It's What Makes Me, Me

She crumbled in his arms, tears flowing down her face, I felt bad for Lexii as she found shelter in Charlie's arms. Every time we found her she was crying and looked battered, a magnet for trouble and abuse. I couldn’t understand but even now she had some sort of beauty, after all her suffering and pain; with eyes shining and pure skin, gorgeous was an understatement. No I couldn’t think about her in that way, she wasn’t mine it was Charlie she had kissed.
This time she wasn’t alone...Wait, what was Ellie doing here? She looked just as terrified as Lexii but not as grateful to see us, they were safe at least for now. What had happened to them? The paleness of Ellie’s face indicated some sort of shock, letting the trails of individual teardrops remain visible on her cheeks. I felt bad for her, no one had come looking, she’d been gone for days and not a single person had cared, we were that reminder to her, all five of us searching for Lexii. I couldn’t restrain myself; I had to make sure she didn’t feel alone, unloved and unwanted. I wrapped my arms around her just as she started to cry, she didn’t care that I wasn’t popular or ‘normal’ she just enjoyed the support I was offering her.
It had been all my fault; I had sentenced Lexii to this. My mind went back to that night sat sheltered in the tree house I had been talking out loud and hadn’t noticed I wasn’t alone. The shadowy figure was pulling a mobile phone away from his ear, the laugh echoing from his lips. The stranger was male, who was he? Was he even invited? From that moment I knew I had screwed up, I only hoped Lexii would be able to forgive me. That’s it I couldn’t handle it anymore, all of my self control abandoned me. I stood alone on that dirt track, the salty drops forming in my eyes before brimming over, the makeup showing tiny rivers down my cheeks. No longer able to hold my body’s own weight I dropped to my knees, the stones abruptly forced into my kneecaps caused pain to shoot through my system, but that would have to wait I needed to confess.
Blankly she stared at me her eyes so hollow, open doors reaching into my soul; I had to do it now! ‘Lex...Lexii... I’m so sor...sorry’ I forced the statement out, would she forgive me. ‘It wasn’t your fault...’ ‘You don’t know what’ve done’ I interrupted quickly before she could say my name I don’t think I could’ve stayed calm if she had. I spilled my guts the night of the party, the shadowy man and the sinister laugh that fell from his lips; I knew that it was my fault she had been taken from us. Lexii’s face dropped, all had become clear ‘I forgive you’ these words fell softly from her lips as she cradled me in her arms; I was more broken than she was even after all that had happened.
I didn’t believe the forgiveness, no one should forgive that quickly or had my actions broken her so badly? ‘But why was I there?’ Ellie had finally calmed down; spurred by my confession she too wanted answers. ‘Had you done anything to piss them off?’ we all stared quizzically at her ‘not that I know of’ we were getting nowhere, there had to be someone else involved another player in this sick game, but who?
It had to be someone we knew, someone close enough to be friends with and then betray Ellie as well as knowing Lexii, they had to know about the party to the one where I doomed Lexii to the terrible fate she had suffered. It was time, time for us to know what exactly they had suffered. Before Lexii could utter a single syllable the fluent mass of words fell from Ellie’s tongue ‘She was so brave, they didn’t hurt me at all she made sure of that, I probably owe you my life’ her final words directed to Lexii, who with tears in her eyes nodded to agree.
After the tears stopped lexii began ‘well after he’d taken me he locked me in his basement, leaving me there for what felt like days until he appeared, and after some strange dream...’ what was that look? Lexii and Charlie just stared at each other almost as if they’d shared this connection. She continued ‘After his own fun the others bought Ellie down, I didn’t know it was her at first, I was tied to the chair blindfolded at this point. Then the next assault happened, we planned our escape then came the difficult bit actually escaping and looking at this situation I think we might have. Oh and I kicked Elliot in the balls’ wincing with pain at the thought of a ball shot, I was so proud of her.
They were running through my head now all those images of Lexii and Ellie being tied up and tortured. ‘We should get out of here before someone finds us’ I spurted out trying to hide my thoughts from everyone including myself..
The little devil sat on my shoulder giggling away, what was this thing I’d started seeing? I was losing my mind again...