Chapter 12-- Ashlynn's POV

Sirens and blue lights surround the lake house now. Justin is being treated by the paramedics to my left and on my right, the police officers drag out the body bag. I clutch Marty even closer to my body and turn away as they load the bag into the back of the second ambulance. Another paramedic comes up to me and asks if I'm sure that I don't want to be checked out. I nod my head no and give him a weak smile. He nods his head at me and then walks off again, and again, I'm left alone. My eyes shift between the officers and medical staff and soon land on Justin, who is now sitting in the back of one of the ambulances. He looks exhausted. There is dried blood on his clothes and skin and his face has swelled from all of the bruising. His bottom lip is cut and I can see him cringe every time he unconsciencely licks them. His usual bright blue orbs are now dull and gray. He nods his head slowly as the paramedic asks him if this hurts or does that hurts. He lifts his head and our gazes meet for the first time in what seems to be hours. I give him a small smile but he doesn't return it; he just looks away from me and turns his attention to something else.

My smile falls. He's been doing that all night. Well, he does have a reason to be a little down in the dumps doesn't he? I mean, it's not everyday that you get chased by your girlfriends ex-boyfriend. Did I really expect that he would be all cupcakes and roses? I walk slowly over to where Justin is and sit next to him quietly. I look over at him and I'm about to speak but my voice haults in my throat when I see him slide away from me, creating a small space between us. I tilt my head back and close my eyes trying not to think that his movement was intentional. I open my eyes and jump down from the back of the ambulance. I can feel his eyes on my back as I walk away from him and make my way over to the wooden bench that is placed next to the house. I can feel the tears begining to sting in the back of my eyes but I refuse to let them fall. He didn't do it on purpose, I know it. Justin loves me and I love him and everything is going to get back to normal as soon as we can get away from this place. A few minutes later an officer comes over to me and informs me that the paramedics are going to take Justin to the hospital, just to make sure that they haven't overlooked anything.

"Would you like to ride in the back with your boyfriend or would you rather me take you?" he asks.

I look at the ambulance where Justin has now moved onto the bed and his previous gestures flood back into mind, "I'd rather you take me please. Is it alright if I take Marty?"

"Well, the hospital doesn't permit pets of any kind but someone at the station would be more than happy to watch over the little fella." He holds out his hands and I place Marty into them, "I'll find someone to take real good care of him, I promise. I'll be back to get you in just a minute miss."

He walks away from me and minutes later he returns empty handed. He leads me over to his squad car and opens the passenger door for me. Once I'm settled, he jumps into the drivers seat and starts the engine. We take off after the ambulance and there's a deadly silence between us. Tonight has been a long night for both of us. I turn and look out of the window and watch the moon between the trees. Yeah, tonight has been a long night for both of us.

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I hate hospitals. It's so clean and just... white. They should really think about adding some color to these places because all of this whiteness is irking me out. I shift in my seat and try to get comfortable but I know that's impossible. This chair is fucking horrible. I shift again and let out an annoyed sigh. A few seconds pass and I can't bare to be in this chair any longer so I stand up and lean against the wall. I glance at the clock behind the nurses station; 3:15am. Wow, I didn't know that much time had elapsed since this crazy shit began. I let out another sigh and glance around the waiting room. There's six other people in here with me but nobody is making a peep. It's just quiet and I'm about to go insane. Just as I'm about to start pulling out my hair, a doctor walks out from behind two double doors and stops in the middle of the room.

"Which one of you is here with Mr. Timberlake."

"Me." I say, pushing myself off of the wall and walking toward him.

"Okay, well why don't you follow me and I'll brief you on the way to his room."

I nod my head and fall in step behind him. As soon as we breech the double doors, he begins to speak, "As you probably know, the paramedics just wanted to make sure that they didn't over look anything. We checked him out and everything seems to be fine internally. Now, we did have to put ten stitches in the wound oh his side and four stitches under his right eye. Other than that, he'll be just fine."

We stop in front of a door and the doctor turns to face me, "We are going to release Mr. Timberlake in a few hours. I'd like for him to get some rest before he heads out of here, is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine."

"Okay then. Mr. Timberlake is right through that door. Tell him that I'll be back in about twenty or thirty minutes to check his vitals and then I'll be out of his hair until morning."

I nod and the doctor turns on his heels and makes his way down the hallway. I'm nervous. I don't know why, i'm just nervous. I let out a shaky breath and shake my hands out before I push against the heavy door and enter Justin's room. He looks up at me when he hears the door click shut but then he looks back at the tv and takes a drink of water. I walk over to one of the chairs, pull it closer to his bedside and take a seat. I look at the side of his face, hoping that he'll say something but he doesn't. He just sits there in the bed and stares at the screen mounted on the wall in front of us. Don't take it personal Ashlynn, he's upset and he's in pain, that's why he's acting like this.

"Um, your doctor said that he'll be by in twenty or thirty minutes to check up on you again." I say.

"Okay." He says simply, not breaking eye contact with the tv.

"How do you feel?" I ask.

"Okay."

"Do the stitches bother you at all?"

"Nope." His one word answers are doing wonders for my anxiety.

"Will you please give me a full sentence Justin. I'm worried about you."

He looks over at me and for a second, I don't recognize him. He's never looked at me like this before. He looks angry but not like before. This is a different kind of angry, "What do you want me to say Ashlynn? Tell me, what is it you want to know?" He's voice is thick with sarcasm and is dripping with venom.

