Cigarette Ashes

Chapter Four

Andy's POV

We all sat in anxious silence as Ashley drove the "borrowed" mini van down the freeway. I sat in the passenger seat while CC, Jake, and Jinxx squished together in the back. "Can you drive any slower?" I grunted, I just wanted to get to Alex, I needed to.  "I'm doing 80 in a 65, shut up!" Ashley argued. He slowly increased his speed, the car accelerated to 90 mph.

My hands shook uncontrollably as my breaths got heavier. I was terrified. What if she's hurt? What if she isn't there? What if I never see her again? My mind was racing. "We're he-" I cut Ashley's sentence short by literally jumping out of the moving car. As we pulled in I could see a stiff figure lying in the parking lot, I knew it was Alex.

"Alex!" I sprinted towards her as fast as I could, even though I knew the damage had already been done. "Baby girl, answer me... are you okay?" I knelt beside her curled up body. She was shirtless and her hands were zip tied behind her back, her face was burried in the dirt.

"Alex, please answer me!" Just then she slowly turned her face towards me, I couldn't help but gasp. She was covered in cuts and bruises. "Andy I'm so sorry, I should have believed you. I should have known that you would never cheat." Her voice was hoarse.

"Baby..." I began to choke on tears. "Come here-" I grunted as I slowly stood her up. She couldn't walk so I picked her up and carried her wedding style to the car where the guys waited.

Alex's body was ice cold, meaning she must of been out there for a while. I had Ashley cut off the zip ties that were around her hands with his pocket knife. "CC, get in the front." I ordered. "I'll sit with Alex in the back." He nodded and got into the passenger seat.

"How is she?" Jake asked as I sat down next to him, Alex laying on my lap. "I-I don't know." I whispered. I looked down at her and noticed that she was looking up at me. "I'm so sorry..." I held her closer to me. She weakly squeezed my arm in reassurance. The rest of the car ride was silent.

It was 3am when we finally got back to the venue, Alex had fallen asleep. After I carried her to the bus and laid her in our bed, I met with the guys in the living quarters of the bus so we could discuss our plan for revenge.

I made my way past the bunks and into our "meeting room" The guys were seated on the sofa, so I took a seat on the kitchen counter. "Alright, we need to devise a plan to get back at the bastard who did this to my girl-" I began to speak to my audience.

"Tomorrow morning before sound check I'm going to talk to Alex about what happened, so I want the bus empty. Hopefully, I'll be able to convince her to tell me who it was. If so, after we finish our set tomorrow, we'll get together and find that person. Got it?" The guys nodded in agreement.

"Alright, now you guys go get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow, and I'm not talking about performing." The guys began to walk to their bunks. I thought the room was empty, so I sighed loudly and dropped my head in my hands.

"Don't worry Andy, we'll get him." CC put a comforting hand on my shoulder, I lifted my head and looked up at him and gave him a small smile.  He then walked into the bunk room. I forced myself to get up and change into pajamas, since skinny jeans weren't the most comfortable to sleep in.

I quietly opened the door to the back room where Alex and I slept. Alex was sound asleep in bed, I couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked. I decided to sleep on the sofa so I wouldn't wake her while I was getting into bed.

I quickly changed and made my way back into the living quarters where I took camp for the night. All I could think about was how stupid I was for letting that happen to Alex and how much she must hate me right now.

As my mind continued to think it's depressing thoughts, a familiar craving returned. I sighed and stood up off the couch, walking over to the coat hanger the was mounted next to the bus entrance. I found my leather jacket and rummaged through the right pocket, pulling out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. By now, it was already 6am.

-o-

Alex's POV

I awoke to the sound of coughing outside the bedroom window. I stood up, wincing in pain. I had almost forgotten about what had happened last night. I brushed off the thought as I peered out of the rectangular window.

"Andy, you're not supposed to be smoking." His back was towards me as he took a long drag from his cigarette, he then flicked the butt on the ground, crushing it with his foot. He turned halfway so only his left side was visible to me.

"Meet me on the couch." His voice sounding deeper than usual. I did as told and slowly walked to the couch, every step I took resulted in pain. I didn't notice how bad the bruises on my face were until I stepped into the light and saw my reflection off of the glass windows.

Andy walked onto the bus in a serious manner, he hung his coat up and slowly crossed over to the sofa where I had been sitting. "Why are you up so early?" I broke the silence. "I could ask you the same thing." He raised his eyebrows and sat next to me. I sighed and hung my head, I knew what was coming next.

"What happened last night?" He leaned in closer, in attempt to comfort me. "I was kidnapped." I shrugged. "Alexandria, what really happened last night?" I dramatically sighed and gave in.

"Well, after I had stormed off, I noticed a car following me. I didn't think anything of it until it pulled up next to me. Next thing I know, I'm being pulled into the car. The ride seemed to last an eternity. Just when I thought it was over, it began. We pulled into Look Out Rock and he-" Andy cut me off. "Who?" I took a deep breath. "Just let me finish." I said, annoyed.

"He started touching me... I kept screaming for help, but no one heard me. I tried to escape but he caught me and tied my hands and taped my mouth. He took my shirt off and that's when I told him I was pregnant, in hopes it would stop him from going any further-" I could tell Andy was holding his breath in anticipation.

"Thankfully, he did. He got so angry, he hit me once more. He pushed me out of  the car and drove off." I paused for a couple beats. "The things he said..." I broke down into tears. Andy held me gently in his arms, not wanting to cause my body any more pain. We sat there for  while, not saying a single word.