Running

Chapter 20

Two days later, they pulled up to see the new tour bus had arrived. This bus had an upper level, so everyone wouldn't be so crowded.

This was also the first time Vyla was seeing all of the guys since the one night in the hospital.

Corey and Vyla got out, as all the guys came rushing out to greet them.

"Vyla!" She turned to see Jay running up to her first. She smiled, as he slowed down to gently hug her.

The guys gathered around them, giving her hugs and welcoming them back. She was so happy to see all of them.

They walked to the bus. As she entered, she saw the biggest bouquet of pink roses sitting on the table.

The guys had all filled in around her, and she turned and smiled, nodding her head in thanks to them.

Still not being able to speak the best, she mouthed the words thank you to them. Shawn hugged her, not saying anything.

"Vy, want to go color with me?" Jay asked, smiling.

She nodded walking off with Jay to his bunk. She sat down, as he handed her a new coloring book. It was a book with nothing but flowers to color. She smiled at him, as they began to color.

"We missed ya. Are you feeling any better?" Jay asked her.

"I'm not as sore as I was." She said, her voice was still hoarse.

"Good. Your voice is sounding better. Corey said you have bed rest for 2 weeks. That sucks. We'll keep you entertained." He said smiling.

"I'm sure you will." She grinned.

They colored in silence for a while, showing each other their work. She felt tired, like she had been drugged almost. She leaned against the wall, closing her eyes for what felt like a moment.

Jay smiled as he saw she was asleep, leaning against the wall. They all had been told she had nightmares, and not to disturb her while she slept. Jay went to get Corey.

"Hey man, Vy fell asleep. She's leaning against the wall in my bunk. I didn't move her, she doesn't look comfortable though." Jay said smirking.

"I'll get her." Corey said. "Hey guys, shes been having some really fucked up dreams. She may wake up screaming, and I apologize in advance. She's been worried about waking you guys or someone being upset with her." Corey said, looking at them.

"Tell her not to worry about it." Shawn said, understanding.

"She's been through some horrible shit, man. If she needs to punch Sid in the face to feel better, then she can." Alex said grinning.

"Hey!" Sid said, "I volunteer Craig for that."

The guys chuckled as he went back to the bunk. She was just like Jay said. He leaned in, placing one hand cautiously on her arm. She jerked awake.

"Did I fall asleep?" She asked.

He nodded smiling. "Bed rest, babe. Come on. You need sleep and a lot of it." She was too tired to argue. She moved too fast, feeling the pain shoot through her ribs. She sucked in her breath at the feeling of it.

"Come on baby, you've been doing too much today." He said helping her up slowly.

He walked them to their bunk. He helped her in. He noticed she looked really pale. The last week had worn her down horribly. She looked like she did when they first met, almost frail. It scared him.

She was asleep almost as soon as she hit the pillow. He tucked her in, closing the curtain.

3 days later they were in Kansas. They had to cancel the preformances in Texas due to what had happened. This was the first time Corey would have to be away from Vyla since the incident.

"Babe. I have security coming to sit with you tonight ok?" He told her that afternoon.

"You don't have to. He's not around anymore. I'm fine." She said to him. Her voice was finally back.

He shook his head at her. "I don't care. I can't go out there, knowing you're alone. I'm sorry Vyla, I just can't." He said.

"Ok. I understand. I just hate feeling like I'm being babysat. But I understand why you feel this way, and I want you to feel comfortable." She said.

Her bruises were fading some. She was up moving around more, but still slow and he could tell the pain was there. She was still jumpy at loud noises, and she wasn't socializing as much as she had. He was still worried about her.

"Thank you." He said, kissing her on the lips.

"I'm going to sit outside for a little bit. I need some air." She said to him.

He nodded, watching her as she walked off the bus.

She found a bench nearby, and sat down. She felt lost all over again. She was sad, but angry. She was relieved, but felt scared. Her worst nightmare was almost over. The trail was the only thing hanging over her now.

She sighed, rubbing her temples. "Having second thoughts?" She heard the voice of Jim, as she looked up. She looked confused.

