In My Arms

Kasey P.O.V.
I was in a deep sleep when I felt someone start to poke my side. I groaned and opened my eyes slowly only to find one of the guys trying to wake me up.
“What?” I groaned.
“Wake up.” He said.
“Why?” I asked turning over.
“To keep me company! I’m bored.” He said and continued to poke my side.
“No! I’m tired!” I pouted. Instead of him walking away like I hoped he would he picked me up in my blankets and carried me down stairs. As we passed the kitchen I saw Matt sitting out the counter as he noticed us.
“Don’t drop her Jimmy!” He shouted. He walked down some stairs into what seemed like a basement.
“Where are we?” I asked as he sat me down.
“The rec room. We have tons of stuff to do. How about we play some video games?” He asked.
“Ok.” I said. He brought out two controllers and popped a disk into a game box system.
“Here’s your controller.” He said handing it to me.
“What do I do?” I asked looking at the screen. Quickly he showed me all of the controls and then the game started. We were playing something called black ops. My character was currently running through a house trying to kill Jimmy’s character. Suddenly I saw his character climbing up the stairs to get me.
“You’re as good as dead munchkin!” He shouted. I tried to shoot him but I couldn’t figure out what button to press. The strange thing was that he had the perfect chance to kill me as he backed me into a corner, but he didn’t. As soon as I realized what button to press I pressed it over and over again until he was dead.
“Ah man you killed me!” He shouted. Slowly I turned to look at him.
“You’re a jerk! You let me win.” I stated putting the controller down.
“So what? Maybe I did.” He said shrugging his shoulders.
“I’m hungry.” I said simply.
“Alright let’s go get breakfast.” He said and lifted me up from the couch. He carried me all the way up the stairs and sat me on a stool next to Matt.
“Hi.” I said softly looking at my hands.
“Hey.” He said looking at me. Before I could say anything else Jimmy set a bowl of cereal in front of me. As I began to eat it Jimmy and Matt talked about what they wanted to do today. Matt suggested having a BBQ with the guys and going swimming, and then Jimmy agreed. Once I was done Matt told me to put my bowl in the sink and go get changed. As I was walking over to the sink I slipped on the floor because of my socks and fell to the ground, making the bowl shatter and the milk spill. I saw Matt get up from his chair and rush over to me and I feared the worst. Quickly I scooted as far away as possible. Suddenly I felt my whole body start to shake and tears fall from my eyes.
“I’m sorry it was an accident.” I cried. He reached out for me but out of instinct I scrambled back even further and put my hand up to block his fist. But his fist didn’t hit me. He just stood there.
“Sweetie, I’m not going to hurt you.” He said softly. Quietly he bent down to me and wiped my tears away. I let out shaky breath as he looked me in my eyes.
“Why are you so scared of me?” He asked softly. I was too terrified to say anything so I just sat there.
“You’re bleeding.” He said looking at my hand. I looked down quickly only to see a red line seeping out blood.
“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” He said and gently lifted me up. We walked upstairs to the bathroom and he set me on the sink. He looked around the bathroom and finally found some bandages and other stuff. But as soon as he opened the bottle of peroxide I tried to run away.
“No Kasey!” He said pulling me back, “We need to clean the cut up or it could get infected.” Grudgingly I stopped and he set me back up on the counter. Once he poured a little peroxide on a cotton ball he dabbed my cut with it. It stung a little and tear seeped out of my eye.
“All done.” He said and put a bandage over it. As I cradled my hand he put everything away.
“Ok, get changed into your bathing suit and meet me down stairs ok?” He asked. I nodded my head and he walked out. Slowly I walked to the dresser that held all of my clothes and found one of my old bathing suits. Once I was back in the bathroom I started to take off my clothes. But I stopped halfway when I saw my body in the mirror. I saw all of the bruises and cuts that scattered my body. I couldn’t wear a bathing suit. Surely they would see all of this. And I couldn’t let that happen. If anyone found out about what my parents did to me, I would die. Not even thinking clearly I put my clothes back on and walked down stairs. I saw the patio door open and walked outside.
“Why didn’t you get changed?” Matt asked walking up to me.
“I-I don’t want to.” I said stuttering.
“Why not?” He asked. I looked around nervously and saw everyone eavesdropping.
“I-I can’t s-swim.” I stuttered again.
“I can teach you. And even if you don’t get in the water why don’t you just get changed anyway? It’s hot out.” He said. I shook my head no and stared at my feet.
“Alright, just go sit down somewhere. Brian brought out a puzzle for you to do.” He said placing his hand on my shoulder. He walked me over to Brian and I sat at the table. I picked up the box to the puzzle and looked at the picture. It seemed hard but I liked puzzles. After a couple minutes Matt walked away leaving Brian and I alone.