I Want to Hold Your Hand {COMPLETED}

Chapter Two

I wake up the next morning and Levi isn't in the bed. I groan, looking at the bruises on my arms. I put on a tight light grey tank-top, light wash skinny jeans, a flannel shirt and my leather jacket over top. I brush my teeth and do my make up. I put my hair in a high ponytail. I run down the stairs and see a passed out Levi on the couch. I scoff quietly. I grab my camera and start my Keurig. I put the black coffee in a travel mug and grab my keys and camera before slipping on my black pair of Vans sneakers. I drive to the set, get my badge and walk to the meeting area. I take off my jacket and hang it on the coat rack. I make sure that my sleeves stay rolled down, not to expose the bruises on my arms. "Boo!" Two hands squeeze my sides. I turn around. "Ben!" I shriek, slapping his arm. He laughs. "Laugh it up." I say tauntingly. "Babe?" I hear a woman's voice call. "In here, Kat!" Ben shouts. A pretty blonde woman walks up to Ben and hugs his side. My heart drops into my stomach. "Payton, this is my girlfriend, Katriona. Kat, this is Payton." Ben smiles at the woman. "Hi!" She smiles, extending her hand out. "Hey." I say, extending my arm out, meeting her hand and shaking it. Ben's eyes dart down to my wrist. I notice that my sleeves rolled up and the bruises showed. I pull my hand away and roll the sleeves down. His eyes filled with worry as he looks at me. I give him a 'don't worry about it' look. He understands and they walk away. "Payton!" Joe shouts. "Joe!" I shout, running up to him and hugging him. "You met Katriona, I see." Joe says. "Yeah." I sigh, taking a swing of my coffee. "What's wrong?" Joe asks. "Nothing. I'm just tired." I shrug. "Why don't I believe you?" He asks, sitting next to me. He touches me back where Levi shoves me into the doorknob, making me wince. "Are you okay?" He asks. "Yes, I'm fine." I say. "The biggest lie in the existence of humanity." Joe says. "What d'you mean?" I ask. "Your not fine." Joe says simply. "Why did you wince when I touched your back and why are there bruises on your wrist and chest?" Joe asks. I take a deep breath. "My boyfriend, Levi. We got into fight last night. He went out with his mates like he has been doing for three days. I asked him not to go and he threw me against the door and I hit my back on the doorknob." I say, looking at my hands. "You have to tell someone!" He raises his voice. "Joe, keep it down. My brother is a cop here and I'm worried he'll get hurt." I say sadly. "He won't get hurt, I promise. Call him and tell him." He says. I nod and dial my brother's phone number. Joe stands up and looks around. Ben comes into the room. "Ben. Just give her a second." Joe says, pushing him away. "Hello?" My brother's voice comes form the other side. "Rog? I have to tell you something." I say. "What is it, Pay?" He asks. "Levi shoved me against the doorknob last night. He hit my chest the night before." I say, my voice breaking. "What? Okay. I'll go over there with some other people and we'll arrest him." He says. "Thank you. I love you." I smile sadly. "I love you too, squirt. I'll meet you at your flat when you get back. Bye." He hangs up. Joe hugs me. "Are you going to tell us what's going on?" Rami asks. Joe and I let go. Lucy, Gwilym, Ben, Katriona and Rami look at us weirdly. "You got it." Joe whispers in my ear. I take a deep breath and remove my flannel to expose my bruises. Everyone gasps. Ben looks at my wrists and notices my scars. "My boyfriend beats me." I choke out. I turn around and show them the huge bruise on my upper back. "That's why Joe was hugging me." I sigh. Ben grabs my wrist. "And these?" He points at the pink-white scars on my wrist. "You know what these are, Ben. I know you're not that stupid." I sigh. He pulls at my wrist and hugs me. Lucy, Joe, Gwilym and Rami join the hug. Ben smells so good, like mint, musk and cigarettes. Unlike Levi who smells like vodka and B.O. Everyone let's go except for Ben. Katriona clears her throat, clearly annoyed that Ben is hugging me longer than anyone. Ben let's go and walks back to where he was standing, receiving a kiss on the cheek from Katriona. I wipe the mascara from under my eyes and the tears off my cheeks. They all look at me, worry in their eyes. "Imma go to the washroom." Katriona says. She leaves. "Let's go out for drinks tonight." Gwilym suggests. We all agree and sit on the sofas and chairs. I sit in between Ben and Joe on the sofa. Ben has an open space for Katriona for when she gets back. She plops down beside Ben and rests her head in his shoulder. I sigh relaxing my head into Ben's forearm that is resting on top of the couch.

A/N: I created a playlist for this story. It has all the songs that are played in this story. I will be adding songs as the story goes. Here is the link: https://open.spotify.com/user/payton_victoria/playlist/0gHPDfwAMC4RwkwTSlbyYD?si=V3BP6hTUSh2JueB_7HwOeg