Serena

T w e n t y-t w o

Warning: Possible Trigger Warnings

I freeze up and my body begins to shake uncontrollably. How has he found me? Why was he here? Is he going to hurt me again? A memory from that night rises from chest in my brain I've tried to keep locked away. "I'm going to be going to Charlotte in the fall to study business," he had said. Charlotte was only fifteen minutes away and this place was crawling with college kids so really, it wasn't such an anomaly.

My glow stick casts an eerie green hue on his face, drawing out his features. As much as I hate to admit it, he is still as handsome as he was the first night I met him and it takes everything in my to not vomit at the thought. His eyes are cold and glare at me with disgust and something else I can't really place. Hunger? Greed? Hatred?

My body has gone numb but I have a strange sensation of feeling cold as the tips of my fingers begin to tingle as if being pricked by a thin needle. My stomach has tightened into knots and I squeeze my eyes shut. "This can't be happening," I think. "Where is my Jake?"

"I'm going to take the cloth out of your mouth but I swear if you scream you are going to wish you were dead," he says in a low, almost animalistic voice. A strange noise escapes my throat and I nod my head.

His fingers press past between my lips and I feel the cloth removed. Breathing is still difficult though and I feel like I'm suffocating from both fear and his weight. My nightmares have come true, just like I told Dr. Kim they would. All of her mental preparation and words of encouragement couldn't have prepared me for this.

"I had almost forgotten about you until I ran into you at that party. I gotta admit that you girls have pretty much morphed together by now, but when you told me your name it all came back to me. A few days after I saw you at Pravinski's a buddy of mine landed a job for the Monroe County Sheriff's office and he owed me a big one so I had him see if you ever went in to make a report," he says, shaking his head. "Looks like someone didn't keep their mouth shut like they were supposed to."

My body tenses, willing to control the shaking that he now elicits. "Jake, I need you," I beg consciously, as if somehow he would be able to sense where I'm at telepathically.

"Lucky for me, you had no proof against me and Zack," he says to himself. A low chuckle escapes his throat and he shakes his head. "I swear, all you bitches are dumb. Why do you all feel the need to shower right after?" he asks rhetorically. He then leans in and brushes his lips against my ear. "As if you can wash away the memories from that night," he whispers. His hot breath hits my face and I let out an involuntary shiver.

"Open your eyes Serena," he demands and I shake my head no. I refuse to let him receive the morbid satisfaction from seeing the fear in my eyes.

He sighs and I feel his fingers slight slip into the waistband of my jeans as he slowly caresses my delicate skin. I gather what little courage I have and speak up in a small voice, "Stop."

"Open your eyes then," he repeats himself and I have no choice but to obey and meet his cold gaze. He smirks, "There she is. Do you remember what I said I'd do if you squealed?" He adjusts his position, placing his leg in-between mine and I'm able to breathe normally again.

I swallow the lump in my throat and take a steady breath to calm my nerves. "What do you want Tyler?" I ask in a small voice.

His head jerks back ever so slightly as if I caught him off guard. "You know what, I really don't know. I saw you in line at a house and followed you in here. I had to wait until you were alone, don't want your little boyfriend intervening do we?" he states. "What's his name, Jake?" He spits his name as if its poison on his tongue. I want to tell him to leave him out of this, that he has no right to even speak his name. Jake—unlike the despicable creature before me—is one of the few people in this world that is truly good, and to have them exist together in my mind is almost unbearable.