When I couldn’t take it anymore, I unlocked my phone and went to click Marissa’s name. My finger hadn’t even touched her name when a sudden force yanked me back by my hair. I clicked something on my phone just before I dropped it and let out a piercing scream. I kicked desperately at their kneecaps and tried to turn around to fight them, but their grip on my hair was too tight. So tight that tears sprung down my face. I kept screaming as they yanked me against them.
“Did you think you would get away from me this easily?” He said behind me. “Did you think you and your little boyfriend would skip town without consequence?”
The dread weighing on my chest turned into a raking sob that I let out in a mix of surprise and terror. “Please,” I screamed, setting my hands over his on my hair. “No. Please. Don’t.”
“Are you pleading for yourself or him?” He asked, his familiar voice near my ear. “You’re late for both.”
As I screamed, I processed his words. “No.” It was a whispered cry. “No. No. No.”
He turned me around and let go of my hair, grabbing my arm and the front of the jersey I had on — Lach’s jersey — tearing the top of it with his grip as he brought my face to his and tried to kiss me. I pressed my lips together and punched him, scratching at him as I continued screaming. He was too big, too strong. Nothing would work. Even as I fought and screamed, I knew that nothing would stop him from doing whatever he would do to me.
“Oh.” He laughed loudly. Harshly. “I see how it is. You’re not going to kiss me? This is exactly why your boyfriend won’t live through the night.”
Oh God, oh God, oh God. I looked into his hard-blue eyes. Had he hurt Lachlan, or was he just fucking with me? Was he planning to, later? I needed to warn him. I needed to warn Marissa and Prescott. I needed to tell someone. I screamed again, but this time, it came out a shaky sob.
“Leave him alone! I won’t see him again. I won’t talk to him! Please!”
A harsh laugh escaped his lips as his eyes narrowed. “I’m supposed to believe that?” he asked, his voice low before he screamed, “AM I SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT AFTER I HEARD HIM SAY HE WAS GOING TO KEEP SEEING YOU?”
I threw all my strength into a punch and tried to knee him in the groin. My hits became desperate as I started throwing punches, knees, and kicks, screaming with everything I had. He released my jersey suddenly, making me stumble backward, and threw a punch at my face so hard that I fell back instantly. My ears felt hollow as I fell, my eyes doubling with burning tears. It hurt so much that I didn’t even feel the fall when I landed on the pavement. The scream that ripped out of me sounded animalistic. Through my hazy vision, I saw him kneel and get closer.
“You beg forhislife?” He spat in my face. He grabbed my throat and squeezed. “You belong to me, little girl.”
He pressed his lips against mine so roughly that I was sure he’d break my gums. I punched at him, but my arms had grown weak in the attack. I kneed him again and felt myself make contact with something. He pulled back, the motion setting me free, and I began to get up, but he recovered too quickly, and I only made it to my knees before he pulled me back down.
“This is what happens when little girls are disobedient,” he hissed. “Remember that when you try to let another man have you.”
Another sharp blow landed on my face — everything went black. My ears were ringing loudly, and the taste of iron filled my mouth when I came to again. I tried to open my eyes, but they wouldn’t open fully. He cupped me over my jeans and squeezed. I whimpered, waiting for him to pull them down, but he let go. His form looked like a black shadow rising above me as he stood. I felt him place something firm against my torso, his foot maybe. He pressed down hard, sending a different kind of pain through me. My throat formed what it could of a scream before everything went dark again.
I heard voices near — so many voices. Someone touched me and I screamed again, as my entire body shook. I felt someone move me, carry me, and place me down on a hard surface. A pinch on my arm made me yelp.
“For the pain. Just hang on,” the person said.
I tried to nod but sobs ripped through me again. “It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.”
“Hey, I’m here. You’re going to be okay.” I heard Marissa say shakily.
“Lachlan,” I tried to say in my hoarse voice. “Lachlan.”
Then, everything went dark again.
* * *
Opening my eyes felt impossible, but I knew I was at the hospital. I heard the machines beeping; I felt the sting of tape over my hand from where they’d put an IV. I’d felt this all, once before, when I’d had an asthma attack and had to stay overnight. My face still hurt, but not as much as it did, and I knew, without asking, that they were filling me with morphine. I opened my eyes slowly to cloudy vision.
“Hey.” Prescott squeezed my hand. I started breathing hard, my eyes filling with tears.
“Lachlan,” I said in a broken voice. “Please. Lachlan.”
“He’s okay.” He ran his fingers softly over mine. “They took him to another hospital, but he’s okay.”
A sharp wail filled the room, and I realized it was coming from me. He’d hurt him. He’d hurt him enough to put him in the hospital. Would he survive? Oh my God. My chest heaved.
“Hey, hey,” Prescott said. “He’s okay. He’s fine, Lyles. He’s fine.”
“She’s awake?” That was Marissa. I heard her footsteps rush over, heard tears in her throat as she said, “Oh, thank God. We were so worried.”
“Lachlan,” I whispered.
