Not So Cinderella

by Rebekah L. Thompson

  Jason sighs and scrubs his hand down his face. “When did she call?”

  I look down at my phone at the time. “Half an hour ago,” I answer. Half an hour that Athena is stuck in someone’s trunk. Thirty minutes she could be getting hurt. I shake my head, hoping she’s okay. Jason, a worried and scared look on his face, pulls his phone out. The beep, beep, beep of him punching buttons is the only sound in the room until a thud comes from outside.

  Before anyone else can move, I’m on my feet, running to the door and throwing it open. “Athena!” I exclaim, then drop to my knees beside her.

  She looks up at me with bleary, tired eyes and blinks slowly. “Drake.”

  I nod and look her over. There’s a ratty, blood-stained towel wrapped around her leg, which worries me. “What happened?” I ask, pulling her body close to me and sliding my arms under her. When I’ve got a good grip on her, I stand up, lifting her and cradling her to my chest. Having her against me takes some of my worries away. But not all of it.

  Athena groans in pain, and I push past the guys who gathered at the door. She’s injured. She tries to move in my arms, so I tighten my grip and head to the living room.

  “Three guys came at me in the locker room and kidnapped me. L-locked me in a trunk,” she groans as I lay her down. I move down to the wound and pull the towel off of it. A ragged wound slowly seeps blood.

  “Someone grab the first aid kit,” I yell, wrapping the towel against it tighter. Athena whimpers in pain, squeezing her eyes closed. She reaches out and clamps her hand around my forearm, and when her eyes open again, they have tears in them.

  A tear rolls down her cheek, and a sob falls from her lips. “It- it was… V,” she moans out.

  “Got it,” Jason says, kneeling beside me. “I have medical training. Let me look.”

  Athena’s grip slides to my hand and tightens. “Don’t leave me.” Her eyes plead with me, her usual independent spark fading.

  “Never,” I promise, turning her hand over and brushing my lips gently across her knuckles. My gaze flicks to Jason, who grabs a clean towel and pours rubbing alcohol on it. I cringe, knowing this will hurt Athena, but I also know that it could get infected if the wound doesn’t get cleaned. That can’t happen. If I could, I’d take her pain.

  He sets the alcohol aside and warns, “This is going to hurt.” Athena nods, biting her lip.

  She moans in pain, her back arching, as he presses the soaked towel on the wound. He uses the towel to clean the wound and get rid of the blood. It’s stopped bleeding, which is good. I take my eyes off what he’s doing and turn them back to Athena when she makes a noise.

  “I- I think I need…” Her eyes roll back into her head and close.

  “She passed out!” My panic makes everyone jump.

  Jason looks up at her and sighs. “She’ll be fine. The wound looked worse than it was. They missed the major arteries, but it still needs stitches,” he says, and everyone sighs.

  “It’s probably better that she’s asleep for this part anyway,” he adds, pulling out a needle and thread. My eyes widen when he grabs a lighter. I’ve never seen anyone stitched up anywhere besides a hospital and not by someone other than a doctor. Jason, calm and collected, dips the small piece of metal into the flame, cleaning the needle.

  I watch, on edge, as he sets the lighter down and turns to the wound again. I hold Athena’s hand as Jason weaves the needle and thread in and out of her skin. The movement is smooth and quick. In and out. In and out.

  Jason moves even quicker when she stirs and groans. It’s unsettling to see her eyes moving under her eyelids, but thankfully, she doesn’t wake. She doesn’t need more pain than this.

  After a minute, Jason ties off the stitches and stands. “You can take her upstairs now, but keep the bandages on and put nothing tight over them,” he tells me. I nod and gently lift her into my arms. The comforting weight of her against me settles my nerves. She’s back, and mostly, she’s okay.

  I notice Mason watching with a sad look, and I sigh. “She’ll be fine, Mason.”

  He looks away from his sister’s unconscious form and nods. He steps closer and presses a kiss to her forehead, murmuring something I don’t catch.

  Carefully, I carry her up the stairs and into my room. With as much ease as I can, I set her down on the bed and pull the covers lightly over her body. Tugging my shirt off then changing into gym shorts, I climb in next to her and wrap my arm around her waist. Once she’s settled against my chest, I bury my face in her neck and sigh in relief.

