Emilia's POV

My eyes unwillingly flutter open as I awaken. It's still completely dark in my room, and if I were to look outside the window, the sky would be just as dark. I reach my hand out to the night stand in search of my phone to check the time. When my hand doesn't come into contact with the device, I remember that my phone was in my purse that I left on the table back at the party. I mentally pray that one of the guys had picked it up before leaving to come over here. I remove the blanket from my body and just from that simple action I can feel how sore my body is. I guess trying to fight a guy who's probably twice your weight can do that to you.

I slide out of bed and walk over to the door and unlock it. There aren't any voices coming from the living room, so I assume everyone has left for the night. I open the door quietly, careful to not wake up Julia, and stop dead in my tracks before I step on a large object blocking the doorway. Looking down to the large mass, I notice it's was a body. Ashton is lying on his side, curled into a ball with a fleece blanket falling off his body, asleep.

He stayed.

I lean forward and look down the short hallway that leads into the living room. Even though it's dark, the moonlight shining from the window illuminates the room well enough for me to see. Luke and Calum are asleep on the pull-out couch while Michael's long body is hanging off the edge of the loveseat.

They all stayed.

The corners of my lips tug up into a smile at the heartening sight around me. I kneel down next to the boy blocking my path and observe his relaxed face. His mouth is partially open, emitting soft snores, and his messy, golden-brown hair is sticking out in every direction, covering his eyes. Gently, I brush my hand across his forehead, pushing the strands away from his eyes, careful not to wake him. I've never noticed how attractive Ashton is. I see him on a daily basis and yet, I never took the time to really study his features.

To think that a month ago, I didn't really want anything to do with this boy sleeping before me. I had wanted to push him away like I did with every other person who tried to get close to me out of defense. He was so persistent and almost too happy for my taste, but he grew on me. Deep in the back of my mind, I have always wanted someone who could break down the walls I built to protect myself, and he did it with such ease. He continues to be patient with me and waits for me to feel comfortable enough to open up to him. He's proven to be a real friend to me.

I stand up and go back to bed, not even bothering to close the door. I may not know the time and I should probably invest in a clock for my room, but I know that I still have a few more hours of sleep left. With my head lying on the soft pillow, I glance once more at Ashton before my eyelids fall shut.

___

It couldn't have been more than four hours before I wake up again. Even with waking up in the middle of the night, I still feel completely rested. I stretch out my arms and let out a long yawn before I realize there is sticky note attached to my face. I peel the note off from my forehead and read the message written on the bright green paper.

"Went home for a change of clothes. Be back soon."

Ashton had signed his name very sloppily, almost rushed, beneath his message. I shake my head amusingly at his childish way of informing me of where he went. I get out of bed and head to the bathroom where I take a shower and brush my teeth. It's difficult to look in the mirror because all I see is the deep purple bruise on my shoulder. It's a good thing that Jared didn't mark me on my neck because then I wouldn't be able to cover it with my shirt. After drying my hair until it's damp, I walk out into the kitchen where Julia is drinking her usual coffee.

She immediately smiles at my presence. "Good morning," she says. "How're you feeling?"

"Surprisingly, pretty good," I say, and she raises her eyebrows. "I guess those months in therapy really helped me learn to cope with incidents like these. That, and I think it was mostly because everyone was here for me."

Julia tells me how proud she is that I was taking everything so well and not dwelling about it. Hell, I'm proud too.

"By the way, how long ago did they leave?" I ask.

Julia takes of sip of her coffee. "They left about thirty minutes ago," she says. "Calum sent me a text not too long ago saying that they were already on their way back over here."

I nod and go make myself a cup of tea. Just as I am about to sit down on the couch in the living room, four Australians come parading through the front door. A knock would have been nice, but I brush it off. Four pairs of eyes lock on mine, a smile forming on all their faces. I return their smiles and they all take a seat on the semi-comfortable furniture. Their knees are bouncing and none of them are able to keep eye contact for more than a few seconds.

