Luke's PoV

I quickly placed my hand over her mouth to indicate to be quiet, and gently pushed her to lay back down again. I placed the blanket back over her, turned out the light and jumped under the bed hoping that he wouldn't look in here. I could hear her breathing from under the bed and she was trying to force it to be even. I quickly sent a text to Alex saying that I had gone home as I wasn't feeling well then turned my phone off just in time. The door slowly creaked open and I heard him coming in to have a look around. He shone his torch around a bit and that was when I saw the gun, it was under the bed of all places in a locked box.

I felt him sit down on the bed and presumably look at Julie to see if she was sleeping. She was probably terrified right now and I fought the urge to climb out and kick him in the balls for what he did to her. After a few minutes he left again and locked the door this time after placing something on a bedside table. I scrambled out from under the bed once I heard him leave the house and whispered in Julie's ear to be quiet. I carefully moved to look under the door through a gap. If I was that sadistic I would pretend to leave and stand outside the door. Sure enough I could see his boots and I silently moved back to the bed.
"Don't make a sound, I promise Alex will come get him in a minute and we are out of here" I laid my arm on her side with my hand resting gently where her shoulder was. She was trembling but doing her best to be quiet. I rubbed gentle circles with my thumb and sure enough we heard Alex call out a minute later.
"Hey Bobby, Luke headed home apparently, he wasn't feeling well, lets just do a few more runs then we will head home also"
"Alright sure, i'm coming" Bobby called and this time when I heard the door close I turned on the light and helped her sit up.
"Okay same plan, we don't have much time so make it quick" I said as I pulled out the gun box from under the bed, it was locked in a box but I had remembered the code from years ago. I then went to look at the window after shoving it into the back of my jeans and under my t-shirt once I checked that the safety was indeed on.

Julie started chucking her cell phone charger, her id, work uniform, brush, tooth brush, and passport, onto the bed with a bag and I started going through her clothes. I grabbed a handful of her under garments and chucked them in, not really looking the same with socks and then went through her tops and pants. Then I started looking for suitable shoes that we could use. I still had mine on but hers were potentially in the hallway. We could make do without jackets if we went by my place but we would need shoes. Julie came back out of her closet with boots and a jacket for herself and one of Bobbies. I helped her put on the boots and the jacket then started forcing the window open. All those push ups were paying off as after a few rough pushes the old window gave away for me and I swung it open. I helped Julie up and out before following with her backpack on my shoulder.

I pulled her down the alley way and into a street I had never been down before. If Bobby came looking for me the first place he would look is our place so I knew I couldn't go there just yet. I needed to take Julie to the hospital first so we caught a bus that took us there. I turned my phone on once we were on the bus and shot Alex another text asking him to call me when he got home and was out of earshot of Bobby.
Alex called ten minutes later and I picked up while giving Julie's uninjured hand a gentle squeeze.

"Yo Luke where are you? Why all the secrecy?" he asked
"You're out of earshot of Bobby? He doesn't know I sent you a second message?"
"Yeah I saw your message then I said we were going to head home. It's just me and Reggie, Bobby is still at home"
"Just don't let him into the house, don't trust him. He did something bad to Julie and it's not the first time. When I went by today with Kira, she lost it on him and she used to adore his belly rubs. It's not a story I wish to talk about on a bus ride but please let me know if he tries to come in. I need to know it's safe to go back there tonight otherwise I'll find somewhere else to sleep"
"Alright copy that, we will pretend to go to sleep then, Kira will bark like crazy but he wont force him self in when we are 'sleeping' that's just plain dumb with Kira on guard like that. Let me know when you're on your way home and we will go for a walk to check the surrounding area before meeting you at the bus stop" replied Alex.
"Thanks man, thanks for taking this seriously. Alright we are nearly at the hospital, bye for now"

I hung up then pressed the button for the bus to stop. Once we were inside I quickly filled out the details on the form and Julie's hand was looked at half an hour later. The burn wasn't too bad, and she had done the right thing. It hurt more so they applied cream and a special bandage that wouldn't pull her skin off with instructions to not get it wet and to come back in a few days for it to be looked at. As we were waiting to be released I remembered what was placed on her bed side table, it had been a cold plate of food. If they had been arguing this morning and the incident happened when breakfast was being made, she possibly hadn't eaten yet.

