Where Will I Be When I Wake up Next to a Stranger

“Jesus Christ.” Katherine heard someone near by mumble.
“I told you nothing happened. I’ll wake her up in a moment, just be quiet for now.” She heard Pete say as she started to move around and open her eyes to a slightly darker Chicago.

A lamp was on, on the other side of the bed where Pete should have been. Her glance averted to where she made out was the bathroom and where Patrick was leaning against the door frame.

“Now look what you did.” Pete sighed as he placed his eyeliner stick on the counter and walked past Patrick.
“We didn’t mean to wake you up.” Pete said quietly as she rubbed her eyes.
“It’s fine…I needed to get up anyways.” She said, as she looked at the clock. 6:53 P.M.
“Fuck.” Katherine mumbled as she threw the covers off herself and ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
“You’re fine. You have like, 15 minutes.” Pete said through the door as Katherine hastily fixed her shirt and finger-combed her longish brunette hair.

Peter knocked on the door and Katherine opened it for him as she wiped a smudge of eyeliner off.

“Sorry, I have to finish real quick.” Pete murmured as he took a brush and ran it through his unkempt hair.
“It’s fine.” She smiled at him as he handed her the brush.

He picked up the eyeliner he left on the counter and applied a thicker line under his eyes. After Katherine brushed her hair, he was holding his eyeliner out to her, and she took it, fixing her own eyeliner as well. They both exited the bathroom and she found her hoodie and purse. Checking her phone, she had a couple of missed calls from Brian but most from Jonathon.

“Let’s go.” Patrick called from somewhere downstairs as Pete and Katherine scrambled down the stairs.
“We’re gonna have to run rather than take a cab with this traffic.” Patrick sighed as they braced themselves for the pouring rain.
“Sweet.” Pete said sarcastically as he pulled his hood up and pulled the strings to cover his face partially.

The three of them started jogging to the Hard Rock Café, to make up for lost time. The hard rock was at least 8 blocks away, so instead of waiting at crosswalks, they weaved through the traffic that didn’t seem to be moving at all. The hard rock was in view when they finally decided to stop. They all were panting from the lack of exercise since high school as they walked the rest of the way there. The line to get in was all the way down the block, despite the rain that didn’t seem to be letting up any time soon.

“Hey George.” Pete said as he patted the bouncer’s back as we all slipped past him and the crowd.

The man just nodded in acknowledgement as we made our way to the back where it was the most crowded. Katherine stopped as Pete and Patrick kept walking, but he noticed her absence somehow very quickly and turned around. He walked back to where she was standing awkwardly, soaked from running in the rain.

“I didn’t know if I should go back there or become a part of the crowd.” She told him as he grinned and threw his arm over her shoulder.
“It’s okay, you’re with the band.” He told her as they both walked behind the stage, leaving wet footprints all over the linoleum floor.

---

Katherine and Jonathon were talking about a new record store that was opening up soon when there was 5 minutes until Fall Out Boy was to go on. Katherine noticed Pete start to pull at his hair more than usual and pull on his shirt.

“You’re gonna stretch out your shirt like that.” Katherine warned him as she ran her hand through her still damp hair.
“Hm…” Was his only response as he brought his thumb nail to his mouth.
“Hey…” Katherine said quietly as his doe eyes flicked up to her.
“You’re gonna do fine.” She assured him as he smiled warmly at her.
“Thank you.” He said as someone said there was 2 minutes till.
“Come on Katherine.” Jonathon called as they both planned to push their way through the crowd to get to the front.
“I’ll see you after.” Katherine nearly whispered in Pete’s ear and hugged him shortly.

Jonathon and Katherine made their way through the crowd, slipping past small holes, and some people even moved willingly since they saw Katherine come in with Pete. Katherine was the first to the gate and Jonathon stood right behind her as someone came out to announce Fall Out Boy. The four of them bounced on stage, and Pete announced the first song they would play called, Growing Up. As Katherine bobbed her head to the music, she also paid close attention to the lyrics.

She never meant a thing to me, except for putting idealists in a body bag.

She grinned up at Pete, not only because he was acting as crazy as he acted the first time she laid eyes on him, but at the truth about those lyrics that he so willingly pushed out to the public. After two or three more songs, mostly chaos, had been played all the way through, Pete stood at the microphone pushing both of his hands through his sweaty hair.

“This next song, Patrick and I wrote within like a three day span, so if it’s shit, that’s why.” He said with a different tone in his voice, and Katherine noticed this and saw him glancing at her nervously.
“It’s called Pretty In Punk.” He said lastly as Patrick started to count them off.

People moved all around Katherine but they all seemed non existent and it was just her and the music. She listened to this song particularly carefully, and picked out parts that she knew were about her.

Well I've seen your boyfriend and I don't think he treats you right, but that's none of my business is it?

While others were dancing and glad at having a new song from their favorite local band, Katherine felt like someone has just punched her in the stomach. Her breath became hitched and it became harder for her to breathe in the crowded, hot room. As a solo came on, she pushed Jonathon out of the way and the rest of the crowd as she tried to find her way to fresh air. Once she nearly tripped over her own two feet to get outside, she was luckily not followed by her best friend, but left alone to have this moment to herself.

She didn’t understand what was going on with her, and the different new things that had become a part of her life. It seemed that everything was totally different a whole week ago, compared to where she was at now. Katherine breathed in deeply and exhaled, running her hand through her now dry hair. As she was about to sit on the curb, a cop car came pulling up, and flashed their lights. Fuck, she thought to herself as she looked around, trying to find somewhere else to go except back into the café, but she ended up just turning back to Brian.

