Outcast
15. Hell Above
*Thalia’s POV*
As soon as I heard the gunshot, my eyes flew open wide in fear. The vision before my eyes made me weak at my knees. Austin was on the floor on one of his knees, his other leg outstretched before him. At first I didn’t see it due to the dark colour of his jeans, but then, it became visible: a hole on his left thigh from which blood was flowing alarmingly quickly.
“Austin!” I screamed. I felt fear and anger making their way through me as I tried to yank myself free. When the guy that was holding me didn’t let go, I felt a shot of adrenaline start spreading through my veins. I thrashed harder and finally made myself out of the man’s hold, growling. “Let. Me. Go.”
Falling to my knees beside Austin, I heard the noise of the robbers shouting in the background, but I barely heard them. I was trying to cut the blood flow from Austin’s leg. I laid him down on the floor, both of us making a huge effort. I tried to examine the wound, but it was more than difficult, given the dim light and the fabric around it.
As I heard the robbers still bickering and arguing about what had just happened, I carefully made my way to the counter, grabbed a pair of scissors and crawled back to where the wounded man was laying. He was pale, and his breathing was heavy but steady, and his face showed the pain he must’ve been suffering.
“I’m going to cut the fabric, okay? It won’t hurt.” I informed Austin in a weak, soothing voice - I had to keep my calm, at least for his sake. He nodded weakly and closed his eyes tightly. I picked the corners of the hole, ever so lightly and started cutting, making the damage on the fabric of the jeans bigger. No matter how careful I was, Austin’s breathe hitched every now and then. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I kept muttering every time.
I was horrified when I saw the damage that had been done on Austin’s leg, and I wanted nothing more than run away, but I had to be strong for once. Luckily, my mum was a nurse, and had taught me a quite a few things before turning into an alcoholic negligent mother. However, I had nothing to help Austin with and I couldn’t exactly walk around to look for what I needed. So, what I did was take of my grey cardigan and cut off one of the sleeves. Folding it into a fluffy square, I pressed it against the wound, trying to contain the flow of blood coming out from it. Austin was conscious, but weak by then, and groaned low at the pressure I applied. Soon, the grey fabric was coloured in crimson and even my hands were soaked with blood, so I used the rest of the cardigan. If I didn’t do something soon, Austin was going to die before me – I couldn’t let that happen.
I looked around us frantically and I felt my blood boil in anger when I saw the four dumb fucks still arguing and, apparently, blaming each other.
“HEY, THERE YOU SCREW-UP DIMWITS! THERE’S A MAN BLEEDING ALMOST TO DEATH HERE! I COULD USE SOME MOTHERFUCKING HELP, YOU KNOW?” I shouted across the room with all I had in me. The men seemed surprised at my outburst and hell, so was I – I had no idea I could be that sassy...
One of them made and attempt to come my way, wearing a very angry face, but the ‘leader’ stopped them and muttered something along the lines of “...he dies, then we’re screwed.” Then, one of them stayed beside the phone and the rest approached us.
“Okay, what do you need, girly?” The ‘leader’ asked. Although he seemed to be collaborating, his body language gave away he was nervous and angry.
I let slip the fact that he had just called me ‘girly’ as we had more important things to take care of. “I need a stick, a branch of a tree or something like that, and a belt to make a tourniquet.”
I heard rushing around the shop and soon, I was handed a thick wooden stick, around 30 inches long – perfect. I placed it on top on Austin’s leg, leaving the cardigan and making it stay in place with the stick. Then, I tied the belt one of the men gave me just above the wound as tightly as I could, fastening it afterwards. I then took off the belt I was wearing and fastened it under around Austin’s leg but this time on the area under the wound.
The blood flow had been cut, but Austin was very pale and slipping in and out of consciousness. I was terrified of him falling asleep in fears that he might not wake up from the blood loss. I dropped beside me and gripped his hand between my bloody ones as I felt an astray tear escape.
“Don’t you dare die on me, Austin, do you hear me? Don’t dare!” I sobbed softly, but hastily wiped away the tears with the back of my hand.
Austin opened his eyes and smiled that warm, fatherly smile of his. “Don’t worry, hun. I’m not that easy to shake off. You’ve got Carlile to put up with for a long time.” He smiled and chuckled softly before he broke into a fit of coughs. I panicked a bit and helped him sit upright a bit. He leant his back against the wall and closed his eyes.
