𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌'𝖘 𝖊𝖓𝖉

8

                               .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖔𝖓'𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖛 (an hour later)
The taste of her lips still lingering on mine, I sit down behind her. She's staring down at her phone, scrolling through her snap. I lean back against the headboard.
  She glances at me before laying back and resting her head on my stomach. My legs stretch out on either side of her, laying flat.
  "You can turn the TV on, if you want." I call, her phone screen illuminating her face.
"Okay."
  I reach onto my nightstand and toss her the remote. She sets her phone down and picks up what I threw her.
  She clicks the power button, the screen lighting up. After trying to decide what to watch, she just ends up clicking on You.
  I can feel her starting to drift off to sleep, her body slowly relaxing.
"Go to sleep, Ada."
She jerks up, turning her head to look at me.
"No, I'm fine." She shakes her head. "I told you I'd stay up."
"It's okay." I pull her up a little, hoping for her to go the rest of the way herself. "You're tired."
She starts to crawl up, letting her head down on my chest. Her arms snake around my waist, her legs resting in between mine.
I can feel her staring at me for a few moments, bringing my gaze down to hers.
She looks away before I can say anything and shifts her head, laying down on her cheek.
"Goodnight, pretty." I plant a kiss on her cheek, her eyes already closed.
Within a second, she's sleeping. I lift her shirt up to rub her back, her goosebumps forming beneath my hand. My braid digs into my back, but I can't move now.
  I focus on the TV now, turning it down slightly, hopefully to keep her asleep. Both of our faces are illuminated by the screen.
  Suddenly, she mutters something incoherent, her eyes still glued shut.
  "What?" I look down to her, my brows furrowed. "Ada, what?"
  Once I realize she's just talking in her sleep, I scoff. She speaks again, her words clearer this time.
  "Was out. Texted you."
  I wonder if she's speaking to me again, but she's still visibly asleep.
  "Sorry- I already- all of what I had.."
  I stare at her, trying to figure out what she's dreaming about.
  "You said- 210- had 250." A tear suddenly slips from underneath her eyelid, running down her cheek.
  I use my thumb to wipe her singular tear, my mind absolutely blank. I have no idea what she could possibly be dreaming of.
  "Friend's house-" She jolts awake.
  I jump, watching as her eyes scan the room. In one second of realizing where she is, she immediately climbs off of me.
  "Ada-"
  "I need to go home." She states, picking her shorts up off the floor and putting them on. "I can walk."
"I- What?" I watch as she rushes out of my room.
  I jump up, following close behind her. "You just fell asleep-"
  "Thank you, Madison. I had fun," Before she turns the corner, I grab her by the sleeve.
  "Ada." I raise my brows, trying to slow and calm her down. "Where do you want to go?"
  "I don't- home." She stutters for a moment before giving a definitive answer.
  "I can't let you walk home so late. It isn't safe at this time." I shake my head, furrowing my brows. "At least let me drive you."
  "No, thank you." She pulls her arm away, her sleeve quickly slipping from my fingers. "I'll just walk."
  She practically sprints to the front door, struggling to slip her shoes on. I have no idea what to say.
  "Ada, no-"
  She's out the door before I can say anything more.
                               .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
𝖆𝖉𝖆𝖑𝖞𝖓'𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖛
  I bolt down the stairs, having no time to take the elevator.
Hannah's gonna be so mad.
I walk out the entry doors, turning left onto the cold sidewalk. There isn't anybody in the area at the time. No cars, no people out on the sidewalks.
The street I'm on suddenly goes dark, the street lights flickering. I take a look around before continuing to walk.
Maybe Madison was right.
I hear a car approaching from behind me, and I know it isn't Madison because I don't remember her having a car. It pulls up beside me, slowing to match my walking speed.
I avoid eye contact with whoever's inside, keeping my eyes glued to the floor.
"Hey, girl." A man's voice comes through the window.
I don't respond or look up.
"I'm fuckin' talking to you." He spits suddenly.
My eyes are forced over by an unknown force. Attraction? Definitely not.
