Saving Tessa

Ch. 1

Running.
My feet slap the slippery concrete below me as I run through the streets during a storm. I have no fear of lightning though. At this point, I have no fear of anything really. I just know that I have to keep running from him. Above me, lightning fills the world with a bright luminescence for a mere second before it is thrown back into the darkness as I keep going. I'm searching for something, I'm not sure what it is yet but I feel that I will know it when I find it. My wet and baggy clothes begin to slow me down so I stop for a second while I shed off my coat and boots and toss them onto the street before leaving them behind and darting faster, and faster away from him. The adrenaline pumping through my body allows me to forget about the cold that envelopes me.
It also allows me to forget the many hands I can still imagine moving over me without my permission; the smell of lust that has coated my skin for who knows how long. Even the stench of sweat, a mixture of mine and someone else's who knows not even my real name; someone who was not meant to touch me like that.
"No." I say to myself with a shaky voice as I stop running. "You don't have to do it ever again." I try to comfort myself and quickly push the thoughts as far back into my mind as I can manage. Suddenly, I realize where I am. I seemed to have run to the Oak Wood Park. Memories flood through my mind as I begin to reminisce in why this place is so important to me. Flashes of images flicker through my subconscious like a movie.
I see Damien and his scary but gentle fingers squeezing my arms.
"You're such an idiot... We all know we use protection here! How could you have let this happen?" His voice stung my heart.
I tried to speak but the words became caught in my throat. "H-he wouldn't, I t-tried." My heart had begun to speed up as I tried to find the words to explain, an excuse; anything to keep him from getting too angry again. I loved him. I still love him but at the same time I'm so scared of him.
"What am I going to tell my father?" Damien began speaking to himself. "God, Tess... he is going to be very upset... We're going to tell him its mine, okay?" Relief flooded through my body just for a minute at that moment.
"O-okay..." Damien removed his left hand from my arm and carried it up to my face where he gently turned my chin up to him. I had been avoiding his gaze in fear of his reaction to what I had told him. I was afraid of him. His eyes were a deep green and it was calming to see that the anger had dissipated. "Please don't cry. I love you so much and I'm so sorry. This was completely out of your control." I hadn't even realized that the tears had begun to flow. Damien began running his fingers through my hair and I held onto him as he gently covered every tear with kisses that felt like raindrops; raindrops washing all the fear and pain that had been there; slowly building up until they covered every part of me.
The Damien that loved me appeared before me at that moment as if he had never disappeared.
"I love you too," I whispered, "Can we please just get out of here today?" My voice was pleading, begging him to allow me to forget about everything for as long as I possibly could before I had to return to this nightmare that I was living.
"Of course." He murmured." Let's see.... Have you ever been to Oak Wood Park?"
"No." I croaked.
"Okay." Damien grabbed my weak frame and lifting me into the air bridal style." I nuzzled my head into his neck as he waltzed out of the room we had been speaking in, his room, and made his way out of the darkly lit house. Out of the cage I so desperately wanted to leave behind forever.
"Hey! What are you doing out here?"
A voice from the present snapped me out of the daze I was in and my eyes darted around the empty park until I met the eyes of a boy, probable around my age, walking towards me. At first, I wondered why he would care when I thought about myself for a second.  After I had found the park, I had decided to sit against the brick building of a library that stood opposite the park itself; and the tall trees that dotted the area. Save for the playground that stood in the center of it all. I probably looked crazy to be wearing nothing but a blue dress and sitting against some old building at who knows what time of night. Thank god it was raining or I'm sure he would notice the tears that had been running down my face. He was closer now, maybe around 4 feet away from me.
"Are you okay?" His voice was somewhat deep and it sent all my nerves on end.
I looked up at his face to get a better look. Staring back at me was piercing blue eyes very different from my hazel ones. I was awe-struck on account of them standing out so much upon his light skin tone and jet-black hair.
I said the first thing that came to my mind and maybe the most truthful thing.
"I don't know." He seemed shocked by my answer.
"Do you have anywhere to sleep tonight?" He sounded so sincere in his question and concerned I was shocked beyond measure.
"I-I don't k-know." I began to stare. I wasn't looking at him exactly. It was more as if I was looking for something. Something...lost. The sound of rain striking the concrete we stood on was the only noise between us. It was unusually normal feeling. When I began looking at the boy again I saw his face was grim. He looked like he was contemplating something. He looked into my eyes with a smile.
"My name is Jax. Trust me when I say I'm not some creeper or anything." His face already assured me that I was in no danger at all. He let out a short laugh but it seemed somewhat uneasy at the moment; we were both clearly unsure of how to react to each other. Jax looked at me like I was a wild animal that might dart at any time. I tried to relax my face before replying.
"I'm fine, really. My ride will be here soon." Even as the lie left my lips smoothly I knew he wouldn't believe me.
He glanced at me with a face that said as much.
"Fine," He half-smiled at me, "I'll just wait right here." My face must have turned a bright red as he got down and sat next to me.
"That's really unnecessary, seriously an-," He put his hand up as if to stall my words. I froze.
We sat there waiting for the vehicle that would never come for about 40 minutes in the rain. Jax finally looked at me when my lie was realized; really looked at me before standing up and grabbing my hand that had been laying numbly over my legs. The warmth from his body sent shivers down my spine as I followed him and stood up.
He pretended to shiver at my touch, "You're frozen...?"
It took me a moment to realize he was asking for my name.
"Oh! You can call me T-Tess." I stuttered.
God, it's cold out here right now; I'm cold out here right now.
"Well, Tess"- my name rolled off his tongue like he was speaking a foreign language-"how about you stay at my house tonight? I don't want you freezing any more than you already are..."He winked at me swiftly, all the uneasiness gone.
A smile grew on my face as he spoke. His blue eyes filled my body with warmth from his sheer kindness.
Before I spoke he rethought his answer and shushed me. "My mom will wig out if she realizes that I gave you a choice in the matter so let's just go." He began walking before I even replied.
Who was this guy?
As soon as the thought entered my mind I realized how self-centered I sounded. I felt too much gratitude to be upset with him. As we made it around the library and we walked up to a back Chevy truck, I stopped us both from walking. Jax looked back at me to determine why, I believe.
My eyes found his before I spoke.
"Thank you."
Jax nodded before helping me into the truck, closing the door, and making his way to the other side of the vehicle.