The Preservation of the Martyr in Me

Desirae Miller sat at the back of her Algebra class looking out the window, tuning out the teacher’s lecture about exponential equations. She already knew all about this subject and was just biding time until the bell rang and she could go to lunch. She watched as the male track team made their way out onto the field and was quickly able to pick out her best friend from the crowd.

John Robinson was the schools track star and Desirae’s best friend since he moved here in third grade. His long brown hair and muscular body was unmistakable in any crowd. Desirae watched as her best friend ran four laps around the track in record time. It wasn’t until John came back to the coach, who was passing out bottles of water, did he notice her staring out the window.

He looked up and saw her face looking at him through a window on the third floor and a huge smile broke out across his face. He began waving excitedly and she slyly waved back. Desirae watched as he began making silly faces at her in an attempt to make her laugh. She just pursed and shook her head to let him know it wasn’t working, when, out the corner of her eye, she saw a runner she recognized as John’s friend Kevin trip over his shoe laces, tumble to the ground and slide face first ten feet. Desirae found it quite comical. She watched as the dust rose from the ground and when Kevin tried to cover his face in embarrassment, she let out a sudden howl of laughter causing the whole class to turn and look at her.

Down below John was doing the same thing. After hearing a ruckus from behind him, he turned away from Desirae just in time to see his friend Kevin fall to the ground and slide. At first he was compelled to laugh but he ignored it and ran over to his friend asking him if he was okay. After seeing he was fine and Kevin walked away in embarrassment, John let out his held laughter until tears of mirth were streaming from his eyes. Once his laughter had died down, he looked up to the window to see Desirae still laughing hysterically.

By the time Desirae’s laughter had began to subside, just about the entire class plus the teacher was glaring at her. This went unnoticed by Desirae, as she wiped away an imaginary tear. As the last of her chuckles emitted from her mouth, Desirae finally looked around and noticed she was under the intense stare of her classmates. She looked at them questioningly.

“What?” she asked.

“Ms. Miller,” a voice called her and she immediately snapped her head to look to the front to see her teacher looking slightly irritated.

“Yes sir?”

“Is there something you would like to share with the class for your sudden burst of merriment?” he questioned strictly.

“No sir.”

“Tell us Ms. Miller, what’s so amusing outside that it has captured your attention and kept you from paying attention in my class?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about sir. I was paying attention to your lecture the whole time.”

“Oh really,” he questioned.

“Yes sir.”

“Then you won’t mind coming up here and doing the problem on the board.”

Desirae sat at her seat for a second, glancing at her watch, before getting up and walking to the board. She grabbed the chalk her teacher held out for her and read the problem on the aloud. She stood in front of the board, chalk in had analyzing the problem.

“Anytime today Ms. Miller,” the teacher said.

She turned to look at him. “Yes, sir.”

As she turned back to the board her teacher called for her attention again. “Ms. Miller, be sure to show all of your work.”

Desirae mumbled a reply and began to write numbers on the board. Her teacher stood in a shocked silence as he watched Desirae solve the seemingly difficult problem with ease. Once she was satisfied that it was completed, she sat the chalk down tentatively. Her instructor stared at the white writing that now covered the black chalk board, checking her work. With his mouth agape, he turned to her. “She’s right,” was all he had time to say before the bell rang signaling it was time for lunch.

As soon as she had finished, Desirae didn’t stand there to see if she was right or not. She knew she right, so as soon as she had sat chalk down, went to go get her stuff and walked back to the door. She was out of the room before the bell stopped ringing.

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Desirae sighed as she put her books into her locker. The day was Friday and it was halfway over and she couldn’t wait until time came when she could leave and begin her weekend. Putting everything in her locker she slammed it shut, and promptly turned around, only to come face to smirking face with her best friend. Startled, she jumped a bit before lightly smacking his arm.

“You dillweed, you scared me.”

“Aww Dee. That hurt,” John said before putting an arm around her shoulders. “Now what do I always say to you.”

With a roll of her eyes, she replied, “Always be aware of your surroundings.”

“Yes. Now c’mon Dez, I’m hungry,” he said while taking her hand and leading her to the cafeteria. John ushered her to their usual table and Desirae sat as John went up to the lunch line to get the food.

Not wanting to sit there bored with nothing to do but stare at the table until John came back, Desirae commenced to playing videogames on her cell phone. She was well into a game of Tetris when the chair in front of her was pulled out and a body flopped down in it. She barely glanced up from her phone until the other person spoke.

“Rae, where’s John.”

