Bite Your Tongue

6:17 P.M.
Korinne;;

Simply lying on my bed got kind of boring, so after a while I moved on to playing the Sims 2. I was extremely enthralled in creating an interesting looking family of people to mess around with—so far I had an alien baby, a vampire, and two random people in bunny costumes.

I froze completely when I heard the door open downstairs.

“Korinne?” My mother’s voice traveled up the stairs and into my room. I paused my game, took a deep breath, and went downstairs.

My mom was in the kitchen, ordering Chinese food for dinner, while Elias sat at the table, looking bored. I waited while she gave the person our order, nervously avoiding Elias’s gaze by staring at the floor.

“Elias tells me you didn’t go to the sleepover, after all. There wasn’t anyone who could have driven you?” asked my mom after she hung up the phone. I shook my head.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry. There’ll be other slumber parties,” she said distractedly. She gave me a quick hug and checked her watch.

“Darn, I was supposed to call my boss as soon as we got back…” she trailed off and dashed from the room, leaving me alone with my favorite person in the world. Not.

The minute my mom was out of earshot, Elias leapt up from his seat. I took an involuntary step back and tried to calculate how long it would take me to run upstairs, but I didn’t have time for that.

“Did you go to Stevie’s house, Korinne?” Elias asked, walking forward until he had me trapped in the corner where two of the counters met.

I forced myself to look him in the eyes and shook my head. He frowned.

“Don’t lie to me,” he said through gritted teeth. I stared back at him, almost wishing he would get the pain over with. But then my mom’s footsteps signaled her return to the room, and Elias backed away and pretending to be looking for something in the refrigerator.

I let out the breath I hadn’t known I was holding as my mom walked in.

“I have to go and listen in on a conference call,” she said. “Can one of you stay here and answer the door when the food comes?”

I nodded. As my mom left, Elias made his way over to me again and seized my forearms in a grip so strong I thought the bones would snap right then and there.

“If I hear anything about you being anywhere near my friends on Friday… ” he trailed off, letting me finish the sentence for myself. I knew what would happen. He couldn’t find out where I had been, or I’d be dead. Simple as that.

+++

12:10 P.M.

I yawned as Ms. Larson came around to collect our homework. I hadn’t gotten any sleep last night because I just could not stop worrying about what was going to happen today. It consumed my every thought, and I was sure that I was going insane. Every little noise, even the sound of someone dropping a pencil on the floor, made me jump.

I passed through the day in a strange fog, so tired that I didn’t really feel tired but I knew that if given the opportunity, I could have gone straight to sleep in the middle of the floor. I had to be on my guard, though. I had toyed with idea of asking the girls not to say anything, but I couldn’t figure out a way to do so that wouldn’t require tons of follow up questions as to why, so I decided against it. I’d just have to hope that they wouldn’t blab about it.

I heard the lunch bell ring, and ignored it for a few seconds before standing up and heading out into the hallway with everyone else. I planned on sneaking away to the library to hide behind the bookshelves and read for the entire period to avoid the sticky issue of where to sit, and I was about to go upstairs when I heard someone calling my name.

“Korinne! Where the hell are you going?”

I turned around to see Stevie standing about a foot away, with Zacky and Matt not far behind.

“Come on!” she said, grabbing my arm. I winced slightly as she touched the bruise I had gotten last night and was relieved when she let go of me. Apparently the manhandling had only been to get me away from the stairs.

“Are you okay? No offense, but you look like a zombie,” Matt said.

I smiled; halfway through it turned into a yawn.

“Somebody’s not getting enough sleep,” Zacky mock-scolded. I shrugged and followed them, wishing more than anything that I could run far, far away from here.

I tried to think of a way to avoid lunch and came up with nothing. My hands began to shake and my stomach churned as I waited in line for a grilled cheese sandwich, nervously casting glances toward the table. When I had paid for my food, I walked over to the table and sat in the empty chair between Jimmy and Matt, hoping that they would act as human shields if Elias tried to get all homicidal on me during lunch. I waited anxiously as the table filled up.

