Don't Go

Dinner at the Sykes' house was a few days ago and Victoria tried to avoid the men at all costs. The night of the dinner, Oli sounded so proud of himself when he told her he was the lead vocalist of Bring Me the Horizon. She already knew that. And, she didn't really care about it. It didn't matter to her. She recalled the other night, Oli tried to get her to go outside. It didn't quite work. She pretended to be sick. She wasn't used to people trying to be her friend. Back in the states, she had no friends. They all left her when they found out what happened.

Victoria sighed and shifted her leg from under her. At this moment, she was laying on her roof, staring at the stars. She did this every night. There was so many stars. She wasn't able to sleep, not since the day she moved to Sheffield. She had tried. When she shut her eyes, she say his face. His horrible, horrible face. She couldn't escape him.

"Hey!"

Victoria nearly jumped out of her skin. She sat up, seeing Tom standing on her lawn. His hands were in his pockets as he looked up at her.

"Wha' are yeh doin up there?" He asked.

She looked back at the sky. "To be closer to them."

He looked at the stars with her, wonder in his eyes. "I can take yeh closer to them. If yeh'll let me."

Victoria smiled. "I think that would be nice."

Tom smiled back at her. She ran a hand through her hair and laughed.

"Come up here," she said. "It's weird talking to you when you're all the way down there."

He looked back to his mother's house. His face was tight. He glanced at Victoria again. He shook his head and took a step back.

"No." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeh should get inside before yeh catch a cold."

He went back to his mom's house. Victoria sat there, looking after him. Her eyes lingered at the empty space in front of the door. She sighed and laid back down. She wanted to stay out a little longer. She wanted to pretend she was somewhere else. She wanted to be gone from this place.



"Vicky!" Her mother tore the blankets off her body.

Victoria groaned, immediately reaching for warmth. Her mom pulled open the curtains allowing sunlight flood the room. Victoria gave up trying to find the blankets and sat up. Her blue eyes narrowed at her mom. It didn't faze her at all.

"What are you doing?" Victoria stretched.

"Get out of bed and hang out with those nice men," her mom pleaded. "You also need some fresh air. Have you been sleeping?"

She sat next to Victoria on her bed. She cupped her daughter's face and gave her a smile. Victoria smiled back and kissed her mother's forehead.

"Fine," Victoria said as she looked out the window. "I guess I could."

"Good!"

She shook her head and let out a snort. She heard her mom leave the room. The silence was deafening. Victoria looked at the clock that stood at her night stand. It read, 10:47. She only got four hours of sleep this time. She wrapped her arms around her body, feeling alone. Victoria grabbed a sundress and fresh undergarments. She hoped it was going to be a warm day.

Victoria went to the bathroom and stripped out of her pajamas. She took her hair out of the pony tail and messed with it a little. She really didn't want to do anything today. All she wanted to do was sleep and dream of something better. But, she felt her legs drag her into the shower. The cold splash of water woke her up. She scrubbed her body down and shut the water off once she felt as clean as she can get.

"The guys are in the living room, honey." Victoria heard her mom say from the other side of the door.

Victoria shook her head. She thought she felt weird earlier, now she felt just awkward. I should have gotten pants… She quickly dressed, wanting to get the say over with. The sundress she wore was plain blue and stopped below her knees. Victoria brushed her hair with her fingers, detangling the knots. She ran into her room, hoping they didn't hear her down below. She threw her clothes on the floor and took a deep breath in. She didn't understand why she was so nervous.

Then, it dawned on her. She was nervous because she was going to be around men. She hadn't talked to them for about three days. Around men… Victoria shook those thoughts from her head. That was in the past. That was in America. And, now, she was in Sheffield, living in the present. She had no time to be living in the past. She took another deep breath and walked down the stairs. She could hear Matty and Matt before she saw them.

"Yeh so annoyin'!" Matty yelled.

"Then tha' makes yeh daft," Matt retorted.

Victoria watched them bicker like an old married couple. It brought a smile to her lips. Lee noticed her first and pushed the two hot heads. Their eyes snapped to Lee.

"Oi, wha's tha for?" Matt asked. "Oh, sorry. Matty here was just being a child."

"Me a child? I don't fink so," Matty crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeh look nice by the way, Vicky."

The men nodded in agreement. Victoria blushed and shook her head. What was it with these guys that made her blush? Sure, they were attractive. But, she shouldn't care about that. They weren't going to visit her until Oli and Tom's father left again. The thought of that made Victoria frown. She didn't know why, but it made her a bit upset.

"Wha' do yeh want to do today?" Oli jumped up. "Maybe, yeh can meet Jordan. Tha's if yeh want."

Victoria nodded. "Sure. That sounds good. Show me around town, too. I haven't really left the neighborhood..."

Matty stood up and looked her straight in the eyes. "Yeh know tha man tha' attacked yeh? Me and Matt found him the other day. He won't be botherin' anyone ever."

He looked pleased with himself, as did Matt. Victoria laughed at them, letting out a thank you. They all stood up, rubbing Victoria's shoulder while filing out of the house. She stood there for a minute, realizing Tom wasn't there. She pursed her lips before grabbing her small bag.

"Finally, Tom," Oli waved him over. "He takes longer than a girl ta get dressed."

"Hey!" Victoria stuck his tongue out at him. "Maybe he slept in late?"

He shook his head. "No. He has a hard time sleeping. Ever since Melissa left him."
Victoria nodded, letting it sink in. Tom had his own baggage. Oli slung an arm over her shoulders and brought her closer to his side. Her brows knitted together when she looked up at him. He dragged her over to a black car.

"Did yeh call Jordan?" Oli asked.

Tom nodded. "Yeah. He has some fings ta do. Said he'll be free in a few hours."

"Oi," Matty grabbed Victoria's hand. "Drive wiff us, Vicky. It'll be better than listenin' ta Oli and Tom argue."

Oli laughed and let her go. Victoria felt like a rag doll, having the men push and pull her around. Tom stared after her as she walked over to Matty's dark green car. Her hands was still in Matty's warm hand. She wanted to pull away, but she felt it would have been rude. So, she suffered through it silently.

"Tom looks like he wants ta rip yeh a new one," Lee said quietly.

Victoria and Matty turned their heads. And, true enough, Tom was watching. Once he noticed the looks he turned away, getting into the car. Matty laughed and ruffled Victoria's wet hair. She sighed, letting go of his hand, trying to fix what he had done.

"Looks like someone's got a crush on yeh," Matty teased.

Victoria's cheeks burned. "Shut up. I don't even know him."

"So?" Matt joined in.

"I hate you guys."

Victoria opened the car door and sat down. She could hear the men laugh before they got in. Matty looked back at her, mischief evident in his eyes. She let her forehead hit the back of Matty's headrest.

"Yeh love us," he said as he started up the car. "Yeh fink we're amazin'."

Victoria shook her head and laughed. Maybe she did find them amazing. Maybe.