  She’ll be okay.

  ~*~

  “Drake?” A voice wakes me. I rub at my eyes and open them to see Athena staring at me. One of her cheeks turned to a light purple and green bruise, which makes my blood boil.

  “What’s wrong, Flower?” She grimaces, probably in pain, and I sit up.

  “Can you help me up?”

  Nodding, I stand and lift her chin. “Where do you wanna go?” Pink creeps up her neck and into her cheeks.

  “The bathroom,” she whispers. Gently, I slide my arms under her back, then her knees, and lift. I walk her to the bathroom before carefully setting her down again.

  “Do you think you can do the rest without me?”

  “Yeah, thanks,” she whispers as she leans on the counter. With a nod, I slip out of the bathroom. She’s still blushing when I close the door behind me. I want to tell her not to be embarrassed; instead, I just wait for her to call for me. Perhaps she won’t be as uncomfortable if I don’t mention or speak of it.

  After a minute, she opens the door and leans against the frame. Without her asking, I scoop her up and carry her princess style down the stairs while asking, “Are you hungry?” She relaxes, leans her head on my chest, then nods. I can see the pain on her face, the little lines around her lips and eyes, so I set her on the couch. “I’ll get you some pain relievers and food. Stay here.”

  Athena

  Drake strolls out of the room as I lay my head back. I’ve been hurt before, but this painful. I don’t even remember when it happened. Most likely, I was too out of it or passed out from the chloroform.

  When I hear a noise, I expect to see Drake, but I see Mason and Jason. Mason rushes over and throws his arms around me.

  “God, Athena, I was so worried!” I smile and hug him back.

  “I’m okay now,” I tell him, noticing Jason sitting on my left. Mason pulls away and sits on my right side. I turn to Jason, who’s watching me like he’s trying to figure something out. I clear my throat, and he looks up.

  “How’s your leg?”

  Sighing, I run a hand through my hair. “It hurts, but other than that, I think I’m okay,” I answer.

  His jaw clenches, and so do his fists. “I need you to tell me about the guys that took you and about this note business that’s been going on,” he says, and I nod. I should’ve told him as soon as it happened- shouldn’t have been stupid enough to keep it a secret.

  “Okay, I’ve got eggs, bacon, some orange juice, and pain pills,” Drake announces as he walks back into the room. He hands me the cup and the pills first. I pop the pills in my mouth and wash them down with the orange juice; then, he gives me the plate.

  “We can do this later,” Jason tells me, but I shake my head. No more putting it off.

  I take a bite of the eggs and swallow the deliciousness. “Um, there were three guys, all tall. One had lighter brown hair that was long, the other two had short, close-cut, dark hair,” I tell him, and he nods.

  He turns a bit more towards me and puts his elbows on his knees. “Do you think you could come to our sketch artist and have him draw your attackers?”

  I nod, taking another bite of food. “I could try,” I mumble. Jason tells me we’ll go later, saying he doesn’t want to do too much too fast. I wolf down the rest of my breakfast, and when I finish, I sit back and lay my head on Mason’s shoulder.

  “Could we go now? I don’t want to forget anything.” They glance at each other like
they’re mind-speaking.

  “That’d be okay if you’re feeling up to it,” Jason replies.

  I nod in response. “I’m coming,” Drake speaks up, making me smile. Because I need to get dressed, Drake carries me to his room again. I’m glad for his help since it would hurt to walk on my leg up the stairs. Let’s just say that stairs are not this girl’s best friend right now.

  When we get there, I tell him I can manage by myself, so he grabs his clothes and leaves the room. I make my way over to my bag and pull out a pair of jean shorts and a black t-shirt. I slip on some undergarments and then my shirt. Next, I sit on the bed and pull my jean shorts on carefully.

  Thankfully, these shorts end just above the stab wound so that they won’t irritate the stitches.

  Once I’m done, I call out to Drake. Jason said I couldn’t walk too much because it might open the stitches. A minute later, Drake walks in, dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt. “Ready?” He asks as he lifts me. I nod and lay my head on his shoulder with a sigh. It’s nice to have someone to lean on.

