Stay Wild: A Curly Shepard Love Story

- Chapter 8 -

Ella Rae Jumped
-before helping Angela-
"You alright?" I ask, putting my hand on Curly's bare shoulder blade as he continues to cough into the elbow of his leather jacket. He nods, his face creased with discomfort. Curly coughs again and I flinch.

"I'm fine," he insists, choking slightly. "My throats just dry, I'm-" He's interrupted by his own coughing again. I put my hand on his forehead. He's not necessarily hot, but he is warmer than usual.

"You're not hot," I whisper, standing up. I kiss his forehead and he feels a little warmer than feeling with my hand. "I'm gonna get you some cough medicine, alright." I go into the bathroom in the hallway and dig through the medicine cabinet.

My hands fumble through the bottles and I drop a couple onto the counter. I lean forward, pressing my palms on the counter and looking down. Why am I so nervous? I just need medicine. That's it. I just need the right bottle.

"You okay?" Curly asks, appearing at the door with jeans low on his hips. I nod.

"I'm fine. I don't know," I answer, shaking my head. "I don't know." I keep shaking my head.

"Am I really that distracting, princess?"

I shake my head and smack his chest, laughing. Curly winks back at me.

"I'm fine, Ella," Curly insists. He grabs my waist and pulls me against his chest. "I promise." He coughs slightly like he's trying to suppress it.

"Then just take medicine, please, Curly."

"I don't need medicine, man, I'm fine." I shake my head and lean my forehead against his shoulder.

"Please, just do it and see if you feel better," I offer, turning around to the medicine bottles I dropped in the sink. Curly presses himself against me from behind and I find the bottle. I check the dosage and grab a little cup. I slide out from in front of Curly and pour it in the little plastic cup.

"Take this, Curls."

Curly grabs it and takes it like a shot, gagging more on that than he ever did a real shot of a alcohol. He gags and I laugh.

"That shit's nasty. I'll kill myself before that goes down my throat again." I smirk and wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him quick.

"Does taste pretty bad," I laugh, pulling my arms back down. "I'm gonna go get us some beers."

************

Curly wasn't at school today, so I take it he's sick, like I told him. I wouldn't think he would stay home though unless he was feeling real bad. Tim doesn't seem like the type to tell him what to do, but you never know. He wasn't looking too good yesterday.

I know he never told me where he lived, but I oughta stop by. Curly obviously wasn't too fond of me coming over there before. I do wanna make sure he's okay. For all I know and that boy's record, he could have gotten in a fight and cracked his skull.

I readjust his jacket on my shoulders letting the arms sag off my arms like little wings. It's way too big, but it really does keep you warm, I see why Curly liked it. I'm gonna get him a new one, I ain't giving this one back.

"Hey, doll, whatchu doing walking alone?" A guy whistles from a mustang pulling up next to me. I shake my head. I just wanna go see Curly, I don't want any trouble. I just ignore them and keep walking till I feel a splash of liquid on my side.

Tensing, I freeze, clenching my fists. I can't fight them. Even one on one, I couldnt. I didn't see how many were in the car, but I couldn't take one on my own. I forgot what it was like to walk alone, Curly always walked me home. The last time someone catcalled me he got a mouthful from Curly, even worse was that it was from someone from his own gang.

"We're talking to you." I hear the doors slam shut and I start walking again. "Come on, babydoll." I feel sick to my stomach and for some reason, I feel myself slowing down. Not because I want to go with them, but because I don't know what to do. Do I run?

I sprint, but I was never the fastest runner, so they catch me fast, pinning me to the ground. No matter how hard and how much I move, I don't get any further than they want me to.

They grab Curly's jacket and I scream, trying to kick them away.

"Nice jacket, huh. You think this looks good?" He laughs, sliding it on. I scream at the top of my lungs and the other punches me hard in the face, covering my mouth. I squirm and kick his ankle out from under him. It slides into my side and he carries back to his feet.

The soc jumps back and kicks at my sides, stepping on my hip.

Tires screech and another door opens and closes hard.

"Hey!" The voice was deep, loud, and booming, echoing through the streets louder than my screams probably did. "Hey! Get the hell offa her, man!" They both stand up fast and back up. I sit up and heave, panting for breath.

They run off before the voice can even catch up to them. A body appears next to me, kneeling. When I turn, I almost mistake it for Curly, but a large scar runs down his face and I sure would remember if Curly had that last night.

"Hey, you're Curly's chick, ain't ya?" I cough onto my hand and nod I can taste blood and see it on my skin too.

"He's at home, you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I assure him. "He's sick, ain't he? He wasn't feeling good yesterday." Tim nods and grabs my arm, helping pick me up.

"Come on, kid."