Sorry for the late update, everyone! I've been having a lot of writers block lately and I was sick last week and didn't feel up to writing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect, but if I ever become a billionaire, maybe I will.
Without further ado, here's Chapter 13!
As I'm coming down from my panic attack and my thoughts start to untangle themselves, I notice that I'm complete and utterly soaked. I can feel the water sloshing around inside of my sneakers and my clothes cling tightly to my body.
I'm not positive, but I must have been sitting here for a while, since the rain has stopped and the sun is peaking through the clouds.
My adrenaline must be wearing off, too, because exhaustion is starting to spread from the tips of my fingers and toes.
Not to mention that I have no idea where I've ended up.
I decide to stay put, so that eventually Beca or Stacie will find me.
Eventually, one of them does.
A car beeps and I look up to see Beca in the drivers seat of Stacie's BMW. The window is rolled down and she leans out the side of it.
"Not that I don't like staring at you looking like a drowned puppy," her joking smirk is slightly reassuring. "But, I'd rather you get in the car before you get sick and Chloe kills me."
Stacie is noticeably missing, so I open the passenger side door and sit down on the towel Beca had placed on the seat. Another towel is wrapped around my shoulders. I'm pretty sure the taller brunette would murder me multiple times over if I did anything at all to ruin her precious car.
Beca reverses and turns the car back around in the direction she came from.
"We have to go get Stacie," she says keeping her eyes on the road. "When I left, I'm pretty sure two employees were pulling her off that man back there."
The only thing I can respond with is a small, tired chuckle. Beca's calmness is starting to rub off on me.
"So…" I see her eyebrows furrow. "What happened back there?"
Immediately, my heart skips a beat and my mouth gets dry. "W-What?"
"Who was the guy that Stacie basically mauled?"
"Brad," it comes out a little louder than a whisper.
"Brad, who?" I think that she already knows because of the way her fingers tighten around the steering wheel.
"Roberts."
My shoulder smacks the window when the car jerks to the right before Beca straightens out the wheel, noticeably tenser than before I spoke. I study the side of her face to find that her jaw is set and her teeth are clenched.
"As in the douche of a foster father you used to live with?" her voice is different, more deeper, from the anger that is visible on her face.
"That would be the one." I rest my head on the cool, smooth glass window.
"Then I hope Stacie got a couple punches in before they got her off of him."
She's obviously trying to lighten the mood, but the vivid memories that seeped back into my mind have really thrown me off into a whirlpool of feelings. A hand on my knee makes me open my eyes and turn my head to see that we've made it back to the store.
"Don't worry," Beca gives me her best non-smirkish smile and parks the car by the entrance. "You won't have to see him again if the girls and I have anything to do with it."
That, actually, is more reassuring to me for some reason. I think it's the fact that Lilly is pretty much a ninja assassin and could potentially become my personal body guard if the need ever arises.
"Thanks, Beca."
One of the few touching moments the short brunette would allow is interrupted by a knock on the window. Stacie has apparently talked her way out of trouble—or should I say, made out with whoever it took to prevent them from calling the cops—and is patiently waiting for Beca to open the door.
"Hey ladies," her cocky attitude is an obvious front for the worry I can see in her eyes. "Everything alright?"
"Peachy," Beca winces at her reply.
"Grace?" she pulls out a tube of lipstick and starts to reapply. "Is there anyone else's ass that I have to kick before we head home?"
"No," I fake a smile. "I think we're all good here."
"Okay, cause I'm pretty sure Amy will have a fit if the ice-cream she asked for becomes a liquid."
Of course the whole grocery store event would not be kept a secret being that the minute we got back, Emily had been there at the door to 'hang out,'— or what I would like to call— a clever distraction. Stacie must've texted someone to have the freshman drag me up to our room so that they could obviously talk about me behind my back.
It's okay though, I'd rather not be there for that anyway.
Plus, I really need to get out of these wet clothes, so I follow the tall brunette up the steps.
We'd sat in silence for a while—well as long as Emily could possibly be silent—before the girl had to break it.
"So," she's fiddling with her fingers nervously. "Why did Stacie text the group chat a 911?"
"She did?"
"Yep," popping the 'p,' she shows me the message in all caps on her iPhone.
"Oh."
"What was it for?" her eyes are their usual wide and sparkling that seems to ooze innocence.
It's physically impossible for me to deny the pretty freshman anything and she'll probably find out from one of the others so I'd rather her hear it from me.
"I might have run into Brad, my old foster parent, at Shop-Rite," I avoid looking at her because of the pity I know I'll find. "And, I might have freaked out and ran off, leaving Stacie to beat the crap out of that douche-canoe."
"Aca-seriously?" Emily grabs my hand and pulls me down on the bed next to her.
"Seriously," I echo, minus the embarrassing 'aca' the girls seem to add to anything they want. "It was not one of my finest moments."
Just talking about it makes me tear up a little, but I really don't want anyone, Emily especially, to see me break down like earlier.
"Hey," fingers grip my chin, pulling me up to meet warm brown eyes. "If I ever see that jerk, I'll give him a stern talking to."
I laugh at her trying to insult anyone without actually being insulting.
"Thanks, Em," I lay back on my pillow, knowing there's a dopey smile across my face. "I know I can count on you to protect me."
"Oh!" the bed shakes as she jumps up and grabs her songbook from the bedside table. "I was working on the song I auditioned for the Bellas with and I wanted to know if you wanted to hear it."
Even if I didn't want to hear it, I would've said yes anyway due to the unwillingness to wipe the excited look off her face.
"Of course I do," she leaps into the air and lands right next to me, bouncing before she settles down smack dab on my right.
"Okay, here it goes…" she takes a deep breathe kinda like she's about to jump into a pool before exhaling and starting her song.
Her voice is amazing.
Its like someone took all my favorite foods and mixed them together and made them into something I'd be able to hear instead of eat. I'm also super proud of her for keeping her eyes open, because I heard she closed them for almost her whole audition, but the fact that her brown orbs are locked on mine is surprisingly unnerving.
"What did you think?" Emily bites her lip nervously.
"Em," I watch as she gulps like I'm Simon Cowell or something. "You're amazing, as always."
She squeals and wraps her arms around me. "You're so sweet!"
"I'm not sweet," I mumble through a yawn, but she is already flipping through for another song.
"This one's a lullaby," she finds the page she's looking for. "Maybe it'll help you sleep."
"That's nice, Em, but I'm not tired."
She ignores me and starts to sing again, the words not really registering in my mind. Her voice is soft and slow and my eyes are fluttering shut and before I can even fight it, sleep takes me.
And there's lucky number 13! Hope you enjoyed the Gemily in this chapter and let me know what you think!