“You kinda hit it on a chair.” That would do it. Kari bites her lip, catching the gaze of someone else in the room. I turn my head to see who she was looking at: Professor Campbell. Right, this must be her office.
Professor Campbell flies to my side, grabbing my hand. “The sound of it was just awful. It resonated all the way into my office.” She gives a quick glance to Kari. “The campus nurse is on her way here to check you over, to make sure you don’t have a concussion or internal bleeding or something worse.”
Embarrassment floods into my cheeks. “I’m fine, really.”
A phone rings and Professor Campbell races to her desk to answer it.
“How did I get in here?” I whisper to Kari. I didn’t remember walking here.
She starts rubbing the back of her neck. “Um…you were carried.”
“Oh, how embarrassing,” I groan. “So you and Professor Campbell had to carry me in here? How mortifying.”
I’m surprised when I see her grimace. “I didn’t exactly carry you.” She’s squirming in her chair, perhaps hoping I’ll let it go, but I just continue to stare at her, clearly wanting more from her. “When you fell, you made a lot of noise, so, obviously, people came back to check it out. So someone stronger than me volunteered to carry you.” She's hiding something from me.
“Who carried me?”
She sighs heavily before telling me what I already know.
“Etash.”
Of course.
“That was the nurse,” Professor Campbell says, kneeling down beside me so I’m forced to look at her. “She’s at the front entrance. Apparently it’s locked. I’m just going to go let her in. I’ll be right back.” She gives me a quick smile before she leaves.
“Tell me exactly what happened,” I hiss, sitting up straighter on the couch, trying to ignore my head when it spins a little.
“Well, like I said, the sound of the metal chairs banging around was really loud. Lonny, Richard and Thomas were standing outside and came running in. Etash came a couple minutes after them.
“Then what?” I ask through my teeth. I know the moments are numbered before the nurse arrives.
She hesitates. “Etash, when he saw you, he…kinda flipped out. I mean you did look pretty bad the way you were lying on the ground, all broken looking, but even still, he went all crazy.” Her face twists at the memory.
“What do you mean?”
She bites her lip again, clearly not wanting to finish her story. “I had started to turn you over, but he shouted at me and told me to get away from you. Which I did, because his expression scared me so much, and then as he got closer and saw your face, his eyes went wild. I don’t know how else to describe it. He literally pushed everyone out of the way and sank down to the ground beside you, trying to wake you up.” She stops, looking me square in the eye. “He kept yelling your name, over and over again. Naya, he sounded like he was…in agony.” She says the last words so quietly that I’m not sure I’ve heard her right.
He called out my name in agony? Why? He hates me. She must have remembered it wrong.
“At some point Professor Campbell comes in, sees what’s going on and insists we take you to her couch and call the nurse,” Kari continues. “No one offered to carry you because it was clear to all of us that Etash wasn’t going to let anyone else near you. He looked like he was afraid to touch you at first…but once he had you in his arms, he was…I don’t know…different, somehow.”
She leans closer to me as though confiding a deep secret.
“The whole time he was carrying you, he was looking at you. I mean the whole time. He never even looked up to see where he was going. And his eyes, Naya, his eyes. They were in such pain.” She looks at me apologetically.
“Where is he now?” is all I can manage to get out.
“He bolted right after he put you down. I assume he went to wait for the nurse.”
Meaning he could be locked outside as we speak, with the nurse: the nurse who was on her way here. My heart starts doing double time. “I think I need to lie back down.”
“That’s a good idea, because Seth’s about to show up too.”
“Seth? How?” I stammer, not able to finish the thought.
“He called your cell while you were passed out. I answered it and kinda told him what happened. I'm sorry, I assumed you’d want him here.”
“Right. Awesome.” Seth and Etash were about to be in the same room together.
Etash
The crisp night air assaults my body as I step outside. Making my way over to the bench near the bike racks, I collapse onto it. I force myself to take deep, slow breaths to chill out, but my nerves are shot. My whole body feels as though it has been drained of all its purpose.
