Flying Free

by Abigail Davies

  I scratch at his face and neck, trying my best to get away. Jabbing my thumbs into his eyes, I manage to push free and get three steps away before he pushes me down. I go crashing to the floor, my hands and knees scraping against the jagged surface.

  His body comes down onto mine and he roughly yanks me around so that I’m on my back.

  I wince when he growls, his face screwing up and showing how evil he is.

  I kick and flail my arms about as he yanks my jeans down to my ankles, but I don’t get anywhere, he uses his upper body to pin me down as he pulls his own jeans down.

  That’s when I realize exactly what he’s going to do to me and I go into fight mode.

  I won’t let him do this to me, he’s already taken enough of me and I won’t let him take this as well.

  I lift my hips off the floor, placing my palm around the handle of the gun and pulling it out slowly.

  He’s too distracted with what he’s doing and I know that if he actually gets inside me that I’ll never be the same person again. He’s taken enough of me with just his fingers, there’s no way that I can survive if he takes it all the way.

  The scars I have from him, physically and mentally, are enough already. I can’t handle anymore.

  My hand is nearly all the way out now and I squirm once more, trying to get away from him and in doing so I get a punch to the stomach that takes my breath away.

  “Stay still!” he growls, his voice getting higher and his movements less controlled now that he thinks he’s going to get what he wants.

  I won’t allow him though. This is it... it’s me or him and I will always choose me.

  He lines his dick against my entrance and pulls his hips back and that’s when I pull my arm around and aim the gun at his head.

  His eyes go wide for a second before he throws his head back and laughs. “Now what would my little butterfly be doing with that?”

  “Get off me,” I say, my voice coming out shaky.

  The gun starts to wobble in my hand but he doesn’t even acknowledge it, he lines himself up and thrusts inside me, his head flying back as he groans.

  Vomit comes up my throat and I swallow it down as I pull the trigger, the bang echoing through the alley so loud that my ears hurt. Blood sprays everywhere and I slam my eyes shut as it coats my face.

  I stare at him as the life drains from his eyes right before me. “What... what did you do?” he chokes, blood flowing out of his mouth.

  I freeze in shock, pushing away from him, knowing that if I don’t move now, I’ll be stuck under him. He holds his chest, the blood coating his hands and flowing out faster than I ever thought possible.

  Backing up to the nearest wall, I stare as he chokes on his own blood, his eyes not leaving mine.

  This should be where I call for help but I don’t. I watch him suffer, just like he made me suffer.

  I don’t know how long I sit there with my jeans around my ankles and the gun still clutched in my hand but at some point I push up against the wall and lift my jeans back over my hips, wincing at the pain that he caused from invading me, again.

  I take one last look at him before I walk out the alley, the gun still by my side as I try to figure out where to go.

  I’m in a daze, not really thinking about what I’m doing or where I’m going. My legs just move and I stare ahead, completely void of any emotion.

  The bar empties early and it’s just me, the guys, Daley, J and Jackson that are left. I tell the doorman to go home after eleven and lock the door behind him.

  We’re all sat around the bar and I pull my cell out again, checking to see if Ava has read the message. When I see that it still hasn’t sent yet, I shoot her another one and ask if she’s okay or if she needs picking up from work.

  I push my cell back into the front pocket of my jeans and turn to Daley. “Have you found anything else out?” I ask, knowing that he just received a call.

  “Nothing as of yet.” He shakes his head and runs his fingers down the side of his glass, clearing the condensation off it.

  “There’s something more to it,” I say.

  “Yeah, we’ll figure it out.”

  I look away, concentrating on the bar.

  Now that I know I’ll be based here, I think there’s a few things I want to change.

  I want to make it into more of a family place during the day and somewhere the college kids can come at night. J’s idea of having bands here once a week sounds like it’ll be a hit.

  Knowing that the last one went really well and brought in over double compared to a normal night sealed the deal for me.

