by H G Lynch
“Goddamn it! Would people stop treating me like a damned rag doll!” she screamed, losing control of her temper. Anger was always her default emotion, especially when she was terrified. Joseph didn’t seem to even hear her, his eyes glinting silver in the dim moonlight. Along with his mussed dark hair, it made him look truly animalistic. She half expected a feral snarl to tear from his lips. That would certainly petrify her.
Ember got ready to roll away as soon as Joseph pounced, hoping her surging adrenalin would give her enough strength to break his leg. She knew it’d be risky, though. Joseph was fast and strong, and she didn’t stand a chance if he got his arms around her.
Just as Joseph got ready to pounce, a dark smirk spreading across his face and his eyes turning to mercury, something astounding happened. A blur of shadows and light streaked across the alley behind Joseph, and suddenly the dark-haired boy yelled out in pain and anger. His arms were trapped behind his back, twisted at a painful angle. Ember couldn’t see well in the darkness and that frustrated her as Joseph fell to his knees, his arms still twisted behind his back. She heard a thud, like someone kicking flesh, and Joseph arched his back, yowling in agony. An indistinct voice murmured something in a vicious tone, but she couldn’t hear the words.
Joseph was flung abruptly to the side, hitting the metal wall with a surprising amount of force, and he slid down onto the dirty ground, clearly unconscious.
Ember, breathing quickly and raggedly, fixed her attention on the figure shrouded in shadows. The one who’d saved her. With adrenalin and fear rushing through her veins, she scrambled backwards when the figure stepped toward her. She vaguely noticed for the first time that tears were pouring down her face, and her arm hurt. A lot. She must’ve whacked it when Joseph had tossed her to the ground.
“Hey, look, it’s me. I’m not going to hurt you. It’s OK. See, it’s just me.”
Ember nearly fainted at the sound of that voice, her whole body going numb with relief when Reid walked into the stream of light so she could see him.
At that moment, she would’ve sworn he was an angel. He didn’t have a scratch on him, his clothes and hair were barely ruffled and it was clear it was no sweat for him to have tossed Joseph around like that. Seeing him standing there like some powerful, gorgeous saviour, Ember just cried more. Completely breaking down as she saw the concern lingering in Reid’s deep blue eyes, not a hint of arrogance in his expression. There was anger, but it wasn’t aimed at her. It was aimed at the unconscious son of bitch lying on the ground six feet away. The rain had stopped now, but she was still soaked and covered in filth. Her scrapes stung, and her sides ached with impending bruises.
“Shh, Shh. Calm down. It’s OK.” Reid came toward her with his hands held up in a non-threatening gesture, palms toward her. He crouched next to her and she let him help her to her feet.
She was still crying, but more quietly, as she limped alongside Reid to his car. She didn’t protest when he folded her into the passenger seat and strapped her in. He got in the driver seat and turned the key in the ignition, and the car hummed to life. The sound was soothing, so were the familiar scent of leather seats and the warmth of the car. Neither of them spoke as Reid drove back to the dorms.
By the time they pulled into the parking lot outside the dorms, Ember had recovered enough to have smoothed out her hair, wiped her face on her sleeve, and stopped whimpering like an injured puppy.
Reid turned off the ignition and just leaned his head back on the headrest, sighing. Ember looked at him, thinking of how to word what she had to say. She stared at his sharp profile, the line of his jaw, the outline of his straight nose, the curve of his mouth. He seemed to sense her eyes on him because he opened his eyes and turned to look at her searchingly. Ember swallowed and settled for saying the simplest thing she could think of.
“Thank you,” she said the two words with as much gratitude as she could put into her shaking voice. Reid continued to look at her, and nodded once in acknowledgement. She took a steadying breath and looked at her scraped hands in her lap. The edges of the wound were black with dirt, and the scrapes were full of ground-in filth. She knew she ought to clean that out as soon as possible. But she didn’t want to move.
“Are you OK? He didn’t break anything did he? Will you be OK?” Reid asked suddenly, his quiet voice full of concern; honest and open concern. Ember looked up at him.
