Against the Wall

Being Vulnerable...?

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Special thanks to ThisLovelyJourney because I asked her for feedback and she was lovely enough to oblidge! You Rock, girl!!! Go read her stuff, everybody!!!

Excuse the mistakes.

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My bedroom door banged open, and I woke with a start. Before I had a chance to really grasp what was going on, something cold and round was pressed to my forehead. My eyes focused on an angry looking man standing over me, and with a single sideways glance, I realized what was resting on my head.

The muzzle of a gun.

"Get up," he hissed, and I did as I was told, painfully aware of the weapon. When I was standing next to my bed, the man twisted my arms painfully behind my back and forced me forward. I stumbled on going down the stairs, and the man yanked me to keep me upright, causing my shoulders to feel like they were going to pop out.

At first, I had no idea where he was taking me, and I was terrified that it was out of my house and into a van to take me away. However, as we walked down the hallway, I realized that he was forcing me to my dad's office.

"Open the door!" he ordered, and with a shaky hand, I turned the door knob and pushed the door open. The man pushed me into the room, and I blinked in the bright lights.

"What is the meaning of this?" my dad roared, and he jumped out of his seat. "How dare you touch her?"

"This is your fault, Jack" a different man sitting across from my dad said simply. His fancy suit told me that he was an associate of my father, and from the look on his face, I could tell he was angry at my father.

"What's going on, Dad?" I asked hoarsely, and the man holding me pulled on my arm, causing me to whimper and clamp my mouth shut.

"Don't you dare hurt her, Marcus!" my dad screamed, rushing towards me from behind his desk. Before he could reach me, the man, Marcus, rose from his seat and stopped him.

"We won't touch a hair on her pretty little head if you get me my money in the next 48 hours," Marcus said, and then he glanced at me before adding; "After that, her head won't be looking so pretty."

My eyes widened in realization as I understood what he meant, as did my dad's. Then, Marcus snapped his fingers, and the man holding me removed the gun and shoved me hard to the ground. I yelped as my elbow slammed into the ground, and as I cradled it in my other arm, I watched as Marcus and his men filed out of the room.

I looked up at my dad, and we both remained silent, Marcus's threat still hanging thick in the air.

*

"Sawyer? Earth to Sawyer!"

I blinked and looked up to find Norah standing in front of me. I frowned and asked, "How'd you get in here?"

"Your Grandma let me in. She said you weren't feeling well," Norah replied. "I walked into your room and found you staring off into space."

I shivered, remembering the memory I'd just relived, and I tugged my blanket tighter around my body. "I was just thinking," I said, and Norah looked at me skeptically.

"You're not sick are you?" Norah asked, raising an eyebrow. I felt like she already knew the truth, so I just pursed my lips and studied her.

"Wow," I said, "Where'd you get those clothes?" Instead of her normal, bland sweater and baggy jeans, Norah was wearing clothes that really accentuated her curves. She had on a tighter pair of light blue jeans and a pale pink, long-sleeved shirt that was tighter around her chest, and then flowed underneath it. Even Norah's hair was styled instead of her usual French braid.