Emilia's POV

1 hour earlier...

We all sit together in the unlit living room, Calum and Julia snuggling up together on the floor, Michael and Luke sitting on opposite ends of the sofa, and Ashton and I on the loveseat, watching infomercials and commenting on how stupid people are for considering buying these products as well as how bad the actors are.

When we came back to Ashton's house after eating (which ended up being a total waste in money because the food sucked, so to compensate for eating shitty food, we went to Taco Bell), Michael wanted to dive straight into eating his chocolate cake that Luke bought for him which we all finished off fairly quickly. In our defense, it was a small cake, so eating it all in one night is acceptable. Since there were no gifts to be given, except for Ashton's little entertainment back at the restaurant that surprised us all, we decided to just relax for the rest of the night.

Today was supposed to be a day of fun; to celebrate Michael's twenty-third birthday and not have to deal with fucking Jared. We haven't had to worry about him for a while and now he shows up unwanted.

From what Ashton told me, Jared didn't flinch when he told him to leave and then he threatened to call the police. I don't know why Jared didn't leave in the first place. He should know the repercussions of going against the restraining order. Thankfully, Ash stood up to him—not in the best way, but he did regardless. I don't know what it is that Jared said that pushed Ash over the edge to the point where he actually raised his fist, but it must have been something important for him to actually use violence.

I'll admit it was a good hit for Ash. I'm surprised that the force of his punch was enough to knock Jared to the ground. From the amount of blood that was spilling out from Jared's hand, I can only assume that Ash must have broken his nose which I'll give him props for. I never liked Jared's button nose.

However, I'm not an idiot. I know that one punch isn't going to make Jared run away for good like a scared puppy with his tail between his legs. There has to be a reason as to why he left so quickly without putting up a fight and it'll only be a matter of time before we find out.

"Are you okay?" Ashton whispers in my ear from behind me. I don't have to turn my head much to face him since I'm sitting in between his legs with my back resting on his chest. When I meet his gaze, he flickers his eyes over to my hand that is caressing his swollen one, my fingers rubbing gently over his knuckles.

I move my hand away and place it on my stomach. I know his hand is okay. Nothing is broken or fractured; it's just a little bruised. I just care about his well-being.

"Yeah," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

He wraps his arms right below my chest and squeezes me for a second before loosening his grip. "It doesn't hurt anymore. It's a little sore, but it's nothing to worry about," he assures before placing his lips on my shoulder. He lingers there for what seems like minutes, but couldn't have been more than ten seconds before he pulls away. "Smile," he says.

"What?" I look at him, perplexed by his demand.

"Smile," he repeats and then proceeds to tickle my sides, throwing me into a fit of laughter in this otherwise quiet room.

My legs kick in the air uncontrollably as I try to shimmy out of his hold and escape this humorous torture. Loud screams of amusement escape my mouth, gaining the attention of everyone else in the room and causing them to laugh along with me, or at me—I'm not really sure since my eyes are tightly shut; trying not to let the tears of amusement slip from them.

"I'm smiling!" I manage to say. I continue to wiggle out of his grasp and in my success I end up slipping off the edge of the loveseat, dropping the short distance to the floor and landing on my stomach. I laugh even harder for some reason and I know that my face probably resembles Michael's hair by now.

Ashton helps me up off of the floor, laughing as he does so. "I wasn't expecting for you to fall down, but at least you're smiling."

I stick my tongue out at him as he sits me back down on the couch and lets me calm down and catch my breath. "Was tickling me really necessary?" I ask.

With a smirk he replies, "Absolutely."

I chuckle at his response and shake my head. He's such an idiot. I don't mean it literally, but more in an affectionate way. He always performs childish acts to make me happy and every time, he does just that. He breaks me away from my negative thoughts and brings me back to reality. Just like how I care about his well-being, he cares about mine and will do whatever it takes, even if that includes tickling me until I look like a seal clapping to make me sure that I'm always okay.

"Em," Julia calls. "I forgot to tell you that mom and dad are leaving on Wednesday to go out of town for Thanksgiving, so we're on our own this year," she says.

"What about my dogs?" I ask. I don't really mind if Julia's parents are going away for Thanksgiving, but I do mind where my dogs are going to be during the time that they're gone.