“What ya doing out here toots?” He asked her in an odd kind of tone that made her stomach even feel worse than before.
“Oh you know, getting a fresh breath of air.” She said in the tone of voice she knew he hated.
“I meant what are you doing here.” He said in a now harsher voice as he parked next to the curb and started to get out.

Dressed up in his uniform, she knew what others saw in him what she wished she did. He seemed harmless, someone who would help a homeless person out, but she saw nothing but what he really was. She saw past that uniform, and the fake outlook that others falsely assumed. When he asked her the question again, she just stood there staring at him, not really registering anything, but that she was telling herself to breath.

“That’s it, you’re under arrest.” He said suddenly, as he pulled her and pushed her into the hood of the car.
“What the fuck are you doing?” She nearly yelled as her mind started to race to keep up with everything.
“You heard what I said.” He said in her ear as he pulled her hands behind her back and cuffed them.
“You are fucking insane!” She screamed at him as people that were still waiting in line and some stragglers noticed.
“Yep.” Is all he said in response as he pushed her into the back of the car.

She didn’t even bother fighting as she knew things would only get worse. She knew she wasn’t going to the station, but probably just some deserted place. She turned her head back to the club, noticing Pete, Patrick, and Jonathon standing outside there with their mouth’s gaping. She just looked away, with embarrassment, but most of all shame. Because of the fact that she could stop this now if she wanted to, but she was too scared to even stand up for herself. She was supposedly scared of being alone for the rest of her life, but she didn’t even think that was really a factor in all this. She wasn’t even in love in the first place, but it seemed like a good way to pass the time. Now that she thought deeply about it, she sensed that it had to do with maybe falling in love, rather than never having it. She laid her head against the cold window as rain began to splatter down, even worse than before, and she just wished for the car to run off some road.

---

“You disgust me.” Brian said as he buckled his pants and Katherine pulled her red v-neck back over her head.

Katherine didn’t say anything, because at that moment she didn’t feel anything. She felt numb, ever since she sat in the back of that police car, all her feelings drained away and she was empty. Even when she was being abused, she didn’t flinch or even try to defend herself in anyway, and especially when she was raped, when she did say no, the first word she said to him throughout the whole ordeal.

“Get out.” He told her as he got back into the squad car, and she slid out of the backseat, slamming the door behind her.
“Now kiss me.” He said in a slightly regular voice, one he would use if he ever had a heart.

She didn’t oblige to his commands this time, and started to walk away, far away, where ever her feet were taking her. She didn’t know exactly where she was, but at that point she didn’t really care as she just kept on walking. Soon she started to notice that she didn’t go that far from the hard rock, and continued to walk past it. There were no more crowds in or out of it and she then wondered what time it was. Considering she left her bag with Jonathon’s things behind the stage, including her phone, she still believed her feet were taking her to a safe haven.

Nearly 8 blocks later, she stared at the beautiful apartments Pete resided in, and made her way up the 11 floors it took to see him. As she rode in the elevator, the gold inside made some kind of makeshift mirror, and she noticed how horrible she really looked. Her make-up was honestly non-existent at this point, and her hair was nothing like it had been when she left her house this morning. When she moved to look at her cheeks, she saw visible bruising and also felt the spots start to tingle. When the elevator dinged, she stepped out hoping that Pete wouldn’t care she was coming to him at whatever hour it was in the morning.

She stood in front of his door, honestly debating against the pros and cons of this. Didn’t she already bother him enough lately? As she was about to turn and walk back to the elevators, a voice startled her.

“I was so worried about you, fuck.” As she stared at Pete, holding onto a leash with a puppy going crazy tied to the other end she couldn’t help but smile.
“I’m fine.” She shrugged as he started to unlock his apartment, and unhooked Hemingway from his confinement.
“Like hell you are.” He said as she closed the door behind her.
“Jesus Katherine…I was really worried about you.” He said quietly as she hung her head.

She couldn’t help but feel more than responsible for this worry. His hands cupped her bruised cheeks as she stared back into his worry-filled eyes. His fingers gently ran over every bruise as if reading her pain that she hid so deeply within her.

“Why do you let him do this to you?” He asked her as she looked away.
“I don’t know.” She answered honestly, as he rubbed over her bruises again.
“I really…Really d-don’t know.” She said as she felt tears sting her eyes.

She let them fall freely as Pete pulled her into a hug. But these weren’t like her normal quiet tears, she started to sob in his chest and Pete just held her closer as she started to break down into his arms. He kissed the side of her head, and then her temple, something his mother always did for him when he was upset, to try and comfort her. All it did was make Katherine cling to him, and start shaking.

“Come on…” Pete said quietly as he grabbed her hand as they both made their way upstairs.

Katherine wiped her face with her hand and attempted to calm herself, but with Pete squeezing her hand it made it so much harder. They both climbed into the king sized bed and Pete instantly pulled her to him.

“What do you need me to do Katherine?” He asked her as she started to sob again.
“Don’t l-let go.” She stuttered, as his arms wrapped more firmly around her.

They both passed out like that, one lost, and the other searching. The morning sun, just breaking the skyline as Pete finally closed his eyes for the fact that Katherine was sound asleep next to him. That he was the one protecting her rather than hurting her.