Bree gasped for breath, her arms scratched up and bleeding, her mind was foggy from a hit in the head and she couldn't tell what was going on. Forcing her eyes open she was startled to find her face pressed to the dirt, her wrists tied together. Breathing in she started coughing violently, getting soil up into her lungs, she struggled, half of her body flailing like a fish while the rest didn't move an inch. She felt someone stepping onto her back and she coughed more, feeling like she was choking.
"Let her up Dawn, you're causing her to choke." A deep male voice growled. Bree was then yanked up into a standing position by the shoulders, but she promptly crashed back to the ground, her nose smashing painfully into the ground; meanwhile, she was too busy hacking up her lungs to notice the pain. "She can't stand Dawn." The voice spoke again. Finally, Bree was hauled into a kneeling position, she coughed and wheezed, dazed and barely able to see. Someone smacked her on the back and she faceplanted back into the ground despite how much she tried to stay upright. Again she was hauled back up, "For heaven's sake Dawn!" She felt someone rubbing her upper back, carefully patting small areas and Bree coughed up some of the soil, the rest still stuck there and making her breathing raspy and weak. She barely reacted to a hand being waved in her face, idly wondering what the tan colored blob was. "Great, you probably gave her a concussion."
"Who cares?" I didn't promise Jay his friend would be unharmed, just alive."
"Because you nitwit, she won't scream, cry, yell or make any loud noises, she can barely see anything if I'm correct." Bree suddenly let out a squeak as the back of her neck was pinched and her vision cleared, she moved forward and bit the hand waving in front of her face. A higher pitched howl and a moment later Bree was sprawled on her back, the force of the slap to her cheek knocking her backward. A few voices made sounds of disgust, Bree remembered with an inward snort on how creepy it was when she fell backward on her knees, she was so flexible down there that her back was making contact with the ground. "Stop hitting her." The male voice spoke again, hauling her upright onto her knees again. "We need her conscious, remember, she's a hostage."
'Hostage?!' Bree yelled in her mind before calming down and listening intently.
"We need her conscious so she can do that pitiful 'Don't do it!' Most girls do."
Rage sparked in Bree's mind and she worked to pull her wrists apart, the strong muscles in her arms starting to slowly break the rope while listening to them.
"Eh, whatever, I just want him to agree to the terms, killing himself as revenge for my brother!"
Rage filled every corner and crevice in Bree's mind, snapping the ropes she shoved her head into the back of someone's knees, she saw stars but the person screamed and fell forward. Using a few techniques Cynthia had taught her Bree jabbed her fist against the girl's temple, knocking her out cold before managing to catch the other person's wrist. With a mighty heave, she managed to flip the other guy onto his back where he landed an uppercut to her jaw and her head snapped up as she slammed her fist into his gut and temple simultaneously. After a few more minutes and many other injuries, she was lying on her back on the ground, panting heavily, feeling beaten and bruised with the other people holding her hostage out cold nearby. Bree's eyes started sliding shut, her body beat up and the adrenaline from the anger of Jay possibly killing himself to save her life draining as the threat also vanished.
Jay ran into the clearing, the moment he got the call from Dawn using Bree's phone saying she'd kill her if he didn't get over there quickly. The silence greeting him was completely unexpected and worrisome. "Bree?!" He called frantically, "Bree?!"
"Jay?" He heard a faint voice, he rushed over and froze as his foot brushed against a human body.
"What happened here?!" He carefully navigated his way past the people lying on the ground to crouch next to a familiar person who's breathing was raspy and more of a wheeze.
"I heard they wanted to kill you..." He heard Bree wheeze, he leaned further forward so he could hear her better, "temper... raged." She rasped tiredly, her breath on his ear, smelling of dirt and blood.
"Where's your chair?" He asked checking her pulse and running his fingers over her face to check for injuries. Her jaw was swelling along with her left eye and right cheek, blood was running down her nose and he felt the warm liquid on her upper lip.
"I don't know." Bree coughed and Jay put his hand over her eyes feeling the movement of her lashes closing.
"Let's get you out of here," He carefully put one arm under her upper back and the other under her knees, carefully lifting her up and making his way around the unconscious teens once again.
Brittany almost had a heart attack when the front door opened to reveal Jay carrying her bloodied and dirt covered sister. Bree was unconscious, her clothing covered in dirt and her front stained with blood that had dribbled down her chin onto her shirt and neck, her right cheek was swelling enough that if her eyes weren't closed her right eye would be swelled shut, and a darker spot on her lighter green shirt near her side was also a darker red, her right temple was dark purple with blood trickling down into her hair, her gray sweatpants were dirtied and torn in areas, her wrists raw, her ankles still tied together. "What happened-"
"Do me a favor and call my aunt." Jay said curtly, shifting Bree slightly to pull out his phone and tossing it to her, "She should be on duty at the hospital and I think Bree's broken a few ribs.
