I've Got Your Back

Chapter 2

Chapter two:

School was, well school. Nothing that exciting. I stayed pretty much to myself as usual. Went to classes, payed attention by some, slept by others; nothing new, By lunch I sat with my friends, and pretty much we talked about sports and made fun of the kids who thought they ruled high school with an iron fist. Today I counted down to when the bell rang; so I could go to the store. When it finally did, I ran out of there faster than you could say 'class dismissed'.

I went straight to the station , jumped on the 2 train, and got off 4 stops later.

The store was two blocks from the train. I loved working here. The walls were covered by singers and bands from the 60's till now. There were racks and racks of records from every genre. One of the things I loved most was at the back there was this wall that was covered in quotes. They weren't all music related, some of my favorites were-

" Instead of trying to live the life you like, like the life you live"

" Don't hide away just because you dont belong."

" Be crazy. Be weird. Be whatever. Because life is too short to be anything but happy."

When I walked in my tired looking boss said, " Ava, thank god you're here!"

" No problem Mr. M" I answered

He wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve and said, " ok we just got a big shipment of new releases, when you're done with that take over the cash register."

I nodded and got right to work.

Since this was a music store there was music playing all over the speaker system and it made my job more enjoyable. I hummed along to Fall Out Boy as I hauled boxes of CDs. Danced around to Sublime as I was sorting them out, and running around putting them in the right place. When I was done, I went to the cash register to take over.

There was never a dull moment at 'Soundtrack of our Lives'. I remember one time I was with my best friend Tyler, and a couple of girls came in with I LOVE BOYS IN BANDS tee shirts. Being the idiot he is, he pretended he was in a band and spent close to an hour being fawned on, fangirled over, and being drooled on by these girls. When I had enough of it, I asked him to sing for us. All the girls agreed, but he refused saying he was only the guitar player. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt now, and say he said that without thinking, because we were in a music shop. I got a guitar from the back and insisted he play for us. If looks could kill, I would have died many times that day. After he failed to play a measly A minor, the girls called his bluff. You would have thought he murdered an innocent person from the looks he got. He apologized maybe a million times to them, but it was no use. They left (after buying The Backstreet Boys new record), without saying a word to him.

"Tyler," I told him, "You don't mess with a group of fangirls. They will hurt you if they must. And pretending to be in a band," I tsked tsked my tounge at him, "that crosses the line."

Today, a couple of guys who looked like they belonged in Australia not New York walked in.

" woah, this is like, the sickest place I've like ever been in dude." The one wearing a necklace with a shark tooth said.

" I know man this is like awesome." The one in sandals said

" do you guys need any help?"  I asked them.

" oh us? Dude we are like totally serene we dont need any help yet thank you." He answered me

" uh ok.." I said

These people were way too calm for me. I was a New Yorker and I couldn't stand people who took forever to do anything. I awkwardly looked through my phone, seeing if I would magically find anything new and interesting, until they were done. After the Aussies bought a soundtrack of waves splashing (no comment), my boss came to take over, and I went to the back to clean up.

The store closed at 10, i usually left at 7 but since Ryan wasn't here I stayed till closing time. When we finally closed up shop I plugged my headphones into my ears and put my hood up. The store wasn't in the best neighborhood, and it was a little creepy at 11 o'clock at night. I started to walk the four blocks to the train station.

All of a sudden I heard a twig or branch snap. I spun around to find that I was alone. I started to quicken my pace. Calm down Ava, I told myself. You're just paranoid because you finished a whole season of Criminal Minds last night. Not every sudden sound is a psychopath. When I was a block away from the station I felt someone behind me. I turned around and before I knew what was going on I was knocked down to the ground, my head hitting the dirty asphalt. I started to scream, but it was too late. I felt his fist connect with my jaw and I put my hands up, trying to defend myself.

"You can take whatever you want just please leave me alone!" I wheezed.

He ignored me and continued to beat me. I wasn't going down without a fight. I kicked him in the chin and he staggered back a little, giving me enough time to get up. I started to run, because in this moment; my life depended on it. I checked my pocket for my phone to call the cops, but it was gone. I continued to run, hearing him chasing after me. My heart was beating out of my chest, the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I turned the corner and stopped to catch my breath, figuring that I had lost him. I put my hand on my head and felt something wet and sticky, it was blood. I had to get to a phone. Just as that thought left my mind and I got ready to run again; he found me. He tackled me to the ground and covered my mouth, muffling my cries. I but his hand, but still no use. I continued to kick and scream but he seemed to hardly notice.

"Shut up!" Was all he said.

His voice sounded raspy, like he smoked a pack a day since he was a toddler. I tried to get a look at his face but it was dark, and he was wearing a black hood.

Where the heck was everyone? Why wasn't anyone doing anything, or calling anybody?

Please I'm too young to die. I thought to myself morbidly.

I felt something sharp dig into my neck, and yelled out in pain. Was he biting me? What in the actual heck? I couldn't think straight the pain was unbearable. It was like nothing I've ever felt in my entire life. It felt as if someone had taken two butcher knives and stabbed them into my neck. The pain traveled all over my body, it was horrible. My body was doing some really bad spasms and I was just lying on the ground twitching with my attacker continuing his work. The pain was too much too bear, it was like my body had a mind of its own, shaking and twitching without asking me how I felt about it.

My mystery attacker gave me one last punch in the face before I blacked out bloody and spasming on the floor.