  “Is that someone knocking on the door?” Chad asks with a frown.

  “I’ll check,” J says and steps away from the bar.

  “Tell them we’re closed!” I shout over to her as she looks through the little window in the door.

  “Holy shit,” she gasps, the sound echoing through the bar.

  I shake my head at her dramatics. She must be the most dramatic person that I know. I turn away and look up to Jackson when he starts talking about his latest game. That kid will be a pro and I’d be surprised if it doesn’t happen sooner rather than later.

  “Corey?” I hear her call and I hold up one finger while I listen to the rest of what Jackson is saying.

  “Yeah and... What the fuck?” he growls, looking over at J, his face going pale.

  I spin around to see what’s happening and my heart stops.

  “Drop the weapon!” I hear Chad shout behind me.

  Ava’s stood there covered in dirt and... is that blood?

  I jump up off the barstool and run to her, my hands coming up to cup her face but when she flinches, I pull back and take her all in. My eyes trail down to the gun she’s holding in her hand.

  “Put the fucking gun down!” Daley shouts at Chad when he repeats what he said a second time.

  “Ava? Baby?” She shakes her head at me, her eyes not meeting mine.

  “I had to shoot him, I had to...” she says, her breaths stuttered. “It was me or him.” Her eyes find mine and she ends with. “I chose me.”

  “Who did you shoot, baby?” I go to place my hands on her again but she flinches again and backs away.

  “Charlie’s on his way!” Jackson shouts across the bar and it puts her even more on edge as she backs away completely, the hand she’s holding the gun with starts to shake uncontrollably and I start to worry that she’s going to accidentally shoot it.

  “Ava?” I plead. “What happened?”

  “He wanted money,” she says to no one in particular.

  Daley comes to stand next to me and watches Ava as I feel all the guys come closer but I hold my hand out behind me, telling them to stay back.

  I tilt my head at J, telling her to move away. I don’t want her getting caught in the firing line if something was to happen.

  “Who wanted money?” I ask softly, trying to keep my voice calm when all I want to do is wrap my arms around her.

  “My dad.” I curse under my breath and give Daley the eye, he pulls his cell out and puts it to his ear. “He said if I didn’t give it to him then he’d tell him where I was.”

  “Tell who, baby?”

  Her eyes look over at us, just now seeing all of us and she gasps, closing her eyes and crouching down against the wall where she pulls her knees up to her chest and holds the gun loosely in her hand.

  “Him,” she croaks. “I shouldn’t have gone; I knew something would happen.”

  She carries on rambling and I’m not able to make any sense of what she’s saying.

  Her head whips up when I step closer and she points the gun straight at me. Daley grabs my arm and pulls me back.

  It kills me that I can’t be what she needs right now.

  “Then he was on top of me,” she sobs, the sound so heart-breaking that I rub my chest where it starts to hurt. “He pulled my jeans down...”

  I clench my hands into fists at my sides having a feeling that I know wh
ere this is going.

  “Ava? Put the gun down.” I turn to Daley as he steps forward, wondering what the hell he’s doing. If she won’t let me come closer, then she won’t let him.

  “He did it again, the scars we’re enough but now this?” She looks up at me, her eyes red and swollen from how much she’s crying.

  My nostrils flare as I realize who she’s on about. That motherfucker should be in jail.

  She keeps her eyes on me, the gun shaking in her hand. I can’t bear the look in her eyes, it rips me apart.

  “I’m tainted,” she sobs. “He... he tainted me. I’m no good.”

  “No, baby,” I manage to croak out, trying to keep my emotions in check but it’s so goddamn hard. “You’re not tainted, you’re perfect.”

  “No!” she shouts, covering her ears with her hands, the gun now pointed at the ceiling.

  I hold my breath as Daley steps even closer, he’s almost within reaching distance now and I can see Chad has his gun trained on her. Catching his eyes, I shake my head and tell him silently that he’s not to shoot. If he does, I’ll fucking kill him.

