ambivalent | hes

5

"There's a bonfire on the beach tonight." Bea suggested.

She had just gotten home five hours ago and we were planning what to do with the night.

"Alright, I haven't been to one of those in a while." I said, accepting her request.

The bonfire began at nine so we decided to get ready.

I let Bea borrow an outfit so she didn't have to go back home for one.

After a quick argument over who would drive, I got in the drivers side of Bea's car.

When we got there, we could see the smoke from the parking lot. The loud chatter and music could be heard from a vast distance.

We walked up to the crowd gathered by the fire. I was offered a drink, but immediately rejected.

Bea spotted someone she knew and grabbed my arm, pulling me along with her. He looked vaguely familiar, but she seemed to know him well.

"Tyler!" She squealed when she pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Hey, Bea!" he said, his gaze then traveling to me. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh, this is Lyla. Lyla, Ty." Bea introduced us and I extended my arm for a quick hand shake, but he obviously had other plans.

He hugged me as if we had known each other for a while. His actions were explained as alcohol could be smelled on his breath.

His hand grazed down my back, stopping once it reached my butt. He lightly squeezed, a gasp falling from my lips as I quickly pulled away.

"So, Ty, how have you been?" Bea asked, apparently not witnessing what had just taken place.

"Not much, ya know. Just ch-chillin'." He managed to get out the ending in a way we could understand, before he started stumbling on his words.

I attempted to make out the sentences spilling rapidly from his mouth, but only caught a few.

I suspected Bea was uninterested in Tyler by this point as she announced she had to use the restroom. I tossed her the keys since there wasn't a bathroom nearby.

When she left, I began to walk away from Tyler, but he grabbed my wrist. He pulled me back, forcing our bodies together as a snug smirk appeared on his face.

"Tyler, let me go." I demanded, trying to push him away.

"Why would I let such a beautiful girl go?" He whispered in my ear before kissing my neck.

I pushed on his chest in a desperate attempt to escape, but he took hold of my hands and pinned them at my sides.

"Don't fight it." He said as if that would make me change my mind.

He began pulling me towards the parking lot as I yelled for help. The music was either too loud or everyone was too drunk to hear my cries for help. We reached his car and he opened the back seat, pushing me in. I immediately lunged for the opposite door, but he caught me by the ankles and yanked me back. He turned me over and started fumbling with the button on my pants, which must have been a challenge due to his intoxication. I slapped his hands away and pushed him off of me. He was easily vulnerable in his current state, so he flew backwards. His head hit the glass, hard, and he fell limp on my lap.

"Shit!" I said.

I hadn't intended to knock him unconscious, so I panicked. I thought about calling Bea, but I left my phone in her car. I decided that he'd wake up eventually or someone would come looking for him, so I quickly exited the car and ran from the parking lot, not looking back.