“I’m fine. Just a bit shaken is all. I’ve had worse bruises falling off horses.” She tried to smile, wiping a stray tear off her face quickly.
Reid looked unconvinced. “But are you really OK?” There was something lingering in his voice that made her think that maybe Reid wasn’t quite as bad as he made out to be. She nodded, rubbing her hands on her jeans.
“Sorry I ruined your night out. I should’ve known better than to follow him into the alley. That was so stupid,” her voice wavered and she swallowed back more tears.
Reid’s face showed astonishment and fury as he gazed at her. “Sorry? You’re… you can’t be serious! It’s not like you asked to get attacked, is it? Everyone makes stupid mistakes, and it’s not as if you could’ve fought him off. He would’ve dragged you out there no matter what you said or did. It’s the third time Joseph’s done that kind of thing. I’m surprised nobody warned you!” Reid clamped his mouth shut with an audible snap, grinding his teeth. He looked away, his eyes blazing. Ember watched with shock; She hadn’t realised he cared enough to get angry over her this way. She felt a quivering smile tug at her lips, her sodden hair hiding it from Reid. He was busy glaring out the window, his knuckles white as he curled his hands into fists.
Ember, realising it was time to go, took a shuddering breath and pushed the car door open. Reid sighed and got out too, coming round to help her stumble into the dorms.
He helped her to her room and lingered cautiously at the door while she tried to make herself look less… wrecked. She didn’t want to worry Sherry. But she realised it was a lost cause; Sherry was going to know something had happened, because there was no way of hiding the scrapes on her hands or the dirt that blackened her jeans.
“You sure you’ll be OK?” Reid asked quietly. He was looking at her so intently, as if he were trying to read her mind. It was unnerving, but at the same time, it made her mouth go dry so her tongue stuck to her teeth.
She nodded. “Thanks again. You really saved me.” She chuckled under her breath at the slight irony of that. He’d saved her from Joseph, but before, Joseph had saved her from him.
Reid shrugged. “No problem. That guy needed a beat down anyway.” He grinned, his usual devil-may-care smile, and she smiled too. It was strangely good to see that smile again. Comforting in a way she didn’t really understand.
“Well, goodnight,” she muttered, turning to open the door. She carefully twisted the door handle, trying not to injure her hand further.
“Goodnight, Ember.” Reid’s voice was gentle, the words hanging in the air after he strolled away down the hall.
Ember crept into her room, slouched over to her bed, and collapsed. The soft duvet hugged her, and she didn’t care if she got it wet or dirty. Sherry looked up from her desk, glasses perched on her nose - must’ve gotten tired of her contacts, Ember thought vaguely - and gasped.
“What happened to you? Are you OK? Oh my God.” Sherry rushed over to her and covered her mouth with her hands in a gesture of shock.
Painfully, Ember reeled out the events of the evening while Sherry listened in mute horror. By the end, Ember was crying again, and Sherry wrapped her arms around her friend soothingly. Ember cried for a little while longer, and then got up, feeling the ache of her bruised arm.
“I’m going to have a shower,” she said weakly, looking down at the mangled mess of her clothes. Sherry got her a towel from the wardrobe and left her alone to clean up.
The hot water was calming and cleansing, and cleared her head. Her scraped skin stung for a while, but all the dirt got washed out at least. She was too ti
red and shocked to think properly, her thoughts moving sluggishly and confusingly as she watched the steam condensing on the glass wall of the shower.
Eventually, she sighed and stepped out of the shower, having scrubbed her skin raw and washed her hair twice. She dressed slowly, carefully so as not to brush the fabric of her pyjamas against her scraped skin. Retrieving the first aid kit from the cabinet over the sink, she sprayed her wounds with antiseptic and bandaged up her hands. She was going to have plenty of bruises tomorrow, but she would be OK.
At last, she curled up in her bed, with Sherry watching her closely. She tugged the cosy duvet up to her chin and curled her fingers into it. She yawned.