“Mondays suck,” Johnny grumbled.

“You can say that again,” Delia replied. Everyone started in on their food and complained about various Monday annoyances. I kept my eyes on my grilled cheese and imagined myself sinking into a hole into the ground and never resurfacing again. The conversation floated around me but the words never fully reached my brain, until—

“Hey, Elias. Can I have a Hot Cheeto?” Zacky asked. My head shot up just in time to see my brother take his seat at the table. He handed the bag to Zacky, who let out a loud whoop and tore the thing open. Elias’s eyes landed on me, and I could’ve sworn that I felt my organs liquefying at that very instant. The look in his eyes sent chills down my spine in the worst way possible and instilled a terrible fear in me that I had never imagined I could feel.

“Korinne, are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” Jimmy observed. I nodded automatically, tearing my eyes away from what would surely be the source of my demise.

As the lunch went on, I started to feel dizzier and dizzier. At first I thought that Elias had somehow slipped me something toxic, but then I chalked it up to being so frightened that I had to remind myself to breathe. I abandoned my food and concentrated on not passing out whilst it continued to feel like a giant hand was inside of my chest cavity, continually squeezing the air out of my lungs.

Suddenly, I could taste my breakfast and lunch starting to crawl back up my throat and I knew I was going to be sick. I bolted from the table and ran, not paying any attention to the worried shouts from behind me. I reached the bathroom in record time and pushed past two girls who were leaving, making it into a stall only moments before the contents of my stomach forced themselves painfully out of my mouth. I clung to the sides of the toilet seat, gasping for air as I emptied my stomach.

When I was done I sat back against the wall and attempted to control the shaking in my hands as hot tears fell from my eyes. I wiped my mouth with some toilet paper and tried not to let out the loud, choked sobs that threatened to escape from me at any moment. I focused all of my energy on calming myself down, and I couldn’t do it. I was so scared; I couldn’t even begin to explain it. Nowhere was safe—anywhere I went, Elias would track me down somehow.

“Korinne?” I heard Delia’s voice call. Footsteps approached the handicapped stall I sat in, and I saw Delia’s lime green flip flops and Stevie’s red kitten heels standing outside of the door. A second later, Stevie’s face appeared in the gap between the floor and the bottom of the door. She sighed sympathetically, and, to my surprise, crawled into the stall.

“What happened? Was it something you ate?” she asked, eying me with concern.

No, actually, it was because I’m scared shitless of my brother. He’s trying to kill me, didn’t you know?

I nodded.

“Delia, go get one of the guys. I think we should take her to the nurse,” Stevie said. I heard footsteps walking off as Stevie reached into her purse and pulled out a small bottle of mouthwash. I instantly pegged her as one of those Mary Poppins people, the ones who carry everything and anything imaginable in their purses.

“Come on.” I took the hand Stevie was holding out and hoisted myself off of the ground. I stumbled a bit and had to lean on her to keep from falling down. Stevie helped me over to the sinks, where I swished the mouthwash around in my mouth to get rid of the terrible taste. I splashed some water on my face without looking in the mirror—I knew I must look hideous, there was no reason to make myself feel worse.

Jimmy was waiting outside of the bathroom when we emerged, with Zacky not far away, next to Delia.

“Shit, Delia,” Zacky said. “She’s even paler than you!”

Delia aimed a kick at his crotch, but Zacky backed away just in time.

“Fuckwad,” she muttered. Stevie rolled her eyes and turned to Jimmy.

“She’s really weak; do you think you could carry her, Jimmy?”

“Of course.” Before I even had time to do anything in protest, Jimmy had scooped me up in his arms. And it was such a relief to not have to focus on walking with all of the crazy shit going on in my head. I leaned against him, comforted by the warmth of his arms around me. Stevie and Delia chatted about something as we walked to the nurse’s office, which was conveniently right down the hall, but I didn’t try to catch what they were saying. I just wanted to go home. I knew that eventually, Elias would be home as well, but for the moment, I was away from him, and that was good enough for me.

