Into The Shadows

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I was pressed up against the wall with Brice breathing in my face. He had slammed me into the wall, winding me. I struggled to get air back into my lungs, and tears were threatening at the corner of my eyes. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me in pain, so I put on a brave face and stared at him levelly.

My ‘no crying’ policy was thrown out the window as he smirked, punched me twice in the gut and winded me again. I whimpered and he let go of my collar, making me crumple to the ground. My eyes watered and there was a steady stream of tears coursing down my cheeks. I groaned when he kicked me, not having enough energy to scream. I used my last bit of strength to curl up into a ball and he continued to beat, punch and slap me for what felt like forever.

I was going to give up. No one was going to come to my rescue. Brice was going to beat me to death, right here, right now. I wouldn’t even get to tell the girls that I’d named him Ryan.

‘At least,’ I thought to myself, ‘I will die thinking about something good, right?’ I closed my eyes and let my muscles relax.

I was on the verge of unconsciousness when I heard a loud thump that made me snap back to the present. It took a few seconds for my brain to process what was going on. Brice was pressed up against the wall, held by someone who I couldn’t see.

I think I even heard the person growl before saying, "Beating up a defencless girl Brice? That is low, even for you." I almost laughed. At least someone gave him a dose of his own medicine.

Brice collapsed, and got several kicks to the face. I suppose we would die together. The pain was beginning to get unbearable. I grimaced, and watched as my life flashed before my eyes. The images went by in a matter of seconds, starting out fast, and slowing down at the end. The last image was frozen on Ryan's face. His eyes were full of concern. I didn't think I saw him up close like that. 'Well, there was the beach...' I was right, there was the beach. But that was a fortnight ago! Surely I got to see my life right to the last moment?

I was so caught up in my thoughts of how much of my life I was actually to see in my last moments, that it took me a full minute to realise Ryan was breathing. He was actually breathing. I could see his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Why were the rest of my flashback still images, while here was a living, breathing version of Ryan?

"Oh, shit," he muttered to himself. I would have jumped a mile into the sky and screamed like a little girl, but given that I was injured, I let out more of a scared groan. Was I dead? Or at least dying? No, I couldn't be dead, I could still feel pain coursing through my body. I wasn't dying either, because no matter how many times I blinked my eyes, the image of Ryan stayed.

"Lilly, I need you to stay still ." I shot him what I hoped resembled a glare. It wasn't like I was running around in circles or anything. "Oh and try not to.... freak out."

He took a deep breath through his nose and cautiously lifted the hem of my shirt. I gulped. What was he thinking?! He hesitated, and I could see in his expression that he really did want to help me. I bit my lip in worry as he slowly raised my shirt, revealing my stomach. I relaxed slightly when I realised he wasn't going to lift it any further.

"You ready?"

Before I even had a chance to reply, he placed both hands in the center of my belly. I cringed as his warm skin came in contact with mine. He had his eyes closed and was breathing heavily. I was about to close my eyes as well, when the same inky shadows I saw at the beach started leaking out from underneath his hands. I gaped in shock as they floated weightlessly in the air for a few seconds, then gracefully drifted down to my skin, brushing over the bruises and scratched I had scored from Brice.

I was too awe-struck to speak. I could feel my strength coming back to me and my muscles weren't feeling as fatigued. I watched as a shadow hovered over a particularly big bruise on my hip. It brushed over it gently and I could see it beginning to heal in front of my eyes. It was a slow process, but it worked. The shadow continued to skim over the bruise until it only had a little colour left. The shadow then glided seamlessly into my skin. I didn't even feel it.

 Once all of my injuries were healed, the remaining shadows evaporated back into Ryan's hands. He removed his hands from my stomach and they dropped limply beside him. My gaze wandered up his arms and came to rest on his face.

I gasped. "Oh my god!"

His face was drawn and pale and beads of sweat were formed on his head. His posture was slumped and he was shaking violently. He still had his eyes closed.

"Open your eyes. Please, open your eyes," I begged quietly.

I could feel him hesitate, but he did. The bright emerald green colour had vanished, replaced by a murky green-grey colour. He shuddered and collapsed to the ground.

"Ryan!" I pushed myself to my knees and crawled over to him. I ran my hands through my hair. “Oh, please be ok. Please, please, please be ok. You're going to be ok, right?”

His eyes swivelled to meet mine. "Who's Ryan?" He asked weekly, a smirk playing that the corners of his mouth. I was so happy to see that he wasn't dead, that I threw myself at him and hugged him. To my astonishment, I even felt tears falling down my cheeks.

Oh my god. I am hugging him. I felt my cheeks flame red as I let go of him and got back up in a kneeling position. He was grimacing.

"Oh shit, did I hurt you? I am so sorry Ry-" I stopped myself, but not fast enough apparently. He raised his eyebrow at me. Oh great, now I have to explain myself.

"Well, long story short, I didn't know your name so I made one up for you. Happy?"

He seemed to be thinking this over. He nodded his head after a few seconds as if he had come to a decision. "Ryan... Ok then, Ryan I am."

I frowned at him and he grinned at me. His teeth were perfect. If he was cute before, he was a god now. His was even better than Ethan's smile, and that was saying something.

"Damn," I muttered, shielding my face with my hair. I hope he didnt notice me blushing.