by Unknown
I really feel like the girl from the Exorcist. I probably look like her too. I wouldn’t be surprised if my head rotated and I turned green. I guess I’m one of those women who has a hard time with their pregnancy. Go figure. I’m so relieved that Lucas stayed the night at Leslie’s place. I really wouldn’t want an audience right now.
I wash my mouth out and groan in agony and disgust. I walk back into the bedroom and notice that it’s already twelve in the afternoon. Shit! I have to go over to Aiden’s, like, right now! I grab my phone, ignoring all of the missed calls and texts from Aiden. Last night Lucas said that I could borrow his car anytime, so I guess I’m making the trek to Aiden’s place alone.
I quickly text Aiden, saying that I’m on my way over. I throw on some fresh clothes and muss up my short hair. Fuck it, I’m not even going to bother with makeup. Who am I trying to impress?
I grab my purse, phone, and car keys, rushing out the door. I’m in a hurry because it takes me at least thirty minutes to get to his place, plus I just want to get this entire thing over with. The quicker the better.
I go outside, reaching Lucas’s car. I throw my purse in the passenger’s seat, unprepared for what I’m about to say to Aiden. I crank up the volume on the radio, in dire need of a little bad eighties music.
I’m almost halfway to Aiden’s house, when I see smoke coming out of the front of the car. I panic, not really sure what’s happening. My uncanny psychic abilities tell me that whatever it is, it’s not good. Fuck, I really hope it’s nothing big. I have no idea how to fix a car.
I notice a few vehicles on the road far behind me and I decide that the best thing to do is to pull over. Maybe I can call Aiden to come and pick me up if I can’t figure it out on my own.
I get over to the side of the road and turn off the ignition. I slam my hand on the dashboard in aggravation and anger. So not what I needed today.
I get out of the car, approaching the hood with caution. I go to open it but then freeze. I vaguely remember being told not to do that because I could get burned. I’m supposed to wait until it cools down or something. Double fuck!
I should just go and call Aiden to pick me up. What was I thinking? All of a sudden I will magically learn how to repair this car? Fat chance, Emma.
I start to go to the passenger’s side of the car to retrieve my phone, when I see a truck pull up behind Lucas’s car.
No, no, no! This cannot be happening! What the fuck would they be doing here?
I see Marcus, Todd and his ‘minions’ from the bar descend from the truck, smirks on their faces. Shit, this isn’t good.
“Car problems, Emma?” Marcus sneers.
“Nope, it’s all fine now,” I say trying to act casual.
“Damn, Emma, you look rough, baby,” Todd says laughing.
Fucking prick! Say whatever you want, but just leave me the hell alone!
I try to open the car door but Marcus comes over to me, seizing my wrist in his hand.
“Don’t touch me, Marcus. Let go,” I say firmly.
“I can’t do that, Emma. We have some catching up to do. Maybe if you were more polite, it wouldn’t have to be this way. You’re just too much of a fucking bitch to have a friendly conversation with,” he says, his eyes turning into slits.
I’m in way over my head. I know that if I stay here, something bad will happen. These guys are out for blood, maybe more. I’ve decided how far I’m willing to fight. What I’m about to do may not work but I have to try.
I raise my knee in the air, jamming it into Marcus’s groin. He groans in pain, as I rip my hand out of his grip. I hear him curse and I haul ass forward, running as fast as I can alongside the road. I know I probably can’t outrun them but I’m hoping somebody will drive by and help me.
I hear them yelling behind me but I can’t make out what they’re saying. I feel my heartbeat beating in my ear, my feet pounding against the dirt. My windpipe feels like its closing up, a panic attack on the verge of occurring.
Please, no! I can’t have one now. I need to get away, I need to get away, I silently scream to myself.
I feel something solid crash into me from behind, as I fall face-first onto the ground below. My arm lands underneath me, as I hear the bone crack from the impact. I gasp for air, trying to cry out from the pain. I feel a warm calloused hand muzzle my mouth, restricting me from making a single sound. I flail my body back and forth, trying to get away from whoever has their grasp on me.
