Beside You || Luke Hemmings

Chapter 7

[ S T E V I E ]

Okay, so I may have said that I've been falling for Luke. But would it be wrong to say that I have a tiny crush on Calum?

I mean, look at him! He was totally hot, and he -

Stevie! No.

Ugh! My conscience is telling me to not like Luke or Calum because I'll just end up being hurt like before. Yes, I had a boyfriend.

I thought he was different. He made me feel beautiful, like an actual girl instead of this punk rock skater chick. He told me that I was the one for him and nobody else. But guess what?

He lied.

â׆ Flashback â׆

"Jake, it's 11 at night. Why do you want me to meet you in the park?" I huffed through my cellphone. The frosty air was biting my nose and fingertips as I hugged my jacket closer to my body.

"It's important. Please?" he whined. "Fine. I'm almost there." I replied and stuffed my phone in my pocket. "Hey. Why are you out here so late?" a male voice asked behind me. I turned around while shivering and found a guy standing in front of me. He had dirty blonde hair and a goofy smile, but his eyes were hard to see in the dark. "None of your business." I snapped. He raised his hands in defeat.

"Are you meeting Jake?" he sighed. I stepped closer to him challengingly. "How would you know that?" I questioned. He shook his head and tapped his chin while looking in the distance, as if pondering something important.

"Are you Kaylee, Maria, Jennifer, or Chelsea?" he asked, counting on his fingers while thinking. "N-None...." I whispered. My voice was cracking, and not because of my shivering. "I'm sorry, but he's dating all of them AND you. At the same time."

I shook my head quickly. "No, I don't believe you! I don't even know who you are, so how am I supposed to trust you?"

"I know you, Stevie. And you know me. But if you don't believe me, fine. Just remember that I warned you." he shrugged. "What's your name anyway?" I asked. "A. Just call me A." he smiled.

I cocked an eyebrow and rolled my eyes. "Sure, you DEFINITELY know me." I scoffed. "Your favorite color's blue, your sister's name is Anna, your last name is McHall, and you love pizza from Gabriella's." he replied. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Are you stalking me?" I gasped. I took a step closer to him and shoved my indie finger into his chest. "And who are you REALLY?"

"Bye, Stevie." he mumbled and ran off into the dark. "WAIT!" I yelled, but then silenced myself, remembering I was in the middle of a neighborhood at rest. I sighed and crossed my arms, puzzled and angered by the mysterious man. He looked about my age, about 15.

I ran to the park, glancing around quickly to make sure that no surprise person would cross my path. I saw Jake sitting by the fountain and a smile of relief spread across my face. "Hey, Jake." I greeted, jogging up to him.

He grinned and pulled me into a hug. "Hi, Stevie." I pulled away and stared at him, scanning his handsome face and neck.

Then I saw it.

He had a hickey on his neck, big and purple. "Where the hell did you get that from?" I demanded, pointing to the hickey. His eyes widened as he brought his hand up to his neck, blocking its view. "That's nothing." he said, trying to smile. "Don't lie to me, Jake. That isn't just nothing because I know I did not give that to you." I fumed.

He looked away. I laughed almost as if I lost my mind. "Oh, was it Kaylee? Or Maria? Maybe even Jennifer or Chelsea!' I exclaimed, crossing my arms furiously. He looked at me with wide eyes. "How do you know about them?" he breathed.

"I do now."

"We're done. Oh, and by the way, I ran into your friend along the way. 'A' was his name? Yeah, you can thank him." I added. He glared at me and grabbed my wrist just as I was about to walk away. I slapped him and he was already steaming. He slapped me.

Hard.

My eyesight was getting blurry and I would have been able to regain my balance, if not for his second blow to my head. He punched me in the nose and I stumbled to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Now we're done." he whispered, crouching next to me. His hot breath tickled my ear, and it sent shivers down my spine. My eyes were slowly closing, twitching every now and then. Soon I faded into darkness and there was only a muffled noise and a loud ringing in my ears.

"See ya, Stevie." he mumbled and I could hear the sound of his pants 'swish' as he got up. His shoes hit the pavement rapidly, letting me know that he ran away.

After that, my memory was fuzzy. All I remembered was a pair of arms scooping me up from the ground and me bouncing uo and down as the person ran. I was a limp mass, with nobody to help except for this stranger.

All thanks to Jake.

â׆ End â׆

So now I'm too afraid to fall in love, because I could end up falling straight onto the ground, face first.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, will ever hurt me again the way Jake did. I just won't allow it.

So now do you see why my guard is up? I've been through too much pain. With my parents and Jake, my heart aches every other second.

It hurts too much to hear somebody say that they care for me.

You know what?

All lies.