Chapter Eight

"Erin, please don't let him hurt me!" Tom pleads as Kayden's motorbike speeds up the drive, stopping suddenly with a screech of tyres. Seth pushes Tom back against the wall harder, making him groan in pain.

I watch as Kayden get's off of the bike in one smooth motion, throwing his helmet on the grass next to the drive and stalking his way up to Tom. For a fleeting moment our eyes meet, and I am shocked at the raw emotion that is pointed my way; relief, anger, disgust and and pure rage all fighting for the limelight in his burning blue eyes.

Seth moves out of the way the second Kayden is behind him, and Tom tries to run, but Kayden has his hand around his throat, pinning him against the wall before his has the chance to move anywhere.

"Kayden, please," Tom shakily begs, but this only makes Kayden's rage ignite more, his blue eyes dancing with ice fire.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" his voice is quiet, deep and oddly calm, but I know that he is anything but calm. "How dare you fucking touch her,"

"She asked for it man!" Tom exclaims helplessly, trying to say anything that would get Kayden to let go of his throat. Kayden turns his rage filled eyes to me, and I shake my head furiously, trying to get him to believe that I didn't want him to touch me. New tears fall down my cheeks as I find it hard to believe that he would take my word over Tom's. Erin squeezes my shoulder reassuringly, trying to calm my sobs that are racking my body silently.

"Look at her," Kayden bites out as he forces Tom to look at me, but I can't hold his gaze, the feeling of his hands on my body making me shudder and huddle closer to Erin. "Does that look like a girl who was willing to have sex with you? Does it?!" Kayden shouts in Tom's face suddenly, making him cringe away, trying hard to get out of Kayden's hold. Tom shakes his head frantically at the question.

"You've fucking made her bleed, cut her head open just so that she wouldn't fight back, isn't that right?" Again, Tom shakes his head, but Kayden slams him up against the wall, making him cry out in pain. "Isn't that right?!" Kayden shouts at him louder, his voice booming with authority, and it almost makes me want to fall to my knees and do anything and everything he says. I have never seen him like this before, but I am not scared of him, even though I probably should be.

"Yes!" Tom shouts back, his words hoarse and gargled as Kayden's grip get's tighter around his throat.

"What the fuck gave you the right to treat her like that? What went on in your fucked up head to think that that would be fucking acceptable?" with each question, Kayden pushes Tom against the wall harder, and I can visibly see Kayden's hand tightening around Tom's neck, his knuckles going white from the strain.

"She let you fuck her!" Tom bites out, making both me and Erin gasp.

"So? You thought that meant that you were entitled to have her too?" Kayden laughs bitterly, going on with the lie that Tom has sprouted. Seth looks over at me from behind Kayden, shock on his face at the news, but I shake my head discreetly at him, and he lets out a deep sigh. I frown at his reaction. Why would he even think that I would do that with someone that I barely know? Does he really think that lowly of me? And what if I did have sex with Kayden? Why would that be such a bad thing? Not that I would want to have sex with him.

"You don't even deserve to breathe the same air as her, let alone fuck her," I blush crimson at his crude words. "You don't fucking deserve to walk on the same earth as her," Kayden's voice is low, growling as he tightens his hand, causing Tom to gasp, grasping hold of Kayden's hand frantically as he tries to pull it off. I watch in horror as Tom's face begins to turn purple, his eyes going wide, looking like they are about to pop out of their sockets. Deep down I know this is wrong, but something inside of me likes seeing Tom in pain, loving that he is getting punished for his actions. Suddenly, the thought of Kayden getting locked up for killing Tom interrupts the moment. It would be because of me, and I don't want Kayden to go to jail because I was too weak to protect myself. Maybe Kayden was right at school, maybe I am weak.

"Kayden, you need to stop or you're going to kill him," I cringe at how weak and small my voice is, but I can't muster anything more than that. My whole body feels like it's ready to give up at any moment, and I definitely do not want to wake up to Kayden being arrested and Tom dead.

Kayden's head snaps to mine, his eyes flashing with anger, his jaw clenching as his eyes bore into mine, looking at me as if I had suddenly grown a second head.

"You're telling me you don't want to see this sick son of a bitch pay for what he was doing to you?" Kayden growls out, his hand tightening even further around Tom's neck, if that is even possible; which I didn't think it was.

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all, but if you kill him, you could get into serious trouble," I slowly walk up to him, ignoring Tom's choked out coughs, only focusing on Kayden. His eyes widen a little at my comment, conflict and confusion dashing through his eyes. As soon as I am close enough, i reach my hand out to the arm that is currently holding Tom up against the wall, placing it gently against his taught muscles, hoping to loosen them enough so that he will let Tom go.

