Control

Chapter Two

Zach and I were silent the entire ride home. I rested myself against the headrest, shutting my eyes in total exhaustion. I felt the car slow down and come to a stop.

"You alive over there?" Zach's voice was gentle.

Opening my eyes I turned to find Zach's dark eyes full of concern. "Yeah," I began to rub my eyes when I realised my hands were stained a deep red. "I just need to lie down." I looked out the window and noticed we were parked outside my house. All the lights inside where off. I hesitated before saying, "can you come in? I don't think I can be alone right now."

"Did you think I was going to leave?" Zach responded, his eyebrows raising.

When we got inside, I immediately slumped into the couch, after turning on the lights, and wrapped myself into a cocoon with a large black blanket.

"I'll make us some tea," Zach said as he headed in the direction of the kitchen. A few minutes later he was carrying through two steaming mugs into the living area. He handed me one of them and then sat next to me on the couch. He grabbed an edge of the blanket and covered his legs with it.

Zach aimed his body towards me. "What do you think all that was about?"

I sighed, setting my tea on the coffee table. "I have no idea." Zach just stared at me, waiting for me to continue. "There were three guys kicking the shit out of Dameon. One of them had a knife and was about to kill him." I turned to meet Zach's eyes. "I couldn't just let it happen..."

"It sounded like they were looking for something." I nodded in response. "Do you think he's involved in something illegal?"

I shook my head. "I honestly don't know."

There was a long pause before Zach finally said, "So, elephant in the room... You thrashed three guys." Zach whistled. "You're an absolute beast."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I just took them by surprise is all."

Zach shook his head. "No, you're amazing. But you're also an idiot." He leaned over and took ahold of my shoulder, forcing me to meet his eyes. "You could have got seriously hurt, Lana."

I smiled but said nothing. I went to reach for my tea when I remembered my hands still had blood on them. I stood up, shaking the blanket off me. "I'm going to have a shower."

I headed upstairs to the bathroom and turned on the shower. While I waited for the water to warm I looked in the mirror. The ponytail I had made earlier in the day no longer looked like a ponytail. A chunk of my hair had come undone and was sitting in a tangled mess by my shoulders. My dark hair was a huge contrast to my unusually pale face. Angling my head upwards I checked out my neck. I noticed three thick red lines across the right side of my neck, which were starting to darken into a bruise. My hands trembled when I went to touch it lightly, but even a light brush was enough for me to wince. All adrenaline from earlier was gone, leaving me a tired, shaky mess. Sighing, I took off my clothes and looked down at my limp arms. The arm which they grabbed was tender and swollen, another deep purple bruise was forming across my forearm. Eventually, the bathroom was covered in a cloud of steam so I could no longer see myself. I stepped into the shower and allowed the heat of the water to wash over me.

I replayed the events from today in my head. Why were they attacking Dameon, what did they mean by "Where is it". What could they possibly be looking for so badly they were willing to kill for? For some reason, my mind jumped back to the tattoo of a pentagram on one of the man's arms. Why did it look so familiar? And what about it made me so unsettled?

When my fingers began to crinkle I decided my shower was over. I got dressed into some baggy pants and a tank top then headed downstairs. Zach had turned the T.V on and was watching a comedy. He turned and signalled for me to sit down. When I did he threw the blanket over me but paused when glancing at me. His eyes swept over the marks on my throat but thankfully he said nothing. I watched the movie for what felt like two minutes before I began to drift off into a dreamless sleep.