Innocent

Chapter 22

I was terrified to turn around. In my head I’m screaming out no rather than saying the words. It’s too painful to even say it. I had no idea who had been shot, and I’m afraid to know the answer. I zip up my pants and force myself to turn around. Everything is silent and I don’t see James or his dad anywhere.

A lump formed in my throat. “James?”

He doesn’t answer me. I call out again and there’s still no response.

No. James can’t be dead. Oh God, please don’t let him be dead.

I headed back to the way I came searching for James. Both of them have to be here. They can’t just disappear like that. I tried not to think about the worse as my mind came up with all of these different scenarios about what might have happened.

Suddenly I’m grabbed from behind. I scream, but it becomes a mumble has a hand clenches over my mouth. I can taste the salty blood from the person’s hand. I’m not sure whose blood it is, but I knew it was Mr Waters. His grip around me felt like he was going to break every single bone in my body just so I couldn’t run no more.

“You listen here, Ellie,” he says, “we’re going to do this my way, okay? No more playing games, you hear me?”

He pushes me down on the ground. He places his foot on my stomach, so I can’t move as he removes his pants. The weight of him crushes my stomach and I found it difficult to breathe. I took a deep breath when he took his foot off me and quickly let it out as he put his body on me.

I could feel his manhood pressing against my stomach as he holds me down. All that was going through my mind was to scream, but I couldn’t. I was going to end up dead if I struggle to fight back, like James. Any minute now he was going to enter me.

“If you try and fight back, Ellie, I swear I will kill you right here.”

“Just like you killed your own son?”

He laughs. He reaches for the waist band of my jeans. Before he could pull them down, sirens were heard in the distance. He curses softly to himself and then pulls me off the ground, pulling up his pants. He puts me over my shoulder and began running, hiding somewhere so the cops couldn’t find us.

Mr Waters places me back on the ground in a darker spot away from the road. Hopefully the police will find us soon. As soon as my feet are on the ground, he stands there staring at me. After a few seconds, he punches me in the face. The side of my face burns and I’m sure it red, maybe even swollen a little.

“You little bitch!” he screams at me. “Who said you could call the cops on me?”

“Why do you think I called them? I did it to lock you away in jail where you belong. I’m not letting you get away this time.”

“Yeah? Well, let’s see about that.”

He places his hands around my neck, strangling me. I tried to push him off me, but he was much too strong for me to push.

I hear someone scream from behind Mr Waters as they lift up something heavy. Mr Waters is knocked in the back with something. He lets go of me, screaming out in pain. He pushes me to the ground. I gasp for air, rubbing my neck where he has tried to choke me. I look up to see James, still alive, wracking his father in the back with a piece of wood that he must have found lying around. He hits his father multiply times, demanding he stays away from me.

After a few minutes, Mr Waters collapses on the ground in front of us. For a moment James and I didn’t move, staring at father. I wasn’t sure if he was dead, but when I looked closely, I could see him still breathing and I was glad because I didn’t want James to be in trouble for killing is own father. I wasn’t even sure if they would look at it by saying he killed him with self-defence, would they?