Farewell to Shady Glade

Shayley had left me to go play the show. He left me to be on my own, to think, and even now, that was something I didn't want to do. The guys were going to set up the show, to make sure that Austin didn't try and crash the set, to make sure that I didn't crack. I wish I could've gone and watched them, but I just needed to walk. Walk around the streets of Anaheim, try to find some fresh air and clear my mind.

It was warm and windy outside, but I still clutched myself like it was chilly in the night air. My happiness couldn't last; it wasn't something my life could take. This happiness, Shayley, was an overload, and Austin came to ruin it all. I sighed and stopped in my walk, not knowing where I was, and leaned against a building. My pack of cigarettes was home in my pocket, and I brought them out for a smoke. I lit it under the streetlight, inhaling gratefully, looking for any sort of escape. I could hear the wind blowing things around the alleyways, paying no attention to really anything around me. I could feel the silent tears making their way down my cheeks, not even realizing I had started crying. Soon though, there were footsteps coming down the way, and I paid unnatural attention to those. In an unfamiliar street, one had to be on the lookout for anything. I listened for where the steps were coming from, and looked down the street. Someone was coming, a hoodie around their tall, lank body. I squinted in the direction of the person, seeing their hood up. They walked near the streetlight and I saw their face. "Austin?" I said, and he looked up at me.
"Why did you have to stop?" he said, his voice husky. He came close to me, taking his hood off, and I saw the red in his eyes. He had been crying from the news, from the loss of everything he had.
"Why did I stop?" I said, confused.
"I could have followed you. Done nothing, and just turned around and drove home…but you stopped." He said, like it all meant something to him. He came closer to me, I took a step away. I started to back away from him, my cigarette still in my fingers. "Chris, why did you do this to me? I need you." He said in one breath, his voice becoming cracked. Tears were coming from his eyes as he reached for me, grabbing at my shirt.
"Austin, please." I said and he grabbed my sides, pulling me into him with unnecessary force. His hands were iron clad on my hips, hurting me. "Austin, you're hurting me, let me go." I said, trying to push him away without burning him.
"I need you." He repeated, looking down at me. One hand found its way to the back of my head as I tried to squirm away, holding me still. He crashed his lips into mine, plunging his tongue into my mouth. I shook my head, trying to get away, but I couldn't. He bruised my lips with his frantic need, something that I couldn't deal with. He came up for air and I spit on the ground.
"Austin, what the fuck?" I said and attempted to get away from him. His hand was a vice on the back of my neck, the other on my hip.
"I can't be without you Christine, I need you." He said; his eyes crazed with lust and whatever he was holding in. The hand that was on my hip snaked its way up my shirt, trying to feel me through my bra. I pushed him, trying to get him to stop touching me, but he wouldn't. My cigarette still held, miraculously, and I burned the arm closest to my face. He let me go and I ran from him. I could hear him gasp from pain, and the footfalls chasing me. I ran as fast as I could, but it was nothing compared to him. He gripped my shirt; I heard it tear, as he took me into his arms again. He held me close, seeing and hearing people down the street. I tried to scream, but he covered my face before any sounds came from my throat. He took the both of us out of sight into a narrow alleyway.
"Austin, Austin, Austin!" I pleaded to him, saying his name over and over again, but he wasn't listening. He looked back down to me, and in his eyes was something I had never seen. Some insanity fueling him, and I knew I had lost my Austin. I was scared for my life in that moment more then ever before.

He took me in his arms, roughly, and then his hands turned to gentle ones. He knew what he was doing. The Austin I knew and loved was in there somewhere. "Austin, please, don't do this. I love you, you're my best friend, and you can't do this." I pleaded, trying to get away from him. His hands became rough, holding the tops of my arms, bruising.
"You don't love me. You love Shayley." He said to me, his voice breaking. He was crying again. His hands went down my arms, never slacking. He took one hand and kept me in place, and took the other to implore. I started to cry, knowing I had no chance. If I ran, he would get me, if I fought, he would beat me, if I yelled, no one would hear me. One hand went under my shirt, the other fumbling for the button of my pants. "Love me." He whispered in my ear, tugging my pants down as he began on his own.

I came out of the alleyway, my hair in tatters, my pants unbuttoned and falling. I was crying, whimpering, unable to register anything. Austin had left me, leaning on the side of the building after he had raped me. Left me to cry as I bled from his force, left me to whimper as I pulled my pants up from around my ankles. I didn't know where I was, no idea where I could be. My phone was still in my pocket, long forgotten in moments past. The first number I dialed was Shayley's. He answered on the first ring. "Chris?! Where are you?!" he practically screamed. I sniffed, trying to hold my voice. His breathing got frantic in the second.
"I don't know." I whispered, hoping Austin was far away enough not to hear me now. "Find me, please." I pleaded and hung up. I couldn't speak; I didn't dare for fear that he would come back.

Shayley found me on the ground, under a streetlight, crying my eyes out. He picked me up in his arms, and I held him close to me as he walked us back to the van. He didn't say anything; he just looked me over, seeing my state. I just cried and said nothing. I could tell we reached the vans when I heard the sound of the creaky door open and the voices of the other guys. He just set me down on the floor of the van, and I looked up to see everyone staring at me. "What happened to you?" Shayley whispered to me. I just shook my head, not wanting to tell him. "Christine, what the fuck happened to you?" he repeated with more emphasis. I inhaled, and exhaled.
"I was raped." I whispered back, and everyone heard.