by Amanda Heath
“You’re so damn cute. Don’t ever leave me. I can’t go back to that miserable asshole I was before.” I rub my nose along her jaw. God, she smells amazing; like a rose, which is fitting since she’s beautiful with thorns. “You don’t think we are rushing this do you? I mean, I’ve known you most of my life. I repressed my feelings for a really long time. I’m just tired of it now.”
“Maybe we are rushing, but it doesn’t feel that way. For some unknown reason being this close to you feels right. Nothing has ever felt this right to me before.” She wraps her arms around me tighter and lays her head on my shoulder. I just felt my heart burst. I’ve never been in love before but I don’t think I’m that far from it now. I back her up to the bed and lay her down gently. I smooth the hair from her face and go in for the kiss. I may never come back up. She was right when she said that nothing felt more right.
*****
The guys decided we needed a night with just us since the girls crashed our party last night. That was probably my fault since I made Harley sit with me. Her posse wasn’t far behind her. I don’t think Dean was all that upset about it though. Well, until Paige threw that drink in his face: priceless.
“So, what, you’re saying is Harley is your girlfriend now?” Dylan asks me.
“Yes, that is what I’m saying. I don’t know, it just happened. I got so tired of denying myself. I’ve wanted her for so long, man.” I look down into my drink, because I know they are about to let me have it.
“Well, I say that’s great for you, man. About damn time someone around here got happy. I’m so damn tried of the misery that is around this town. I can’t wait for the summer to be over.” Dean takes his shot and slams his glass back down on the table.
Dylan and I bump our drinks together and toss them back. The liquor burns my throat on the way down. It’s welcome, though. I’ve spent too much time thinking about my father today. I want to feel numb. Well, until I go home tonight and find Harley. Shit that girl makes me want to feel anything but numb!
“Well, I’m happy for you, Spence, but I got to get out of here. I found a nice little number for tonight and I told her I’d pick her up soon,” says Dylan as he salutes us and walks toward the bar’s exit.
“He’s not happy at all, bro. He wants Harley so bad. Always has,” Dean says next to me. “I know he wants her. He should have made a move, then. I don’t have time to be worried about what-ifs.” I get the bartender over to pour us some more shots. It looks like I’m getting trashed tonight.
Chapter 10
Harley
“Really, though, how is he in the sack?” Carter asks, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Carter, you are such a nympho. It’s no wonder it took a rock star to make you settle down.” Paige huffs after chugging half of her beer. I guess she wants to get drunk tonight.
I feel really weird, like I’m three sheets to the wind, even though I’ve only had one beer. It’s completely stupid. “He’s great in the sack. Like, way great in the sack. I think I could have sex with him every day and never get tired of him. He knows what buttons to push and when. Hmmm…dude, now I’m fucking horny!” I scowl at Carter and try to punch her in the arm, but I completely miss her. Weird, there is, like, three of her.
“Damn, Harley, how much have you had to drink? Lucy, I thought you were watching her?” Then she punches Lucy in the arm and doesn’t miss.
“She only had the one beer, I swear.” Lucy says to Carter while rubbing her arm. “Harley, did you drink before we picked you up?” I hear what she says, but it’s hard to concentrate when the room is spinning. I do believe I’m going to be sick.
“I’m going to go out into the parking lot to hurl.” I say, getting up to leave and stumbling. Paige gets up with me and ushers me out the door.
“Are you sure you didn’t have any more than the one?” She asks right next to my ear.
“I swear I don’t know what is wrong with me.” I really don’t. I’ve gotten really sleepy as well. This is so freaking weird. Alcohol makes me wiry.
“You didn’t leave your drink unattended, did you? You’re really hot, and that’s not normal. I think you got-“ Her sentence is interrupted as she hits the ground. I also fall without her holding me up. I get a bad feeling, but I’m too fucked up to figure out what it may be. I look over at Paige and see blood coming from her head. What the hell?