"About what?" She asked, as he sat down.

He looked almost offended and gasped, "Geez! About our wedding of course!" He said, making them both laugh.

"You caught me." She said grinning.

"What's on your mind?" He asked seriously, sitting down with her.

"Just a lot of shit to take in. Not sure how I am supposed to feel exactly. I feel like a pain in the ass." She said.

"First, you aren't a pain in the ass." He said, grinning at her.

"Second, I think you need to work on one feeling at a time. If you're feeling mad, get mad. If ya feel sad, cry. Don't keep it all in though. It will eat you up. You know that. We're all here for you. I'll talk or listen whenever ya want me to, ok?" He said looking at her.

She could feel the tears starting. "I, I need to thank you though. For that day. Everything you did. I'm sorry that you had to be involved in any of it. Corey told me what you did for me. You have no idea how much it means to me." She said, her tears falling now.

"Vy, I would do it in again in a heartbeat for you. I'm sorry for what happened to you." He said.

"I didn't go down without a fight though. I never fought back before. Ever. He didn't know what to do when I laughed and spit in his face. He REALLY didn't know what to do when I punched him in his fucking face." She smirked.

"Goddamn Vy! That was three people in less than 24 hours! Very fucking impressive!" He said, laughing, trying to cheer her up.

"Yeah, I'm not going to lie, it felt so fucking good hitting him." She chuckled.

"I'm sure it did. Sid was yelling at Chris and Mick to let Corey go, so he could finish that asshole off." Jim said. "I thought they should have let him go too, personally.

"I never asked, how bad did Mason get fucked up by Corey?" She asked, realizing this.

"Bad. Broken nose, jaw, fractured his cheek bone, concussion, a few deep gashes on his head is what the cops said." Jim said looking at her.

"Holy shit." She whispered, then shook her head, "Corey said if he ever got a hold of him, he would put him in a body bag. He almost did." She said, stunned.

Jim nodded in agreement with her. "Yeah. I don't blame him at all for it." He said.

"Me either. Is it bad of me that I am glad he got hurt as bad as he did?" She asked Jim.

"No. No it's not. After every shitty, fucked up thing that guy did. No. And don't EVER waste your time feeling bad for him." He said to her.

She smiled at him and nodded. "I don't. And I won't either. I just wasn't sure if it was Ok to feel like that." She said.

"It is completely ok." He said.

"You know, the night I met you, I could already tell Corey was in love with you. And after you broke your foot off in Shawn's ass," he paused laughing, "I knew you were exactly what Corey needed. He needed someone to call him on his bullshit every now and again. I also knew, you would drive him insane with as stubborn as you are." He said making them both laugh.

"Thanks Jim. I mean it." She said hugging him. They stood up and walked on to the bus.

Corey had been watching her from the bus window. Not trying to be nosy or possessive, it was watching her to see if that was the closure she needed to bring her back up again.

When she stood up, her demeanor had changed some, and you could see it on her again. It was happiness. He smiled as they came back.

"Hey." She said smiling at Corey.

He smiled at her, "Hey." He said.

Jim cleared his throat and said, "Sorry man. We got caught up talking about our upcoming wedding plans." Making the three of them laugh.

"Do I get to be the best man at least?" Corey asked.

Jim patted him on the arm and said, "Sorry. That spot is already filled by Sid." He laughed, walking off.

Shaking her head smiling, Corey walked up to her, placing his arms around her waist, pulling her into him. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"It's nice to see you smiling again." He said.

"Yeah, I feel a little better." She said.

"Good. Want to come help me get ready?" He asked.

"Sure I will help you with your boy make up." She said grinning.

"Face paint babe. Face paint." He replied.

"If calling it that makes you feel better." She said, making him laugh.

"Come on." He said, pulling on her hand, leading her out of the bus.

They held hands walking to the venue. She stopped suddenly, wincing at the pain in her ribs. "Hey, you Ok?" He asked concerned.

She nodded, trying to catch her breath. "Uh huh. I forgot how much this hurts." She said, slowly starting to walk again.