"Young man, can we talk to you outside please?" asked the doctor.
"Sure" I replied as I left looking back at Julie before leaving.
"Luke is it? We know you didn't do this to her but you seem like someone who cares, this isn't the first mark on her, her body is presumably covered in old cigarette burn marks and cuts, we could see a few when we did a quick observation of her arm and saw a few more on her other arm, some are fresh, some are old, on top of that she hasn't eaten today. She isn't diabetic so we worked it out when we did a blood test. We aren't asking you to tell us who did it as you probably know, we're just asking that if we release her that you will do the right thing and look after her please, make sure she eats, sees a counselor or talks to a friend and when she's ready that she reports this to the police. We took notes for evidence so when the time is right we can hand this over for your case as well" said the doctor in a soft voice. I hadn't realized I was clenching my hands into fists and shook them out while nodding at the doctor.

I made my way back in to help Julie put her shoes back on. Then we waited for a bus to arrive while I quickly checked in with Alex. Bobby had been by and Kira as predicted barked like crazy since it was lights out time in her mind and someone uninvited was hanging around. I told Alex to make something for Julie to eat as she hadn't eaten all day and needed food when she got home. I realized I was on speaker as I heard Reggie gasp in horror and started pulling everything out of our fridge.

The bus took longer than it should have to arrive, I could see Julie trying not to shiver so I wrapped an arm around her. It was freezing and I wished we had more time to look for warm clothes but I wasn't sure how long we would have before Bobby came back in.

Eventually our bus came and we hopped on and headed home. As planned Alex and Reggie had met us at our bus stop and we made our way back in silence. I had told Julie that it was up to her how much she wanted to tell them and since it was dark they couldn't see her hand yet. Once we were inside though with the light on they began to wonder and look at her hand.
"Julie what happened to your hand? Why were you at the hospital?" asked Reggie.
"Bobby burned it, on purpose, on the stove this morning then locked me in our room and took my phone so I couldn't' call help" Julie whispered as she looked down letting fresh tears fall to the floor.

Reggie and Alex wore faces mixed with shock and horror for a moment before pulling her into a group hug. Julie had flinched but they just held her tighter and I rubbed her back gently. Kira came out of my room to investigate and started whining. We stepped back and Julie knelt down to pat Kira except Kira rushed forward and into Julie's arms sitting down in the progress. She wasn't going to go anywhere till Julie let go and Julie was burying her face in Kira's shoulder. Suddenly Kira started growling softly and Julie let go of her and backed up, a minute later there was a knock on the door. I helped Julie take off her shoes and her coat then took her to my room with her stuff before Alex opened the door.

Kira immediately started snarling and aggressively growling at Bobby who began to back up.
"Hey Kira it's just me, I'm looking for Julie, I can't find her, can you guys help me please?"
I moved to stand at Kira's side resting a hand gently among her fur that was all standing up to go with her aggressive stance.
"Julie is fine and safe, you're not to see her any more Bobby unless she wants to and if she does it will be supervised. We will come over tomorrow to collect her stuff and if you try anything we will call the police" I said with my free hand clenched at my side. Bobby turned and left after a glare and we closed our door then locked it. Kira immediately ran off to my room to check on Julie, I followed. Kira was sitting on my bed licking her face and trying to make her giggle.
"She likes you, I think Kira knew something was wrong the first night she met you, come lets get some food into you, I think Reggie and Alex made you a five course meal sorry" I said softly.

I led her to the dining room and Alex had poured her a heavy glass of whisky while Reggie started placing food in front of her, one plate was a massive pepperoni pizza, another was fried chicken, another was a fruit salad with ranch dressing, another was a chocolate cheesecake, the fifth plate was a mix of spring rolls and dumplings. I handed her the tongs to start serving her self and found plates for the rest of us, there was no way she was going to eat all of this.

Julie was very quiet at the table as she devoured more than I thought she would for someone so small. Alex had been fidgeting nervously under the table next to me for some time and finally broke the silence.
"Julie, why didn't you ask for help today? Or the other times? Luke said this wasn't the first time" said Alex.
"He had a gun, he said if I ever told anyone that he would shoot me before I had a chance to leave" said Julie as her hands began to tremble again. I reached over and grabbed her uninjured one gently in mine.
"It's okay, he can't get past Kira and he doesn't have his gun any more. You can stay with us for as long as you need, I think I can speak for everyone when I say this, Bobby is no longer a part of our band. If you want we can move away as well, don't feel like you're a burden, I know that look, you're not and we are glad you told us. We had no idea he was like that and we want nothing to do with a person that is like that" I said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Julie looked up and met my gaze, smiling softly with tears glistening in her eyes.
"Thank you Luke, thanks all of you, I was always scared to tell you guys as I thought you would never believe me since you were friends with Bobby first" she said.
"We were but you're also our friend, we always wondered why you never joined us but i'm beginning to guess from last nights interactions that you didn't have a choice?" I asked.
"Yeah, he always gave me a look that basically told me to find somewhere else to be, I'm glad you finally noticed Luke"