I hear footsteps coming from behind me. We are in the back of the parking lot near Carter’s little, red car. I can’t think of what kind it is at the moment. Dylan comes into view. His short, light brown hair is spiked up with gel. I take in his low-riding jeans and black shirt. I almost ask him for help, but the nearby light pole lights up his handsome face. His eyes are cold and empty. He’s not here to help me.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Harley. You’ve been teasing me for years. Now, I’m going to get my turn, since you’ve been such a slut with Spencer.” The drugs he has slipped me have slowed everything about my reaction time, so I have no chance to brace myself as he kicks me in my side. I feel tears come to my dry eyes and the pain is really bad.
While I’m withering in pain on the hard ground, Dylan ties up Paige and carries her out of sight from the front doors of the bar. I let out a whimper when he comes back for me. I start to let out a scream, but he quickly slaps me as hard as he can, stunning me into silence. There’s a metallic taste in my mouth and I spit it in his face. He sneers at me with blood all over his face.
My arms don’t seem to be working or I would be fighting for my life. Fighting for Paige who is alone in the dark somewhere I can’t see; poor Paige who doesn’t deserve this. Tears are streaming down my face.
I know what he’s going to do. I may be out of it, but I’m not stupid. I just hope he’s satisfied with me and leaves Paige alone.
He opens his truck door and, none too gently, throws me into the back of the extended cab. I try to move anything, but nothing seems to want to work. I can’t see him but I can hear him unbuckling his belt. I feel sick all over. So, I turn my head and puke all over the floor of the truck. I hear him curse and the next thing I know he’s slapping me across the face again. God that fucking stings.
“You stupid fucking bitch! I can’t believe you did that. You’re going to get it worse for smelling up my truck.” I see a glint come from his hand and I suck in a breath. He’s got a knife. He uses it to cut my top off of me, then my bra. He roughly grabs my breasts and I cry out. It feels like he’s trying to rip my nipples off of me. I have a moment of clarity through the pain, and I let out an ear-piercing scream. This pisses him off beyond belief and he slams my head into the closed truck door above it. I see stars as I feel him push up my skirt.
I let myself drift away.
*****
It’s almost as if a calm has come over me. He’s done and I’m still alive, I just hope that I’m still that way in a few minutes. I didn’t think about what was being done to me. I thought of Spencer and his beautiful smile with his dimple: how he makes me feel when I’m around him; the way his skin feels when I touch it; that wonderful musky earth smell I get a whiff of whenever he’s near. My guardian angel, who I think I hear yelling my name.
Dylan doesn’t react like he hears anything.
Great now I’m hearing things.
All of a sudden, Dylan is thrown out of the truck. I hear something being said but I can’t make it out. I catch a glimpse of Dean and then I see Spencer. It really is my angel. He came to save me. I love him so much it hurts. I move my head a little bit to see what is going on. Dean and Spencer are beating the shit out of Dylan. Then he falls to the ground and they start kicking him.
“Don’t kill him...” It only comes out as a whisper, my throat is so dry. “Spencer...” It’s a little louder now. “SPENCER!” There he looked over at me.
His perfect face is so pale. He looks so sickly. I try and reach for him but my arms won’t move. Why won’t they move? I’m so confused. I can’t feel anything
. I’m so numb. “Baby girl...I’m so sorry, baby girl. I’m so fucking sorry.” I look up into his face. When did he climb up into the truck with me? Tears are falling from his pale eyes and I think all he needs are some wings. I really want to lift my hand and touch his face but of course they still refuse to work.
“My angel...” I whisper. He is saying other stuff, but I have no idea what it is. My ears no longer work. I can barely keep my eyes open. They are so fucking heavy. “Paige...you have to find Paige, angel.” I tell him right before all the lights go out.
Spencer
“Yeah, hello?” I say into my phone. It’s been ringing off the hook for the last ten minutes. I’ve been waiting at the bar for Dean to come back from the bathroom. We decided that we aren’t having any fun with just us so we are going to meet up with the girls. Lucy and Carter have been trying to get a hold of me but I want to surprise Harley.