As I lie on the bench, shivering against the cold, there is one obsessive voice that starts screaming inside my head: Go back to her! The voice tries to rationalize with me: “Just make sure she's okay,” it urges. But I can't. She has a boyfriend to do that, I remind myself.
That's when I see him; a big beefy guy approaching the theatre door. He pulls on it, but it doesn't budge. It must have locked behind me.
“Naya!” he shouts banging his fist against the glass, hard. It’s him: the boyfriend. I swallow back some bile. Why do I loathe him so much? I don’t even know him. But something in my gut tells me this guy is pure evil.
“You looking for Naya?” I yell over to him. Macho man turns to look at me, sizes me up, determines I’m no threat, then answers me.
“Where is she?” he demands, his tone full of accusation. Nope. I do not like him.
“She’s inside. The doors must have locked behind me. The nurse is on her way.” I take a step closer. “I’m Etash.”
“What the hell happened?” he shouts at me. So much for introductions.
“We’re not sure. We think she might have fainted. She fell onto some chairs when she went down. She’s pretty banged up.”
He stiffens, and crosses his big fat arms across his chest, defensively. “From the fall?”
I look at him funny. “Yeah, from the fall. Why else would she be banged up?” I ask.
He doesn’t answer me, but instead goes back to hitting the door, and I can’t help but wonder if he’s ever hit her the way he just hit that door. God help him if he has.
“Excuse me,” a voice says behind me. “Do either of you know if there's a Naya Adams in here?” It’s the nurse. A wave of relief washes over me.
“She’s inside. But it’s locked. Let me call Elizabeth to let us in,” I say, dialing the numbers.
While we wait, I fill in the nurse with as much information as I can, noticing how the boyfriend flexes his muscles when he hears that I carried her onto the couch.
When Elizabeth arrives, she mumbles her apologies for the doors locking, and shuffles us down the hall. Elizabeth tells the nurse that Naya has regained consciousness, and without thinking about what my actions might look like to the boyfriend, I take off running down the hall. I have to see her awake. I have to see for myself that she’s okay.
When I get to her office, I'm instantly at ease. Naya’s awake; pale, but awake, and looking right at me. She gives me a weak smile. Hearing footsteps coming behind me, I hold my ground a safe distance away from her, just as the beefcake barrels inside.
“I’m okay,” Naya says, seeming to need to calm both of us down.
The nurse kneels down beside her, and starts asking her a barrage of questions that she tries to answer, all the while downplaying any pain she must be in. She's not fooling me. Anyone with a mark like that is going to be in pain. I know.
Throughout the questioning I find out that lover boy's name is Seth. Even his name sounds slimy.
“Is she going to be okay?” I ask the nurse, unable to hold my tongue any longer. Seth turns to glare at me, his eyes narrowing in warning.
The nurse purses her lips. “She seems alright to me. But I want you to keep that ice pack on for at least the next 20 minutes to keep any
swelling down. Aspirin or Tylenol can help for the pain. Are you on any other medications?”
Naya's eyes widen a bit, and I swear I see Seth's hand tighten around her arm before she answers.
“No,” she says softly.
“Alright. Then I don’t see anything to be worried about at this point. However, you need to let me, or your primary care doctor, know immediately if you start to feel nauseous or have any problems with your eyes in the next few days.”
“She will,” Seth answers for her. That gets on my nerves.
The nurse gathers her things and Professor Campbell leaves to escort her out. Seth starts to help Naya off the couch and it’s all I can do not to rip his meat hooks off her.
“You alright, baby?” Seth asks Naya, carefully tossing me a sideways glance.
“Yeah, I guess I just got nervous about getting the lead. I wasn’t expecting it. I just fainted, that's all.”
She's lying. I don't know how I know or why, but she's lying.
“You got the lead? Baby, that’s awesome! I told you that you were good.”
“She’s the Juliet to my Romeo,” I say, a tad defensively.