"You're worried about me getting into trouble?" Kayden asks, his voice quiet and confused, but I can hear the underlying humour in his words. I want to roll my eyes at him, but I don't think this is the time for that. I nod my head at his question, not taking my gaze away from him, hoping that he can understand my silent pleas. His eyes flicker from mine to Tom, debating on whether he should listen to me or not no doubt. I sigh with slight relief when he lets go of Tom, causing him to fall to the floor scrambling for breath, holding his throat where Kayden's hands were previously, rubbing it soothingly.

"Thank you, Drew," Tom chokes out, but it only makes my skin crawl and my blood heat. Kayden moves towards him, but I put my hand up, stopping him in his tracks. He looks at me confused and angry, but I turn my attention to Tom, who is trying to crawl away from us.

"If you think for a second that I did that for you, you are sadly mistaken. I would happily watch as Kayden rips your fucking head off, but he doesn't deserve to pay for the consequences of your actions," I seethe as I stalk after him, pushing him back down to the ground with a harsh shove of my foot to the middle of his back.

"You are worthless, nothing but a piece of shit on the bottom of my shoe," I turn my back to him, heading back towards Kayden, Seth and Erin, ignoring Tom's groans of pain.

"That's not what you said when you were begging me to fuck you," Tom laughs as he chokes out the words, stopping me in my tracks. Kayden face twists with anger and determination as he charges towards Tom, but before he is even able to make it half way to us, I send a swift and nasty kick to Tom's face. The loud crack of me breaking his nose echoes around my front garden, followed by Tom's exclamation of pain.

"You fucking worthless piece of shit, I'll fucking kill you!" I shout at him, sending another kick to his face, making blood spray all over my grass. I send another kick to his face, and another, trying to force all of my anger out through my leg and into him, hoping that he will feel what he has done to me.

"Drew that's enough!" Someone shouts at me, grabbing me around my waist and pulling me away from Tom. I stare at Tom's body led on the floor, his face now covered in blood, and my body stills at trying to get out of the hands grip as I realise what I have done. I have beaten the shit out of him whilst he was already beaten from Kayden, he was at a disadvantage, unable to fight back, and yet I still beat him unconscious. I can feel the tears beginning to build behind my eyes, not sad tears, not guilty tears, but frustrated tears. I am frustrated at myself for letting myself get into this situation in the first place. I am better than this, I am stronger than this; this should have never happened in the first place!

"Its okay Drew," a soft, deep voice whispers in my ear, and that is all I need for the tears to fall and the sobs to rack through me again. How could this happen? How have I let my life get so horribly wrong? I suppose this has always been life. The world has just decided that my life will be full of challenges and obstacles to test me. I just wish I knew what the test was for so that I could study for it a little better.

"Kayden, we should really take a look at her head, its bleeding pretty bad," Seth's voice rings through my ears, breaking up my sobs. As if a spell has been broken, the pain from my head hits me like a truck, the ringing, the aching, the piercing all returning with a vengeance. I guess the adrenaline from beating Tom up had distracted me from the fact that I probably have a concussion.

"Come on, lets get you inside," Kayden's deep voice rumbles through his chest, vibrating the side of my face as he picks me up bridal style.

"What am I going to do with you?" are the fleeting words I hear as darkness takes over.

DREAM:

"You should see how pathetic you look right now Drew. I thought you were a tough fighter, but here you are, crying as you let me take advantage of you," he laughs loudly as if my tears are an hilarious joke to him. My sobs turn into helpless screams as I feel his fingers fumbling with the button on my jeans.

"No! No, Tom, stop please! Please stop, you don't want to do this, Tom please!" I beg him, desperately thrashing against the wall, trying to get out of his unwelcome grasp, but with one swift movement, Tom is slamming my entire body harder against the wall, banging my head, making me lose my vision.

"If you let West have you then you're going to let me have you," He growls into my ear threateningly.

"No Tom, no, please!"

"I knew you would beg me slut, I knew you wanted this, everyone knows that you want this, everyone knows that you want it," I shake my head frantically closing my eyes, but a hand grabs my chin in a harsh grip forcing my head to the side.

I open my eyes slowly and see Erin, Kayden and Seth staring at me, shaking their heads with disgust.

"You are such a whore Drew, begging Tom to fuck you in front of all of us. How desperate are you?" Kayden laughs at me bitterly, pulling Erin and Seth to turn away from me, all still shaking their heads.

"No! please don't leave me with him! Kayden please! Kayden!

END OF DREAM:

"KAYDEN!" I wake up with a start, screaming one name until my throat is sore. I try to look around my surroundings but my eyes are blurred with tears. My body shakes uncontrollably as I remember the nightmare, and then I realise it wasn't a nightmare, Tom did try to...to...

Sobs rack my body at the memory, and I shudder as if I can still feel Tom's hands touching me all over.

Suddenly the door crashes open as Kayden comes rushing through the room, eyes looking frantically around for any threat. His sudden appearance makes me scream and shrink back into the pillows, trying to protect myself as best I can.

