Pushing Me Away

(Chester's POV/Narrator)

A few hours later, Chester knew he couldn't stay all morning at the hospital with Luna, as much as he wanted to, because he had to go home and face another reality. Although Ava had insisted that he stay far away, he was through letting her destroy him. "I'm sure she'll be safe here, you go on and take back what's yours." His best friend Mike says as the two part ways in the parking lot, agreeing that they would meet up later on in the day to discuss a lot of things. Chester knew it was risky getting involved in Luna's situation, but he couldn't help himself. He kept thinking over and over about the name of her husband, it sounded so familiar. On the drive home, his mind wondered constantly about how a girl like Luna ever got involved with a guy like that anyways. But it was almost no different than he and Ava, both were in abusive relationships, only Chester never laid a hand on Ava, as much as he had sometimes thought about it. Especially when she would say such awful things to hurt him, but he still never did. The police had taken Chester's contact information to make sure he stay in touch, they also let him know that they were going to be investigating into her husband the moment Luna was well enough to verify the statements. He knew she wasn't going to deny a thing, she was through with that man. Otherwise she wouldn't have called him and asked for help like she did. He knew she was done.

Once he pulled into his driveway, he could see that Ava's car was no longer there. Perfect, he thought to himself. Some peace and quiet finally all to my own self. When he walked up the small pathway and into the front door, he could see that things had been thrown around. It looked like a tornado had hit the place, everything was a complete mess. His framed records of 'Hybrid Theory' and his newest one of 'Meteora' had been taken from off of the walls and smashed onto the floor, his posters had been torn into tiny shreds. Surely things couldn't get much worse than this. "Oh no." Chester suddenly flew into an emotion crossed between anger and total heartbreak. He reached down onto the floor, picking up small piece of paper that had been literally ripped into irreparable pieces. It was the first official printing with his name on it, as the lead singer of Linkin Park, although at the time they were named Xero. Chester felt the tears run down his face as he clutched whatever was left to his chest. How could she ever go this low? He knew things were terrible between the two, but never so much that she would have to hurt him this bad. He didn't really care she was cheating, he didn't really care that she never told him she loved him, he didn't even care she was leaving, but this, there was truly no ever coming back from this. Not that he ever would want to anyways.

Crying to himself, he decided to call Mike, he would know what to do. He explained to him everything as best as he could without breaking down every few minutes as he sat in the midst of the destruction. Mike tells him not to move, that he and the guys are coming to his aid. Chester does as he's told and continues to stay on the living room floor, not moving a muscle. His mind drifts off and soon he's thinking about Luna once more. He wonders if she's finally awake yet, if she's safe, if she could possibly need anything. But first things first, he had to take care of this situation. His entire life sat practically shattered in front of him, right before his own eyes. Ava would pay for this, he wouldn't let her get away with this much satisfaction, knowing that she had finally found a way to destroy him. Not a moment too soon did his friends all arrive, stepping around the shards of broken glass carefully. They hoisted Chester from up off of the floor, walking him over to the kitchen and helping him get seated at the small dining table. He sat with his head down, his hands covering his face. He felt somewhat ashamed, somewhat embarrassed that his friend's had to see him like this. "She's not going to get away with this, Chaz. We'll call the police, file a report. We're here for you."

(Luna's POV/Narrator)

Luna woke up suddenly, her mind a complete fog. She couldn't remember how she got to the hospital, she couldn't remember who had brought her, she couldn't remember much of anything besides Adam's final blow to her stomach and the way she looked in the mirror. She looked around with a little bit of hesitance, she didn't see anyone. But who could have found her? Who could have brought her here? Surely not Adam, he wouldn't know what to say or what to do. He'd be covered in her blood, he would be a prime suspect, if he wasn't already. That's when a sense of panic started to rise in her, making her heart race. What about Adam? Did he know she was here? Did he start to look for her? Surely he wouldn't come looking, she thought to herself. He knows he would be in trouble if he did, he couldn't play it off as if he knew nothing, it would be too hard to hide. But Luna still anxiously wondered who she could have called or what could have happened that made her end up here. A throbbing pain in her head suddenly made all the wondering and guessing stop all together. The pain, all the pain, it was too much to bare. She reached for a button with her opposite hand that wasn't in a cast, signaling for a nurse. When the small, older woman had walked in the room, she stared at Luna with a look of sheer surprise. "Hello Ms. Draven. We weren't expecting you to be awake so soon, are you in pain?" Luna nodded and answered her as best as she could.

