Vic’s P.O.V
By the time I found the Aspirin in my medicine cabinet, I noticed that Drew had already left, so I decided to shower. I texted Dylan, letting her know that I would pick Ashley up from the hospital, since she had to wait for Drew to go there to get changed.

After I got dressed, I looked at my phone and saw that it was already noon. I cursed under my breath, remembering how I wanted to be there earlier. I jogged to my car and got to the hospital as quickly as I could. I got there in record time, and scoffed at my own excitement. This was the first time in my life I’d grown so attached to a girl I’d just recently met, but Ashley was so damn special. And I just wanted to be there for her through everything.

I walked through the entrance as quickly as I could without running, and eventually found my way to Ashley’s room. I knocked, and she granted me entrance. She was sitting at the edge of her hospital bed wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a Mayday Parade t-shirt. There was a bag at her feet of what I assumed to be some clothes that Dylan brought her the day before.

“You ready to get out of here?” I said with a smile, bending down to pick up her bag.

“More than ever,” she said with a chuckle. She stood up a little too quickly and winced, placing a hand on her stomach.

“Whoa there,” I said playfully, earning a sweet smile from her lips. I love that smile, I thought to myself while offering her my arm to hold on to. I walked her out to the reception desk to sign her out and then out to my car. It took us a little while to get there, seeing as how it really hurt her stomach to walk, but I didn’t care. She was really good at keeping high spirits, and I really liked that about her. Her laugh was contagious, and her energy was flawless. We laughed and joked nearly the entire way to my car, and I almost felt somewhat sad when she let go of my arm to sit down. I had grown so accustomed to her touch in those few minutes.

I decided to take her out for breakfast, and knowing she probably wouldn’t be able to eat much, I took her to Friendly’s so that she could at least get a milkshake or something.

Halfway through our milkshakes and laughter, she suddenly grew silent, and I watched the sparkle in her eyes fade a bit. “What’s wrong?” I asked her, feeling a frown grow on my face.

“Nothing,” her reply was short and simple, but certainly not sweet.

“It’s kinda silly to lie to me, don’t you think?” I replied with a short chuckle.

She took another sip of her milkshake before answering me. “I guess. It’s just that, well, what if he finds me again? What if he actually tries to kill me this time?”

I reach across the table and hold her hand in mine. “Ashley, look at me.” She reluctantly met my eyes, and I saw a sheet of tears coat her hazel eyes. “Jack is not going to find you. Not while I can help it,” I said sternly.

“But he knows where I live, Vic. He can find me.” I watched as the first tear made its way down her cheek and roll down her jaw line before dropping onto her lap.

I bit my lip, unsure of what to say, until an idea popped into my head. “Then come stay with me. We have an extra bedroom, and I’m sure the guys won’t mind. Tony spends a lot of time over at Dylan’s house anyway. Just say yes.”

She slowly lifted herself out of her side of the booth and came to sit next to me. “Thank you so much,” she said with a sigh, looking me deep in my eyes. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I wrapped mine around her waist. I was thankful for the hug, because in this position she wouldn’t be able to see the goofy smile that had taken refuge on my face.

We both rose from the seat, and I left a few bills on the table, walking out of the restaurant with Ashley next to me.

For the rest of the day, we just sat in the living room and watched movies. A few times, we tried to watch some scary ones, but we both got too scared and decided on a friendlier movie. Finally, around midnight, we decided we were tired and I took her upstairs, showing her to the same guest room that Drew had slept in the night before. “It isn’t much but, it’ll have to do for right now, I guess,” I said as Ashley sat down against the headboard. She looked so vulnerable, yet content.

“No, I love it. Thank you,” she said with a small smile.

“Anytime. Um, goodnight. My room is the last one on the left if you need anything. Don’t be afraid to come let me know, okay?” She nodded, and I turned on my heel to go to my own bed. It’d been a long day, and I was exhausted.

Ashley’s P.O.V
After Vic left the room, I let myself sink into my pillow. He was the sweetest person I’d ever met in my life, and I wondered what kind of demon has possessed me to stay with Jack for the amount of time I did. I shook the thought out of my head not wanting to think about him. I was only gonna scare myself, so I tried to drift off.

The bright lights burned through my eyelids. I squeezed them tight and pushed. “One more time!” I heard a voice say. Push. A high-pitched noise rang throughout the room, and a wave of exhaustion washed over me. A tall man wearing blue sterile gloves and a matching blue lab coat covered in blood walked over to me with a white bundle in his hand. “It’s a girl!” he whispered to me. He handed me the bundle, and I wrapped my arms around it. She had light brown hair that stuck against her pale skin and tiny fingers. I counted them. One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten. I kissed her small face and felt love. Suddenly I felt a warm liquid trickle down my arms. I looked down to see the sheets of my hospital bed dyed red and my pale arms covered in streams of blood. I looked down at my nameless bundle, and she was no longer my beloved infant. She was turning purple and her ten little fingers tensed up. I heard the frantic yells of doctors and nurses, and felt someone tug at my red and white bundle. Despite my screams of protest, they took her anyway, and I looked up to see a tall thin man with hazel eyes looming over me with his arms around my baby where mine once her. I screamed for him to give her back to me, but he disappeared from sight, taking her and my heart with him.

I awoke with a start. My heart was racing, and my breathing had been rushed to a troubled pant. I grasped for air, but was unable to find any. This panic attack went on for what seemed like forever until I heard the door open. A short figure with disheveled hair loomed in the threshold and walked in the room. “Ashley,” he said calmly. He sat down next to me and pulled me down until we were laying side-by-side. He pulled me into him and stroked my hair. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s just a nightmare,” he said quietly.

My breathing slowed to a normal pace, but I felt tears flow from my eyes. “She would have been a girl, Vic. She would have been beautiful,” I sobbed into his chest.

He didn’t say anything, he just rocked me back and forth and continued to stroke my hair.
“How could he do this to me? How could he take her from me?” I continued, feeling the tears fall harder.

Vic curled his index finger and placed it under my chin and pulled up until I was looking at him. “You have to believe me when I say that you have to be strong for your daughter.”

My tears slowed to a stop at his words, and he rubbed his thumbs over my cheeks, drying them. I looked into his deep brown eyes and found comfort, like no one else ever showed me before. Traces of the moonlight danced around his endless seas of brown. His eyes were gorgeous, and they made me feel different than I had ever felt in my life. They made me feel…wanted.

Then, almost on cue with my thoughts, Vic brought his face closer to mine until our lips were only millimeters apart. I closed the gap between the two of us, and let my lips rest on his for a moment. I broke the kiss and rested my head back on his chest, letting the sleep slowly overtake me.

And I didn’t have another nightmare.

Notes

I fucking love this chapter. Like a lot. Hah.