Bound

They were laughing, but they always laughed at me. It was just another day. This time, however, I was wet. The gymnastics team I had once been a part of decided to go a different route of torture today and dump a bucket of water on me. They hadn’t done this before, so I had to congratulate them for their inventiveness, but it really was inconvenient.
I pulled my shirt over my head and sighed, ringing it out. “Well, at least it’s just water.” I couldn’t afford another uniform again and I really didn’t want to have to go to the teachers. Things hadn’t escalated to such a horrible point that I couldn’t deal with this myself. Besides, nothing they did could compare to what I had done, and, as petty as it was, they had their reasons for hating me.
Yup. Just another day. Apart from the fact that for the past few days, I’ve had the distinct feeling that someone was watching me.
I bent and grabbed my backpack and winced. My ankle still hurt even after a year. That really sucked, but there wasn’t much I could do that I hadn’t already done.
Tapping the toe of my sneaker on the floor to shock out the pain, I hefted my bag and flicked my ponytail over my shoulder, slinging my shirt behind me with a wet slap against my back. Lucky my camisole was black today. If it was white, I might have been in trouble. Well, I was probably going to get in trouble anyway for not wearing my shirt on school grounds. The teachers were going to have a hayday.
I let out a breath, grabbing my jacket. Maybe this was more malicious than I thought. It was freezing outside and snow already coated the ground. I would be lucky if I didn’t turn to ice by the time I got home.
Smirking, I trotted out of the classroom, down the hall and out the front door, ignoring the wide birth everyone gave me. It was the same every day. No one disliked me (excluding the gymnastics club), but no one liked me either. I was just one of those anomalies that didn’t matter either way. I was happy to keep it that way.
I twirled my hair, ringing out the ends as I stepped out into the chilly afternoon. I was so going to regret this walk later, but I had to get home to feed Pouch. The poor pooch couldn’t do anything without me and I hated leaving him home alone all day.
I was just about four minutes into my ten minute walk home when I heard a tiny, muffled cry and the dampened sounds of what seemed a fight. The evil laughter that filtered out only confirmed my suspicion. I back-traced a couple steps and leaned backwards, looking down an alley. Sure enough, what I found was a sickening sight. A man—probably in his later twenties—was terrorizing an elderly woman. The grungy man with his hair shoved under his dirty skiicap had the tiny, frail woman backed against a wall. Desperately, she held onto her purse, her body turned sideways to protect it. She was scared, definitely, but there was a fierce determination to not give in behind that. Definitely admirable.
I walked into the mouth of the alley, my shadow falling over the assailant. “You know, that’s not very nice.” The twenty-something hell-raiser looked over at me. “Didn’t your mother teach you to respect your elders?”
He gave me a grimace, but barely paid me any attention, still intent on scaring the old lady. “Beat it, kid. I don’t have time to teach you a lesson.”
I set my backpack on the ground and put my wet shirt across it, careful not to set them in a patch of snow or slush. The air was crisp and clean—well, as clean as it was going to be for a city crawling with cars and industrial buildings. It was a perfect day for dishing out some justice.
I cracked my knuckles, shaking my hands out as I walked towards the man. I was irritated and had been for a few days. The back of my head itched from being watched. I had no idea who was watching me or why, but it made me want to punch something. It was perfect timing for Mr. I-Like-To-Pick-On-The-Elderly to show up.
“I think that maybe I should teach you a lesson,” I told him.
The man back away from the woman, smiling with a nice set of pearly whites I couldn’t wait to knock out. He gestured for me to come at him. “I’d like to see that. Come and try.”
I braced my stance a little wider and ignored the warning in my right ankle. “Age before beauty.”
He wrinkled his nose in derision and raised a fist, charging. “You won’t be so pretty after I’m through with you!”
Easily, I ducked under his arm, pushing it aside. I didn’t remember when my reflexes had gotten so good or at what point I had learned that I could take down anyone in a fight, but it really did come in handy. Gymnastics had been a great way to test my reflexes and I had found that, though it was hard, constant work, it was easy. Well, easier for me than anyone else, it seemed.
I jabbed the man in the side with my elbow, shifting my weight onto my right leg and lifting my left, sending him sprawling with a kick to the back. I stood straight and righted my skirt, tugging my jacket into place, and ignoring the twinge in my ankle. “Finished?”
The man, obviously pissed, sat up with a hand to his bleeding nose. “You bitch. I’ll show you! Kreig!”
Suddenly I was grabbed from behind. “Woah!” On instinct, I dropped my weight and raised my arms, easily slipping out of my captor’s hold. With a sweep of a leg under him, I had him on the ground. Unfortunately, that gave Mr. New-Nose just enough time to land a good, solid punch across my cheek, sending me to the pavement. He didn’t waste time to sit on me, pulling one of my arms behind my back and using his free hand to pull my head up with my hair.
Pissed, I spat out some blood. “Bastard. Let the lady go, would you?”
He turned my head forcefully and I winced at the angle. “She’s already gone, you stupid girl. Look. Just you, me, my friend, and this dark little alley.”
“She’s kind of cute for someone that can kick your ass,” his friend—Kreig, I was guessing—said as he bent over me.
“Who was the one who took her down?”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you really going to fight over who took down a girl? So lame.”
Their faces went red in anger. Mr. New-Nose tugged on my hair painfully and I hissed. “Seems like you haven’t learned your lesson. What do you say we teach you again?”