“Stop fucking fighting, bitch,” someone growls.
It sounds like Todd but I can’t be sure because he’s holding onto me from behind. He drags me backwards, as tears start dripping down my face. I try to breathe out my nose, to no avail. I struggle some more but his hold on me is unbreakable.
I start to feel lightheaded, when I see Lucas’s car in my line of vision. Hold on, Emma. You can fight this, fight them. They can’t win. You have to stay alive as long as you can.
“Take her into the woods,” I hear Marcus say.
My eyes widen in absolute fear. Oh my God, they’re going to kill me and leave my body in the woods. I can let them do this. They can’t get away with this.
I try to squirm out of Todd’s hold as he curses at me to stay still. He drags me farther into the trees, and I realize that I can barely make out the road anymore.
He tosses me to the ground as I land on twigs and moss. I gulp for air, trying to calm my body down. My panic attack is in full form and doesn’t seem like it’s letting up.
“Watch the road. If anybody comes by, tell them that you have a flat you’re changing,” I hear Marcus say calmly.
I grab the dirt underneath my palms, hoping for relief. I look over at my right arm and notice that it’s twisted at an odd angle. I cry out, feeling like I’m going to be sick. My body convulses on the ground, the pain and lack of air leaving me defenseless.
“What is wrong with her?” I hear Todd mutter.
“Who gives a fuck?! Maybe she has asthma,” Marcus replies.
I hear Marcus laugh brutally, obviously loving the fact that I’m in pain. I see him crouch down beside me, touching my face gently with his fingers. I shiver in fear and disgust.
“I’ve always wanted to see you like this, Emma. Afraid, helpless, gasping for air,” he murmurs.
His fingers trace my face, almost adoringly.
“I know why you’re here, Emma. I know why you moved to Astoria,” he says.
I whimper, finally able to breathe a little bit better.
“You like what he did, didn’t you? You probably led him on and wanted it. Well, I’m here to finish what he couldn’t,” he says.
“It’s a shame what I’m going to have to do to you. If you would’ve just left Aiden alone, our paths might have never crossed. But you had to ruin everything, didn’t you, Emma?”
I see the dark look in his eyes right before he punches me in the face. I yelp out, the full force of his brutality knocking the wind out of me. I grab my stomach, trying to squelch anymore blows.
“Had to make it fucking difficult for me,” he says kicking my stomach.
“You ruined everything!” he screams accusingly.
He kicks me a few more times, the discomfort blinding. He’s torturing me, each kick pushing me closer to the edge. Once I fall off the cliff, there is no coming back.
“Pick her up,” Marcus yells.
I look over at Todd, a look of shock on his face. Did he really think that this wasn’t going to happen? How much of this did Marcus plan? Todd looks shell-shocked.
“Fucking do it, Todd!”
He walks over to me, hesitantly bending down to grab me. I groan, my body already beaten and bruised.
“Put her against the tree,” Marcus says out of wind.
“Marcus, this isn’t…” Todd says before Marcus cuts him off.
“Shut the fuck up. Just do it before I beat the shit out of you too,” he snarls.
Todd hesitates briefly but complies, hauling my body up off
the ground. I groan, my stomach feeling queasy, hallow. I’m at the point where I still feel pain but am too tired to cry out. I’m in my worst nightmare. Unable to fight, unable to run. If I die, who am I kidding, when I die, I need to know why me? Why is Marcus doing this?
Todd puts me against the tree as I sway, trying to keep my balance. I almost fall but Marcus grabs my wrists, pinning them above my head against the tree trunk. The rough bark scratches my skin, as he tightens his hold on me. I feel his warm breath on my face, his black eyes searing mine.
I’m done being afraid. I won’t spend my last few seconds on this earth in fear. When I die, it will be on my terms. I’ve already accepted the inevitable.
“Why, Marcus?” I barely whisper.
