Starting Over. A Bam Brown story

Starting Over. Part One

There was an old blanket on the sidewalk, dark blue and dirty. Bam frowned as he looked down at it, wondering who would leave something like that lying on the street. But there was something very odd about the rumpled pile. He moved closer and shifted his foot to gently push at it, as his brother Gabe continued walking down the busy sidewalk.
"Hey! Ow!" You threw the blanket back off your head and glared up at him, blinking rapidly in the bright morning sun.

Bam's face was a mask of surprise, he stepped back, then frowning deeper, moved closer to you.
"What are you doing there?" His deep voice was so loud and you looked left and right to see if anyone had heard him.
"I'm just sitting here." Your thrust out your chin defiantly. "There's no law against that. Now go away. Leave me alone." You pulled the blanket back over your head, covering it completely and prayed that he would just leave.

You waited, breathing in the dust from the old blanket. The smell of the dirty cloth assaulted your nostrils and you weren't sure how much longer you could stand it. After a time, you figured he must have left and you snuck a corner of the cloth down away from your face.
"Hi." He was squatting on the sidewalk just inches from you. He was so quiet, you hadn't heard a thing.
"What do you want?" Your sigh was tired. You were tired. It had been such a long day and you didn't need to spend the rest of it fighting off this guy.
"I don't want anything." He rubbed at his full reddish beard and raised his eyebrows. His deep blue eyes were focused on your face, his expression serious. His eyes occasionally moved, taking in the blanket, the small backpack and your uncovered legs.
"Then go away." You tried to pull the blanket back over your head but he gently held it back with a finger.
"I can't."
"Why not?" Your question was almost a cry. He knew you didn't want to talk to him and he was going to make you have to get nasty with him to make him go away. He seemed like a nice guy and you hated to do that, but you would.
"Because I can see the blood on your leg. I can't leave you here." He looked down at your leg and you followed his gaze.

Oh, No. Why hadn't you washed your jeans before you came outside? You didn't realize what people must have been looking at this whole time.
"I'm fine." You started to stand and gather up your belongings. He backed up to give you some space. But when you finally stood and put weight on your injured leg, you staggered backwards, almost falling. Quickly grabbing your arms, he pressed you back against the wall and held you firmly. He was wearing a sleeveless black vest and you could see his muscular shoulders straining to hold up your dead weight.

"No, you're not fine. And you're coming with me." He grabbed your backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Wrapping the blanket loosely around your shoulders, he slipped one arm around your waist and threw your arm over his shoulder. He wasn't giving you a choice.
"Yo, Gabe!" He yelled loudly to a man in a blue and black plaid flannel shirt who had stopped a few yards ahead and was looking back at the two of you. "A little help here, man!"
Gabe trotted back toward you and as he got closer, you could see he was even more muscular than the first guy. This man was huge.

"Huh, uh." You grunted, twisting your body trying to break free of the hands holding you. "I'm not going anywhere with the two of you." The first guy was strong enough, there was no way you could fight off both of them.
"Hey, Bam." Gabe spoke to the first man. Bam? You thought. What kind of a name was that? "What's going on?"

Gabe stood back a little and looked at you and you could only imagine what he was thinking. Your dark hair was matted to your head and what little makeup you had been wearing was long gone. You knew you smelled bad, you could smell it yourself and suddenly you were just so tired. The waves of exhaustion rolled over you and began to take you down. You fought against the pain in your leg and against the thick darkness that clouded your vision like smoke. Slumping forward, you dimly heard Bam's voice.
"Gabe, help me!" Both men grabbed you as everything went dark.