A Better Life (Beatles)

Chapter 4

Tiffany's POV

She brought the dagger closer until it reached my knee and she slit it. I winced, but I did not cry.

"Stop!" I heard a familiar male voice say.

It was John.

Before I could even blink, the roles had been reversed and John was holding the knife up to my mother's neck.

She threw him to the ground, so in response he crawled to the rest of the lads to untie them.

"She won't kill us! We're just bait for you to come here! Please run!" George screamed the second that John ripped the tape off his mouth.

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving you." I said, trying to sound brave.

"Please just go! We will die for you!" Ringo screamed when his tape was removed.

"Yes! Please just go! I love you!" Paul screamed once his tape was in John's hand.

Paul loves me? No. It's a moment of terror. He probably has no idea what he is saying. I thought.

I started to run over to the boys to help get them untied faster, but my brother tripped me and stomped on my stomach, leaving his foot there which prevented me from breathing.

"We never told you this, but your adopted."

I managed to gasp, despite the foot pressed tightly to my stomach. My eyes swelled up with tears and a few slipped down the side of my face.

I was not sad because I was adopted, not even slightly. I was sad because whoever my parents were, they clearly didn't love me. They gave me to the most emotionally and physically abusive woman on earth.

As I layed on the ground crying and in shock, I felt my brothers foot lift off my stomach. But I didn't get up or even react. I was too shocked at the news I had just received.

Someone came up to me and gently picked me up bridal style. The mystery person started running up from behind the other lads who had taken off what seems like only seconds earlier.

I blinked a few times and realized that it was Paul who was carrying me. I looked over his shoulder and saw that my family was having a group huddle.

"George!" Paul shouted, running faster to catch up to George.

"Take Tiff and hide. You're faster than us so you're our best bet. We'll catch up soon." George nodded and gratefully took me from Paul.

He sprinted faster and ran down the block towards a school building. He sat me down against the wall and took several deep breaths.

I was about to thank him, but I was cut off by a piercing feminine scream in the distance. I used my intuition to assume that something had happened to either my mom or my sister.

George kneeled in front of me and gently placed his hand on my left arm, causing me to wimper in pain.

"It's the worst there..." I told him, sniffing my nose. His eyes shone with anger, but when he blinked it was completely replaced with sadness.

"How could anyone be so inhumane? Honestly, why would anyone do this?" George asked sadly.

"She's insane. That's all I can say." I shrugged.

"Sh-she is close be-behind." The boys appeared from the side of the school, all out of breath.

George quickly picked me up again and started running towards the woods that I had never noticed.

Once we got pretty far into the woods, none of us could hear my mom anymore.

"Who screamed before?" I asked.

"Your sister..." Ringo trailed off, smirking a little.

"John may have stabbed her leg." Paul chipped in which made me laugh.

I quickly stopped laughing when George threw his hand over my mouth.

I heard leaves crunching.

George picked me up again and started to run. I heard the other boys a short distance behind us, their ragged and uneven breaths echoing in my pounding head.

We made so many twists and turns that I felt dizzy. The world was actually spinning.

"George, I-I feel dizzy." I stuttered.

"I can't hear her anymore. We can stop now." He said. He slowed down his running until he came to a complete stop, then he set me down against a tree.

Everything was spinning. There were two George's in front of me. When Paul came into view, there was two of him as well.

"She's lost too much blood. We have to get her out of here." Paul said calmly, but I could see the glint in his eyes that told me he was petrified.

"I don't know how to get out of here."

And that's when it all went black.

...

I opened my eyes just enough to see Paul pacing back and forth.

We hadn't moved at all, which worried me. They actually didn't know how to get out of the woods.

I closed my eyes again, trying to avoid the pain of having them open.

"What are we going to do?" Paul's voice exclaimed.

"Shut up! You might wake her!" John's voice hissed back.

I decided to speak, but it came out sounding more like a croak.

"Was that a frog? I'm terrified of frogs!" John's voice shouted.

"Look at Mr. Tough Guy now! Scared of a little frog!" Ringo's voice taunted.

"You little-" I heard leaves crunching and a small wimper, and I knew that John would do something to Ringo.

"Stop." I croaked, feeling a burning sensation in my throat.

"Tiffany, was that you?" Paul's voice asked. I stiffly nodded my head, feeling pain in my neck as well. I assumed that it was from when George was carrying me, as I was just letting my head flop around.

"There's a pond nearby. We could take you there and get all the dried blood off of you." Paul's voice said. I nodded and opened my eyes, to be greeted by the bright lights seeping through the trees.

Paul gently picked me up and carried me to the pond which was glistening beautifully against the sunlight.

He gently put me in, clothes and all, and started washing the blood off of me.

He started with my knee, which caused boiling hot tears to spill down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"It's fine, I'm going to have to clean it sooner or later." He smiled sympathetically and kept going.

When he was done, the scrapes were everywhere and were tinted a vomit green color.

"They're infected." Paul said, making me sigh.

"But they aren't too deep. I don't see a need for stitches." I smiled.

Paul was about to ask me something before he washed my arm, but I shushed him. I heard leaves crunching, and none of the boys were moving.

George quietly ran over to me and lifted me up. Once again, we ran.

Because that's all we could do.