Final Chapter

A/N: well this has been a long, crazy journey that has come to an end. i hope you enjoyed it! laughed with it, cried with it, loved it! thank you all so much for taking the time to read it and provide feedback. you guys are the best! so here it is the end of Follow Me.

My mind is clouded. A blurry scene plays in my head, almost like a movie, except I'm starring in it.

A small girl with long, curly red hair is skipping through a yard. She's about five, maybe six. It must be me. It looks just like me, except my yard never looked like that. We had a tall white fence that lined our property and a swing set that my father built in the corner of the yard. This yard has no fence and a huge play set.

"Honey, come inside it's starting to get dark out!" a voice calls to the little girl. It sounds too familiar, almost like my voice.

"Okay Mommy" the little girl runs towards the house. That's when I see her mother. It is me. And I have a little girl.

She comes up to me, or me in my dream, and wraps her little hands around my legs. "When's Daddy going to be home?"

"Very soon Sadie."

Sadie. What a cute name for such an adorable little girl.

"He's home Mommy!"

"I see" I laugh and scoop Sadie up in my arms to greet my husband I can only assume since I have a beautiful ring on my finger.

The door opens and it's Ashton. Not the Ashton I know. He's wearing a suit and the biggest smile on his face.

"My two beautiful girls" he grins, placing a kiss on Sadie's cheek and a long, slow kiss on my lips.

"Ew" Sadie sticks out her tongue and covers her eyes as we both laugh at how cute she is.

A loud bang wakes me from my dream, the most perfect dream. My eyes shoot open, a quiet and raspy "fuck" falls from lips as I hold my head.

My eyes quickly close again, taking a moment to adjust the bright light. I have no idea where I am and I silently pray that when I open my eyes again that I will be in the comforts of my dorm room.

Unfortunately, I'm not. I'm in a cell of some sort — that's about all I know. The walls are dark gray, giving this tiny room a very eerie feeling. The ground is cold and hard beneath me.

I'm a prisoner - that much is clear. Except in prison you at least get a mattress and your own toilet. Apparently this place doesn't believe in such 'luxuries.'

It's not until I try to stretch my out my arms that I realize my wrists are taped together, the adhesiveness pulling at my skin with each move of my arms. My legs are tied together too, with rope.

That's when the real fear settled in. Someone actually wants to hurt me, really hurt me. Or even worse, kill me.

My heart starts to pound against my chest, my throat so tight that it's hard to breathe yet I manage to swallow the lump in my throat. My hands are cold yet clammy. My body begins to shake, trembling with fear.

How did I end up here?

Bits and pieces of last night slowly come back to me. Actually I'm not sure if it was last night, or a few nights ago or even just a few hours ago. I have no way of knowing if the sun has risen yet. There are no windows in this 'cell'.

How long was I out for?

I freeze when I hear someone else in the room with me. For a second I think I'm going crazy, already hearing voices in my head after a few minutes of being awake.

"What could you have possibly been laughing at?" a voice asks, clearly irritated, from behind me.

I turn slowly; ready to see who is keeping me here. "You" my eyes narrow in on Alyssa, or should I say Vanessa?

Seeing her, someone I thought was a friend, doesn't make me feel any better. She sits on a folding chair in the corner of the room watching over me. How creepy is that? And I don't even know how long she's been sitting here, staring at me.

I manage to sit up on my knees, slowly shimmying my way towards the bars of the cell, my hands wrapping tightly around the cold metal. "Why are you doing this?" My voice is shaky and weak, asking the most typical question a person in my position would ask.

She exhales loudly, crouching forward as she stares down at me intensely, a look that has the hair standing up on the back of my neck. "You know why."

"I don't. I really don't. Just please. Please let me out of here" my words are rushed, needy, barely understandable. I try not to cry. I don't want to seem weak, well weaker than I already am.

Vanessa rolls her eyes, letting out a sigh of frustration. "I really should of put a bullet in your head when I had the chance" she mumbles.

