by C. M. Boers
The night before school started, mom and I had a girl’s night. I was a little tired of pizza at the moment, which I figured was inevitable from working in a pizza place, so we ordered Chinese food. We had a ‘chick flick’ marathon, taking out every movie that we could think of that had romance and comedy all rolled into one, and picked out three favorites to watch.
By the middle of the second movie, we were ready for dessert. We each put chocolate chip cookie dough in our own personal dishes and baked them until the dough was only done around the edges, so it was super soft in the middle. While the cookies baked we chatted about all the things that were important to us. We topped them off with vanilla bean ice cream, which melted around the cookie, making it almost like the best cookie dough ice cream ever. Yum!
After what seemed like just a short amount of sleep, Monday morning came all too quickly. Grudgingly, I climbed out of bed, showered, and was ready for breakfast in less than 30 minutes. It was beginning to be a regular occurrence that I got ready quickly.
Mom was downstairs eating breakfast and mine was waiting for me as usual. Eli continued to drive me to school every day, and I was deeply indebted to him for the favor—although it was definitely not for the same reason as it had started out. Today he happened to be a little early so he came inside and mom offered him some breakfast. He had time for a piece of toast, so he accepted that and ate quickly.
We talked about what the new semester was going to bring on the way to school. I even disclosed that I was considering getting back out in the dating pool; “considering” being the key word. Eli didn’t seem too pleased with the idea, but he didn’t openly say so. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I thought so either.
It was comforting having Eli by my side as we walked into our first class of the day. I was relieved to see Bailey sitting down next to two open seats. What luck that we would be able to sit next to each other! But my excitement was dashed a moment later when Pete sauntered into the room with a sneer on his face, directed right at me. He took the last empty seat that turned out to be directly behind me. Ugh! I glanced over at Eli, who looked at me sympathetically and shrugged. Things had been quiet for the past few months, so maybe he was over everything and I had nothing to worry about. After all, the seat behind me was the only one left in the room.
Throughout the day I grew more and more suspicious of Pete. It seemed he was in every one of my classes. The first two classes Eli was in as well, so it didn’t bother me as much. But when third hour rolled around, Pete was there again. I tried to ignore the sinking feeling that I wouldn’t be rid of him ever, but I just couldn’t.
I was relieved when the bell rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. I grabbed my things and headed for the door to head to lunch with Eli and Bailey. We were still sitting at the original table where Pete and his friends had welcomed us earlier in the year, since we had stayed friends with a lot of those people. Pete had graciously moved to another table before the break.
Just as I rounded the door out of the classroom I was caught by the elbow—hard. I whipped my head around to see who was manhandling me, and wasn’t so shocked to find Pete at the end of the outstretched arm. My heart started racing and my mind went blank.
“What do you think you’re doing?” was all I could manage to say.
“Oh you know, keeping my word,” he said with such nonchalance it was sickening. He didn’t even seem angry. I think seeing him so calm was more unnerving than when he was furious.
“Stop—let me go!” He was dragging me down the hallway, and he didn’t even seem to care about all of the people who were staring at us. I couldn’t imagine what he hoped to gain from the charade. “Where are you taking me?”
I tried to shake him off without success. I’d never wanted to be at that end of his strength. I sure had gotten myself in just about the worst position I could ever have imagined with Pete.
“You’ll see.”
He dragged me into the men’s bathroom. The men’s bathroom? Why in the world would he bring me there?
“W-what do you want?” I stammered. I looked around the bathroom, hoping there would be someone there to help. It was empty. Shoot!
He whipped me around to face him, backing me against the wall. My heart was racing. My mind was racing. We were alone. I looked up at him, only to find rage in his eyes. Rage that was not there only moments before. I had to get away—I had to get out, but how?
“Oh don’t think that knight in shining armor is going to save the day this time. He has no idea where you are right now. I told you that you’d be sorry. I waited. I knew you would think you had nothing to worry about. You got comfortable, as I knew you would. I always get what I want, you hear me?”
