Getting to Know You

Chapter 28

Chapter 28:

LUKE'S POV:
I bolted up from the chair I had been sitting in when I noticed that everybody was finally getting off of Natalie's plane. At least... I was hoping it was her plane. She had to be on there, she had to be...
I stood up on the chair so I could see over the entire crowd, hoping to spot her.
And eventually, I did... I just didn't recognize her at first glance.
My heart sank as I realized that the last girl getting off the plane- the girl with a black eye, a cut forehead, a bandaged arm and bruises all over her arms and neck- was Natalie Owens.
She looked awful.
Ashton was going to flip when he saw her. But he would be so happy, so relieved, and I couldn't wait to get her home to him.
I smiled a little as I watched Natalie look around, obviously not having a clue as to where she was going. I chuckled to myself, finding her aimless wandering a little funny. I hopped down from the chair and pushed my way to the back of the crowd, tapping Natalie on the shoulder to get her attention.
She whipped around, her eyes welling up with tears when she saw that the stranger tapping her shoulder was me.
"Luke!" She threw her arms around me and buried her face in my chest, hugging me tightly against her. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her right back, grateful that whatever had happened to her back in California was over now and that she had even made it to Australia.
"Hey, Natalie." I squeezed her even tighter, trying to let her know that everything was going to be alright now that she was here.
"Luke, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. I have no idea where I am supposed to go or where anything is or where Ashton is or..." She rambled on and on, crying into the front of my shirt. "What are you even doing here?" She asked, letting me go and wiping under her eyes. "Nobody knew I was coming. My stupid phone is dead and I didn't know how to get a hold of anyone..." She sniffled, wincing as she wiped the tears away from her bruised, swolled eye.
"I knew you would come. Ashton is back with Ann, and I didn't want to leave here until I had you with me. He needs you, Natalie, he's losing his mind without you." I said, hooking my finger under her chin and tilting her head up a little so I could see the bruising on her neck more easily. I frowned and she gave me a sad smile and a small shrug. "We were all worried sick, Natalie. What happened?" I asked, resting my hand on her back and leading her through the airport to the taxi I had called fifteen minutes before the plane landed just in case she happened to be on it.
"I don't know where to start." She sighed, unconsciously placing her hand over the bandage on her forearm.
"How about you start with that?" I suggested, nodding toward her arm as I opened the door of the cab, letting Natalie slide in first. "What is it?"
"Oh..." She chuckled nervously, tracing the outlines of the bandage with her finger. "It's just a couple of stitches. I got cut when I had to bust my bedroom window to get away from my dad..."
"So... he got to you?" I asked quietly, wondering now more than ever what had happened while Natalie was still back in California.
"He did." She whispered, leaning back on the seat as I closed the door.
I wanted to find out more about what had happened, but I couldn't bring myself to ask about it because when I glanced over I realized that Natalie had started to cry.
She pulled her feet up onto the seat and hugged her knees to her chest, her eyes welling up with tears.
"You're okay, Natalie. Marcus is miles away." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side, letting her cry into my chest as I told the driver Ashton's address.
Ashton's house was about twenty five minutes away from the airport, and after being completely silent for the first fifteen minutes of that time, Natalie spoke up.
"How's Ash?" She asked, sitting up straight and reaching behind her to tie her hair up into a messy knot on top of her head. It was then that I could more clearly see the bruises on her neck. My stomach rolled as I imagined how those bruises got there.
Natalie nervously glanced over at me, most likely hoping that I wouldn't say anything about them.
So I didn't.
"He's losing his mind without you. He's scared for you."
Natalie's mouth twitched up into a smile before quickly falling back into a small frown. "He's going to shit himself when he see's me like this." She sighed, absentmindedly picking at the edges of her bandage.
I laughed at her words and she smiled again, leaning her head on my shoulder. "He's going to be so glad you're back, Natalie. And I really hope he doesn't shit himself." I chuckled as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into my side, glad that she was smiling and that we were only five minutes away from Ash.