Corey forgot that her ribs had been cracked by Mason before. She had been handeling the pain pretty well, but he was worried how much pain she was really in.

"Are you really ok, or are you telling me what I want to hear, Vy?" He asked her seriously.

"It just hurts. Some days more than others, or if I move too fast. The bruises are starting to fade some. I'm not as disgusted when I look in the mirror now." She said, still walking slow. "Fuck! I need to sit down." She said, grabbing her side, wincing.

"Vy, maybe we should go back. You're in a shit ton of pain." He said, helping her to a nearby bench.

She shook her head. "I'm good. Just didn't realize the second time getting your ribs cracked would feel worse than the first time." She said.

Taking a few deep breaths, she said, "I'm ready." She stood up, grabbing his hand.

"God damn, you're fucking tougher than most men." He chuckled, walking next to her.

"I just want all of this shit over with. This fucktard is going to drag this fucking trial out, just to fuck with me one last time. He's fucking guilty. He just needs to plead out and be done." She said as they walked into his dressing room.

"I know. It will be soon." He said to her.

"I don't want to go to court and lay all my bullshit out for a ton of strangers. Everything about my past with him is going to be for everyone to hear. Including...." She couldn't say it out loud still. She had only said it twice, and both times to Corey only. The word rape, just made her feel sick physically.

"Corey, the guys are all going to know then. That was just something I didn't want the world knowing." She said. She could feel the tears again.

"I know you have said none of them would look down on me, but it's just something I didn't need to them to know." She said.

He walked over to her and knealed down in front of her. "Listen to me, please. I know you said you didn't really look us up online and stuff, so I am sure you didn't know what I am about to say to you. If you had known, I am sure you would of said something." He said to her.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, confused.

"I had something happen to me when I was a kid. It was this another kid who was older than me, and lived in the neighborhood. I went public with it a while back, for reasons like this. People are afraid to talk about it, or bring it up." He said staring at her.

"I am so sorry that happened to you Corey." She said, throwing her arms around his neck. They held each other close. She was crying not only for herself, but for him as well.

"When I say that I understand, I really do Vy. No one should ever have to go through that." He said, pulling back to wipe her tears.

"Do you want to maybe talk with each one of the guys, and tell them that it might come up at the trial so it's not a shock to them? Or I can talk to them? I'm just throwing out suggestions. I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with, ok?" He said. She nodded, wiping her eyes.

"I don't know if there is a good way to go about it really. It's not exactly a conversation starter." She said sarcastically.

"No it's not. But it might make it easier before trial. It might help you for when you have to get up there and then you aren't worrying about what they are thinking. But, like I said. It's a suggestion. I want you to do what you are comfortable with." He said.

"I know. Thank you. For what you just told me. I know it can't be easy for you either. If you ever want to talk about it, I hope you would feel like you could talk to me. But I also understand if you don't too." She said.

He looked at her lovingly, giving her a soft smile. "I love you Vyla." He said.

She leaned her head against his, placing a hand on each side of his face. "I love you Corey." She whispered.

Getting back to the bus that night, was the longest walk of her life. She was exhausted when they got back, and the pain in her ribs, was becoming worse.

She sat down with tears in her eyes, as the throbbing in her ribs was pounding through her.

"Vy, take these ok?" Corey said holding some pain pills out to her.

She shook her head at him. "No. I don't want them. It brings up dreams I don't want to remember, ok?" She said looking at him.

Sighing, and clearly frustrated with her, he shook his head at her. He got up from their bunk where they were sitting and walked away. She really didn't need his attitude right now. She understood he was trying to help, but he didn't understand that sleep had become hell on earth for her.

She was trying to take off her shoes, and was failing at it. She wasn't asking anyone for help. She had managed before on her own, she didn't need it now. Fuck it, the shoes were staying on, she thought. She eased back into the bunk and laid down.

She laid there for a while, not thinking about anything. Just staring off into space. She heard footsteps, and started to feel anxious. Her whole body tensed. She moved slowly, sitting up into the corner of the bunk, hoping the footsteps would go away. She felt like she was being hunted. It reminded her of the time she hid from Mason, and she could hear him looking for her. When he found her, she wished he would of killed her instead.

