I had a bad feeling. A feeling I couldn't just shake off. Walking through these dark streets by myself, I wondered to myself the reason as to why I thought walking to the coffee shop a few blocks from my apartment this late at night was ever a good idea. Peyton insisted that the best choice was taking my car, but with the costs of fixing my totaled car I was running a little low on money, and saving gas seemed like the best option at the moment.
Now, as I walk through these dark streets, I wish I wouldn't have been as stubborn and listened to my best friend who at times is mostly right. I tugged my right hand into my puffer jacket and with my other hand, I held the hot large coffee cup. My third economics exam was only three days away, which meant that I had to be buried in my textbook pulling an all-nighter even if it was just for today. God knows I wasn't going to make it through the night on my own, so I needed a little help from my other best friend. A Nitro Cold Brew.
As I walked down the sidewalk I felt a sense that someone was following me. I turned around to look, but no one was walking behind me. I was alone. Even though I didn't see anyone, I picked up my pace. My apartment building was only a block away now and as I picked up my pace I got closer which made me feel a little safer. As I passed an alley, I felt someone grab me from behind, putting a bag over my head. I instantly panicked and started to scream. "Let go of me! Someone help me!"
I tried to get out of the stranger's grip, but he was much stronger than I was. At that point, it didn't matter if I kicked or screamed. I knew there was no one else around. Whoever it was, he had full control of me. This person dragged me into the alleyway and threw me into what felt like a van. I felt ropes being tied around my hands. I got the courage to speak up and I asked the million-dollar question. "Who are you?"
No answer. "Why are you doing this? Are you one of Tommy's little thugs?"
All I got was a chuckle before the person decided to take my bag off of my face. It only took a small glance to see who it was. Tommy Scott. I don't know why I even bothered to ask, I should've known better. "Tommy Scott."
"In the flesh," He smirks. "You look surprised to see me."
"Considering that you always send someone to do the dirty work for you, I will admit that it did catch me by surprise to see it was you." I pause. "I was expecting to see one of your little thugs, but I'm glad to see that you finally have the balls to do your dirty work yourself."
As soon as I finished that last sentence I could see something shift in his eyes. It didn't take much before his fist connected with my right cheek. I winced instantly in pain. "I would be a lot nicer to me if I were you."
He ran his hand up and down my arms and I instantly shook them off. "Keep your dirty hands off me."
"I believe that's not going to be possible," Tommy replies as he looks at me directly in the eyes. "We're going to have so much fun tonight. And it's only starting."
I looked at him in disgust. "Now, don't give me that look. You're going to love it, they all do eventually."
"You're sick," I spit.
"I prefer psychopath, but I'll take that as a compliment," Tommy replies. "Now, if I were you, I would sit back and relax. You're playing my game now."
After what felt like a twenty-minute ride, the van stopped, and shortly after Tommy opened the door. We were in an abandoned warehouse and I was pretty sure it was one of the empty houses near Laguna Seca. Tommy pulled at me making me struggle. "You're going to regret this Tommy Scott, they're going to find me and you'll be sorry for ever laying your hands on me."
"I'm counting on it," Tommy replies. "And after I'm done with you, I promise you that you're the one who's not going to want to do anything with them."
Tommy dragged me inside the abandoned building and into what looked like the basement. "I will break you till the point where you'll only end up destroying yourself Everest Green. It only takes a few hours. And you have Macy as the prime example."
We walked down the stairs and he threw me into a mattress that was laying on the floor. "I warned you, I tried to be nice but you wouldn't just leave it alone. And I usually don't give any warnings but I did. For Connery's sake, not yours. I hope this teaches you a lesson Everest." Tommy pauses. "It's time for you to learn, just like Macy, Emily, Charlotte, and the others."
The only reaction I had was to spit him. He laughed as he wiped the spit off of his face. "Now that's not very nice isn't it?"
He took off his shirt and as he was unbuttoning his pants I prepared myself for the worst. "She's ready for you boys." My mind instantly went to Macy. As I saw four figures coming towards me, I froze. Tears started streaming down my face and I started to scream inside my head. I couldn't get the words out.
"Let me go!" I cried. "Please let me go! Don't touch me!"
I was moving back and forth screaming when I felt someone call my name. I could hear the voice calling from afar. "Everest! Everest! Wake up!"
