Pieces

"Craig, Baby, can't you picture how good this will look on me?" I asked with big wide eyes and a pout. A smile spread across his face as I held the dress over my clothes, examining it in the mirror.

"Why don't we find out?" He asked, "Try it on," He nodded to the dressing room.

I jumped excitedly before skipping off into the dressing room, quickly shedding my clothes and sliding on the skin-tight black dress. I put my arm through the one sleeve before adjusting my body so every curve was seen. I smiled, satisfied, and stepped out of the dressing room.

Craig's eyes filled with lust as I twirled, sending him a sultry look as I did so, "How do I look?" I asked, "Doesn't it fit perfectly?"

"Like a glove," He whispered huskily and placed a kiss on my neck, "I can't wait to show you off," He firmly grabbed my backside and I squealed with laughter before he placed a kiss on my lips, "Get dressed. I'll pay while you change. We have dinner reservations at eight," He reminded me and I nodded.

Cake.

It wasn't difficult to get Craig to by me things. All I had to do was arouse him a little before he gave in. He couldn't resist me and I knew it. Just wiggle my butt, wink, and he was all mine. There was nothing he said no to. I asked for Louboutin shoes, he got me three pairs. I wanted Prada sunglasses, he got me the same ones in four different colors. As long as he got to ravish me every night, I was laughing to the bank.

And now that a giant rock sat on my finger, I knew I was in it for the long run. Craig would be mine forever, and I'd have the world at my fingertips.

And that was my plan all along.

I sat up, looking around the room frantically as I realized I was still in Zack's house, but he was gone, "Woah, where's the fire?" A voice asked and I looked to the doorway, seeing Dan standing there.

"Sorry, I just forgot where I was for a moment," I covered up the fact that I had just awoken from another painful memory, "Where is he?" I questioned.

"He's downstairs clean-" He cut himself off, eyes narrowing in on me and I squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze, "What the fuck is that?" He demanded, taking a step forward.

"What's what?" I looked around, wondering what he could possibly be talking about.

"Is that a handprint on your neck!?" He pointed to me neck, my sweatshirt sitting crooked on my body. My hand shot up to the tender skin, and I realized that I hadn't any makeup to cover it up. The makeup I used the night before must have rubbed off in my sleep.

"Uh..." I trailed off.

"ZACK!" Dan yelled and turned to leave the room.

"Dan, no!" I called after him, running to catch up to him running down the stairs.

I made it to the living room just in time to see Dan grab Zack by the shoulders, tossing him down to the ground in a choke hold. Zack kicked and called out, demanding what the hell was going on. I froze, taking in the scene before me, "You don't fucking put your hands on a woman, Baker!" Dan yelled, "Especially the only one who actually seems to care about you!"

"What the fuck are you talking about!?" Zack choked out as Dan kept him in an arm bar on the floor. His voice was barely audible due to how tight Dan was holding him.

Finally I snapped out of my trance. I shook my head and stepped forward, rushing to Zack. I got on the floor beside him and tried to pry Dan's arm off of him, "Stop, let him go!" I pleaded, "He didn't do it!" I stated.

Dan loosened his grip, but didn't let Zack go completely. Instead, he brought his eyes up to look at me, "He didn't?" He asked.

"No," I confessed.

"Then who did?" He demanded.

"Let him go and I'll tell you," I promised.

Before he could say anything, Matt and Brian rushed in to see the commotion. They stopped in the doorway, seeing Dan holding Zack against the floor and me sitting there pathetically holding on to Zack's arm.. It must have looked like a ridiculous sight to them, "What the hell is going on in here?" Brian asked.

"What happened to your neck!?" Matt demanded, noticing right away the purple marks on my skin.

"Let him go, Dan!" I demanded and Zack was released.

He fell to his hands and knees, gasping as his airway was completely restored. He coughed a bit before looking up at me with questioning eyes. His eyes immidietly left my own and travelled down to my neck, spotting the nasty purple bruise shaped into a fading handprint.

"This wasn't there last night," He pointed out, his voice raspy still from Dan's chokehold on him.

"I used makeup to cover it up," I confessed.

"Vi, who did this to you?" Dan asked softly as Zack inched closer, further examining the marks. He brought his fingertips up to gently caress my neck and a shiver passed through my body.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I breathed in deeply before looking up at them, "Craig followed me here from Vegas," I confessed.

"That guy from the club?" Dan questioned and Zack immediately turned to his friend, eyes narrowing on him.

"What guy from the club?" He questioned, "You never told me about a guy at the club," Zack pressed and Dan's eyes widened, realizing his mistake, "What the fuck happened at the club, Dan," He demanded.

