Tony’s P.O.V
I started down the street in my car. I didn’t even miss being home; it wasn’t that I didn’t love sharing a home with my band mates, but Dylan and I had grown so close over the past few days. I quickly replayed the events of the past five days, all the way from my very first time at Dylan’s shop up to the second time just earlier today. I thought about how I was so nervous to see her that first day that I hadn’t even realized how awesome her tattoo parlor really was, and how I was spending so much time being shy that I was angry with her for having fun. I hated how I sometimes allowed my jealousy to get the best of me.

“‘This is not petty drama. My feelings for you are well beyond some stupid crush!’”

“You have no idea how I feel about you.’”

Flashes of mine and Dylan’s previous arguments danced through my mind. She said that she loves you, man, I thought to myself. Did I feel the same way? At this point, I couldn’t think of any other word to describe my feelings for her. She was practically perfect for me, love just might be the feeling.

Realizing that I was on my street shook me out of my thoughts. I parked in front of my large house and walked up the path, jingling my keys in my hand. I didn’t see any cars in the driveway, so I figured that no one was home. I turned my key in the lock and walked in, shutting the door behind me. I immediately walked upstairs to my room, wanting to sit on the balcony and play guitar for a while. That was the one thing I missed while I was with Dylan; I had been too consumed in her to pay any attention to playing guitar. I guess I gotta get used to being consumed in both. I smiled at the thought.

However, instead of silence, when I got to the top of the stairs I was greeted by a singing voice. It was high and soft. It was a girls voice, and I had never heard it before, but it was really pretty. I stood in my place for a while, not knowing what to do, and I made out the words to our song, Stay Away From My Friends.

Baby, stay away from my friends,
‘Cause I need them, to carry me,
When it’s over, I’ll count back from ten,
And you can listen, to glass hearts shattering.

I stood there, memorized by the mysterious muffled voice. I wanted to figure out who this was, but her voice was captivating.

I don’t know, how you got into me,
Down my throat, and made a home in my veins,
There used to be the rivers that would take us away,
But now you only call me every Christmas and my birthday.
I still can’t believe how you look next to me,
Just like a strip club bedroom scene.

I leaned against the wall and smirked. This voice was amazing, but who the hell was in my house? I realized the voice was coming from the guest room, and I started in that direction. The lights were off in the hallway, but I knew my way around. I had only taken a few steps when I ran into something and heard a groan. “Ah, shit!” I heard.

I stepped to the side and moved my hand around on the wall until I found the light switch. Before me was Ashley with a towel wrapped around her. I guess it was from when we collided, but the towel had dropped a bit, exposing some of her breasts. I felt a quick feeling of arousal in the pit of my stomach at the sight of them, but I shook the thought away just as quickly as it came. “Fuck, Ashley!” I shot my hand up and covered my eyes.

“Damnit, sorry!” She responded. A few seconds later she said, “Okay, it’s safe to look.” I cautiously uncovered my eyes to see that she was now partially covered, only part of her Collide With The Sky tattoo across her chest showing. “When did you get here?”

“I just came home from Dylan’s house, but I live here. When did you get here?”

“Yesterday. I’m gonna be staying here for a while. I’m kind of in hiding, you know?” She tilted her head to the side, and her long light brown hair fell down from its loose ponytail in wet curls.

“I see…well, I’m gonna be in my room. It’s the second one down the hall if you need me.” She nodded at me and we both walked away to our respective locations. Well, that was fucking awkward, I thought to myself as I walked into my room. My eyes shot to the far corner of my bedroom to where my acoustic was resting in its stand. I made my way over to it, and walked onto the balcony where I began to work on some new riffs.

Dylan’s P.O.V
I paced the floor eagerly. It was eleven p.m., and Drew still hadn’t called or texted me. Where the hell is she? I thought. My stomach croaked, and I realized I hadn’t eaten anything all day. I walked over to my fridge and retrieved the to-go container that held the leftover pizza from when I went to the diner with Tony earlier. I put the pizza on a plate and set it in the microwave.

As I closed the door to the microwave, my phone started buzzing in my pocket, and I jumped with apprehension. My heart skipped a few beats as I took it out of my jean shorts and saw that Drew was calling me. “Drew!” I yelled into the phone. “Where have you been?”

“Hey, Dylan. I’ve been home all day.” Her voice was hushed, almost in a whisper.