“He’s in the lunch line getting some food,” she automatically replied before pausing her game. When Desirae looked up to see Kevin sitting across from her, she couldn’t help the huge smile that spread across her face or the chuckle the emitted from her throat.

“Hey Kevin,” she said, the smile on her face evident. “That was a pretty awesome nosedive you did earlier.”

Kevin grimaced. “You saw that huh?”

“Yes! And it was funny as hell! I’ve never laughed so hard in my life! The whole thing happened in slow motion and the look on your face tickled the mess outta me!” she began laughing again, gaining the stares of more than just a few people at the surrounding tables.

Kevin shrugged and glanced at her before laughing as well. “Well, I’m glad I could be of some service and make you smile.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Desirae said with a smile before turn her attention back to her phone.

Kevin tried to look at her phone, craning his neck to get a better view. Once he realized there was no way he was going to get a better vantage point, he groaned and snatched the phone from her hands asking “Who’re you texting?”

Desirae frowned and snatched her phone back with lightening speed. “I’m not texting anyone, Kevin. I’m playing Tetris.”

“Oooh. How you doing?”

“Level fourteen and counting.”

“What?! I can’t seem to get passed level ten.”

Desirae shrugged before looking at him. “You seemed shocked,” she stated. “And the reason you can’t get passed level ten, is because you don’t know how to play.”

“I do so know how to play!”

“Know how to play what?”

Desirae looked up from the screen to John carrying a tray laden with food. A smile broke out on her face.

“John, sit down before you drop the food,” she said.

John just looked at her and laughed before taking his seat and asking his question again. “Who knows how to play what?”

“Kevin doesn’t know how to play Tetris.”

John took a glance at his friend before turning back to Desirae. “What’s there to know? All you have to do is make a horizontal line right?”

“That is not all you have to do dumb nuts. Playing Tetris takes skill, timing and precision. You have to keep the blocks as low as possible for as long as possible, while at the same trying to beat your best personal score.”

With a scoff and a shrug, Kevin replied, “Yeah right,” earning himself a glare from Desirae.

“And that, my friend, is why you’ll never make it passed level ten.”

“Thanks. That was nice,” Kevin said sarcastically.

A huge smile broke out on Desirae’s face. “I know, wasn’t it?” she laughed. “I’m just chocked full of encouragement.”

John laughed at his friends before sliding the tray of food in front of her. As Desirae looked at the food, she could feel her hunger intensify with each passing second, and soon it became too much bare as she grabbed one of the dinner rolls and stuffed it in her mouth. Both John and Kevin stared in amazement as she began to wolf down her lunch.

“I think you should take some time to breathe Dez,” said John.

“You’ve been eating like this a lot lately Desirae,” said Kevin. “Are you okay?”

Desirae swallowed the bite of cheeseburger she had in her mouth before answering. “Yeah guys, I’m fine. I’ve just been hungry lately,” she took another large bite of her burger.

“You’re not pregnant, are you?” asked Kevin.

Desirae spat the food out of her mouth at Kevin’s question, resulting in both of the boys across from her, and the table, getting sprayed with bits of half chewed cheeseburger. The boys shuddered with disgust before grabbing the paper towels. Desirae wiped her mouth as well before answering Kevin’s question.

“No, I’m not pregnant! How could you ask such a question?! You know I’m not that type of girl!” she screamed before calming down. “Besides, you know that if a guy got that close to me, you two would be there to scare him off.”

“You got that right,” the two of them said together.

Desirae stared at them. “Creepy,” she said referring to how the two of them spoke. “Anyway, what’s the plan for this weekend?”

“I’m going to be away this weekend,” said Kevin. “My cousin, you remember Jeannie right?” Desirae nodded. “Well her birthday is tomorrow, and she’s been really depressed lately, and since I’m the only one she opens up to, I’m going to spend the weekend with her.”

“Oh, you’re a good cousin. Tell her I said happy birthday.”

“Thanks and you got it.”

“What about you Desirae?” asked John.

“Me? I don’t really have any plans, so I was just gonna play with my little brother, but turns out he’s going to a sleepover this weekend. He’s really excited too. He’s been talking about it all morning.”

“Oh. If you don’t have any plans, how ‘bout a monster movie marathon at my house?”

Desirae took a minute to think about it. She weighed her options, sitting at home with her parents or hanging out with her best friend. It was really no contest.

“Sure, I can do that. What time do you want me to come over?”

“Is five o’clock okay with you?”

“S’ok with me,” Desirae said as she finished eating her food. The bell rang just as she swallowed her last bite.