I nodded shakily. He sounded like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum after being told no.
“And I want my girlfriend back, without her little ‘friend’. Got it?”
“N-no, I won’t be your girlfriend. I will never be with you again. You need help.” I tried even harder to pull out of his grasp. One hand broke free and slammed into the tiled wall behind me. Pain engulfed the entire hand, and it seemed to triple when Pete regained control over it.
“I need help? I need help? I’m not the one pinned to the bathroom wall!” he shouted.
The door burst open and Eli rushed in. Pete was taken by surprise and turned to look at him, right as Eli’s fist slammed into his nose. Pete stumbled back a couple steps, then regained his composure and charged ahead straight for Eli. Pete body slammed Eli into the wall and I could hear the thud from across the room. Eli’s breath was knocked out of him in one swift movement. Pete stood up straight to look at him, and I saw a smile slowly spread across his face. Eli didn’t waste any time before he gave him a right hook, sending Pete crashing to the floor.
I just stood there, too dumbfounded to move. “Eli… how?”
“Later,” he huffed breathlessly as he pushed me out into the hall.
We practically jogged the whole way to lunch. I was dazed and confused. I ordered my food as though I was in a trance, and hoped that I would be able to carry the dauntingly heavy tray to the table. The tray was no heavier than any other day, but it felt as though I was carrying a ton of bricks.
I spoke to no one and Eli just kept staring at me with a worried look, although he pretended like nothing was amiss. Bailey kept asking me what was wrong, but I just couldn’t tell her so I said nothing. I had never filled her in on the previous confrontations with Pete, so I didn’t want her to worry now. Plus, I had never really thought there was anything to actually worry about, at least not before that day. Now I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.
In a blink of an eye, I was leaving sixth hour. It was amazing how quickly time could pass when you were in a daze. It was as if I was a ghost floating in and out of my classes, and it didn’t help that Pete was in all six of my classes. Although, he didn’t show up to the last three, I knew he was on the roster because attendance was called and the teachers marked him absent. I felt completely drained. Why would he be in every single one of my classes? It took planning, thought, and pure motivation. But motivation for what? What could he possibly gain from being in every one of my classes?
My mind was elsewhere as I stepped out into the crowd, so it took me completely by surprise when I was grabbed from behind and pushed out the closest door and straight into a car. Pete’s car. He locked the doors before I could get out and sped out of the parking lot.
I couldn’t even fathom what his plans were. It seemed that everywhere I turned I was getting into a bind with him. What was I going to do now? How was I supposed to get away? Eli would not always be around to bail me out—not that I wanted him to be, he shouldn’t have to—but I sure wished he was there now.
Pete used my lack of attention to his advantage. I felt so stupid to have not been on alert this whole time. I should have known he might come back to retaliate.
He ran right through the next red light. Now it was getting truly sca
ry, and he changing lanes at an alarming rate. He could get us into a terrible accident at the speed he was going.
“Pete. Please. Calm down,” I pleaded, hoping to slow him down.
“Calm down? Calm down? Your little lap dog comes along and kicks me to the ground, you go running away and you expect me to just calm down? Ha!”
As I looked at him, I could see bruising around one of his eyes and what looked like a fat lip. It made me wonder what Eli’s ribs were going to look like after the body slam into the wall. I hadn’t even thought about Eli being wounded; I was such an awful friend. All I could think of was myself. He came to my rescue and was probably in a lot of pain from it.
“Where are we going?” I asked, trying to distract him.
“Somewhere your little friend won’t find us.”
We were on the freeway by that time. I looked around frantically, trying to think of something to do. Somehow I had to signal to someone I was in trouble or… or… or what? I didn’t know. Why hadn’t I paid better attention when they spoke at school about getting away from predators?