ASHTON'S POV:
"Ashton, you need to eat something." My mom set down a plate of spaghetti and garlic bread down in front of me for an early dinner... It was my favorite, but my stomach rolled at the thought of eating anything without Nats here. I needed to know she was safe.
The doorbell rang, and it was just the excuse I needed to push my plate away and get the door. But my mom simply plushed the plate back in its place and glared at me.
"Eat." She ordered. "I'll get the door."
I sighed and slumped back into my chair, picking up my fork and sticking it right in the center of the huge pile of spaghetti on my plate.
I truly wasn't hungry, so I just sat there and spun the noodles around my fork over and over instead of actually taking a bite.

NATALIE'S POV:
"Thank you so much, Luke." I said, pulling him into a quick hug before jumping out of the cab and jogging up to Ashton's front door. I waved one last time as the cab drove off before turning and ringing the doorbell. I would see Luke again and be sure to thank him properly, but right now I needed to see Ashton.
I waited impatiently for the door to open, anxiously balling my hands into fists. I needed to get in there. I felt like I was either going to black out again or burst into tears and collapse on the porch from exhaustion. I needed to see him. The door finally opened, but it wasn't Ashton.
It was Anne. 
"Natalie?" She took my hand and pulled me into the house, immediately wrapping her arms around me.
"Hey, Anne." I whispered, throwing my arms around her neck. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you." I said, my eyes starting to tear up. I was so relieved to finally be here. Anne held me tight against her chest, kissing the top of my head like she used to when I was growing up.
"Honey, I'm so glad you are here and that you're safe. Ashton told me about Marcus, and if I had known..." She started to get choked up and kissed my head again. "Honey I am so sorry." She whispered, pulling back so she could get a good look at me. She brushed her fingers over my black eye and smiled through her tears, shaking her head slightly. "Welcome home, Natalie." She said, pulling me into another hug.
"Thank you Anne." I stepped back and folded my arms across my chest, my hands still in fists. As happy as I was to see Anne, I needed to see Ashton and I needed to see him now.
"Anne, where's Ashton?"

ASHTON'S POV:
"Thank you, Anne."
I looked up from my spinning plate of pasta and listened, not sure if what I was hearing was actually there.
"Anne, where's Ashton?"
I heard her voice again and bolted up from my seat, not bothering to catch my chair as it fell back onto the floor.
"Nats?" I called her name as I ran down the hall, tripping on the rug and nearly falling in my hurry to get to the front room. I turned the corner and there she was.
Her whole body looked tense, but the moment she saw me her shoulders slumped and a small frown appeared on her face as she started the cry.
"Ash..." She dropped her purse to the floor and ran over to me, crashing into my chest and throwing her arms around my neck. I stumbled when we collided and had to grab the door frame to keep from falling back, but when I regained my balance I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her so tightly that her feet left the floor.
Nats buried her face in my neck as she cried and dug her fingers into my back, her grip actually making it a little hard to breathe.
"Nats, where have you been?" I asked, giving her a tight squeeze before pulling back to look at her.
Natalie looked terrible. She looked hurt, tired, and completely worn out.  She had a black eye, a bandage on her arm with who knows what underneath it, and bruises all over her arms and neck.
"What the hell happened?" I asked, carefully tracing the cut on her forehead with my fingertips. She started crying even harder as she tried to explain what had happened, but I couldn't really understand her; we would have to talk about it once she had calmed down. For right now I was happy to focus on the fact that Natalie Owens was actually standing in front of me after being MIA for nearly forty eight hours.
"Hey, Nats, hey..." I whispered, taking her face between my hands and catching her tears with my thumbs. "It's alright." I chuckled, pulling her forward and kissing her forehead. "We'll talk about it later. You're okay." Despite everything that had happened recently I smiled against her skin and chuckled again. I couldn't help it. I was just so happy that she was actually here. "You're okay." I repeated, relief washing over me as I sat down on the couch and held Natalie in my lap, holding her tightly against my chest. Natalie wrapped her arms around my neck and tangled her fingers into my hair, making me shiver. 
"Stop laughing at me." Natalie cried, thinking that I was laughing at her because she was still crying.
"I'm not laughing at you." I assured her, pulling back and smiling when I saw the small pout on her face.
"Then what are you laughing at?" She whined, looking down at her hands in her lap.
"I'm happy." I smiled, resting my forehead against hers so she would look at me. "I am so happy you're here." I whispered, running my thumb along her jawline. Her mouth twitched up into a small smile through her tears and she glanced up at me from beneath her lashes, making my heart flutter just a bit.
Nats hesitantly cupped the back of my neck, urging me forward until her lips met mine. Her lips were full and soft and perfect, and meant to be kissed by only me.
The kiss was simple and sweet, just our lips pressed softly together with our bodies tangled up on the couch, the both of us lingering as if we didn't want it to end.
"I love you, Nats." I breathed against her lips, slipping my arms around her waist and pulling her closer.
"I love you too, Ash. I missed you." Natalie whispered, wrapping her arms around my neck and resting her forehead against mine. Her lips twitched downward into a small frown as she remembered everything that must have happened while we were separated, and I again started to feel extremely bad about leaving her behind.
"Natalie, I'm sorry I left. I shouldn't have gotten on that plane. I was being stupid and I'm so, so sorry." I whispered, carefully running my thumb over the bruise under her eye. A few tears fell silently down her face and she leaned into my touch, closing her eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Nats." I apologized again even though I knew she didn't blame me for anything. "I love you." I said again, cupping her face between my hands and pulling her forward, gently pressing my lips to hers.
"I love you, I love you, I love you..." I mumbled against her lips, kissing her again and again until I felt her lips twitch up into a small smile.
"I love you too." She chuckled through the last of her tears and smiled under my kiss, tangling her fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck.
"What is it?" I asked when she laughed, biting my lip as I tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'm just happy." She whispered, and I smiled and brought my lips to hers once more just because she was finally here and I simply could.

