Anything But Ordinary ☯ Josh Hutcherson [unedited]

Chapter 12

Liz's POV

"What did he want?" Josh asked a moment after I hung up.

My brief conversation with my father left me feeling cold and fragile. Practically we never talked but for some reason everytime we actually talked, I felt empty inside... I felt helplessness and that's when the panic kicks in.

Oh no, this is not the time for that, please not now, not in front of Josh, I thought as I fought the urge to cry and scream.

Josh noticed something in my expression and I saw the concern on his eyes. He tried putting a hand on my shoulder but I pushed it away as I stepped away from him.

"Liz, what's wrong... you look scared. What did he say?" he asked slowly as if to not set me off.

"He's just..just coming here to talk to me in a few days" I replied, breathless from all the effort it was taking me to keep myself together.

"If he's just coming to talk why do you seem like you would jump out the window at any minute?" he asked, worry in his voice.

Oh God, I felt the pressure on my chest, slowly turning into pain, making it hard to breathe.

"Josh, you need to leave, now... please" I begged and I saw a determined look on his face and knew what his answer was going to be even before he said it aloud.

"I'm not going anywhere.... are you okay?" he asked, taking a step towards me and I quickly took a step back. "I'm fine. You need to go now though" I said in a choked voice.

"I told you I'm not going anywhere" he stated again.

By this point I was taking shallow breaths and a hand was on my chest as I held miserably to a little part of my sanity in front of the guy I was starting to develop feelings for.

He knew I was broken, but he didn't know how bad and I didn't want him to see how bad it really was.

"Liz, you're starting to look pale-ish, what the hell is going on, what can I do?" he asked, again trying to come closer.

"The...only thing...you can do...it's leave...or not...step...closer...please?" I said through gritted teeth.

I hadn't noticed any tears but when I touched my face it was all wet, they were falling freely now.

I put a hand up to Josh to stay put as I slowly walked around him to the nightstand and took a bottle of medicated pills out of the drawer. Without taking a glance at Josh, I opened it and took two of the round caplets and placed them in my mouth, then gulped them down with the glass of water that had been sitting on the nightstand.

"Liz" he whispered from the other side of the room.

I walked to one of the corners of the room and sat there, plastered my body against the wall and slid down into a sitting position on the floor.

I cried silently for about ten minutes, and Josh hadn't moved an inch from were he had been standing.

My face was in my hands now as I calmed down slowly, my body finally reacting to the effects of the medication.

Josh noticing the episode was coming to an end took slow and small steps across the room to me.

He kneeled down and pulled me in for an embrace that now that I was relaxing, I accepted gladly.

He made soothing noises as he rubbed my back in a comforting matter and I sighed.

"You have panic attacks?" he asked after a while, still holding me close against his chest. I just nodded and since I was against him he knew I had assented.

"Because of your father? Did he do something to you too, besides the verbal abuse you told me about?" he asked concerned and I shook my head.

"Sweetheart I want to help, but I need you to talk to me, please. You can trust me, I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you ever again" he assured and I held even more tightly to him.

"He's bringing Bill with him when he comes to talk to me.... he said to behave, he doesn't want me to embarrass him ever again in front of his best friend" I whispered in a shaky voice.

Seeing that bastard again, I knew I would break into tiny little pieces and not even Josh would be able to pull me back together.

"I'll kill him" was all Josh replied with so much hatred in his voice that I had never heard before coming from him.

I was about to ask him who, when I realized he was talking about Bill, for doing what he did to me, and getting away with it...

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