“So why did you wait until nearly midnight to call me? I’ve been worried sick all damn day!”

“Sorry! I couldn’t find some time to myself. They were lounging around the house all day, and I have an essay due soon so I didn’t really have time to leave.” She was speaking so quietly that I had to strain to hear her.

“Who’s ‘they’? And why are you talking so quietly? I can barely hear you.” The microwave beeped, and I took my pizza out and sat at the counter, ready to eat my food.

“Jerry and Jack!”

“Jack…Jack like Ashley’s psychopathic ex-boyfriend, Jack?” I asked in between bites, my eyes wide. I could feel my appetite slowly creeping away again.

“Does Ashley’s psychopathic ex-boyfriend have a brother named Jerry?”

I thought for a second. I didn’t really know the answer to that question. “Hold on, Drew. Don’t hang up.” I selected the ‘new call’ option on my phone and scrolled down my contacts, looking for Vic’s number. I pressed call, and he picked up on the fourth ring.

“Hey, Dylan,” he sounded really happy, which was a huge improvement from how he had been doing just two days before.

“Hey, Vic. Is Ashley with you?”

“Uh, yeah, why?”

“I need to talk to her, can you give her the phone please?” My words came out rushed. My appetite was completely gone now. I frowned at the half-eaten slice of pizza in front of me.

“Sure.”

“Hello?” I heard Ashley say after a few seconds of shuffling.

“Hey, Ashley. How are you doing?” I tried to sound as casual as possible.

“Um, pretty okay, I guess.”

“Good, but I have to ask you something, okay?”

“Mhm,”

“Uh, I know you probably don’t wanna talk about this, but I really need you to answer this for me. Does Jack have a brother named Jerry that lives here in San Diego?”

“Yes…” her response came out slow and cautious.
“And do you, by any chance, know if Jerry has a fiancee and a son?”

“Um…his fiancee's name is something kinda masculine, like um…Drew? Like Barrymore? The actress? I think. And the son is…um…shit. I don’t know. Michael? Micah?”

My jaw dropped open. “Ashley, come outside in fifteen minutes. We’re going to the police station.” I hung up the phone with her and switched back to Drew. “Drew? Are you there?”

“Yeah, what was that all about?”

“Be ready in 10 minutes. We’re going to the police station.”

“What am I gonna say to Jerry?”

“Tell him I needed you for something, I don’t know! Just think of something.” I hung up and starting toward the door, slipping on flip flops while grabbing my keys and my purse.

Ashley’s P.O.V
Vic looked up at me. “What was all that about?” He raised his eyebrow in concern.

“She told me that in fifteen minutes she’s coming to get me and that we’re going to the police station.”

“Oh my God,”

“What?”

“Dylan’s sister’s name is Drew, and she’s engaged to this guy named Jerry and they have a son named Micah.” I felt my eyes go wide. “Yeah. I think Jack is at Drew’s house.”

“Oh my God,” I said, just as Vic had. “Well, come on. Get Tony. You guys can follow behind us."

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, Dylan was in front of the house. I ran outside, and Tony and Vic did the same. I saw that there was someone in the front seat, so I got in the back. “I’m Drew,” the woman in the passenger seat said. “Your ex is brothers with my fiancee. We’re turning him in for what he did to you.” I felt tears sting at my eyes. This was all happening so fast. Just a week earlier, I thought I had gotten away from Jack. I thought I could be happy. Where did I go wrong?

“Nice to meet you, Drew.”

“I hope you don’t mind,” Dylan interjected. “Drew had to bring her son, Micah, with her.” I looked to my left to see a small child in a booster seat resting with his eyes closed.

“Yeah, when I went to leave, Jerry and Jack were gone, so I just brought him with me,” Drew said.

“It’s okay, I need all the support I can get,” I joked, smiling at the boy next to me. I was grateful that I was able to make the lighthearted comment, even if it failed to enlighten my mood.

We pulled up to a red light, and my heart beat faster. I just wanted to get the whole process over with, and every time we had to slow down just made it more nerve-wracking. I looked up to see two pedestrians crossing the street in front of us. They were two tall men, one with dark hair, and one with light hair. They looked at us as they walked in front of the car, two sets of hazel eyes piercing through the windshield. Is that…?

“Ashley!?” Jack’s loud voice boomed in my ears, and I screamed as he made his way to my window.

Notes

Cliffhanger Alert!