Song for this chapter: Fight Song

- Rachel Platten

I make it through the week without a bother. My friends seem to have come to terms with my decision and although it hurts a little, I know I'm doing what's right. They keep their distance, not really looking in my direction and keeping to themselves, adding a few of Amber's friends to their table. As long as they're happy, which they seem to be as whenever I see them they're laughing.

On Thursday I saw Grayson go home with Jess in his car again, they constantly seem to be around each other now and although I try to not let it bother me, it really hurts to see.

It's Friday the 20th, the day before the weekend and Mason's birthday. I wake up in an even worse mood as I remember the place we were in two years ago on this exact day.

I sluggishly make my way around my room, picking up random clothes and throwing them on and also not bothering with my hair or makeup.

Connor knocks on my door, no longer surprised as he was at the beginning of the week to actually see me up by myself. Normally I'd have be jumped on, but I'm not sleeping very well now that Brody is back.

Brody has been at the front of my thoughts as I wonder when the next time I'll see him will be. I know it'll be soon because he's an impatient boy and because he didn't get his way at the club, I know he'll be waiting for his time to confront me. I doubt that meeting will be very pretty.

Connor doesn't know that Brody's background, I refuse to tell him. I see how happy he is here, he's made friends and he's on the soccer team. I won't ruin that for him like I did back in North Dakota. This is my mess, I have to be the one to fix it.

I get in Connor's car, it's silent the entire way to school like it's been all week.

"What's happening with you Layla?" Con breaks the silence, and I snap out of my daze to turn to look at him with a smile on my face.

"Nothing, why?" I grin, but his expression remains stoic. I hate how he can see through my bullshit so easily.

"You've barely spoken ten words to both dad and I all week, you're not hanging out with your friends and they seem to be okay with that. What's happened?" He questions, as he put the car into park and pulls up the handbrake, turning his full attention onto me.

"I just-" I see movement from the tree at the edge of the school and when Brody pops his head out quickly, my heart stops. Shit. "It's Mason's birthday today." I mumble out. It's not a lie, more of a half truth as the reason I'm so down is the fact I've lost all my friends because of stupid decisions I made in the past.

"Oh shit. Layla I can take you home-"

"No!" I interrupt him, "I'm honestly fine, although I'm about to be late so we'll speak later, yeah?" I rush out and quickly get out of his car. As I walk past the same tree I saw Brody hiding behind; I brace myself as a hand wraps around my arm and drags me behind it too. Fuck.

"Hello, darling." He says, a cunning smile on his face as he looks down at me.

"Why are you here?" I demand, tugging my arms out of his grip and backing up to put some much needed space between us.

"Came to give payback to that dick who punched me on Saturday, and to perhaps teach you a lesson about who you belong to." He whispers in my ear, pushing me against the tree; his arms caging me in.

"I won't let you touch him or any of them, and I don't belong to you." I say, stubbornly and just as I'm about to push him away, he grabs my wrists in a tight grip. I look around to see that every student has vacated the area around here, clearly having made their way to homeroom.

"You won't stop me." He glares.

"Well I've being staying away-"

"You thought staying away from them was gonna stop me?" He interrupts. "He had his hands on you and you're mine." He growls and presses himself further against me.

"You touch any of them and I'll kill you." I threaten and I swear I mean it. Those four people are more important to me than anything, even myself and he's a fool to think that I wouldn't stand up to defend them if he even dares try to touch them.

"Oooh threats from little Layla, I'm so scared." He makes fun of me, his lips forming into a snarl. Of course he doesn't take me seriously, I've never stood up to him before.

I push him hard, anger tingling through my body. I hate him. "Fuck off Brody! I've had enough of your shit, just leave me alone. I'm happy here, why did you have to follow me?" I yell at him, fuming in anger at the audacity of this rapist following me across the country just to watch me suffer. And so angry at the situation when I was just about to get my life back on track and becoming the person I used to be before any of this shit happened to me. "I hate you. I hate you so much." I tell him. "You've fucking ruined everything." I let a few tears fall at this point, in sadness at the friends I've lost because of this asshole.