As Desirae exited the lunchroom, she felt an arm slinging its way across her shoulders. Expecting it to be John, she looked up ready to tell him off and insult him. She was shocked to see that it wasn’t John, but instead Kevin.

“What are you doing?” she asked a little confused. "Your class and locker is the other way.”

“I’m walking you to class first,” he said simply.

“As sweet as that sentiment is, I can’t allow you to go out of your way just to walk me to class.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.”

“Well, I have to go to my locker first,” she said as she stopped in front of it and began to twirl in her combination. She took out her books and handed them to Kevin.

“What’re giving me these for?”

“Hey! You volunteered to walk me to class, the least you could do is carry my books as well, right?”

Kevin didn’t answer.

“Riiight?” she prompted.

“I guess so,” Kevin finally said.

“Good, I’m glad you agree with me.” She thrust the last of her books into Kevin’s arms then took off walking down the hallway towards her class. When they made it to her class, she grabbed her books.

“See you later Kevin,” she said before walking into the classroom and finding her seat.

.............___<(^.^<)__(^.^)v____..

The last bell of the school day finally rang, and Desirae was filled to the brim with joy. She’s been waiting for the weekend to come since Tuesday, and to be perfectly honest, she believed that that day should be the last day of the school week. School came easy to Desirae though. Having an almost perfect GPA, she was the brunt of some of her schoolmates teasing. She found it to be pointless however, because she was just like them. She wanted the school week to be over as soon as possible too, that’s why Friday is her most favorite day of the week.

As Desirae was about to cross the threshold to the freedom of the outside world, someone had called for her attention. Turning to see who it was, Kevin came into view. He ran to approach her.

“Kevin, what’s up?” she said, trying her best not to let the agitation she was feeling show through in her voice.

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“About John. I don’t think you should hang out with him today.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know. He just seemed off to me today.”

“It’s no need to worry Kevin. John is my best friend and we’ve known each other for ages. If he was a little off today, I think I would’ve noticed.”

“Yeah, okay Desirae. Just make sure you take care of yourself. Do you want me to walk you home?”

“No, it’s okay Kevin, and besides, shouldn’t be getting ready to go to your cousin’s house?”

Kevin sighed before answering. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I did promise her.”

“Right. And you shouldn’t break a promise to a female. You know that. So you go home and get ready and I’ll see you on Monday alright?”

“Right. Bye Desirae.”

“I’ll see you Kevin.”

And with that, Desirae turned and made her way out of the building, and into the fresh air that is the freedom of the outside world. Relief set in as she realized that the school day was finally over. With her eyes set forward, she lost herself in her thoughts. All of a sudden, her head snapped up as a strange chill ran up and down her spine. She had the felling she was being followed. She slowed her pace as the felling became stronger and a low growling noise could be heard behind her.

Turning around slowly, she came to face a dog. The dog was snarling, baring its teeth and foaming at the mouth. It was vicious. It was unlike any dog she had ever seen before. She stood there, afraid to move, afraid it would attack her if she even flinched. As she was locked in a glare contest with the dog, her luck turned bad. Not far away from her and the malicious pooch, a car door could be heard slamming. At the sudden noise, the dog lunged into action. With its teeth barred and growling, it made as if to jump at her. Knowing she could never outrun this rabid dog, Desirae closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain. When it never came, Desirae peeked through her eyes to see the dog just standing there, standing on its hind legs, its front half suspended in midair.

She stood there for a minute, waiting to see if it would move. When it didn’t, she walked in a circle around it. It was as if it was frozen in time. Desirae didn’t want to get too close to it, so she simply shrugged it off as weird and continued her walk home. She entered her home and found her parents in the den watching TV.

“Desirae, sweetie, how was school today?”

Desirae looked at her mother before giving a noncommittal shrug and replying “Fine.”

“Is that it?” her mother continued as she approached her. “Nothing interesting happened today?”

Desirae gave her mother a look. “Mom, stop trying to press me for information. Nothing happened. It was a regular boring school day, emphasis on the boring.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes mother.”

“Okay.”

“Did Derek leave for his friend’s house yet?” Desirae asked.

“Oh honey! I thought I told you this morning that Adam’s mom was going to pick them up and he was going straight there after school.”

