If I Was To Join Them

Chapter 5

Ch. 5

I sit in bed, rocking back and forth trying to comfort myself. I know I'll never be able to take what I did back, I can't face him again. I'm glad tomorrow's Saturday...

I lay down quietly weeping and know I won't be able to fall asleep. I sit back up and walk to my closet. I push aside a panel and crawl in, a space I discovered three days after we moved in. I lay my head against the wall and stare into blackness, no light whatsoever.

I sit and think about what I'll say to him about the picture. I know he'll ask questions, such as "Why do you have a picture like that?" I'm really tired, but I don't let myself fall asleep. I crawl back out and write a note.

Dear Family,

I will be back in a couple months, don't look for me. If you send cops after me, then I'll stay away longer. I have some facts to face.

Love, Katie.

I leave the note on my bed and dress in my black attire. I jump out of the window and start to walk towards, well, I don't know where. I could care less where I go, as long as its away from here. Away from Jeff and his friends.

I walk down the sidewalk, slowly but quietly making my way downtown. I'm pulled into an alleyway and shoved to the ground by giant hands, hands that could easily overpower me if they wanted too. I start to stand up, but the hands shove me back down. I look up to see a giant man, familiar stature.

I start to freak out when his hands reach for my pants, starting to unbutton them. I push him away and go to button them back, but he pulls my pants off. I pull my hoodie down and kick him where it counts, only to have him catch my leg. He runs his hands up to reach for my underwear. I pull my leg away and grab my pants. I start to run away, but the man tackles me to the ground. He has me face up, and my arms are pinned above my head by one of his hands. His other hand reaches under my hoodie and squeezes me with lust, which disgusts me.

I squirm underneath him, and he starts to laugh. He lifts me up, lays my hands below me, then lays me back down so that I can't use my hands, but he has two free ones. His hands reach back under my hoodie and reach me, squeezing me, making me weep because I know what's happening. He pulls my hoodie up, over my head and off, taking my shirt with it. He takes my bra off too, and the cool air hits me and gives me chills.

Maybe he won't do this. Maybe he will realize what he's doing. If the world were like that, much of the crimes committed wouldn't happen. Jeff and his friends, they wouldn't exist. The man's hands reach for my underwear, pulling them off me. I silently weep, knowing it was a bad idea to run from home. He is about to shove his grubby finger in me, when a shadow moves in the corner. It catches the mans eye, and he looks towards it. The shadow leaps at him, pushing the man off me.

I grab my hoodie and pull it over my head, unsure of who this shadow is. I quickly pull my underwear on and shove my bra in my pocket. I hear a gurgling sound and I turn to see Jeff covered in fresh blood, the man who I now recognize as one of the teachers laying in a pool of blood. I pull my hoodie down to cover what I can of my legs, but my hoodie is only so long.

I sit on the ground and pull my hoodie over my knees, then silently weep with my face buried into my knees. I hug my knees close to me as I hear Jeff slowly walking towards me. He stops in front of me and stands there for a while. Then he sits down beside me and hugs me close and I weep into his hoodie instead of my knees.

We stay in this position for a while, never talking, until I stop weeping. I pull away and look at the blood covered wall in front of me. I see Jeff out of the corner of my eye pull something out of his jacket. I look back to the wall, not wanting to talk. I think about going back home until I see Jeff holding the four pieces of paper. He seems to be trying to put them together, failing miserably. I grab them from his hands and lay them on the ground, the way their supposed to be. He looks at the picture it shows, and I bury my face in my knees again.

He pulls something out of his pocket and lays it beside the picture, then takes off. I wait a couple seconds before looking up. I see a picture of me on the ground, a picture of me and my friends, and pick it up.

It looks familiar, like the thing Jeff held in his hands earlier today before Josh, Drake, and I laid outside cloud watching. That's when I realize it is the same picture. I remember when this picture was taken. I thought we lost it when we were moving.

~<Flashback; Before Katie Moved>~

"Hey guys! Wait up!" Jace calls out behind us. I turn and look at her, her ombré curls falling down her shoulders. She jogs towards us, not really trying her hardest. Lyla, Grace, and I stand there waiting until she reaches us.

"It's about time!" Grace shouts out. The blonde has a bright blue hoodie on, blue jean cutoffs for shorts. Totally normal with us.

"Come on, guys, he's getting away!" Lyla-the redhead-says. We all nod and start chasing again, after Jake. Another one of my best friends.

"We're going to find you, Jake!" I shout out.

"No your not!" he yells back, his voice resonating from somewhere in the distance. I follow the sound of his voice and turn a corner.

I trip on him, falling on top of him. I shriek, head colliding with his chest. I look up at him and see a smirk on his face.

His black hair flattens out over his forehead, dulling his brown eyes. I fall for it every time. "Hey, Katie."

"Hey, Jake. Found you!" I say. He smiles wider.

"Sure, but now you're my prisoner. Until everyone else gives up, you have to do as I say," he says. If it were any other boy, I'd be scared out of my mind. But it's Jake, I can trust him. He's the only one who knows about what I leave in bedrooms at night.

"Fine. What shall I do first?" I ask. He taps his finger on his chin, as if thinking about it.

"How about you, lets see, hide me so none of the others can find me. Chop chop!" he says. I stand, finally getting off him, and bring him to my hiding spot when we play this game.

"Stay here. That is your next command," he says. I sit down beside him and wait for as long as it takes the others.

"Katie? Where'd you go? Did you find him or not?" I hear Jace call out. Jake and Jace are twins, in case you couldn't tell by the identical names. Not identical twins, but still twins.

"Shh. Don't give us away," Jake says. I nod. I guess now would be the perfect time to tell him.

"Jake, I need to tell you something," I whisper, looking down.

"What?" he whispers back.

"I'm...moving."

He stares at me in shock, anger swirling in his eyes. Then is overcome by sadness as he looks away, telling me he doesn't want to talk about it right now. I look down at my toes and stay silent. Then, out of nowhere, something unexplainable happens.

Jake grabs my hands and makes me look at him. I feel so weak given the fact that I'll leave all my friends here to meet strangers. He looks at me for a second, then crashes his lips to mine in a kiss I never seen coming. My eyes widen with shock, then close as I kiss back for the first time. This is my first kiss.

He is the first to pull away, gasping for air. I feel a smile work its way across my face and can't slap it away. I can't look away, and neither can he for a couple minutes while we're both smiling like idiots and holding hands.

I hear footsteps close in on us and our hands instantly spring apart. We both look towards the curtain that hides us from anyone, and then the curtain is yanked away by Grace.

"I found them! Come on, guys, your mom is going to take a picture of us!" she says, referring to my mom. I haven't told them yet, so they don't know why my mom wants a picture of us now. I stand and walk beside Grace and Jake, towards my mom and the camera. We position ourselves in crazy ways, and my mom snaps the picture.

~<End of Flashback>~

I feel the tears stroll down my cheeks as I remember Jake, and his reaction when I told him I was leaving. When we pulled away, he stood in my old yard and waved us off. It could have been my imagination, but I thought I saw a gleam of tears dotting his cheeks.