Weightless {36}
When the tears had dried up and there were no more that spilled from my eyes, I pulled out my phone and looked through the contacts. I didn't want my mom to come get me. She would interrogate me about Josh and how everything had gone down between us. I didn't feel like re-living those moments, especially in detail. I scrolled through the addresses, ignoring Josh's name when his number popped up, and then pausing when I realized there was one person who could pull me out of this misery.
He picked up immediately, totally alert.
"Jack?" I asked meekly, tightening my hold on my cell phone. "Could you come pick me up?"
"Sure," he answered softly, though I was sure there were a million questions he was wanting to ask. "Where are you?"
My eyes scrolled all over the place, looking for the sign that showed the title of this park.
"Um...Harrison Park," I said, my voice weak and airy. "In the kid's playground."
"I'll be right there," he said in an assuring tone, hanging up.
I shivered in the night air, and though Jack's comforting voice was supposed to make me feel secure, I still felt unsafe here. The lights in this park were dim and old. Trees towered above me everywhere, hiding the moon. A river trickled in the distance. The worst part of it all was that there was barely any light, the only thing filling the park was complete darkness.
My grip on the chain of this swing tightened as I heard the voices of men.
Their feet were scurrying forward, and, if I wasn't mistaken, they were close to my location.
"See that?" One of them whispered in a raspy voice. The blood in my body froze.
"Yeah, she's nice lookin'," another agreed. Three other voices chimed in, drunkenly saying "yeah," or "you're right". The smell of cigarette smoke circled in my lungs. Great. They were high and drunk. And, obviously, eyeing me.
The speed of my heartbeat rose considerably. I sat frozen in my spot, my mind unable to tell me how to react or what to do. Running would provoke them, and a chase would happen. I'm sure my feet would give in and I'd be raped on the spot. I could fight them, but one girl versus five men would end in disaster. Then again, they were drunk. Maybe I'd have some advantage.
My nerves kicked in when I felt a calloused finger brush against my collarbone, raising the hairs on my body.
"You're real pretty," one said, his warm breath against my skin. It let off a foul stench, one that made you want to turn away and gag.
"Don't touch me," I warned, though the way I said it just unmasked the fear I was trying to hide. There was no confidence in my tone. Just a tremble that I couldn't hide.
"Oh come on darlin'," another added, standing in front of me. "We just want to play."
I still sat in the swing, now encircled by a group of men. "Please don't hurt me," was all I managed to choke out.
They laughed amongst themselves and continued touching my skin. I pulled my arms away roughly, ready to run. At the moment another one of the men placed a hand on me, I flung myself off of the swing and tried to carry myself forward. For a moment I was fully convinced that I could escape the situation, but my thoughts were proved wrong. I instead stumbled into the cold sand of the playground, one of my cheeks blanketed in the dirt. The men laughed disgustingly once more.
"You're a weak one, little girl," they commented, tugging on my elbow and heaving me upward. I grind my teeth as I remember how strong Josh's grip on my elbow was, back at the party. There was no use in fighting it.
But I did my best. Trying to pull back, I used all the energy I had in me and roughly tried tearing my arm away. The man's grip loostened a little, but I did not give in. Pulling away, I gained momentum and jerked my arm backward, completely free from the man's hold. In those moments I thought I could breathe again, but that breath lodged itself in my throat as another man grabbed for my arm.
I let out the highest, most ear piercing scream I could.
Suddenly, another hand, one new and familiar, grabbed my shirt from behind and flung me backwards. The men stopped in their tracks.
"Run!" Jack told me, and I simply followed. I let my feet carry me forward as fast as they could. For a moment I feared Jack wouldn't make it back, but that fear dissolved as I heard him follow from behind. The men only cursed at us in their drunken voices, too lazy to follow after me. They yelled and grunted out incoherent words, but Jack and I had only one target: his car. We pulled the doors open and his tires squealed as we sped away.
"God, Hayley, you sure love getting into trouble," he said breathlessly, but a smile played on his lips.
"In my defense, that was trouble that I didn't walk into. I was just sitting on the swing and they approached me."
"You should just be glad that I was there in time," he continued, running a hand absently though his brown hair. "If anything happened to you..."
He paused, not finishing that sentence, and casually shook it off.
"Anyways," he began, his tone new and calm, "Why isn't Josh bringing you home? And why were you in that park in the first place?"
I cringed as my mind re-lived the moments of that party. The staring, the rich kids...even the sound of the splash Josh made in the pool still rang loud in my ears. All so vivid.
"Long story," I sighed, and that ended his questioning.
I occupied my mind with other things, trying my hardest to avoid the sound of Josh's voice playing in my mind, or the way his hands felt when I held them at that party. He was so comforting, and my hand fit perfectly against his, intertwined so-
Oh, stop it.
He doesn't deserve you anymore, after what that bastard probably did. He sinned against me, did he not? I let out a long breath as Josh continued to occupy my thoughts. I didn't really give him a chance to explain. And I've learned that jumping to conclusions isn't such a great idea.
My head began to throb. You think too much, Hayley.
Wanting to will away the horrible throbbing, I turned the volume of the radio up louder. Until now I didn't realize that the radio was even on.
A contemporary smooth jazz was playing. I didn't even notice that, either.
"What is this crap?" I complain, rather rudely. I clear my throat and shake my head. "I mean," I begin, smoothly, "Can't we listen to something else? Something that will make all this anger just...dissolve?"
Out of the corner of my eye I see Jack smirk. "I've got just the thing," he assures me, playing with the radio dial for a bit before he settles on a station I wasn't expecting.
Loud, screamo music blared from the speakers.
For a moment I was overwhelmed, for I wasn't used to this type of music, but I found the singer's heavy voice beginning to calm the sad, painful anger that was churning inside of me. It was strange, the way loud, annoying music just soothed me. I never knew it was even possible.
My head leaned back and I let the glare of street-lights fill my vision, the music filling my ears. Finally. Calm, easy serenity.
When we finally get to the front of my house, Jack parks against the curb and we sit in silence for a good minute before I finally find the will to speak.
"Thanks," I say, of course. "For the ride. And for saving my ass back there."
"All in a day's work," he answered charmingly, flashing me a nice grin.
My lungs settle as the awkwardness between us dissipates, and I slide out of the passenger seat with ease. "See you at school," I tell him. He nods at me and waits until I walk into the house before driving away.
I don't even bother to fix myself up a snack or dinner, even though my stomach was roaring and practically begging to be fed. The only thing I needed was a long, good night's sleep.
My bedroom was covered in such a dark blanket of night that it chills my bones the second I walk in. But the moonlight streaming in through the blinds is nice to see. Stripping off the clothes from my body, I throw them on the floor and collapse onto my bed. I didn't realize how horribly tired I was until this moment. I just hoped I'd just get some sort of peace tonight, because I knew that sooner or later, I'd have to face the truth and wake up to cold, bitter reality.
I really like this chapter. I'm sorry it's a bit filler-y, but I promise things will all make sense once she gets back to school. :)