How does one stay calm after hearing those words? If I wasn't freaking out enough as it is. She wants to kill me. She could have but I'm still here. Alive.

The only sound I can hear is my own heartbeat, fast and loud. I try to focus on Ashton, swooping in and saving me. I can only pray he will but I probably shouldn't get my hopes up too high. This is Ashton we are talking about. He only looks out for himself, always has and always will. Not even a damsel in distress could change that.

"Then why didn't you?" I press her.

"Believe me sweetie I wanted to but he" she flicks her eyes towards the door, "wants to keep you alive."

I've seen plenty of movies and cop shows to know that if they wanted me dead they would have killed me by now. The only reason I am still here and breathing is because Jared is using me as bait to get to Ashton.

"Is this really necessary?" I huff, trying to seem tough. Anyone who knows me knows there not one tough bone in my body.

I had to sleep with a nightlight until I was ten because I was scared there were monsters under my bed or in my closet. Jokes on me now, the real monster was lying beside me in my bed.

"Just in case you tried to run" she mutters, keeping her eyes on the door.

"Why?" I question, needing some sort of explanation for all this. "What does he even want with Ashton?"

She stands up, face red with anger as she kicks the chair back. "Stop asking fucking questions" she says through her teeth.

"Well if you're waiting for Ashton to show up don't hold you breath. He's not coming."

"You seriously believe that, don't you?" she smirks devilishly and I nod. "God, you stupid little bitch. I've been following you two around for a while now and it makes me sick seeing the way he looks at you."

I slowly lift my head, staring up at her, a feeling of utter disgust washing over me. "What?" my mouth falls open as I manage to choke out one word.

For weeks? My pulse quickens again. I think I'm about to be sick. "I'm going throw up" I mumble. "I'm serious" I plead with her for a bucket or something.

"Just shut up" she spits. "How he ever put up with you I'll never understand."

"Excuse me?"

"I know Ashton. He can't stand girls like you" she continues on and I want to laugh. Ashton hated me at first. Like really hated me. But I don't know what it was. There was something between us, something magnetic and it was strong.

Then she says something, barely above a whisper, that puts things in perspective for me. "What do you have that I don't?"

I smirk, which I probably shouldn't have done. "So all this cause you're jealous?"

I regret the words the minute they roll off my lips. The anger in her eyes has me more terrified than I have been. She unlocks the cell door and digs her nails into my scalp, bringing me up to my feet by my hair.

"You want to say that again?" she yells, her fist colliding with my rib. I fly backwards, my head slamming against the wall. I wince in pain, quickly trying to think of how I can defend myself. I have nothing.

My legs buckle and my body crumbles to the floor. I block my face with my hands as she kicks me repeatedly until my body is just lying her, unmoving. I stay in this position, my vision blurred by my own tears but I can still feel the pain throughout my whole body and hear everything that is happening around me, as I lie here unable to do anything to help myself.

Ashton tried to warn me about this, told me to be careful, kept telling me about the dangerous people out there who wanted to hurt me. I didn't listen. I didn't want to. I'm too damn stubborn and I wasn't going to let my ex-boyfriend control what I do.

But I was stupid. I'll admit that. I didn't know anything about this girl. I met her on a bus and she offered me vodka as I poured my heart out to her.

Thinking back now that should have been a red flag. She just happened to walk into my life right after I left Ashton. When I knew I was being followed and watched. How could I be so dumb?

I remember walking through campus to meet up with Alyssa last night. I'm sorry, Vanessa, if that is her actual real name. We were supposed to go for drinks to help me get my mind off Ashton.

I was complaining to her about what had just happened, how he tried to apologize and win me back. I knew she was barely listening, completely uninterested in anything I was saying. Then she peered over my shoulder and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank god. I never thought she would shut up" she groaned and there was a sharp pain to the back of my head. I don't remember anything past that. It was lights out.

