Oblivious Hearts (Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 2

       Is this what death feels like? It’s cold, uncomfortable and painful. I still can’t breathe. I can’t see anything. Suddenly my eyes fly open and I see light. I sit up, gasping for air.

        “You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re safe.” A voice from beside me tries to comfort me. A hand rests on my shoulder and I jerk away but I feel the throb in my arm.

        I’m still trying to catch my breath and my eyes haven’t adjusted to the light. I cover my eyes with my hands. Everywhere hurts and I feel so sore. Why am I still alive? I should be dead. I didn’t think I would survive that. I took a few deep breaths and I can hear muffled voices in the room. I remove my hands and look around me.

        I’m in a hotel room. White sheets cover me until my waist. The room is painted orange with beautiful wallpaper. I see a cabinet in front of me with a TV on top. I smell lemon scented air and it gives me a reason to take a breath again.

        I look beside me and I don’t believe what I see. “Luke?” I ask. There he was, sitting in a chair with just a sleeveless shirt and short pants holding a mug in his hands.

        I see another figure in front of the bed I lay in. Ashton. I don’t understand what’s going on. My head throbs and I moan. Luke hands me his cup.

        “It’s hot chocolate. It won’t kill you.” Luke says as I give him a disapproving look. He hands me the cup and I take it. It’s warm but against my sore skin it feels like it’s burning.

        Calum and Michael enter the room and their faces light up. “She’s up!” Michael says.

        “What’s going on? What happened? The last thing I remember is lying on the floor. I thought I was going to die and-” I said before I got cut off.

        “We’ll explain everything. Just relax.” Luke says and he takes my hand that doesn’t hold the mug. At first I flinch at the feeling of his touch but I told myself to calm down. He wouldn’t hurt me.

        The four of them gather around my bed and explained to me what happened. After the concert they were driving and the windows were down because the air conditioning wasn’t working. They heard screaming so they told the driver to follow the direction of the voice and he did. They said they saw me on the floor by the time they arrived. Ashton stepped out of the car first when the men kicked my head. They rushed over with their bodyguards and knocked the three men unconscious.

        They brought the men to the police station and brought me here. Then do I notice the bruises on their arms and faces. Luke has the worst. He has a noticeable black eye; I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. Also he has more bruises than the others.

        “I’m so sorry,” I apologize and I start crying. This was absolutely ridiculous. It’s every girl’s dream to be sitting in a hotel room with her favorite band but here I am, bawling my eyes out.

        I see Ashton walking towards me and he wraps his arms around me. I feel uncomfortable at first because the only person who ever hugs me is Gracie. The other three boys join in and for a slight moment I forget about everything. My dad, last night, everything.

        They pull away and I realize my face is soaked with tears. Luke grabs some tissues from the table next to me and hands it to me. Then I remember.

“I heard a gunshot. Did anyone get hurt?” I asked. They shook their heads.

“One of the guys had a gun in their hand but one of our bodyguards grabbed it before someone got shot.” Luke answered.