"They're going to take them to my Aunt Olivia," she says. "You remember her right? She came over to help us unpack all your things when you moved in with us."

Ah, right. Her. She doesn't like me that much since I moved in with Julia and her family after my parents died (she thought I was a burden), but she loved my dogs. I'm pretty sure she likes them more than me. "Yeah, I remember her," I say. "Just make sure she calls your parents or me to give updates on how they're doing."

She nods and pulls out her phone to text her parents and tells them my request.

"Speaking of Thanksgiving," Julia starts after placing her phone down on the floor next to her, "what are you guys doing to celebrate?"

"We don't really celebrate it," Michael says.

"It's a day dedicated to making delicious food and eating your heart out, how can you not celebrate that?" I say, shaking my head in shame. "You're going to celebrate it this year whether you like it or not," I assert.

"You do realize that it's also a day for giving thanks, right?" Ashton teases, catching on to the fact that I only mentioned the food portion of the holiday.

"Shush." I playfully smack his arm.

"Well, since you're not giving us much of a choice, we can have it here," Luke says. "We have a bigger kitchen than yours, so it will be easier to cook in. And our dining room is big enough to fit all of us at the table."

It makes sense to have it here seeing that the entire first floor of their house is twice the size of our apartment. Cooking for Thanksgiving was a disaster last year with me and Julia trying to maneuver around each other to get from one side of the counters to another without hitting each other by accident. We ended up burning the turkey because Julia forgot to put a timer for it and we had to eat Chinese take-out instead.

"That makes sense. The more room the better," I say, reminiscing back to Julia's panic when she saw the burnt bird. "I'd like to have a good Thanksgiving dinner unlike last year." I chuckle and look over to Julia who is scowling at me because she knows exactly what I'm referring to.

"What happened last year?" Michael says, smiling, curious to hear the story.

I open my mouth to speak, but Julia shuts me up by dashing over to me and basically slapping her hand over my mouth to cover it.

"It's nothing important," she says in a poor attempt to play cool, but the way she ran over to me and the fake chuckle that leaves her mouth gives away that she's lying.

None of the boys buy her lie, but they don't push for answers, although Ash gives me a sly smirk to me as if he's saying, "tell me later," which I most likely will.

"Now that we have a place, who is going to cook what?" Calum asks, staring directly at me and putting me on the spot.

"I don't cook," I say firmly. I may be able to make Ashton's mom's spaghetti, but anything other than that, I burn, except when it comes to baking. "I'd rather bake some desserts or something."

Ashton raises his hand. "Me too," he says. "I'm not much of a chef either, but my mum taught me how to make an apple pie, so I can help Emmie bake that." He gives me a not-so-subtle wink and I roll my eyes with a smile drawing on my face. It's true that he can't cook shit, but I know he's using that as an excuse to spend time with me. Not that I'm complaining. I had fun when I cooked with him before, so baking should be even more exciting.

"Fine," Luke huffs loudly. "Michael, Calum, Julia, and I will work on the main dishes while you and Ash make the desserts."

I know that Luke gave in so easily to Ash's refusal to cook because he too knows that Ash can't make anything. I'm pretty sure that only Luke and possibly Calum are the only ones who can cook in this house. It may not be five star quality foods, but it's at least edible.

"Okay," I start, "now that we have a general plan, we should probably go grocery shopping on Monday before the holiday rush begins because I don't want to get trampled by savages trying to get their hands on a frozen turkey." Everyone snickers around me, picturing me getting trampled. Oh, the perks of having friends. "Anyway, what are we going to make so we can at least make a list for when we go—" I am cut off by the loud ringing of the doorbell.

We all turn our heads in the direction of the door and then look back at each other with confusion sketched on our faces. No one other than Julia and I come over here so it's unusual that someone is here. Not to mention it's a quarter 'til midnight.

"Who could that be?" Calum asks as he stretches his neck out to try and see even though the couch is blocking both his and Julia's view of the door.

Ashton shakes his head and shrugs. "I have no idea."

I watch Ashton as he stands from the couch and walks over to the entryway. He looks through the peephole and even though I can only see his back, his muscles contract as his body tenses.