If I could just rewind, I would go back to that moment in the small café. I would have never told Ashton I loved him. He would have never run off like he did and I wouldn't have caught him trying to sleep with another girl.

We would be fine now, happily together. Or as happy as we could be. But now a random girl is in holding me hostage in some cell, beating me to a pulp for whatever psycho reason these people have.

I finally calm down, the tears coming to a halt when the door swings open. A tall, muscular man around my age covered in tattoos and piercings storms in. I've seen him before, the night I accidentally walked in to the wrong room... again. He was sitting around a table with two other guys and Ashton. They said the most horrendous things about what they wanted to do to me.

My skins crawls with the memory of it. There is no way for me to possibly control my nerves, so I slide into the corner of the cell as far from him as possible, pulling my knees to my chest.

"Don't be scared" he tilts his head to the side as he looks over at me. I can already feel the tears dripping down my cheeks again. "I'm not going to kill you" he grins, showing his one silver tooth.  "Yet."

There's the word I've been dreading. Yet. I don't know what they plan to do with me or when.

The hair on the back of my neck stands up.  The room is quiet, scarily quiet. I let out a loud whimper. Jared cackles at my fear.

He slowly walks towards my cell, reaching in his back pocket for something. "Don't worry sweetie" he chuckles in the most sadistic way. I tremble when he puts a knife under my chin, twisting it around. I feel blood trickle down my throat. "I'm going to kill your precious boyfriend first while you watch. Then I'll decide if you're worth keeping around or not. Get her up" he turns to Vanessa, speaking in a demanding tone that doesn't seem to have any affect on her.

She doesn't answer, just gets up and unlocks the cell as she as told. Now would be the perfect time to run accept I can't move.

Vanessa cuts the rope around my feet but leaves the tape on my wrists. "Move" she spits and shoves me out of the cell.

"What do you want with me?" I find the courage to look over at Jared.

"So many things baby" he winks. "I should have never let you get away the first time."

A chill crawls up my spine. And there it is, that nauseas feeling again. I choke down the bile rising in my throat. Has he been following me since then? Watching me? Stalking me?

I really need to stop walking into random rooms.

Vanessa leads, no, drags me to a large room with a single chair in the middle of them empty space. She shoves me down and ties my legs to the posts so tight I can feel the rope burning my skin.

"My favorite part" she smiles and rips off a long piece of duct tape and slaps it on my mouth. "At least this will be the last time I have to hear that annoying voice" she groans.

"He should be coming for her soon" Jared points me and runs his hand through his hair as he exits the room. "Be ready."

Vanessa nods. "I'm going to enjoy this" she grins devilishly as she lifts a piece of wood above her head and bashes it against the side of my head. I'm out again.

"Daddy! Daddy!" It's the little girl's voice again, Sadie, my daughter. "I can't sleep. Where's Mommy?"

"I don't know sweetie" he lifts her in his arms. "Let's go find her."

Neither of us was prepared for the scene in front of us. Talk about an outer body experience. Ashton turns the corner to see me tied to a chair, blood spilled all over the floor, dripping from my fingertips.

He quickly turns, shielding our baby's eyes from the horrific scene. "Shane" he cries, holding Sadie tightly against his chest. "I should have killed them when I had the chance."

My breathing is slow when I come to once more. That dream was too real. I'm living my nightmare.

The door opens behind me and I know its Jared or Vanessa coming to torture me more. I can't help but think that Ashton has gone through this. This is what made him the way he is. Angry. Cold. Bitter. Untrusting. Guarded. I understand now.

"Just kill me" I say quietly. "Please. Just kill me" I repeat the words over and over, my voice muffled by the tape.

"Shhh" his fingertips slightly touch the tape on my lips and I could cry tears of happiness. Ashton does care. He slowly removes the tape, my lips burn but it's a welcome feeling. Ashton is here. I'm safe.

"It's just me. I'm going to get you out of here."