The footsteps stopped out in front of her bunk. The curtain opened, making her jump and gasp.

"Babe? What's wrong?" Corey. It was Corey, Right?

She was breathing hard now. She looked up at the voice. Corey. Corey's there. She exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Nothing. I'm ok." She said quickly, then looked away.

Wrinkling his brow at her, he looked at her and could tell something was clearly wrong. Taking a few cautious movements into the bunk, he sat down, leaning against the opposite wall from her.

"Hey. Talk to me." He said in a gentle voice.

"I'm fine. I need some air, ok?" She said, slowly moving past him.

She stood and walked as fast as she could off the bus. Once the doors shut behind her, she moved to the other side, out of everyone's view, leaning against it. She used the support of the bus, to help lower herself to the ground.

Shit, that was close, she thought. She had almost lost it right then. She didn't know when she had started crying. She reached into her jacket, pulling out a cigarette, and lit it. She took a deep drag, hoping to calm down.

"Babe, what's going on?" She heard, making her jump, and scream at the same time.

Looking up, while trying to catch her breath, she saw Corey. He was leaning against the bus, not more than a few feet from her. She hadn't heard him even.

"How long have you been there?" She asked wiping her eyes, looking away from him.

He looked surprised, yet puzzled. "I've been here since you sat down." He said, crouching next to her. He moved a little closer.

She looked back at him, almost stunned. "I, I didn't hear you." She whispered.

"I can tell. What's bothering you?" He asked moving her hair out of her eyes. He watched as her hand shook, raising the cigarette to her lips. She took a drag, blowing the smoke out.

"Why are you scared, Vy?" He asked, tilting his head slightly at her.

She shook her head. "I'm ok." She said a little too fast. She wiped her eyes again.

She threw the cigarette on the ground. "Vy, I need you to talk to me ok? I'm worried. You've hardly talked to anyone in a while, and you've barely cried since everything happened. I am begging you to talk to me, even just a little, Ok?" He asked gently. She could see tears welling up in his eyes, making her own tears fall harder.

"I, I heard footsteps, and the curtain. The curtain was closed. I couldn't see who it was. I hid from him once. And...and I could hear him, but he couldn't find me. And then he found me." She said, sobbing. She was gasping with each sentence she spoke.

"And when he found me.....I wished he would have killed me instead." She finished. She finally lost it. The tears were flowing fast and hard. She knew she was crying loud enough for everyone to hear.

Corey sat down next to, pulling her into his lap. She wrapped herself around him, leaning her head on his shoulder. He held his hand on her head, keeping her there, as his other hand was around her waist.

"I thought he killed you that day. All because of me. It was my fault!" She half yelled.

He pulled her up to look at him. "No, no, no. Listen, none of it was. Mason was fucking crazy. When people break up, they don't live in fear of the other person. They move on with their lives. They don't do what Mason did. He was just fucked up Vy." He said, as he cried with her.

"I feel so bad about all of it. If none it's my fault, why do i feel so bad?" She cried into his shoulder.

"Because you're a good person, and you have feelings, and you care about other people. You know everything he did was wrong." He said, wiping his own eyes.

"I broke my promise of keeping you safe. I didn't do that, and I think about it every day. I'm so sorry." He whispered.

She pulled back suddenly and looked at him. She wiped the tears from his eyes, staring at him hard, she put one hand on each side of his face. "Stop. Right now. You did keep me safe. All of the nights you stayed with me, you kept me safe, just like you're doing now. You got him off of me, right before he was going to kill me. You are the only reason I am here. Understand?" She said, in a stern voice.

He looked surprised, but nodded his head at her. Her expression softened. "I love you so much." She whispered, kissing his lips tenderly, as she still had a hand on each side of his face.

He held onto her by the back of her neck, as he deepened their kiss. She pulled him into her more. His hands roamed over her, as she held on to him.