"Who is it?" Michael asks, not noticing Ashton's change in behavior like me.

"Get Emilia upstairs," he orders with urgency to no one specifically, but I'm assuming he's addressing the guys.

No one, not even I move from my spot from the living room. We are too confused as to why he is acting so strangely. The sound of Ash turning the creaky lock sends chills down my spine, causing me to shudder as he unlocks the door and slowly opens it. I peer over the couch to get a better look at who's on the other side and when the hinges squeak from the force of the door being pushed open from the other side, the chills are replaced with utter panic.

For a short moment, I catch a glimpse of the unknown visitor and when I see a white bandage covering his nose, there's only one person who could be wearing that after what happened earlier at the restaurant.

It doesn't take more than two seconds before an arm swings around and makes an echoing smack against Ashton's cheek, causing him to stagger and fall onto the small wooden table that sits near the door. In his fall, Ashton knocks over the lamp that sits on top of the table, shattering the light bulb and breaking one of the wooden legs, removing all leverage he once had and forcing him to drop to the tiled floor.

"Emilia, get upstairs!" Ashton frantically yells, cupping his right cheek and using his free hand to try and push himself up, but to no avail.

I freeze at the sight of Jared's dark orbs, the green hue no longer visible. I knew he was going to come back, but I didn't think that it would be so soon. Not now.

Jared dashes towards me, and Michael and Luke try to tackle him down, but are shoved out of the way like insects being swatted away. Still frozen, all I can do is watch his rage unfold before me as he injures my friends. Julia shrieks in fear.

Calum yells at her to call the police and then pulls me up from the couch and pushes me over to the stairs. "Go!" he yells before turning to face Jared. Luke and Michael stand and help him; each of them trying to hold Jared back.

My brain finally sends the signal down to my legs to get them moving. Step-by-step, I crawl up the stairs as fast as I can, the fear inside me growing by the second and weighing me down to the point where I can't stand. I glance over my shoulder to see the three boys, plus Ashton whose lip is bleeding, one-by-one be thrown in separate directions and fall to the ground.

Jared locks onto me once again and his dilated eyes full of greed, lust, and anger give me the adrenaline rush that I need to lift myself up and finish making my way up the stairs with him hot on my trail. I hurry into Ashton's room since his is the only one with a lock and close the door. My hands are trembling so hard that I can't even turn the lock on the knob. I keep trying, but just as I finally grasp onto it, the door swings open and the edge hits my temple.

I don't have enough time to react to the intense pain pulsing through my head as I trip over my feet due to the overwhelming dizzy feeling that surrounds me and fall onto Ash's bed. Loud footsteps from multiple pairs of feet rush up the stairs, but they are soon muffled by the closing of the door, followed by the click of the lock.

The slamming of fists against the door increase the pounding in my head and when I touch where I was hit by the door, I feel the sticky liquid of blood trailing down my face and into my hair. Screams and shouts of my name and the jiggling of the door knob help me realize the situation that I'm in.

I'm alone in a locked room with Jared again.

My blurred vision finally ceases and I can see the smirk playing on Jared's lips as he climbs on top of me, his legs on either side on my hips, straddling me. One strong tear is all it takes for him to rip my cream sweater in half, exposing my torso to him.

He scans my body and trails his fingers up my sides, through the valley of my breasts and then stops when he reaches my right shoulder. He traces the scar of his bite mark that he left me two months ago and begins to smile at his handy work.

"Still as beautiful as ever," he whispers. "You should teach your boyfriend some manners. Hitting people isn't very polite."

"Fuck you," I spit.

His large hand covers my mouth, stopping the foul language from slipping off my tongue. "No, no, no." He shakes his finger and brings his face closer to mine. "Now, why don't I finish taking what is mine and see just how good you are? I always wanted to be the first one to know what it feels like to be inside of you."

I can't even concentrate on Jared's disgusting words because of all the commotion outside of the bedroom. Out of all the shouting outside the door, Ashton's distinct voice is the only one I hear clearly. The way he screams my name and yells profanities to the door that won't budge absolutely breaks my heart. All he wants to do is protect me and yet here I am, not even putting as much effort as I should to get Jared away from me so that I can be protected.