"Drew, what's wrong?" I can just about see Kayden as he makes his way over to the side of the bed that I am led in, and then it hits me, I'm in my room. I'm safe. I try to calm my breathing, chanting in my head that I am safe, that the dream wasn't real, well some of it wasn't anyways.

"Did you have a bad dream?" His voice is tense, in fact, his whole body seems to be tense as he continues to survey the room. I look down at my hands shyly, feeling foolish for making him worry because of a silly, childish nightmare.

"I'm sorry,"

"You need to stop saying sorry," his tone is commanding, scolding almost, "none of this is your fault,"

"How did I get to my room? The last thing I remember..." I trail off, the last thing I remember is being in his arms as he carried me bridal style into the house. I blush and suddenly I am thankful for the darkness of the room, glad that Kayden can't see my bright red cheeks.

"You passed out, so I brought you up to your room. I cleaned your head up, but I'm sure you could've done a better job than me," I stare up at him, the best I can with the little amount of lighting in the room and for the first time since I woke up, I feel the bandage that is wrapped around my head. I reach my hand back and wince as I come in contact with the back of my head. Tom really did a number on me.

"Thank you," I whisper softly, and I have never meant the words more. Sometimes he can be so cold and distant, scary even, and other times he is caring and tending to my wounds. I can't keep up with this boy.

"I was worried that you weren't going to wake up. You've been asleep for ten hours," I gasp at his words. No wonder he is so on edge! He probably thought I fell into a coma or something! Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't with the bang that I took to the head.

Sudden light floods the room as Kayden turns on my bed side lamp, and for the first time since he entered the room, I am able to look at him properly. His hair is sticking up in every direction, clearly the aftermath of him running his hands through it continuously. His eyes look tired and red rimmed from stress. I blush as I notice that he has his shirt off, leaving him in just his jeans, and I can't help but look down at my hands in my lap, my cheeks burning.

"What are you thinking about?" My blush deepens, if that is even possible, at his question, and I can hear it in his voice that he has a smirk sported on his face. "I would pay good money to get into your head, Drew"

"Why do you have your shirt off?" I blurt out before I can think about it, my brain to mouth filter clearly malfunctioning. Kayden chuckles lightly at my question, and I feel the bed dip at my side.

"I was sleeping on the sofa downstairs before you woke up, it is three in the morning," humour fills his voice . I glance over at my alarm clock that reads ten past three and my eyes widen. I can't believe I screamed the house down this early in the morning! God I really hope the neighbours didn't hear. I'd hate know what they would be thinking if they had.

"Are you okay Drew?" I turn my head to gaze up at Kayden, a questioning look on his face, but his eyes are dancing with worry. I frown as I think about his question. Am I okay? The obvious answer is no, but do I tell him that? Would he really care either way? I mean, it is Kayden West sat in front of me, he's not exactly a caring kind of guy.

"Why did you stay with me?" My voice is low and quiet, but I know he heard me as he shifts on the bed uncomfortably, but he never breaks eye contact with me.

"I left you last time and look what happened, I wouldn't forgive myself if something happens to you again and I'm not here to protect you," his reply shocks me, my eyes widen and my mouth opens, staring at him in surprise. He rolls his eyes at me, but I can see the humour dancing behind his eyes.

"I do know how to be nice sometimes you know," Kayden remarks, a small smirk tipping his lips up as I quickly close my mouth, Getting my bearings again. He shakes his head at me, getting up off of the bed and going to turn the bed side lamp off.

"Where are you going?" I can't keep the panic from my voice as I stare up at him; I'm sure that he is able to see the fear behind my eyes.

"Back down stairs so that you can sleep?" he asks confused, his eyes searching my face for an answer to his unspoken question.

"Stay with me?" his eyes widen a little at my request. "Please, I don't want to be on my own right now," I feel childish shame seep through my body as I say the words, but maybe with him here, I won't have another nightmare. I don't want to have to live through that again.

"Are you sure, Drew?" I nod my head at him, not really wanting to voice my reasoning or feelings on the matter; all I know is is that I do not want to be alone right now, and when Kayden is around, I feel safe. He sighs and closes his eyes, seemingly battling with himself, but soon he pulls his hand out of my grasp, and I feel my heart drop as I realise that he is going to leave me alone, with only my nightmares to keep me company.

My eyes shoot up in surprise when I feel the bed next to me dip suddenly, and I see Kayden climbing into to it, his long legs forcing their way under my blankets and he lays down next to me awkwardly. I shuffle down into my blankets, turning so that my back is to him. I'm not too sure that he would want to cuddle with me. The thought of Kayden cuddling makes me want to laugh, but I'm too tired for that. I close my eyes, whispering a quiet goodnight to Kayden and I slowly drift off to sleep.

The sudden feeling of Kayden's arms snaking around my waist, pulling my back against his chest wakes me from my sleep a little, but I'm too tired to protest, and honestly, the feeling of being held is only making me feel all the more safe and protected.

"Dream good things Drew."