He slaps me across the face, so hard that I fall to the floor.

"You were lucky to have me Layla. The nights and moments we shared, you were lucky it was you." He manipulates, pulling me off the floor by my hair and slamming me into the wall of the school. Why are there no teachers around?

"You were lucky Layla, weren't you?" He whispers in my ear as he presses himself close to me.
My body is telling me to agree, to tell him yes, to surrender to him like I have every other time. Because I'm weak.

But my mind hates that thought. My mind thinks I've grown, that I'm stronger than I used to be. It's telling me to get him off of me.
It's reminding me of the phone I have in my pocket that's recording everything and the dozen security cameras that can see his face too.

"N-no." I stutter out. "I wasn't lucky. You raped me. How was that lucky?" I say looking him up and down with a disgusted glance, feeling powerful for the first time in my life. I don't know where this urge to stand up to him has come from. To turn away from the old, submissive Layla. But I'm here and I'm good.

He slams his fist on the wall.

"You enjoyed it." He growls.

"I was unconscious." I argue.

"Not the first time." He clenches his jaw hard, in fury.

"You held me down." I remind him.

"You deserved it, you whore!" He screams. There it is. He grabs my shoulders, pulling me forward before slamming me back into the wall. He does it twice more, before I start to feel dizzy and knock his hands away. "It felt so good watching you struggle, knowing that there was nothing you could do to stop me from pounding into you, over and over again." He spits, saliva splattering on my face. I've got him. As long as I make it out of here alive.

His hands start to wrap around my throat and he raises me from the ground a little.

"I think I'm done playing with you now. I'd rather see you dead, I think." The psycho says before throwing me on the floor and landing one kick to the stomach. Fuck that hurt. "Then no one else can touch you ever again."

I look up at him through hooded eyes, opening my mouth slowly to taunt him before screaming for my life.

"Help!" I scream as loud as I can. Brody begins to storm towards me as I roll myself off of the floor, staggering up the steps of the school. "Help me, please! He's trying to kill me!" I scream. When I'm tackled to the ground, I scream in agony. The more noise I make, the better. He grabs my throat once more as he straddles me, smacking my head against the concrete twice more and just as he raises his fist to punch me in the face, his weight and hand is gone suddenly and I'm left gasping for breath.

Connor is enraged and beating the shit out of him and I can barely see anything as I go dizzy.

"Connor." I rasp.

He obviously doesn't hear me, but I suddenly feel the urge to throw up. So I do. I throw up all over the school pavement. Fuck I hate vomiting.

The feeling of tiredness washes over me. A nap will make me feel better. And as I lie back down I take my phone out of my pocket and stop the recording and save it before shutting off my phone and letting myself fall asleep.

"Layla!" Connor shouts and I look up to see him holding Brody on the floor. Miss Evans is suddenly by my side, holding onto my hand and I see the principle on the phone, police and ambulance on the other line maybe.

"You bitch." Brody spits but my brother just punches him in the mouth. I start laughing manically; of course only gasps leaving my mouth due to my sore throat but I feel delirious and couldn't stop myself. Everyone's eyes turn to me and watch me curiously.

"What's wrong with her?" Connor asks.

"It's the shock probably and adrenaline." Miss Evans says as she brushes my hair behind my ear. I stop laughing to throw up again, on the other side of me so it doesn't go on Miss.
I feel a hand at the back of my head, and a short gasp.

"Her head!" Miss Evans pauses for a second. "It's bleeding."

"I'm tired." I mumble, wincing every time I hear my broken voice. The bell goes off then and I hear the principle ordering students to stay away. My eyes begin to droop.

"No, Layla you can't sleep." Someone says.

