Don't Look Back

I sink down to the bottom of the pool, my lungs about to give out. I stopped fighting the things I couldn't see that were slowly killing me. My lungs burned harshly in my chest as they threatened to burst. The weight on my ankle got heavier and heavier as my head floated off my body slowly, eyes no longer willing to open and search frantically at all.

Just when I thought I was going to die, a hand grabs my wrist and yanks me hard, trying to fight against whatever was pulling me down to the bottom of the pool. My limp body started to feel torn but finally gave way to float up. Is that you, Sam? When my head surfaces the water, I fight to take a deep breath, water I didn't even know I swallowed spilling out of my mouth.

"Kathreen? Oh my gosh! Just breathe." Sam's far off voice tells me, other muffled noises sounding in the background as I unavoidably let my eyes close. I start drifting off into my mind when my head strikes the concrete hard.

I plummet into colorful visions, unknown objects flying by me as I lay in a pool of deep blood. Austin floats right next to me, his eyes black holes. A sense of peace takes over me as I get closer to the gorgeous boy with the hollow eyes and black tattoos twisting up his arm. He takes my hand, one without skin, and pulls me to the surface of the blood.

Above the red liquid a store rages on, spewing water and hale from the sky in a big, violent, outburst. Voices shout from every direction, waves of deep blue smacking me in the face and pulling me under. Austin pulls me along and onto a boat, telling me something I can't hear. My long dress is stained deep red as I lay limply on the deck.

A fire starts despite the rain and ocean, spreading across the wooden boat quickly before engulfing me in their terrifying red heat. A sharp scream escapes my lips before the boat caves, plunging me into a clear blue sky. My body falls fast, cuts through the earth, and into the molten core. My feet weightlessly catch my fall in the steaming land of lava, not burning on the hot rock ground.

"Come, Kitty. Come sit with me on my throne." Austin says from across the space, sitting on a big patch of black rock surrounded by bubbling lava, a long black walkway leading to him. I take a step forward, hypnotized by the gorgeous man dressed in black. The second it lands I'm falling again, my body spinning in the air.

And this time, I land in a hospital bed, my eyes opening instantly.

My head pounds hard, IVs hooked in my arm. What in the hell happened? I look around as much as my sore eyes will let me, an oxygen tube leading into my nose. The white room with beeping sounds surrounds me, holding my parents, Sam, Sam's parents, Zack, and a nurse checking my machines.

"How are you feeling?" The older woman asks me in a soothing voice, placing her hand on my arm. My raw voice doesn't let me say anything at all to her. Mom comes rushing over, sitting on the chair next to my bed.

"Oh my gosh, Kathreen, you're awake!" She says, laughing quietly. Everyone starts to swarm me, making my already hurting lungs stress even more.

"You started drowning, then Austin's dumb ass busted your head on the side of the pool. You started bleeding like crazy so we called an ambulance. Luckily they got you in time." Sam says to me, taking my hand. Worry lines are deep in her face and she's the only one in the room who looks like she's had a panic attack in the last hour.

"You've been here for about 12 hours so far. They're talking about letting you go home in the morning." Dad tells me, his face hard as stone as usual.

I just look at them. What a fucking dumb ass! Letting my head crack open on concrete! I make a mental note to hit him in the head with a cast iron pan. Okay, that's mean, but still. I open my mouth to speak, everyone leaning in.

"Hit him with a cast iron pan, Sam." I force out of my raw throat. She starts laughing but shuts up as soon as her mom gives her a death glare. What, that was funny!

~~~~~

I sit on my bed with my fathers' aid, my head spinning harshly. My body starts heaving, threatening to throw up my breakfast. The metal garbage can that my room houses lands on my lap just in time for me to throw everything up. When I finish I hand it back to my dad, giving him a shy smile. He takes it and hands me some water before telling me it was best if I got some sleep.

My body lays back in the bed and for once I don't have a desire to sleep at all. Thoughts race through my mind quickly, ones I don't want there. Like Evan and Austin and Zack submitting to him... Oh shit, this will haunt me forever. A knock sounds on my door so I call for the person to come in, straining to sit up.

"Hi, sis. How do you feel?" My 13 year old brother, Kamren, asks as he comes into my room. His brown hair is styled short but hanging on the side of his face in bangs. I'd swear my skinny jean wearing, All Time Low obsessed brother was gay, but I have hope that he'll get laid soon. By a girl.

"A little sore, still. My head hurts really bad." I confess, his eyes instantly looking at it to see my wounds. "Wanna see my stitches?" I ask him, a grin spreading across his face before he comes over. I turn my head to the side a little, showing him the stitches housed on the very side of my forehead.

"That really sucks," he says, reaching forward to touch it but stopping as he realizes it might hurt me. "So Austin is the idiot who knocked ya out?" He asks.

"Yeah, we all knew he was rough, but c'mon. You can't just like, throw a drowning girl. I'm not sure what he was thinking." I say, shaking my head. He laughs before telling me he's gonna let me sleep, Evan is coming over.

Have I mentioned I really hope he's straight?