Keep your eyes open

o n e

Hiii! This is my first ever book so it's probably not that good. I just thought it would be fun to try and write something. let me know if anyone that reads this likes it so far.

TW: Assault and SA. (also ratty Healy)

Taylors POV:

I woke to the loud noise of a door slamming. Matty had gone out last night and as always, I wasn't too sure when he'd be coming home, more like who would be coming home. Countless of times he had brought random one night stands into our house against my word but every time I forgave him. He had a rough past so he tended to drink his problems away. Sometimes he would try to come onto me when I wasn't in the mood but he had never gone further than that in a drunken haze.

This time though I could only hear him in our apartment, more like my apartment as I was the one paying the rent. Only a year ago had I moved out and I was still so young and paying the bills for both of us was getting hard. I shuffled out of bed in my cat pjs and walked down the stairs. A loud smash pierced through the silence of the night. I glanced at my phone as I rushed into the kitchen, the time reading 3:56 AM.

I gasped at the sight before me. Matty was sprawled across the floor with pieces of a bottle of whiskey shattered next to the bench.

'Taylor hon, come er',' He slurred, sitting up.

'What did I say about being quiet when you come home?' I said with an annoyed tone. 'Look at this mess, I'm sick of cleaning up all your shit!' I bent down picking up the larger pieces of glass and throwing them in the trash.

'I missed you,' He said with a smirk. 'Not tonight, you're drunk and I'm not feeling too well.' I pushed him away, looking around the room trying to locate the broom.

Before I could take another step he grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back up against the wall, his fingers digging into my skin and his face so close to mine I could smell the stench of alcohol coming off his breath.

'No.' He huffed, aggressively kissing me as I tried to push him off me.

'Matty stop!' I tried to say struggling against his grip.

He pulled back and looked into my eyes and shook his head. 'You little bitch,' he spat at me., walking towards me and pushing my body against the wall. 'You should be grateful I want you.' His face inched towards mine in a suffocating way.

'fuck you!' I screamed back.

Before I could escape him he hurled a fist at my face and stepped backwards, taking a second before kicking my stomach. I doubled over and fell to the ground. My whole head felt numb before stinging with immense pain.

'Undress, now,' He ordered in a cold heartless voice.

Tears spilled from my eyes as I nodded, too scared of him hurting me anymore. I took off my pyjamas as I cowered in front of him, shaking with fear.

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Travis' POV:

I woke up to my phone buzzing on my nightstand. I huffed as I rolled over looking the the caller id; Buttercup 💜. Why the hell was Taylor facetiming me at 5 AM? I pressed answer, not sure what to expect but the sight on my screen was far from the happy, bubbly Taylor I knew. She looked weak and helpless.

'Travis...,' she sobbed. 'Please come save me.' Her shoulders shook as tears cascaded down her swollen face.

My mind raced with thoughts about what had happened and where the hell Matty was to comfort her. I had never liked her boyfriend but the fact that he was nowhere to be seen when Taylor was so hysterical made me want to kill him.

'Don't worry Buttercup, I'll be there soon. It's okay, deep breaths.' I tried to stay calm, soothing Taylor while finding my keys, but anger bubbled in me to whoever hurt her so bad.

I opened the door to the driver seat and turned on the engine, but then the call ended abruptly. I quickly looked to see if she left any messages while trying to keep my eyes on the road. I had no new notifications which was odd because she normally says goodbye or at least lets me know she's hanging up. I told myself that I was overthinking it and that her phone just went flat but something deep in my bones told me otherwise. I get tense when I'm worried so I tried to calm down because when I got to Taylor, she needed comfort, not an overprotective best friend who is pushing boundaries to know the truth.

I pulled up to her apartment and knocked on the door.

No answer.

I knocked again, and again, and again,

Still no answer.

After minutes of trying to get a hold of Taylor over the phone, I gave up and let myself in, surprisingly the door was unlocked. As I entered, the house was silent. I moved through the walls that I knew all so well, stopping when I got to the kitchen. There was broken glass on the floor and blood. My eyes grew wide. No sign of Taylor.

Panicked, I rushed through the house looking in every room. My blood was boiling and nothing was going to stop me from killing the person that had hurt my Buttercup.

As I got to the master bedroom, I flung the door open and nothing, nothing could have prepared me for the sight I was confronted with.

My everything, my sunshine, my beautiful and innocent Taylor lay almost lifeless on the floor.

I rushed to her side and shook her, trying to get some form of communication out of her limp torso. Her body was covered in bruises and blood, her face swollen and frail. Tears leaked from my eyes as I checked for her pulse. Next to the door was her phone, smashed and broken. That must have been why the call had ended out of the blue. A voice broke my never ending trail of thoughts, a voice so weak it could barely be heard.

'Tr...travis' She whimpered so quietly.

I looked down at the girl I could hardly recognise and soothed my hand over her golden hair.

'It's okay Buttercup, I'm here, you're safe.' I whispered, closing my eyes.

'He's coming, please don't let him touch me again.' Taylors body trembled with fear in my arms.

I gently nodded and picked her body up carefully, navigating out of this house that would haunt Taylor for the rest of her life. As I walked out in the cold air I felt her relax in my arms, signalling she fell asleep- or unconscious, who knows.

The normally quick drive home was so excruciatingly long due to the immense amount of unanswered questions still lingering in the back of my mind. The main one being; Where the fuck was Matty Healy.

Taylor had told me about the times he had intruded into their apartment with girls from bars and clubs in the earliest hours of the day. For some reason she always caved and forgave him for the shit he pulled. That was nothing compared to this though. This made me want to rip his throat out and then feed him to wolves. If I had Taylor, I would protect her with every fibre of my being. In all honesty she should be mine but the shelf life of those fantasies had expired long ago. Whenever it was mentioned, Taylor would always change the topic or say something along the lines of 'I don't want us to ruin our friendship.'

I pulled up to my apartment and opened the passenger seat door, lifting Taylor out and then closing it. The house was quiet but it was comforting compared to the hellhole of Taylor's place. I walked through the house and got to my bedroom. I set Taylor in my bed, knowing that it would be best for her to rest and that she could be cleaned up in the morning.

I walked back to the living room, locked the front door, and set down on the couch with a blanket and attempted to sleep a little.

I got a dance comp tomorrow yay.

Also ignore if any grammar is wrong, my friend was asleep so she couldn't proofread it :(