“Do you want me to read you a bedtime story?” Sherry smiled delicately, and Ember rolled her eyes at her friend. She was starting to warm up under the duvet, and drowsiness began to suck her in.
“I’m OK, thanks,” Ember replied sarcastically, yawning again. Sherry nodded and let her drift off to sleep. Ember knew, even in unconsciousness, that her friend was keeping watch over her. And just maybe somebody else was too.
Reid
Reid had had to resist the temptation of going back to TipTap, in the hopes that Joseph was still there, and draining him dry of every last drop of blood. He’d heard Ember’s terrified shrieks from inside the bar, but Perry had warned him not to get involved, saying that Ember was feisty enough to handle it herself. But when he’d tapped into her Joseph’s mind, seeing Ember - crumpled on the ground, and ready to fight - and seeing what Joseph planned to do to her… Well, every one of his friends couldn’t have stopped him from going out there to save her. It wasn’t that he would’ve let any guy rape any girl on his watch anyway, but reading the images of Ember in Joseph’s mind had made him feel physically sick to the point of dizzying nausea, and something in his chest had exploded in fury. It had taken all his control not to sink his fangs into the son of a bitch and listen to him scream in agony.
After he’d left her at her door, he’d crept out his bedroom window and hung about in the tree outside her window and watched her cry while her friend comforted her. He didn’t know why he’d done it, maybe because he’d wanted to make sure she was really OK, or maybe just because it was the first time he’d really seen her since Monday and, even covered in dirt with tears staining her face, he’d been unable to stop himself from staring at her like she was some precious work of art. There was something wrong with him, and he knew it. He’d let this girl get to him, and he was having trouble fighting his way back to the arrogant man-whore that everyone was used to.
“Reid, dude, what’s up? You look down?” Perry nudged him, knocking him out of his depressing reverie. Ricky was watching him closely, his blue-green eyes seeing into him.
“Huh? Oh, I’m just…” Reid sighed, hanging his head. He had no reasonable answer to give. History today was incredibly boring, not holding his attention in the least. It left his mind free to drift and that was dangerous.
“You’re what?” Perry enquired suspiciously. Reid ignored him, groaning and putting his head on his arms, which were folded on the desk.
Mondays always sucked but… after the weekend he’d had, this one was worse than usual. He had a headache, he was bored and tired, and he couldn’t get rid of his urge to tear Joseph Rian’s head off. Plus, he couldn’t shake the yearning to make sure Ember was OK. He’d spent the weekend swimming and drinking and he’d been in three different girls’ beds. Gotten six slaps, a kick in the shins and scratches down his left arm. And the whole time, he’d been thinking of Ember. It was like her image was burned into his mind.
“Hey Reid.” A girl wandered past his desk, waving flirtatiously over her shoulder at him. She was short with dark hair and lots of curves, but he couldn’t call up a name. One of the girls he’d bedded this weekend, he guessed. He rolled his eyes at Perry, who was chuckling, and picked up his bag.
“Where’re you going? There’s still a half hour of class left!” Brandon called after him as he headed for the door. The teacher was too absorbed in helping some dumb jock at the back of the classroom to notice as he strolled out, slinging his bag on his back. Reid wasn’t sure what he was doing, but he refused to sit in some dull classroom, doing nothing, for any longer.
Ember
“What the…?” Ember sighed, crawling off her bed. She’d decided to stay off school today, not sure she could stand going to Biology and seeing Joseph again. She’d end up wielding a scalpel and some hydrochloric acid at him. Sherry ought to be in Drama and nobody else knew where she was today. And yet, someone was knocking at her door.
She opened the door cautiously and blinked in surprise. “Reid? What’re you doing here? Don’t you have History right now?” Ember opened the door further and stood back to let him in. She could hardly be impolite to him, what with how he’d saved her on Friday. He stepped into the room hesitantly and glanced around, but Ember had the feeling he just didn’t want to meet her gaze.