I heard the lead robber talking on the phone with someone; I assumed it would be the police. I scrambled to my feet and rushed to his side only thinking about taking Austin out of here.
“Please, please, you need to let him out.” I pleaded with him, pointing at Austin, who was seemingly unconscious. Panic rose in my chest at the sight. “He’s lost a lot of blood, he’ll probably need a transfusion, please let him out.”
“We can’t let one of our hostages out just like girly, haven’t you ever watched that episode from ‘Without a Trace’?” The man snapped angrily, but I wasn’t going to give up.
I looked around, trying to come up with a bargain, until an idea popped into my head. “What if someone else came inside? Let him out and someone comes inside!”
The man started talking again and apparently, my idea was well received by both parts because, not much later, the phone rang again, informing that someone would be coming in, in Austin’s place, so he’d be let out. I sighed in relief and I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders when I saw one of the robbers going to Austin to help him up and towards the door – luckily, he was conscious again. The other three lifted the metal blinds so he would be able to get out.
“Austin, you’re going out man!” I cheered softly, smiling at him. He smiled, but his eyes looked unfocused and glazed over, like in a haze. “Please, tell Vic, Kellin, and the other guys that I love them, okay?” He nodded and then he was off. I sank to the floor and put my head between my hands as I let a few tears fall.
The thing that I feared most at the moment wasn’t that these men might kill me, not really. What I feared was that I wouldn’t get to see Vic again. I wouldn’t see him, or all the friends I’d made here. Finally I’d found people who liked me– I still couldn’t believe why on earth, but they did – and I couldn’t help but feel very miserable at the thought of not being able to see them again and living the new life I had just begun, all the hoped and dreams that had begun to scratch their way through the sadness and numbness I felt back at home.
I heard the door open and I knew the new hostage was here. I didn’t want to know who the poor soul was, but I felt I had, more o less, like a moral compromise with them to help each other while we were here. So, I raised my eyes and met a pair of familiar chocolate eyes that looked back at me sadly.
My entire world crumbled around me, crushing me against the ground when I saw him standing there. If Vic was in here, what hope was there left?
“You, sit there and no funny things.” One of the robbers snapped at Vic. He nodded and quickly made his way to where I was sitting. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of him being in here, so I shrunk away from him when he crouched in front of me.
“Thalia, baby, it’s me...” Vic said in a soft voice, clearly confused as to why I was acting so weird and elusive towards him when I should’ve been thrilled to see him. However, in my head, all I could think of was that I had proposed the switch of hostages and that had ended in Vic in here, so this was all my fault. ‘Great way to fuck everything up even more, Thalia.’ The voice inside my head picked on me, only triggering more self-blaming thoughts. It was my fault that Austin had been shot in the first place, and now it was my fault that Vic is here...
“Thalia, please, what’s wrong?” Fear and confusion were palpable in poor Vic’s voice. He sounded so innocent and so concerned – so loving and caring – that I lost it completely. I grabbed a fistful of my hair and gritted my teeth before letting the tears fall freely.
“WHY ARE YOU HERE? YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! IT’S MY FAULT! IT’S MY FAULT THAT AUSTIN GOT SHOT AND THAT NOW YOU’RE HERE... WHAT KIND OF PERSON AM I? It’s my fault... You shouldn’t be here, you’re in danger... Why are you here? You shouldn’t be here...” I kept muttering to myself as I looked at my still bloody hands, crying hysterically still.
I felt Vic sit beside me against the wall and wrap his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I broke down a even more – if possible. I hugged tightly by the waist and buried my face in his chest as I cried, both of guilt and happiness of having him here.
“I’m here because you are.” Vic whispered in my ear when my crying calmed down to a quiet sobbing. His long fingers combed through my hair, calming me a bit. He kissed the top of my head and rocked back and forth slowly. “I couldn’t stay outside knowing you were here in danger even if they’d made me. I’m actually glad I’ve been able to replace Austin, because that way, he has a chance to be saved, and I have a chance to protect the one person that is my life and holds my heart.”