The nurse was the saddest excuse for a medical professional I’ve ever seen in my life. She sent me home without even a second glance, proclaiming with a bored sigh that I probably had whatever stomach thingy that was going around. She didn’t bother with any of the usual things the nurse at my old school would have done, like calling a parent to inform them or have them take me home—nothing like that. Stevie told the rest of them to go back to lunch and that she could drive me home, but Jimmy refused to leave and tagged along. I don’t remember anything about the ride, just that I kept thinking of how easy it would be to simply unlock the door, throw it open, and hurl myself into oncoming traffic.

“Is it this house?” Stevie asked, slowing the car slightly. I nodded and she pulled into the driveway. Jimmy got out of the car again and came to pick me up, which I was grateful for. I didn’t feel as weak anymore and knew I could probably walk, but it was nice to be held. And I wasn’t exactly too thrilled about climbing the stairs to my bedroom, either.

Jimmy set me down on my bed and kept fussing around with the pillows so much that I laughed at him while Stevie bustled around downstairs. She entered the room a few minutes later with a bottle of water and a cup of steaming tea.

“Here,” she said, setting both things down on the nightstand. “We have to get back to school, but make sure you text someone if you need anything, okay?”

I nodded and gave her a small smile as thanks. Once they were gone, I took a few sips of the tea and was relieved to find that the nausea was going away. I crawled under the covers, and soon, I was asleep.

+++

4:00 P.M.

When I woke up, it was to the joyous sound of rain pattering against the windows. I opened my eyes and was greeted with the sight of a grey-green sky outside my window. The beach was barely visible through the veil of precipitation, but I could just make out the ocean, with its waves toiling back and forth viciously like I imagined the lava did before a volcano erupted.

Wonderful. A torrential downpour. Just what I need to brighten my day.

I sat up slowly. I didn’t feel as shitty as I had earlier. For a while I thought that I was actually sick; now I was just thinking I had made myself worry to the point of gastrointestinal distress. I got up, thankful that most of the weakness had vanished, and closed the blinds so I didn’t have to look at the rain. I wasn’t exactly scared of thunderstorms—I just didn’t like them, and looking at them wouldn’t make me feel any better.

A loud growl from my stomach told me that I was hungry, so I set off in search of food. The house was dark when I went downstairs, and it kind of creeped me out, so I switched on every light possible on my way to the kitchen. I was halfway through heating up some leftover fried rice when I heard a key turning in the front door.

The fear that had left returned immediately, washing over me and capturing me in its overwhelming grip. I glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was way past the time when school had let out. Why hadn’t I looked at the clock before?

I peeked through the blinds on the kitchen window and knew right then that I had to hide. Brian’s car was just starting to make its way next door, and there was no way that my mom had gotten a ride from Brian. It had to be Elias who was opening the door, and that wasn’t good. He may or may not have known about my going to Stevie’s house, but either way, I was royally screwed.

I hastened to stop the microwave and did right as I heard the front door click open. I froze. Footsteps sounded in the hallway. I wasn’t sure where he was going to go, and I needed to know that valuable information before I planned any sort of escape route.

A relieved sigh fell from my lips as the footsteps veered off in what sounded like the direction of the basement. I knew I had enough time to get upstairs and into my room if Elias went into the basement, so I tiptoed to the stairs and ascended them as quietly as possible. I reached my room and was going to close the door when movement across the hall stopped me in my tracks.

Elias was leaning against the doorway of the bathroom, glaring viciously at me. He saw me looking and stepped forward.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked, sounding completely calm. My hand was poised on the doorknob, but I was too shocked to do anything sensible like close the door. I was too busy trying to figure out how he had beaten me upstairs. Elias frowned when I didn’t answer him and came closer.

“I know you can hear me. You’re not deaf,” he spat. “Answer me!” he shouted. I flinched at the sudden increase in volume, and other than that, didn’t respond.

