Chapter 55- Taunting Beatings

[] A M E L I A []

"Amelia... I walked in on Andre injecting himself."

I froze. Every fibre of my body forgot how to function.

Her sentence hung in the air like a floating balloon, and I couldn't help my gasp after her words kicked in.

"Wh-what? You saw Andre...injecting himself?" I asked, shock taking over me.

Gemma nodded, her hands shaking slightly.

"But Amelia, I don't know what it was. All I know is the night he held the party for Jamal, Andre went to his room for a while. I wanted to ask where I could get extra napkins so I followed after him. And when I walked in his room, I saw him sticking a needle in his arm. I confronted him Amelia. But he only shrugged it off saying he had a medical condition," Gemma explained.

Everything fell into place now. It was evident that Gemma was awkward around Andre after the party at their dorm. I just assumed the two kissed or something.

But this was different.

It wasn't like I would hate Andre for using drugs. That was his choice, and it wouldn't make him any less of an amazing friend in my eyes. But if he was doing something as strong as what I think he was, then I have every right to care and worry for him.

"I couldn't tell you before. Not when everything was going so good. You asked me a day before the party, why I had been so weird around him, because there was something off about him Amelia. He was hiding from us. Truth be told, I did like him. At that point, I really did. So I asked him again. I asked him how his medication was going. And then he brushed it off, saying he had no such thing. I'm worried about him Amelia. I really am."

I let out a small breath and scooted forward to wrap my arm around Gemma. She leaned into my hug, soft tears flowing down her cheeks.

"It's going to be okay Gemma. We'll figure it out. Andre will be fine."

Truth was, I didn't know what was fixable at this point.

* * *

[] L E O []

It's been 36 hours.

Only 36 hours since she left, and still, I can't seem to get over it.

I was walking aimlessly around the campus, unable to function.

I felt like something was ripping at my soul.

'How is she? Is she safe? Did she eat? Is she crying-'

Thoughts ran through my mind without any rhyme or reason. The only thing on my mind was her, and nothing but that.

Somehow, my feet guided me to a stop in front of a familiar building. I frowned in confusion and looked up, only to see that I was by her dorm building. I froze immediately, my eyes straying to her room window, two floors above. The lights were off, reminding me that she wasn't here.

A dull ache resided in my chest, unwilling to stop. I stayed where I was, staring at the dark room.

What was I doing before she came in my life?

As I racked my brain to think of something, anything, I couldn't. Because it felt as if there was nothing important I did before Amelia stumbled into my life.

I never made time for friends, I never tried to socialize more than I had to, and I never thought with my heart before my fist.

But now I did.

I did all of that and so much more.

Now she's not here anymore, fighting God knows what battle, and I feel like I'm lost again.

And I want her to find me.

I want her eyes to be trained on me, her smiling face looking at me, and her touch on me, reminding me that she's here, alive and well.

I let out a deep breath and looked away from her room window. I quickly wiped away the few tears that were leaking from my eyes and turned away from her dorm. With a heavy heart, I started walking away from her apartment.

I decided I wanted to be alone tonight, even though Andre and Jamal nearly begged me to come over to theirs. But I couldn't. I didn't want to see anyone tonight.

I found myself slowly starting to head back to my empty apartment. The walk was long and slow, as I had no energy left. I was drained from the events of today, and more importantly, from the heartbreak I was facing.

'One text. Just one text. How is that so hard?' I thought aimlessly.

She could've messaged me to let me know she was okay.

And damn it, I was so angry with her. So angry for leaving me like that.

What did I do to deserve this?

Was it becuase I told her I loved her?

Is that it?

Was running away just an excuse for her to get away from me?

As all these thoughts ran through my head, I didn't notice when I had made it halfway to my apartment. I was surrounded by an array of trees, the road just to my right. It was deserted tonight, as not many people drive out after 1 in the morning on a cold night like this.

However, a figure nearby caused me to stop in my tracks.

Someone was leaning against a tree only a few feet away from me, and it looked like they were waiting for someone.

I sighed, irritated that someone was blocking my path on a night like this. I was not in the mood to even be around another breathing species right now.

I sucked it up and continued making my way to my apartment. I just wanted to go home and sleep.

Just as I passed the figure, a loud voice stopped me dead in my tracks, echoing against the softness of the night.

"You're Kennedy, aren't you? Leo Kennedy?"

I slowly turned around, my fists clenching in the pockets of my coat. When I turned around, I saw the same guy who was leaning against the tree, looking at me with a menacing look. He was bulky, bigger than me in size, but he looked as if his brain was taken over by muscle too.

I sent him a piercing glare back.

"What's it to you?" I called out, my voice even.

He pushed off the tree and took a step closer to me, an evil glint in his eyes.

"Oh, it's not me you need to worry about, shitface," he said slowly.

It took me about ten seconds to process what he said. But by then, it was too late.

Arms reached out from all directions and held me down in place. I growled, trying to pry the hands off of me, but it just didn't work. There was nearly 5 or 6 of them holding me down. They had lurched out of the woods so quick, that I barely saw them.

