Fear

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Samantha
~

The heavy metal doors closed behind me with a dull clang. Fresh air. I breathed it in as I took a clumsy step outside, my knees almost buckling underneath me. It was happening again. I couldn't breathe. Black dots blurred my vision. I had to calm down, I've been through this before. Too many times. But first- I steadied myself against the door and looked around for something, anything. My heartbeat was skyrocketing; there were so many questions running through my mind. No time to think about that now.

Finally, I found a rusty, twisted metal tube lying between piles of trash on the dark alley pavement. I grabbed it with shaky hands and tried sliding it through the two handles sticking out from the double doors. It got stuck where the tube had bent, but I prayed it would be enough to jam the door from outside. I turned around, vision still shaky and blurred, resting my head against the doors and trying to regain my breath. My stomach twisted when I looked out at this alley. Eerie, dark. It looked so similar to the alley so many nights ago. I shut my eyes, and I could still remember it all so clearly. How he held me up against a wall, held me in a tightening grip that left bruises on my wrist for weeks. And worst of all, the look in his eyes when he saw the terror in my face. Deadly.

I couldn't stand up straight anymore and slid down to the dirty pavement with my back against the door. He was here again, and I was just waiting around for him to get to me. Why hadn't he done something when he bumped into me in there? I knew he'd recognized me.

I couldn't stay here forever. As my heart rate slowed and my mind began thinking clearer, I had the urge to just run, far from here. But Nick was still here, and he promised he'd come for me. They could hurt him, too. And now I knew there was more to the story than he was letting on about. He knew those guys from that night.

Only a few minutes passed with me trying to break through the wall of fog in my mind before I heard a distant clatter come from the front entrance. The alley I was in provided cover from the eyes of people coming out, but my heartbeat still throbbed in my ears.

I scattered on my feet when I saw Nick emerge from the main door, looking around with wide eyes. I let out a relieved breath and was about to call out to him when I saw he wasn't alone. "Walk, Carter!" A deep voice growled as someone pushed him along roughly. It was him, the guy from that night. I breathed in sharply and dropped down to the floor again, hiding behind a large trashcan.

I heard more footsteps and vicious chuckles. He wasn't alone. I scooted to the far end of the trashcan and peeked out at the alley. My gaze began to get shaky and blurry, my palms sweating. Nick was surrounded by at least four guys, including one of the two guys who'd attacked me, who stood taller than the rest. He seemed to have a growl permanently etched on his face, bruises and scars that hadn't faded yet adding to his already menacing figure. Scars that Nick had surely left after he'd left him nearly unconscious on the pavement.

They stopped right in front of the small alleyway, I could see every face perfectly. Nick glanced at the alley, and I realized he could see me. He was the only one who knew where I was. As the guys began mumbling something I couldn't make out, Nick shook his head once, subtly. I knew it was meant for me. My throat seemed to shrink suddenly, fear manifesting itself into a big knot in my stomach. He was telling me not to move.

In a split second, the tall guy landed a vicious punch to the side of Nick's face, making a crushing sound as his head turned sharply. I flinched and gasped, putting a hand around my mouth to keep me from screaming. Another of the guys held Nick's arms behind his back. Nick rolled his head back around and spit out some blood, but his expression remained the same: tense, unreadable.

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