"Guys?" My voice grabs their attention. "Please don't treat me any differently. I don't want you to feel the need to have to pity me. I'm doing fine—great, actually." I smile widely, hopeful they will see the truth behind my words, but slight disbelief filled their eyes.

"How?" Michael asks with furrowed brows.

I sigh. "Before, all I had was Julia to comfort me when the first incident with Jared happened. She was my only support back then and it wasn't sufficient to help me completely. Therapy helped too with learning strategies to help remain sane and fight whatever fears I may have. And now, I have you guys. You've all stood by my side, some more than others, but nonetheless, you were here when I needed you. Yes, I'm still a little shaken up from last night, but I feel safe because all my friends are here to protect me. I sound so cliché right now." I laugh at my own statement, and the boys laugh along with me, returning to their normal, happy selves.

"We're all glad that you're doing well, Emmie," Luke says, and I shoot him a glare for calling me Emmie, and he chuckles. "If Ashton is allowed to call you that, I believe that we should be able to as well without you biting our heads off each time."

I roll my eyes. As much as I hate nicknames, I don't mind when Ashton calls me Emmie. It's actually starting to grow on me now that I think about it. I decide to allow for the rest of the guys to call me Emmie since it's beginning to become a hassle each time I have to get after them for it anyway.

"So, where would you like me to start?" I ask, taking the incentive to avoid any awkward silence. "The beginning of everything or last night?" I make myself comfortable and sit crisscrossed on the couch. Julia takes my question as her cue to sit down next to me and listen even though she knows most of it.

I don't think they were expecting me to be so blunt about it. Luke seems the most surprised at my question. Calum and Michael flicker their eyes to the other two and Ashton looks as though he's preparing himself for what was to come as he slid to the edge of his seat.

When they don't answer, I answer for them. "We'll start from the beginning," I say. "I met Jared in my junior year of high school. I was a bit more outgoing before I met him, but I still didn't have very many friends. He sat next to me in my algebra class and we clicked instantly. Back then, I considered him one of my best friends, next to Julia, of course. We hung out all the time during our lunch break and he would even walk with me and Julia to her house after school. We were basically inseparable. Over time, I began to notice that he was acting much more affectionate towards me and eventually, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I was actually quite hesitant to say 'yes' because I didn't really feel that strongly towards him like he did with me. I knew that I liked him as a friend and a part of me thought that maybe I could grow to feel the same way as he did. So, I said yes. That was mistake number one.

"After dating for several months, he started to change. He would always send me text messages asking me where I was and who I was hanging out with. I used to have a small group of friends who I would occasionally talk to during passing periods. I get along well with guys more than I do with girls, so that group mostly consisted of guys. Jared didn't like that. He would get jealous and pull me away from them every time we talked. I would always have bruises on my wrists or arms from his tight grip. Kind of like the ones that I have now." I lift my arm to display the blue-green marks that surrounded my wrist.

"Any time I attempted to see them, he would yell at me and call me a slut. I tried breaking it off then, but he would immediately apologize and tell me that he loves me and that he is only trying to make sure that no one would take me from him. I was naïve and forgave him each time he did that." I shake my head at the thought of my stupid, young self.

"As time went on, I ended up cutting off all connections from my group of friends for Jared's sake. It hurt each time I would pass one of them in the hallways and ignore them, but I did it because I thought it was the right thing. I became quiet at school and at any other social environment to keep from pissing off Jared. I thought that it would be best to just keep to myself. Jared would tell me that I didn't need other people in my life; that he was all I needed and I was stupid enough to believe that. He was just so persuasive. I didn't tell Julia about his controlling behavior because I didn't want him to get mad at me for saying something. I wanted to tell her that I was scared of the way he treated me and how possessive he was. God, I was so stupid. At this point, I still had no feelings of affection towards him, but I continued to stay with him because he was always there for me when I would start to think too much about my parent's death and become depressed. That was mistake number two.