---
*Vic’s POV*
Hours dragged by and the situation was tense. The robbers were negotiating with the police the amount of money they wanted in exchange for letting us free while Thalia and I sat on the floor, clinging to each other. Eventually, she’d calmed down and was currently sitting next to me with her head on my shoulder and her arms around me, like mine were around hers, as I sang softly one of the songs I’d written.
“Your voice is beautiful.” Thalia whispered, plying with my fingers. “If we get out of here, you guys are going to make it big.”
I blushed at her compliment and thought about what she’d said. “When we get out of here, we’re going to make it big.”
“Yes, you will. I’m sure about that. You’re gonna save lives with your music, Vic. You’re going to do something important, I can feel it.” After saying that, Thalia looked up and smiled softly at me. My heart swelled at what she’d just said and I leant down to kiss her soft but passionately. Our lips molded together and fit like they were meant to be and I knew I had found what they called “the one”, although I’d always believed that was just for corny films.
“I love you. I love you so much.” I muttered and kissed her slowly again. Eventually, we fell silent and just listened to the sound the other men made. Apparently the police wasn’t giving in. Suddenly, we heard a ear-splitting bang and the sound of heavy metal against the tiled floor. Thalia and I looked up, startled and shocked to see the police had just cut through the metal blind and thrown it on the floor. We stood up and I stood in front of Thalia to protect her from any possible harm that could come our way, even though the police was already arresting the four robbers.
Two officers, a man and a woman, came our way and took us outside. It was all so fast I was very confused. They took us to an ambulance that was parked there so they could check if we were harmed. I was perfectly unharmed, and Thalia only had a few scratched and a bruise on her check, which made my insides turn and boil every time I looked at it. A blanket was put around each of us and we were given a cup of a warm drink, I assumed it was chocolate because of the sweet smell, to help the shock.
“Ms. Nolan, Mr. Fuentes, we have been notified that you’re in fine state of health and we’d like you to tell us what happened inside.” One of the police officers politely asked us. I nodded and Thalia started telling from the beginning. Then, I joined telling the story from when I went inside. All along, the other officer was taking notes. “Thank you very much. Now, do you want to press charges?”
“Yes.” Thalia said firmly, a determined look on her face. I admired her determination and I nodded, answering the question as well.
“Very well. We hope the best for both of you and we’ll see you at the court for the judging of these criminals.” Then, they left.
I side-hugged Thalia with one arm and sipped at the cup in my hand when a group of people came rushing towards us. Of course, the guys would be worried sick.
I saw all of them were here – Noah Kellin, Jaime and Tony, Olivia and Eve too. They all crushed us into a huge group hug and started nagging at us with questions on the lines of “are you guys okay?” “what was it like inside?” “was it like in NCIS?” “was it scary?” “you are okay, aren’t you, guys?” We smiled and answered their questions as best as we could.
When we were sure we weren’t needed in there anymore, we decided to head home. Jaime and Eve offered to give us a lift home and we weren’t going to decline an offer like that.
After saying our goodbyes to Kellin, Noah, Olivia and Tony, we hopped into Jaime’s SUV with them and we sped off into the night towards our street.
We reached it in no time and we got out of the car quickly. Before leaving, we said our thanks to our friends and they gave us their “be safe, don’t get into another hold up” goodbyes.
As soon as we arrived to Thalia’s flat, she went to the bathroom to have a shower and I went to the kitchen to make some more hot chocolate. When Thalia finished, I went into the shower myself. I discarded my clothes and hopped under the warm spray. As I let the water relax my muscles, I thought about everything that had happened today. Weird enough, the most important thing in my head was what Thalia had said.
“...You’re gonna save lives with your music, Vic. You’re going to do something important, I can feel it.” It meant the world to me, and I was determined to do so.
Soon, I left the shower, with a towel wrapped around my waist, and got dressed in boxers, sweatpants and a white t-shirt. I looked for Thalia and found her sitting at her window, staring at the sky. I got two mugs of steamy chocolate, put a marshmallow on each, and walked over to where she was, sitting with her.
“Thanks.” She smiled big and poked the marshmallow with her finger to make it sink, but burnt the tip of her finger in the process. “Ow!” I swear I wouldn’t be able to handle it if she got any cuter.