After we had finished eating, Reggie put away the leftovers and Alex showed her where the toilet was and the rest of our apartment. It was a lot bigger than there's and Kira never left her side. I went and cleaned up my room, it wasn't messy but I wanted Julie to feel comfortable so I changed the sheets, made my bed, cracked a window to air it out, vacuumed all of Kira's fur and cleaned my shelves up. I also put the gun at the top of my wardrobe in a shoe box then put that under a few things. I then moved stuff around in my drawers to make two drawers available for her to put her stuff in if she wanted.

I was just doing a look around to see if there was anything I had missed when Alex dropped her off at my room.
"Oh hey, I cleaned my room, I thought you might like to sleep here and I can sleep on the couch if you like, I made room in my drawers for you to put some stuff in there for now and I just changed the sheets. If you get cold, there's an electric blanket with the remote hanging off of the side plus I'm pretty sure Kira will keep you warm" I said as I closed the window and turned my heater on.
"Thank you Luke, I really appreciate it, I don't want to be a inconvenience though, I don't mind sleeping on the couch or sharing, it is your bed after all"
"It's okay, Kira isn't going to leave your side so you will be more comfortable here since she likes to sprawl out and she's a heavy girl if you're cramped onto the couch with her on top, trust me I've tried it before. Just once you have showered and are ready to settle down for the night, leave the door open for her to get out if she needs to, she's never not slept with me before so I don't want her to freak out. I'll take her out now to go pee if you want some privacy to sort through your things" I said.

I called Kira to my side and she reluctantly came after giving Julie a lick on her hand, I let her out for her to use the washroom and once she was done she gave me a small lick on my hand then pushed her way back into my room to be at Julie's side. When Julie had found all her stuff to take a shower, I handed her a clean towel and watched with a smirk at Kira following Julie into the bathroom. I started pulling some blankets out of a cupboard and a spare pillow to sleep with for the night and contemplated Kira's odd behaviour. It wasn't exactly unhealthy, she just was ultra protective of a stranger she hardly knew but I guess she had to have some understanding of what Julie had gone through.

"Hey Luke!" Julie called a moment later.
I jumped up to see what was up.
"I forgot that I can't get my hand wet, do you have a plastic bag or something? Also how do you tell Kira to go to bed or something? I don't mind but like, Bobby told me she hates bath time and I don't want her to get upset when I'm having a shower" she said.
"Oh I don't think Kira is going to leave your side for anything besides toilet breaks and food, she was abused, remember and I think she knows somehow what you went through or at least can relate to similar feelings. She will be fine, she often comes with me when I shower, she just settles on the bath mat so when you get out just give her a minute to get out of the way so you don't step on her. I'll go get you a plastic bag and an elastic band" I said as I grinned at Kira already settling on the bath mat. I came back a minute later with a bag and an elastic band. Julie had pulled off her hoodie and I saw a few of the marks that the doctors were talking about, a few of them looked fresh too which didn't help the anger building up inside of my stomach.
"I'm sorry he did that to you Julie, you're safe now, please call out if there's anything you need" I said as I gently closed the door.

I went to my room to find a change of clothes for myself to shower after Julie was finished, Alex and Reggie had both gone to sleep, none of us kept our doors closed since one of Kira's triggers was closed doors. She mostly minded if she was locked in but occasionally would freak out if she was locked out of somewhere and sometimes she wanted to go snuggle into Alex or Reggie when I woke up too early and was working on songwriting. Only time she was okay with a closed door was if it was the bathroom or toilet. She often liked to follow a person in but after a few smelly dumps she decided she was happy to just go into the bathroom and the toilet was the only place she refused to go into any more. As long as she wasn't in the bathroom on her own she was content to sit on the bath rub or sometimes poke her nose in pass the curtain to sniff you.

Julie finished up quickly and I told her to go chuck her clothes in the hamper as I passed her to have a shower of my own.
"Your dog is so weird Luke" she said in passing.
"Did she sniff you?"
"She licked me! Got water all over her head, shook it everywhere then tried to lick my leg again!"
"Yeah she's an oddball, sorry, she might tire of you in a week or two. She's big on loyalty" I said with a big smile, Kira had already started tugging her pants off in the direction of my bed, something she often did to me when it was bedtime and I was taking too long.
Julie gave an exasperated sigh and started heading off to my room.