Chris's POV
By the time the guys came home, I had calmed Emily down and convinced her to take a nap on my bed since she looked beyond exhausted. Before leaving my room, I couldn't help but look back at the peaceful and almost angelically beautiful sleeping girl on my bed.
Meeting me in front of my doorway, Ricky began asking me “Hey man, you want to go out for lunch today, none of us really-” Seeing Emily fast asleep on my bed, Ricky stopped mid-sentence and looked back and forth between Emily and I before asking me half joking and half concerned after he let out an slightly nervous laugh “What did you do to her?”
Glancing back to Emily who was curled up, laying on her side as she cuddled the pillow, still fast asleep, I gently pushed Ricky towards the stairs and told him “Get everyone in the kitchen and I will explain.”
After Ghost, Balz, Ricky, Brandon and I were all sitting at the kitchen table, I told everyone everything from why Emily was here to my plan “Alright, those of you who haven't heard yet, the new neighbor girl Emily is fast asleep upstairs in my bed. She had come over here earlier today crying and soaked, her dad had really roughed her up, to the point she is covered in bruises.” Before continuing, I saw the guys either looking at each other or upstairs where Emily was sleeping peacefully with sympathetic looks. Continuing to what my plan was, I hesitated for a minute, not knowing what all of them may say, I then just blurted out my plan “I can't explain it but I want to protect Emily, i'm worried about her. I really don't want her living with her dad anymore, I don't want to see her getting abused anymore so I want her to come live with us. I mean she has to be eighteen at the youngest so if she were to leave her dad, he couldn't do anything about it because she's an adult. She could help out around the house, do the cooking and some of the cleaning.” Looking around at everyone, they all nodded, agreeing with idea of her staying here.
About half an hour later as I putting away some laundry, Emily yawns quietly and stretches before smiling at me the slightest little bit and thanking me “Thanks so much for letting me sleep here on your bed, I honestly haven't been sleeping that well lately. I don't know why you're being so sweet to me but thank you, I really owe you for all this.”
Deciding to take advantage of Emily thinking she owes me, I sat down beside her and told her honestly “I'm nice to you because I like you, you seem like a very sweet girl. Make it up to me by living with us then, let us take care of you and give you a safe life. No arguing about moving in here, we all want you here.”
Wide eyes in shock, Emily ask me as she sits up, her light brown eyes seeming to light up a little “Are you serious? You want me to live with you guys?”
Smiling at Emily, I nodded my head and told her as I put an arm around her shoulder “You're a sweet person Emily, you don't deserve to be hit like you are. We want you to live with us and go on tour with us where you'll be safe and happy.”
Emily's POV
Knowing I was finally for the first time gonna have a home that I was safe and wasn't afraid to walk into, I nearly leaped on Chris when I hugged him. Tears of relief and joy rolling down my cheek, I thanked Chris “Thank you so much.”
After meeting the rest of the guys and taking a long hot shower, I saw surprised to see police tape around my house as I passed the bathroom window after getting completely dressed into a pair of Chris's baggy gym shorts and a huge hoodie of Chris's. Running as fast as I could outside to my house after staring at that tape from the bathroom in panic for a minute, tears rolled down my cheek as the soaked grass and mud squished under my feet.
Luckily Chris ran after me cause if it wasn't for him I would have had an emotional breakdown right there on the ground as I stood just behind the police tape, watching a body bag being carried out of the house.
Holding me tight and close to him, Chris whispered against my ear as I bawled openly into his chest, knowing my mother was in that body bag and that my father was the cause as they took my dad to a police car in handcuffs “Emily, sweetheart, it's okay. I'm right here for you, we all will be. Neither you or your mom have to deal with him anymore, your mother is going off to a better place and you're going to be safer with me, I promise.”
Although I never believed anyone when they made promises to me due to my dad always breaking promises to never hit me again, I believed Chris and I knew he would keep his promise.