An older man- like at least 56- peers out of the dented and rusty car's window, his eyes red and irritated. He looks predatory, so I continue walking.
"What're you doing out so late?" He asks. "It's dangerous."
"I'm walking to my boyfriend's." I lie, trying to seem confident.
"Your boyfriend's? I can drive ya'," He smirks unsettlingly, his eyes trailing down my body. "It ain't too far, right?"
  I nearly puke at the sight.
The entire inside of his car reeks of alcohol.
"No thank you." I half smile, shaking my head.
"Come on, sweets. A nice man's offering you a ride." He continues. "Just get in."
"I'm just going to walk. It's not too far."
He mutters something under his breath before stopping his car and opening the door. I freeze, almost unable to move. Fear overcomes my body as he approaches me.
"Get in." He spits.
"I don-"
He grabs me, trying to force me over to his car.
"This is what happens when you don't accept. I getcha' anyway-" He grunts, his dirty nails digging into my skin.
I try to scream, but he covers my mouth. I thrash within his grip, doing all I can to get at least one arm loose.
I try to kick back, hoping to hit him somewhere that'll hurt. I end up kicking his dick, I think, because he drops me.
"You fucki-"
I run off. Further down the street and into an alley.
He chases me, his heavy boots echoing in the dark alley.
"Get back here you fucking slut!" He yells, clearly inching closer to me.
As I try to turn a corner, I slip on something. My entire front side stings as I slide across the pavement.
He catches up and peers over me, grabbing my arms and turning me over onto my stomach. My tears blind me, and I can't see anything.
"Don't resist me, beautiful."
I can hear some sort of metal jingling, or unbuckling. I scream. He shoves my head into the pavement. I scream.
  He starts to pull my shorts down. I scream.
  "No, no, no, no- please." I sob.
A car drives by on the opposite side of the alley, and he stops.
"Fucking get up." He pulls me up, his hands restraining me. "I'll wait 'til I've got you for sure."
He yanks me back onto the main street, where I give one final effort. I thrash and kick everywhere, once again trying to get loose.
He keeps me in his grasp, but before being able to get me to the car, someone rushes up.
He immediately falls to the ground, from what I can see through blurry eyes. Someone gets on top of him and is doing something. Punching him- or even stabbing him, for all I know.
  I back away, my back eventually hitting the front of a building. My vision suddenly clears up, and I can see a girl on top of him, punching him in the face over and over again. Her hair is shielding her face, and I can't see who she is. I flinch at every fist she throws, hoping she'd stop before I threw up.
  She pauses, her fist raised. With every silent moment, I fear more and more that she'll just continue.
  I should've ran.
  I can see her tears falling onto his face, and that's when she lowers her bloody hand. She just stares down at the mess she's created of him before lifting her head.
  When she turns to look at me and I get a look at her, my stomach drops.
                               .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖘𝖔𝖓'𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖛
I lean over him, his face too bloody and swollen to recognize. My fist raised at the ready, I hesitate to throw another one at him. I blink, the reality of my actions coming down on me quicker than I thought they would. Tears slip from my cheeks and land directly on the man below me.
  My eyes can't seem to leave him, scanning his face as if trying to comprehend what I'd just done.
  I eventually lift my head, taking a deep breath before turning towards Ada.
  She stares at me, a horrifying look of terror on her face.
  "Madison," She warns, choked up.
  She looks at me like I could be provoked, and she has to be careful about what she does or I'll lash out again.
Like I'm a wild fucking animal.
  "I wasn't-" I blink. "I don't.."
She goes quiet, and so do I.
  She slides down the wall, ending up on the ground with her legs stretched out towards me.
  I stand up slowly, walking to sit beside her.
  We sit in silence, both in what's assumably shock.
                               .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
Sirens bounce off of the buildings, and she turns to look at me. We've been sitting here for at least 5 minutes.
  "Can they arrest you for that?" She asks, her brows furrowing.
  "I don't know."
  I stare down at my hands, the skin on my knuckles split and my fingers already bruising. I could feel my bones cracking while I was punching him, but I couldn't stop.
