What The Heart Wants (bwwm)

Five

Angel

     I remember once when I was about seven or eight I had a near death experience. I'd left while my mom was at work, even though she told me I couldn't and gone to a family friends birthday pool party with my cousin who was the same age as me. I wasn't the strongest swimmer back then and I also didn't have the strongest set of lungs thanks to childhood asthma, but I was somehow convinced that I was a immaculate swimmer.

     We reached the public pool in my cousins neighborhood, where the girl was having the party. I noticed a huge jungle gym type slide at the end of the pool on the deep end and my eyes grew with curiosity and excitement. I never knew that pools could have slides like on the playground at school. So, I quickly kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag with my pool stuff, and ran off to the slide with the rest of the kids without even a backwards glance.

     The family friend went down the slide with ease. She was a great, instructor taught, swimmer and this was a cake walk to her. I was up next and my excitement didn't fail to keep me pumped. I sat on the slide and readied myself to go down. I held on to the side of the slide and silently counted silently to three.

     On three I let go and slipped down. In that small amount of time I could feel my excitement rise. My cheeks flushed as the warm summer air gave them the most gentlest of caresses. When the cold water grabbed my hot flesh it pulled me under and refused to let me go panic began to settle itself in the pit of my stomach. I realized that I was sinking fast and couldn't, for the life of me, recall how to swim. In the end, I would rather be drowning than in my current situation. Honestly I think anyone would have rather drowned than be in this situation. Even then while I was in that terrible situation I knew someone was going to come and save me, but here I had no hope.

     Tears rolled down my cheek that lay pressed against the cold, hard dirty floor of the girls bathroom. My clothes were ripped and horribly disheveled, my lip was cut and I was so terrifyingly exposed. The man had turned me over and pushed me harder into the ground. Blood from my split lip dribbled onto the ground. He reached under me and yanked my hips up towards him. I cried harder as I heard the jingling of his belt, but it wasn't until I heard his zipper that undeniable panic forced me to fight back even harder. Donna's cackle seemed to encourage him while his haggard breaths filled my ears. He forced my jeans down and pulled so hard on my hair that it felt like it would detach from my scalp. I squeezed my eyes shut and let my eardrum piercing scream fill the room.

       "SHUT HER UP, JAMES!" Donna yelled as I opened my eyes continuing to scream, only to see Donna racing towards me. She drew her foot back as she readied herself to kick me in the face. I closed my eyes again and braced for the impact but it never came. I opened them once more to see Donna on the ground and Kaden Barnes pulling the big guy, James, off of me. The man was so surprised that he barely had time to react before Kaden started punching him hard in the face until he passed out. Donna scrambled to her feet and jumped on Kaden's back screaming like a wild banshee.

       "Get the fuck off me you psychotic bitch!" Kaden yelled as he tried to shake her off. Donna just continued to scream as she scratched at Kaden's eyes. I wanted to help, but I was to scared to move out of my corner that I'd rushed to when the big man was pushed off of me. I sat pressed against the wall under the sink with my knees hugged to my chest as I stared at the scene in front of me. The man, James, was out cold on the floor as Kaden struggled with Donna.

       "Just let me kill HER!" Donna babbled angrily. "She doesn't deserve to live! Why the fuck does she deserve to live?! I fucking hate you, Angel! I wish you'd just die, you black piece of shit. I wish all of you would just die!"

       Kaden's eyes opened wide and he stopped fighting. Donna fell to the ground defeated and crawled next to James's knocked out form. She cradled him in her lap and kissed his bald head.

       Suddenly the bathroom door opened and in rushed the campus security. Finally. Kaden ran to my side as they secured a defeated looking Donna. He pulled me from under the sink and stood me up. He pushed my hair from my face and tried to cover my exposed flesh. I flinched every time his bare skin touched mine and started to hyperventilate. Donna's hateful and vengeful eyes never left mine as the police dragged her from the bathroom while she struggled to break free and get to me.

      "It's okay Angel," he whispered as he cupped my cheeks. "It's over now."

      I stared into his ocean eyes and nodded. I was in to much shock to say anything or even say thank you. I just continued to stare at him until the police wrapped me up in a blanket and walked me out of the school towards an ambulance. The hall was crowded as students parted like the Red Sea to allow the broken looking girl through. The murmurs were loud and deafening on my overly sensitive ears and for some reason through all of this my mind seemed to only be able to register one thing... Kaden Barnes just saved my virginity and most of all my life. I cut my eyes towards him and frowned. He stared straight ahead with a dark shadow of regret etched on his tan face.