Don't Leave

Chapter 21

Amanda's POV

I watched as Nick drifted off to sleep. I was just about to fall asleep too. I heard the TV playing in the background as I felt my eyes grow heavy. I was half asleep when I heard a doorbell ring. Who could possibly be here? I slowly crept to the door and looked out the window. It was just Olivia. I opened the door.
"Oh, Amanda I didn't expect you to answer. You feeling better?" She asked.
I nodded.
"Can I come in?"
I opened the door and let her in. Nick was still asleep on the couch. He needed the sleep.
"I brought food. It's Chinese." She set the bag of food on the counter.
She looked at me with pity. I had yet to speak a word.
"You want to talk about what happened?"
I thought for a minute. What could I possibly say? I shook my head.
"I just want to sleep." I said at last.
"Ok. I'll see you soon." She smiled and left.
I looked at the food but had no intention on eating. The thought of eating anything made me sick. I'm not supposed to be the one who eats. I'm the one who cooks the food and cleans when he's done.
I went back to the sofa and laid down. Not sure why, but I wanted to be close to someone. Maybe then my nightmares would stop.

Nick's POV

I woke up at 10 at night. That was the longest I slept in weeks. I found Amanda was laying pretty much on top me. I managed to get up without disrupting her too much then picked her up and brought her to the bedroom. After placing her on the bed I began leaving. Just as I got to the door I heard her say softly
"Don't leave"
I turned around. She was awake, watching me.
"Please" She said.
"Ok" I sat back on the bed with her.
She cuddled up in my lap and soon fell asleep. I soon followed laying down holding her tightly.

At 4 am I woke up. No sign of her in the room. I got up and searched the house calling her name over and over. Nothing. Her shoes and coat were still here but I looked outside. I called out for her and got no response. Now I was panicking. I ran back inside and picked up the phone.
"Liv you need to get here now. She's gone." I explained.
"What? I'm on my way; what's going on?"
"I don't know I woke up and she was missing. I checked outside and everything." I started pacing back and forth.
"I'll tell Fin to meet us there. Just stay calm"
"Yeah." I said and hung up.
"Dammit!"
I threw the phone across the room. How could she have left without me noticing? I searched the house again and again until they finally arrived.
"You checked every room?" Fin asked.
"Yes, like 5 times" I assured him.
"Then she must be outside." He said.
"I looked outside didn't see or hear her."
"It's been snowing all night. We'll be able to see her footprints." Liv said.
We went outside and found no sign of foot prints. That was until we got to the backyard. There were footprints leading from the window. The window was shitty and didn't stay opened so that must've been why I didn't notice it had been opened.
"She's not wearing a coat and she's barefoot." I said.
"It's not even 10° out" Fin added. "We need to find her quick"
We followed the prints through several back yards. Eventually the prints started getting bloody.
"Wait stop"
I spotted a figure balled up in the bushes.
"Amanda?" I asked quietly.
She looked up and immediately took off again.
"Amanda!" We ran after her.

Amanda's POV

The snow felt like cold shards of glass. At some point I stopped feeling anything in my feet. I just kept running. I can't let them catch me. I'm going to be in so much trouble.
I ran and ran and ran. My lungs were on fire and every step shot pain through my body. I didn't notice the slight decline in the ground till it was too late. I flew forward. The moment I hit the ground it felt like shards of cold class pricked through my skin. I was rolled several more times until I came to a stop. I tried to get up only to screech in pain. I looked around and noticed the blood in the snow. Then I heard footsteps heading towards me.

Nick's POV

She had fell hard. After rolling several times she came to a stop. I could see she was bleeding just not were it was originating from. As she struggled to get up she moaned in pain. Once I got to her she began screaming. Fighting and pleading me to let go.
"Amanda Amanda, shh, hey you're ok" I tried to calm her down with no avail.
Fin took off his coat and wrapped her in it. She was still fighting hitting him in the nose.
"Oh my god." She said and stopped.
She stared horrified for a second then began trying to get away again. Upon almost making it to her feet she fell back down into the snow. She began trying to crawl. It was useless. She was tired, cold, and hurt. She laid there shaking and sobbing. I tried picking her up only for her to cover her face with her arms. None of our attempts to calm her down were working. Eventually I just grabbed her and picked her up. She tried fighting back and getting away, but would tire soon. Then she'd try fighting again. I was definitely going to have a lot of bruises in the morning from the punching and kicking, but right now I didn't care.