As I struggled with them, I didn't notice another figure making his way by the guy who had stopped me in the first place.

"Leo fucking Kennedy," a voice said, stopping me dead in my tracks.

I froze, the hands that were trying to hold me down clamped down on me, making my escape harder. But I didn't pay attention to that. All I could focus on, was the guy in front of me.

A growl left my lips as I saw his busted face. His right eye was swollen, his lips still burning red from the punches I gave him the day before yesterday, and the rest of his face was covered in bruises too.

And it still wasn't enough.

I let out another growl and started reaching for him, the hands holding me down not doing enough to stop me. I had even taken a step forward, even with all the arms holding me down.

For a fleeting moment, I saw a flash of fear cross Jackson's eyes.

However, it was gone as quick as it came as he said the next words.

"Nuh-uh, Leo Kennedy. I wouldn't try that if I were you. Otherwise your precious Moonie will get it-"

A strangled snarl left me as I reached for him again.

"Don't you dare fucking say her name! You hear me, you fuck! Don't you dare even think of her with that fucked up brain of yours!" I yelled at him.

He gave me an emotionless look, a smirk grazing his lips that I so badly wanted to rip off.

"Why? What will you do, huh? Beat me up again? Hate to break it to you Leo but you can't. You see, one movement from you will land your precious Moonie in a bad place. She's on my territory now, back home. The place we shared for such a long time. I heard she's in her house right now, with the rest of her crazed family."

I was thrashing in the hold of the guys pinning me down, screams of displeasure leaving me as he talked about Amelia liked that.

As if he can hurt her.

A low humorless chuckle left him watching me struggle, and I hated how helpless I was in this moment. Jackson took a step closer to me, a sigh escaping his lips.

"Ah, I like seeing this. It reminds me of a similar time. But instead of you, it was your girl," Jackson said with a laugh.

For the second time, I froze. I couldn't hear what he was saying past what he just did.

He had Amelia in a hold like I was right now?

Nearly on my knees, with 6 guys holding me back?

My nose flared.

"What the fuck did you just say?" I said lowly.

Jackson took a taunting step around the guys beside him, throwing a hand up on his shoulder, as if he were about to share a funny story with me.

My jaw ticked and my muscles tensed.

"Oh, you don't know? Well with the way you've beaten me up, I assumed she told you everything. "

He laughed again. This time, the guy beside him joined in.

"Oh, classic Amelia Harrison. Pretending to protect others," he sighed.

"How fucking stupid. She hasn't even introduced me properly yet. Guess I'll have to do it. Boys, do you remember I how we held down Amelia the same way, right after that fucking cunt caused my sister to die?"

The boys laughed.

The guy beside him spoke.

"Of course, boss. She was quivering in that storage room for hours before someone found her," he chuckled.

Jackson nodded, a faraway look in his eye.

"Who was it again, Brian?" He tried to recall.

Jackson suddenly snapped his fingers as he remembered.

"Ah yes, Johnathon. Classic guy. Heartbroken for his lover, but comes to save the killer's sister. Should've hurt that fucker too. Glad he moved, because then, precious Amelia had no one to protect her."

Another voice broke out behind me.

"No, I bet that time in the back alley was better. The one you told us about. She begged for you to stop touching her, but the bitch got what she deserved. If it wasn't for her encouraging her brother to kill your sister, she would be alive," the guy behind me said.

Jackson tsked.

"And she thinks she can survive after committing such a crime."

He then turned to me, finally seeing the look I was giving him.

He was already dead in my head. With every sentence, every word he said tonight I killed him over and over again.

"Leo, you seem like a good guy. Do yourself a favor and stay away from that whore. She'll only lead you to your death."

That was it for me.

With an anguished cry, I kicked my leg back, catching one guy's leg, and the moment I did so, my left arm was usable. I used this moment to pull another fucker off of me.

And then, all I saw was red.

I was beating the guys up left and right, and got through them all, even landing a finishing kick to the Brian guy.

And then, I was at Jackson's throat. I pushed him against a tree, my hands clawing at his throat, hoping he'd just die today.

His eyes were wild with terror, and something else I couldn't place. His hands were shaking as he tried to pry them off of me, but he was a weak bitch.

He couldn't even touch me.

I leaned in closer to him, my hands almost finishing the job I had started. But before I did that, I had to let him know something.

"I wasn't going to kill you, you bastard. I'm Leo, a normal guy who lives a normal life. But all of what you said today is enough reason for me to send you to hell, where you rightfully belong."

His eyes widened in fear as my hands clamped tighter around his throat.

But luck was not on my side.

A few seconds was all it took.

One second, I was holding Jackson up by his neck, and in the next, a sharp pain to the back of my head knocked me off of my feet.

I gasped and stumbled back, holding the back of my head. I pulled my hand back in front of me to see it covered in blood. I looked up at my attacker, only finding the feral eyes of Brian.

He pushed me to the ground, and I fell on my back with a thud.

My vision was blurry, black spots dancing across my eyes.

I saw Jackson leaning over me, a horrific expression on his face.

"You shouldn't have done that Leo. You shouldn't have done that."

And that's when I blacked out.