“Bitch,” Elias muttered. He lunged for the door, and, too late, my common sense kicked in and I made to close the door. Elias’s shoulder connected with the door and forced it open; it would have hit me in the face if I hadn’t stumbled back in surprise.

He seized my shoulders and shoved me backwards, slamming my back into the wall.

“What part of ‘leave me and my friends the fuck alone’ do you not understand?” he sneered angrily. I squirmed under his grasp and he only held me tighter for a few seconds before turning and pushing me across the room. I went flying in the direction of my desk and tripped over the chair, feeling tears start to sting my eyes as my knee came in painful contact with the floor.

“You’ve already destroyed our family, Korinne. Don’t fucking destroy my life too!” Elias shouted. I scrambled to stand up, but I couldn’t regain my balance since my knee was wobbly and I ended up falling against the window. Elias ran after me, hitting me across the face with his fist while I grabbed at the blinds in an attempt to get to my feet.

“I hate you! Why can’t you just stay the fuck out of my business?” he screamed. He lunged for me and I managed to move at the last second, causing him to catch hold of the blinds and rip them down in one swift movement. I ran for the door and fell once more on the threshold, but I picked myself up quickly as I could almost feel Elias’s breath on the back of my neck. I tore down the stairs and hesitated at the bottom, trying to think of somewhere to go. Then loud pounding from behind me forced me into motion again, and I dove into the first room I saw—the kitchen. I was about to get under the table when arms roughly clutched my waist from behind and hurled me into the refrigerator.

“You think you can run away from me, you idiot?” Elias yelled as I smacked into the appliance. The force of the impact threw me to my knees and I struggled to stand up again.

“It should have been you who died, not Grandma,” he said loudly. I heard him slide open a drawer with so much force that it was yanked out of the cabinet. I looked up in curiosity, only to immediately drop back to the ground when I saw that it was the silverware drawer he held in his hands.

“Just get out! Get the fuck out!” I guessed that he had hurled the drawer at me, because the next thing I knew, I was being pelted by tons of sharp cutlery. I didn’t look to see what would happen next—I had to get out of here. I brought my hands down from where they had been wrapped protectively around my head and used them to push myself to my feet, gasping as I felt something cut into both of my palms.

I saw Elias rushing at me out of the corner of my eye and didn’t think, I just ran. I ran faster than I ever have to the front door and fumbled with the lock for a few terrifying moments before wrenching it open. And without any hesitation, I burst through the doorway and took off into the pouring rain.

+++

Brian;;

I hope Korinne’s okay, I thought as I shut off the engine. I had offered to come inside and help, but Elias had assured me that he’d take care of her. I didn’t know why, but I was worrying like there was no tomorrow. I had noticed that she didn’t look too good at lunch, and I wanted to go see what was wrong when she ran to the bathroom, but Zoe had stopped me. She had seemed almost glad that Korinne was gone, and I didn’t get why. Zoe usually wasn’t the jealous type, so this behavior mystified me even more.

I got out of the car, locked it, and then proceeded into the house, closing the garage door behind me. I had sent Korinne a text during last period to see if she was okay, but she never responded. And I really hoped that meant she was sleeping, and not being slowly eaten alive from the inside out by a deadly parasite or something.

My mom wasn’t home when I walked in, thank god. She’d been getting on my last nerve lately. I was so happy that I only had another year or so of living here.

I really didn’t want to do any homework, so I dropped my backpack on the floor in the living room and went upstairs. I turned on the TV in my room the second I walked in and began the search for some entertainment. I finally settled on The Fairly Oddparents, which I hadn’t watched in forever.

Lightning flashed outside, and I rolled my eyes. It was kind of distracting when you were watching TV. I got up and went to close the blinds, but not before taking a good look at the sky. I loved the way the world looked during a thunderstorm—it was as if everything was underwater. My gaze eventually landed on Korinne’s bedroom window. Her blinds were closed, so I couldn’t be sure if she was sleeping or anything. I sighed and was about to go and get my phone when a movement made me stop.

