Hell Is Freezing Over

Chapter 13

Please read the note at the end.

My eyes are red and puffy when I wake up. I turn on the sink, and splash my face with cold water. Yet another night filled with nightmares, and him.

I cringe just at the thought of his name.

"Alan!", someone shouts, pounding on the door.

I jump, knocking a cup over, the glass shattering on the floor. The memories of Chris's hands on me instantly rush back, and so does the image of Austin leaning over me, taking the glass pieces out of my hands.

I'm too scared to move, waiting for the sudden blow, but also wanting Austin's hands around me. I stay fixated on the spot, staring at the shattered glass, unsure of whether I should move or not.

"Get out of the way.", comes muffled through the door.

"Alan?", comes softer, and from a different voice than earlier.

The door opens because I had forgotten to lock it, and Austin's standing outside, along with the others, staring at me, staring at what appears to be just broken glass to them. It's a lot more than that though.

Austin walks over, and he's so strong, he picks me up like that, and carries me away. He lays me down on the couch, and runs his hand over my legs, caressing it gently.

"Hey Alan, it's ok. No ones going to hurt you here. We all love you.", he whispers into my ear.

"I just...I don't know what happened. I was so scared, and I don't even know why. It was like what happened at your house...but..."

My voice comes out shaky, and all I want to do is curl up into a ball. Austin's draws shapes against my jeans, and after a few minutes, I begin to feel myself calm down.

"So um, Alan?", Tino asks as he enters the lounge.

I sigh, knowing this day would come soon enough, "Yeah?"

"What...happened?", he asks.

Soon, both Phil and Aaron walk in, joining in on the conversation.

I look to Austin, trying to find some form of comfort in his eyes, and to make myself a little more confident. He sees my desperate eyes, and reaches out to grab my hand, giving my a reassuring squeeze. I close my eyes, and breathe out, trying to calm my heart, or else the words will come out broken.

"I just...I had a flashback, and I panicked."

"What was the flashback about?", Tino asks.

He looks at our hands, but doesn't question it, al though I know he will later.

"Of...of...Austin?"

"I'm right here, it's ok."

I let out another breathe before continuing, "Of Chris, when...when he hit me, after I dropped the cup while I was washing dishes."

The room was completely silent. I'm sure everyone could hear my heart beating. I redirect my gaze from Tino to the floor.

"Are you saying that...Chris hits you...like all the time?"

I nod, "And sometimes, he does other stuff."

Austin's grip on my hands tighten, and I know it's hard for him to hear these things, and it's hard for me to talk about them too.

"What do you mean by other things?", Arron asks this time.

"Like, sometimes, if he's really upset from work...he'll come home, and he'll force me too...force me too..."

Before I can finish, tears start to fall again, the memories over flowing my head like tsunami waves. Sometimes I wish I was just never born.

"It's ok Alan, you don't have to say it. We're all here for you ok? And we're never letting Chris lay a hand on you again. When this leg of the tour is over, you're going to stay at one of our houses, we're not going to let you go back to his.", Phil says, sitting down next to me, gently setting a hand on my shoulder.

I pull my hands away from Austin's and wrap my arms around Phil's body, and he does the same. It's not like this was romantic, in any way. I just really needed a hug from my friend, one that I could trust, and Phil was offering it.

"We all love you, and we won't ever hurt you.", Tino says, and then he turns around to face Austin who had moved next to Aaron, "And you," he says, pointing at him, "You better not hurt him either, or the three of us will be going after you."

Austin raises his hand up, "Of course not, I'd never hurt Al- Wait what? Why are you saying that to m-"

"Oh quit it. We all know you and Alan have a thing for each other. And if it wasn't obvious enough when you were shooting death glares at that guy Oli, we definitely just saw it ourselves right now."

Austin blushes, but doesn't deny it. I pull away from Phil, letting out a small chuckle.

Hey guys! I'm so, so, so sorry for such a late update. Honestly, I've been really down lately. My mental health has been at an all time low, and it's hard trying to write when you don't have the motivation to even get up from bed.

I was writing, and rewriting this chapter forever, and nothing was working, but I hope you guys like the final product.

As for my Ryden story, if any of you guys are waiting for an update on that, I don't know when I'll be finished with the next chapter and it's because of the same exact reason. I'll try to update soon, and thanks for sticking around!