“You didn’t tell me that. Oh well,” Desirae said before turning on her heel and ran up the steps to her room. Entering her room, she threw her things on the bed before closing the door softly behind her. Flopping on her bed, she checked the clock that was hanging on her wall. It read a quarter to four. She had an hour and fifteen minutes until she had to be at John’s house. In an attempt to kill time, Desirae decided to watch TV. Rolling over to face the TV, she reached for the remote and turned it on. She flipped through the channels, looking for something interesting to watch. Upon finding none, she settled on a music station. The song Whisper by Evanescence could be heard blasting through her speakers.

Desirae laid on her bed, letting the music encompass her. After a while of resting, she set up on her bed with a start. She looked around the room before deciding that she should clean up a bit. Flipping over the side of the bed, she landed on her feet and began to pick up some paper that had been on the floor. She cleaned as she danced along with the music, dusting and dancing at the same time. She was taking the clutter off of her desk when Whisper ended and another song; she recognized it as Heavens a Lie by Lacuna Coil, came on immediately after. She began folding clothes as she sang along with the song, then she made her bed. Looking around at her room again, Desirae decided it was clean enough before going downstairs into the kitchen. She found her mother bending over getting something out of the refrigerator.

“Mom?” she called quietly. Desirae watched as her mother popped up and turned around suddenly, holding a packet of bologna in her hands. “What are you doing? Where’s dad?”

“Oh Desirae sweetie,” her mother breathed. “Your father is still in the living room watching some sporting event and he sent me in here to make some snacks.” She turned back to the refrigerator.

“Oh. Well, don’t let me get in your way,” Desirae replied while taking a seat at the counter.

“You won’t be as long as you stay over there,” her mother said with a laugh. “Is there anything you want while I’m here?”

“No thank you mom, I can get it myself.”

“Alright, suit yourself,” she said before she exited the kitchen, a tray of bologna sandwiches in tow.

Desirae made sure her mother had gone completely into the living room before going over to the refrigerator. She had already pulled out the milk and taken the top off, about to drink straight from the carton, when her mother called from the living room.

“You better not drink from the carton Desirae! Get a glass!”

Desirae swore to herself before reaching up and pulling out a cup from the cupboard overhead. She pored the milk in the cup before putting the top back on it and placing the gallon of milk back into the refrigerator. She sat the glass on the counter, before pulling the bread from the breadbox. She then pulled the peanut butter and the jelly from the cabinets below. With her back to the door, she started making her a sandwich. As she began smearing the peanut butter on the bread, a loud crash from the living room had startled her and caused her to jump. Her hand had accidentally hit the glass, causing it to fall over and off the counter. She closed her eyes preparing to hear it shatter. When it never happened, she slowly opened her eyes again, to find that the glass had not shattered, that it hadn’t even hit the floor. Desirae stared in amazement at the glass as it hovered in midair, its contents suspended, never touching the ground.

Desirae got down on her hands and knees. Shocked, she waved her arms above and below the glass, thinking that there may have been some string or something holding it there. There was none, and she was bewildered to say the least. Just as she began reaching out to grab it, her mom ran into the kitchen, capturing her attention. The second she looked away, the glass fell to the ground with a clank, and its contents spilled all over the floor.

“Desirae, sweetie. Could you pass me the broom and dustpan please?”

Desirae pushed herself up from the floor and walked over to the pantry. She retrieved the items her mother asked for, before handing them over.

“Can you hand me some rags or napkins too please?”

Desirae grabbed the rags from the sink, before passing them to her mother as well.

“What happened in there, ma? What was that loud crash?”

“Oh it’s nothing sweetie. Your father’s team just lost and he threw a tantrum, not to mention the table as well.”

“He tossed the table over?”

“Yeah, and now I have to clean up the mess.”

“Do you want some help?”

“Could you? I’d appreciate it. I’ll wait for you in the den,” she said before turning and walking out of the kitchen.

Desirae watched as her mother exited the kitchen. She glanced toward the glass that lay on the floor before walking over to the pantry again, pulling out the mop.

.............___<(^.^<)__(^.^)v____..

Desirae plopped down on her bed with a sigh. She was so tired. She had spent the better part of the last hour cleaning the mess in the den with her mother. All she felt like doing now was falling asleep. As she closed her eyes, she heard the phone ringing, followed by her mother calling for her, disturbing her almost peaceful slumber. With a groan, she sat up again and walked out into the hallway.

“Yes mother?” she called downstairs.

“I have John here on the phone. He wants to know if you are still coming over or not.”

Desirae looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall across from her bedroom. 4:52 p.m. She thought about it for a second then, with a shrug she replied, “Yeah. Tell him I’m on my way.”

