as fragile as a dandelion

rumble

Two's POV

It's the day of the rumble. I don't think I've ever felt so much anxiety. I have to face them. My abusers. The people that made my life a living hell for seven long years. The people that never loved me, that never cared about me.

But I wasn't doing it alone. I had August with me. And for whatever reason, that comforted me. I wasn't sure why he cared about me. I was still trying to figure that out. But knowing he was there was enough. Knowing that the Pythons were right behind him was enough. For once in my life, I had people supporting me, protecting me.

Monica strode into the room, as confident and spunky as ever. Her silver hair was pulled into a messy topknot and her light blue eyes were kind.

"Hi sweet baby. You ready?"

I breathed in shakily, "I think so."

I propped myself up, which was becoming less and less painful to do. Monica gently swung my legs around. My right leg had a bulky cast from my toes to my thigh because it was broken in two places. I scooted forward to the edge of the bed, shaking with the effort. This would be the first time I stood up in over a month.

As my toes touched the cold floor, my body seized. I couldn't control my limbs. I couldn't do anything.

No, no, no. Please. Not right now. Not again.

None of my mental pleading did anything, I could see Monica panicking. I was trapped inside my own body as it thrashed back and forth. My eyes rolled back into my head. I could hear Monica.

"Come on. Calm down baby. It's alright. Come on, keep fighting." She kept saying over and over, rubbing my head.

What felt like an eternity was probably only a few minutes. I stopped seizing. My body was sore and exhausted. I opened my eyes, breathing hard. Monica was holding me tight.

"Honey you had a seizure. Are you alright?"

I nodded, feeling the rough fabric of her sweater against my cheek, comforting me.

"Have you ever had those before?"

I nodded again, remembering the hundreds of times before that.

"Aww, baby. I'm not gonna ask you what happened to cause them, okay? But I'm here if you want to tell me."

Remembering hurt too much so I closed off my mind. I sighed, "Let's do this."

Monica held my arms for support, essentially holding me up entirely. I stood on my left leg and stayed there. She shoved crutches under my arms and I was walking. I summoned a small smile.

•••

I hobbled over rocks and sticks, with August hovering next to me like a worried hen. He was biting his bottom lip, a nervous habit I had noticed. The lot came into view.

It was a relatively flat, abandoned parking lot surrounded by dirt and a half crumbled, chain link fence. It was in no mans land between the two territories, and therefore was neutral territory. I had been there plenty of times before, but this time was different. This time I was approaching from the enemy's side. I glanced up at August, my heart rate picking up.

August looked down at me, worry all over his face, still biting his bottom lip. "You're sure? You can still turn back. No one will judge you."

I nodded, "I'm positive. I need to do this."

I looked up and stopped in my tracks. There they were. My father. His gang. My brother. The people I hated most in this world. I shook off the anxiety and put up a confident front. I marched right up to them. If I was a little taller I would've been nose to nose with my dad.

He sneered down at me, his hot breath washing over me. "Look who it is guys. Someone's having fun on the other side? Props to them for beating ya almost as bad as I will when I drag your ass home."

I tried not to flinch, because I could feel August right behind me and the rest of the gang spread out to either side of me. Ready to do whatever it took to protect me. "I'm. Not. Going. With. You. This is my new home. This is my new family."

My dad cackled, playing games as usual. "Ha! You hear that boys! She ain't coming home!" They all cackled with him.

I heard one shout, "Damnit boss we gotta get a whole new punching bag!"

Another one mock whined, "But boss, I liked this fuck toy!"

They all cackled again. I couldn't help but wince. I could feel August lunge behind me. The rest of the guys held him back, fortunately. Otherwise, I think he would've beat the hell out of them all right then and there.

My dad put a single finger in the center of my chest and tapped it with each word. "You will come home right now. Or I swear to god you'll see a world of pain like you've never seen before. I ain't playing."

"No, I won't." I said confidently, right in his face.

He shoved me to the ground, my head slamming against the pavement. August lunged at him, his fist making contact with his face with a crack. Chaos ensued. The sound of grunting and cracking echoed across the lot. Someone kicked me right in the ribs, I screamed. When the kicks kept coming, I realized it wasn't an accident. I felt sparks of pain everywhere. I looked up to see who it was

Suddenly someone grabbed onto my arms, dragging me roughly. At first I thought they were helping me get out of the middle of the fighting, but then I realized that I was being dragged in the opposite direction that I entered the lot. Someone was taking me to the Scorpions side.

I kicked and screamed, not caring how much it hurt me. "Let go of me! Get off of me! August! Somebody! Please!"

My throat burned from screaming. I searched frantically through the crowd with my eyes.

August please. I don't want to go back there. I can't.

Then I made eye contact with his dark black eyes in the center of the writhing mass of people.

"Two! Let go of her! I'm coming for you! Keep fighting!" I saw him scream, fighting, just trying to get to me.

All of a sudden he was on the ground. Someone was holding him down, punching him again and again. He struggled, not caring about the punches raining down, just trying to get to me. That's when I figured it out. August didn't just care about me. He loved me.

I screamed louder than before, kicking harder, but I couldn't escape. "AUGUST!"

He looked up, blood dripping from his gorgeous face. "I LOVE YOU TWO! I LOVE YOU! NEVER FORGET THAT!"

Someone kicked him in the face and those beautiful black eyes rolled back into his head. I screamed again, tears welling up in my eyes. The last thing I saw was a fist flying into my face. And then everything went dark.