The Silent One ✔

Chapter Fifteen

"Happy birthday Jen" Ned smiles as giving Jenny a hug.

"Thank you" Jenny responds with a smile as we all stand up from our booth at the restaurant, "did you all enjoy the food?"

"Yeah, it was pretty good" Blake assures her. "So hey, who's going in whose car?"

"What if we do, you and I, in my car," Chris tells his brother "then Jen and Eva in Ned's?"

Jenny nods "sounds good to me"

I nod as we all begin to leave the restaurant. "So Jen, whose gift did you prefer, Blake and Eva's or mine?" Ned asked with a cocky smile.

"Y-you want me to choose between the designers or bath bombs and chocolate?" Jenny blinks.

"Mhmm" he grins as we arrive at the parked cars.

Jenny twirls her red hair with her fingers, "...well, I mean they're designers"

"Yes!" Ned throws his fist into the air.

"It's the thought that counts" Blake and I cry simultaneously.

"Keep telling yourself that" Ned laughs

I laugh as looking over to the car beside us, as Blake slides into the passenger seat. I look over to Chris who looks at me with a small smile. His lingering glares make me feel nervous, I'm not at all used it.

"Eva, c'mon" Jenny calls from the passenger seat of Ned's car.

I nod slowly as breaking my gaze away from Chris. I slid into the backseat before looking back over to their car through the tinted windows.
Something about Chris feels so close to home, I can't put my finger on it.

Within twenty minutes, we arrive at the tracks. It appears to be an abandoned drive-in. We arrive after Blake and Chris, which immediately makes me think that Chris is going to beat Ned tonight.

"So whose racing?" I ask them.

"Chris and Ned tonight," Blake tells me, "against everybody else of course"

They're gonna be street racing against other seniors from other schools. Kinda stupid if you ask me. Someone could get seriously hurt. Plus, God knows what will happen if the cops show up.

"You know who was good" Ned starts "Sam"

"True" Blake agrees."He'll be back in a few weeks, you know"

Samuel Wood was their friend who was locked up for drug possession. I wonder what he'll be like?

"Ugh, we're not coming here with him" Jenny refuses. "He's always high on the hard stuff and causing all kinds of trouble"

That sounds all too familiar.

"Where's Marcus?" Jenny questions as searching our surroundings.

"Getting ready to roll," Ned says in an overly hyped voice.

"You make me cringe," Jenny tells him.

I suddenly feel the undeniable urge to pee. I better find a bathroom. With that, I begin to take a few steps away from them. There's probably one by the abandoned candy van in the distance.

"Hey, where are you going?" Blake calls to me.

I look over my shoulder to Blake. God first my grandfather and now Blake? Why are people suddenly monitoring everything I'm doing? I haven't been watched this closely since I was in prison. I shake my head. I can't take my frustrations out on Blake. It's just, privacy feels like something so far out of my reach.

"Bathroom," I tell him simply.

"I'll come with you" Jenny follows.

I'll never understand why girls go to restrooms in groups.

"Great" I roll my eyes.

I've grown to enjoy Jenny's company, but damn she can be annoying at times. We walk for the next five minutes, with her just rambling on about god knows what in my ear.

"I'll just wait out here," Jenny tells me as I enter the bathrooms.

If she didn't need to go then why did she follow me? Again, I shake my head as an attempt to remind myself that my anger isn't with Jenny — it's with my grandfather.

Once I'm done, I wash my hands in the sink and exit the bathroom. I search my surrounding's and find that she's nowhere in sight. When someone says 'I'll wait out here', I usually expect them to be outside when I arrive.

Suddenly I hear a scream in the distance. I furrow my brows, slowly following the screams. It's so god damn dark, I can't see a thing. The noise grows louder. I see two figures standing. I squint, but still can't make out the two.

The girl continues to scream.

"Shut the fuck up!" The man grabs her hair.

"Hey!" I cry, making the both snap their head in my direction.

Without hesitation, I run towards the man pushing him away from the girl who pulls out her phone, but I don't listen to the words she says to the person on the other end. A few seconds later someone shows up with their phone a few inches in front of their face with the torch feature on, making me unable to identify them.

The victim and the person she called stand behind me and appear to be watching as the man who attacked her begins to choke me from behind.

Without thinking I bend down, before spreading my legs. I see that he is only a foot behind my shoes. I stick my hands in the space between my legs, giving me access to his legs. I flop backwards with my hands still gripped around his legs, resulting in us both falling backwards. He hits his head on the grass, whilst I hit mine on his chest.

I recover fast. I stand up immediately and begin continuously kicking the man's head, stomach, and crotch. He hisses in pain as the light shines on me from the person behind me's phone.

I take a step back from the man on the floor.

Behind me, I see Jenny and Chris holding his phone with the torch feature on. I then look back at the guy laying unconscious on the floor.

Oh, God.

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USA hotline:

1-800-656-HOPE

RAINN - +18006565673

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1800-RESPECT

AWDR - 1800 333 666

Reachout.com - https://au.reachout.com/articles/sexual-assault-support

UK website:

http://uksaysnomore.org/get-help/

Please visit: https://www.rainn.org/

Canada:

https://www.ontario.ca/page/lets-stop-sexual-harassment-and-violence

http://www.awhl.org/

Toll Free: 1-866-863-0511
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http://www.talk4healing.com/

Telephone: 1-855-554-4325

Mental Health Crisis Line: A 24/7 helpline to assist people experiencing a mental health problem or crisis.

http://www.crisisline.ca/home.htm

Telephone: 613-722-6914

Thank you