Scream to Be Heard, Like You Needed Any More Attention

 At the sound of my voice, her face relaxed and we almost smiled at each other. She came closer as Dr.Spencer prattled on in the background.  

I took a hesitant step towards her and I'm flooded with memories: her asking if I remembered to brush my teeth at our sleepovers, her covering up for me when I was caught cheating on finals, the look on her face that night so many months ago, the night she decided to send me here. Then my eyes hardened. I had almost smiled at the person who was the reason I was in the hellhole of a situation in the first place. 

Ember had let her guard down and practically had her arms out for a hug. 
I pushed past her, feeling strangely happy as I catch a glimpse of her hurt expression. 
I stalked out into the balmy day, ignoring Ember who kept trying to initiate some small talk that instantly met with my barrier of silence. By the time we had gotten all my stuff into her car, she had gotten the point and the ride home was completely silent, save the annoying boy bands playing on the stereo.

Ember's house was a modest little place and I threw my bags into the guest room and settled down on the couch, instantly claiming the TV. Ember brought me dinner and I went through a couple seasons of Friends as I munched away. She kept hovering around then finally sank into the love seat on the opposite side of the room. I pointedly ignored her presence until a gentle snoring filled the room. 

I switched the TV off and walk slowly past her sleeping body. Once in my room, I sat on the bed and stared at the wall. After a few minutes, I flopped back down and as I did so, my head hit something hard that was on the bed.  

"Ow," I complained rubbing my head as I searched for the object. I dug around in the blankets, searching until my hands closed around a cell phone. I recognized it to be Ember's and had almost tossed to the side when I realized the power of that cell phone. Within seconds I had my old connection, Davie, on speaker. 

"Guess who?" I laughed.  

"Riley?!" His surprised voice responded, "How yoo been? Haven't heard from you in a while! Heard you went to rehab or somethin'."

"Ugh yeah, Ember locked up in rehab. I just got out today. And guess what? They sent me to live with her!"

"That blows," he agreed, "Hey, want to celebrate your first night free out on the town? I can hook you up too, I just got some fresh stock today."

"Sure, pick me up? Ember's counting sheep, I could probably sneak out."

"See you in five, babe," he chuckled before hanging up.

I touched myself up and decided I looked decent enough to go out. I quickly checked in on Ember as Davie's headlights came up the road then expertly shimmied out the window and hopped in his car. 

"Where to?" I asked as he sped down an unfamilar road. He simply flashed a grin, then pulled off onto a deserted road. He killed the engine then turned to me. 

"Why don't we start the night off with a little one-on-one time," he suggested, showing off a few missing teeth. 

"Excuse me?" I asked, now aware of how close we were. 

"Relax, honey," he said slowly, "Here, I brought something to help." He pulled out a joint and lit, taking the first drag. We passed it back and forth and I let the pot slowly take over my mind. 

"So, what I was saying was we should skip the party and have our own right here." He smirked, the sleazy look back on his face. 

"What?" My mind was still foggy from the weed but the hand he put on my boob was enough to jolt me back to my normal self. 

"Get the fuck off of me, you sick perv!" I shouted, struggling to unbuckle myself. 

"Don't make this difficult," he growled and grabbed at my arm. I flailed at him but he was too big and strong. In the tussle, I managed to unbuckle myself and open the door. We tumbled out into the humid summer night and I immeadiately began screaming "RAPE! Someone fucking help me!" 

A meaty hand clamped around my mouth and Davie whispered menacingly in my ear, "Bitch, you do what I fucking tell you."
I couldn't do anything and I was just about to give in when I felt his body slump to the ground. I turned fearfully to find him laying motionless on the ground. I stood a shocked silence, unable to take my eyes off the trickle of blood down the side of his cheek when somebody suddenly grabbed me from behind.

I let out an ear-splitting shriek of terror and nearly collapsed with fear. 
"No, shh it's okay. You're safe now." I feel myself being picked up by strong, warm arms and I peer up into the stranger's face. I don't recognize him but when he looks down to check on me, I notice he's cute with goofy, exaggerated features that work perfectly on him. He grins at me and I give him a shaky smile in return. 

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." He says and I close my eyes and hope with all my heart, that it will.