No Escape (luke hemmings au)

~part eighteen~

        “It’s about goddamn time,” Ashton chuckled. Luke pulled away and looked at Ashton, embarrassed, but I couldn’t take his eyes off him. His cheeks were pink with blush and streaked with dirt. His hair was messy and he played with his lip ring nervously. He looked perfect.

                “I bet Elisa is looking down on you guys right now doing a happy dance and yelling ‘I TOLD YOU SO’ to anyone who’ll listen,” Ashton leaned back on his heels and winked at Luke. I giggled weakly.

                Luke looked back to me. His blue eyes seemed to have every answer I was looking for. He made me feel safe and comfortable with a single glance. “I’m so sorry for everything I said,” he said. “I didn’t mean it.”

                “I know,” I coughed. “You’re a dick around hot girls, I know the drill,” I laughed. Luke laughed, too, and planted a light kiss on my head.

                “How adorable,” I heard a woman’s voice say in front of me. I looked ahead of me and saw a slender, middle-aged woman emerging from the door the Sick had been guarding. She stepped over his body like it wasn’t even there. She wore an intimidating grimace that made me think she knew something I didn’t. Ashton pulled his shirt tighter around me and instantly stood with his gun in his hand.

                “Who the hell are you?” Ashton demanded.

                The woman chuckled. “I don’t mean to spoil the ending to your little chick flick moment, but it doesn’t have a happy one.”

                The woman’s voice was cold and sharp. She wasn’t someone I wanted to mess with but it looked like I already had. Her presence sent shivers down my spine. Ashton’s posture didn’t waver.

                “I said who the hell are you?” he repeated.

                The woman chuckled. “I could ask you the same thing, but I’m more interested in my sister’s dead husband on the ground.” The tone in her voice changed dramatically and she became even more intimidating, if that was possible. Her eyes narrowed. Her gaze was cold and calculating. Ashton didn’t say anything.

                “I never really liked that asshole,” she sneered. “But he was family, and family’s all we got nowadays.”

I heard heavy footsteps coming around from the front parking lot and knew that the Sick were heading our way. The woman didn’t seem bothered.

“Get them,” the woman said calmly. Suddenly three tall, strong teenage boys appeared from inside the mall and advanced on Ashton. One of them seized him by linking his arm through both of Ashton’s, pinning them behind him back.

                “This one’s a cripple, mom,” the boy said. He was at least six foot four with biceps bigger than my head. I didn’t have time to hear the woman’s response as one of the other boys hauled me up over his shoulder.

                “NO!” Luke yelled. He tried to take me back but it was no use.

I cried out in pain and tried to adjust my position but the boy held me in place. The last boy grabbed Luke roughly and shoved him forward, making him walk. Luke stumbled over his own feet, trying to get back to me. The boy holding him whacked him upside the head and whispered a threat loud enough only for Luke’s ears.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to distract myself from the pain. The boy had his arm wrapped tightly around my abdomen, applying pressure on the wound. It might help stop the bleeding but that didn’t make it any less painful. The boy didn’t even seem to notice I was hurt.