Brittany nodded and did it numbly, in the middle of the night last night she had woken up to hear yells and startled shrieks from Bree's room, but when she ran downstairs and threw open the door nobody was there, the window was open and there was blood on Bree's pillow.
Jay walked over to the couch and carefully sat down on it, Bree's head propped up on the armrest, her left arm hanging down, her head rolled to the left, she didn't stir as Jay probed the dark area of her shirt. "Definitely broken ribs. Why did you do this Bree?" He whispered to himself, looking down at the unconscious girl, "You're even more broken than before."
Jay waited for any sign of Leah coming back and letting him visit Bree, he was quietly pacing the entire room, arms folded across his chest, Bree's family waiting in the waiting chairs, Miley in tears and Gunner comforting his wife while Brittany and Ben were both fidgeting nervously. Jay heard a door close and familiar footsteps came closer, he hurried over to his Aunt, "Can I go see her?"
"Yes, she should be waking up in a few minutes, she's going to be confined to her house for a few weeks, a few of her ribs are broken and she's had multiple hits in the head." Jay's blood ran cold.
"No chance of a coma, though?"
"She already slipped into one during the surgery to fix her ribs but jerked out of it very quickly. So it's unlikely she'll do it again, she's breathing on her own."
"Good." He darted past her and into Bree's recovery room, settling into a chair and finding one of Bree's hands before clasping it in his own, staring blankly ahead, waiting.
"Jay?" Jay's eyes opened with a snap and he straightened up, he'd been dozing when he heard a raspy but cheerful voice.
"Yeah, Bree?"
"Am I back in the hospital?" She asked in a timid voice, he felt her amber gaze on his face and could hear her thoughts, 'Ugh, my head feels like a thousand pound weight.'
"Yes, but this time you're just healing, no bad news," Jay replied and heard her sigh in relief.
He then felt her palm on the side of his face, "You're probably glad you can't see me right now," she laughed softly, "I'm so messed up that I can barely see you."
"I'm sure you're just as beautiful as ever," Jay replied with a rare comment, glad to hear her laugh.
"Maybe in your eyes, but then again you can imagine all you want can't you?"
"I've seen you before," He inwardly smiled a smile that he knew she could see through his walls, aiming his gaze to where he sensed hers, "During the flood, I got to see for a few moments, enough to see what you look like."
"Like a drowned rat?" She laughed, "I looked like I'd been drowned a few times after the flood incident."
"Maybe, but I can still describe you," He replied in an almost gruff tone, "Average height, silky wavy dark brown hair, sparkling amber eyes, and an attitude that just oozes happiness."
Bree laughed, obviously pleased at the description, "Spot on as always," She smiled, the smile evident in her tone. The door knob turned and Jay quickly returned to be gruff and curt as Bree's family burst in.
After they left Jay took a seat next to her again, right now she was mostly sitting up, completely awake, her usual cheery aura around her with an extra hint of something else. Jay was mulling over a decision in his head, respectfully staying out of his best friend's thoughts. Finally, he finished mulling it over and cautiously tapped into her thoughts, only to find them guarded and blocked, but her emotions were as clear as day, something more than affection reigning mostly over everything else. "Thanks for protecting me like that Bree, I appreciate it." He heard her jump but she quickly recovered,
"You welcome, I'd do it again in a heartbeat," she replied truthfully.
"I've come up with a reward... Would you like it?"
"Sure!"
This is what Jay liked about her the most, she didn't really care what the reward was about and she didn't really need one but since he offered she wasn't going to turn him down. "Then close your eyes." He figured she did as he asked and leaned closer, making sure she had by brushing the tips of his fingers against her eyelashes before leaning forward enough he could feel her breath on his face and took a moment to pinpoint, running his fingertips over her top lip. "Ready?" He asked her, his nervousness buried deep in his mind, she wasn't Hadara, she'd accept it with no issues.
"Yes." She murmured as if sensing what he was going to do. Jay closed his eyes as well, not that it made a difference but if someone passed they wouldn't be as creeped out than if he had his eyes open. Moving with small movements to make sure he had the correct position, he gave Bree her reward. A kiss when he wasn't drunk on sugar from thin mints, a kiss when he was fully aware what he was doing. It wasn't long, only a few seconds, but enough for Jay to be wondering why he hadn't noticed how good it felt the last time when she'd initiated one after the flood. He must've been too worried about Hadara to focus on his "friend" He leaned back into his chair while he heard Bree giggle a few times, the sounds pleasantly dazed, he could tell her eyes were on him and he let out a sheepish grin, her giggles multiplied until she calmed down a few moments later, leaning sideways on her elbows. "That's the best reward I could ever receive, thanks, Jay."
"No problem Bree." He leaned back, his arms behind his head, "Not a problem."
She laughs before scooting down slightly so she was able to lay back on her back and close her eyes, "See you later Jay."
Jay inwardly smiled and shifted into a more comfortable spot in his chair, "Have a good nap, Bree." And she was sleep.