I let out a scream as I fluttered my eyes open. Tears start to stream down my face as the moments of the nightmare I just had flashed through my mind. My heart was beating rapidly. I was shaking. "Ev, look at me!"
Connery grabs my face with his hands. "It was just a dream, it was all just a dream. You're here with me, in my arms, you're safe."
I wrapped my arms around Connery and I placed my head on his chest. It felt real, too real. "He took me, Connery, he took me and he raped me."
"Baby girl, he won't try anything. I promise you." Connery says trying to calm me down. "I won't let him do anything to you."
Peyton walked into the room shortly after. "Is she okay?"
"It was just a nightmare," Connery replies. "She's okay now."
Peyton didn't pry any further. She just nodded and walked back to her room. She's used to waking up in the middle of the night by my screams. Peyton usually lays in bed with me until I fall back asleep again, but Connery's here now. I wish I could say my nightmares aren't frequent, but I would just be lying to myself. They're a little too frequent for my taste and this is the first time it has happened while he spent the night.
Connery laid in bed with me, running his hands through my hair and caressing my cheeks until I fell back asleep. Every time I jumped, he would instantly wake up again. He had an early exam the next morning and with the little sleep he got during the night, it's safe to say that there's a slight chance he might fail due to tiredness. And it's all my fault.
"I'm sorry," I apologize once again for what felt like the hundredth time. "Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee? We have Celsius in the fridge."
"Ev," Connery says giving me a look as he gets dressed. "Stop feeling guilty, I'm okay babe. It's not the first time I've gone into an exam with little sleep. I've pulled all-nighters before, I'll be fine."
"But what if you fail this time?" I ask. "I literally kept you up all night. Every time I jumped you woke up."
"I promise you, I'll be fine." Connery smiles as he slowly kisses my lips. "You can stay here and finish packing for the weekend. I have to stop by the house to grab my clothes, but I'll be back to come to pick you up."
Connery and I walk out of my room. "At least have a Celsius. That's all I ask. It'll give you the little boost of energy that you need. For my peace of mind. Please."
"Fine, just the one," Connery says giving in. I smile at him as I open the fridge door and hand him the Celsius drink.
I step on my tiptoes to give him a goodbye kiss and he smiles into the kiss. "Good luck,"
"I might just have to start staying over a lot more if I'm going to keep getting those good luck kisses before an exam." Connery teases making me shake my head as I grin.
"Stop fooling around, you're going to be late." I pause. "I'll see you after."
Connery takes one last glance at me before he walks out of the apartment. Peyton left earlier this morning which left me all alone in the apartment. If there was one thing I dreaded doing was packing and the reason is that I'm very indecisive with what I want to bring. So after a good twenty minutes, my room looks like something exploded in it with clothes all over the place.
The reason why I'm packing is that due to everything that has been happening, Peyton thought that it was a good idea to get out of Bowling for a weekend. I, of course, denied the invitation at first but Connery insisted that it would be good for me. I've been with Macy ever since she was admitted into the hospital and it definitely took a toll on me emotionally. I won't deny that going away for a few days sounds good, but to me, it doesn't feel right to leave Bowling for the weekend and spend time with my friends while Macy is lying in a hospital bed.
"Hey," Peyton smiles as she walks into my room. "I got you some coffee, I thought you might need it after last night."
Peyton hands me the cup of coffee and I smile. "Thank you, I was in desperate need of one."
"Was it worse? The nightmare." Peyton asks and I nod.
"Yes," I reply. "It was the same dream, this time it was in an abandoned building. And it felt more real than other times."
"It's getting worse Ev," Peyton says. Tell me about it. "Have you considered going to see someone? Maybe you can talk to Olivia, she might be able to help."
"I'm fine Peyton," I say. "I can live with the nightmares, it's nothing compared to what the girls go through on a daily basis."
"I'm not minimizing what they go through Ev," Peyton pauses. "All I'm saying is that going through all of this shit takes a toll on someone. Whether it's you who went through it or not."
"I get what you're saying, but it doesn't sit right with me," I tell her. "I can't sit here and talk about how the situation has affected me. I can live with it. I can live with the nightmares. They can't. Every time they have nightmares, they relive what happened to them. I on the other hand just have nightmares about something that didn't even happen to me. I don't have the right to feel broken because of it. They do."
