Just the Beginning

36

MATT

The sun has set and I've been out here much longer than I planned. I'm parked off in the woods, making sure no one can see me. I'm not leaving without her. She's coming with me. I know these places inside and out. All the ins and all the outs, I know where they are. This is what I did as a kid, I snuck away to breathe whenever I needed it. People could be in the room with me and not even notice me getting outside. Now that I watched Raj go into her room, I know where she is.

I wait for the last light to go off before making my way to the front door. I peek through the windows, making my way to the basement. I see the window Jada busted out and decide to go in there. I climb the lattice and get onto the small roof right outside. I climb in through the window and jump to the ground. It's loud when I land. Glass covers the floor, the chair is in pieces. I peek around the door to make sure the hall is clear and then run down it and up the stairs.

There are a few guys drinking in one of their rooms. Perfect opportunity for me. I sneak up and quietly but quickly run down the hall. I slowly turn the knob and lift up as I open the door so it doesn't make noise. I walk in and shut it fast behind me.

"Matt?" She gasped.

"Shhh?" I cover my mouth, "they'll hear-- God what have they done to you?" I untie her ankles and try to figure out how to break her wrists free. Looking over at her almost makes me sick. She has these horrible cuts on her stomach and back. They could probably use some medical attention. She's bruised all over. Back to looking like she was a few weeks ago, but worse. There looks like burn marks all over her neck and chest, her thighs. She has a bra and underwear on, that's it. I can't believe I let this happen again.

"Hey hey I'm just gonna check on her!" A voice calls out in the hall. I look around and quickly get in the closet.

"Hold your feet together love," I whisper, "I'm not here. Okay?" She struggles but does as I ask. The door opens and Raj walks in. I watch through the crack in the closet door.

"How are you? Are you getting hungry yet? Oh come on, where's your voice?"

"Just go please," she whimpers, "I- ah-" He grabs her hair and pulls her head back violently. She cries out in pain.

"You don't tell me. You should know this by now, you aren't special here. You listen to us."

"I-I'm sorry- I'm just tired. I- I want to go to bed- can I— can I be let down?" Smart love. Smart move.

"Let down?" He chuckles before looking around, "alright. Come on." I watch him pull a knife from his back pocket and cut the ropes that hold her up. She immediately collapses on the ground and curls up in pain. Every part of me wants to just run and grab her but I can't. Because if I do my whole cover is blown and neither of us will be getting out. There's no way she can walk out of here by herself. She'll need help.

He grabs her hair and starts to pull her back. She ows and whimpers for the time he pulls. He fastens the rope to the wall, "wait a minute. Your feet were tied up."

"What?" She asked confused, "no they weren't-"

"Yes. They were," he nods, "tell me how you did it." He grabs the knife and sticks it up to her throat.

"I-I didn't," she cried. Fear is written all over her face. She closes her eyes and gulps, "I- I promise."

He presses it into her skin more, so much so that I see a small drop of blood start to roll down. I grabbed one of the items in the closet with some weight to it and smacked the closet door before looking back out.

"What was that?" He asks, "WHAT WAS THAT! What's in there!"

"I - I don't know," she cried, "I don't-" I watched him slam her head into the wall. My blood boils and I run out of the closet. She doesn't deserve that.

I swing, hitting him in the face. He falls backwards and I quickly grab the knife on the ground beside him. I cut her arms free and put it in my pocket. I grab her, holding her bridal style, and rush from the room.

I feel the hands of another pull me back and I quickly fall to the ground. Still holding her, her body weight falls on mine. I gently push her off and stand up to find a fist coming my way. I quickly dodge and throw a punch right into someone's stomach.

I can't comprehend what's happening. I feel someone else's fist hit my jaw and I stumble backwards. I hit the wall and dodged another hit. I bend them over, kneeing their chest and then using them to take out another. I jump back towards Ana only to be kicked in the side. I fall back and feel the heel of a boot crushing my throat.

"You're a dead man," Raj looks at me, "you should've stayed out of it."

I slowly force my hand over and pull out the knife. I jam it into his leg and he screams out in pain, pulling his boot off of me. I pull it out and stand up, stabbing him in the stomach. I let it go and watch him stumble. What did I just do? Oh my god I stabbed him. Oh my god. I drop the blade.

I look over at Ana who is still on the ground. Blood runs down the side of her face, on her neck... I pick her up and, as fast as I can, make my way out of the house. I ran behind it and into the woods towards the car. I guess the jolting due to running started to wake her up.

"Put me down!" She cried out, "stop- put me down!"

"It's just me," I still do as she asks, "it's me, love. It's just me. I've got you." She looked at me for a few seconds and then wrapped her arms tightly around me. She takes deep breaths. Her body trembles.

"Oh my god," she cries, "oh my god you found me. What about Jada? Did she-"

"She's with Chase," I nod, "babe you need to worry about yourself. We need to go to a hospital."

"What? No. No, I'm fine."

"No you're not," I shake my head, "you're not. We're going."