Eyes Open {Book 1}

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Christy’s POV

The harsh wind brushed by me in large sweeps, leaving my cheeks numb. The long walk to work seemed dreadful in the cold weather. Stars sparkled in the sky; some faded by bright street lights. My breath came out in frozen puffs as I picked up the pace of my walking. I slid the ends of my hands into the sleeves of my leather jacket, fisting the cold material. My toes felt frozen as I wiggled them in my converse. I walked down the shortcut I always took to go to work and headed down the alleyway behind the bar.

My mind kept wandering to the recent dream about Harry I had. I couldn’t stop thinking about it or what it might mean.

I was knocked out of my reverie by something heavy being thrown into one the dumpsters a couple feet away from me, making me stop in my tracks. The silhouettes of three large men stood at the end of the alleyway looking down at another boy struggling to get up from the ground. He was the “object” thrown against the dumpster. The struggling boy managed to get up on his two feet as he leaned against the brick wall of the alley. Each man looked intimidating and I knew it wouldn’t be good if they saw me there watching them. I slowly backed up behind a different dumpster, poking my head around the corner enough to see the scene unfolding in front of me.

“You know what we want.” One of the large men said, jabbing their finger at the struggling boy.

“Well, we can’t all get what we want. I mean, no one would want a face like yours but here you are.” The struggling boy’s voice was hoarse, trying to stay as steady as possible. It almost sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it. The insulted man quickly brought his fist down into the boy’s stomach, knocking the boy to his knees.

“We all have to do this job.” The large man hissed. “He said that’s an order.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t take orders from him anymore.” The boy retorted, struggling to get his breath back. “I’m out. I’ve told you that. I’ve told him that as well.” The boy said through gritted teeth. I could see the fury spread across the large man’s face as he brought a booted foot down into the boy’s stomach, making him lay on his side, coughing in agony.

“There’s no out. You knew that the minute you joined this gang.” The man grabbed the boy’s collar and brought one last punch into his face, throwing him back to the ground. “Next time, I won’t be as nice.” He hissed. He gestured to his two men who stayed silent the whole time. They quickly followed behind him as they left the alleyway, leaving the broken boy on the ground.

My heart was beating against my chest. I could barely breathe. I stared as the boy rolled over in pain, clutching his stomach. Shooting to my feet, I took off running to the boy, falling to my knees next to him. I warily rolled the boy over, revealing his face. My eyes widened and my heart began to beat faster.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I whispered. “Harry?”

“Christy?” He groaned, the moonlight lighting up every cut on his face. His bottom lip was swollen and split. Blood ran down from his nose and his breathing was erratic. “What are you doing here?” He flashed me a weak, cheeky smile, revealing the blood staining his teeth. “You look nice tonight.” The moonlight reflected off his green eyes as they stared into mine.

“Quit with the charming crap. Get up.” I said, sitting him up against the wall as I used every muscle in my body to get him to his feet. I slung his arm over my shoulders as he groaned in more pain.

“You know, I always love it when a woman comes to my rescue. It’s pretty hot.” He chuckled; his laughs quickly turning into a fit of coughing.