Run (Punk Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 10

The next morning I wake up with a pounding headache. I didn't escape last night in my dreams or this morning as the events surface in my mind again.

After the kiss with Luke, Ashton found me outside on the ground apparently crying again. He walked me home and I made him stay with me until I fell asleep. Last night was all a blur to me even though I didn't have a sip of alcohol. I remember the beginning of the party, the incident with Tate, Luke's lips on mine and falling asleep on my couch with Ashton. The events in between are a mystery to me and so is how I ended up in my bed.

I let out a long sigh before looking over at my nightstand and grabbing my phone. My notifications are filled with texts and missed calls from Linley and the boys. Linley sent me about ten texts asking various questions such as where I was, if I left, if I was okay, and if I made it home. The texts from Calum and Michael are similar, but there are fewer. I also notice a text from Ashton.

You fell asleep on me and I carried you upstairs before leaving. Call me when you wake up and we'll go somewhere and talk. Love you Allis

I didn't really want to go anywhere, but I did need to talk to someone and Ashton was the perfect candidate. Before getting out of bed, I answer Ashton and tell him to meet me at Nandos in an hour. I also shoot the others separate texts letting them know I'm okay and telling Linley that I'll call her later.

I hop in the shower and washed all of the places that Tate touched me. No matter how hard I scrubbed, I still felt his disgusting hands on my body and slimy lips on my neck. When I finished my shower, I throw on a pair of sweats, an old soccer t-shirt, and throw my still-wet hair up into a messy bun. I don't even bother putting on makeup.

I walk downstairs to find my mother and Bradley eating lunch.

"Good afternoon dear," she says. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah mom, I'm fine. I'm meeting Ashton for lunch, I'll be back later." I plant a kiss on her's and Bradely's heads and am out the door.

It takes me about 15 minutes to drive to Nando's and I blare Bring Me The Horizon through the speakers. When I step inside the restaurant I spot Ashton and walk over to him. He smiles up at me when he sees me get to the table.

"How are you feeling?" He asks me as I slide into the booth across from him.

"Well my head is killing me. Other than that I'm not really sure how I feel," I try to laugh but it doesn't work. "Did I tell you anything about last night?" I ask him, trying to remember if he knows anything.

"Not really, you just laid in my lap and kept saying "what is wrong with him Ashton?" I kept asking you who you were talking about, but you just kept shaking your head and crying," he tells me and I am embarrassed by my actions.

"Wow, well I am so sorry for my crazy behavior," this time I do let out a small laugh and he smiles a little.

"You don't need to apologize love, just tell me what's going on," he looks at me with sad eyes and I can see how much he cares about me. I feel warm knowing that I have these friends that worry about me and care so much for me.

I tell him what I remember; getting to the party, dancing with everyone, seeing Luke across the room, going upstairs with Tate, him trying to take advantage of me and before I can get any farther, he interrupts, slamming his fist on the table.

"He did what? I'm going to kill him," he is angry and I have to calm him down before he tries to bolt out of his seat to find Tate.

Once he settles down, I continue to tell him about the rest of the night. As I tell him about how I ran out of Tate's room, it all comes back to me. It hits me all at once and I feel like I have just been punched in the head. I describe to him how I ran downstairs looking for everyone, but couldn't find anyone. I remembering falling down and basically having a panic attack. I tell him all of the details as I relive the night in my head. I explain how I was being taken outside by someone, but at the time I didn't know who it was. It ended up being Luke and I told him about our argument and then how he kissed me.

I watch Ashton's face closely as I tell him all of the details, and he is as surprised as I was. As I speak of the kiss, I can feel Luke's lips on mine again; cold but soft, and his body pressing against mine. Then he disappears and it's as if I was dreaming.

Ashton takes all of this in and sits there silently, trying to come up with words to say. I imagine his thoughts are running wild like mine. He keeps opening his mouth as if about to speak but just closes it, probably trying to think of what to say. I have that problem too.

"I just don't even know what to think," he finally says while shaking his head.

"I know, I don't either," I say back.

"I mean Luke has never acted like this," Ashton begins after the waitress takes our order. "He's not very friendly, but he doesn't usually get that bad around anyone unless they do something to make him mad. And then he just goes and kisses you...I just have no idea," he throws his hands up as if he is giving up on trying to figure out what was wrong with Luke. "What I do know is that Tate has another thing coming."

For the moment I had forgotten about Tate. I was so caught up in thinking about Luke that I forgot about everything else.

"Does anybody else know?" He asks me.

"I haven't told anybody anything except for you," I say as I rub my forehead. "I plan on telling Lin, the other boys will probably get it out of me eventually too."

"Mikey and Calum are gonna want to murder Tate too, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know," I say and a small smile escapes my lips. "I'm really glad that I have you guys, thank you so much for being here for me Ash." I put my hand on top of his, which is laying on the table.

He moves his hand so that it is now squeezing mine. "Don't thank me Allis, we love you so much and we're here to protect you."

I sigh with relief at his words. "I love you guys too," I smile at him. "I just don't know what I'm gonna do."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After we finish eating, I go straight to Linley's. As soon as I get there, she almost crushes me with a hug.

"I was so worried about you," she says as she holds me in her doorway.

"Thanks mom, but I'm fine," I joke and she flicks me in the head.

I spend hours talking to her about last night. She is as mad as Ashton about the whole Tate thing, and even more confused about Luke. She doesn't know what to do about it and tells me to talk to Calum and Michael since they know him better than she does. She also says that she wants to be in the fight when the boys jump Tate. This makes me laugh, the first real laugh I have had all day. I end up spending the night at her house, deciding to talk to the other boys tomorrow.

For the rest of the night we eat ice cream and watch comedies. A girl's night is just what I needed. Hopefully the boys will give me good advice about what to do about Luke, since I still have no idea what I'm supposed to do in this situation.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sunday morning comes and I am exhausted from the stress of this weekend. I meet Cal and Michael at a small coffee show down the road with Lin. I tell them the story and of course they have the same reactions as the other two. They both want to strangle Tate and they're confused about Luke. What else did I expect?

They did however tell me that I should try to confront Luke. The thought of being around him again made me nervous and I didn't know what to expect. It was my only option though; now I just had to figure out when and where I was going to do it. What was I even going to say? There was an even bigger problem.

How was I supposed to talk to him when just the thought of him leaves me speechless?