"I'm tired." I argue. I can almost feel my blood stop moving as I become overcome with pure exhaustion.

"Oh my god! Layla!" A voice screams and my eyes snap open to see Lydia sprint towards me, throwing herself on the ground next to me. She grabs my hand tightly and begins sobbing. I turn to her drowsy, looking at her through my half closed eyes.

"Reece! Myles! Hold him down." Connor asks and as soon as they're over there, he rushes to me, beginning to make me do small tasks to try and keep me awake. I hear the sirens vividly and one second I'm lying on the floor and the next I'm in the back of an ambulance with my brother and 'sister' as Lydia called herself; on my way to the hospital.

There's one person missing of course, but I don't have the energy to think about where he is.
I don't deserve his presence anyway. And with that last thought, I finally let myself drift off to sleep.

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When I open my eyes, I'm not surprised to find myself in the hospital with a gas mask on my face, pumping some oxygen into my body, they must've thought I'd been deprived when they saw the hand marks all over my neck.

"Hey sweetheart." My dad coos, brushing the hair off of my forehead and offering a loving smile.

"Thank goodness you're awake!" Lydia cries from the other side of me and I lift my hands to try and get the mask off but when I see the wires through my hands, I let out a scared screech.

Not scared, just surprised.

My dad lets out a sharp laugh before pulling the oxygen mask from my face.

"Always hated needles, huh?"

"Not hated, just haven't liked." I whisper, earning laughs from everyone in the room. I look around to see Myles and Reece along with my brother in the room.

Still no Grayson. I wonder where he is.

"How are you feeling? Where's the pain?" My dad asks attentively when I try to sit up and wince at the pain in the back of my head.

"My head." I try to say but my voice doesn't let me.

"Well, at least we'll have a rest from you talking for a while." My dad jokes as he turns to the rest of them and I let out a harsh laugh, creating pain in my stomach from where Brody kicked me. "Sorry, too soon for jokes." He apologises, still grinning.

"No it's no problem. Don't mind me just in pain everywhere when you make me laugh." I say, although it's quite harsh on my throat.

"So you're finally admitting you find me funny then?" He taunts, making me laugh again. I groan out in pain. "I'm taking that as a yes." He carries on.

"Dad, shut the fuck up!" Connor laughs, and dad lets out a surprised gasp, over dramatic as hell.

"Language, my boy." He exclaims, going over to Con and whacking him over his head making everyone in the room laugh.

"Did they get him?" I question warily, and everyone's eyes snap to me as they all turn serious. Connor moves forward to grab my hand.

"Yeah they got him." He says, and kisses my forehead. I sigh in relief.

"My phone?" I question, my eyes narrowing on each person as I wonder where it is so that I can tell them about the recording.

"Here." Lydia says and picks up her bag, rummaging through it to find my phone and handing it to me. I quickly type in my password and get up the recording.

"I- I saw him when I got out of your car -" I begin to cough, I'm gonna have to stop talking after this. "I pressed record before he grabbed me." I tell them and Connor's mouth opens in shock.

"Did he?" He questions, knowing I know what he's asking and I nod my head, tears welling up in my eyes and they start to fall when he screams out a yes and brings me into hug. He knows Brody hurt me, but he doesn't know the full extent. No one knows but Gray.

I sob in his arms, and he whispers in my ear that everything is going to be okay now. "We've got him." He coos.

Our moment is interrupted by the door opening. "Oh my god, Layla!" Grayson says as he walks through the door, "we came as soon as we heard." He says and I notice his arm holding open the door as Jess walks through. Ouch. I feel my facial expression fall and I quickly bring my hands up to wipe away my tears and to mask the clear hurt on my face.

"Layla, this is my dad. He's a top lawyer and he's here to talk to you after the police take your statement." Jess tells me as I see a Middle aged man walk in behind her, offering me a kind smile and friendly wave. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." She says and then leaves the room, not before giving Gray a quick hug goodbye.

