn you with that cigarette a few times... We just want you to have to wear a scarf for the next few days" he explained and I loudly gulped as I watched him take a long drag of his cigarette.

I thought about it for a second; the cigarette burns would be painful, really painful; but it would be physical pain. Just thinking about their mouths on my neck made me feel sick. Beside, choosing the cigarette would show them that I wasn't weak; that I wasn't going to give in without a fight and that even if they managed to break my relationship with Ashton, they'd never have me.

"Cigarette" I weakly murmured before biting down on my lip. I considered jumping off my balcony for a second; it would surely kill me and they wouldn't be able to blackmail me anymore. Chris smirked at me and that's when I decided that I would give it my all; and that if I had to die fighting, then I'd least I'd die with my head up.

He gave Greg a quick nod and I felt two arms wrapped around me as one of his hands carefully covered my mouth. Chris took a step back and he seemed to wait for me to change my mind before inching the cigarette closer.

I closed my eyes tightly and then I felt it. The burn; the unbearable pain. I didn't move; I didn't scream; the only evidence of what they were doing was the tears that came leaking out of my eyes without my permission. He pulled the cigarette away and took his lighter out of his back pocket before lighting it again; he took a long drag, blew the smoke out and then pressed the tip against my skin again.

He did it five times; which only confirmed what I already knew. They were here to punish me and they wanted more than to take Ashton away from me. One burn would have been enough to force me to cover my neck; but they decided to make it five because seeing me in pain somehow gave them pleasure.

They left without a word and I quickly got back inside before closing the balcony door again. I went to my bathroom and my bottom lip started to quiver as I looked at the five round wounds that had formed all around my neck. I took my phone out of my pocket and snapped a quick picture before transferring it to my computer once again.

I then went to my bedroom and started searching for all type of cream; I applied one that was typically made for burns before sticking band aid over each of them.

My phone started ringing around eleven and I smiled as Ashton's face appeared on my screen. He surely wasn't that upset, if he was calling me.

"Hey, how did it go?" I excitedly said.

"Oh my god, you should have seen that, baby! The crowd went so wild, Luke could have stopped singing they would have done it for him!" He exclaimed and a warm feeling started to spread in my chest at how excited he sounded.

It was good to see that the world kept spinning and that the people I loved were still happy.

"Literally you guys are getting so big so fast it's almost scary!" I replied and I heard him chuckle on the other line.

"Hey can I come over tonight? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" he asked and the smile faded from my face as I thought about the five wounds on my neck.

"Yeah sure, you'll be hungry?" I said as naturally as possible.

"No, the boys and I just grabbed some pizza; I'll be here in twenty" he said before hanging up.

I let out a long sigh before hurriedly getting up and walking to my wardrobe; I had to find something to cover my neck with and I wasn't a scarf kind of girl. I eventually found a small one in the back of my closet and carefully wrapped it around my neck, making sure nothing was visible before checking that everything was in place in my apartment.