The Bitter Start.

Twenty five

I don't know how long I walked, but it was for a while. Then suddenly I felt as if I was being watched. My body became tense and uneasy, my whole stance was screaming at me silently to turn and run but I stayed calm and forced myself to relax. I only had a knife on me, but that should be good enough..

I was grabbed, and I grabbed my knife and slashed quickly.

"Fuck.." An unfamiliarly familiar voice said and I looked to see Gruzzlie. Gruzzly?

"Gruzzlie?" I asked and he looked at me, nodding.

"Good to see you, Ali." he said and I sighed in relief and then hugged him tightly.

"I thought you were dead!" I said, and he nodded grimly.

"I thought I was to." he said and I looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" he looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry.." he put me in a tight headlock and then put a rag over my face, making me inhale the morphine without much choice.

"Like I said, I'm sorry." he said and I slipped into unconsciousness, falling into some deep black pit.

I woke to some dark room with a barely audible lamp.. Oh no, no no no. This was completely familiar. I was tied tightly to a chair, my ankles already felt raw from the ropes and my mouth had a gag in it..

"Glad you're finally awake." someone said as they were in a corner of darkness, and I moved my eyes to look in the corner it came from.

Dad..

"See, when your little friend turned me in and I was left to rot in some prison cell for more than I simply deserved, I thought "Why not make up some sort of plan to get myself out and running again." he said as he walked into the lamp light more.

"So I called around, and after a year or two, I found out Gruzzlie had a girlfriend, that Gruzzlie was a killer, and that Gruzzlie could be blackmailed into giving me any information, any of anything he knew about you or the people surrounding and helping you, and I could get it easily enough if I took his love of his life." he said and I shook my head. poor Gruzzlie.

"Well, I got the Intel I needed per say, and I got an ally, who could come up with a plan to kill the only witness and get out soon. And I find out that you left the perfect family just to live with friends and go to school somewhere else." he said and the moment that smack sounded the room, I had braced myself for it. I knew I'd get hit sooner or later, and no doubt I knew it was going to be a strike to the face.

"You're going to pay for what you did to me. But first, we need to get your little friends off of our trail. So I'm going to ungag your mouth, and Gruzzlie is going to come in with your phone. You will call one of your friends you're living with and tell them that you left. That you couldn't stick around, make up some excuse because this time I'll make sure you don't go back. And if you give ANYTHING away, it will only make things worse on you." he said and I nodded, holding in my emotions right about now.

  He left the room, and soon he came back, and a light turned on. I felt my eye throbbing, and Gruzzlie came in with dad and he looked  at me emotionlessly. Dad untied the gag, and I coughed as he threw water over my face.

"Talk." he commanded and I held my head down.

" I didn't know you were going to get caught." I said and I was backhanded roughly, but I stayed completely silent, closing my eyes slightly.

"You didn't cover your own tracks, you got sloppy." he snapped.

"Now, tell your friend and we can get on with business." he snapped and I saw Gruzzlie dial back the one with the most calls, Dawson..

He put it to my ear and I closed my eyes.

"Where are you." a brusque Dawson answered.

"I uh, I'm sorry. I had to leave. Don't think I'll be- coming back home to you guys. These past months have just been.. Too much for me," I said, forcing my tongue to move against it's will.

"You just told me you weren't going to be breaking a promise last night." he said emotionlessly.

"I know I did, and I am sticking to that. I put my key in my desk drawer for you to find, it's under the footnotes and box of clippies." I bit my busted lip and looked away, forcing the hurt into a invisible jar.

"Don't fuck around with me. We shouldn't be talking about a key. If you want to leave me and the others than fine. Damn, you aren't who I thought you were, I guess I chose the wrong girl to be my girlfriend." he snapped, and I bit my lip. He knew..