A Bittersweet Life (1st draft)

Chapter 13

!!!Trigger warning!!!! If you are triggered by reading about SA I would skip over this chapter and just read the last 3 paragraphs

Parked in the middle of nowhere. Not a soul in sight. No cars. No street lights. Absolute nothingness. The moon was the only source of light. Holden pulled off to the side of the road, gravel crushed underneath the tires and his brakes screeched to a halt. Thick trees lined the sides of the road. The moon illuminated a curious look on his face. He threw the truck into park.

"You don't mind if we stop here for a moment, do you?"

It seemed to me he wouldn't have cared what I had to say about the matter.

"Are you having some car trouble?" I swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly becoming dry.

He looked at me with a raised brow. That once sexy grin that he had on his lips when I first met him was replaced with one full of danger.

He shook his head and laughed with slight amusement, "not in particular." He shifted in his seat, unbuckling his seatbelt so he could face me.

My eyes glanced around the car with haste, but our eyes met once again and his nose pressed against mine. "You are so damn sexy," he said through his grin. His breath smelled of beer and cherry suckers, like artificial cherry, more like medicine, really.

I sucked in a breath and jerked my neck back. Looking at him with furrowed brows. "I think we should go. It's late," I pressed.

"Come on, babe," he caressed my cheek, his hand cold, sending chills all over my frigid body. Or maybe it was the cold air blowing from the vents at max speed. "The night is just getting started."

He unbuckled my seatbelt and grabbed a hold of my jacket, pulling me closer to him. He pressed his lips against my cheek, trailing them to my ear, his breath hot and moist. His lips moved down to my neck and I just sat there, frozen in my own head. Tugging on my jacket, he exposed my shoulder and began to tug on my tank top's thin strap. It snapped back against my skin once, causing me to jump. He tugged it once more and let it fall from my shoulder.

My heart beat faster. Harder. Every beat echoed through my ears, drowning everything else out. "Holden... I-I just want to be friends," I choked out through quivering lips.

He stopped kissing my neck and looked into my eyes. "But, I want to be more than friends."

As he said that my seat jerked downwards as he grabbed the leaver. His body was more on top of me as he climbed over the center console. The weight knocked the air from my chest.

"Holden..."

"Shh." He pressed his lips against mine, moaning with every unwanted kiss. I struggled to push him off, but my arms were restrained. My shorts became loose as he unbuttoned them.

"Stop," I mumbled against his lips, but that only made him want to smash his mouth harder against mine.

"Come on, baby." His hand plunged into my shorts. I grunted as I struggled to free myself little by little. "God, Talia."

One hand became free. I smashed my fist against his chest.

"Stop!" One of his hands in my shorts, the other grabbing my free hand. "You're hurting me!" I cried out, voice cracking.

He kissed me, violently, his nose smashing against mine. His teeth grabbed a hold of my bottom lip. Harder.

"Fuck!" I screamed. The taste of iron filled my mouth as a warm liquid fell onto my chin. I ripped my hand from his grasp, jabbing my thumb into his eye, which sent him flying backward wailing in pain. His hand pulled out of my shorts to hold his throbbing eye.

I tugged on the door handle. It swung open and I pushed his weight off of me further. I stumbled out of the truck, falling onto the asphalt. The gritty road cut through my knees with little effort as though they were wet sheets or paper. Without looking back, I ran through the darkness, buttoning my shorts as I went. Cursing under my heaving breath.

Once I was far enough away from Holden, I was able to assess the damage that night had done. My knees dripped blood down my leg and little pieces of gravel were embedded in the cuts, while my lip throbbed as it spilled thick blood onto my chin. I wiped my chin with my jacket sleeve, looking around for any indicator as to where the hell I was. And also checking to make sure Holden's truck wasn't coming my way.

A stop sign stood about ten feet away with a street sign jutting out from it. A sigh of relief distracted me from the pain that was surging through me. I reached into my jacket pocket, pulling out my phone. I knew who I needed to call. It pained me to do it, but I had nothing else to do. I dialed the number and held the cold phone to my warm ear. Goosebumps sprang up all over my body as the phone rang.

"Hello?" He answered, his voice raspy like he had been sleeping.

"I need your help..."