Miles of Pleasure (3 page)

Feeling a mixture of relief and anger, Kaylee turned and left the bus.

Ashton shook his head in disbelief. He touched his face - it felt red and hot and maybe even a bit swollen, even though he knew that was probably just in his head. He turned to go back to his room. Jayden and Colton exchanged looks, and Noah ran out after his sister.

As if she sensed him, Kaylee yelled without turning around. "Go back to the bus, Noah."

"You're in your pajamas! Outside! What are you doing?"

She kept walking.

"Kaylee, damn it - come back here!"

She stopped and turned to her brother. "I just need some time to myself, okay? I can't be on that bus with him right now. I'm going to sleep on the other bus tonight."

Noah knew there was no arguing with her, and quite frankly, he thought it was best for everyone if those two spent some time apart. "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked. He sounded like a little child, and she suddenly remembered crawling into bed with him when she was a kid and a nightmare had terrified her.

"I will be okay," she said, and this time her voice was kind. "I promise."

Noah paused, considering, and then nodded. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Ok, but be careful. I'll see you in the morning."

Kaylee walked to the other bus and knocked on the door. David, the band's publicist opened the door and welcomed Kaylee in. "What's up Kaylee?"

"Do you guys mind if I stay on your bus tonight? The band wouldn't be worth quite as much if I was to kill the singer." Her voice was ragged as she tried to keep her tears at bay.

"That's fine, but you'll have to sleep on one of the couches. We gave the spare bunk to the magazine writer traveling with us," he told her, and gave her a hug, knowing that the spats between her and Ashton bothered her more than she let on. He had an uncanny way of reading her that not many others did.

"She can share my bed with me if she wants," Brandon offered, making his presence known. Kaylee had been so distraught that she hadn't even seen him sitting at the dining table. "I promise I won't try anything. I'll be the perfect gentleman."

Kaylee looked at his eyes and had a strong feeling that she'd be able to trust him. After all, he had been witness to some terrible things said on the other bus; anyone would know tonight wasn't a good time to trifle with her. "Thanks."

He led her back to his bunk and they climbed in together. It was a tight fit, but she liked being held in his arms. As soon as they lay down, the sleepiness and sadness Kaylee had been feeling disappeared into thin air. She was suddenly wide awake and restless.

"Are you tired?" she asked.

"Why, you want to mess around?" he asked playfully. Kaylee smacked his shoulder. "I was kidding! I know, you're a girl, so you want to talk. Ok, let's get to know each other."

Kaylee smiled. They talked with ease, and learned a lot about each other as the night progressed. When the early morning light began to break through the sky, the two fell asleep in each other's arms.

Over the next few weeks, Kaylee avoided Ashton as much as possible and filled her days by Brandon's side. They soon grew quite close and were spending all their free time together. They each learned to deal with the comments that Ashton threw at them regarding their budding relationship, and in the end, the comments brought them closer together rather than breaking them apart. Brandon had been very understanding about Kaylee not being ready for sex yet, and never tried to take her virginity from her.

One night, after an intense concert, everyone was hanging out in the dressing room. There were more people than usual, and it was quite packed. Brandon had gone to get Kaylee a drink, and when he came back, he saw her being escorted out by a tall guy in a black leather jacket. Kaylee's face was pale, and her eyes were wide and bright.

Something seemed...strange. His gut twisted with something like fear. Brandon quickly followed them into the deserted back hallway to see where they were going

Kaylee was shaking her arm, trying to get out of the man's grasp. The sight of that injected Brandon with utter fury. "Hey, what are you doing?" he yelled out.

The man stopped and turned to look back at the person yelling at him. The man's eyes were dark. He looked high, or drunk, or both - but certainly he looked evil.

"Boy, you best stay where you are unless you want to get hurt," the man growled. He flashed the blade of a knife at Brandon, just to back up his threat.

Brandon's eyes got big. He stopped where he was, and watched what was happening as if he were watching a movie.

The man slammed Kaylee against the wall and smashed his lips to hers in a bruising kiss. Her arms were flailing, trying to hit the man to get him off her. The man simply lifted the knife to her and she stopped fighting, her eyes wide as she looked down at the blade.

He began rubbing his crotch against her, and she could feel his arousal. She could feel the bile rise in her throat as he groped her breast. Part of her needed to fight, but another part of her was too afraid of that knife to make a move. She was in suspended animation as the guy had his way with her, right there in the hallway.

"You're going to like this. I'm more man than any of these guys," he said in between kisses, rubbing harder and harder against her. His free hand found its way under Kaylee's shirt, and she felt his erection increase.

Kaylee was crying and continuously begging him to stop. Brandon just stood there and watched what was happening. Kaylee looked over at Brandon, but he was staring as though he had turned to stone.

As if by miracle, Ashton opened the dressing room door at that very moment. He pulled a woman into the hallway with him, kissing her the whole time.