It looked like a cat had been pawing at the window, but as far as I knew, they didn’t have a cat. I watched more closely, trying to figure out if I was just imagining things or not, and was completely taken by surprise when the blinds vanished completely, as if ripped down. I frowned and leaned closer to the window to get a better look.

I saw Korinne run out of the room, closely followed by her brother, Elias. Once they were both gone I could see that a chair I assumed went with her desk had been knocked over.

What the hell?

I stayed by the window in case one of them reappeared, but saw nothing. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small form running away from the house and squinted to see who it was…and it was Korinne.

What is she doing? It’s pouring outside!

I stood at the window for a moment, confused, before doing the only thing I could think to do. I grabbed a jacket and ran out in the rain after her.

+++

Korinne;;

It was cold. Freezing cold and it baffled me, because this was California, goddammit. It shouldn’t have been this cold. Though I suppose the rain might have had something to do with that.

I didn’t know where I was running to, but I couldn’t stop. I had to get away and go somewhere, anywhere. My feet kept moving, and I soon realized that I was headed straight for the ocean. The ocean, with its dangerous tidal swells and salty waters, glared back at me, almost challenging me. And it suddenly seemed like the perfect place to go.

I felt my feet touch the water and then I knew there was no going back. The cool crispness of the liquid chilled me to the bone, but I kept running. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore and then just collapsed face first into the waves. A bunch of water rushed into my eyes, nose, and mouth, and I brought my head to the surface, gasping. My eyes were stinging, my throat was burning, and the cuts on my hands I had forgotten about felt like they were on fire.

Good job, Korinne. Everyone knows salt water is just SO soothing on cuts and scrapes.

The current was a lot stronger than I’d expected. I wasn’t even kicking my legs, and yet I was being thrown about by the waves. Lightning flashed, illuminating the sky above for an instant. A large wave crashed over my head and I was sucked under. I didn’t have time to close my eyes or take a breath, and suddenly I was surrounded by the greenish-blue depths. My eyes stung even more as I blindly swam in the direction I thought the surface was. I panicked as I coughed in an attempt to clear the scratchiness in my throat and ended up with a mouthful of water. I couldn’t see the sky anymore, was it above me or below me? The waves knocked me around and around until the point where I couldn’t breathe and my vision was starting to get fuzzy, and right when I thought I was done for, my head broke the surface.

I took huge gulps of air as I helplessly tried to stay afloat. I kept my eyes closed since they hurt like hell and concentrated on taking in as much oxygen as possible before the waves decided to go all ‘you’re gonna die, bitch’ on me again. But then, I thought, why bother? All I’ll be doing is making sure I’m alive to suffer through another beating or something else equally discouraging. What’s the point?

I thought I heard someone calling my name, but I was probably just imagining it. No one would be coming to look for me, except maybe Elias, so he could quicken the drowning process, perhaps. I went still and let the ocean move me around. I slipped underwater again and this time, I didn’t bother to open my eyes. I didn’t bother to kick, or move my arms, or anything. I felt myself slowly falling downward as my lungs started to scream for air, and I wondered why I had been trying so hard to live when death was just this simple.

And then an arm found its way around my waist. I had the fleeting thought that it was an octopus, rising from the depths of doom to finish the job, but an octopus would have pulled me down farther, not up towards the surface. I let whoever it was pull me, and soon I felt the rain on my face again as we reached the surface.

Involuntarily, I took as many breaths as I could in between coughs. I opened my eyes the best I could without it being too painful and nearly passed out when I saw a familiar face swimming us both back towards shore. Brian held me firmly against him as he propelled us both forward through the water with strong strokes.

It didn’t take long to reach the beach. Brian let go of me—to catch his breath, I guessed—and I collapsed on the wet sand, shivering violently.

“Can you walk?” he shouted over the rain. I coughed in response, and he took that as a no, because seconds later I was in his arms and he was hurrying towards his house.