His lips quirk up, obviously wondering when I was going to ask him this question. Do I think this is going to be like a movie, where the villain tells his entire evil plan? Fuck no! Do I think he will be vague and make me suffer before I die? Hell yes. But I have to try.
“The only thing that matters. Money, Emma. The one thing that everyone, every fucking person wants more than anything,” he chuckles.
My brows furrow in confusion and I realize this is as good of an explanation as I’m going to get.
“It became so much more than that though. You became so much more,” he says pausing.
“That first night I saw you, I…I saw something I see in few people, Emma. Determination. It is very hard to gain but very easy to break. I knew that I had to break you. Too much strength isn’t attractive on a woman. You all fucking think you’re just like men!” he spits out.
“You’re inferior. You’re nothing. I have the power, not you. I needed to make you see that,” he smiles.
“Why don’t, why don’t you stop running your mouth and prove it already,” I slur.
I feel my body shutting down from the pain and I’m barely able to keep my eyes open
He laughs, the movement rattling my entire body. I close my eyes, welcoming the pain, the darkness. He thinks he broke me but he didn’t. You can’t break something that was already damaged. You can only chip away at the tiny pieces of what remain.
I feel his right hand leave my face and hit me square in the jaw. I moan in agony, trying not to let him get to me. He wants my pain. He feeds off of it.
I barely crack open my eyes, when feel my mouth filling up with blood. I may even have lost a tooth but I’m not quite sure. I decide to end this sooner rather than later.
I spit the blood in face, mustering one last smile. Some of the liquid trails down my throat and I choke on it, laughing hysterically.
“Harder. I like it rough,” I hiss.
I can’t see his face clearly, but I can only assume how much he must be loving this. He wants me to fight and beg.
I feel his hand close around my neck, cutting into my windpipe. I gasp for air, knowing that this will be my last moment alive.
“Fucking beg, Emma. Beg me,” he demands.
I shake my head in defiance, refusing to do what he asks. I’m stubborn in life and even more stubborn when facing death.
“Goddammit, Marcus! That’s enough!” I hear Todd yell faraway.
I feel myself falling to the ground, my neck finally free of his hold. I’m desperately gulping in air, greedily getting my fill.
“Don’t you ever touch me again, you stupid asshole,” I hear Marcus yell.
“Man, I did not agree to this. You’re going to kill her and we’re all going to go to jail. Shit,” Todd says, his voice cracking.
My eyes wander up to Marcus, the hatred radiating from his skin. It practically sizzles. He catches my gaze and before I can figure out his intent, he kicks me in the face. I suck in a sharp breath, seeing stars in front of me.
He kicks my body a few more times but I’m past feeling. I the only sensation I feel is drowning, being swallowed alive. Is this what it feels like to die? To take your last breath? If it is, I’m ready.
I hear voices yelling in the background but I’m not sure who is talking or what is being said. My body starts to feel tingly and numb at the same time. I realize that I am alone now, all by myself in the woods. Nobody knows where I am. I doubt anybody is even looking for me. If and when they find me, it will be too late.
I don’t know how much times passes before I feel fingers touch face. They brush across my skin, almost whispering that I’m safe now. I try to open my eyes, when I see the outline of a figure, a man if I’m not mistaken.
“Emma, wake up. Stay with me, honey.”
Jeremiah? Could it really be him? He always used to call me honey. He knew I hated it but he kept calling me that, a colossal joke to piss me off.
“Jer…Jerimiah,” I try to say.
“I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay.”
I feel my body being lifted, carried away from where I was left for dead. I look up into two piercing blue eyes, recognizing their owner.
“It’s Leo, honey. Try to stay awake. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
I nod, my body finally slumping in defeat. All I hear is my name being called over and over before the blackness closes in. My last image is of Jeremiah, his cold lips kissing my forehead reassuringly.
“I’ve got you, honey. I won’t ever leave you again,” he whispers.
Chapter 10: You Wound Me
“What the fuck happened?! How did she end up in there like that? Somebody fucking answer me!”
