Bully

Chapter 23: These boys aren't worth it

**ERIC'S POV**

Another slow song came on and Brent was quick to ask her to dance. She was reluctant but didn't fight him as hard as she did me. Did that mean she had feelings for me or she just didn't want to fight Brent with all of us sitting there? We all watched as they began slow dancing. I sighed heavily making Barry cock his eyebrow at me. She was still uncomfortable and I wasn't sure if it was the costume or us. Hopefully one day she'll have the confidence and self-esteem she really deserves.

After telling the band and Jake that she was heading back to the hotel and thanking them for a wonderful evening, each one of us pulled her into a tight hug. I held on a little longer than the rest. I just couldn't help myself. She seemed to hang on a little tighter to me than she did the others. Or was I just imagining things? Wishful thinking if you were.

A few minutes after Abrielle left, we decided to head back to. It took us a little while to pay our tab. We all figured she'd made it back to the hotel. How wrong we were! We walked up on Shawn and Michael and they were harassing poor Abrielle. They pulled her up off the ground making most of us look on in utter shock! Each one got a hold of her and before any of us could stop them, they literally threw her in front of an oncoming truck. I was absolutely blown away, and not in a good way, as I stood there. Did they seriously just throw her into a moving vehicle?!

Everything suddenly went into slow-motion. The sound of screeching tires could be heard as the truck came to a stop. I watched as she bounced off the vehicle and I was suddenly worried that I'd just watched her die. I couldn't lose her!! When she hit the ground, she rolled for several feet. I was going to beat the shit out of those two motherfuckers! Barry had to pull me away from the two college students to keep me from beating them to death! I was beyond pissed. My nostrils were flaring, my whole body was tense, and I growled again.

"Eric no!" Barry exclaimed, "These boys aren't worth it!"

"Let me go....." I growled at him as I thrashed around to get out of his grasp

Damn he was a lot stronger than I honestly realized. It wasn't surprising, really, seeing as he was a drummer.

"Eric! Listen to me.......Bill is taking care of them. We need to focus on Abrielle. She's our priority. She's our student and she needs us more than anything right now. You going to jail for beating the shit out of them isn't going to do her any good!" He explained

I settled down once his words sank in. Me going to jail wasn't going to do the band any favors either. Honestly I couldn't tarnish my good reputation for such ass-hats as Michael and Shawn! Jake pulled her up off the ground making her scream out in pain. It hurt to hear her pained screams. I winced at the wretched, pained sound she made. So much so that I tensed up again as Brent called Bill. Zach was tearing into the two boys who looked like they were about to try and fight my guitarist. This night was not going to end well. For either me or for them.

"Bill! Get the two boys off this tour. They just attacked Abrielle for no reason!" Brent angrily stated

Jake sped up his walking so Barry ushered me along so we could catch up to him. He assured me that she was going to be fine. Even though I wasn't so sure. As a matter of fact I was pretty sure she was really fucked up. She had apparently passed out before we arrived back at the hotel. One of the hotel staff immediately ran up to us since poor Abrielle was moaning out in pain. Barry explained to them what happened and asked her to call us an ambulance. Jake gently laid her down on couch in the lobby.

He looked her over as best as he could. We all knew she really needed to be seen at the hospital. It was obvious her poor leg was broken at the shin bone since there was bone poking at her skin. Being hit by a truck, we knew there were injuries we probably couldn't see. Barry looked over at me. I'm sure my face mirrored the panic in his but there was more to it for me than just worry over our student. She meant a lot to me even if I've never actually told her how I felt. It never seemed appropriate to say anything. She's our student after all! I wanted to be professional. From day one I've had this super protectiveness over her and I've never been able to shake it.

"She's in bad shape. We've got to get her to the hospital." Jake stated, voice low and full of concern

"Sir, I'm Henry the hotel's night manager. I've already called for an ambulance." This middle aged balding man stated as he came over "May I ask what happened?"

"She was shoved and broke her leg. The two guys who did it then picked her up and threw her into an oncoming truck." I seethed

"I hope your friend makes it." Henry stated sadly

Yeah. So do I!

"Hey! Bill is taking care of Shawn & Michael. How's Abrielle?!" Zach questioned as he and Brent rushed over to us

"She passed out on the way here. Guys, she's in bad shape." Jake solemnly stated

"Do.... do you think she'll pull through?" Zach asked, voice cracking ever so slightly

I could only pray that she did. When did my eyes get all watery?!

"I sincerely hope so." Barry retorted as we all just stared at her

We could hear the ambulance getting closer. Oh thank God!

"Sweetheart, there's an ambulance coming for you. Barry's going to go to the hospital with you." Jake softly told her as her eyes fluttered open

"Shawn and Michael have been removed from the tour. I've also told the school we will not accept any more students with us." Bill informed her

She tried to sit up but the pain was too much for her. I just wanted to pull her into my arms and take away all her pain. She didn't deserve any more pain than what she's already experienced.

"Easy there. Stay laying down." Barry said, giving her a warm smile

The paramedics rushed in with their gurney. We all had to step back to allow them to do their jobs. It was tearing us all up as we watched helplessly. They asked all sorts of questions, took her vitals, checked out her poor leg, and even listened to her breathing and to her stomach. They turned to us and said they were going to rush her to the ER. Immediately Barry said he'd been elected to go with her. Jake was holding me to keep me from doing something stupid as the paramedics moved her from the couch to the gurney. Her pained screams broke all our hearts. It's not a sound I really want to hear again and it's something I won't soon forget. I know I'll never get the sound out of my head.

Before following the paramedics out to the ambulance, Barry looked around at us. He nodded at us and then turned & walked away. As soon as he was out the door, I bolted for the elevators. I needed to change clothes before heading to the hospital. And I wanted to cry in privacy. Brent was calling after me but I think either Bill or Jake held him back. It didn't take me long to make it to my room. My hands were shaking so it actually took me a few minutes to get my door open. As soon as I shut the door, I broke down.

I'd gotten it out. Or as much of it as I could. I still needed to change my clothes so we could head to the hospital. Hopefully someone has grabbed poor Barry a set of clothes. I changed into a pair of jeans, some Chucks, and a plain white t-shirt. As I exited my room, Zach was stepping out of his. Brent came out of Barry's room with a small bag. Good, someone was thinking about Barry! Without a word, we made our way down to the lobby where a cab was waiting for us.