The Purge

Pt 3.

Alissa ran and ran, tears streaming down her face. People called out to her, but she ignored them. She was finding it increasingly harder to breathe, and her hands were trembling. Deep down, she knew she should get a teacher and stop them from fighting. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She knew if she got a teacher, they'd call her parents, and Alissa was terrified of what would happen if they found out.

Alissa rounded the corner that led behind a building. There, she sank to the floor, a trembling mess. She tried to steady her breathing but it was like her body wasn't listening to her mind. Instead of the breathing slowing down, it sped up. Tears were running down her face as she rested her head into her trembling hands.

Alissa was so caught up in crying and trying to steady her breathing, she didn't even notice someone come in and sit next to her, until she felt an arm wrap around her shoulder. She instantly tensed up and went to move away, trying to cover her face.

"Hey, hey, hey, look at me. Look at me," The boy said, removing Alissa's hands from her face. "You're okay, you're okay." The boy assured her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. Alissa finally looked up at him, and was met with the gentle face of Sam Anderson.

"S-s-Sam, what-what are you d-doing here?" Alissa stuttered through shaky breaths.

"I'll explain after, just first. Let's get you to calm down," Sam said, pulling a vape out of his pocket and sticking it out for Alissa to take. When Alissa gave him a hesitant look, he gently placed it into her palm. "Trust me, it helps to calm you down. If you don't want to, that's totally fine, I won't force you into anything. But, it definitely helps, I promise."

Alissa looked down at the vape in her hand, still shaking. She decided that if Sam promised it would make her feel better, she might as well take it. After all, if he didn't mean well he wouldn't be sitting next to her right now, holding her in his arms. She shakily brought the vape up to her lips and inhaled. Then, she exhaled a plume of sweet smelling vapor. After a few more puffs, her breathing and shaking finally began to die down. She removed the vape from her lips and gingerly handed it back to Sam. Sam took a puff and exhaled it out his nose, causing Alissa to giggle and Sam to laugh.

"You calmed down yet?" Sam asked, still rubbing her back.

"Yeah, thanks," Alissa answered. "How do you know so much about this anyway?"

Sam chuckled lightly and looked down at his feet. "I- uh- I'm familiar with panic attacks as well. Result of my shitty lifestyle I guess." He said softly, picking up a rock and throwing it at the wall.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Alissa said, touching his arm lightly and giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Don't be, it's my own fault," Sam said, returning the smile. "Hey, uh, if you don't mind me asking, what happened? Maybe I could help you?"

Taking a deep breath, Alissa blurted everything out. Sam didn't make one comment until she was finished, and kept on rubbing her back. When Alissa was finished, she stood up suddenly and began pacing.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry, I just dumped all of this stuff on you and-"

"Alissa..."

"And I know you probably don't even care-"

"Alissa."

"And you're probably sick and tired of me-"

"Alissa!"

"And like I shouldn't even be here this whole thing is my fault if I had jus-"

"ALISSA GOD DAMN IT!"

Alissa's abruptly stopped and turned to face Sam. Same had his hands in his hair and was breathing heavily. Tears pricked the edges of Alissa's eyes and one trickled down her cheek. Sam immediately noticed and wrapped Alissa in a tight hug.

"Hey, hey, hey it's ok. I'm sorry for yelling at you ok? I just... I just don't want you beating yourself up over something that's not your fault." Sam whispered in her ear.

How badly he wanted to kiss her right now. But he knew that he shouldn't dare, because that would result in an ass whooping from Tyler. Also, it probably wasn't the appropriate timing. Her having gone through such an emotional time, he didn't want to add another layer of emotional stress on her.

The two pulled apart, and Alissa wiped away the remainder of her tears. Their gazes lingered too long on each other's eyes. Then, all of a sudden, Alissa broke the gaze, panic washing over her face.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit..." Alissa murmured over and over.

"Alissa, what's wrong... Alissa you're scaring me..." Sam said.

"I left the boys alone, fighting..." Alissa said sheepishly.

Sam groaned into his hands. "You're shitting me. You're actually shitting me..."

Sam chuckled lightly, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He then grabbed Alissa's hand, and sprinted over to where the boys were.

Alissa gasped when she saw the state they were in. Blood was dripping down both of their faces and they were collapsed on the floor, staring daggers at each other. They were both obviously too crippled to continue fighting, but they were fighting with their eyes.

(Imagine the stitches weren't there)

(Imagine the blood wasn't dried up)

Alissa quickly rushed over to Tyler and Sam quickly ran over to Lucas. Alissa's breathing started to speed up again and Sam quickly noticed.

"Hey, hey, hey... breathe, yeah?" Sam assured her, starting to clean Lucas' wound. Lucas' face winced every time same dabbed at it. Out of the two, Lucas definitely got the worse of it.

"Hey, Alissa, what if you just stay on lookout. I'll deal with this." He called out to her. "And I've had my fair share of dealing with this type of stuff." He added under his breath.

"Hmm?" Alissa asked.

"Oh-uh, nothing. Just, talking to Lucas." Sam said, mentally face palming.

Alissa nodded and walked slowly away, occasionally glancing over her shoulder at the boys. She'd heard what Sam said, but she wasn't going to admit it. She wondered how he knows exactly what to do in these types of situations.

Alissa wondered to herself; Is there something he's not telling me?