"Mistake number three was when I decided to go to that goddamn party. We were nearing the end of our senior year and there was a party to celebrate our graduating class. I didn't really want to go since I was feeling a bit depressed because it was the anniversary of my parent's death, which led me to think about how they weren't going to be able to see me walk down the stage at graduation. I don't know why it bothered me so much, but it did. Not only that, but I didn't really want to go because of the large amount of people that were going to be there. Since I had continued to keep to myself, I became more anti-social and I didn't want to be around large crowds.

"Jared persuaded me to go somehow and I made sure that Julia came too, so that I at least had one other person to talk to. At the party, there was a lot of underage drinking and normally I wouldn't break the rules and drink, but I did anyway. I was upset about my parents and all I wanted to do was forget. I slightly remember Julia telling me to stop drinking, but I didn't listen to her. She yelled at me and said that I was acting stupid and that my parents wouldn't be proud of my decision to drink my problems away. I didn't care. I was too focused on getting drunk to be thinking rationally. Jared didn't even try to stop me. In fact, he encouraged me. He kept handing me red cups and I happily took them. I know I consumed a lot because I only remember bits and pieces after he took me upstairs.

"I remember lying on the bed, completely exhausted and unable to move as Jared was attempting to make out with me even though I was completely limp. He was whispering in my ear, telling me that I was his only and that he was going to make me feel good and whatnot. He knew that I was drunk. He knew that I couldn't struggle to get away from him. He knew exactly what he was doing to me and that didn't stop him. I couldn't form a coherent sentence to tell him to stop when he was ripping off my clothes. That was when I knew that he wasn't the Jared that I originally became friends with. I don't remember anything after that."

I paused briefly to take in the boys' reaction and it's a mixture of anger and sympathy. Their eyes are fixated on the carpet and creases line their foreheads.

"Julia, could you fill in the blanks?" I say. "You know this part better than me."

She slowly nods. "I was frustrated with Em since she wouldn't listen to me when I told her to stop drinking," she says. "After I yelled at her, I walked off. I felt bad for leaving her because I knew she was having a hard time that night. When I went back to find her, she wasn't downstairs. I searched everywhere before going upstairs. I looked in every room as I went down the hallway and when I made it to the last door, that's when I found her. She was half-naked on the bed with Jared hovering over her. I don't even want to think about what could have happened if I didn't find her when I did. He didn't look scared at all when I caught him. I yelled at him and told him to stay the hell away from her for good. I still remember that smirk that he gave me before crawling off of Emmie."

My gaze wanders over to Ashton's clenched fist on his knee. Michael's hand copies Ashton's as I glance over to him and the rest. Calum shakes his head at Jared's actions and Luke has his face buried in his hands as he rests his elbows on his knees. This isn't easy for them to hear, but I need them to know what happened no matter how difficult it is.

Julia continues. "When I rushed over to her, she just kept slurring 'stop' over and over again. It didn't look like he had done anything to her yet, which was a relief. I had to help her get dressed and asked one of her old friends that was at the party to give us a ride back to my house. The next day, she didn't say a word to anyone; not even me which was unusual. I told her what I saw, but she didn't react to it. I wanted her to press charges on him, but she just went up to her room and locked herself in. A few days later she told me that she ended their relationship, but Jared wouldn't stop contacting her. I continued to push her into telling the police, but she didn't want to hurt him. Eventually she agreed to try and press charges, but there was no evidence so there was nothing we could do.

"He would show up at our house and ask to see her. He constantly called and text her. We eventually had to change her number to stop it. That continued all the way until graduation. He was practically stalking her and wouldn't leave her alone. We moved the day after we graduated to Denver to attend one of the community colleges here. Jared had no knowledge of where we were headed and that's exactly what we wanted."

"What happened after?" Luke asks, finally looking up at me.

I shift in my seat. "During my two years at community college, I went to see a therapist to help with whatever trauma I had," I say. "I had a lot of trouble opening up to my therapist since I closed myself off from everyone, but she was able to help me at least be able to speak to people properly again. I still had difficulty putting myself in social situations and making friends, but I was at least a little better. Then I met you guys, and now we're here."

