Her Eyes Say Yes

Her feet were so sore. Ariana groaned as she skated back to the kitchen, Hank smiling at her as she grabbed a burger and fries off the counter and set them on their assigned table. “How are you and the boy?” Hank smiled and Ariana blushed. It had been two months since Alex asked her to be his girlfriend. He still, however, talked to TheOne and Ariana wasn’t sure how to feel about it yet. She was on the border of jealous and flattered. Jealous because Alex didn’t know she was TheOne and still talked to her even though he was dating her but also flattered because of the sweet words and names Alex called her whether she was Ariana or TheOne.

“He’s great… they’re leaving for tour soon,” she bit her lip. They were leaving and Ariana was graduating in a month. Looking at the time, Ariana couldn’t stop the smile from crossing her face. Nine PM on a Friday. She could finally go home.

Ariana waved bye to Hank once she was done cleaning up and ran out to her bug, hopping in the driver’s seat. She put the key in the ignition and cranked the car, which sputtered and screeched until it stopped. Ariana’s eyes widened when the car wouldn’t start after repeated tries. With a loud groan, she pulled out her phone and his two on her speed dial, which led to Alex Gaskarth.

It rang five times and then cut to voicemail. Ariana sighed and pressed two again, holding the phone to her ear. “What?” A gruff voice asked.

“A-Alex?” Ariana cleared her throat.

“Ariana… Hold on guys,” she heard Alex stand up and move into a quieter room, “Sorry I didn’t know it was you babe.” He was slurring slightly. “What’s up?”

“Have you been drinking?” Ariana asked softly as she traded her skates for Vans and locked the car door.

“Yeah, I’ve had one, or four…” She took in a sharp intake of breath. The diner was a whole five miles away from her house. Not that far, but in the dead of night, it was quite scary. “You should come over, the whole gang’s here. Rian, Jack, Zack, Kara… loads of people.”

“It’s okay babe, I’m tired.” She sighed softly and said a soft goodbye.

“I love you Ari,” Alex’s drunk voice said and Ariana sucked in a deep breath.

“Goodnight Al, I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she hung up and shoved her phone into her tall sock before walking down the sidewalk, into downtown Towson, at nine thirty at night. The bars were alive and rather loud as Ariana walked past. Many people were littered around the entrances, making out, puking, doing both. Ariana’s nose wrinkled up as she walked by, a few men looking up to study her in her skirt, polo shirt and Vans. Ariana swallowed the lump in her throat. She was going to kill her friends tomorrow morning. Kill them. She walked past the bar called the Naughty Nine and from the music within, she realized it wasn’t just a bar.

“Hey beautiful,” a voice slurred and a hand wrapped around Ariana’s wrist. She was pulled back by a force stronger than any before. “I’m talking to you.” The guy was probably in his mid-twenties. He had black hair and scruff all over his face. His breath reaked of alcohol and his body was covered in the scent of perfume.

“Let me go, please,” she fumed. The man just grinned a sick grin and started walking, dragging Ariana along behind him. She ripped away and in reply, received a disgusting smack to the face. She let out a cry and the man just laughed, grabbing her upper arm and pulling her towards the parking lot. “Let me go!” Ariana screeched and the man grabbed his head, slamming her against a car. She let out a cry as tears filled her eyes and a fist came in contact with her stomach.

“I’ve been sitting in that strip club for three hours without boning anyone at all. You’re a gorgeous girl,” he pressed her against the car and whispered some very vulgar things in her ear about what he was going to do to her. That’s when the waterworks started. “Come on doll, get in my car.” He ripped her away from the black Kia and dragged her over to a large white SUV. He opened the back doors and put the two rows of seats down.

Ariana tried to rip away but was unrewarded when the man grabbed her by the waist, picked her up and threw her in the back of the SUV, despite her screaming for him to let her go. “My name’s Derek, thought you’d like to know that since you’ll be screaming it by the end of this.” He clambered into the back of the SUV and started to unbuckle his belt without even shutting the double doors. He pulled his pants down to mid-thigh and then followed his pants with his boxers. He put his weight down on Ariana’s small body and pushed her skirt and t-shirt up. He exposed her bra and panties. The man gave her a sick grin and took out his pocket knife.
Derek opened it and placed it between her breasts, pulling toward himself and cutting her bra in two before moving to her underwear. He placed the knife under the band on both sides, cutting and then ripping her underwear clean off.

“Please,” Ariana’s body wracked with sobs. She felt so ashamed as she laid in the back of a random SUV, exposed to a man she didn’t know, and only moments away from having herself
taken unwillingly.

“Shut the hell up,” he brought his hand down on her face again before straightening out and pumping himself a few times until he was hard.

“Let me the fuck go!” Ariana screamed and kicked him in the groin, sending him rolling out the back of the SUV in sheer pain. Ariana crawled out of the back and sprinted out of the parking lot. Heavy feet sounded behind her and then something tripped her, sending Ariana plummeting to the concrete ground. Ariana cried out in pain as her thighs, stomach, and face stung from being scraped against the ground. A hand grabbed the back of Ariana’s hair and slammed her face against the concrete, sending her into a black abyss.



A tall, broad shouldered man made his way out of the strip club, a wad of cash in his hand. One thing James Green loved about his dad owning strip clubs was the unlimited access to money. He turned the corner, his eyes leaving the ground and going to a white SUV that was playing music a little too loudly. He had an obligation to get the people to turn it down, after all it was his dad’s property. As he made his way over, he could tell something bad was happening. The lights were on and the back doors were open. James walked around the back and opened his eyes wide.

“Oh shit, sorry man.” James did a double take at the girl in the van. She had deep carvings down her face, filled with grit. Her legs were covered in road rash and there were tears falling from her closed eyes. “Wait a second…” the man took a step out of the van, still wearing boxers. James only wished he could say the same for the girl. She couldn’t be older than twenty. “What the fuck are you doing?” James felt fire in his veins.

“Fuck off, pipsqueak.” The man grinned and James couldn’t stop himself. He swung at the man and brought him to his knees. His own knee came in contact with Derek’s nose and the man fell flat on his back, unconscious. James took his cell phone from his back pocket and called for an ambulance before taking off his hoodie. He slipped it over the girls head, her arms tucked inside, and lifted her from the back of the SUV. Her blonde hair was caked in dried blood, and there were shallow and deep cuts all across her stomach and face. It was clear there would be some scarring.

“Come on, hurry up,” James breathed as he saw flashing lights in the distance, tapping his foot impatiently.