Promise I Will

17

STOP! I mentally scream out, but no words come out of my mouth as I'm thrown to the cold hard white wall. My breathing stops from the impact and I cough repeatedly. I feel my body slide down the cold cement wall, but to my horror, I was taken by my shirt.

The bony pale hand gripping tight pulls the fabric of my shirt, causing a rubbing sensation on my neck. Her snarl was loud but muffled by the loud growl from the group of students that surrounded us.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!" They chanted.

I could have sworn they looked like a flock of seagulls fighting for the last piece of bread on the ground in front of them. Their wings up in anger, ready to attack. Their beaks agape letting out an ear-piercing squawk.

"Stop!" It sounded like Carson, but when I tore eyes from Olivia's raging face, I only saw the tons of students who were cheering Olivia on.

Without warning, a fist connects with my shoulder and a throbbing beat took place. Another fist was forced into my stomach, just above my belly button. My eyes blurred with tear threatening to spill. Every place hit, pound as if it had its own heartbeat.

Please, I whimper in my head. I know that I can't say it out loud or the pain would grow in my heart. I had to be strong I had to show I wasn't afraid of her, but I couldn't. I was already letting tears form and a few had spilled from my eyes.

I shuddered as a cold liquid hit my face, leaving an almost burning sensation in its spot. Not a hot burn, but a burn as if to tell me that it was there. Little drops form at the bottom of my chin and falls the great distance that is from my face to the ground.

"Stop." I hear his voice again. This time I keep my eyes shut as the – water I hope – liquid is stopping my brain from allowing me to open them.

I feel a hand jab my side and I cream out in pain. But that is all. It stops. Not a single thing more happens. I lift my hand from my sides and wipe the residue away from my Wes, just enough to allow myself to see in front of me. I sniffled as I look at my surroundings.

The crowd that was once cheering and throwing a party, is now in a quiet murmur. They were standing so still that if I touched the one on the end, they would fall like dominoes.

I turn to my left and I pray silently that I wasn't dreaming, that what I was witnessing was real, and I knew that this pain was too strong for it for it to be a dream.

There in front of me, Carson stood, his face in a hard frown, brows furrowed in anger, his arms swung back in protection. Olivia looked frightened and shocked, but neither of them moves an inch.

That is until Carson turned to me.

"Let's go." He says. More less he commands and takes a hold of my arm and walks me away from the scene of the 'crime'.

As we walk away, down the hall and to the exit, I hear Olivia yelling. Carson seems to not hear, or just ignore it. His face still holds the angry frown and his eyebrows are still furrowed.

* * *

"You need to tell someone." Carson tells me.

"I told you." I answered back.

"That's not good enough." He sighs, running his hand through his hair and over his face.

"Then who?"

"Tell the principal. They can stop this from happening. Stop you from getting hurt."

"No, that won't help. It will make it worse."

He shakes his head and says, "No, it won't, I promise you."

There are those words again. "Okay."

His eyes bulge out of his head, "Really?"

"Do you promise?" I ask.

"Yes." He says almost desperately.

"Then I'll tell, but you have to come with me."