It feels so good to tell them everything about my past. It's like gravity is no longer weighed on me. However, my pleasure is the complete opposite of the boys'. So many different emotions cross their faces and I can't distinguish one from another.

Ashton inhales deeply before letting out a long breath. He appears the most composed of the four, but I can see right through his façade. "What happened last night?" he asks, searching my eyes for the answer.

"This won't be as long as the other story," I say, chuckling, but no one else is amused. I clear my throat. "After Ashton left, Jared began asking questions about him. Jared assumed that Ash and I were dating which he didn't take very well. I tried to tell him to leave me alone, but he wouldn't have it. He dragged me out of the ballroom and took me to the other side of the center where he brought me to a storage closet. He began telling me how he missed me and that he was glad to see me. Apparently, he was there because his uncle works for one of the companies that were giving out internships and he just came because he felt like it. It was an unfortunate coincidence.

"Anyway, I stayed silent and didn't tell him who Ashton was, which pissed him off even more. I asked him what he wanted with me and he just said that he wanted to take back what's his. I was yelling at him and then he threw how I shouldn't have gotten drunk on the anniversary of my parent's death in my face. I was angry at him for that and told him 'fuck you' which really threw him over the edge. That's when he pushed me up against the door and came onto me. I tried so hard to push him off, but he was too strong. I was completely exhausted until I heard Michael's voice down the hall. I was able to free my leg from under Jared and slam it against the door and scream so that he could find me. Jared let go of me when he heard Michael and rushed out the door like a coward. I know Michael told you guys the rest."

They don't speak. They just let the words sink in and I patiently wait.

"I can't believe someone could do that to you," Calum says, shaking his head. "No guy should ever put their hands on a girl like that. It's disgusting."

"You can't just let him get away with it," Luke says; hurt clear in his tone. "That's twice that he's assaulted you."

"You have options, Emilia," Michael says. "Pressing charges would be your best bet. You have the bruises to show as proof this time as well as your testimony."

I take a deep breath, knowing the next few words out of my mouth will leave them disappointed in me. "I'm not going to press charges," I say.

Everyone's mouths fell, their eyes almost popping out from the sockets. Ashton grips the arms of the chair, his knuckles whitening. He almost looks like he's about to throw the chair across the room.

"Why not?" Ashton says through gritted teeth. "How can you not press charges on him? You know what he did-"

I hold up one finger, cutting him off. "Please don't lecture me about how I'm making a stupid decision," I say. "I've thought about it, and honestly, I don't believe it will change anything. What Jared did isn't my fault, but I am responsible for my actions that day. I was drinking for all the wrong reasons. I did something as stupid as abusing alcohol and allowed myself to reach a state where it would have been impossible to fight back or give consent. If I were sober, maybe things would have turned out differently and that entire situation would have never happened, but then again, it probably still would have. I know that last night wasn't my fault at all, but you should have seen how angry Jared was when Michael found me. It was pure rage. I'd rather not have to deal with that if charges were made."

They look at me like I'm an idiot. Maybe I am, but I don't want to deal with the repercussions that could potentially follow pressing charges. I don't want to get hurt anymore.

"However, I am going to file for a restraining order," I say. "By doing that, he won't be able to come near me and if he did, the punishments would be much worse than pressing charges. The process can be much quicker and I could even ask for a temporary restraining order so that I am protected before a court hearing."

Ashton still doesn't look extremely happy, but the creases on his forehead began to smooth out. Luke insists that I still press charges, but I ignore him until he takes my perspective into account and agrees that it's the better choice.

"When should we go to the police?" Ashton asks, moving from the armchair to the space next to me on the couch.

I raise my eyebrows. "We?"

"Yes, we," he says with a smirk. "You can't get rid of us that easily anymore. We're coming with you whether you like it or not. We may not be of much help, but at least we'll be there to support you."

"And here I thought I finally scared you away," I tease, admiring the sound of his chuckle and distinct dimples adorning it.

"It's going to take a lot more than a backstory to get rid of me, love."