We gazed at the stars on the sky, sipping hot chocolate and enjoying each other’s company and the calm after today’s madness. When we were done, we headed to bed, where we laid. Thalia laid her head on my chest draped her arm around my waist while I had my arms around her. I started playing with her hair as I sang softly.
“You know, I really, really fucking love you.” Thalia muttered in a weak voice that told me she was close to falling asleep. She didn’t normally curse, so it made this the more special.
“I really fucking love too. More than I thought, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it now.” I whispered, still threading her soft, silky hair between my fingers.
“Then don’t, because I don’t plan on leaving any time soon. You mean too much to me, you’re like my guardian angel...” She looked up and planted a soft kiss to my lips, which I returned quickly, before resuming her position and talking with sleepy voice. “Just grow a pair of wings already...”
“Shh, you’re starting to ramble, love. Go to sleep, tomorrow will be another day.”
“Yeah, tomorrow will be another day... But you’ll have to show me your wings someday...” She kept blabbing softly as she dozed off. It was extremely cute, like a little kid. I tightened my grip around her, hugging her close. I felt her against me and smelled her fresh shampoo.
I kissed her head and went with the flow of her jabber. “Yes, of course. I’ll show you them someday.”
“I bet they’re fluffy...” And with that she fell asleep. I kissed her hair again and then went to sleep as well.
Chapter 15*
*Thalia’s POV*
It’d been a week since the hold up and life was back on track more or less as if nothing had happened.
Austin was still in hospital, getting better every day, but he still had recovery to go through, so he’d asked me to stay in charge of the parlour meanwhile. Although I wouldn’t admit it, I felt very proud because he had trusted me enough to leave me in charge, being new and all.
Of course, the place had looked like a tornado had gone through it after the incident, and it had been hard work having it clean and back in order in the shortest time possible. Everyone had offered to help whenever they had some spare time, so I was never left alone with all the work.
It was around six in the afternoon, and Vic and I had spent all afternoon cleaning after he’d come to give me a hand after his shift. The place looked pretty good and I thought that it’d be ready to be re-opened the next morning. And so I told Vic.
“Of course, we’re masters at cleaning.” He joked, raising his cleaning spray as if it was a gun. I let out a loud laugh and threw a cloth that was within reach at him. Vic caught it and looked at me with a mischievous glint to his brown eyes. I giggled and took off running around when he started chasing me, spraying me with the cleaning liquid.
“Stop it! That’s gross!” I laughed, but Vic kept chasing me implacably until he caught me. Suddenly, his arms were wrapped around my waist and I was lifted in the air, my back pressed against his warm chest.
“Gotcha.” Vic whispered in my ear when he set me back on my feet. I turned around to face him and gazed at his deep copper-like eyes. I was about to go on my tip toes to kiss him when he leaned down ever so little and captured my lips with his in a kiss worthy of the corniest film ever. It started of sweet and gentle, but escalated quickly into a full on make out session.
Vic put his hands on my bum and propped me up, so I wrapped my legs around his waist, all while our lips molded together and our tongues massaged each other.
He walked us to the counter and sat me on top of it as he stood between my legs, never leaving my lips or my body unattended. I was feeling daring, so I bit his lower lip gently between my teeth. That earned a low growl from Vic that only made him ten times hotter. I tugged at his t-shirt with slightly shaky hands and he broke the kiss for a second to pull it over his head and throw it somewhere. Just as quick, his lips were back at it, attached to my neck making purple and bluish marks rise on my freckled skin. I moaned softly and blushed at what a dirty noise had just escaped my mouth. Vic looked up and into my eyes, smiling with lustful eyes. “You’re too beautiful for your own good, love.”
Just as I was about to answer, or kiss him or whatever I would’ve done if I’d had the opportunity, the newly placed metal doors flew open revealing Satan himself, but with curly hair and brown eyes instead of horns and hooves.
“THALIA HAYLEY NOLAN.” A voice boomed across the place. I shrunk in Vic’s arms as he tightened his grip around me, as if he could protect me. But he couldn’t anymore, because Hell had found me and it would do anything to drag me back with it.
“Mom?”
As soon as I heard the gunshot, my eyes flew open wide in fear. The vision before my eyes made me weak at my knees. Austin was on the floor on one of his knees, his other leg outstretched before him. At first I didn’t see it due to the dark colour of his jeans, but then, it became visible: a hole on his left thigh from which blood was flowing alarmingly quickly.