Not again.

I will not submit to Jared. I had the courage to try and fight him off before, but now I have more determination than ever to give it my all and defend myself. I will not let this happen again.

Never again.

My body is still weak, but Jared has himself positioned in my favor. I bring my knee up and hit him as hard as I can in the crotch. His hand falls from my lips and he collapses on top on me, weighing me down like the burden he is. I try to push him off, but he is still able to move and keep me pinned down.

Louder pounds against the door echo in the room; what I can only assume to be the boys ramming their shoulders against the door to try and break it down. Each hit shakes the doorframe, bringing it closer to its end. Faintly, the sound of sirens rolling down the street fill the room and Jared's eyes begin to change to fear, and in that moment, the door escapes from its hinges and falls to the floor.

All four boys come rushing inside and pull Jared off of me and bring him to the ground, holding him securely until the voices of several male adults talking to Julia downstairs who by the sound of it, is hysterically sobbing as she directs the men upstairs. The officers in black dash inside the room and take control over Jared, ordering the boys to stay back and let them handle the rest.

Ashton comes to the side of the bed and helps me sit upright. I use my left hand to try and cover my torso as much as I can since my sweater is split in two and press the other against the wound on my temple.

"Are you okay? What happened? Did he touch you? Did he do that to you? Did he hit you?" Questions rush out of Ashton's mouth as he examines my physical and mental state. His eyes are consumed with so many different emotions: anger, worry, guilt, relief, and one other emotion that I can't quite put my finger on, but it looks so much like how my parents looked at me.

Before I have a chance to respond, one of the officers orders us to head outside of the house where an ambulance is waiting to tend to us. Michael, Calum and Luke, all bruised up, head out first, giving me sympathetic looks as they leave the room. Ashton puts one arm under my knees and the other under my back, lifting me up and telling me to wrap my arms around his neck for support, which I comply.

As we make out way outside, all I can focus on is Ash's bloody lip, swollen and bruised cheek, and the subtle winces that he tries to hide as he carries me over to the ambulance where our four friends are being examined and treated for their minor injuries. Julia is the first to run up to me and wrap a wool blanket around my shoulders that match the ones that the others are wearing to keep us warm in the near-freezing temperature. Ash sits me down on the back of the medical vehicle.

Already knowing the words that are about to leave Julia's mouth, I say, "I'm okay. He wasn't able to do anything since I kicked him in the crotch. I'm just a little dizzy and have a headache."

"You're bleeding," Luke says, stating the obvious.

"Before I was able to lock Ash's door, Jared swung it open and it hit me," I explain. It's not the first time I've been hit by a door because of my clumsy self, but it is the first time that I actually bled from it.

"Does it hurt?" Calum asks, worried.

"Not really." I must still be having one hell of an adrenaline rush for it to not hurt like a bitch like it did before. "Are you guys okay?" I glace at each of them and the only one who doesn't look like they were in a bar fight is Julia. She only has bloodshot eyes and tear stains on her cheeks. Thankfully, Calum is doing a good job at comforting her with his arm wrapped around her waist and small kisses to her head.

"We mostly have bruises," Michael says. "Ash has a busted lip and both he and Luke have a sprained wrist. Calum and I aren't really that hurt." I didn't think that Jared did that much damage to them. At least it's nothing serious.

"Em," Luke says solemnly. "We're sorry that we couldn't keep him from getting a hold of you." He bows his head in shame and guilt and the others avoid eye contact with me.

I shake my head, which wasn't the best idea because it just makes my head hurt again. "Don't be sorry, please," I plead. I don't want them to feel guilty. It's bad enough that Ashton isn't even saying a word right now. I know he feels the worst.

A female paramedic comes over to our little circle and checks my head. "The damage to your temple isn't that severe," she says. "I don't think you have a concussion or anything, but I want you guys--" she points to my friends, "--to keep an eye on her when she sleeps just in case she does have one. If anything happens, bring her straight to the hospital." They all nod and agree to her instructions. "Let me just clean you up, okay, sweetie?"