He started kissing her frantically, as though he was never going to see her again. She pulled back needing air. They were both breathless."Is it bad that I'm so fucking turned on right now?" She asked, grinning at him.

He laughed and said, "No, I was feeling the same way." He kissed her harder, making her moan, in turn, making him moan.

He pulled back, and looked at her and said, "You got all bossy with me just now, and then when you whispered you loved me right after..I don't know why,...but, Jesus Christ. I want you right here, and I don't care who's watching." He said, making them both laugh.

"Thank you for listening." She said quietly, looking at him .

He nodded, giving her a small kiss on the lips. "You know I will always listen. And, Babe, seriously though, we can't do anything for a while. The doctor said, and you're in a lot of pain still." He said referring to sex.

"But, Vy, if we don't stand up soon though, I mean it, I won't care who is watching." He said grinning at her.

She laughed, and slowly moved off of him, wincing a few times. He helped her slowly stand up. "Are you Ok?" He asked rather seriously.

"I'm exhausted, and sore, but yeah I will be." She replied.

"And after what we just talked about?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's been a hard few months. Sometimes things like that happen out of nowhere, and I don't know what to do. It scared me." She said, as he nodded.

"Its going to happen for a while. You have lived with it for so long. You can't just shut it off. It's going to happen. You can't shut me out though, remember? Or I can make Sid give you a kick in the ass again." He said grinning.

She grinned at him, and nodded. "It's just hard, when I don't remember where I am or who is with me sometimes. I get scared." She said.

"Its ok to be scared" he said, as she nodded.

"You need some rest. Let's go to bed." He said.

He helped her back into their bunk. She was moving even slower than earlier, and she look wiped out. She laid her head on his chest, and was almost asleep in an instant.

He woke up the next morning, and it was quiet on the bus, except for the faint sound of the t.v. in the upstairs.

He got up to investigate where everyone was. Walking upstairs, he found them, and couldn't believe what the hell he was seeing.

All of the guys were sitting watching a chic flick with his girlfriend. Save the Last Dance, in fact. He had unfortunately seen this movie once, and wanted to have his eyes ripped out right about now.

"Am I the only one left on this fucking bus with a set of balls? What the fuck, you guys?!" Corey's voice boomed through the room.

"Nope. Vy's got some. And they might be bigger than anyone's on here." Shawn said, making them all laugh.

"Oh for fucksake! Vy, quit watching this shit with them." He said.

"Hey! This movie is fucking awesome. Not my fault they have good taste in movies." She grinned. She was laying with her head in Sid's lap, and her feet propped up on Jim.

"Guys, we play in a fucking metal band. Did you forget this? Fuck!" He yelled, walking down the steps, bitching about how they were supposed to be men.

They all chuckled as he left. "Christ, it's not like I am braiding Sid's hair, and painting his nails." Vyla said laughing.

"What? You promised!" Sid said, as he grinned at her.

"No fucking way Sid! I will kick three fucking shades of shit out of you!" They heard from Corey who was downstairs.

"Hey babe? The guys and I want more coloring books. Can you go get some more?" She yelled down from where she was laying.

They all waited for his reaction, grinning in anticipation. "Are you fucking kidding me Vy?" They heard him yell, making them all laugh.

"Nope. We need more colored pencils too." She yelled back.

"Oh..what the? No! Fuck off!" They heard from Corey. They were laughing hard. She was holding her side, as it hurt to laugh that hard. She had tears from the pain in her side, and at how funny his reaction had been.

Catching her breath, she said, "Jesus. That was fucking funny." She said still chuckling.

They finished watching the movie, heading back downstairs. As she slowly made her way down the steps, he met her at the bottom. She smirked at him, as he glared at her. She walked past him to the bathroom, starting the shower. She turned around and bumped into him.

"Really babe? Really?" He asked staring her down. He looked irritated with her.

She shrugged at him. "It was a movie Corey. One movie." She grinned.

She unbutton her shirt , and took it off, looking at him. He looked down at her bare chest. "Eyes up here." She said pointing to her eyes.

He looked down again. "You are a fucking tease." He said, in an almost desperate voice.