“Austin!” I screamed. I felt fear and anger making their way through me as I tried to yank myself free. When the guy that was holding me didn’t let go, I felt a shot of adrenaline start spreading through my veins. I thrashed harder and finally made myself out of the man’s hold, growling. “Let. Me. Go.”
Falling to my knees beside Austin, I heard the noise of the robbers shouting in the background, but I barely heard them. I was trying to cut the blood flow from Austin’s leg. I laid him down on the floor, both of us making a huge effort. I tried to examine the wound, but it was more than difficult, given the dim light and the fabric around it.
As I heard the robbers still bickering and arguing about what had just happened, I carefully made my way to the counter, grabbed a pair of scissors and crawled back to where the wounded man was laying. He was pale, and his breathing was heavy but steady, and his face showed the pain he must’ve been suffering.
“I’m going to cut the fabric, okay? It won’t hurt.” I informed Austin in a weak, soothing voice - I had to keep my calm, at least for his sake. He nodded weakly and closed his eyes tightly. I picked the corners of the hole, ever so lightly and started cutting, making the damage on the fabric of the jeans bigger. No matter how careful I was, Austin’s breathe hitched every now and then. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I kept muttering every time.
I was horrified when I saw the damage that had been done on Austin’s leg, and I wanted nothing more than run away, but I had to be strong for once. Luckily, my mum was a nurse, and had taught me a quite a few things before turning into an alcoholic negligent mother. However, I had nothing to help Austin with and I couldn’t exactly walk around to look for what I needed. So, what I did was take of my grey cardigan and cut off one of the sleeves. Folding it into a fluffy square, I pressed it against the wound, trying to contain the flow of blood coming out from it. Austin was conscious, but weak by then, and groaned low at the pressure I applied. Soon, the grey fabric was coloured in crimson and even my hands were soaked with blood, so I used the rest of the cardigan. If I didn’t do something soon, Austin was going to die before me – I couldn’t let that happen.
I looked around us frantically and I felt my blood boil in anger when I saw the four dumb fucks still arguing and, apparently, blaming each other.
“HEY, THERE YOU SCREW-UP DIMWITS! THERE’S A MAN BLEEDING ALMOST TO DEATH HERE! I COULD USE SOME MOTHERFUCKING HELP, YOU KNOW?” I shouted across the room with all I had in me. The men seemed surprised at my outburst and hell, so was I – I had no idea I could be that sassy...
One of them made and attempt to come my way, wearing a very angry face, but the ‘leader’ stopped them and muttered something along the lines of “...he dies, then we’re screwed.” Then, one of them stayed beside the phone and the rest approached us.
“Okay, what do you need, girly?” The ‘leader’ asked. Although he seemed to be collaborating, his body language gave away he was nervous and angry.
I let slip the fact that he had just called me ‘girly’ as we had more important things to take care of. “I need a stick, a branch of a tree or something like that, and a belt to make a tourniquet.”
I heard rushing around the shop and soon, I was handed a thick wooden stick, around 30 inches long – perfect. I placed it on top on Austin’s leg, leaving the cardigan and making it stay in place with the stick. Then, I tied the belt one of the men gave me just above the wound as tightly as I could, fastening it afterwards. I then took off the belt I was wearing and fastened it under around Austin’s leg but this time on the area under the wound.
The blood flow had been cut, but Austin was very pale and slipping in and out of consciousness. I was terrified of him falling asleep in fears that he might not wake up from the blood loss. I dropped beside me and gripped his hand between my bloody ones as I felt an astray tear escape.
“Don’t you dare die on me, Austin, do you hear me? Don’t dare!” I sobbed softly, but hastily wiped away the tears with the back of my hand.
Austin opened his eyes and smiled that warm, fatherly smile of his. “Don’t worry, hun. I’m not that easy to shake off. You’ve got Carlile to put up with for a long time.” He smiled and chuckled softly before he broke into a fit of coughs. I panicked a bit and helped him sit upright a bit. He leant his back against the wall and closed his eyes.
I heard the lead robber talking on the phone with someone; I assumed it would be the police. I scrambled to my feet and rushed to his side only thinking about taking Austin out of here.
