July Is Over

::August's POV::

I stood quietly trembling in the darkest corner of the old, crumbling ball room. It was an original 1862 design built in the 1900's for banquets and such. The tall, marble pillars were stained with age and cracked. The floor was replaced long ago and didn't match the colomnry. At a first glance, the place was exquisite, but if one should look closer, one could actually see the old room in age.

The long evening was finally over and all guests were gone with the exception of one man, his friends, and his daughter. The white table clothes were splotched with crumbs of food that the mice would surely not miss. Dishes, napkins, and silverwear were strewn about amongst the premises. The room smelled of cheap wine, sweat, and spaghetti.

The girl was Noelle, and it was her seventeenth birthday. Her father rented the old ball room and invited all of his friends to "celebrate", but Noelle always knew what that meant. Her father was and ex-convict and he and his friends drank until they could hardly stand.

"N-Noelle, come over he-ere hunney," her father, Jim slurred. Jim Padgham was imprisioned two years before for the accused rape and murder of a nine year old girl. He was found guilty until a major piece of evidence was tampered with, so they had no choice but to release him. If it were my desicion, I wouldv'e had that creep locked up until he died. I knew what he did.

Noelle slowly trudged over to her...Jim, and he pulled her into a tight hug. He pushed her back slightly and held her shoulders in his large hands.

"My little girl is f-finally s-seventeen," he began. "Getting far to big to be-to be a-to be daddy's girl anymore," he finished. He lowered one of his hands to the small of her back and pushed her toward one of his friends who I thought was Gerald. Gerald stood back slightly and examined her up and down. It made me sick. I wanted to punch the creep for even glancing at her.

"She's looking really nice, Jim," Gerald commented, looking up at Jim. Jim smiled and nodded his head slightly. "Come on Noelle, let's g-go check out that back room over there," he said grabbing her hand in his large, grimey one. I turned my pain-stricken face away because we all knew what was coming. Or at least, we thought we did.

"No, I'm not going," Noelle said softly, pulling her hand away from his. I turned my face back to see her looking down with her long, curled hair hanging over her face. The four men- Jim, Gerald, Bill, and James- were all staring at her in awe. She was never supposed to say no.

"Noelle!" I yelled out to her. No one heard me, as expected. You see, I am Noelle's shadow. I do not exist as a human in my shadow form, but shadow and human are my two main forms. In my shadow state, I am dark and I am a follower. No one can hear me, and no one can touch me. In my human form, I look like any other guy you would find anywhere else. It was simply easier to watch out for her in my shadow form, because Noelle had no idea who- or what- I was. She wasn't supposed to. Just like she was never supposed to say no.

::Noelle's POV::

Gerald grabbed my small hand in his large one, instantly drenching it in sweat. I scrunched my nose slightly but relaxed my face when I caught Jim's glare. Jim was not my father, at least, he wasn't anymore. When I was younger, he used to be the best father anyone could ever want, but when my mom left us when I was four, he became an alcholic. On the day of my fourteenth birthday, when he never came home, I was informed he had been arrested. I had to spend the next two months testifying on how Jim could never rape and kill a nine year old, but it was all lies. I knew what he did to an extent that it could hurt me NOT to lie for him.

Gerald began to pull me toward an empty backroom and images of previous nights flashed through my mind. The pain, the inhumanity; everything.

"No, I'm not going," I said quietly, surprising even myself with my words. I looked down at my feet and prepared to take action if needed. I swore I heard someone yelling my name and my head shot up just before receiving a blow to the cheek.