As we approached a side door, it dawned on me that I had never been inside of his house. And I was kind of excited, event though my visit wasn’t exactly under ideal circumstances. Brian opened the door with one hand and ushered me into the house. I couldn’t really see much through my squinted eyes, but the house appeared to be around the same size as mine, if not larger. Brian hurried me up some stairs and took a sharp left at the top into a large bathroom. He set me down on the closed toilet seat and then grabbed a towel from the rack on the opposite wall, wrapping it tightly around me.

“I’ll be right back,” he said. He disappeared from the room and I pulled the towel closer with my fingertips, since my palms were still stinging. My eyes itched and I wanted nothing more than to stick my entire head into a bowl of something soothing. I was shivering, so violently that I had to hold on to the edge of the bathtub next to the toilet to keep from falling over.

Brian returned less than a minute later with something in his hands, but I couldn’t see exactly what it was through my squinted eyes. He knelt in front of me.

“Here,” Brian said. He placed what felt like a wet towel in my hand and guided it up to my face, where I pressed the towel gently against my eyes. The stinging subsided a bit after a while and I eventually dropped my hand. The towel fell to the floor on accident and Brian bent to pick it up, but not before he did a double take at the cut on my hand.

“Korinne…your hands…” he said. He looked up at me in disbelief, and I looked away.

“You’ve got sand in the cut…here, come wash your hands.” I stood up slowly and made my way over to the sink. Brian turned the water on and I gingerly placed my hands under the stream, wincing at first but then growing more comfortable as the water rinsed the sand from my wounds.

The towel slipped from my shoulders when I went to dry my hands, but it didn’t really matter. I was warming up a bit, and the towel was starting to get soaked from my hair. I turned back to Brian and looked at him in confusion after seeing the look of shock on his face.

He walked forward and gently turned me so I could see my back in the mirror. The back of my yellow t-shirt was stained with blood. Shit.

Brian looked at me, and I saw zillions of questions in his eyes. I wished he would just keep them to himself.

“I think you need to take that shirt off,” he said. WHAT?! My eyes grew wide. Brian smiled softly, and I could’ve sworn I saw a faint blush rise on his cheeks.

“I’m not going to…look at you…or anything…” he explained. “I just want to make sure you don’t need stitches.”

I can’t take my shirt off in front of you. I wish I could, but I can’t.

“I’ll go get you another shirt; that one’s soaked anyway.”

I panicked while he was gone. I wanted to get out of this shirt—there was no denying that; it was cold and wet—but if I took it off; he would surely see the bruises on my back. And they weren’t small bruises, either. Plus, I wasn’t exactly wearing the most alluring bra…not that that mattered, of course. He returned before I had time to make a decision and set a comfy-looking black shirt on the counter by the sink. Brian looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Korinne…” he began. I sighed and rolled my eyes before turning to face the mirror and quickly lifting the shirt off of my head. I placed it on the counter and crossed my arms over my chest, fearing what was coming next.

It was merely a sharp intake of breath.

+++

Brian;;

I gasped in shock when Korinne took off her shirt. I was expecting to just see a few cuts, maybe—not several large purple bruises. The backs of her arms were bruised as well.

“Holy shit…” I muttered without thinking. Korinne looked up and caught my eye in the mirror. I moved closer to her, trying not to look at her…erm, chest, and touched her shoulder gently. She flinched.

“Sorry,” I said. I looked over her back, and except for the bruises, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The cuts weren’t deep enough to necessitate stitches. I reached across the counter to get her wet shirt and hand her the dry one, accidentally touching my arm to her bare stomach in the process. I heard her gasp quietly, and I looked up to see her turning slightly pink.

“Sorry,” I said again. Korinne shook her head, and I guessed that meant it was okay. She took the dry shirt from me and slipped it over her head, wincing slightly from the movement. She remained facing the mirror, but looked at the floor.

“Korinne, what happened?” I asked softly. She shook her head, but as I continued to watch her in the mirror, I saw tears filling her eyes. I didn’t know why, but the sight of her crying just about broke my heart. I was suddenly angry at whatever had caused this, and I wanted to destroy it.