Putting on her jacket, Desirae made her way down stairs. She passed her mother in den watching the cooking network and she prepared herself for the standard interrogation that she knew was coming.

“I’m going out for a bit, mom.”

“Where are you going?”

“John’s house.”

“Will his parent’s be there?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Probably.”

“Okay. What time are you coming back?”

“I don’t know. I won’t be too late though.”

“Are you driving?”

“Please mom. John only lives a couple blocks away.”

“Okay, okay. You can’t blame me for wanting to know. You are my oldest child,” her mother said while hugging her.

“Yes mom. I know, I know,” Desirae replied while slyly trying to get out of the hug. “I’ll see you when I get home.”

“Okay sweetie!”

She watched as her mother closed and locked the door, before she turned and walked down the street leading to the home of her best friend.

Desirae arrived at her friend’s house a few minutes later. Knocking at the door, she hoped she wouldn’t have to wait long before he opened it and let her in. She got her wish as John swung the door open mid-knock. Desirae looked at him. His black tank top clung to his torso and his jeans were baggy but they weren’t sagging off his behind.

“Hey, John.”

“Dez, you came.”

“Yeah, so are you gonna let me in, or are you going to stare at me all day?”

“Oh, sorry,” he said stepping aside and pushing the door open so she could get in.

Desirae entered the house, and the first thing she noticed was the way the living room was set up. The couch was made up with all sorts of pillows and blankets thrown everywhere, the coffee table in front of the couch housed all sorts of junk food, popcorn, and a couple boxes of pizza, and the floor surrounding the coffee table and in front of the TV had a pair of giant fluffy pillows.

“Wow. You really went all out for this huh?”

John looked at the set up and shrugged. “Not really. This is average.”

“Huh… So, where are your folks?”

“They’re out of town for the weekend.”

“Really? Then what are we watching a movie for? You know what that means, right?”

“What?”

“PARTY!!!! Duh.”

“Well actually Dez, I was thinking maybe you and I could spend some quality time together.”

“Oh?”

“You know, alone.”

“Oh. Well, we’ll see where the night takes us.”

“Really?” he asked hopeful.

Desirae scoffed. “No. Now put on the movie!” she said as she took off her jacket before plopping down on the couch.

“You wound me, Dez,” he said while putting a hand over his heart.

“Yeah whatever, just put on the movie.”

“Yes ma’am.”

John went over to the DVD player and put a movie in. He sat down in the seat beside Desirae.

Desirae popped some popcorn and milk duds into her mouth before asking, “What movie are we watching?”

“The Covenant.”

“…I thought I came here to watch a monster movie, not a bad ‘witch’ movie.”

“I thought you would enjoy this more.”

“This movie sucks.”

“But it’s your favorite.”

“I’m a girl! The only reason I like it is so I can watch all those hunks of meat walking around in the Speedos.”

John was quiet as he stared at his friend in a shocked silence for a moment. He cleared his throat before turning back to the TV.

“That’s not something I really needed to know Dez,” he said before skipping the commercials and switching to the main menu.

Desirae looked towards the screen as the movie began playing.

.............___<(^.^<)__(^.^)v____..

No matter how many times she’s watched the movie, Desirae could never remember the female lead character’s name. It was the one part in the movie that most girls would hate if they were fans of Steven Strait. The make out scene in the car had to be Desirae’s least favorite scene in the in the entire movie. No matter how much she hated the scene though, she always tried to keep a straight face when watching it.

John noticed the strained expression on his best friends face. He grinned in amusement before looking back towards the screen, though he kept glancing at her through the corner of his eye. Desirae was oblivious of this fact.

They were leaning in now, the rain blurring the picture as it tumbled down the windows of the car. The arm that had been draped casually along the back of the couch slid down to her shoulders, but Desirae was too focused on the movie to notice.

Their lips met in a passionate embrace and Desirae tried her best to keep her face composed. She was oblivious to John’s movements as he moved closer to her, his eyes focusing on her lips.

The couple on screen broke apart. As they were leaning in for another kiss, Desirae felt a hand on her face, pulling her head towards John. She tore her eyes away from the screen and looked over to John in time to see him advance on her. He placed his other hand to her face to hold her head still as he attempted to kiss her. Desirae sat there in shock, but as soon as he pulled away, she was overcome with rage. She slapped him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, John?!”

“Desirae, I can’t hide my feelings from you any longer. I love you.”

“No John,” Desirae told him firmly. “You are my best friend. Nothing more.”

“I’m sorry, I just can’t accept that.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to.”

