How to Poke a Fish (A Romance Novel)

Chapter 4

**A DAYS LATER** Z’s POV

Ah! Finally the weekend was here at last! It was going to be really nice out for one of the lasts times this year and Becca and Kayla and I planned to go out to Kayla’s parent’s cabin. Caleb, Becca’s boyfriend was coming along with us. Then yesterday, Kayla decided to ask Louis and Alex if they wanted to come since they both said they were going to be bored this weekend and then heard we were going to a lakeside cabin. I know Kayla has a crush on Louis so it wasn’t weird that she asked him since I think he likes her too and obviously both Kayla and Becca swooned at the idea that Alex liked me. They were always gushing about it and yes I liked him and were we going to go out, I have no idea. Really Alex just seems like a really good friend and he wasn’t pushing anything. But now that they were coming with, my thoughts drifted back to the last time I was at a cabin. I agreed to this idea only because I wasn’t staying home and the girls weren’t going to leave me here without an explanation. But Friday night, I was pondering the idea and then….

**2 years ago (Z’s Flashback) **

My friends and I decided to go to Emma’s cabin for the weekend. Emma used to be my best friend. It was Emma, Ryan (Emma’s Boyfriend), James (my boyfriend) and me. The others decided to get drunk and go wild and I was not so into the idea. James was crawling all over me the whole night and he smelled bad. I did not do this stuff and that is why I never went with them to parties. Really I don’t even know why I agreed to come with them in the first place. Finally, they all passes out and I made myself some hot chocolate and sat in front of the fireplace being warm and cozy and I must have dozed off because the next second it was pitch dark and someone had their hand pressed over my mouth and I jerked trying to get away, but they pressed down harder and they…..

**~**

“AZARNIYA SOFIA MANNING! Get your lazy butt up now or we will leave without you!!!”

I was jerked awake as all the blankets were pulled off of me and I was thrown onto the floor.

“Ouch! I’m up I’m up jeez.” I yelled rubbing a bump on my head and nursing my sore arm. It was pretty much scabbed and scarred over but Becca’s throwing technique ripped some skin off. I grabbed a Kleenex and wiped the blood away.

“Well you weren’t waking up sleepy head and we are going to leave in a half hour so chop chop.”

I walked over to my closet and pulled out an outfit and threw it on. I straightened my hair while Becca pulled hers into a braid. As I was pulling on my shoes someone knocked on the door and I had one hand still pulling on my shoe as I opened the door to see Alex standing there. I got the shoe on and stood up straight and smiled. He was laid back from his usual kind of formal school outfit to a pair of plaid shorts and a white t-shirt with Flip-flops.

“Hey Z, Becca. Are you guys ready to go?”

We both grabbed our bags and Becca went down the hall to get Caleb while I locked the door and shut the lights off. Alex smiled and took the bag I was carrying leaving me to roll my suitcase.

We followed Becca and Caleb over to the other dorm where Kayla was and found Louis and her walking out together laughing about something. Ok, so I know my friends now and I know this won’t be like the last time, but it still really scares me to think about what could happen.

“Does Louis really like her?” We were now all headed to Caleb’s car which could hold all of us and all of our coolers and stuff to go to the cabin. We all got in. Caleb and Becca is the front, Kayla and me in the middle and Louis and Alex in the back. We had an hour drive and we played music and talked a lot. Then a song came up and Kayla said

“Turn it up Becca I love this song!!”

