Gripped

Chapter [2] - "You Saved my Life!"

Eyes still closed, I could feel every inch of my body ache like crazy. After what happened earlier tonight, there seemed to be no way I was going back to my own house. PJ and his friends were out of control. The cuts and bruises I received from the night’s chaos had me wince in pain every time I stirred. I had no idea where I was, since I hadn’t really opened my eyes yet. I knew I passed out, and I was too scared that if I opened my eyes, I’d have to face the threatening reality that I could never go home. I had flashbacks of my attacker every now and then. The memory was traumatizing. I felt the pain in my left cheek where I had been brutally punched. I wanted to sleep…sleep and never wake up.

Wherever I was, it was eerily quiet and my head was throbbing painfully from being slammed into a wall. Anger swelled up inside me, not only for my attacker but also for my brother, PJ. None of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for him.

Memories clouded my thoughts. I thought of my Dad, my Dad who was always out of town, never bothering to call and ask if we were okay. He’d come back home a few times, but it was like he was never really there at all. I thought of my mom. My mom who died in a car accident when I was 12 and PJ was 14. So much has changed since then. Ever since Mom died, my Dad, Jensen Lewis, and my brother, PJ had become distant. I remembered the tears, the sorrow, and the pain as if it were only yesterday. The death of my mother had become the point where PJ changed completely. My mother, Pauline Lewis, was usually the one that held us together. But now that she’s gone, everything seemed to be drifting apart.

As much as I wanted to lie here forever, I decided that this wasn’t going to get me anywhere. Opening one eye, I peeked around and took in my surroundings. My heart seemed to be hammering inside my chest.

I was lying in someone’s car.

Panic-stricken, I forced myself to get up from the backseat. There was nobody else in the car but me. Whoever it was that took me, left me here alone. Fearing that the owner of the car would come back, I got up and opened the car door. I was dizzy and I had no idea where I was going. It was probably about 10 in the evening, but I couldn’t really tell.  I bolted out the car, ignoring the pain surging through my body.

I half walked, half ran out in the streets. My vision was blurry, and I could barely see which street I was in. Running like I was drunk, I crashed straight into someone. Knocked down to the ground, I felt like throwing up. My headache seemed to have gotten worse.

Forcing down the nausea and pain, I allowed myself to lie in the street and close my eyes. My ears seemed to be ringing and the blood was pumping rapidly through my veins, making my temples want to explode. I felt someone’s arms lift me up, but I couldn’t tell who it was. It may have been my attacker or it may have been some random stranger that saw me playing dead in the middle of who-knows-what Street. 

“Janie,” A familiar voice said, “You should have stayed in the car.”

I was trying to figure out whose voice it belonged to…Then it hit me.

My eyes fluttered wide open and I opened my mouth in surprise. “Chad!” I exclaimed. He set me down and I walked on my own two feet with his arm around my shoulder for support. “Please tell me you didn’t attack me tonight.” I glared at him, ignoring the pain in my head.

PJ’s friend gave me a lopsided grin. His hair was disheveled and his face and clothes were smeared with dirt and blood. There were a few visible bruises, but nothing seemed too serious.

“Is that,” I pointed to the blood stains on his shirt, “your blood?”

“Probably,” he shrugs, “or it could be your crazy attacker’s blood.”