I looked her over again and realized that she was still wearing the same jeans.

“Crap. You probably need different pants, too,” I said. I left the bathroom and went down the hall to my room. I flicked the light on and rummaged through a drawer, looking for some old shorts or something that would fit her. I gave up after not finding anything and headed for my mom’s room to see if she had anything.

It was still raining outside, though not as hard as before. As I searched I puzzled over everything. What had happened to Korinne? I mean, first of all, I see Elias chasing her out of her own bedroom. Then she goes outside in the pouring rain, runs into the ocean, and nearly drowns. What the hell?!

I was so confused. This wasn’t making any sense. And those bruises! There’s no way she could have gotten those from the water, no matter how strong the current was. It almost looked like…like she had been in a fight, but Korinne was probably the last person I’d ever expect to do something like that. As far as I knew, she didn’t have any enemies. And it wasn’t like her mother was an alcoholic; from what I’d seen, she was hardly ever home.

I shook my head and finally located one of many pairs of my mom’s pajama pants. I made sure they were clean and returned to the bathroom. Korinne looked up, startled, when I came in. I gave her the pants and shut the door so she could change.

I still had no idea what to do. It wasn’t like she had a possessive boyfriend, or something like that, who could have done this to her. And if she did, certainly her brother would have taken care of it.

A feeling of unease settled over me as the most random of thoughts flew into my head. Elias. But…no, that was crazy. He’s her brother. He wouldn’t be hurting her like this.

But you know, he didn’t exactly look too thrilled when she started sitting with us.

That’s true…and he also didn’t tell anyone about her…

No. This is silly. I can’t just accuse her brother of doing something like that—Elias is my friend! He’s not…he wouldn’t…

It can’t hurt to ask.

I sighed. I can’t believe I’m about to do this. I knocked on the door.

“Are you done?”

The door opened a few seconds later. I pushed on it and walked in. Korinne was leaning against the wall, looking at the floor again. I didn’t get why she always did that—I liked her eyes. She didn't need to hide them all the time.

“Korinne…” I took a deep breath. “Who did this to you?” Her head shot up in alarm. Her eyes met mine briefly, and I saw the raw terror hidden beneath the warm brown color before she looked away. She shook her head.

I moved closer to her and put a hand on her face, gently lifting up her chin so she’d have to look at me.

“Was it your mom?” I asked. I didn’t want to jump right in to what I really wanted to ask.

She shook her head. And I prepared myself to ask the next question. I just hoped I wasn’t wrong about this.

“Was it Elias?” I asked, almost inaudibly. I knew she had heard me, though, for the second the words left my mouth, her eyes widened and filled with tears. She broke away from my grasp, shaking her head vigorously. And I knew I had my answer.

I tentatively took a step towards her, and when she didn’t move away, wrapped my arms around her gently as to not worsen the bruises. I could feel her body shaking with sobs.

“It was him, wasn’t it?”

I felt her nod slightly against my chest and pulled her closer as she began to cry harder. I don’t know how long it was that we stood there, with me letting her cry, her salty tears staining my shirt. It seemed like hours, though it was probably only minutes. I didn’t mind in the slightest. I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I knew that I didn’t ever want to let her go.

She stopped crying after a bit, and I pushed some of the hair off of her face.

“You can stay here tonight, if you want,” I offered, without even thinking. Korinne’s eyes widened.

“I can call your mom and tell her that you’re at Stevie’s to do a project or something.”

She wiped her eyes and nodded before giving me a small smile—of thanks, I assumed. I insisted that she stay in my room; the guest room was cold enough at night to freeze someone’s ass off. I tried not to think about how much I liked the thought of her in my bed as I tucked the covers around her. I turned out the light, but left the lamp on in case she didn’t like the dark. Then I closed the door almost all the way and leaned against the wall next to it.

I didn’t know what to do, or think. Thoughts were buzzing around in my head like bees, and I couldn’t make sense of any of them. I needed to talk to someone, someone who could help me figure out what to do.

So I picked up the phone and called Zacky.