Changing Past

Chapter 5: New beginnings

Quote of the Chapter:
'Don't say "there's still time" or "maybe next time", because there is also the concept of "its too late"'

"Danielle! Are you here?"

I got out of bed, and glanced in my mirror to see my face tear-stained from the night before. I opened up my bedroom door and saw my completely barren dorm room. I stared at my phone hoping to find some message from Danielle, only to find thousands of messages that I missed from Luke. Where is she?

I decided to call Luke back even though I had ignored him since my birthday, yesterday.

Ring, ring, ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Luke. You called me?"

His voice sounded quiet and hoarse almost like he was whispering through the phone.

"Uh, yeah. Could we talk in person? Can we meet at my dorm room? It's room 304."

"Yeah. I remember"

There was a growing silence between us, and because we had never been awkward, neither of us exactly knew how to break it.

"So...I'll see you around 4 okay."

"Alright. Bye Alex."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone, and let out a lingering sigh as my stomach growled loudly. I dragged myself into the kitchen and sat at my small dining room table before I turned on the television. I finished my eggs and bacon that I quickly made as I headed out for a walk in the quad. I walked about a mile from my building before I recieved a call from Danielle.

"Hello?"

"Uh. H-hey Alex."

Her voice seemed shaky, and she started softly crying through the phone.

"Dani? Are you ok?"

"Could you come back to the dorm? I have something important to tell you."

"Yeah. I'll be there in about 5 minutes. Are you ok?"

"Ok. Alex...hurry."

She hung up the phone in my face, without answering my any of my questions. I sprinted back to the dorm, and as I ran up the stairs, loud screaming and pleading coming from our dorm echoed throughout the halls.

Unknown Voice: Where is she?

Danielle: I told you she's on her way back!

Unknown voice: She better be, we have unfinished business.

Danielle: What are you going to do to her?

My pace quickened after hearing the conversation. I wondered why no one else had come out of their room to check on what's happening. I then realized it was rush week, and everyone was still at the quad signing up to join in sororities and frat houses.

I quietly slid through the door to find Danielle on the floor with fear plastered over her face. A man stood over her with his back turned facing me. He still hadn't noticed that I came in, so I stood still. Danielle saw me as her eyes grew large. They were strained and red from the tears that still ran down her cheeks. She didn't dare move.

I snuck into the kitchen as quietly as possible and tried not to make the floor creek from underneath me. I peak from around the wall, and see the man's awfully familiar face. It was man from the fight. I started to breathe heavily, but I quickly stopped when I realized that I had to stay calm to help her and I get out of here. I motioned for Danielle to talk to him in order to keep him distracted.

Danielle: What are you planing to do? Please don't hurt me.

Man: I will if you keep talking.

I quickly reached for the cellphone from the kitchen counter and turned it on silent despite my shaking fingers. I dialed the campus police, and waited a grueling 30 seconds before I heard the receptionist on the phone.

I spoke as softly as I could, but not soft enough. The man quickly turned toward my direction and pulled out a knife from his jacket. Danielle started talking again, louder than before. He turned back toward her while I hurriedly gave the operator our tower and dorm room number. She told me they would be over as quickly as possible and to try to stay calm and to keep him talking.

My eyes diverted toward their attention to the knife that rested on the kitchen counter. I grabbed it and an iron skillet from our cabinet. I tip-toed over, but the floor creaked beneath me, "Sh*t!"

"Alex, look out!" Dani yelled in a scratchy voice.

He swung around, but by instinct I swung the pan as I hard as I could, only to graze his shoulder. I fumbled back on my heels as my heart raced inside my chest. My goosebump-covered arms were ice-cold and my breath became short. He smirked at me and said, "Well. Well. Well. Alex, it's good to see you again. Not in any better circumstances though."

I lunged at him with the pan, and tried to hit him again, but he grabbed it by the handle and stopped it inches before it could make contact with his face.

Danielle lunged onto his broad back and started screaming for me to run and got get help before he flipped her over his shoulder causing her to land on her head on the tile floor.

"Stop it!"

He stared at me and laughed before he leisurely made his way over to me. He had gotten drunk. The smell of rum that seemed from his mouth and clothes burned my nose making a scowl appear on my face. Danielle wrapped her hands around his ankle in attempts to pull him away from me as a crooked smile appeared on his. He dropped the knife, but quickly grabbed it again as he tried to stab her in the side, but she caught the blade, cutting her hands.

She yelled his name. "Asher! Stop it. You're drunk! Leave us alone!"

He laughed and pushed harder, which cut her hands more. The blood poured heavily now and I could feel myself growing faint at the sight. I watched in horror as her blood dropped down her wrists and on to the floor. I jumped toward him which threw him off-balance.

While she dealt with her hands, he covered my eyes. However, I swung my leg, hitting him in his manhood. Unphased by my kick, he barely moved. I turned around swiftly and attempted to kick him again but was instead met by him with the harp and unruly metal of the knife in my lower abdomen. A blood curdling scream escaped my lips, which left me breathless and Dani turned around crying. Asher leaned over me and began to hiss, "Tell Luke that we have unfinished business. Oh and princess, next time stay out of my way. But, by the looks of you, you won't have a next time."

He laughed as we heard sirens in the distance. He looked out the living room window to see the campus police arrive downstairs. He ran away quickly leaving us alone in a room stained with blood and crying. I slowly started to lose consciousness as the pain drifted away.

My vision became blurry and the world was almost completely mute. The last thing I remembered seeing was her crying over me with her hands covered in blood, and the police bursting through my door. My vision was almost black, when a jolt of life ran through me. I fluttered my eyes open to see him run to my side on the floor. He started crying and pleading for my forgiveness. One word slipped from my tongue before everything went black, "Michael?"

The world around me disappeared, and the last thing I heard was him screaming my name and yelling at the ambulance workers to fix me.