“Calm down. Get it together. You’re not helping her by yelling and freaking out. She needs you to be strong for her. The doctors are doing everything they can.”
I attempt to open my eyes but they feel glued shut. I try moving my body but it feels immobile. I hear bits and pieces of yelling but I don’t know who the voices belong to. I feel trapped in my body and I can’t get out!
Is this heaven? Hell? Purgatory? I try to focus all of my energy on moving. I feel something heavy on my mouth, almost as if it’s breathing life back into me.
I couldn’t be in a hospital, could I? I was practically beaten to a bloody pulp. How would I have survived? No, I must be delusional right now. I’m supposed to be dead. The odds were against me in every way.
“How is she?!”
“You fucking son-of-a-bitch!”
I hear yelling and skin on skin contact.
“Aiden, let him go. It wasn’t Lucas’s fault, so fucking relax, man!”
“It wasn’t his fault?! He supposed to look after her and he lets her borrow his car, which then breaks down on the side of the road. This is all his fault!”
“What about you, Aiden? You’ve been back in town and failed to protect her too. You’re a fucking hypocrite! You’re the one she was driving to go see.”
I hear more shuffling and yelling.
“Guys, please stop. What if she ends of hearing you and you upset her?” I hear a feminine voice plead.
“Leslie, I’m sorry but this asshole is fucking asking for it. All he does is cause her pain and now her and the…”
“Lucas, stop.”
“No, Leslie. He needs to know the truth. He needs realize that this is not just Emma’s life he’s ruined.”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Lucas? Just spit it out!”
“She’s pregnant, Aiden. I’m not sure if she still is but…she was. That’s what she was going to tell you. Something that couldn’t be said over the phone. She was going to leave town because she didn’t feel safe here anymore. She wanted to protect your child.”
I hear more yelling and moaning, distinctly coming from a deep voice. I try to concentrate, feeling sorry for whoever who is in such agony. It sounds like the heart being ripped out of a wounded animal. I try to cover my ears, the sound unbearable. My arms are still heavy, forcing me to listen to the never-ending pain.
“Oh my fucking God! Why didn’t anybody tell me?! I would have come back to her in a heartbeat. That is my fucking child too and she didn’t tell me!”
“Aiden, man, she only found ou
t two days ago. She was going to tell you as soon as possible. Don’t blame Emma.”
“I don’t. I blame me. If she lost…loses this baby, it will be all my fault. I take full responsibility.”
“I just got a call from the police and they said that Todd’s sister found blood and dirt on him a little while ago. They said that he just confessed to…hurting Emma. But he says it was all Marcus’s idea. He says he’ll tell the police everything if they give him immunity.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“I hope they let him go free. It will give me the chance to take care of him myself and anybody else who hurt her.”
“Aiden, you need to calm down. You can’t do what you want to do. Do you want to go to prison for the rest of your life? Do you want Emma to wake up and find you gone? What about your baby? It needs its’ father around.”
“Fuck, Leo. I really don’t want to hear this bullshit right now.”
“Well, tough shit.”
The voices are drowned out, as I find myself falling once again.
“Sleep, honey. I love you,” Jeremiah’s voice says to me.
“Emma, wake up. Please, wake up.”
“Jeremiah,” I croak out.
“Oh thank God, she’s awake!”
“No, sweetie, it’s Lucas.”
“And Leslie,” I hear a soft voice say.
“And Leo,” a gruffer one says.
I slowly open my eyes, the brightness from the room blinding. Where the fuck am I?
“What…?”
“Emma, you’re in the hospital. You’ve been unconsciousness for a few days,” Lucas says.
I look into the corner of the hospital room and notice a figure sitting in a chair, his head in hands. Well, his head in one of his hands. His prosthesis is missing from his left arm.
Aiden.
Driving to Aiden’s house, breaking down, the attack, everything rushes back to me all at once. The memories flood me and I cry out in overwhelming pain. I see Aiden’s head snap up, his eyes swollen and bloodshot. He doesn’t come over to my bed, he just stares, almost as if he’s fused to the chair.