Priceless

Chapter Six

I run. Run back to the big boss. Run away from this life. I run away from hurting him anymore.

Tears stream down my cheeks as I enter the office. "I can't do this anymore. I won't. I'm sorry. Please. Let me go." I throw the bag on the ground and see him slowly look up from his notebook. My whole body trembles with fear as his dark eyes turn angry.

"And what gave you this big revelation?"

I wipe my tears away and stand up straighter. "This drug kills people. I won't be a murderer. I'm sorry."

The man by his side laughs with a wheeze in his chest. "I'm sorry," he mocks me. "Do you know what you're doing, little girl?"

"I'm leaving."

They both laugh loudly and the big boss says, "No one leaves this place not if I kill them. But...I like you. I'll let you go."

My heart heaves a sigh of relief and a small smile starts at my lips. "Thank you--"

"But I won't let you leave without a little gift. What kind of boss would I be?" The man by his side nods with him and their devious smirks make the hairs of my back stand on point.

"I-I don't need a gift," I say as my vision blurs with tears.

"No no," the man says as he comes to me. "We insist..." He is only inches apart from me and looks over at a dark corner. He does a nod and men from each corner slowly approach me.

Panic runs through my veins and I make a run for it. But one of the men was already at the door and his nails dig through my skin.

"Give her a nice gift, boys," the boss says before going back to his notebook. "One she'll remember..."

"No please--" But someone puts a towel in my mouth and holds my arms back. I'm thrown into a separate room filled with drops of blood. I crawl my way to an escape, but one of them grabs my heels and drags me back.

The next thing I know, pain runs through my whole body as kicks and punches surround me. At one point, metal hits my body and I let out cries of pain. One of them puts tape over my mouth and tears are the only way to show my screaming heart. At one point, I come out of my faint when I feel one of them unbuttoning my pants. I muffle a scream and the man from the office opens the door to yell out, "That's enough. We do that with serious cases. She's just quitting."

The men look back at me and I gag on the blood filling up my mouth. The man from the office comes over and rips the tape off my mouth. I let out a cough; spitting out drops of blood. I try hard to stand, but my body now uses adrenaline to tire out. Pain seems so far away, but exhaustion makes me droopy as they carry me out. I fall hard on the cement and hit my cheek. I let out a cry and barely hear their insults telling me to never come back.

Then the world falls silent. I find a metal stand and I use it to help myself up. All my strength is gone and my arms tremble for me to fall back on the ground. Tears flood my vision and I can't feel my body tremble anymore. All I hear is my heart beating slowly in my ears and the last thing I see is a car passing by.

I wake up with a pain I can't explain. It's so huge and terrible that I let out a sob. I find strength to get up and I wobble my way to an alleyway. My mind is wide awake with pain and cries to people I know. How I wish I could have my mother hold me close. How I wish I could have my father look for the man that did this to me.

How I wish my brother, Logan, could clean my wounds.

How I wish for David...

David.

He doesn't love me anymore. But he's the only one that I can find for help. I let out a painful cough and more blood comes out. It's so cold out and my hand trembles as I dial David. He hangs me up and I whimper when I see his rejection. My lungs sting from the sob coming up my bloody throat and I look for his message box. With trembling fingers, I can type out:

Help me.

I send the text and shake harder as pain screams louder all over my body. My phone rings and I hear David's voice. "Dear? Are you alright? I--"

I clear my throat and it causes a cough to come out. I reach for air so I can whisper, "Help."

"Dear?! Where are you? What's going on?" I can hear the sound of keys and a puke stops me from continuing on. My vision now has black spots as my legs start to numb out.

"Dear! Baby. Tell me where are you. Look up and tell me what you see."

I wince as I look up and look for a street. All I see are black spots and tall gray buildings. I let out a whimper and find the strength to say, "I...don't know..."

"Okay...Okay. Stay with me, okay? Dear? Can you hear me?"

A wheezing sound comes out of my chest as I try to say, "Yes."

"I'm nearby, okay? Hang on. Just..." I can tell that he's holding in a sob as he says, "I'm near. I promise. I...I'm here. Wh-where are you, baby?"

My eyes close as I feel my heart beat slower. My whole body turns into ice and I let out shaky breaths. I then hear the phone die and I let my body fall to the side. I barely wince as a soft pain overwhelms my back and the last thing I see is David's frantic face picking me up.

The world is dark, but I can still hear voices. His voice is the loudest of them all as he says that I'll be okay. That's he going to be waiting for me just outside. He yells out how much he loves me as the world falls silent.

I wake up and pain overwhelms all over my body. I let out a groan and a gentle voice says to me, "Hey there. Can you tell me your name?"

I keep my eyes closed and focus on breathing without hurting my lungs. "Deirdre...."

"Deirdre. Can you squeeze my hand for me?" I can feel a cold hand under my skin and my heart cries for David's warmth. As tears start to make their way out of my eyes, I give her a small squeeze and her cold hand disappears. "That's good. On a scale from one to ten, how's your pain? Ten being--"

"Where's David?" I open my eyes for the first time and they sting from the bright light above me. The nurse furrows her brows in confusion and I let panic start up. "Where is he?! I want him here. I-I...You can't tell my parents!"

"Deirdre. You need to calm dow--"

"No! You cannot tell my parents. You can't tell them! They're...they'll kill me! Please!"

"Deirdre." The nurse sees another nurse appear at the doorway and says to her, "I need help here."

I try to get up as my legs start to tingle and my heart paces to escape. Despite the pain, I am able to sit up and get out of bed. The nurse takes my shoulders and pushes me back. I run to a corner of the room and for some reason, let something within me break. "Don't touch me! Get away from me!" Tears flow down my cheeks as I see her slowly approach me. She takes my arms and I fight out of her hold with a sob.

"Hey hey. Stop! You're hurting her!" David comes over and his warm green eyes make me stop fighting. His tender expression makes me melt as he sweetly takes me in his arms. "Hey there. Hey...you need to get back to bed, okay?"

I nod and let him lead me back to the hospital bed. The nurse lets out an exhausted sigh and says, "She is very strong despite...Never mind. You need to keep her there, Mister--"

My heart races when I hear this and I can imagine those men with blank faces come in with crowbars and chains. I start to pant and David sits by my side on the bed to hold me closer. "Hey. Don't worry. You're okay. You're safe now." His strong arms wrap around me and I let my face hide in his chest.

The nurse notices my fear and she gently takes a step back. "It's okay, Deirdre--"

"Her name is Dear," David firmly says. "She likes it better Dear."

The nurse respectfully nods and smiles. "Of course. Dear. You're safe now. But we have to know how you got hurt, okay? We want to catch them and stop them from hurting you again."

I keep my eyes closed as I lay my head on his chest. The sound of his beating heart reminds my heart to take a breath. I can feel David nod at the nurse and she finally leaves the room.

He then gently takes my chin and lifts my face so he can see me. I'm tempted to faint but his green eyes keep me awake as he says, "Dear...I'm so sorry..." Tears spill out and he brings me to his chest again. A sob also escapes my lips from the relief my body has from feeling his warmth.

Despite the pain all over, I hold him tighter.