“Spencer, we can’t find Harley or Paige anywhere. Are they with you?” Carter sounds a little hysterical, which is odd. She’s had this permanent, apathetic attitude for as long as I can remember. “No, chick, they aren’t with us. Why are you so upset about this?” I see Dean walk out of the bathroom and he is also on the phone looking a little upset himself. I give him a questioning look but he just holds up a finger.
“I’m upset because Mason said he heard that some guy slipped something into Harley’s drink. She was acting really drunk after one beer, but we all thought she just had more to drink before we got here.”
I feel a coldness wash over me and all the blood drain from my face. “We are coming. Keep looking for them.” I hang up just as Dean does. We share a dark look and race out of the bar. We climb into Dean’s little car and speed off towards The Hangover. God, please don’t let it be what I think it is. Please, I beg of you!
My legs are jumping up and down on the floor board and I can’t seem to keep still. We are going really fast, but it doesn’t seem fast enough. My phone rings again. This time it’s Lucy. “Did you find them?”
“No, we didn’t...we found a puddle of blood next to Carter’s car. I don’t know what to do.” I hear a male voice in the background, and then her voice comes back over the line. “Get here please.” She hangs up.
What should have taken twenty minutes took ten as we pull up into the gravel parking lot. Lucy, Carter, and Mason come walking over and the girls have tears running down their faces. Mason seems calm so I ask him “Have you checked the whole area or just the parking lot? This place has a back lot that no one uses, we need to check there before we start calling out the big guns.”
They all nod their heads and I lead the way behind the building. The gate to the fenced in area is open which makes my blood run cold. Never have I seen this gate open. Rounding the corner, I see a dark truck parked in the very back with the back door open. As we get closer I can hear whimpering and crying. Please, God let her be all right. Please, please, please.
It’s hard to see, but I do see a man in the car bending over someone. Oh, God. Don’t crumble now. Just keep going; you have to save her. I run as fast as I can to the truck and yank out the guy. I throw him to the ground. I pull in a shocked breath when I realize its Dylan.
Dylan, who I grew up with, drank my first beer with. Who used to play football in his back yard with Dean and I. This isn’t real. I hear Dean say, “Go find Paige” to the rest of the group.
I can’t even think as I pull him up off the ground and punch him in the face. Dean takes him from me and punches him just as hard. There’s blood rushing out of his nose and I relish it. He deserves to bleed. He deserves to fucking die. Dean lets him fall to the ground and I kick the shit out of him. Dylan rolls to his side and groans. Dean gets his kick in when I hear Harley scream out my name.
It’s the most wonderful sound in the world. At least she’s not dead. I scramble into the back of the truck and I suck in a breath. I think I’m going to hurl. We were too late. God, I’m such a fucking piece of shit. Why couldn’t I have saved her? It looks like he did everything he could to hurt her. I almost get back out and kill him. She needs me more than I need to do that.
I climb up gently so I don’t hurt her. There is so much blood, most of it coming from her head. There’s some coming out of her left nostril and the side of her lip. The most awful part is its also coming from between her legs. I just want to die.
I look into her eyes, which are glazed over from whatever he gave her. They are empty, not showing anything, I know she’s alive, though, her chest is moving up and down. “Baby girl...I’m so sorry, baby girl. I’m so fucking sorry.” I sob. I didn’t even know I was crying. She’s looking back at me with a small smile on her face. Those eyes though, it breaks my fucking heart to see the fire gone. That hurts the most.
“My angel.” she whispers. “Paige...you have to find Paige, angel.” Why does she keep calling me angel? I’m not a fucking angel. I should be killed for not saving her. The life seems to leave her and for a second I think she’s dead, but her chest is still moving.