"Can I do it?" Ashton asks. He steps forward to volunteer, speaking up for the first time since he questioned me in the bedroom. The paramedic stares at Ashton for a few seconds, contemplating his request before sighing loudly and handing him a pair of surgical gloves, a rag, some antiseptic, and a bandage.

"I'm not supposed to do this, but I'll make an exception just this once," she says. "Make sure you clean the cut thoroughly. I'll check it after you're done." She leaves us and joins the group of paramedics at the front of the ambulance.

"Guys," Ashton says, his back facing the others. "Can you give Emilia and me a moment alone?"

They silently nod and move away from the ambulance, walking over to talk to the police officers by the front door.

Ashton pulls on the surgical gloves before taking the antiseptic and pouring it onto the rag, dabbing it on my face. I hiss in pain when the cold liquid touches the cut, but I endure it.

Just as he places the cloth back onto my face, four police officers escort Jared out of the house with his hands behind his back and a pair of silver handcuffs accessorizing his wrists. My gaze doesn't move away from Jared's. When his eyes meet mine, I am surprised by the solemn expression enveloping his face. I expected him to be angry for being arrested, but he looks like he just lost something important to him.

Me.

I hate him, but I can't stop the single tear that slides down my cheek as I watch him being pushed into the back of the police car. How does one prepare themselves for something like this? The answer is simple: you don't. You just have to accept what happened and move on. Jared deserves this and I accept that wholeheartedly.

Ashton begins to wipe away the blood that trickles down from my temple and calls my name, pulling me out of my thoughts once again. He kneels down to my level and continues to clean up my wound without taking his eyes off of mine.

"I love you," he says.

I don't react. I only continue to stare back at him. He repeats those three words every few seconds as he finishes getting all the blood off of my face and places the bandage over the fresh cut.

I love you.

Is that what I want to say back? I don't even really know the true meaning of it. When do you know when you're in love? Is it some kind of epiphany that will happen when I least expect it? Or has it already happened and I'm just oblivious to it? I don't know.

"I love you so, so much, Emilia," he says. His head falls onto my shoulder. When did he realize this? How long has he loved me?

That's the emotion that I couldn't recognize in his eyes earlier: love.

It's not the same type of love that I feel towards my parents, Julia, Michael, Luke, or Calum. It's a different type of love, and right now, Ashton falls in between both types and I don't know which side he's leaning more towards.

I let out a shallow sigh, my breath creating a misty fog in the air. "I want you to meet my parents," I say.

He slowly lifts his head from my shoulder with confusion etched on his face. "What?"

I take his hand in mine. "Come meet my parents."

Is it crazy that I want him to meet two gravestones? I told them that I would bring him with me the next time I go back to Glendale because I wanted them to meet him. God, I do sound like a crazy person.

The corners of his lips rise and I can only take that as a good sign. "I'd love to meet them," he says. He pecks my lips, but flinches and pulls away when the pressure of his lips against mine causes him pain.

We laugh for a moment before he says again, "I love you."

I smile and squeeze his hand, unable to repeat the words out loud.

I think I love you too.

_________________

A/N:

Asdfghjkl; ASHLIA.

This chapter was so fun to write, you have no idea. Now everything has been explained so there shouldn't be any questions regarding part one of chapter 37, but if you do have questions, go to my ask.fm or inbox me.

Jared is GONE. YES. FINALLY. IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME. I HATE HIM.

Now we can get on to the lovey dovey stuff again. So, how do you think Jared found Ashton's house? Are you happy Jared is gone? How do you think Ashton feels about Emmie not saying 'I love you' back? Does Emmie really think that she might love Ash or is she only thinking that because he confessed? What dishes should they make for Thanksgiving? Why am I asking so many questions?

Thank you guys so much for 29.1k reads! Wow...that's unbelievable. WHY DO YOU LIKE THIS STORY? I cannot thank you guys enough. I love each and every one of you. Please continue to vote, comment, and share like always!

Now, I'm going to challenge you guys a bit. I want to get at least 30 comments on this chapter from you guys only before the next update. My replies will not count. I want to know what you guys are thinking so please leave a comment.

It may be a while until I update again because school is already getting hectic and I want to work on Piece of Cake as well (and if you haven't checked it out, you totally should).

Thank you guys again!

--Rebecca xoxoxoxo

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