  Daley takes the last step towards her and she brings her head up, her eyes connecting with his and I’m not sure what she sees but it doesn’t alarm her.

  He whispers something to her and she shakes her head, bringing her hand down and staring at the gun.

  I don’t know what I’m doing but all I can see is his face everywhere I look. The one that’s choking on blood. I can’t get the image out of my head. I keep having glimpses of being in the bar and Corey being here and then back in the alley.

  It’s all a dream, I know this because Corey isn’t back yet so it must mean that I’m still there... with him.

  I look up when I hear someone close to me and my eyes clash with familiar ones. I don’t know where I remember them from though but I see the pain reflected in his, the same sort of pain that I see every time I look in the mirror.

  “Ava? You’ve got everyone on edge right now... can you give me the gun darlin’?”

  “Gun?” I whisper.

  “Yeah, the one in your hand,” he says, tilting his head at me.

  I bring my hand down, staring at the gun with wide eyes. It’s covered in blood, so much blood.

  “I... I...”

  “It’s okay.” He crouches down, not coming any closer and extends his hand out to me. “If you give it me, I can get rid of it.”

  I study him for several seconds, not sure I’m doing the right thing. He keeps his eyes connected to mine.

  “O... okay,” I whisper, extending the gun out to him.

  He smiles as he takes it, still not moving his eyes from mine as he pulls it apart into several pieces and places it a few feet away from him.

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “I... my dad, he wanted money.” I go to look away but he shakes his head at me.

  “No, keep your eyes right here.” He points to his eyes and I do as he says, not looking away. “Then what happened?”

  “I... erm...” My head starts to pound as I go back to that alley, squeezing my eyes shut, I shake my head. “I can’t,” I choke out.

  “That’s okay, just breath, take deep breaths, in and out... that’s it, now do it again. In and out.”

  I concentrate on breathing and open my eyes back up.

  “He’s still there,” I whisper, bringing my knees further into my chest.

  “Where, darlin?”

  “In the alley... By Jessie’s.”

  I see his hand lift out of the corner of my eye, signaling someone to come closer.

  “Corey’s here.” He smiles softly.

  I turn to the footsteps that are closing in and a sob bubbles up in my throat as I look into his eyes. He won’t want me now. I’m broken, beyond repair.

  “Baby?” he asks, his eyes becoming glassy as he crouches down. I shake my head and bury my face in my knees.

  “You won’t want me now, Corey.”

  “What?” he gasps. “Nothing could ever make me not want you. You’re my Birdie. We fly together, remember?”

  I nod my head but I don’t believe him, not one bit.

  “Me and you, baby. We’re it.”

  I lift my face off my knees and look at him trying hard not to flinch as his hand cups the side of my face. “We are?”

  “Yeah, baby, we are.” He smiles, his eyes shining with unshed tears and I see it then. I see how much he means it. I don’t doubt him for one second and I fling myself at him, not caring that I knock him over in the process and I bury my head into his chest.

  “I’m sorry,” I gasp. “I should have told someone, I just... I just didn’t think he’d really tell him where I was.”

  “It’s okay now, you’re safe. I got you.”

  I nod into his chest again and stay there for I don’t know how long. All I know is that he’s home. My home. There isn’t anywhere else I would rather be.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, lifting my head back up to Corey and just now seeing everyone that’s in the bar.

  “You don’t need to be sorry,” he murmurs, stroking his hand up and down my back.

  “We need to get you to a hospital.” I look back up to the eyes that are so familiar and he smiles softly. “Daley, by the way.”

  “Your boss,” I whisper to Corey.

  “Yeah.” He chuckles and plants a kiss on my head.

  Corey lifts up, taking me with him and he doesn’t let me go, not even when we sit in the big truck outside. I stay on his lap, just like I did that day a couple of years ago.

