The Beginning and the Memory// 13RW

12 Fist Fights

Zach

    I clenched and unclenched my fists as I approached Bryce in the locker room, shoving him and interrupting his conversation with a few of the other guys on the team. He held his arms up in surrender, a smirk on his face.
     "Whoa, there, Dempsey," he laughed, "what's this all about?"
     I puffed my chest out slightly, spitting in his face, "you fucking know what this is about, Bryce."
     He laughed, his eyebrows furrowing as he glanced from the other guys to me.
     I shoved him against the lockers, pinning him there with my arm across his chest, the crash into the lockers echoing throughout the room, "you fucking raped her," I spat through gritted teeth, "you raped them all, Bryce, and you don't think that's a problem?"
      Bryce got serious, pushing me off of him, "I don't know what you're doing, Dempsey, coming around throwing accusations at me."
    "Fucking tell the truth, you son of a bitch!"
     Looking at him made me angry. Being in his presence made me want to knock his teeth in. He raped my girl, and he raped Jess, and Hannah- oh, god, Hannah. He had pushed her to the breaking point of taking her own life.
   The other guys had dispersed and it was only me and Bryce left.
     "You cost a girl her life, dipshit," I lowered my voice slightly, the hardness still behind my words, "and you ruined Jess's life. And Emm's. They're so fucking scared because of you."
      Bryce smirked once again, leaning in to mutter more bullshit, "I didn't rape anyone- they were all begging for me," he growled, "They wanted it."
      He went to walk away, and I grabbed his shoulder to forcefully turn him back towards me and punch him.
      He grabbed his jaw, laughing slightly, nodding before he swung at me, hitting me in the nose.
      I ran my hand over my upper lip, bringing it back covered in the crimson red of my blood. I glanced up at him.
     "They wanted me," Bryce repeated before sniffing his nose and leaving me alone in the locker room.
     I let out a breath before yelling and punching the lockers.

Emmalee

     "What the hell, Zach?"
     Zach sat in the chair across from me in the kitchen while I held ice to his broken nose and held his shattered hand in mine. He sighed, looking me in the eyes the entire time.
     "I was angry," he told me, scrunching his nose up in disgust, "he said that you all wanted him. That he didn't rape you, you all were asking for it. He's a fucking dirtbag, Emm, he cant get away with this."
     I felt tears pricking behind my eyes as I looked at the innocent boy sitting in front of me. I couldn't be mad at him, he was trying to stand up for what was right, but ended up being the one to get hurt in the end.
     "Its not your fight," I whispered, lowering the ice and caressing his cheek, "Jess and I will testify to this when we're ready."
       Zach stared at me with a hard expression for a moment before he loosened up, nodding understandingly.
     "I love you," I told him, leaning forward and pecking his lips softly.
     He smiled, running his thumb over my hand, "I love you, too."

     I sat on the far side of the hospital room, staring longingly at Alex's sleeping body. He needed to wake up. We all needed a new hope, and Alex waking up would be the start of it.
      Jess sat in the chair beside Alex's bed, her hand gripping tightly to Alex's limp one. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks were tearstained. It hurt to see her like this. She had always loved Alex, that was a given. There was no way she could handle losing him for good. I don't think that any of us could handle that.
     "The doctors said he should wake up soon," Jess's hoarse voice echoed through the empty room. Zach's hand gently squeezed my shoulder, and I glanced up to find his expression of relief. I felt a heavy weight lift off of my chest at the news, so thankful that we weren't going to lose another very important person in our lives. Now it was just a matter of when he would wake up.
     "Jess, how long has it been since you've slept?" Zach spoke up after a couple moments of silence, and Jess looked over at us. The bags under her eyes said that she had been awake for at least more than two days.
      She shrugged slightly, then looked back at Alex, "I just want to be here, fully conscious, when he wakes up."
      "Jess, you should get some sleep," I told her, "and a shower and a change of clothes. I'm sure you will be here when he wakes up," I told her honestly, and she stared at Alex for awhile before finally nodding. She stood up, throwing her bag over her shoulder.
     "You're right," she smiled slightly, walking over to give Zach and I hugs, "I'm really tired."
      She walked through the door, not turning back.
      Zach and I sat in silence for a little while, watching Alex from a distance.
    "Do you want to go over there?" Zach asked me softly, and I shook my head slowly.
     "Okay," he kissed the top of my forehead before walking over to Alex's side, talking to him a little about the few good things that had happened while he was unconscious. I began to zone out, thinking of all the suicidal thoughts I had been having since the day I found out that I may never walk again.