everything i didn't say » luke hemmings (book 2)

eighteen

"Thank you guys for being an amazing audience!" Luke shouts into the microphone.

"We love you all! Good night!" Calum yells. They all run off stage and I hide to avoid their sweaty hugs.

I come out of hiding once I know they're cleaner. We chill backstage while One Direction performs.

One Direction sing a few songs and talk for a while until a big bang goes off. There's tons of screaming.

"What the hell was that?" Ashton asks and jumps out of his seat. We all perform similar actions.

One of their managers come bursting in. "There's been a shooting! We must evacuate immediately!"

I look at the boys with wide eyes and they all have about the same look. We grab our essentials and run to the bus.

There's a big crowd of crew running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I look around for a familiar face and see that mesmerizing, blonde boy.

"Luke!" I shout, but he doesn't hear. "Luke! Please!" he must've heard me that time, for his head whipped around and his eyes scanned the crowd to find me.

Once he did we hugged for a second. He took my hand and we started running towards the busses. Half of the crew members were packing up the tents and getting everything done as quickly as possible.

All around were security guards keeping everyone focused on one thing. "Clean up the tents!" "Search for some people!" "Help clear the inside!"

Luke and I picked up a few things before rushing onto the bus. Calum was already sitting with about ten other crew members.

"Where are Ashton and Michael?" I ask immediately. The crew members just shrug and I groan.

"Something could happen to them! Luke, I'm worried," I bury my face into his chest and he comforts me.

"They'll be fine," he whispers to me.

"I sure hope so,"

We wait around for awhile and there are no signs of Ashton or Mikey. I'm on the verge of breaking down and crying. My brain is literally jumping to the most awful conclusions.

What if they were held at gunpoint? What if they were shot? What if the shooter took them...Oh god, I'm worrying myself.

The crew members left once it was safe to. The busses were leaving in twenty minutes.

"What the fuck! They can't just leave them here...Can they? Shit," I curse and pace back and forth. It's what I do when I get nervous or stressed.

"They'll turn up, Tatum," Calum says.

I bust out crying and collapse on the floor. By now almost every single fan and worker was gone. The arena was practically vacant. I doubt they're inside.

"Shh, shh...Calm down Tatum. Take a deep breath and relax," Instead of listening to Luke I cry harder.

Two of my only friends are missing and I can't do shit. Their phones are most likely off or dead due to their lack of responsibility when it comes to charging them.

"Guys! I know what we can do!" I scream. Calum and Luke look at me expectantly.

"We can download the phone tracking app and type in their numbers or whatever!"

"Brilliant!"

All three of us download the app and check their numbers. I check Mikey's first and it says he's in the arena.

"What the hell? It says Mikey's in the arena..." I trail off. He has more common sense than to hide inside.

"It says Ashton is down a couple of blocks at some restaurant,"

"Okay. Calum, you can go get Ashton. Tatum and I will go in and look for Michael," my eyes go wide.

"What?!" I exclaim. Luke clamps his hand over my mouth.

"I won't let anything happen to you, okay? Now we have twenty minutes to find Mikey and board the bus before it takes off without us," Luke says.

He laces our fingers together and we jog into the arena. We start shouting his name and various nicknames to let him know it's us.

"Mikey?" I scream.

"I found him!" Luke yells. I follow his voice and see Mikey passed out on the floor.

"What do you think happened to him?" I ask.

"I dunno, but he's out cold. We'll have to carry him," Luke says.

"What makes you think a weak girl like me can carry and one hundred and seventy pound boy?" Luke gives me a look and I sigh.

"Okay,"

We both lift him up and carry him as quickly as possible, which isn't that fast. Luke has most of his weight, but it's still hard and tiring for me.

Finally, after a long fourteen minutes, Mikey's body is sprawled on the couch. Calum and Ashton are conversing normally on the other.

I immediately squeeze Ashton in a tight embrace. He hugs back hesitantly.

"If you scare me like that again I'm ripping out every single hair on your body,"

•

Later that night, when the rest of the boys were asleep, I woke Luke up. Today's events are haunting me and I needed to talk to somebody.

"Tatum? What's wrong?" he asks as I shake him awake.

"I can't sleep," I tell him. Now that he's fully conscious, he's aware that there's something else up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I simply nod my head. He throws the covers back and let's me crawl in beside him. He wraps his arm around my waist as I face his bare chest.

"I couldn't stop thinking about my dad while everything was going on. The last night he was alive was...horrifying,"

I look up into Luke's eyes and they're staring back into mine. I can see the worry floating around in them.

"I got home from school to find him drinking probably his tenth beer of the day. As soon as he saw me he slapped me, tied me to the bed, and raped me. Tyler got home soon after and he did the same to him."

"Once he decided he had enough, he pulls out a handgun. He points it at my head first, and then Tyler's, and then his own. The next thing I knew he was on the floor dead," by now, tears are swimming in my eyes.

"I'm so sorry Tatum..." Luke says.

"It's not your fault. It's just...the chaos reminded me of that night and every time I close my eyes I see his face. It makes me want to cry," I say.

"Look at me," he tells me. I look into his eyes and see tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I want you to know that the pain he felt is gone. The stress he caused for you is gone. He's gone. You have me, Tatum. I love you and I'll always be here for you. The boys will always be here for you. So will your mother and Tyler. You're safe now."

Luke brings me into the tightest embrace I've ever been apart of as I start to bawl. We stay like that for the longest time.

-

again, if you or somebody you know is a victim of domestic violence, SEEK HELP!! it's not cool, and it can cause psychological damage, so PLEASE, help yourself and others! It doesn't hurt to let somebody know about your situation! It can save a life!

domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233

anyways to be honest this is just a filler chapter and i was having small writers block ok. don't even vote for this chapter it sucked.