{ LIVING THE POGUE LIFE }

{30}

Brie winced and tried to open her eyes. She could feel the concrete against her cheek and the glass scratching her arms. She put her hands flat on the ground, shards of glass pricking her palms.

She pushed herself up, but pain shot through her back, making her collapse back onto the concrete. She let out a cry of pain, unable to move.

A bright light shone straight ahead of her, but she couldn't make out what it was. A car door slammed, a figure rushing towards her, blurring and multiplying before her.

"Shit, shit, shit," a man's voice said, "Fuck!"

Brie tried to make a noise, but her chest felt bruised and crushed against the ground. She could smell strong liquor, along with the smell of her own blood which she was now aware was dripping down her face.

"I dont-I dont have insurance! I cant get arrested again...I-I'm sorry."

Hands gripped her wrists as she felt herself being dragged. She tried to scream at the agony that tore through her body, her bare legs scraping against the road.

Tears blurred her vision, but she could still see the headlights glaring from the road, blinding her. Grass brushed against her legs as he dragged her off to the side of the road. And there was absolutely nothing that she could do about it.

He suddenly dropped her arms, making her fall flat onto the ground with a thump. The grass now damp with the cool of the evening, but she could hardly feel it through the pain.

She wanted to cry and beg, but she couldnt make a sound. The man crouched down next to her, she could feel his breath against her skin, the smell of whiskey was overpowering.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, pushing her harshly.

Brie felt herself roll, helplessly falling down the slope until she fell limp, unable to move. Her whole body was on fire, burning and aching. She tried to let out a noise, any noise, but nothing came out.

Her head spun as she opened her eyes, trying to focus on something. Anything. But it was all a blur. She could faintly make out trees, the night sky, the stars stretching out across her vision.

She heard the screeching of car tyres from the road as the man drove away, leaving her for dead. A sob raked through her body, making her muscles contract painfully. Tears rolled down her face, mouth filling with blood from her bleeding nose.

"Please," she cried, desperately. "Please, help me."

She didn't know who she was calling out for. She just knew who she wished would come and save her. The person that always managed to save her, even when he didn't even know it.

But she knew that no one would find her until morning, and she didn't even know if she had that long

Hours went by as Brie fell in and out of consciousness, drifting between rushes of pain and complete numbness. She kept trying to move different parts of her body, assessing the damage that the crash had caused and slowly regaining her memory.

She concluded that nothing was seriously broken, apart from maybe a couple of ribs, which was surprising, for the amount of pain she was in. She figured it was all bruising, apart from her nose which still wouldn't stop bleeding, clogging her throat and making her choke.

Parts of the accident were coming back to her piece by piece. The car had come out of nowhere; smashing into the side of her, sending her hurling several yards through the air and plummeting onto hard concrete with sharp shards raining down on her. Her ears still rung from the clashing of metal and the breaking of glass, the bright gleam of headlights still dancing behind her eyes.