"Thank you for everything." He tells her before turning to face me.

"I'm gonna get a drink." Connor says.

"Me too." My dad says.

"Me three." Lydia shouts after them as they leave through the door.

"Four."

"Five." Both Myles and Reece get up from their chairs offering smiles directed at me, signalling that they're happy I'm okay.

Grayson walks over to my side and leans down, planting a kiss on my forehead.

"Where have you been?" I wonder and he winces when he hears my broken voice. His gaze lands on my neck and I watch as his eyes turn angry.

"I was with Jess' dad, we were planning for a way to get Brody locked up for good. He's one of the best lawyers in town, I've had meetings with him to discuss what to do." He tells me, stroking my cheek.

"Wait, that's why you were hanging out with Jess and driving her home?"

"Yeah." He says, grabbing my hand and painting a kiss on the inside of my wrist.

"Oh." I say, looking down.

"You thought something was going on, didn't you?" He jokes, a charming smile making its way on his face. When he notices my silence, his expression turns serious as he stares at my wide-eyed. "Fuck Layla, I told you my feelings for you. No one could replace you." He tells me softly.

"Well, she's just really pretty Gray and you looked so happy, I just -"

"You were wrong, yes she's pretty but she's missing a huge thing," he tells me, cradling my face in his hands, "she's not you." He tells me and places a kiss on my nose.

"Grayson-" it feels wrong to call him anything else after what I've put him through.

"Call me Gray or don't say my name." He laughs, knowing my game.

"I'm so sorry." I cry, the tears falling down my cheeks.

"Don't be sorry." He whispers, "and please don't cry." He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. I hold my phone out to him to show him the recording and when he sees it, his expression turns confused.

"I recorded him the whole time." I murmur and his features light up, before he looks back at my phone and reluctantly takes it.

He places it to his ear, so that I don't have to hear it and I watch as his expression turns dark a few times, clearly not liking what Brody was saying. When it's finished, he gives me the phone back.

"This could lock him away for life, combined with the security cameras at the school." He says and I nod my head, his expression falls, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that." He tells me and hesitantly looks me, looking guilty for some absurd reason. "And I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you even though I promised I would." He looks down at our entwined hands, ashamed. I squeeze his hand, trying to get him to look up at me and when he doesn't I gently place my fingers under his chin for him to catch my gaze.

"You have no reason to be sorry." I tell him, "you couldn't have done anything to protect me, he would've come at some point, it was inevitable. I'm sorry for bringing you into my mess, this was my fault." I tell him and he shakes his head.

"I guess we both have a problem for apologising for things that aren't our fault." He says, his intense gaze piercing through me. He places his hands on my cheeks and stares deep into my eyes. He stays silent for a little while and I watch as he seems to debate something. "Will you come back to me now?" He finally questions, a little vulnerability masked under his voice and I let out a giggle, biting my lip nervously.

His thumb gently pulls my bottom lip from my teeth as he looks down at my lips. I nod with a smile on my face and watch as a grin encompasses his features. He leans forward a little, staring at my lips and as I notice his presence getting near to me; I start to lean in too. Our lips are just about to touch when the door opens softly and the doctor walks in, along with my dad.

"He just wants to do some examinations." My dad informs, as Gray clears his throat and begins to stand. I reach out to grab his hand quickly, not really wanting him to leave.

"No." I decline him leaving but he just turns around giving me a soft smile.

"The police need to come and take your statement too, I'll be back straight after." He offers gently and I can do nothing but nod my head. My dad is here, so I'll be fine.

His drops a swift kiss on my forehead as I squirm awkwardly at his affection in front of my dad, but smile as I watch him leave.

"Ready?" The doctor asks, and I swiftly nod my head; allowing my dad to take my hand as he takes his place next to me.

Lol, bye Brody.

It might've seemed like it was quick, but I want Layla to grow from her past and Brody needed to fuck off for her to do that properly.

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