I hear the sirens in the background, so I take off my shirt and place it over her legs. I try to cover her chest but the bastard cut her shirt off. I feel cloth touch my bare back. I turn to see that Mason has taken his shirt off too. I take it from him and finish covering her up, giving him the most grateful look I think I’ve ever given anyone.
Now all we can do is wait.
Chapter 11
Spencer
They loaded Harley into an ambulance. Then they loaded Paige, who had been found over in the trees close to the truck. She was knocked out with a wrench that Dylan usually has sitting in the bed of the truck. She was still unconscious as they moved her. Dean was frantic and I had to hold him back from going after Dylan again. We thought we would get arrested for beating up Dylan, but Lucy, Carter and Mason said that we were defending ourselves. The cops didn’t ask too many questions.
Carter led me to her car and pushed me into the back seat so we could ride to the hospital. I don’t know what to do. I’m lost in my own head. I see everything that is going on around me, but I can still see Harley lying, hopeless, in the back of that truck; beaten and broken.
Mason and Lucy are curled up together in the backseat and Dean is up front with Carter, who is driving. I see lights flash by from passing cars and I hear them talking, but I don’t care enough to listen to what they are saying.
Carter called Mom and Richard. I don’t think I can face them. I failed Harley in so many ways. I should have been there tonight. I should have been with her so this wouldn’t have happened. What kind of man am I if I can’t even protect my own girlfriend? I am a sorry excuse for one.
We’ve been in this waiting room for what seems like hours. I just want to know if Harley will be all right, Paige as well. Dean is a fucking mess. I didn’t even know he felt so strongly for her. Lucy and Carter are huddled together on a couch, softly crying. I can’t even imagine what they are going through. Mason is standing by the door almost as a look out. That dude is freaking huge. I’m sure both of us look silly without our shirts on but I can’t make myself care.
Mom and Richard walk into the room and I feel a punch to the gut. I don’t make eye contact because I don’t want to see the disappointment in their eyes. Its bad enough I feel it coming from myself in waves.
Mom walks over to where I’m sitting on the floor leaned up against the wall. She doesn’t even have to look at me before the tears come. Now I’m crying my heart out. What happened to Harley hits way too close to home. My mom went through the same thing with my dad. I used to have to listen to him rape her almost every night. If I tried to stop it, I got the shit beat out of me. Finally, one night, I thought he was going to kill her, so I called the cops. They caught him in the act and he was arrested. His bail was posted by his mom and he skipped town. We haven’t heard from him since. That’s also the reason we moved to Duke and changed our last name. Grady is my grandmother’s maiden name: something my father hadn’t known.
> I feel her arms wrap around me and the tears get worse. I can’t take this. It’s all too much. I feel like I might explode from the pain. Harley didn’t deserve this. My mom didn’t deserve it either. I can’t go back and change what happened. I can’t take the pain for them either. I would take it all just to not see the pain in their eyes.
“Spencer, it’s okay. She’s alive, and that is all we can ask for at this point.” She rubs my back in soothing circles as I clutch onto her shirt for dear life.
“I know,” I sob into her. She knows me; she knows that I am reliving everything that happened with Dad in my head. I know she is hoping I won’t go back to that depression I was in. I can’t do that. Harley needs me.
I can hear Richard and Dean talking somewhere over mom’s shoulder. I want to hear what they are saying, but I can’t bring myself into listening. I’m too deep in my own pain. Mom is rocking me back and forth like a child, and I’ve never felt safer. I don’t care how old I am, I will always need my mom.
A hush falls over the room and I look up to see a doctor. He’s wearing those ugly green scrubs and holding a white cap in his hands. He looks tired and a little sad. My stomach drops. Please, don’t let her be dead. Please, don’t let either of them be dead. “Paige is stable. She has a severe concussion so we will be keeping her overnight for observation. Mr. and Mrs. Hutson, you can go back and see her now.” I see Paige’s parents get up from their seats over by the girls. I didn’t even hear them come in the room. I notice Liam sitting by Carter. Didn’t hear him either.