“Isn’t that the one where they die at the end?” he asks Naya, ignoring me altogether.
“They kill themselves because they can't live without the other,” I say, glaring at him.
Seth turns to me now and smiles slowly. “Etash, is it? Thanks for your help and all, but I got it from here.”
He wants me gone. Fine. This is getting too painful to watch anyway.
“Right. I'm glad you’re okay, Naya. See you at rehearsal,” I say, then pull myself away from the woman who I know is supposed to be my destiny.
Naya
“They cast the freak show as Romeo?” Seth chuckles a few moments after Etash has left. I bite my tongue. “Just pretend it’s me,” he says, coming over to kiss my bruise and I flinch. “Now let’s get you into bed.”
I say goodbye to Kari, who smiles weakly at me. Seth puts his arm firmly around my waist, slings my book bag over his shoulder and we start the hobble back to my dorm.
I ditch the ice pack as soon as we get back in my room. Seth sets me down on my bed and pulls the covers over my legs. As soon as he has settled me in, he starts rummaging around my room, presumably looking for my stash of Tylenol.
“If there isn’t any on my dresser, there should be some in my bag.” I say. My bag! Crap. I still have homework to do. I groan.
Seth spins around. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I just realized I have a bunch of reading due for my Drama Lit class tomorrow.”
He frowns at me.
“You’re not doing any homework tonight, Naya. You just hit your head for crying out loud. I think your Professors will cut you a little slack.”
I shake my head vehemently, ignoring the intense throbbing that accompanies the movement. “No, I’m not skipping out on my homework on the second day of college! Now could you get me my bag, please?”
“No.”
“Fine, I’ll get it myself.” I snap, whipping the covers off my legs.
“Lie down, lie down! I’ll get your stupid bag.”
I lay back down as ordered. He tosses my bag on the end of my bed where it lands with a heavy thud. I unzip it and yank out the huge anthology of plays we’ll be studying over the next two years. My eyes twinkle. I am going to love reading these. Digging around in my bag, I find my syllabus and flip to my first assignment: Antigone, A Greek tragedy. Cool.
Seth is suddenly hovering over my bed, handing me two pills and a bottle of water, then sits on the bed beside me.
“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” I swallow them without taking my eyes off the page, knowing that he’s not going to give me a choice in the matter. He lies down beside me, and starts stroking my hair, then traces the line of my bruise lightly.
“You know, I’ve got a lot of reading to do tonight,” I say, “I’m not going to be much company. You should go home,” I offer, but he just ignores me, pushes off my bed and grabs my laptop. “I know you’re worried about me, but I’m really okay,” I continue.
“I’m staying until you fall asleep.” His voice is firm. No point in arguing with him now. Instead, I bury myself into my homework, happily using my highlighter along the way.
About a half-hour later, my eyelids start to droop and I let a huge yawn out. A low chuckle comes from across the room.
“Don’t fight it,” he tells me.
“Fight what?” I ask, yawning again.
“The drugs. I gave you some of your anti-anxiety meds.”
What? Those totally knock me out, and he knows it. I’m pissed.
“Seth! Why would you do that? I told you I have homework to do tonight!”
“But you don’t know what’s best for you. I do. And right now, you need sleep.”
I start to protest again but he puts his hand over my mouth before I can speak. “Don’t argue with me.” He takes the book out of my hand and tosses the rest of them onto the floor. I know better than to push him now, so I let the argument go, resolving instead to wake up early and finish my reading then.
“Guess you can leave now,” I grumble.
“I can, but I won’t.” He leans in and brushes his lips to mine, but I don’t return the kiss. I’m too tired and angry to comply with his needs at the moment.
“Before you drift off into never-never land, I want you to remember to call me when you wake up,” he orders.“I need to make sure you’re alright, understand?”
Instead of answering, I roll over in bed, giving him my back.
“Do you understand, Naya?” he says slowly. Enunciating each word, the way he does when he’s attempting to contain his anger.
