Catch Me

Ariel: Just Keep Your Mouth Shut

"STOP!" I shouted. Alex looked at me with a look that screamed, "Run!" Aisha just turned around and murderously glared at me. "If you attack me," I began calmly, "or hurt her, I'll drag you out of this bathroom so we can fight in front of teachers." "And how exactly will you do that?" Aisha asked. "Should I show you?" I bluffed. Aisha seemed to think for a moment. If she attacked me, Alex would most likely join in so it would be 2 vs 1. Plus, I would supposedly "drag her to fight in front of teachers" and get her in trouble. Either way, she would lose. "Whatever," she finally replied and walked out of the bathroom. I looked back at Alex. Her black jacket had fallen off her so I could see an obviously older bruise from possible previous attacks. There was a red handprint from where Aisha had slapped her, and I bet there was a bruise forming on her back. She looked frozen in a state of shock and panic. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked her. No answer. I cautiously moved closer to her. "You okay?" I repeated. "Wh-what, what have you done?" she whispered. "Huh?" I said. "What. Have. You. Done?! Do you think Aisha is just going to forget about that? Did you consider what she's going to do to you or me? Have you considered getting jumped, you idiot? Do you have a death wish?!" she yelled. "No. Chill," I said. "No. You're going to die," she groaned. Her words froze me in place. For a second, I thought he was whispering in my ear. "I know," I barely whispered. And it was going to be soon. "What?" she asked. "Nothing," I quickly said. "Don't say a word about what you saw here," Alex commanded. "Why? Do you want to get hurt more? How long has this been going on?" I asked. I could see her guard come up. "None of your business. Unless you want to be screwed over by the entire student body, keep your mouth shut," she said looking me straight in the eye. I didn't know she could sound so commanding, but I could detect a slight tremor in her voice. "Why?" I repeated. "Please. Just Please. If anyone finds out, things will get a lot worse. Pretend you saw nothing," she pleaded. Then she walked out of the bathroom, probably back to Math class. I stood there dumbfounded. This girl, Alex, who I just met today, heck I just met her like 25 minutes ago, told me not to tell people that she was getting abused. She begged me. I had a feeling she wasn't joking about it getting worse. But as I considered whether or not to tell the teachers or possibly the authorities, other questions swarmed my head. How long has this been going on? Is it just Aisha that's hurting her? I came to a conclusion of what I would do as I organized my thoughts and questions. I decided it isn't my place to tell Alexandria's problems if she isn't ready to tell them. However, I'll keep an eye out for her. If the situation gets worse, then I'll step in. If not, she would eventually speak up for herself, right? I smiled to myself. This was the perfect plan. I started to head back to class when I suddenly stopped in my tracks. Of course, how could I miss this? The most important question of them all: Why? Why is she letting them do this to her? How are they keeping her silent? She must have something big on her to keep her silent on them abusing her. So, the real question is: What is Alexandria hiding?

Next chapter will be Winter's!