She took off her pants, as he looked down again. She smirked, turning her back, and getting in the shower. She looked over at him. He was leaning with his forehead against the wall.

"Not fucking fair." He whined, making her grin.

"Hey, at least I'm letting you watch." She laughed.

"Still irritated with me?" She grinned, closing her eyes to rinse the shampoo out of her hair. She heard the door to the shower open.

"Nope." He said, kissing her neck, as his hands roamed over her.

She grabbed his hands, stopping him. "Babe. I'm sorry, but I am way too sore for anything." She said looking at him.

His face fell as he looked at her. "No, I'm sorry Vy." He said, leaning his head on her shoulder. "I know this, and I shouldn't have started anything."

"You can color with me instead." She grinned, feeling him tense up.

"Um, uh, sure?" He said.

"I'm fucking with you." She said, laughing. "Oh fuck it hurts so much to laugh." She grinned at him in pain.

"You need rest. Come on." He said, getting them out of the shower.

She looked in the mirror, and shook her head at her bruises. Some had barely faded.

"Hey, don't do that." He said, gently pulling her from the mirror.

He wrapped a towel around her. "You ok?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Not really. I'm fine until I look in the mirror. Then that day comes back." She said. "I don't think I can ever forget it." She started to slowly get dressed.

"They'll go away." He said referring to her bruises.

"Yeah, but the memories won't." She said, trying to get her shirt over her head.

"No, but they will get easier." He said helping her with her shirt.

"We'll see." She said, leaving the bathroom.

He stared after her. He knew she was having a harder time dealing with that day than what she was letting on. She wasn't sleeping like she should. She was afraid of waking the others, even though they all told her it was fine.

She had lost weight, in just two weeks time, she was looking even more frail. The color that she had in her face was gone again. She had circles under her eyes. It was like they were back at square one again. He really didn't know how to help her, other than getting her to talk, but he didn't want to push her too hard either.

Walking out of the bathroom, he found her laying in their bunk. "I have an interview, but I'll be back in a bit." He said looking at her. She nodded at him.

"Mick and Craig will be here if you need anything, ok?" He said to her.

"Do you think Mick would mind sitting here? Just until I fall asleep. If he's busy, it's fine." She asked him. She hadn't wanted to be alone since she was attacked.

"I'll get him." He said, smiling softly.

Corey got up and found Mick in the lounge area. "Hey, would you mind keeping Vy company until she falls asleep?" He asked him.

Mick stood up and said to Corey, "I'll stay until she wakes up."

"You dont-" Corey started to say, as Mick cut him off.

"No, man. I won't leave until she wakes up. It's fine. Go on, you got an interview." Mick said walking back to their bunk.

Walking up to Vyla's bunk, he peaked in at her, "Hey Vy. Want some company?" He asked as he got in next to her laying down.

"Thanks Mick." She grinned at him. "Sorry. Hope I'm not bothering you." She said.

"Nope." He said. "Come on. Come here." He chuckled, extending his arm out to her, so she could lay closer to him.

She giggled. "Thanks Mick." She said laying in the crook of his arm.

She was asleep within a a few minutes. He laid there, dozing off himself. He could hear her talking in her sleep about Mason. She would flinch and move a lot. He was waiting for her to wake up like she had in the hospital the day he was there.

When Corey came back a few hours later, he chuckled, finding both of them asleep. She was sleeping in the crook of his arm. He took out his phone, and took a picture.

Mick woke up, staring at Corey. "She stay asleep the whole time?" Corey asked in a whisper.

He nodded. "She was pretty restless. She's ok though." He whispered back. "Want to lay next to your girlfriend?" Mick smirked at Corey.

"Yeah, get the fuck out of my bed man." Corey whispered, chuckling quietly. "Thanks Mick." He said.

Mick nodded, grinning, as he slowly moved out from under Vyla, carefully laying her head on the pillow. She didn't even move.

Corey laid next to her, watching her. He had never seen her sleep this deep. She didn't stir when he laid next to her. He moved closer to her, placing his arm around her, watching her sleep.