Snippets

T H R E E

Maybe she drank more than she thought she did. But unless she had lost her senses, which she hadn't, she would be saved from a major hangover. The thought cheered her up just a teeny bit.

They walked in awkward silence for some distance. The streets were empty and quiet, an eery sense of silence blanketing the place. Avalyn didn't find it unsettling. She loved the night and its peacefulness. The only person shattering her peace was the man walking beside her.

They were in an alleyway, just out of the reach of the streetlight, when the man suddenly pulled Avalyn and forced her against the wall.

She remained still, unsure of what he was about to do and what his intentions were. She then saw the look in his eyes, a look many guys had given her in the past, and she knew exactly what was going to happen.

So when he leaned in, she reciprocated by leaning in too. After all, a small kiss couldn't hurt. Right? Besides, he was definitely kiss worthy.

The kiss was soft and hesitant at first, then his actions became urgent. Avalyn wouldn't say she didn't like it, because she did, but she was tired and sleepy and needed to get back to her apartment.

She pushed against his chest slightly, giving him an indication to stop. Instead of pulling away, he pressed harder against her, pinning her to the wall, and started playing with her jeans button.

Slight panic setting in, she tried to push harder against him. Her head was still groggy and she wasn't able to comprehend the whole situation.

When he succeeded in unbuttoning her jeans, her whole body went into panic mode. She started struggling harder, but he was too strong for her. She was skilled in two martial arts, but the combination of her drunk body and groggy mind made her actions slow and lazy. Even though her mind cleared slightly due to panic, she still couldn't think of what she had learned.

Deciding to use brute force, she started struggling with all her might, twisting and turning and flailing her arms around. She tried to kick with her leg, but the man was too close. The man got so angry that he gave her a slap across her cheek and pinned both her hands using one of his. From the stinging pain on her cheek, she knew she would be bruised but that was the least of her worries right now.

With the slap went all her resolve. Cursing herself for drinking and cursing herself for allowing her to be vulnerable, she succumbed to her fate, tears streaming down that beautiful face.

🌑🌑🌑

Zayden just wanted to go home and sleep, but he had to drop off his parents first. He never guessed that the family get together was going to go on so late into the night, but he was glad that he at least had fun, even at the price of sacrificing a few precious hours of sleep.

He sighed softly.

"Zayden, can you stop for a minute here?" his mother's voice cut through the fantasies of his soft bed.

Confused, he did as she asked. The streets were empty and he could see no one in sight; why would his mother want him to stop?

"Do you see that girl over there?" Mrs. Smith's voice was cautious and curious at the same time, leaning back in her seat to point out the window.

"What is she doing out so late, all alone?" Zayden's dad, Mr. Smith, enquires.

As Zayden looked over at the place, he saw a girl curled up, her hand on her knees hugging herself. Her head was hidden underneath a curtain of black hair.

Avalyn's body hurt all over. She wanted to get home and forget this night ever happened. She wished she could take it all back, just rewind a few hours when everything was still normal.

She had manages to pull herself up, tug on her jeans and walk a few steps. But then her knees gave out and she sunk to the concrete, directly under the spotlight of a street lamp. Sobs that never seemed to stop still racked through her body, making her sniffle loudly. She didn't have the energy to get up again. Even though her mind had cleared considerably, her actions were still lazy, making her all the more miserable.

She sniffled again when she heard a voice and froze. "Hello?" A tentative male voice.

Avalyn tightened her arms around her knees and buried her head deeper into her arms, willing the person to leave her alone. She didn't want anyone to see her in this state, even if it was a stranger, a person she would never see again.

She was utterly humiliated.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she stilled, panic overtaking her. Before, her first instinct would have been to strike back, to fight. But in this state, all she could do was cower back.

"Hey," his voice was soft. "I'm trying to help. Please."

"Please leave me alone. Please." The last word came out as a sob.

She felt the man moving closer to her and fear seized her, turning her into a statue.

"Please! Leave me alone. Just, don't - I just want to - go home. Please." Now she was crying uncontrollably.

Zayden watched her with increasing helplessness, wanting to do something to help but not being able to. Just then, he felt his mom kneel down next to him, addressing the girl.

"Hey sweetie, do you have a place to stay?"

It was clear that the girl wasn't poor or homeless; her clothing proved as much. The other conclusion was that something terrible must have happened and Zayden had an inkling as to what it might have been.

The girl silently nodded her head without looking up. Zayden got up and decided to stay a few paces away in case the girl cooperated with his mother if he wasn't present nearby. He walked to his car and stayed by his dad, while his mother interacted with the girl. She was a social worker, so hopefully her experience would bring out some response in her.

As they both watched, Mrs. Smith helped the girl to her feet. She never looked up, trying to hide her face behind those long locks. As she came closer, Zayden noticed that her pants were undone and her shirt was disheveled. His heart went out to this girl. He quickly removed his jacket from the car and wrapped it around her.

Avalyn noticed a pair of male shoes stepping towards her and she flinched, pressing closer to the woman supporting her. The lady seemed gentle and kind and it was hard to ignore her when she was offering to help.

"Hey hey, it's okay," the woman cooed softly. "Zayden, give me the jacket."

The male shoes stepped back and Avalyn relaxed slightly. As the woman helped her into the jacket, she took in her face. The woman had a kind and gentle face, just like her voice. She tucked Avalyn's hair behind her ears, allowing her to have a clear look at Avalyn's face. She quickly averted her eyes.

Since her apartment was merely two blocks away, they reached there in no time. Avalyn allowed the kind woman to drop her till her apartment door. "Thank you," Avalyn managed to say. "I'm sorry if -"she choked, finding it difficult to go on further. "- if - if it was...any trouble."

"No, no, don't ever say sorry for this. Can I come in? I'll help you clean up."

Avalyn shook her head violently. She would forever be grateful to this woman who decided to help a helpless girl in the middle of the night, but right now she just wanted to be left alone.

"OK that's fine. Do you want me to check up on you tomorrow?"

Avalyn shook her head again, and started closing the door slowly, clearly indicating that she wanted to be alone now.

Her back to the door, she looked at her tiny, empty apartment, all the boxes still left to unpack, and suddenly felt tired. Tired to her bones, more than she had been until now. Strength left her in her feet and she slid down the door to the floor, landing hard but too numb to register the pain as she stared, unseeing, at the opposite wall.