Broken

8: Blindfolded

"Is she ever gonna wake-up?" A deep voice says.
Voices. I'm awake! But to continue eavesdropping, I choose to pretend I'm still unconscious.
"Well maybe you shouldn't have hit her so hard in the head, and for a sixteen year old, she's pretty small." A warm voice says.
How do they know my age?
"You-"
"Shut up! I think she's listening." One says.
I hear a pair of heavy footsteps. As they get closer, I can feel the floor vibrate against my body. Suddenly a hand warps around my arm, and slowly makes its way to my cheek. Gross. The hand starts to hover. Even grosser. A bit of guilt washes through me. Guilt for what? For Tay? For... Toby? Is there chemistry between us?
"What are you doing?" The deeper voice demands.
"Nothing! Just... Go get a bucket of water, we can poor a bit over her 'till she wakes." The hand drops from my face.
"Ice cubes too?" The man farther away says, only half jocking.
"Do you want her to wake?" The other man says coldly.
"Fine, I'll be right back."

"I'm sorry," The boy puts his lips to my ear, "I'm really sorry Jo... I... I didn't mean to hurt you, it's just... I love..."
Jo? He knows my nickname too? And was he trying to say he loved me? Who is this? It can't be Tay, her voice isn't that deep. Jeff is too old, and I've barely met Aidan, so it has to be-
"Dylan," The deep voice returns, "A little help here?"
Dylan? Who the hell is Dylan?
"What? You don't have any muscles to carry a little bucket of water?" Dylan snorts.
But after a few seconds, Dylan leaves my side to help his friend. I hear a couple of grunts until they finally drop the water with a heavy thump. The thump is so big I start to get worried. I try to tell myself that its just water. I swallow hard.
"On the count of three," One of the boys says, "One..."
Its just water.
"Two..."
It doesn't hurt.
"Three!"
Cold liquid splashes over me. I try to bite my lip to stop myself from screaming, but it's too late. Then it finally stops. My eyes snap open and I jolt into a sitting position. I yank the blindfold off my head. I try to identify the boys, but my eyes are filled with tears. Not because I'm hurt, or scared, but because of the sudden numbness. I rub my eyes to remove the tears. I slowly stand up to see two pairs of wide eyes staring at me. I scan one but I don't recognize him.
But then I see him. Blue eyes, perfect blonde hair, innocent facial expression, but knuckles red from training.
Toby.