"But-"

"Be quiet." I nod as he quickly undoes the rope around my ankles and rips the tape from my wrists. "Baby" he sighs, rubbing the pad of his thumb along my cheek. "Look what they did to you. I'm so sorry."

I fall into his arms, holding him as tightly as I can. "Ashton" I cry. "I didn't think you were coming for me" I admit.

"Baby" he shushes me. "I would do anything for you, you know that, right?" I shake my head no. I don't know that. "I'd take a bullet for you. Now follow me. And stay quiet."

Everything from there is a blur. It's like I'm in my own bubble as Ashton leads the way through this warehouse, knocking out guard after guard. I just watch, showing no emotion, feeling nothing.

We make it outside and a horrible feeling washes over me. I can feel Jared making his way towards us. "Ashton!" he screams, his voice straining.

Ashton stops dead in his tracks and I stumble behind him but he steadies me. "I need you to hold it together right now" he says looking me dead in the eye. I don't know how I'm going to manage to do that but for him, I will.

"This ends now" Ashton takes a few long strides towards Jared.

"You're fucking right it does" Jared smiles, the evil smile of his that makes my hair stand on end. "I think I'm going to start with your girl" he pulls out his knife again.

Ashton tackles him to the ground, ridding him on the knife. The two of them roll around on the grass, taking shots at one another.

This is it. This is my chance to get away. To save myself But I can't. My feet are glued to the ground. I can't leave Ashton like this. He came to save me and I owe him the same respect.

I run for the knife, for protection. I don't have it in me to stab someone, no matter how wrong they've done me.

"Leave him alone" I rush over to them, slashing Jared's arm with the blade.

"Fucking bitch" he shoves Ashton off him and comes charging towards me, wrestling the knife out of my hand. "Maybe you should die first" he spits.

I'm prepared to feel the sharp knife pierce my skin. I'm ready for it.

"You fucking touch her and I'll..." Ashton freezes, his body tense. I step out from behind him to see his white shirt now stained with blood. A lot of blood.

It's like everything started to slow down as my world began to crumble. Ashton collapses to the ground with a thud, gripping at his blood stained shirt.

I can't hear anything. It's silent. I'm crying but I can't hear my own voice as it crack while I scream. "Ashton! No, no, no. That was supposed to be me" I let the tears pour as I fall beside him. "No! No!"

"Ashton" I cry out. "No, no, no. That was supposed to be me" I let the tears pour. "No! No!"

"Does this count as taking a bullet for you" Ashton attempts to laugh but winces as the extreme pain he must be feeling.

"Shut up" I slap his chest. How could he try to joke at a time like this? "I'm going to get you out of here. Get you to the hospital. I promise."

"I'll give you to a moment before I finish you Irwin" Jared threatens as he walks away to clean the blood from his arm.

"Shane" he sighs, reaching for my hand. "You have to go. Run as fast as you can."

"I'm not leaving you."

"Yes. Yes you are."

"I can't."

"You have to." I nod, trying to pull myself from him but I can't leave him here." Shane, I love you. You have to go."

I melt, hearing the words I've been longing to hear him say. His fingers entangle in my hair, pulling me close to him, kissing me with this newfound passion. "I'm sorry" he sighs. All I hear the gunshot and he collapses back on the ground.

————————

Ashton and I stand in the empty field, keeping a safe distance between us, neither of us speaking.

I can't wrap my mind around what just happened. I've never wanted to run to and away from someone so much at the same time.

Ashton did what he had to do. I'm trying my best to understand that. Jared was going to kill the both of us, torture us until he finally ended our lives. Ashton had to, I keep reminding myself.

I want so badly to pull my shirt from my body and place it over Jared's face. I shouldn't look but I can't keep my eyes off the bullet hole through his forehead.

"Shane" Ashton finally speaks up breaking the uncomfortable but much needed silence. "Go back to the dorms."

I snap my head in his direction. "You're serious? You just want me to waltz back to campus and pretend like none of this ever happened?"

