As I was making my way back home, the sky began to grow dark and the air colder. I pulled my shirt around me tighter, ducking my head down to avoid anyone I saw, not that there was anybody on the street anyway.
I kept replaying the situation I had gotten myself in earlier, with both Bobby and Jim. The way Bobby was so interested in me, as was Jim, yet I hardly knew either of them. Was it me or were they just bored kids who needed a girl to entertain them?
His touch, his hair, eyes... Something I'd never taken much notice of on a boy before, but there was something so different and attractive about Jim, not something that I was able to ignore easily either.
I made my way past a large group of people: homeless. They looked awful, sleeping rough, no change of clothes, men hadn't shaved in what looked like months.
I walked faster, almost breaking into a jog as I rounded the corner of the street, leaving the homeless behind by at least a hundred yards.
As I turned the corner, I was faced by two boys. One was tall, topping six feet with black hair, the other was short, not over five foot six, his hood being up and a mask covering his face.
I gulped, noticing how they hadn't seen me yet. They had to be around fifteen feet away, far away enough to not even hear me had I sneaked by them.
As I began walking, my back being tucked against the brick wall to my right, I accidentally kicked a large stone which landed by the taller boys foot.
Both of their heads snapped up in my direction right before they began waltzing toward me. I felt myself begin to feel faint, but I began sprinting away from the two as they seemed sketchy.
I heard them give up running after me after I had made it to the opposite street over, around half a mile from the apartment.
I stopped to catch my breath, leaning on a railing, it creaking as I did so. I began to find myself being swamped in my thoughts again as I stood there.
"Hey, Georgie," He spoke as he approached me, his short brown hair swaying in the wind.
I could smell the warm summer air, the tree pollen filling my nose like it had when I was back at the ranch, the only thing that was missing was my father.
"Yeah?" I smiled at the boy before me, being caught in his own smile.
He reached out and took my hand in his own, his surprisingly soft skin sweeping against my palm. He brought my hand up to his face, pressing his dry, plump lips against the back of it. I felt the butterflies rise in the pit of my stomach as I finally felt like I'd gotten his attention, something I'd been trying to do for months.
I felt his emerald eyes land on mine, watching them as they studied my features.
I suddenly felt an urge to kiss him, but no matter how hard I tried to suppress it, I did it anyway, going against everything I had told myself. I knew I really didn't want to though, that was the strange thing, it was like he'd manipulated me somehow into thinking I did.
He didn't stop me either, in fact, he leaned into it. He pulled me close without hesitation, making me immediately feel like he was in control.
Once I felt like he was smothering me I tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge.
"No," I muttered as he continued to roughly kiss me, "Stop,"
He carried on, pushing me against the wall behind me before pressing himself against me. I hated the feeling of him on me like that, it was scary how he knew his way around, if you get me, he was experienced that was obvious.
I felt his hands explore my sides under my shirt without permission, making me squirm as the feeling of fear rose in my stomach.
The whole situation had escalated so quickly I didn't have a chance to register what he was about to do to me, so I did the only thing I knew would get him off of me, I kneed him in the crotch.
He fell to the floor instantly, groaning in pain.
"Leave me the hell alone," I spat at the boy as I walked away, hiding my tears as I knew how badly I wanted to be with him, yet I knew that was wrong, he'd manipulated me into thinking I did.
I felt him grasp my hand, squeezing it tightly as he yanked me back with force. I had turned my back to my enemy once again, my downfall.
He pulled me into himself, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and burrowing his head into my neck. I felt his other hand creep around my left side, wrapping around my waist and resting just above my crotch.
He shushed me as I tried to fight him, but I gave up too easily from fear of what he'd do to me had I ran and he'd found me. He brushed my hair from my neck, exposing the soft skin along my shoulder where he'd slipped the strap for my bra from, placing a short, dry kiss there.
"I'm not going to hurt you, but you can't stop me,"
I felt the hot tears sting my face as I sobbed, finding a bench and placing myself on the cold metal. I placed my face in my palms, regretting everything from my past that I had done, even though most of it wasn't my fault, yet I still blamed myself.
I pulled my knees up to my chest and lay on my side, resting my head on the cold metal as I closed my eyes, tears continuing to drip from them.
---
As I opened my eyes, I realised I wasn't where I was the night before, the events and flashbacks that I had come flooding back to my mind once again.
I was greeted by a familiar face, two actually. It was Jim and his mother. My eyes widened at the sight of the two of them, but I found them wandering around the rest of the place I was at. It appeared to be their home.
The walls were a dull beige with cracks here and there, the curtains to my left were a shade darker than the walls but covered in stains and the bedsheets which I lay on seemed much softer than they probably should have been.
I didn't say a word as I peered up at the two, worried expressions on both of their faces. Jim stared at me, his brow furrowing as he eyed me, but I noticed that he was wearing his school uniform. It was the exact same as the day we'd met.
I looked over at his mother who had knelt beside me and was grasping my hand tightly in her own; she seemed to be so kind-hearted, her deep brown eyes full of love, nothing like my own mother had ever been or will ever be.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?" The woman asked as she squeezed my hand tighter.
I gulped, looking between her and Jim for help, or maybe an explanation as to why I was even here in the first place.
"Why am I here?" I finally spoke, mostly looking towards Jim for an answer.
He had a dark look in his eyes as he suddenly turned very pale, glancing at his mother for a second before back at me. I knew that he was thinking about last night, what he did and said to me, the electricity between us was still there for sure and I knew he felt it. It was clear to me that he hadn't told his mother about me, nor what had been happening between us lately.
"My Jim found you on a park bench, you were passed out so he carried you back here," Jim's mother informed me as she stroked my hand in a comforting way.
I looked around myself as I sat up, remaining quiet. The room fell silent once again as the two eyed me with concerned looks, even Jim seemed to be just as worried as his loving mother.
I suddenly shot up to my feet, almost tumbling over as Jim caught me, "I need to go," I blurted out.
I had suddenly remembered my mother and how annoyed she was going to be as I didn't come home last night.
I felt Jim's arms wrap around my waist as he held me still and steadied me, "You're not going anywhere like this," He spoke up finally, an assertive tone coating his melodious voice.
I continued trying to fight the grip that he had on me, but I was far too weak to even stand on my own, so he continued to hold me steady as his mother faced us.
"Lay back down, I'll call your mothe-"
"No," I cut in, raising my voice as I interrupted the kind woman.
Her eyes widened and the room fell silent. I felt Jim's eyes land on me as he tilted his head to the side, studying my panicked expression.
"I-I mean, she-she'll be working," I stuttered out as I placed one hand on Jim's, the one that was digging into my hip bone.
I heard an unsatisfied grunt emanate from the boy beside me, "You sure that's the reason?"
I looked at him, turning my head to see the smug look on his face. He knew. He knew alright, but how? Did he see my scars or was he stalking me? Maybe both.
"I have to go, but please take care of each other," Jim's mother looked around frantically as she scurried around the kitchen.
"You're coming back soon, right?" The question just came out, I was so used to my mother just leaving me alone for days, it was automatic for me to ask.
She held a confused grin on her face, "Of course, dear,"