“Please, please, you need to let him out.” I pleaded with him, pointing at Austin, who was seemingly unconscious. Panic rose in my chest at the sight. “He’s lost a lot of blood, he’ll probably need a transfusion, please let him out.”
“We can’t let one of our hostages out just like girly, haven’t you ever watched that episode from ‘Without a Trace’?” The man snapped angrily, but I wasn’t going to give up.
I looked around, trying to come up with a bargain, until an idea popped into my head. “What if someone else came inside? Let him out and someone comes inside!”
The man started talking again and apparently, my idea was well received by both parts because, not much later, the phone rang again, informing that someone would be coming in, in Austin’s place, so he’d be let out. I sighed in relief and I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders when I saw one of the robbers going to Austin to help him up and towards the door – luckily, he was conscious again. The other three lifted the metal blinds so he would be able to get out.
“Austin, you’re going out man!” I cheered softly, smiling at him. He smiled, but his eyes looked unfocused and glazed over, like in a haze. “Please, tell Vic, Kellin, and the other guys that I love them, okay?” He nodded and then he was off. I sank to the floor and put my head between my hands as I let a few tears fall.
The thing that I feared most at the moment wasn’t that these men might kill me, not really. What I feared was that I wouldn’t get to see Vic again. I wouldn’t see him, or all the friends I’d made here. Finally I’d found people who liked me– I still couldn’t believe why on earth, but they did – and I couldn’t help but feel very miserable at the thought of not being able to see them again and living the new life I had just begun, all the hoped and dreams that had begun to scratch their way through the sadness and numbness I felt back at home.
I heard the door open and I knew the new hostage was here. I didn’t want to know who the poor soul was, but I felt I had, more o less, like a moral compromise with them to help each other while we were here. So, I raised my eyes and met a pair of familiar chocolate eyes that looked back at me sadly.
My entire world crumbled around me, crushing me against the ground when I saw him standing there. If Vic was in here, what hope was there left?
“You, sit there and no funny things.” One of the robbers snapped at Vic. He nodded and quickly made his way to where I was sitting. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea of him being in here, so I shrunk away from him when he crouched in front of me.
“Thalia, baby, it’s me...” Vic said in a soft voice, clearly confused as to why I was acting so weird and elusive towards him when I should’ve been thrilled to see him. However, in my head, all I could think of was that I had proposed the switch of hostages and that had ended in Vic in here, so this was all my fault. ‘Great way to fuck everything up even more, Thalia.’ The voice inside my head picked on me, only triggering more self-blaming thoughts. It was my fault that Austin had been shot in the first place, and now it was my fault that Vic is here...
“Thalia, please, what’s wrong?” Fear and confusion were palpable in poor Vic’s voice. He sounded so innocent and so concerned – so loving and caring – that I lost it completely. I grabbed a fistful of my hair and gritted my teeth before letting the tears fall freely.
“WHY ARE YOU HERE? YOU AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! IT’S MY FAULT! IT’S MY FAULT THAT AUSTIN GOT SHOT AND THAT NOW YOU’RE HERE... WHAT KIND OF PERSON AM I? It’s my fault... You shouldn’t be here, you’re in danger... Why are you here? You shouldn’t be here...” I kept muttering to myself as I looked at my still bloody hands, crying hysterically still.
I felt Vic sit beside me against the wall and wrap his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. I broke down a even more – if possible. I hugged tightly by the waist and buried my face in his chest as I cried, both of guilt and happiness of having him here.
“I’m here because you are.” Vic whispered in my ear when my crying calmed down to a quiet sobbing. His long fingers combed through my hair, calming me a bit. He kissed the top of my head and rocked back and forth slowly. “I couldn’t stay outside knowing you were here in danger even if they’d made me. I’m actually glad I’ve been able to replace Austin, because that way, he has a chance to be saved, and I have a chance to protect the one person that is my life and holds my heart.”
---
*Vic’s POV*
Hours dragged by and the situation was tense. The robbers were negotiating with the police the amount of money they wanted in exchange for letting us free while Thalia and I sat on the floor, clinging to each other. Eventually, she’d calmed down and was currently sitting next to me with her head on my shoulder and her arms around me, like mine were around hers, as I sang softly one of the songs I’d written.