I glared at them. “What do you say I scream?”
I heard the clinking of a belt and my head shot up as I watched Kreig undoing his belt. I clamped my mouth shut, ready to throw up as the first bit of fear inched its way inside me. They weren’t seriously going to—
“If we plug that hole of yours,” Krieg started, “you won’t be able to.”
He came closer and I squeezed my eyes shut just as he undid his zipper. There was no way in hell I was going to let this happen, but even I knew that two guys were too much for me. I struggled to loosen my arms from his grip, but gymnastics or not, this position was not one I contort myself out of.
I felt my assailant draw closer and I squeezed my eyes even tighter, stopping myself from letting frustrated tears leak out. Maybe that lady had gone to get help? I really hoped she had. I could use some saving right about now.
I heard a yelp of pain, a crack as if someone connected to a wall, and suddenly, I was free. I rolled over and was off the ground in seconds, back on my feet and ready to fight again. But I didn’t have to. Both culprits were down and out for the count, completely unconscious. Standing over them was a man, tall and dark and very, very imposing in a black trench coat with the collar popped, black jeans and leather combat boots that had seen much better days. His straight, black hair that was in serious need of a cut was covering his eyes and shadowing his face, so I had no idea what he looked like, but something seemed very familiar about him.
I dropped my arms, surprised but grateful. “Oh. . . Um, thank you.”
His attention turned onto me and a sharp awareness zinged through me like lightning. My blood felt on fire, but at the same time, I felt as if a healing calm came over me. Only one person had ever made me feel like this.
My arm stretched out involuntarily, my eyes wide as my mouth parted. “R-Rune?”
The man jerked, his head snapping up. The movement was quick and it threw his hair out of his face, revealing his sharp, defined features. It was him. I would never forget that face—I couldn’t let myself. The long nose, the soft, plush lips, the rounded chin, the thin, long brows and those long, long lashes. . But it was the lavender eyes that landed on me with slight fear and so much anger that left no doubt.
I took a step towards him and he stepped back swiftly. “R-Rune! Wait!”
I didn’t know how I knew that he would run, but I did, and I was right. He took off like a shot, out the alley and down the street. I spun on my heels, a sharp pain lacing up my leg—a warning that I ignored. I ran, kicking off the ground and watching my breath leave me in white clouds as I raced to catch up to my past, to him.
What was going on? Rune was alive?! What about Cyra? What happened that night? What was he doing here? So many questions were running through my head that I failed to pay attention as I sped down the sidewalk, pushing past people. I was desperate not to lose sight of that black trench coat.
“Rune, wait! Please!” I shouted, reaching out for him. I had gotten a little closer, but it wasn’t close enough. He was still so far. If only my arm was a little longer, if I could just touch him.
The tips of my fingers brushed his jacket and I felt some semblance of relief and success fill me, but it was short-lived. Pain shot through my right leg, centering around my ankle as I hit the curb wrong. I shouted at the sudden pain and my arms flailed as I tried to regain my footing and lost. I tumbled off the stupidly high curb and into on-coming traffic as people gasped and screamed. With a truck coming at me full-speed, I covered my face with my hands and squeezed my eyes shut, the horn of the truck blaring in my ears as I waited to hit the pavement.
“Kariin!” a deep voice shouted and something hard swiftly slammed into my body. I was propelled sideways and spun, landing on something soft as I hit the ground and slid. I heard a thunk, a squeal of tires, some screams and the slamming of car doors as people came out of their vehicles.
I pulled my arms down and sat up abruptly, looking down at Rune. It was him. I knew it. He had called my name. “Rune,” I said in relief. His eyes were closed, his head bleeding and his arms dropped from around me.
His eyes peeked open blearily and his hand came up, tangling and sliding through my undone hair. “Your hair. . . Look how long it’s gotten.”
I grabbed his hand, desperate for any kind of connection to him. My eyes filled. “I thought you were dead.”
His thumb stroked my cheek and he smirked weakly. Blood trickled down his cheek. “I was never far—you just didn’t look.”
Rune’s eyes closed and I felt the weight of his hand drop.
“Rune?” I asked, a little frantic. I shook his shoulder. “Rune? Wake up!”
“Kariin,” a voice cut through the noise that suddenly filled my ears and I turned to see William, a shop-keeper’s son from a nearby store and old friend, kneeling beside me. Concern was on his kind features. “What in hell happened? Who is this?”
I scrambled off Rune. “Help me, Will. Please. I need to get him to my house.”
William threw Rune’s arm around his shoulder and heaved him off the floor. Rune was nearly twice his size, but somehow, Will managed to lift him. He shifted Rune into a bridal position and scowled at me. “Kariin, we need to get him to a hospital.”
“No!” I snapped and his head snapped back as if I’d slapped him. “No,” I told him a little calmer. Rune hated hospitals, he wouldn’t want to wake up there. Besides, if he went to a hospital, I would never see him again. “Please, Will. Trust me, okay?” I gave him the best smile I could offer in my condition. “He needs to be with me.”
William was obviously confused, but, then, so was I. He stood there for a few minutes, debating the rights and wrongs of the situation, but, finally, he gave in on a sigh. “Alright. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”
I paused from turning, closing my eyes and blocking out the images that were assaulting me. “No,” I whispered. “I don’t think I do.” All I knew was that I wasn't going to let Rune go again.