  The guys follow us outside, and soon, Drake is setting me down in the passenger seat of his car and then goes around to the driver’s side. I notice Jason and Mason get in Jason’s car behind us while Drake climbs in beside me. I lay my head on the cool glass of the window while he starts the car.

  ~*~

  “Okay, that’s it. That’s them,” I tell the man as he holds up all three drawings. I assess the three faces of the men that kidnapped me. All the details are as exact as I could describe because the artist did an outstanding job. Jason won’t have a problem finding these guys based on these drawings.

  I’ve been with the artist, describing the three guys for what feels like hours. He was highly patient, though, especially when I was having trouble remembering due to the chloroform. Now that we’re done, the artist nods, thanks me, and stands. “I’ll get these to the detective, and we’ll find these guys, Ma’am,” he tells me before walking out the door.

  “Ready to leave?” Drake asks, standing from his seat to stretch. He sat with me the whole time I described my attackers. I feel kind of bad he had just to sit there, but he told me he didn’t mind. He also mumbled something about not being there made him a bad boyfriend.

  Whatever it was, I know I’ll have to talk to him about how this wasn’t his fault. He can’t take everything on his shoulders.

  Nodding, I stand. Instinctively, Drake moves to help me. I don’t think he realizes he does it, but every time I’ve been injured, he drifts toward me. I hold up my hand.

  “I wanna do this myself,” I tell him, gritting my teeth as pain flares in my leg. He observes as I take a few steps.

  I’m about to say something to him when my leg gives out. He catches me, though, which makes me smile. I can always count on him to catch me when I fall. Holding onto his shoulders, I sigh. Drake helps me stand, wrapping his arm around my waist and taking some weight off my leg. The way he lets me lean on him doesn’t make me feel like I’m weak. If it were anyone else, I’d feel dependent, but with Drake, I know he’s only doing it because he cares.

  He wouldn’t patronize me as others would.

  “It’s okay to have some help, Athena,” he murmurs, making me look up, “You don’t have to be strong all the time. I’m here for you. I’m not going anywhere, so let me help you.” His eyes express that he’s serious, and I blink the tears back. I lean on him, letting him lift me into his arms again.

  He walks us out of the room, and I bury my face in his neck. “I love you,” I murmur.

  I feel his lips brush against the top of my head as he whispers. “I love you too.”

  Chapter 28

  Athena

  Rolling over, I reach my hand out to Drake’s side of the bed, expecting to feel him there; but all I find is air. Opening my eyes, I search the darkness. The light in the bathroom isn’t on, and neither are the hallway lights, so I sit up. “Drake?” No reply. I shove the covers away from my legs and slowly slide out of bed.

  “Drake, where are you?” It’s still dark out, which makes me look at the clock. 3:28 am. He shouldn’t be up. What. The. Heck. Nobody should be up right now- no one who’s sane, anyway. I glance at the door again and sigh. Maybe he’s getting something to drink downstairs. Yeah, that’s probably it. Shrugging, I rub at my eyes. He can do what he wants, but I’m going back to bed.

  With a yawn, I turn back to bed but freeze when a loud bang sounds from downstairs. My heart thunders in my chest as I throw the bedroom door open, rushing out of the room. It can’t be what I think. God. Oh, God. I run down the stairs, nearly taking a tumble into the darkness below.

  I let out a shriek when my foot hits something, sending me pitching forward. I land with an ‘oomph’ on top of something and groan at the pain crawling up my arms. What- I blink a few times. Once they adjust to the darkness, my hand flies to my mouth, muffling my cry. No, no, no, no, no.

  Empty green eyes stare up at me. My heart slams into my ribcage, nearly breaking through like a sledgehammer. I scramble off the body and bite back a sob. “Alec?” I squeak out, “Alec, please.” Something sharp digs into my knees when I hurry back, so I pick up my legs to look down. A pair of broken glasses lay where my knees were, making me look back up at Alec’s lifeless body.

  “Oh, god, no,” I beg, reaching for his body. My hands come in contact with warm and sticky blood, making me look down at his chest. A hole is punched through his chest, seeping blood. Another sob shakes my body as I look down at my dead friend. Who did this? How?

