Rush

Chapter 5

I had been driving for about thirty minutes and I was about ten minutes outside the city when my car started making sputtering noises.

"No, no, no! Please don't break down on me now, we're almost there!"

I pulled my car over to the curb where it sputtered one last time before shutting down completely.

"Dammit!"

I knew I couldn't just sit there but I was barefoot, bloody, muddy, and in a lot of pain. It was still storming pretty badly and in mid-February, it was pretty cold out. I decided to suck it up and walk the fifteen or so minutes to my destination.

I wasn't in a bad part of town, but it was still dark, so I settled on speed walking. The ground was pretty clear and I managed to step on a few rocks but so far so good and I was pushing past the pain. God I really hope she still lives here. I thought to myself as I walked up to the fancy apartment complex right outside the city. I knew she lived on the second floor, but I was too afraid to take the elevator alone so I ran up the stairs like the devil himself was chasing me. I came to a stop outside apartment 45B. I raised my fist and hesitantly knocked on the door. No answer. I tried again, louder this time, still no answer. I let out a cry of defeat and sank to the ground, my legs unable to hold my weight any longer. I curled myself into a ball and cried. What am I going to do? I don't have anywhere to go.

I think I must have fallen asleep because I felt someone shaking me and calling my name. I shot up panicked, my eyes darting around, looking for an attacker.

"Whoa hey Anastasia, it's just us, calm down."

The voice cut through the fog in my brain and I recognized it as that of my best friend, Marisa. I launched myself at her, and hugged her with all my might and she hugged back just as tight. We pulled back and she looked at me.

"Oh Ana, what happened to you?"

Before I could answer a deep, male voice spoke up.

"Riss, we should get her inside, she's looking a little blue."

I recognized the voice as Marisa's longtime boyfriend, Cameron Grey. He walked over to me and picked me up, bridal style, while Marisa unlocked the door. Once she opened it we walked into her nice little apartment, a place I was somewhat familiar with, and Cameron took me straight to the bathroom, Marisa's orders.

"We need to get you cleaned up Ana, were you rolling in mud or something?"

I didn't answer her question because of how close to the truth she was.

"Oh my God, is that blood! Anastasia Giselle Hills, you better start talking. NOW!"

There were very few things that I was afraid of besides John and one of those things was an angry Marisa, she was tall, about 5'7, and she had a lot more bite than bark for sure. Luckily Cameron came to my rescue.

"Riss, babe, why don't we get her cleaned up and rested before you harass her with a thousand questions, she's clearly exhausted."

Good Cam, always the voice of reason.

"Fine, set her on the toilet and I'll take over from here."

Cameron sat me gently on the toilet seat and slowly backed away. I saw what a mess I made of his clothes and instantly felt bad because I knew it was expensive. Under normal circumstances I would have apologized profusely, but I just didn't have the strength to do so today.

Marisa shooed him out and closed the bathroom door. The bathroom was fairly large with flawless white walls, black marble floors, a good-sized bathtub, and a granite counter. It was fairly cluttered like every other room in her apartment, but it felt homey.

I didn't say anything as Marisa leaned over and turned off the faucet after the tub was about half full and turned to me.

"Come on let's get you out of these wet clothes before you get sick."

I didn't have much on, just a thin long-sleeved black shirt and a pair of jeans. I leaned back when she went for my shirt, it wasn't for modesty's sake but because I knew what she would find underneath, countless bruises and scars littered my entire body. She gave me a look that said 'if you don't let me take this shirt off willingly, I'm going to have to use brute force.' I didn't want to end up in more pain than I already was so when she went back in to help me take my shirt off, I let her. She was going to find out anyway.

I heard her quiet gasp as she revealed the damage done to my body over the years. I could see that she was trying not to make a big deal out of it and ask me a million questions, but her pretty hazel eyes held so much shock, curiosity, sadness, and finally anger. I'm glad that she didn't ask any questions, because I wasn't in the mood to answer any right now. She helped me undress the rest of the way, stopping every time I flinched or made a noise when she put pressure on a bruise.

Once we finally got me undressed, she helped me into the tub and ran a soapy washcloth over my body. I felt like a child being washed by her mother, like my mother used to do to me. It felt so nice to be sitting in the warn water, almost relaxing, something I hadn't done in years. Marisa was using some kind of fruity shampoo and conditioner on my matted hair and brushed out the tangles. We were silent the entire time she cleaned me up, both of us reflecting on my current state I'm sure.

The water was almost brown now that I was sufficiently cleaned and I think Marisa agreed with my mental sentiments that it was time to get out. She left out of the bathroom, I assume to grab a towel, because she came back with a fluffy, white towel. She walked over to me with the towel outstretched to me. She helped me from the tub and wrapped me in the towel and guided me to the guest room.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to get you something to wear."

I gave an almost indecipherable smile and a small nod. She left to go get the clothes and I sat on the soft bed and observed the room. The walls were a pale violet and all of the furniture was white, and in true Marisa style, it was cluttered with trinkets that she had picked up over the years.

Marisa walked back in and handed me a stack of pajamas and turned her back so that I could change. I quickly slipped on the light pink tank top and white silk pants and cleared my throat to let Marisa know I was finished.

She turned around and walked toward me, arms outstretched and eyes watery. She gave me one of her famous big bear hugs, too tight but it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Despite the pain I was in the hug was something I desperately needed and I welcomed it with open arms. We stood like that for a long moment, rocking back and forth until Marisa finally released me.

"You know we're going to have to talk about this, right?"

I knew I couldn't just show up at her house, covered in dirt and blood and barefoot, with no explanation, but I wasn't in a talking mood tonight, I was exhausted and I would probably be exhausted tomorrow and the day after that, but I was going to explain my situation to Marisa tomorrow because I knew she was beyond worried.

I nodded my head in confirmation and she gave me one last hug before leaving the room. I sighed and tucked myself into the fluffy blankets and sunk into the soft mattress. I had planned on going through what I was going to tell Marisa tomorrow, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.