Shattered - |d.s|

XII

We end up walking. Thank god I didn't wear any bigger high heels or for sure I would have been dead. We walk hand in hand, swinging our arms together. Finally he leads me to a park, just outside of town. As we approach, I can make out small candles trailing along the path. We follow the path until we reach an open area. There's a blanket placed on the grass, surrounded by candles in each direction. There are also rose petals dotted around the blanket. The aroma of the place is amazing. It smells like vanilla, probably from the candles. Beside the blanket there is a picnic bag. It truly looks amazing.

"Dan I love it! Did you do all of this?" I exclaim, hugging him. He rests his chin on top of my head.

"Well, I got Woody to help me but this was my idea. I'm sorry it's not very fancy, going to a fancy dinner is what everyone does and I wanted it to be different." He rambles on, I put my finger to his lips and he stops talking.

"As long as I'm with you, I don't need any fancy shit." I say, removing my finger and kissing him. I can feel him smiling.

"I love it here." I say, taking my phone out and snapping a picture of the candle trail.

We begin to eat and Dan takes out red wine. We opens the cap with a corkscrew before pouring the wine into wine glasses. He hands one to me and puts the wine down.

"Cheers Madame." He speaks, poshly while trying to speak in a french accent.

"Thank you Monsieur." I say, making our glasses cling before drinking.

After we were done eating we lay down on the blanket and stared at the stars. I cuddled close to Dan, my head resting on his chest while he had his arms protectively around me.

Flashback

"Harry, where are you taking me?" I said, as he drives away from home.

"Clubbing" he simply answered, smirking.

No wonder I'm wearing this tight stupid dress that he picked out. I thought to myself.

He parks the car and we get out. His hand is resting around my back. He introduces me to some of his friends and I awkwardly responded. They look at me like I'm a piece of meat, making me feel uncomfortable.

Harry eventually leaves me on my own. I find a quiet spot away from the sweaty bodies, grinding with one another. I look around the room, until I finally set my eyes on something I shouldn't have seen. Harry kissing another girl. Tears well up in my eyes. If I say anything, Harry would slap me probably give me a black eye. I try to ignore it before I couldn't take no more and I go to the bathroom to cry my eyes out.

End of flashback

"Dan" I say, looking at him.

"Yes." He says, smiling at me.

"I'm going to tell you everything." I murmured, taking a deep breath. He understood what I was going to say and he pulled me closer to him, his chin resting above my head.

"Okay, when I met Harry he was the sweetest thing ever. I loved him. We made plans that one day we would get married and have children and die in one another's arms. I had a perfect life. But, slowly he began to turn bad, often staying away from our apartment that we had. He got involved with drugs and became a gang member. He used to hit on me, beat me, slap me, everything you can think of. He used to call me names. He threatened me if I ever left him, he would kill Kyle. He left around 6 months ago because another gang has been chasing his gang. Thankfully, no one knew about me otherwise I would have been dead. He told me that he will come back for me and take me with him." I quavered.

"Once he left I got depressed, and tried to end my life by overdosing Katie found out I ended up in hospital and the doctors took me to therapy. I go there once a week. Dan, the nightmares, the memories, everything are because of him. I haven't told Kyle any of this. I don't want him to worry about me. Please don't tell him, I trust you." I continue on, my voice cracking.

"Holy shit Ellie, I didn't know you went through all of this. I'm sorry I wasn't there before but trust me Ellie, I'll protect you, I won't let him take you away. You are mine now Ellie and I'm yours. Nothing will separate us." He whispers, kissing my lips. He continues to hug me, not letting go of me.

I can feel the hole in my chest closing ever so slightly. I can feel the weight, slowly being lifted off my shoulders. I don't feel sad, I don't feel numb. I feel happy in fact proud that I've shared this to someone.

"Dan, pinky promise you won't tell Kyle." I say, extending my hand and sticking my pinky finger out.

"You should tell him. But, I promise I won't." He locks his finger with mine, chuckling softly.

I sit up, admiring the stars in the sky. My mum used to tell me that the stars were people who passed away, shining for their loved ones. She told me that one day she would be looking down on me and Kyle. She told me she would be proud, no matter what we are doing with our lives.

I hope she's proud of me. I think to myself.

You've done nothing but cause pain for the future. The voices return, making me frown and confused. What's going to happen?

My phone vibrates, Dan has tweeted something. I turn to look at him, raising my eyebrows. He's laughs and shrugs his shoulder, acting innocent.

I unlock my phone and see it's a picture of me, staring up at the stars with the caption 'my star' referring to me. I begin to blush, turning to him.

"Pookie Bear, stop being cute!" I exclaim, poking his nose.

"Pookie Bear? What kind of nickname is that?" He frowns, pulling me so I lie beside him again.

"Its your nickname now. Your cuddly, even though you are super tall and lanky." I smirk. He smiles, his dimples showing.

"Pookie Bear, do me a favour?" I whisper, snuggling closer to him.

"Go on, princess." He whispers back.

"Sing for me." I say, kissing his lips.

He gently starts singing thinking out loud by Ed Sheeran. I close my eyes and let his voice take over my mind and body.

A/N

Next chapter is Dans POV

You will get to learn more about Dan and his past.