“Your voice is beautiful.” Thalia whispered, plying with my fingers. “If we get out of here, you guys are going to make it big.”
I blushed at her compliment and thought about what she’d said. “When we get out of here, we’re going to make it big.”
“Yes, you will. I’m sure about that. You’re gonna save lives with your music, Vic. You’re going to do something important, I can feel it.” After saying that, Thalia looked up and smiled softly at me. My heart swelled at what she’d just said and I leant down to kiss her soft but passionately. Our lips molded together and fit like they were meant to be and I knew I had found what they called “the one”, although I’d always believed that was just for corny films.
“I love you. I love you so much.” I muttered and kissed her slowly again. Eventually, we fell silent and just listened to the sound the other men made. Apparently the police wasn’t giving in. Suddenly, we heard a ear-splitting bang and the sound of heavy metal against the tiled floor. Thalia and I looked up, startled and shocked to see the police had just cut through the metal blind and thrown it on the floor. We stood up and I stood in front of Thalia to protect her from any possible harm that could come our way, even though the police was already arresting the four robbers.
Two officers, a man and a woman, came our way and took us outside. It was all so fast I was very confused. They took us to an ambulance that was parked there so they could check if we were harmed. I was perfectly unharmed, and Thalia only had a few scratched and a bruise on her check, which made my insides turn and boil every time I looked at it. A blanket was put around each of us and we were given a cup of a warm drink, I assumed it was chocolate because of the sweet smell, to help the shock.
“Ms. Nolan, Mr. Fuentes, we have been notified that you’re in fine state of health and we’d like you to tell us what happened inside.” One of the police officers politely asked us. I nodded and Thalia started telling from the beginning. Then, I joined telling the story from when I went inside. All along, the other officer was taking notes. “Thank you very much. Now, do you want to press charges?”
“Yes.” Thalia said firmly, a determined look on her face. I admired her determination and I nodded, answering the question as well.
“Very well. We hope the best for both of you and we’ll see you at the court for the judging of these criminals.” Then, they left.
I side-hugged Thalia with one arm and sipped at the cup in my hand when a group of people came rushing towards us. Of course, the guys would be worried sick.
I saw all of them were here – Noah Kellin, Jaime and Tony, Olivia and Eve too. They all crushed us into a huge group hug and started nagging at us with questions on the lines of “are you guys okay?” “what was it like inside?” “was it like in NCIS?” “was it scary?” “you are okay, aren’t you, guys?” We smiled and answered their questions as best as we could.
When we were sure we weren’t needed in there anymore, we decided to head home. Jaime and Eve offered to give us a lift home and we weren’t going to decline an offer like that.
After saying our goodbyes to Kellin, Noah, Olivia and Tony, we hopped into Jaime’s SUV with them and we sped off into the night towards our street.
We reached it in no time and we got out of the car quickly. Before leaving, we said our thanks to our friends and they gave us their “be safe, don’t get into another hold up” goodbyes.
As soon as we arrived to Thalia’s flat, she went to the bathroom to have a shower and I went to the kitchen to make some more hot chocolate. When Thalia finished, I went into the shower myself. I discarded my clothes and hopped under the warm spray. As I let the water relax my muscles, I thought about everything that had happened today. Weird enough, the most important thing in my head was what Thalia had said.
“...You’re gonna save lives with your music, Vic. You’re going to do something important, I can feel it.” It meant the world to me, and I was determined to do so.
Soon, I left the shower, with a towel wrapped around my waist, and got dressed in boxers, sweatpants and a white t-shirt. I looked for Thalia and found her sitting at her window, staring at the sky. I got two mugs of steamy chocolate, put a marshmallow on each, and walked over to where she was, sitting with her.
“Thanks.” She smiled big and poked the marshmallow with her finger to make it sink, but burnt the tip of her finger in the process. “Ow!” I swear I wouldn’t be able to handle it if she got any cuter.
We gazed at the stars on the sky, sipping hot chocolate and enjoying each other’s company and the calm after today’s madness. When we were done, we headed to bed, where we laid. Thalia laid her head on my chest draped her arm around my waist while I had my arms around her. I started playing with her hair as I sang softly.