"Yup" he rocks back and forth on his heels, his hands buried deep in his pockets.

"We have to get you to a hospital. You could bleed to death" I argue with him, finding the courage within me to walk towards him.

"I'll be fine" he huffs. "I've been worse" he cracks a smile.

"Ashton just please let me take you to the hospital" I plead, touching his blood soaked shirt. "They'll stitch you right up."

"Yeah" he laughs at me. "And what are you going to tell them when they ask what happened?"

"I don't know" I shrug. "The truth. He stabbed you."

"And now he's dead. How you going to explain that one?"

"I don't know" I shout out of frustration. "Self defense or something. You were defending me. Just please, let me-"

"Shane" he snaps. "Stop it! This isn't over."

"I know" I sigh. "What are you going to do with" I swallow the lump in my throat. "...him."

"I got it covered" he tells me and I bury my face in my hands.

"You've done this before?" I scoff, both disgusted and terrified that he's killed before.

"Got rid of the body? Yes."

"Okay" is all I answer. "Come back with to campus with me?"

"I can't" he shakes his head. "Vanessa is still out there."

"And what are you going to do with her?" I glare at him.

"I haven't decided yet. Just please go back to the dorms" he demands.

"You know what? Fuck you" I bite and storm away from him. I don't know where I'm going I just know that I can't be around him right now. We are both in unstable states.

I walk maybe a mile when I find an old, worn shed. I slide down the rough wood and sit on the ground and just cry.

What the fuck happened? When did my life get this complicated? Ever since he walked in my life it's been flipped upside down. And for the first time I can say I regret stumbling into the wrong room that night.

"Shane! Oh my god!" Adrienne's familiar voice calms me as rushes to me, throwing her arms around me. "Oh god. I can't believe what they've done to you."

"How did you find me?" I look over at her.

"Ashton called. Said you took off."

Luke sighs and sits next to me, pulling me into his side. I'm so glad he's here. I really need his comforting arms right now. "You okay?" he asks as he wipes my tears from my cheeks.

"As okay as I'll ever be I guess" I shrug.

"Shane!" Ashton's voice is loud and boisterous. "There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. Of course. Here you are. Cozying up next to Luke."

"Fuck you Ashton" I push myself off the ground. "I've been through hell tonight" I stab my finger into his chest. "And all you care about is revenge. Did you even stop and ask me how I'm doing?"

"I just..." he huffs, yanking at his hair. "I just killed someone Shane" his eyes nearly pop out of his head at the realization. "So I'm sorry that I'm not concerned with how you're feeling right now."

"I'm... I'm sorry" I say quietly, cowering away, trying to see it from his point of view.

"Don't be. Shane" he rubs his fingers on the back of his neck.

Instinctively, I wrap my arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. He sucks in a deep breath, probably from the pressure on his stab wound. "Thank you."

"Shane" he says in a tone that breaks my heart as he breaks away from me. "I love you so much it hurts."

"I love you too" I say quickly before he can ruin the moment.

"But" he lets out a long breath and I can feel my heart shattering.

"No but" I shake my head, begging him to just stop talking.

"I'm no good for you. I can't put you through this again."

"Wh...What are you saying?" My mouth is dry, barely unable to form words.

"I'm saying that you deserve so much better. It's about time I let go Shane and you're going to let me."

"No, Ashton. You don't have to..." I fight back the tears, trying to think of anything to say to keep him here. With me.

"I do. A friend is coming to pick me up now. It's time for me to go back home."

"Ashton, please. Take me with you."

"Shane" he sighs, pulling me in for one last hug. "This is where you belong. Being the fun, sweet girl I fell in love with."

"Don't leave" I whisper against his chest as Luke pulls me away from Ashton. "No, no, no" I reach out for Ashton but he slowly backs away.

Ashton glances over at me, heartbroken himself. "Don't follow me" he mutters, turning around, he walks away from me, leaving me completely shattered.