I looked out the window and tried to spot someone that I could signal, but then out of the corner of my eye I saw it. Eli’s car, speeding towards us like a bullet. I had never been happier to see him. He must have been going immensely faster than us. He was gaining on us at an alarming rate. I was scared that something might happen to him, and my heart began to race all over again. Pete must have seen him too, because he stepped on the gas and started swerving between cars in what appeared to be an attempt to lose Eli. The speedometer was lurching forward—80, 85, 90—when would it end? I felt nauseatingly dizzy. Great. I felt like I was going to pass out. What a girl thing to do. I chastised myself for being so dramatic. I needed to stop flipping out, or I’d never get my head clear enough to devise a plan of escape.
“Please Pete. Stop. I’ll do whatever you want me to.”
“It’s too late for that now,” he said laughing to himself. “I tried to give you that chance earlier today, but you chose wrong!”
He was getting off the freeway and heading straight for the desert. I glanced at the clock on his dashboard. It was 4:50. Already? How had we already been driving for an hour? I wasn’t sure exactly where we were. I was still very inexperienced with my new surroundings. I knew the basic two-mile area around my house and my school, but after that, I didn’t have a clue. For all I knew we could be in another state.
“Where are we?” I asked, hoping that he would finally reveal a glimmer of his plan.
No such luck.
“You’ll see.”
He pulled onto a dirt road. Eli was still far behind us, but he didn’t skip a beat when the time came for him to turn. Pete immediately pulled over when he saw Eli whip around the corner, and was out of the car in a flash. Whatever he was planning to do he seemed to want as few spectators as possible, so it made sense that we were in the middle of the desert. However, that did nothing to comfort me.
The sun was on the horizon, starting its slow descent into night. I watched, waiting to see what would happen. I was fearful for Eli and myself. Pete walked towards him, his fists clenching and unclenching, as Eli stepped out of his car. I could see their mouths moving, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.
What could I do? I thought quickly. I looked to see if Pete had taken the keys; he had. I hastily grabbed my things, and took a deep breath to gather my courage before opening the door. I jumped out in one swift move, squaring my shoulders, and shouted at the two angry figures in front of me. “Stop!”
Pete whirled around to look at me and it was just long enough to distract him from Eli, who took the opportunity to knock Pete down.
“Run Abby!” Eli yelled.
I turned and ran. I didn’t think—just ran. I tripped going up the embankment and scraped my arms on shrubs. My breathing was getting harder and more strained. Behind me I heard scrambling, but I couldn’t tell if it was someone in pursuit or if a fight had broken out. I didn’t, couldn’t, wouldn’t turn to find out. I didn’t stop for a second. My side was aching, I struggled to breathe, and it was almost completely dark now. I couldn’t help but think how quickly the daylight had faded into darkness.
Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks as a wave of déjà vu overtook me. My dream. This was my dream. Running… running terrified from something… someone. It was my dream. The scenery, the desert, the very clearing, all of it—it was exactly as it looked and felt in my dream. I was running from Pete. All those nights I woke up so scared, all that time… I had been running from something I had gotten myself into. I had chosen it. I pinched myself once, just to be sure that it wasn’t a dream, but sure enough I was wide awake. How could I have been so naive?
I’d heard of people that would endure dreams that came to life, but I never thought much of it. I can’t say that I would have instantly believed someone had they told me it happened to them before, nor could I have ever imagined it would ever be that vividly exact. Did that make me supernatural or something? I didn’t have time to dwell on it.
How could I continue running? I had to help Eli. What had I been thinking letting him handle Pete alone? I was the one who had gotten him into this whole mess in the first place. I should be the one getting us out of it, not him. It was about time that I faced the nightmare head on instead of always running away.
I turned around ready to march myself back to the cars, only to find myself staring right up at Pete who was glaring down at me. His chest was inches from my face. I could feel the heat radiating from his body. I instinctively took a step back.
“Where did you think you were going?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Getting away from you,” I spat. “How could you do this to me?”
