Call Me Yours

Save Me

"Hey it's me. I'm worried... you should have landed a couple hours ago and... just... just call me when you get this alright?"

Chris's voicemail had been short, his voice shaky, nervous... indicating that he was on the verge of tears, and my hands still trembled as I clicked on his name to call him back.

"Nat? Are you there?"

"Yeah..." I took a deep breath, laying back on my bed, staring at the glow in the dark stars I'd stuck there when I first moved in. Chris didn't say anything for a few minutes, almost like we were both waiting for the other person to speak first "I'm sorry."

"Is everything alright?" I held my phone out, trying to stop myself from breaking down. I missed him so damn much, and we had barely been apart for ten hours "Sweetheart..." One single word was my undoing, and I couldn't stop the loud sob that escaped my lips, my free hand clamping over my mouth as I attempted to muffle the sound "Tell me what I can do..." It was several minutes before I calmed myself down enough to answer him.

"I'm afraid. That I'm going to lose you. That you'll replace me with someone better... that you'll lose interest in me... I've told you a lot about myself but not everything, and I'm worried that once you know..." I trailed off, hating myself for unloading this on him when there was nothing he could really do from so far away "I'm sorry. You have more important things to worry about..."

"I wish I could be there with you right now..." Chris continued to speak to me, and when I eventually rolled over to glance at the clock I realized we'd been talking for almost two hours "I love you. I don't care if you need to stay up all night long talking to me. I will stay with you Natalie."
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The loud sound of my phone buzzing against the top of my nightstand jolted me awake, and I rubbed the tiredness from my eyes before picking it up "Hey..."

"You sleep alright?" Chris's voice was quiet, and I could hear people talking loudly in the background "I mean... until I woke you up." I shook my head, my free hand again rubbing my eyes "I'm just gonna be unavailable the rest of the day and wanted to check in before they make me put my phone away."

"I slept." He let out a quiet laugh, and I could hear quite the loud commotion going on in the background "Chris?"

"Shoot."

"I love you." My heart was pounding in my chest. I hadn't been able to say those words to anyone, in a very long time...

"I love you too Nat..." His voice was soft, and my free hand trembled against the blanket on top of my bed "I'll talk to you later alright? Take it easy today..."
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I'd decided to walk to work instead of taking the subway like I normally did, my headphones shoved in my ears, loudly blasting some random catchy tune to hide the hustle and bustle of the city around me. It was starting to get really cold outside, so I was bundled up in my warmest jacket, and had also wrapped a scarf around my neck. Chris hadn't called or texted me back since yesterday... I knew he was really busy, but my mind still raced circles around itself, my anxiety telling me that something was wrong...

Cutting down the dark alley as a shortcut had been a mistake.

"You're alone?" A chill ran down my spine at the sound of the deep, unfamiliar voice behind me, and I quickened my pace, my headphones falling out of my ears "Come on sweetheart..." He grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, his hands roughly grabbing at the front of my coat as I struggled to get free of his grip "It'll be a lot easier if you just let this happen." He growled, and backed the both of us against the brick of the old building, my back slamming against the cold surface, and I opened my mouth to cry for help but he quickly covered it with his hand, which smelled of dirt and stale cigarettes.

"Please... don't do this." He let out a low laugh, tossing my scarf off to the side and shoving his hands up under my jacket "Help!" I yelled as loud as I could once he was distracted, and when his fist connected with my stomach, several times, so hard that the breath was knocked out of me, my knees buckled and I fell onto the ground as he ran off.

I fumbled in my pocket for my phone, a defeated sob escaping my lips when I saw that the screen had been shattered beyond use at some point in the struggle.

It was at least 15 minutes before I managed to lift myself up, my breaths short and ragged as my side tinged in pain and I slowly began to make my way towards the bar. Alex would be there... he would help.

"You look awful..." He hollered from behind the counter, a dirty rag in his hand. I let the door slam behind me, and the look on his face instantly went from amusement to worry when I got closer "Fuck... what happened?"

"Can you... help me... take my coat off?" My words caught in my throat, and I whimpered in pain as my arms stretched behind me. Alex tossed my coat onto one of the barstools, running his hands through his hair as he still studied me, waiting for a response "I need you to call the police... I was attacked and... my phone..." I was going into shock, my vision blurring, and the few people in the bar were beginning to stare at the scene unfolding in front of them. My heart was racing in my chest, my hands shaking so badly that I dropped the glass of water that Alex handed to me.

The glass seemed to fall to the floor in slow motion, shattering into a million pieces, and a loud sob escaped my lips as my knees threatened to buckle underneath me. Someone I didn't know took my shaking hand and steadied me, leading me away so the mess could be cleaned up, and I faintly heard Alex talking on the phone...

"They're on the way..." I flinched away when he tried to touch my shoulder "Shit... You need me to call anyone else? Maybe Chris?" I barely managed to nod, mumbling Chris's number to Alex and trying to ignore the pain that seemed to now be radiating across my entire lower abdomen. I was unable to take full breaths, so I knew I probably had at least a couple broken ribs...

The loud sounds of police sirens echoed outside, the lights getting closer and closer until they seemed to fill the entire building with red and blue, and my head snapped up when two officers walked through the doorway.

It was the last thing I remembered though, as the trauma I'd just been through became too much, and I blacked out, Alex catching me before I could hit the floor...