The cops and two ambulances arrived, and they immediately walked over to us.
  "Why don't you two come on over to the ambulance," A blonde lady dressed in police uniform speaks softly, two EMTs following close behind her.
  They help both me and Ada up, considering I'm still in shock and so is she.
  We sit on the ambulance's bumper, and all I can do is stare off.
One of the officers moves to stand in front of Ada.
"Do you mind telling us what happened?" She asks, a notepad in hand.
  When Ada doesn't speak, the officer squats down in front of her.
  "I don't know if that man'll live," She starts. "But if he does and you don't tell me what happened, we can't put him in jail or get him prosecuted."
She takes a deep breath.
"I was walking home from her apartment." Ada starts, sniffling and nodding to me. "He pulled up in his car and offered me a ride. I said no- um, multiple times, then he got out and grabbed me. I got loose and ran down the road and into an alley. He caught me and tried to- he-"
  She can't say it.
  "He tried to take me. But Madison ran up and stopped him before he could get me into his car."
Take?
  The EMT pokes and prods at my right hand, which would usually bring me pain, but it feels like I can't feel anything.
  It's an odd sensation.
"In the alley?" The officer asks.
"Yeah. The one at the end of the street." She nods.
  A second officer walks up on me, her eyes scanning my face.
  "You were the one who, um-"
  I nod, already knowing what she means.
  "Did you do it because he was trying to take your friend over there?" I nod once more. "And was he conscious before he started bleeding like that?"
  I shake my head.
  "Were you still hitting him while he was unconcious?" I nod.
She sighs, stepping closer to me.
  "I know you were doing what you had to in order to save her." She mutters. "I just don't know if I can help you out of this. He was unconscious."
  "I tried." I start. "To stop. I tried."
  She makes a face as the panicked EMTs take the man away and speed off in an ambulance. The cops stayed and we had to get cleared before the other ambulance could let us go.
  "You're Madison, right?" A brunette officer looks over to me. "Madison Connors?"
I nod.
"And you, presumably, beat that man?" He nods to the crime scene down the street.
"I did." My voice is small. "Did you look at my record?"
"I never said anything about your record," He shakes his head, pulling a notepad from his belt.
"If he dies-" He starts.
"I know." I cut him off, refusing to make eye contact. "I just wanted to help her."
"Right."
  I stare at him with pure disgust, my eyebrows furrowing.
"Alright, Adalyn." The other EMT smiles out of pity. "You have some pretty big lacerations on your cheeks, legs, and torso. I bandaged them up, but try to put a little neosporin on 'em and they should heal in no time."
I can't even look at Ada.
"Madison." The EMT's voice finally registers in my head. "You have 3 broken knuckles, from what I can feel. There isn't much we can do at the hospital besides prescribe you pain meds. I can wrap your hand and it'll heal on its own in a few weeks, if you'd like, or I can take you in."
"Just wrap it," I mutter, exhaling shakily. "Please."
The EMT wraps my hand and the ambulance leaves, leaving Ada and I alone. The officers had gone down the street and into the alley.
  She just stares at me, her eyes empty. Her shirt is stained with dirt and her legs are covered in cuts and bruises.
She starts walking up to me, her eyes now scanning my face.
I can't even speak.
The first thing she does when she reaches me is wrap me in a hug, her shoulders heaving with every sob she lets out.
"I'm sorry." She shakes her head and pulls away, her hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry I left. You told me it wasn't safe, and I should've listened. This isn't your fault."
                               .·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
𝖆𝖉𝖆𝖑𝖞𝖓'𝖘 𝖕𝖔𝖛
  I watch as her eyes flood with unfallen tears and she blinks just to keep them back.
  "I should've gone with you." She whispers, shaking her head. "I could've-"
  "You saved my fucking life, Madison. That's enough for me." I cut her off, nodding to her. "I don't even know if there was anything either of us could've done to prevent it."
"Fuck, Ada.." Her tears begin to slip, and her head falls onto my shoulder. "He's gonna die. What happens if he dies?"
"I don't know." I sniff, flinching as her arms wrap around me.