  “Drake!” I scream, jumping to my feet, “Somebody help!” I furiously wipe tears from my cheeks, only to have more take their place as I search the room. An overwhelming feeling of dread washes over me, a wave of weight on my shoulders. My heart clenches in fear when I see nothing but darkness. I look back down at Alec’s body, sadness filling me and shaking my body. He’s gone.

  A single light flicks on, and another sob rips from my chest at the sight that greets me. Not Alec, but Chase. He’s lying on the ground by the lamp, his brown eyes lifeless like Alec’s. Staring. Straight. At. Me.

  Fumbling, I crawl over to him and find a gunshot wound to his chest as well. “NO! No, no, no!” I sob, shaking his body. He doesn’t wake, and I bite my lip, trying to keep in a sob. “Not you too.” Pressure. Put pressure on the wound. Blood seeps through my fingers to cover my hands, and when I lift them, I can’t even see my skin anymore.

  “Ath-thena,” someone coughs and gargles.

  I turn my head and jump up, “Ross!” I scramble over to him and drop to my knees again, “Stay awake!” He blinks a few times, staring up at me. I look over his body, and more tears fall, blurring my vision. “Please, don’t,” I beg as his eyelids flutter.

  “Bye, Button,” he rasps, his eyes falling closed. A wail rips through me as my forehead falls to his chest. I clench his shirt in my fist and cry out. What’s happening?

  “Athena!” My brother yells, making me snap to attention. My eyes land on the two guys that I love more than anything. Then my eyes move to the dark figure standing behind them. Drake and Mason are kneeling on the floor, looking right at me. Mason’s eyes are wide with fear, while Drake’s are fearful and angry.

  “What do you want?” I scream at the dark figure. A sinister laugh bellows through the room, causing a chill to creep up my spine. Something silver flashes in the light, and I realize it’s a gun, the same gun that killed my friends.

  Anger fills me- boiling, hot, fiery anger. I slowly rise to my feet. “What. Do. You. Want?” The man looks up at me and steps around my brother and boyfriend. He keeps his gun trained on them, so they make no move to get up.

  “I came for you. I shoulda killed you when you was a girl,” he growls, his black eyes gleaming in the light. Beady black eyes, like a rat. A familiar rat. Fear strikes me as I stand face to face with the man that killed my father.

  “Why? You’ve already taken enough from me! You killed my dad and my friends,” I ex
claim, tears still falling from my itchy eyes and I’m sure blotchy red eyes. He smirks and moves back to where he’s standing behind Drake and Mason.

  “Choose.”

  Confusion fills me, and my face scrunches up in confusion. “What?” I ask, not understanding. The man sighs and points the gun at Mason’s head.

  “I said choose!” He yells, cocking the gun. The chck-chck sound echoes through the room, grating on my sensitive nerves.

  “I won’t.”

  “Choose, or I choose for you,” the man spits, moving the gun from Drake’s head to Mason’s head. He shoves the gun into the back of Mason’s head, making him grunt in pain.

  “No, stop!” I scream, lurching forward. The next thing I know, the bang of a gunshot screams through the room. Drake’s body falls to the side, the light in his eyes fading as blood seeps through his white shirt.

  A scream falls from my lips, and another gunshot goes off. I tear my eyes away from my boyfriend’s body to see my brother’s body slump to the floor, a gasp escaping him and blood pooling from his wound. I reach for him but stop, not able to touch him.

  “Mason!” I wail, my voice breaking as another sob shakes my body. My knees hit the ground in between the two fallen bodies. The man steps in front of me. There’s no reason anymore. He has nothing I want. I don’t scream again. I don’t wipe the tears away. I don’t move. I just stare at their lifeless bodies. They were all I have- had- in this world.

  “Look at me!” The man orders, but I ignore him. Everyone I love, everything I live for, murdered. The man’s rough hand grabs my hair, yanking it and making me cry in pain. “I’ll kill you if you don’t look at me, girl!”

  Lifting my gaze, I glare at him. The man who murdered my father. My family. My friends. My love.

  “Kill me,” I spit, “I have nothing to live for.” I let my head fall forward, waiting.

  The sound of a gun cocking resounds through the room. The last thing I hear is the bang of a gun going off before darkness descends.