3. Haylee

By the time she realized she was on the freeway, Haylee was completely numb. Her vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. She needed to call Ally. She needed to hear her voice and hear something that would pull her out of the looming panic attack that was near the surface. Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she found Ally's name in her phone and hit the call button, placing it on speaker on her lap. It only took two rings before she picked up.

"Haylee! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy to hear from you!" Ally squealed excitedly.

She opened her mouth to speak, but a loud sob escaped and then another one.

"Haylee? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Another sob.

"Haylee, I'm putting you on speaker. Luke's here. What's wrong?"

She nodded silently, trying to breathe. Traffic became a blur as tears streamed down her face.

"I had to get out of there, Ally. I don't know where I'm going to go!"

"What happened?"

Another sob escaped her before she spoke. "He beat me up. Really bad this time."

Ally gasped loudly over the phone, and then it went quiet.

A man's voice spoke. "Haylee, honey, this is Luke. My friend Kane is here too. You just get yourself here, and we'll take care of you. He will never hurt you again."

Another male voice spoke, this one was hard as stone, and it caused a shiver through her entire body.

"We will never let him hurt you again."

"Haylee, honey, where are you?" Luke asked.

"I… uh… I'm not sure where I am… My boyfriend… ex-boyfriend… I tried to leave when he was at work, and he showed up, and he… uh…" She trailed off, releasing another loud sob.

"Take a breath, Haylee. Tell me what happened. Can you pull over to the side of the road, please?" Luke asked gently.

She nodded silently, looking for a place to pull over. As soon as she put the car in park, she looked in the rearview mirror to make sure he hadn't followed her and caught her reflection in the mirror. Her cheek had a dark bruise and had already swollen, and blood had trickled down the side of her head where it had been bashed against the wall. She paled, feeling the nausea rising again.

"I… uh… I pulled over… Shit… I'm bleeding."

"Haylee, where are you bleeding?"

Her hand trembled as it touched the blood.

"My… my head. He… uh… he slammed it against the wall."

"Okay, honey, if you have something you can use to put pressure on your head wound so it doesn't continue to bleed, do that now."

Digging through her glove box, she found some tissues and applied pressure. She hissed at the pain.

"I'm so sorry I'm bothering you guys," she sniffled.

"Haylee, you're not bothering us. It's my job to protect you, even if you aren't in my town. Now, tell me where you are," Luke said firmly.

She looked around, realizing she had driven for at least an hour before she'd calmed down enough to make the call.

"I… I'm like an hour outside San Bernardino. I was planning to drive to Oregon after I left… I was planning to come home."

She could hear Ally crying in the background, causing her to start crying again.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Ally," she whispered.

"It's okay. Just… just come home, Haylee. Just get here. Come home," Ally sniffed.

She wanted nothing more than to get as far away from her life in California as she could. Even if it was only one state away, it would be far enough.

"I… I don't know where I'll stay. Do you think I can start work at the diner to make some money? I can stay in my car for a few nights until I can rent a room."

The cold voice she'd heard earlier spoke. "You will stay with me."

She shivered again. The voice wasn't nearly as gentle as Luke's.

"Haylee, that's Kane. He's my D… he's Luke's friend," Ally told her.

Before she could say anything, Luke spoke again. "Haylee, I need you to listen to my instructions, okay? I'm going to call a hotel and book you a room between there and here. You can't drive all night. I will have Ally text you the hotel address once I get it booked. I need you to calm yourself down before you start driving again. Do you have money for gas?"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Fuck! I don't have anything. I couldn't get any of my stuff from the house. My purse is still there. I only have my keys and phone. I don't have any money at all!" she wailed as her breathing became quick and heavy.

"Calm down, honey. Breathe. In and out. Slowly. That's it. Good girl. Look at your gas gauge—how much gas do you have?" Luke asked.

She looked and felt the nausea rise again. "Only about a quarter of a tank."

Kane cursed in the background.

"Okay, I need you to download the Money app and set up an account really quick. I'm going to send you some money, and you can use it at the gas station to pay for gas," Luke said.

Closing her eyes, she realized this was a bad idea. She couldn't take money from her best friend's boyfriend.

"Now, Haylee," Kane said sternly.

Her body trembled slightly, but Kane's dominant voice was not something that could just be ignored.

"I already have the app, but I can't accept money from you."

"Young lady, I am not asking. What is your account name?" Luke asked, his tone turned just as stern as Kane's.

Taking a deep breath, she realized she was going to have to accept help. She vowed to pay them back as soon as she could. She gave him the information for her account.

"Good girl. I'm transferring money to you right now."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome, honey. Do you think you are calm enough to start driving again?" Luke's gentle tone was back.

Her body was still trembling, but her tears had dried, and her breathing slowed. Her head throbbed, but that probably wouldn't go away anytime soon.

"I think so."

"Okay. I am going to work on finding you a hotel to stay for the night. Ally will send the details. Make sure you drive carefully, wear your seat belt, and if you get upset or start crying, pull over until you calm down. You need to keep Ally up to date on what you're doing and where you're at whenever you make a stop so we know that you're okay. Understood?"

She nodded. "Y…Yes…"

"I love you, Haylee. It's going to be okay. Da… Luke will make sure everything is okay," Ally said in a small voice.

"I love you too, Ally. Thank you."