John sat in silence for a while, glancing over at Desirae occasionally, before answering.

“No I don’t,” and he pounced on her.

“What are you doing?!”

“I want you Desirae,” he said while trying to kiss her neck and easing his hand up her shirt.

“No! Stop!” she screamed.

“Shut up!” he said while smacking her. “I said I want you, and I always get what I want!”

He rubbed his hands up and down the sides of her body and she screamed while she tried fruitlessly to fight him off. He smacked her again.

“I said ‘Shut up’,” he yelled. “And be still.”

Desirae didn’t listen. She began kicking erratically at her best friend. She landed one in his gut.

“You bitch,” he wheezed out breathlessly before he grabbed both of her legs and pinned them to the couch underneath him. Desirae then began punching wildly hoping that she could do some damage. John caught her clenched fist in his. He glared down at her with an evil smirk.

“You wanna throw punches, huh? I got something for you.” He took off his belt and, grabbing both of her arms, tied them up before pinning them above her head. Desirae resorted to her last line of defense, screaming.

“I told you…” he said menacingly. “To shut up!” He smacked her again, but this time Desirae continued to scream. Quickly growing tired of her incessant screaming, John reached into his pocket and withdrew a pocket knife. He held it up to Desirae’s neck. She instantly got quiet.

“Scream again and I’ll slit your throat, understand?”

When she said nothing, John grabbed a handful her hair and yanked her head back, before raising the blade until the tip of it was close to penetrating her eye. He repeated: “Do you understand me?”

Desirae swallowed involuntarily. Afraid of making any sudden movements, she nodded her head slowly.

“Good Dez,” John said suddenly chipper as he removed the blade from her face and placed it back against her neck. “I was afraid I would have to mess up your pretty face, and we don’t want that. Do we?” His composure was suddenly serious again.

Desirae was afraid for her life. She knew that if she couldn’t find a way to escape, it was a good chance that she would die there, and it would be John, her best friend, who had killed her.

She cautiously began to pull at the belt that bound her arms together. If she could just get free then maybe, she thought, she could try to fight her way to freedom.

With Desirae quiet, and apparently submissive, John used his knife to slice open her shirt revealing her bra and bare abdomen.

“God Dez,” he said gazing down at her stomach. “I always admired your body.”

Desirae resisted the urge to scream when she felt the wet and slimy sensation of John licking all over her torso. The belt was becoming loose. She, slyly, spread her arms to allow her more room.

He raised his head to Desirae’s face, and she saw in his eyes that he was fueled by his lust and anger.

“Now Dez, let’s get this bra off.” He raised the blade and made to cut off her bra when she slipped her arms out of her restraints and punched him. He dropped the knife in order to cup his jaw. He glared at her with murder in his eyes. He tried to grab her arms but she fought, fought back hard. She was determined not to let him pin her down again. John tried to hold her down, keep her in place while he tried to capture her lips in his. Desirae held her hand up and tried to push his head away from hers. He continued to grab at her arms.

“Stop!” she screamed.

He moved from her arms and started trying to push up her bra.

“Stop!” she screamed again.

He moved from her bra and up to her hair, intent on stroking it. She closed her eyes.

“STOP!!!” Her scream was followed by silence, and she no longer felt John moving on top of her. Gingerly, she opened her eyes and moved her hand from his face. His head was still tilted upwards. Frightened, she looked around and saw his hand in midair, reaching up to her hair.

“John?” she questioned attentively as she waved a hand in his face. John didn’t move. She turned her head to look at the TV. The images which had been moving on screen were now still, as if someone had pushed the pause button. Desirae sighed and placed her arms on either side of John’s broad shoulders. She tried to roll him off of her, but he was heavy and rooted on his spot.

She tried again. This time though, she moved around a bit (as much as he frame would allow) and managed to prop her leg up on the couch. Using her knee as leverage, she was able to roll him off of the couch and onto the floor, resulting in her freedom. She stood from the couch and looked down at her once, long time friend. His face was frozen in a contorted image and the mixture of lust and anger could still be seen in his eyes. She hated him in that second. She reached for the lamp that was on the table beside the couch and raised it high above her head, before bringing it down with a crashing force and shattering it on John’s skull. She knew that when he woke up, if he ever woke up (or became conscious again, she really didn’t know how to describe his current state), it was a good chance that he would have a concussion. Just in case he didn’t though, she raised her leg and kicked him in his face, breaking his nose on contact.

“Bastard,” she spat, before she turned and ran out of the house, leaving John there frozen, with a concussion and a broken nose.