The nurse gives Luna a tad more pain medication in her IV to help with the throbbing and started to ask her a few brief questions. "Do you remember how you got here?" No. "Do you remember who brought you here?" No. "Do you remember how this happened?" Yes. The final answer was all the nurse needed before she proceeded to tell Luna that soon she would need to speak with the local police department regarding her assault. The fear starts to grip a strong hold on Luna as she starts to think about having to relive the terror all over again, to tell them all about Adam, to turn on him. No, she can't think that way. Not anymore, she was through living in his misery. "Can you at least tell me who brought me here?" She tells Luna that a young man with short, dark hair and tattoos did. She ponders consistently, who could this man be? She then tells Luna his name and almost instantly does her heart stop. "Chester, that's his name. Nice man, very concerned about you." Luna then is left alone to sit and think about what she's just been told. Chester, the man from the coffee shop. The sweet man, who gave her back her book and asked if she was okay. A smile soon found its way to her face as she then realized that this man, who she didn't even know, had saved her.

"Ma'am, may we speak with you please?" I look towards my left, trying to make out the faces that were standing in the doorway. It wasn't too hard to tell that they were police officers. I motion for them to come in and sit. "You're here about Adam, aren't you?" They nod their heads before pulling out a clipboard and some forms. "Can you tell us everything? The events that lead up to this altercation?? That damn gnawing fear came back, making its way into my nerves. I couldn't speak at that moment, I couldn't even make a sound. Why? Why was I letting this overpower me? Why was I letting him win? "Ma'am, I know this may be hard. but we really need your statements and validation on some facts." I swallowed hard now, this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought it was. "I-I-I'm sorry. I can do this." They get out their pens and begin with my name. I tell them how long I've been married, how long this abuse has gone on, how many times he's attempted to kill me. The questions are starting to make my head spin as I try to keep my focus. My voice is still quiet and sore from the endless strangling on my neck. Then they ask if Adam had ever sexually assaulted me, that one was especially hard. No, in the beginning it wasn't. Now, yes. Adam used to have his way with me whenever he was finished beating me, sometimes I would wake up and find him on top of me. I shudder, trying to repress those horrible images from my mind. Then they ask about Chester. How long I had known him, where I had met him, and things of that nature. I tell the truth, everything.

By the time they are finally finished, it must had been about two hours. They tell me they were going to be in touch and that they would come pay me a visit if it was necessary, that they would be going out to investigate Adam and ultimately arrest him. I agreed to press charges against him, I agreed to file a protective restraining order against him. I agreed to have an officer escort me to the residence to retrieve my belongings when the time came. I then decided that I was going to be filing for divorce the moment I was free from the hospital. Just as they were leaving, the same nurse from earlier had came in, announcing that I had a visitor. My heart was pounding erratically in my chest and I felt like I was going to go into shock at any moment. He found me, he had found me. But when I saw the face come into view, I immediately stopped breathing. It was Chester, I could tell by the tattoos on his arms. Even though I could barely see, I still knew it was him. Especially by the sound of his voice when he finally spoke to me. "Hello again. I'm surprised you're awake." I try my best to smile at him as the tears are building up and spilling down my cheeks at a rapid pace. I couldn't believe that he was actually here, that he actually had saved me. I see him place a small bouquet of flowers on the table beside my bed before taking a seat in the small chair next to me.

"I don't even know what to say besides thank you. I don't even- I don't remember anything. I'm so sorry for bringing you into all of this. You don't even know me." He shakes his head with a soft smile, instantly warming up my heart. "It doesn't matter, the important thing is, is that you're going to be okay. Doctors say you're lucky to be alive." I sniffle greatly, a sob finally escaping my lips. I know I'm lucky, and it was all thanks to him. When I take a moment to stare at him, I can tell from his facial features that he wasn't okay. His eyes are puffy and red, his cheeks looked burned, as if he had been crying for a while and the look on his face clearly says it all. I decide to finally ask him instead of just making assumptions. "Hey, Chester? Are you okay?" He looks up at me, slightly stunned but a little grateful. He shakes his head before sighing. "No, I'm not okay. I had a lot of terrible things to deal with after I had left you here this morning. My wife, she left me. She destroyed all of my things and such." I immediately feel guilty, as if all of that was somehow my fault. Call me a gluten for pain and punishment, I suppose. I know he can tell by the sudden change in my voice that somethings now wrong. "But don't even think this is your fault, because it's not. I've been dealing with problems since the beginning of my relationship." It eases my pain some, but not all. He then reaches for my hand, holding it gently. I tense up a bit but relax little by little as I feel the warmness of his skin.

"I know we don't know each other, but I'd really like to get to." Luna now smiles at him the best that she can before giving his hand a light squeeze. "I'd really like that, it's definitely the least I can do after all that you've done for me. So, Chester, I'm Luna. I'm going through a lot, but I'd love to be friends." I can now see another smile on his face before he responds back to me. "It's so great to meet you, Luna. I'm Chester, I'm a singer in a band called Linkin Park, and I have a broken heart. But I'd love to be friends with you, too."