"Help!" Kaylee screamed when she saw Ashton out of the corner of her eye.

The man smacked Kaylee across her face, and told her to shut up. Her head bounced hard against the wall behind her; she saw stars. He used his knife to quickly slide down the front of her shirt and bra, gaining more access to fondle her breasts. He hadn't seen Ashton come into the hallway, since he was too busy molesting Kaylee.

Ashton pushed the woman off him and looked down the dark hallway. He blinked once - is that really what he thought he saw? "Go get Noah," he whispered to the woman he had been making out with. She assessed the situation with one quick glance, then turned and ran back into the dressing room.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Ashton yelled, running towards the man who was assaulting Kaylee.

"She's mine motherfucker, get away," the man growled.

Ashton jumped at the man and tackled him to the ground. When they hit the floor, his knife went flying down the hallway. Ashton was punching the stunned guy as they wrestled around on the ground. Kaylee sank to the floor, trying to cover her now bare chest, and bawling.

"You dirty mother fucker! I should kill you for touching her!" Ashton was yelling. He threw punch after punch in the man's face, blood splattering everywhere. Every punch slammed the man's head against the concrete floor. He was relentless in his beating, almost to the point of insanity. Each punch felt like it wasn't enough, so he felt the need to add another.

Jayden ran into the hall and pulled Ashton off the man. "Dude, that's enough. You're going to kill him."

"That's right!" Ashton roared, pulling back for another blow.

"He's unconscious, man! He's out!"

Ashton stopped struggling to get out of Jayden's grasp. He stared at the man for a moment, catching his breath, his fists still clenched. "He deserves to die!" Ashton yelled, and spit on the man.

Jayden let him go. Ashton turned to where Kaylee sat crumpled on the floor. He got down on his knees in front of her and took her face in his hands. "It's ok. He won't touch you again. Do you hear me, Kaylee? Look at me. "

Kaylee looked into his eyes, and a sudden clarity flashed. She threw her arms around his neck.

Ashton held onto Kaylee, whispering comforting words in her ear, rocking her back and forth. Realizing that he was feeling her bare back in his hands, Ashton backed up. He pulled his shirt over his head, averting his eyes the whole time, then put it on over Kaylee's head. She finished putting the shirt on, and Ashton lifted her to her feet.

Noah came running down the hall and pulled his sister into his arms. He gave a silent plea of thanks to Ashton as he ushered Kaylee back to the bus. The security guards all ran in then, far too late to be of any help, but they did cuff the assailant while waiting for the police to show up.

Ashton walked up to Brandon and shot him a fiery gaze. The men stared at each other, one pale with fear, the other red-faced with fury. "Why didn't you help her?" he yelled.

"He had a knife and threatened to use it on me," Brandon stammered.

"So your safety is more important than hers?" he growled accusingly. "She was almost raped! Did you see her when she left here? She could barely walk on her own. But I guess all that matters is that you didn't get hurt, right?"

It took everything he had in him not to hit Brandon. He actually had to step back from the man and take deep breaths to avoid smashing his clenched fists into his face. Instead, he went back to the bus to check on Kaylee, and be there for her in case she needed him.

Kaylee stood in the shower long after the water had run cold. She didn't think she'd ever be able to get his smell off her body, and she wasn't sure if she would ever feel clean again. She finally gave up and got out of the shower. Even as she toweled off, she felt dirty. She dressed in her pajamas and left the bathroom, her legs still unsteady.

Noah had a mug of hot chocolate waiting for her, the top overflowing with marshmallows. It was the kind of thing he would do when they were kids and she had gone through a rough day; the sight of those marshmallows made her want to cry again, this time with gratitude. Kaylee gave him a weak smile, and curled up next to him. They sat in silence as she drank the warm, rich fluid. Noah had no idea what to say to her, so he didn't say anything at all.

When the silence had stretched out for long minutes, Kaylee finished her drink and took her empty mug to the sink. She gave her brother a long hug and walked back to the sleeping quarters. She started to climb into her bunk, but stopped, and instead peeked her head into Ashton's bunk.

He was lying on his bed. He simply looked at her for a moment, and then moved the back wall of his bunk, making room for Kaylee to lie next to him. It was a silent invitation that made her feel warm and safe inside, a good feeling she never dreamed she would associate with Ashton - but there it was. He was the one who had saved her, after all.

She crawled in and cuddled up next to his body. It would have felt strange a few hours before, but now many things had changed. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, neither one saying a word. Kaylee thought that surely she wouldn't be able to sleep, but within minutes, she was out. A minute after that, so was he.

B
randon knocked on the door of the band'stourbus. He knew that he had some apologizing to do, and wondered if there was any way that he could ever make up for the night before. He was dreading the visit, and wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. For all he knew, she wouldn't even want to talk to him.