Potion

A Dark Alley

I've only known him for four weeks. I know thats a short time.

He is a part of me now. It seems I can't live without him. I can tell he feels the same way. The way he holds my hand. The way he brushes a stray hair from my face. He means so much to me, even if I haven't heard his entire past.

After he had told me the story of his wolf encounter, I was positive I couldn't tell him about my tumor. If he knew, his fear would be a reality. My tumor would be the pain the wolf had. My tumor would be the pain that old lady wanted of me.

His fear would become an object. A pain bestowed upon him. Hard enough to touch. He would blame my tumor on himself. On the fact that he shot that dog in the woods. I wondered how he would live. I bet he would search for the old lady, and threaten her. Tell her that she'd got what what she wanted. That I was dead. Or maybe she would be gone already.

I wondered if I would live.

If the doctors found the last part of the cure, I know exactly what I would do. I would spend my time with Jesse. All if it. Right now, that's pretty much what I was doing. But soon our time would be up, and I would want more. Our days feel so short. Now that he has a feeling of loosing me, it makes things unbearably difficult. Because he's right.

He's going to lose me soon, if I don't get a cure.

"So what do you think about dinner?"

Jesse asked as he helped me up from the sand.

We'd been there quite a while. The sky was nearly black, and my chill bumps were more pronounced along my arms. We'd been talking about the story of the wolf. He said he wouldn't ever forgive himself if something happened to me. I tried to convince him that nothing would.

If only he knew.

Jesse had his arms around me, trying to warm me up from the cold. We walked through the dark grass. Farther from the sand area, and closer towards the restaurants.

Jesse was relaxed as we walked. Probably relieved that he'd told someone his story. I wish I could be relieved of mine.

We reached a strip of concrete, which led to the boardwalk. It was lit up with golden lights. The lake sloshed up on one side of it. Most of the restaurants rested on stilts. The warm glow of their lights looked inviting.

We walked down the boardwalk, our footsteps echoing in the night. I tried to focus on things other than Jesse's story.

"So which restaurant are we going to? Or are you going to blindfold me?" I asked, trying helplessly to bring up the mood.

Jesse looked down at me, stopping in his tracks. "Actually, we are almost there. How about I go in and check on our reservations? I'll be back in two minutes."

Jesse leaned down, kissing me gently on the cheek. I forced my breathing to stay calm. My cheek tingled, and my heart fluttered. I smiled brightly and stepped back.

"Willow, love, you have to turn around. You can't watch where I'm going." Jesse explained, spinning me around by my shoulders.

I cooperated, feeling like a kid playing hide and seek.

"Okay. No looking!"

I heard the sound of his retreating footsteps. They got smaller and smaller. I didn't turn around. I just stood there, smiling to myself. I touched my cheek where he had kissed it. If he could only kiss me for real! I was glad however, that my tumor hadn't gone off. That would have soiled our date.

I started humming to myself. I kicked at sporadic pebbles on the concrete. Watching them skitter off the pavement. It was so tempting to turn around and start looking for Jesse. I forced myself to stay put.

I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. They were heavy and slow. I waited for Jesse to grab my shoulders and scare me. He didn't, though. The footsteps came closer, and I realized it was more than just one person. Just as I was turning around, I spotted three men standing not a few feet away. Their faces were obscured by shadows. They looked menacing and stern. I was frozen.

"Hey there little lady. What's a pretty girl like you doing out by herself?" The man in the middle spoke. His voice was thick and alcohol-induced. You could obviously tell he'd had more than enough beers. I started slowly stepping backwards. Inching towards a separate path, hopefully leading to a restaurant.

"Hey, where ya goin'? We just want to talk." The middle guy said. His colleagues snickered.

"Oh, my boyfriend is waiting for me. I have to go." I said in the most even voice possible.

The men snickered, sidling closer with a dreadful slowness. "So who's the lucky guy? He can share for a bit, can't he?" The main man said, while his companions laughed.

I backed away quicker. The narrow alley ahead of me was dark as night. I couldn't tell where it led. So I kept going, sticking to my instincts. I knew not to run, because then I would be their prey. Like a helpless, wounded animal running from a hunter.

Suddenly, I felt a rough hand grab my arm. It all happened so fast. My other arm was tugged back behind me. I fought and resisted, which did nothing. I kicked my legs at anything in the way. I ended up hitting something with a sickening crunch. The sound of flesh connecting with my shoe. It was the mans shin in front of me. He groaned and muttered a low curse under his breath.

There were two men behind me, pinning back my arms. It was useless to fight them. I would end up breaking my arms in the process. I squinted my eyes in the blackness, and realized we were in a dead end. The alleyway stopped, abruptly ending at a brick wall.

My heart rate jumped.

I had no escape.

"Devon, Jonz don't let her go. She's going to pay for that." The man in front of me said, holding his shin. The men behind me tightened their hold. I ground my teeth together. How would Jesse find me back here?

The guy in front of me stepped closer. A strip of light flashed across his face from a streetlamp. He had a dark complexion. He looked around in his middle ages. Stubble covered his chin, and his beady eyes were unnerving. I could smell alcohol reeking off of him. A hint of smoke lingered on his clothes.

"You didn't answer my question before. What's a pretty girl like you doing out here?" The vile man stepped right next to me. Inches from my face. I turned away. Bile rose in my throat from his foul breath.

He brought his hand to my face, tilting my chin up. His other hand trailed down my waist.

"Don't touch me." I growled at him. I lunged forward, biting his hand hard.

He yelled, holding his hand in pain. Devon and the other man behind me cursed. They twisted my arms painfully, bringing tears to my eyes.

"West, you okay?" Devon asked.

The guy I had just bit, West I was assuming, clenched his jaw. He held up his hand, which was swollen and trickling blood. I grinned despite myself.

"Let her go." He ordered.

The men behind me let go abruptly. I stumbled forward, feeling my arms swing like jello. I rubbed them gingerly.

West slung his arm at me, back handing me across the face. It was exactly like the woman who had backhanded Jesse.

I fell to the ground, pebbles from the concrete digging into my palms. My head nicked the ground with full force. I cried out.

The men jeered and snickered at me.

That's when my tumor went off. The world spun. Pain lanced down my spine. Fire ignited. I grabbed my head, rolling into a ball. The solid concrete pressed against my side.

I cried out again.

This time it was his name.

The men in the alley looked confused for a split second. Then, I saw a silhouette pass the mouth of the alley. It was a familiar figure.

I couldn't see anything. The world blurred before me. I dug my nails into my head. My cheek burned from where West had struck me. It didn't compare to the pain in my head. The corners of my vision tinted black. The fire in my brain wouldn't calm down. I squinted in the darkness, trying to make out the person who had entered the alley.

I heard yelling.

Black shadows threw themselves at each other.

The sound of punches rang out.

The scuffling of shoes on concrete sounded.

Then there was silence.

Reality mixed with illusions if my imagination. A searing, blinding pain in my head blocked out everything else. I heard static in my ears. I could smell the sharp scent of blood. Like copper. The ground dropped off beneath me. I was floating in an abyss of darkness.

Something strong was wrapped around my legs, cradling me. I felt my body become weightless. I was leaving the ground below me. My grasp with reality was slipping from my fingertips.

I heard a faint whisper. A quiet sound in my clouded mind. It kept me tied to the real world for a second.

"Willow. I can't lose you."

I dropped into the welcoming depths of blackness.



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