Inside These Arms Of Yours

"Hey Zack I'm going for a run before we leave." I said as I poked my head into his room after knocking. He was standing at the edge of his bed in only a pair of jeans with his shirt in hand.

"Ok I'll have everything packed up for when you get back." He replied. I walked over and gave him a quick peck before heading downstairs and out the door. Some days I liked to go for a jog on the beach before we left for the studio. Thankfully today we didn’t have to be there too early so it allowed me time for my excursion.

As I started my couple block jog to the beach I reflected on my time working with the guys on the new album. It had only been a few weeks but we were having a blast with it so far. The guy had some great ideas and were really into trying out new concepts. They had a little bit of everything going on, especially some country techniques which had surprised me at first.

Several minutes later I could feel the refreshing breeze coming off the ocean water. The sun had risen not too long ago and it just felt great to be outside. Huntington Beach definitely had a nice atmosphere to it when it came to the beach itself. It was quiet in the mornings unlike the beaches in San Diego that were busy and always on the go with people at all hours of the day. The beach often brought back many memories when it came to my family. It was where we always used to spend our weekends when I still lived at home. My brother, sister and I would collect shells, go surfing, build sandcastles, and just have fun when we were younger. It sucked having them live so far away now. I missed their company. But I had what I considered to be a second family now. The girls and I had become inseparable. They really brought me into the family with open arms. It was a great feeling and I knew that they would be added to my diminishing list of lifelong friends along with the guys themselves.

I paused my run as I got to the pier and just stood looking out at the water.

"Excuse me but are you Katie by any chance?"

As I turned around I was met with the face of a man who had a smirk that could give Zacky's a run for his money. He had a strong firm face and his build was something of that of a body guard. His hair was what made him stand out though. It was black with green stripes in it. Something told me I had to be careful around this guy. And how did he even know my name?

"Um yeah I am. Can I help you with something?" The air around me suddenly felt cold and I knew something was not right.

"Yeah actually you can." And with that his smirk increased as I felt a clenched fist hit me right in the jaw. I stumbled backwards and was going to attempt to fight back but he was too fast and came toward me again.

"Stop! What is wrong with you? Somebody help me!" I screamed as much as I could.

"No one's going to hear you so you might as well shut up you bitch." The next punch sent me to the floor of the pier and from there it only got worse. I screamed as a kick after kick landed right in my stomach and another one made it to my head. He picked me up off the ground by the front of my shirt.

"You're pathetic." And with one final blow to my face I was dropped on to the ground face first before I slowly lost consciousness.

~xXx~

"Dude I'm getting worried about her. She's been gone longer then she normally is. I think I'm going to go out and look for her." I told Syn on the phone. Katie had been gone too long for my liking. You may think I'm being overprotective and this time you would be right.

"Zack chill man. I'm sure she's fine. She probably stopped for a coffee or something on the way home. You know how chicks are man. She'll be back. Give her a call." My best friend tried to reassure me but something just didn’t feel right this time. Usually she called to tell me she was stopping for food and asked if I wanted her to bring anything home for me.

"I've tried man! She's not answering. That’s why I'm so worried about her." I heard a beeping in my ear letting me know that someone was on the other line.

"Hey can I call you back Brian? There's someone on the other line and I'm hoping it'll be Katie."

"Yeah sure. Let me know what's going on though."

"Will do." I clicked over to the other line just as he hung up. This had better be Katie. I was beyond worried about her by this point.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this a Mr. Zack Baker?" A female voice asked on the other end. This certainly wasn't Katie. And the formalness in her voice scared me.

"Um yes. It is. Can I help you with something?"

"Yes sir. My name is Sasha McCowell and I'm calling from Hoag Hospital. Do you know a Ms. Katie Zellmer?"

Katie? In the hospital? Oh shit what happened?

I gulped before taking a big breath hoping my voice wouldn’t be shaky but that wish was not fulfilled.

"Yes. She's my girlfriend. Oh shit please tell me she's ok. What happened?"

"Mr. Baker could you come down here now? We'd rather explain in person but before you freak out yes she is alright. But you probably should come down."

"O-ok. I'll be ri-right there." I managed to stutter out. By the time I hung up the tears had started in my eyes. Yes, it's true. Zacky V was human. I managed to get my shaking fingers to dial Brian's number once more.

"Yo man was that Katie?"

"Brian come pick me up. Katie's in the hospital. I can't drive. I'm a wreck already. Please just hurry man."

"Oh shit. I'll be right there."

It was a good thing Brian lived just a few streets away because he was here in no time flat. Unfortunately for him, I had already lost my head.

"Zack calm down. What happened?"

"I don’t know! They just told me that I needed to come to the hospital. They did say she was ok though."

The rest of the ride passed in silence. I think both of us were too shocked to say anything. When we got there we rushed in and made a stop at the information counter.

"I'm looking for a Katie Zellmer. Can you tell me where to find her please?"

"Can I ask what your relation to her is?" The snotty receptionist asked. She looked skeptical and if she gave me any problems she was in for some hell coming her way.

"I'm her boyfriend. I received a call from Sasha asking me to come down." I spouted out quickly.

"Oh alright then. She's on floor three, room 365. Check in with the nurses' station before you go in as many patients could be sleeping."

Brian and I rushed up the stairs not even bothering to wait for the elevators. I had to find out what happened to Katie.

"Hi I'm here to see Katie? She's in room 365 I guess. I'm her boyfriend." The brunette behind the counter smiled at me weakly.

"So you must be Zacky Baker. Why don't you stick around a moment and I'll go grab a doctor to inform you of her condition." She pressed a button on a pager and called for a Dr. Anderson to come to the desk. He must have been nearby because he came just under a minute.

"Ah Mr. Baker. And you must be Mr. Haner. Katie informed me it would most likely be you two who came right away. Before you ask, Katie is fine. Just a little beat up, literally."

"Beat up?" I squeaked out. My voice was cracking and Brian looked at me and saw I was not in much of a condition to talk anymore.

"Well yes. We received a call under an hour ago from a restaurant owner out on the pier. They had heard screaming and went to investigate only to find a man attacking your girlfriend. The man saw them coming and apparently he fled, but the owner was able to give an accurate description to the police. When they reached where Katie was they found she was unconscious. She lucked out that there was no internal bruising. But there is quite a bit of external bruising along her face and stomach area. We expect her to make a full recovery but she is very weak at the moment. I believe she's sleeping. Are there any questions?"

"She wasn't you know… raped was she?" I think that is every boyfriend's nightmare as it was mine.

"No she wasn't. You have a very lucky girl on your hands Mr. Baker. The police said they would be by later on to take Ms. Zellmer's statement. I'll let you two go see her now."

"Thank you Doctor."

The walk to Katie's room was a nerve-racking one. I had no idea what to expect. Brian reached in front of me and pulled the door open since all I had done was stand there.

The sight that I was greeted with was not what I had expected and the tears immediately started to flow from my eyes.