"You don't have to be strong all the time Ev," Peyton pauses. "You have to allow yourself to break down too."
"I can't," I say raising my voice. "I have to be strong for them, because if I break down who's going to be there for them. They were already failed by the school, I won't allow myself to fail them too. I told them I would do anything to get them the justice that they deserve. So if I have to keep receiving death threats by Tommy or anyone for that matter and have nightmares on a daily, I will."
I heavily sigh. "I know that you're worried about me, I understand but you have to try and understand me too. I promise that if there comes a moment when I can't take it anymore, I will ask for help. But in the meantime, can we just drop the subject? I barely have anything packed.'
"I won't push you anymore, I promise," Peyton says. "I'm you're best friend, worrying comes with the job babe, I just can't help it when I see you like this."
"I know, thank you." I smile. "Now, are you going to help me pack or what?" Peyton lets out a laugh as she walks towards my closet. We were going to be here for a while.
After Connery got out of his exam he texted me. I aced the test babe (;. At first, I thought he was kidding but when he called me after he told me that it went well and that the Celsius helped a lot too. He went over to the house to pack his clothes and grab Dant in the process. We decided to drive over in my car since it was the biggest and it fit all of our bags. Stensby and Kelsea would be joining us later tonight. We extended the invitation to O'Connor and Becker but they already had plans for the weekend and they didn't involve a cabin in the lake.
On our way to the cabin we stopped at the supermarket and we stalked up on the essentials (food and booze). We girls would be doing the cooking during the trip but just in case we accidentally tried to burn down the cabin, we bought frozen pizzas. The drive to the cabin was a three-hour drive, but with Connery and Dant it felt like four. For someone who can say races for a living practically, I swear that Connery was taking the longest time.
When we got to the cabin we got settled in, since we were the first ones to arrive we got to pick the best rooms. Peyton and Dant got the master while Connery and I settled for the second biggest room in the cabin. That left Stensby and Kelsea with the smallest one. We were planning on going for a night swim but Stensby was almost here so we decided to wait for him. While we waited for Stensby and Kelsea, we decided to play one of the card games Peyton brought along for the trip.
"Now, I know the card game says For The Girls but we can all play," Peyton explains as we sit on the couch around the fireplace in our swimsuits. "You basically roll the dice and whichever color it lands on you pick a card. If you refuse to do or say what it asks you have to take a shot."
"It sounds pretty simple," Dant says. "Let's do it."
"Connery, why don't you do us the honors?" Peyton asks. "You don't have to take a shot since you don't drink if you don't want to."
Connery rolls the dice and it lands on the pink color. Truth. This should be interesting. When he picks up the card and reads it to himself first I was positive that he would've preferred any card but that one. "How many people have you actually slept with?"
Peyton instantly begins to laugh. "I would make the wise choice of passing on that one if I were you."
"Peyton stop being a tease," I tell my best friend. "He can answer it if he wants."
"I'll take the one-shot for this one," Connery says. "It's best if I don't answer."
"Wise choice bro, wise choice," Dant says.
Next, it was Dant's turn to roll the dice and it landed on purple. Never Have I Ever. "Never have I ever hooked up with someone I just met within the first 24 hours." Dant pauses before he answers the question. "I have."
"We already knew that one." I tease.
"I would change it to within the first ten minutes." Connery teases and we all begin to laugh. Dant on the other hand wasn't as pleased.
Peyton was next. When she rolled the dice it landed on the blue side. Most Likely To. Peyton began to laugh when she read her card. "Who's most likely to scream slash moan the loudest during sex?"
"That's an easy one," I tell Peyton.
"It is," Peyton replies. "Dant."
"Me?" Dant questions defensively. "Why?"
"Babe, it's not just that you moan the loudest. I had to give it to you because you make the funniest sounds too." Peyton says laughing and starts to imitate him.
Connery and I broke out in laughter. When it was finally my turn, somebody started knocking on the door. That had to be Stensby and Kelsea.
"I'll get it," Dant says standing up. My mouth instantly dropped when Dant got up from the couch. He was wearing his briefs a little lower than he usually does and I noticed a tattoo right by his right hip that I had never seen before.
It couldn't be. The tattoo. Azrael Sylla.
they go to a lake house for the weekend. Ev wakes up, having a nightmare about getting attacked.