"I just, I just want you to tell my how you are feeling, that's all." I say quietly, removing my eyes from his and placing them on my hands that are folded in my lap.

"Well, let's see. For the last couple of months i've been afraid for my life because my girlfriends ex is hunting us down, killing innocent animals and leaving them in my kitchen. Then to top things off, we have to drive four fucking hours to some damn lake house only to find out that the sick ass mother fucker not only knows that we left, but is already on his way. Oh no, it's not over yet, the grand finale is much better. You see, the fucker beats the shit out of me and then I watch my girlfriend kill him. To tell you the truth, I'm a little fucking upset. Is that what you wanted to hear Ashlynn?"

My eyes stay focused on my hands during his rant. By the time he's finished, they've welled up with tears. A sob escapes my throat and I jump out of my seat and run into the bathroom. I hastily slam the door and lock it before I fall to my knees and hover over the toilet. Within minutes, my vomit coats the white porcelin bowl. I clutch the bottom for dear life as I empty the contents of my stomach a second time. I some how find the strength to push myself off of the ground and wash out my mouth at the sink but before I know it, I'm back on the ground again with my back pushed up against the wall. It hadn't sunken in until just then; I've killed a man. I have taken someone's life. No more will he wake up in the morning and no more will his mother be able to hear his voice. Oh god and Justin. He saw me kill this man. How do you get past that? Whenever he looks at me from now on, is that what he is going to see? A murderer? When he looks at me, he'll just see Tony staring up at the ceiling as his last breath escapes his body. He'll see Tony's blood trickle out of the side of his mouth and begin to puddle on the floor next to his still body. I never wanted this happen. I never wanted to hurt so many people, I just wanted everyone to be safe. I didn't mean to hurt anybody, I didn't mean too.

A soft knock sounds at the door and then the sound of twisting the doornob follows, "Ashlynn, open the door." He says softly.

I don't move, "I heard you getting sick, I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine." I whisper.

"Please just open the door okay? I wanna talk."

"I'm fine just go back to bed and get some rest."

I hear him sigh heavly but moments later, the bed springs squeek letting me know he went back into the room. I stand on my shaky legs and lean against the sink. I turn on the water, dip my hands under the steady stream and then bring the water to my face. I rub the cool water over my face and then take another sip to rid the taste of vomit. I dab a towel over my face and then open the door slowly only to discover Justin standing there again. He reaches out to pull me into a hug, but I side step him and walk over to the chair that held my only ten minutes before. Grabbing my purse, I turn around to face him, but my eyes never reach his, "I'm uh, going to go to the hotel. I'm not sure if you want me to come back tomorrow so just call me when you wake up."

I try to walk past him but he catches my arm. My lips start to tremble again and a tear slides down my cheek and falls to the floor, "Please let me go. Please Justin."

He ponders it for a moment, but releases my arm and I quickly exit his room. My sobs become uncontrollable as I walk down the long corridor and through the big double doors. I walk thorugh the waiting room and outside and begin to fumble through my purse for my phone. I dial 411, ask for a taxi service and within fifteen minutes, the yellow car is dropping me off at the hotel that the cops were kind enough to set us up in. I'm still crying as I pay him and as I check in. Once i'm in the room, I lock the door, kick off my shoes and head into the bathroom to throw up once again. When i'm done, I fall to the floor and bring my knees up under my chin and wrap my arms around my legs. Slowly, I rock back and forth, crying and mumbling to myself as Tony runs around in my head. Justin's words begin to make their reapparence then, only causing me to break into hysterics even more. I tighten the grip on my legs even more and try to will these bad feelings away.

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"Ashlynn... Ashlynn, wake up...Wake up baby."

I feel a gentle nudge and my eyes shoot open. I don't recognize the face a first so I frantically try to get away from the person. Two strong arms latch on to either side of my arms and hold me tight while his calming voice tries to comfort me, "It's okay baby, it's just me. It's Justin Ash."

I stop my violent movements to focus in on the person and let out a breath when I realize that it is Justin, "Have you been in here all night?"

"I... I don't know, I guess." I say.

Justin stands from his kneeling position and helps me to my feet. He practically carries me into the room because my legs are like jelly and he places me carfeully on the bed. He begins to remove my clothing, "I called you like ten times this morning but you didn't answer. I was starting to get worried. Lift up."

He pulls my jeans from my hips and then moves up to remove my shirt. He folds them neatly and places them in the chair next to the window and then disappears into the bathroom, only to return a few moments later with a damp wash cloth. He throws my dishelved hair over my shoulders and starts to dab my forehead and cheeks with the cloth. When he's finished, he throws the wash cloth on the dresser and pushes me back so I'm laying down. My eyes roam over his bruises and split lip and the tears rush back to the surface, "I'm sorry." I choke out.

Justin looks at me for a moment and then lets his gaze fall to the floor. He lets out a sigh, stands from the bed and walks over to windows to close the blinds, "Just get some sleep. I'll be in the other room if you need anything." And with that, he walked out.

I roll over onto my side and stare at the white wall. I'm glad Justin's here. When his bruises fade and I get my emotions back on track, we'll be okay again. We will be the happy couple we once were and we won't have a care in the world. Right now, Justin is just angry and upset and it'll all blow over right?

I have never been so wrong it me life.

How was I to know that this was the beginning of the end?

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