“Yes,” I hiss quietly, yanking the covers over my head. As much as I want to rip the blankets off and defy him, the drugs are too strong. I feel myself being pulled under and all too soon, I am dead to the world.
Chapter 5
Naya
Bolting upright in bed, my heart is racing. I'm drenched in sweat and feeling oddly disappointed. Pieces of the dream I just had are hanging along the fringe of my mind, and I try frantically to remember them before they disappear forever. Only tiny bits remain now; a rainstorm, insane lightning, and then, Etash. That, I remember vividly. Swallowing hard, I recall the image that has just ripped me from sleep. Etash, leaning in to kiss me, his lips glistening with rain.
That innocent fantasy brings with it so much guilt and confusion that I know I'll never be able to go back to sleep. Although it's only 4:13 am., I decide to wake up. At least now I'll have plenty of time to finish my Drama Lit homework in peace.
My head is still a bit fuzzy from the drugs Seth gave me last night. Asshole. For a second, I actually debate calling him as 'ordered to' the moment I woke up, but I figure he wouldn’t appreciate my early morning sarcasm. Instead, I pop a few aspirins to quell the throb in my head, grab my shower stuff and trudge off to the bathroom.
There’s no need for coffee since I'm already wide awake, but I brew some anyway when I get back. Downing a granola bar, I throw on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, bracing myself for the crisp October air.
October used to be my favorite month before... I remember we'd all decorate the house crazy for Halloween. Complete with carved pumpkins, spider webs, a fog machine and spooky music. All of my friends would go out to trick-or-treat, but I'd always stay at home and pass out the candy. I loved seeing all the little kids dressed up and the awe in their eyes as they took in all of our decorations. The best part was their costumes, though. Mom and Dad always dressed in pairs: Salt and Pepper shakers, Yin and Yang, Cheech and Chong and my favorite; green eggs and ham. My parents knew how to celebrate life, how to live every moment like it was their last. It's a trait I knew they wanted to instill in me, but that wish died when they did.
With expert hands, I wrap my still-wet hair into a sloppy ponytail just to get it off my face, and toss a pair of leggings
in my bag for acting class. Acting...Etash. Shaking my head, I grab the largest coffee mug I have and fill it to the brim in a feeble attempt to swallow my rampant thoughts down before I sequester myself on my bed for some serious reading time.
Around 8:00, I give my eyes a much-needed break and resign myself to calling Seth. His roommate, John, answers, highly annoyed at the early hour of my call. He tells me Seth is still 'sleeping one off' before he mumbles what a stupid bitch I am. Nice.
I read for a bit longer then putter around on-line until it's time for me to leave. Cramming the essentials into my bag, I allow myself the usual quick, cursory glance in the mirror before heading out. I let out a gasp.
All along the left side of my face there is a long, dark line which runs from the corner of my eye all the way down to the end of my jaw. The outline of the back of a metal chair is now imprinted onto my face. Perfect. Just perfect.
Thoroughly pissed, I yank the ponytail out of my hair hoping to cover as much of my gruesome face as possible with a curtain of black hair and storm off to class.
I’m the first one to arrive, again, but today I decide, this is a good thing. I pad off into the bathroom to put my leggings on and when I come out, I choose a seat in the back, keeping my face to the wall, just as Etash had done. The realization causes me to squirm in my seat.
Needing to keep myself busy, I dig in my bag for something to read. Without thinking, I pull out my copy of Romeo & Juliet, but then cringe, and shove it back down to the bottom. I scrounge around for something else, but all I have left in my bag is my Drama Lit book, which I spent hours reading this morning, a notebook and my planner. Figures.
Just then the door opens, and my heart speeds up. Relief floods me when I see it’s only Kari and another tall girl. What was her name? Liz? Liv? No-name goes into the bathroom, as Kari makes her way over to me.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Kari asks, sitting down beside me.
“Better.”
“How’s your head?”
I sigh. There’s really no point in hiding it from her so I swing my hair to the side, showcasing my make-shift tattoo.
Pulled Page 5