“You know, I really, really fucking love you.” Thalia muttered in a weak voice that told me she was close to falling asleep. She didn’t normally curse, so it made this the more special.
“I really fucking love too. More than I thought, and I can’t imagine my life without you in it now.” I whispered, still threading her soft, silky hair between my fingers.
“Then don’t, because I don’t plan on leaving any time soon. You mean too much to me, you’re like my guardian angel...” She looked up and planted a soft kiss to my lips, which I returned quickly, before resuming her position and talking with sleepy voice. “Just grow a pair of wings already...”
“Shh, you’re starting to ramble, love. Go to sleep, tomorrow will be another day.”
“Yeah, tomorrow will be another day... But you’ll have to show me your wings someday...” She kept blabbing softly as she dozed off. It was extremely cute, like a little kid. I tightened my grip around her, hugging her close. I felt her against me and smelled her fresh shampoo.
I kissed her head and went with the flow of her jabber. “Yes, of course. I’ll show you them someday.”
“I bet they’re fluffy...” And with that she fell asleep. I kissed her hair again and then went to sleep as well.
Chapter 15*
*Thalia’s POV*
It’d been a week since the hold up and life was back on track more or less as if nothing had happened.
Austin was still in hospital, getting better every day, but he still had recovery to go through, so he’d asked me to stay in charge of the parlour meanwhile. Although I wouldn’t admit it, I felt very proud because he had trusted me enough to leave me in charge, being new and all.
Of course, the place had looked like a tornado had gone through it after the incident, and it had been hard work having it clean and back in order in the shortest time possible. Everyone had offered to help whenever they had some spare time, so I was never left alone with all the work.
It was around six in the afternoon, and Vic and I had spent all afternoon cleaning after he’d come to give me a hand after his shift. The place looked pretty good and I thought that it’d be ready to be re-opened the next morning. And so I told Vic.
“Of course, we’re masters at cleaning.” He joked, raising his cleaning spray as if it was a gun. I let out a loud laugh and threw a cloth that was within reach at him. Vic caught it and looked at me with a mischievous glint to his brown eyes. I giggled and took off running around when he started chasing me, spraying me with the cleaning liquid.
“Stop it! That’s gross!” I laughed, but Vic kept chasing me implacably until he caught me. Suddenly, his arms were wrapped around my waist and I was lifted in the air, my back pressed against his warm chest.
“Gotcha.” Vic whispered in my ear when he set me back on my feet. I turned around to face him and gazed at his deep copper-like eyes. I was about to go on my tip toes to kiss him when he leaned down ever so little and captured my lips with his in a kiss worthy of the corniest film ever. It started of sweet and gentle, but escalated quickly into a full on make out session.
Vic put his hands on my bum and propped me up, so I wrapped my legs around his waist, all while our lips molded together and our tongues massaged each other.
He walked us to the counter and sat me on top of it as he stood between my legs, never leaving my lips or my body unattended. I was feeling daring, so I bit his lower lip gently between my teeth. That earned a low growl from Vic that only made him ten times hotter. I tugged at his t-shirt with slightly shaky hands and he broke the kiss for a second to pull it over his head and throw it somewhere. Just as quick, his lips were back at it, attached to my neck making purple and bluish marks rise on my freckled skin. I moaned softly and blushed at what a dirty noise had just escaped my mouth. Vic looked up and into my eyes, smiling with lustful eyes. “You’re too beautiful for your own good, love.”
Just as I was about to answer, or kiss him or whatever I would’ve done if I’d had the opportunity, the newly placed metal doors flew open revealing Satan himself, but with curly hair and brown eyes instead of horns and hooves.
“THALIA HAYLEY NOLAN.” A voice boomed across the place. I shrunk in Vic’s arms as he tightened his grip around me, as if he could protect me. But he couldn’t anymore, because Hell had found me and it would do anything to drag me back with it.
“Mom?”
Notes
A/N (IMPORTANT AS SHIZ, SO PLS READ): Okay, so I know I have no excuse for no updating in 29 DAYS (?) but I have to ask anyone out there that reads a little question:do you want this story to end in this book (there would only be like 3/4 chapters left) or would you like for it to have a sequel?
That's all and thank you so much for putting up with me, you're amazing :3
@Turtle I've updated! Go read!! c;
2/5/14