It was a song by Isaac Germaning. He was a good singer and I did know this song so I sang along with Kayla and Becca and I heard Louis join in and he was great. I looked back to see what Alex was doing and he was staring at me, not singing along, just staring. I stopped and wondered if I had something on my face or what. He smiled and shook his head and rolled his eyes. Sing, I mouthed he wouldn’t have heard me over the music and he just smiled again and looked over at Louis who was singing his heart out. Then the song was over and we all were laughing as Caleb pulled into the driveway for the cabin. It was amazing here. There was a lakeside view and you could walk down to the dock where there was a boat and a jet ski tied up. We all quickly unloaded our luggage. Caleb and Becca took a bedroom. Kayla and I took the master bedroom and Louis claimed the twin bed in the other room so Alex claimed the futon in the living room. He put his stuff with Louis’s in his room though. The place was nice and Kayla suggested we all go out for a swim. We went down to the beach area of the lake and went swimming. There was a water trampoline and we all had fun pushing each other off and the boys got the chance to show off their moves. We had a great time and Alex started a fire so we could roast hot dogs for supper while I made brown beans on the stove in the cabin and Becca and Kayla dug the chips out of our food supply. We had lots of fun and the place had lots of lights surrounding the dock and stuff so you wouldn’t lose your way. We roasted smores and talked till we all started yawning and turned in for the night. I climbed exhaustedly into my bed.

Argh I was kicking against the guy but he kept pressing harder down on my and then he duck taped my hands together and feet and carried me off to the garage outside it was freezing. I was crying, but couldn’t make a sound because he had gaged me he threw me onto a mattress in there and I could feel a heater running. He started undressing me and I kicked out at him. I wasn’t going down without a fight he screamed at me swearing and punched me in the stomach and then I had the worst feeling of not breathing and my clothes were still coming off and I was barely able to breathe and…..

I flopped on the floor and woke up. I was drenched in sweat and read the alarm clock that read 3:03 A.M. I sat up and saw I hadn’t disturbed Kayla. It was way too hot in here and after that nightmare I had to get out. Now I slipped out my door and snuck to the outside door and slipped on my shoes and went outside quietly. There was a full moon and I fell into a chair we had used earlier it was still nice out and there wasn’t much sound. I suddenly heard something creak and I jumped out of the chair and nearly fell into the fire pit and then I realized someone was there.

“Hey, are you OK Z?”

I realized it was Alex and breathed a sigh of relief. I just grabbed the side railing on the porch and stared out at the lake and tried to calm my breathing and heart rate. He came to stand next to me and we just stood there.

“Want to walk down to the water?”

“Sure” I said and followed him down to the dock and we both sat down on the edge and stuck our feet in the warm water. It was nice but the nightmare was still vivid in my mind and I put my head in my hands and didn’t know what to do.

“My parents are separated. They separated when I was only 4 and a year my mom remarried. I never liked my dad really. I always had to spend the summer with him and the school year with my mom. My dad never remarried. My mom has 7 more kids, ages 13-3. She doesn’t have much time for me. My dad always has girls around his house and it’s disgusting. He would always try and hook me up with some girl or something and I always flat out refused. He stopped after a while and soon he just left me alone for the most part. Living with my dad was easier since I didn’t have seven younger siblings to deal with. And before you ask I just thought you looked like you needed to be distracted.”

“You have no idea…”

We sat silently again for a little bit. I looked over at Alex and saw he was staring at the water, thinking.

“I was raped.”

“You wh-“

“You heard me. I won’t repeat it. I’ve never told anyone. I was at a cabin with some kids they got drunk and I realized they weren’t my friends. They passed out, I fell asleep and he drug me away and did it in the garage. He carried in my best friend’s boyfriend and made him look like we had slept together. You can imagine what happened when my friend found us. She didn’t listen or care about the fact that I was raped. She made my life a living hell. I was called names and bullied. I didn’t bother telling anybody. I knew no one would believe me. Thank God my sister was already away at college. My parents couldn’t believe why my teachers hated me and how I managed to come home all ruffed up from people being mean. They told me how bad I was and sent me to my room often. Not that I cared anymore.”

“Azarniya, look at me please.”

I then realized my vision was blurred and I was shaking the dock. He wrapped his arms around me and rocked me back and forth. I finally just sat there breathing and I pulled away and looked at Alex’s ruined shirt.

“Darn, that’s the second time.”

“Azarniya, it’s ok. T-shirts can be washed and cleaned.” He smoothed back my hair and brushed the last few tears from my face. I could smell him, he smelled amazing. I leaned in closer and he cupped my face and looked me straight in the eye asking if he was going too far but I let him get closer until his lips were nearly touching mine. I could feel him breathing against my lips and then I suddenly pulled away and toppled backwards into the lake.