  I bury my face into his neck, not wanting to acknowledge anyone else that gets in the truck.

  It’s been a week since Ava has been in the hospital. The doctors were worried about her mental health after they took all the tests and saw how she was reacting to everything; she would go in and out of whatever mental breaks she was having.

  One minute she would be fine and talking normally, giving Charlie a statement and the next she would be right back there, thinking it was happening all over again.

  It was heart breaking to see and to know that there was nothing I could do for her.

  It was odd because she seemed to be responding to Daley really well when she was having an episode. I could see in his eyes that this wasn’t the first time he had done this with somebody.

  His walls came down with Ava and it was something that I didn’t think he was capable of. Ava responding to him and not me made me both hurt but made me glad at the same time.

  “I think it’s because he’s a new face,” Elena says from beside me as we watch them talk through the window in the hallway.

  “Yeah?” I ask, not taking my eyes off Ava.

  “They say that sometimes it takes a stranger to get through to someone. She’s improved a huge amount in the last week.”

  I scrub my hands up and down my face and turn to her. The worry, and lack of sleep, is obvious on her face and I can see the sadness in her eyes when she looks at Ava but also the overwhelming love that she has for her.

  “It’s gonna be fine,” I say and place my hand on her shoulder giving a small squeeze. “The doc said she could be out as early as the end of the week.”

  She nods and takes a deep breath, pulling her sweater tighter around her. “Have you considered what you’re going to do when she gets out?”

  I shake my head in answer. I hadn’t thought past getting her better and out of this sterile place.

  “Corey? Can I have a word?” Charlie asks, coming up behind us and gives his mom a kiss on the head before walking away.

  Following behind him, we make our way to a corner and he turns to face me, his whole demeanor serious.

  I can tell this is the sergeant mode and not the Charlie mode.

  “He escaped and slipped through the cracks.” His jaw clenches as he looks away and then meets my eyes, a fire lit behind them. “Can’t find a location on her dad yet but Ty and the guys are working on that as well.”
/>   “How the fuck can a giant like that slip through the cracks?” I growl.

  “Connections.” Charlie shrugs. “I’ve spoken to the D.A and they’re not gonna press charges against Ava.”

  “I should fuckin’ hope not, it was self-defense,” I fume, my hands clenching into fists.

  He nods, not saying anything else and looks over to where Elena is still standing and watching Ava. “How’s Ava holding up?”

  “Better than yesterday, she’s only had one episode so far today.”

  “Is Daley in there now?”

  “Yeah.” I sigh, leaning against the wall. I haven’t slept for days and it’s starting to catch up with me.

  “Why don’t you go and get some proper sleep? I can hold the fort here.”

  Shaking my head, I push up off the wall. “Nah, I’m not going nowhere.” There’s no way that I’m leaving her again, not after what happened this time. I’m gonna protect her until my last dying breath.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Corey.”

  “Wasn’t it?” I ask and clench my jaw. “If I would’ve been here she never would have been in that situation.”

  He blows out a breath and clears his throat. “We could all say we had a part to play in it, I mean, I gave her that money to take to him. Nobody but that evil son of a bitch is to blame and he’s gone now. For good.”

  He has a point but I can’t help thinking that I should have been there for her.

  I turn at the sound of a door opening and watch Daley as he says something to Elena and then looks around, spotting us in the corner he walks over to us.

  “She’s okay,” he says, holding a hand up. “It wasn’t as bad this time. Looks like she’s coming out the other side.”

  My body deflates in relief. “Can-”

  “She’s sleeping,” he interrupts, knowing what I was about to ask.

  We all stand there, staring at nothing while our minds are all whirling with thoughts. I didn’t doubt that Daley cared about her. He had to, to be helping her like this.

  “How someone can hurt a little thing like that is beyond me,” he grits out, clenching his jaw and shaking his head. “Found her dad yet?” he directs to Charlie.

  “Ty and the team are on it. They’ll find him soon.”