Dan sighed, defeated as he tore his eyes from me, "I only left her for a minute, Zack. I didn't mean to-"

"You had one job, Dan!" Zack yelled and I was actually kind of startled. It wasn't like Zack to burst into yelling. Zack was either calm or hiding away from an argument, "God Dammit, all I asked was for you to keep her safe!"

"I'm sorry, Man! I left for a minute and when I looked back some guy was grabbing her and trying to drag her out!" Dan confessed and I glared at him, "She didn't want me to tell you because she didn't want you to freak out."

"It's not his fault, Zack," I added quietly, "I told Dan to leave me alone."

"You didn't think to tell me that your ex-boyfriend tried to drag you out of the club?" He asked me, "And now he's back? Violet," He pinched the bridge of his nose, "We could have stopped him from coming out here. We could have kicked him out of the club."

I shook my head, "Zack, you don't know Craig. He's not like most guys, okay?"

The room fell silent and Matt shared a look with Brian. He nodded his head to the door and they instantly left the living room, heading upstairs to leave us alone. Only Dan remained, watching Zack and I intently as he crossed his arms over his chest.

I felt my body give in. The only way to get out of this was to give Zack some of the story. I would be damned if I let him know the whole story. I wasn't about to tell him that I, Violet Kennedy, was once a rioting party girl that would even put Amber to shame. I couldn't tell him that I was practically the poster-girl for girls like Amber. How could I? How could I tell him that I was once a gold-digging tramp, just like her? I couldn't. I refused.

"He owned the club, Zack," I stated and he raised an eyebrow, "That's why I didn't say anything. I didn't want anything to get in the way of the band's promotions," I explained and he sighed.

Zack scooted closer to me and pulled the sweatshirt down a little bit to reveal more of the print before he sighed, "Can you take it off?" He asked, referring to my sweatshirt.

"I'm only in a thin tank-top," I told him and he sighed.

"Violet, please take the jacket off. I've already seen part of it."

He was right. He had seen my arm, but he hadn't seen the worst of it. Defeated, I peeled off the sweatshirt. I felt exposed in my small white tank top. It was nearly see-through and rose up in a mid drift so one could see part of the scars on my stomach. As soon as I tossed the clothing aside, Zack hissed. He took my arms and examined them, eyes trailing up the skin to my darkened neck.

"These weren't from an accident, were they?" He asked and I shook my head.

"These are all from that guy?" Dan asked, stepping forward to see the marks more closely. My arms were littered with faint scars from the butterfly knife Craig carried with him. I had burns from where he would jab his lit cigarette into my skin. Where he would hold the lighter up to burn my flesh, to remind me that I was his.

"How long has he been in California?" Zack asked and I adverted my gaze from him. I could feel his eyes burning into me, "Violet, how long?" He repeated.

"He followed us after we left that Monday morning," I confessed softly.

Realization flashed across Dan's face and his mouth fell open, realizing what was happening, "That's why you haven't been sleeping. Has he been at your apartment this whole time?" He asked.

"He's been around," I confessed, "He's been following me, trying to figure out my relationship with Zack. He's trying to see if we're actually engaged or not because of what Val had said when we were shopping. But we didn't come face to face until yesterday. He broke into my apartment," I announced.

Zack ran a hand through his hair, sighing deeply. He looked up at Dan before turning back to me, "Dan is going to go with you to get your stuff."

"What?" I questioned.

"He broke in once and he can do it again. He won't be able to get into my house as easily."

"Zack, I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, if Amber comes around and-" He cut me off.

"Her stuff is already gone," He confessed and my eyes widened. I looked around the room to see that anything that once held a part of Amber was gone. A small pile of boxes remained in the corner, sitting by the front door, "I didn't want to wake you, so I called the guys to come help me early this morning. Amber is moving in with a new guy. We already dropped off most of her stuff."

"Oh..." I trailed off. I was actually kind of proud of him. I thought I would have to tug and pull to get him to clear out Amber's stuff. Instead, he had done it all on his own while I was asleep. Zack was starting to learn.

"Dan," Zack turned to look up at him, "Take Violet while the rest of us finish up here. The place should be cleared for her stuff by the time you guys get back. You might want to take someone else with you, just in case."

"Jimmy can come help you, Brian, and Johnny. I'll take Matt," He announced and Zack nodded before turning back to me. I felt my eyes filled with tears as I realized that Zack was now involved with my complicated life. He was going to be on Craig's list now. He was in the line of fire if he was protecting me. He didn't know what he was getting himself into, and I wasn't going to tell him. I was still the same selfish girl I was all those years ago. I hadn't changed a bit.

"We'll protect you, Vi. Nothing is going to hurt you as long as I'm around," Zack smiled.

He had no idea.