“Oh honey, I’m not doing anything to you that you didn’t ask for.”
With that he grabbed me by the arm and started marching me out further into the desert. I pulled, trying to break free of his grasp. I couldn’t seem too pry his strong hold off of me. Where was Eli? He had come to help me and I had failed him. Guilt hit me hard. If anything happened to him I didn’t know what I’d do. He was my best friend.
“Where’s Eli?”
“You can’t get him out of your mind can you? Admit it! He isn’t just your friend is he? That’s all I wanted you to do this whole time. Just admit it!”
He threw me down in an area that was sparse of any shrubbery. A dust cloud billowed up as my weight slid across the ground, choking me. I felt my hands grind across the rocky, dirty terrain. My hands and elbow stung from what felt like cuts all over them.
“You have two choices right now Abby. I can’t have you running around telling the whole school what happened today. You can come back with me in my car as my girlfriend and forget Eli exists. Or I can shut you and Eli up so I won't have to look at you anymore.”
“B-but…” was all I was able to say.
“B-b-but,” he mocked. “No buts Abby! Make your choice. I am getting rather impatient playing these games with you.”
I thought about Eli. I didn’t know where he was or why he wasn’t there now, but I knew I had to keep him safe—if that was even a possibility anymore. It was time I started taking responsibility for my own doings, time I put on my big girl pants and handled things my way.
I stood up brushing myself off. I quickly inspected my hands to assess the damage. There was only a small amount of blood on them so the cuts couldn’t be too bad, but man, did they hurt. It seemed like it was always the cuts that you could barely see that hurt the worst.
I hoped I was a good actress. I had never tried acting before, but now was my chance. I reached up, put my arms around Pete’s neck, stood on my tip-toes and kissed him.
“I would like to be you’re girlfriend again,” I stated, trying not to let it show how disgusted I was kissing him. It took everything I had not to gag.
He reached around and pulled me close to him, hungry for more. His hands roamed around my back, sl
iding lower to grope my rear end. I winced in pain when he grabbed where I had hit the ground. I pulled back as slowly as I could to not make him think I was faking the whole thing.
I put my arm around his waist and turned him toward the car. “Let’s go.”
His feet started shuffling forward in time with mine without complaint. He was either very gullible or I was that good of an actress. I’d be willing to bet that it wasn’t the latter.
Eli stood next to Pete’s car, waiting for him to return. It was as if he had known everything that had just taken place between Pete and I in the desert. I saw him glance at my arm tucked around Pete’s waist. He winced.
“It’s time to move along Pete,” he said firmly.
“I don’t think so, Eli. Abby has chosen me over you so you move along.”
“Abby, I know you don’t want to be with him. Please know that I won’t let anything happen to you. Tell him the truth,” Eli encouraged.
I hesitated. How could he be so sure of himself? I had already gotten us in so much trouble. I couldn’t let him be the one to always bail me out; I had to be strong and take care of myself. I looked from Eli to Pete, feeling like I was frozen.
Eli walked closer, and I looked directly into his eyes. In that instant I was overwhelmed with feelings of calmness and strength, and it was a feeling that made me feel like I could do anything. I felt on top of the world. My hair blew around my head in the breeze. It was just the nudge I needed to be sure of my move, and before I could think better of it I pulled my hand from Pete quickly enough that he didn’t have a chance to stop me.
“Pete, we will never be together, I never want to see you again. You have put me through a roller coaster of emotions and I am not going to sit back and let it continue. Leave,” I ordered. I couldn’t believe I was able to stand up to him. I felt energized.
Anger filled his body once more. I could see the tension return to every bulging muscle. Eli didn’t move, but out of the corner of my eye I saw him close his eyes and clench his hands into fists. His knuckles started to turn white, and Pete dropped to his knees as if he was in pain. Pete’s eyes squeezed shut, held his head between his hand and he let out a loud groan.