NATALIE'S POV:
Ashton didn't hardly let go of me the entire evening. He held my hand all through dinner with Anne, his grip especially tight as I told them everything that had happened since the time Ashton and I took separate cars to the airport. He kept his arm around my waist as he showed me around the house, and when I told him that I would like to take a shower and finally change into clothes that weren't torn and covered in blood, he simply lead me into the bathroom and joined me.
When we were both showered and clean Ash brought me a pair of his boxers and a t-shirt to wear. I could have rummaged through the piles of boxes in his room to find my own clothes, but I really didn't want to. I liked wearing Ashton's clothes; they smelled like him and I had missed that. I gladly put them on and ran my fingers through my wet hair, quickly untangling the knots. I closed the door behind me as I entered Ashton's room and turned off the light, slipping into the bed where Ashton was waiting for me. I sat down beside him and he immediately wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me down onto the bed and making me giggle. The moment my head hit the pillows his lips were on mine, his hand finding its way under my shirt and gripping my hip as he greedily pulled me closer.
"Finally." He mumbled against my lips. "Took you long enough to get dressed." He teased, playfully biting my bottom lip.
"I was only gone for like, a minute." I chuckled, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I still missed you." He smiled, his fingers digging into my hip as he dipped his tongue into my mouth. I tangled my fingers into his damp hair and softly tugged on the ends, making him sigh quietly into the kiss. He slipped his arms around my waist and rested his forehead against mine, kissing me softly once more before pulling back.
"Welcome home, Nats." He whispered, hugging me tightly against his chest. I smiled as I closed my eyes and nuzzled into his neck, truly feeling like I was right at home.
I didn't have to sneak around, I didn't have to be afraid, and I didn't have to lock my bedroom door- those days were all behind me.
This was a real home, and I smiled as I drifted off knowing that it was mine.

{A/N: GUYS!!! sorry it took so long :/ I feel way bad. my busy life got in the way but I'm back and will be updating GTKY again soon, as well as my other stories!! you guys are the best, I never would have written anything like this without you!! seriously, I love you guys tons, y'all make me so happy <3)