Hell's Reign (Patrick Stump/Fall Out Boy Fanfiction)

Chapter 16 - A Long Day

            When Tori finally came to, she found herself staring at the roof of the van. The rumbling beneath her told her that it was moving, and as she slowly turned her head to the side, she could see trees and clouds flying by the windows. There was a blanket draped over her legs, and from it, she noticed an unfamiliar smell. It smelled like the house she had been in, but she knew she wasn't there anymore. She suddenly registered the feeling of fingers gently combing through her hair, slowly working out the knots that inevitably got in their way. She didn't move for a moment, afraid that what she remembered had only been a dream. She was still in just her underwear beneath the blanket, and that alarmed her slightly. Though she wasn't in any pain down there, so she wondered if Mike had, in fact, stopped.

Her head was in someone's lap, and she assumed it was the same someone who was running their fingers through her hair. Finally, Tori looked up. The hand moved away from her hair and bluish-green eyes stared back down at her. His hair was tucked behind his ears, and a ratty, old trucker hat was fitted onto his head. His lips were pursed with worry and concern, but Tori's face showed nothing but relief. She sat up then, as Patrick dropped both hands to his sides, and she turned towards him, not even caring that the blanket had fallen from her legs. Patrick sighed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he wrapped his around her waist. He held her tightly, but carefully to him, not wanting to hurt her, but want to hold her as close as he could. Tori kneeled over him, nearly sitting in his lap, and pressed her nose against his neck as fresh tears sprung to her eyes.

"Trick," she whispered, her voice raw and a little hoarse from that one scream she had let out. He moved one hand into her hair and held her head against his shoulder, turning his own head to press a gentle kiss just behind her ear.

"Shh," he whispered, "You're safe now, Tori. It's okay." She held onto him for a moment longer, then slowly pulled back to look at him. His eyes nervously looked back at her, then her neck, and finally down to her bare legs. He snapped his head back up quickly with a blush, and Tori shyly climbed off his lap and pulled the blanket back over her legs. Looking around, she noticed that her jeans were lying beside Patrick on the floor. He followed her gaze and picked them up, passing them to her without a word. She shuffled awkwardly beneath the blanket to get them on, shivering as she remembered the way they had been pulled off of her.

She tossed the blanket aside then, and looked up at Patrick nervously. "Were are we going?" She asked, taking note of the fact that they were in the city once more, and hoping it was still Chicago.

"We don't know yet," Patrick sighed, glancing out the window. "For now, we're just looking for a place to stay the night."

Tori nodded, looking around the back of the van curiously. There were duffel bags lining the walls, the same ones the boys had left Patrick's house with earlier that morning. Though now, they seemed to be stuffed full of canned food and water bottles from Patrick's basement, and one was full of clothes. Tori looked back at Patrick then, and saw how bruised and blood stained his hands were. He noticed her looking, and nervously held his hands out to her, palms up. "He was unconscious when we left," he mumbled, "They all were."

"You didn't kill them?" Tori asked, looking up at his eyes again. She could have sworn that the way they were beating Mike, they would have killed him. Patrick only shook his head, and Tori nodded slowly. She was glad they hadn't stooped that low. They weren't murderers.

They were both quiet then, and Patrick looked at her for a long time in that silence. His eyes were trained on her neck for a moment, but as she reached up to touch the bruise that had been left there, his eyes moved to her wrist. She looked at her wrists herself then, and noticed that the rope and handcuffs had rubbed her skin raw. She could feel a similar pain on her ankles, but she didn't bother to look. Patrick reached over and took her left hand in his, gently running his fingers over the marks. "Does it hurt?" He asked, glancing up at her. She nodded, frowning slightly. "We have ibuprofen from my mom's house. Do you want any?"