The Mistake

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Samantha

The wind howled, tugging and nipping at my long sleeved shirt and loose hair. Goosebumps rose on my skin as I walked through the dark street, and I cursed under my breath when I realized I had left my sweater in Alex's bedroom. Not that I would be getting that back soon. I wasn't sure if I could face him, or anyone, in a while.

My hands hid under the slim sleeves of my shirt, offering an alternative to keep warm. My heart hurt somewhere deep in my chest as I turned another corner, almost feeling the sharp bruises engraved on it. How many more times would it be like this? This feeling of being embarrassed, alone, encaged by my cruel thoughts. Maybe you deserve it now after all, maybe it will never get better. The words came to my head suddenly, but I pushed the thought away, focusing instead on the shuffling feet that carried me closer to the warmth of my home with each step.

It was hard not to see the huge difference the farther I strayed from Nick's neighborhood. The houses back there were big, modern, and intimidating. But they got smaller and more average down the line, almost like mine.

I turned another corner, this time my pace quicker when I walked onto another street. My body ached for the tension in my legs, the burning sensation from a long run. But I was tired, too tired to do much else than go home and lay under my covers.

A silhouette appeared in the street beside me, clutching what I assumed was a bottle. The man staggered and swayed a little on his feet, and he took another swig. I lowered my gaze and walked to the farther end of the pavement, tensing when he passed by. Thankfully, he didn't even acknowledge me and walked past me. I walked a little faster. Only a couple blocks more to home.

A sound like overlapping voices and something crashing into a wall echoed through the empty street, but I brushed it off. One of the many parties that takes place here, probably. The sounds and yells got louder, until I was sure the party was way too close to me, yet I saw no sign of it. If there were a party going on, where was the music? The laughter? I frowned and had the sense to slow down a little when I reached the source, which was smack in the way to home. Too late.

In between two concrete walls, an alleyway opened, stretching far and hidden under dimly lit lights and stacks of things I didn't recognize. Dozens of people I couldn't see clearly were crowded in a distant circle, cheering and growling. Other people were among the trashcans, talking and exchanging weary glances and substances. Drugs?

The people dispersed from the back suddenly as a man's body tumbled to the floor in the same spot the people once were. Another man, bigger and bulkier, toppled on top of him and punched the one on the ground again and again. I gasped in shock, and for a moment, I couldn't move. The guy on the ground was gasping for air and twisting in pain, coughing up blood. The other stood up and wiped his bloodied hands on a towel thrown to him by one of the other guys. "That's what happens when you don't pay the boss back in time." He growled with a dark chuckle loud enough for me to hear, staring the nearly dead man in the eyes. A hand went up to my mouth. Gangsters.

My mind raced and snapped me back to where I was. My feet finally reacted and I took a clumsy step away from the alleyway. Run, my mind screamed. Two large shadows appeared seemingly out of nowhere, bending themselves out of the dark and into the dim lightning of the alleyway entrance. They stood in between me and the sidewalk that would lead back to my house. My heart was beating louder and my breath was getting short, but I took a few steps backwards.