“Yeah, History got boring so I decided to come check on you,” he replied with an easy smile, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“How’d you know I was here?” she asked curiously, moving to sit on her bed, putting the bookmark back in her newest book. As Reid examined her My Chemical Romance poster on the wall above her bookcase, she surreptitiously glanced around the room, ensuring she hadn’t left anything lying around that she perhaps shouldn’t have.
“You’ve got Biology this period, and I know Joseph’s in your Biology class… I did the math.” He shrugged.
“OK. Well, as you can see, I’m fine. Bruises are healing, hands are fine. Still perfectly sane.” She held out her hands for him to see the healing pink scars, and then tapped her temple to indicate her mental status. Reid smirked a little, finally looking at her.
“That’s debatable,” he said. Then his smirk dropped and he gazed at her with serious concern. Ember sighed, feeling the need to reassure him.
“Seriously, I’m sane. It’s not like he actually did anything to me really. A few bruises and a panic attack. Why do you care so much anyway?” She crossed her legs and waved a hand, inviting him to sit on Sherry’s bed.
He sat cautiously, and ignored her question. “So, I was thinking… If you’re not too busy…” Reid started, his blue eyes fixed on hers and a smile clinging about his lips.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” she cut him off sharply, giving him a critical look.
He rolled his eyes. “I was just going to suggest we go for a drive,” he said, looking as innocent as a bad boy can.
“Mh-hmm? And why?” Ember countered, suspicion rising. Reid shrugged, fidgeting with the edge of Sherry’s pillowcase.
“What, you got something better to do? I promise not to attack you.” He grinned his arrogant grin, and she sighed. Honestly, she figured a little time out of this room might be good for her. And really, she wanted to go with him, wanted to spend time with him… No, you don’t. You just want out of this room, she scolded herself.
“Fine,” she groaned and got up to look for her shoes. Reid seemed to examine her for a moment and then nodded to himself, apparently making some sort of internal decision. “What?” Ember asked nervously, feeling self-conscious.
He just shrugged. “You might want to go with the boots,” he said lightly and nodded toward the pair of black boots with the slight rubber heel, sitting in the bottom of her wardrobe. She glanced down at herself; she was wearing skinny jeans and a scrappy long-sleeved top. The boots would look good, she supposed, but why Reid would care about her wardrobe choices was beyond her.
She pulled on the boots and a jumper, and followed Reid out the door.
Ember didn’t ask where they were going as Reid drove the Aston Martin down some long, empty road lined with fields. She enjoyed the view, the fresh breeze coming through the open window blowing back her hair. It was a lovely, warm day and the skies were blue for once, instead of a cloudy grey.
She was surprised when Reid
stopped the car at a random lay-by next to field of sunshine-yellow rapeseed oil plants. The pungent scent of them floated into the car and tickled her nose. She turned to look at Reid questioningly and saw him holding up a black bandana in one hand.
“Uh… Oookay,” she muttered hesitantly as he held it out toward her. Suspicion rose inside her, and she eyed him carefully. If he was thinking what she thought he was, he had to be joking.
“Put it on. Blindfold. I’ve got a surprise for you.” He grinned, mischief leaping in his blue eyes. Yeah, that was what she’d feared. There was just no way she was doing that.
“Nuh-uh. Not happening,” she answered bluntly, shaking her head.
“Oh, come on. I’m being nice. Trust me, you’ll like the surprise,” Reid insisted, blue eyes pleading. It was hard to believe that just a week ago, she’d been at war with this guy. She still didn’t like him, she didn’t, but it was hard to hate him after he’d saved her from being raped. And it was extremely difficult to say no when he looked at her like that! He wasn’t playing fair, using his looks against her like that.
Still suspicious, Ember took the bandana, sighing, and blindfolded herself with it, tying it in a knot at the back of her head. It made her uncomfortable to be unable to see what was around her, and she tensed up, anxiety building in her chest.
“Can you see how many fingers I’m holding up?” Reid asked, a chuckle in his voice. The sound eased some of her anxiety. Just a little bit.
“I can probably guess which two fingers it is,” she smirked.
