Bleed Myself Dry

Trust Us

We got to the cave and settled down. I sat on the edge of the old fountain and Paul sat next to me. He definitely liked to be near me. I went to itch my face, but it just hurt.
"Damn." I muttered. They all gave me a worried look.
"What happened, Brooke?" Paul asked.
"It's personal." I said, not looking at any of their faces.
"Who did that to you?" Marko then asked. I didn't say anything.
"You said you would tell me what happened." Paul pointed out. I sighed. That is true.

I fidgeted with my fingers. Maybe they could help me? Do I trust them?
"You can trust us." Dwayne said, almost as if he could hear my thoughts. I took a deep breath.
"Um...my parents. My parents did it." I said quietly. Paul's eyes widened.
"You can hang with us whenever your parents are doing that. That's not okay. I'm gonna fuckin' kill-" Paul was cut off by David shoving the wine bottle in my face.
"Here. This will take your mind off things." I swear they trying to drug me or something.
"It's safe, I promise." Paul told me. I gave in. I can trust them, right? I took the bottle from David's hands and took a sip. It wasn't bad.

"Hell yeah!" Paul said and Marko patted me on the back. I didn't drink that much, but I felt a little light headed.
"I fuckin' new it." I said softly.
"What? No, it's just strong as shit, and this is your first time drinking." Marko said. Paul left from next to me and grabbed a small box. When he opened it I immediately new what it was. He started rolling blunts and handing them to the guys. He handed one to me. I took it but didn't do anything with it. David passed me the lighter.
"Come on, just one. It's safe." Paul said. I mean, I've already gotten this far. I lit it and hesitated before taking a drag.
"Nice." Marko said. It wasn't very pleasant to say the least. I took a few more drags before it started kicking in. This was an odd feeling.

Paul noticed and picked me up. He brought me to the couch and laid me on his lap. My eyes felt heavy but they couldn't stay closed. I was high and drunk at the same time, so I was feeling real weird. Paul messed with my hair. David crouched down in front of me.
"How ya doing?" He asked.
"Never. Again." I said. He ruffled my hair and laughed. Paul smoothed out my hair again. He continued to rub my head and mess with my hair until I fell asleep. For some reason I didn't feel scared anymore. I knew they wouldn't hurt me. They didn't seem that way.

I felt myself getting lifted off the couch and put on another surface. A bed. A blanket was put over me.
"Sleep tight, princess." Said Paul's voice. I drifted back into a deep sleep.

---

I opened my eyes. It was still dark. I looked at my watch. 3:00 AM. Oh hell, not again. I got out of the bed and went to find the guys.
"I'm late again, I gotta get out of here." I said.
"No." David said simply.
"What do you mean?"
"If you go back your parents will hurt you again. Just stay. Please." Paul said. I sighed.
"Fine. How long was I asleep for?" I asked.
"Two hours." Marko said. I noticed I still didn't feel 100% yet. I sat on the couch. The guys were playing cards and listening to music. They had pretty good taste. Let's of rock.

When Paul lost, he grumply sat next to me.
"I swear Dwayne is cheating. I just know it." He whispered to me. I chuckled. He fiddled with his bracelets while Dwayne won every game. He probably is cheating. David stood up.
"Suns coming up." He said. The guys got up. Paul grabbed my hand and brought me back to the bed. I was still tired.
"Why are you going to bed now?" I asked.
"We sleep all day and party all night." Paul responded.
"Now, get some rest. Tomorrow's a special night." I nodded and got in bed. What's so special about Tomorrow? I fell back asleep quickly, wondering about the next night.