Please Don't Make Me Beg

**Andi's POV**

Pain, so much pain. It feels like my skull is coming apart. I can't seem to lift my head, and everything is spinning. Someone's yelling, people yelling and running...the grass is so cool...I'm so tired....

***********

Evan's arm whipped back and he spun around to see Dan launching himself toward him.

"You fucking bastard!" Dan bellowed, tackling him and sending them both rolling on the sidewalk. Evan's hands closed around the taller boy's throat as he pinned him to the ground, and as Dan struggled to break his grip, Evan leaned closer until their faces were mere inches apart.

"Never speak to her again--never touch her--or I swear I'll kill you!" he hissed between gritted teeth. His eyes were mad, rolling, and droplets of froth from his lips spattered Dan's cheeks.

Dan's ears were filled with a high-pitched whining, and he could feel his eyes bulging in their sockets. Then, over Evan's shoulder, he saw a stocky man in a flannel shirt throw his burly arms around Evan and toss him to the side.

Sweet, cool air rushed into Dan's lungs as he coughed and gasped. He looked toward
Andi's motionless body and began to crawl toward her, blood still filling his mouth with a coppery taste. He reached her side, and inhaled sharply when he saw the hideous bruise blooming on the side of her face. Gently, he touched her other cheek and turned her head toward him.

"Andi? Andi, can you hear me?" he rasped, coughing again. "It's Dan. Wake up, Andi."

Her eyelids fluttered slightly, and her eyebrows drew together in an effort to focus on him. From somewhere behind her, she could hear furious shouting, but the only thing her stinging eyes could make out was Dan's face, streaked with dirt and blood.

"Hey, kiddo, you okay?" His hopeful smile swam into focus and she nodded slowly, unsure if it was true. She gingerly lifted her head off the ground, but immediately winced as the wave of pain washed over the side of her face again.

"Take it easy, now. You've got a bad bruise, and you might want to get your eye looked at pretty soon. Hang on a second and let me get somebody to give us a hand."

Dan stood and looked around, his hand still rubbing at the tender skin on his throat. A few feet away, Evan was muttering thinly veiled threats in his direction, as the man in the flannel shirt sternly gripped his collar and maneuvered his barrel chest between the two boys.

"Son, you better walk away if you know what's good for you," the man warned. "There's a lot of people who just watched you raise your hand to that young lady, and that doesn't go over well in a place like this. Just let it go," he rumbled, and though Evan's face still promised trouble, he took a tentative step backwards, lowering his clenched fists gradually.

"Just get the fuck away from me," he spat, but it seemed the fight had gone out of him for the moment, confronted with someone he couldn't intimidate.

In the distance, he could hear the wail of sirens, and his upper lip pulled up in a furious snarl.

****************

Three hours later, Andi sat in the front seat of the car, holding a plastic bag of crushed ice against her left eye. She leaned forward, her head almost resting against the dashboard, and Dan sat stiffly at the wheel, reading the after-treatment instructions from the urgent care. Evan lay in the back seat with his arm across his eyes, breathing heavily. He had refused to go inside with Andi.

"Oh, Andi, did you forget your purse inside?" Dan asked, looking pointedly at Andi. She glanced down at the studded bag on the floor between her feet, more confused than she already felt, then looked back up at Dan. His expression told her she should read between the lines, so she followed his lead.

"Yeah, I think I did. Thanks for catching it. I think I'm still kind of fuzzy."

"Well, you need someone to walk back with you to find it." He looked over his shoulder toward Evan's unmoving form, unable to see if his eyes were open. "Evan, man, you want to walk Andi back inside to find her bag?"

No answer.

Dan nodded at Andi, and they opened their doors quietly, hoping not to wake him.

They followed the sidewalk around the corner of the building, toward the front entrance. Dan threw one last quick look toward the car, and seeing nothing moving inside, turned back to Andi.

"Listen, why the hell didn't you press charges? The police could have taken him in and we could be heading back home right now. Are you seriously going to go through with this?" he asked, holding the purse she had stuffed under her shirt so Evan couldn't see it. She rewrapped the towel around the ice pack and took the purse back from him.

"Dan, I don't know what I'm going to do yet. All I know is we're about four hundred miles from home and we're in his car. I'd really like to just get where we're going and find out if any of what he's told us about Craig is for real. Maybe when we get there, he'll stop being so nervous and calm down. If he doesn't, maybe I can find somewhere else to stay until I know what I want to do."

"Well, you and I need to have each other's backs. Don't think I'm freezing you out if I don't say much to you, but I don't know if I can handle him by myself if he goes off again." Dan shifted his weight uncomfortably, wishing he felt more confident, but the strength of Evan's grip had surprised him. He wasn't sure how much worse it might have been if the flannel guy hadn't shown up.

"Okay, Dan. But before we go back, I just wanted to say thank you for what you did back there. And for sitting with me to wait for the doctor. You're a good bandmate," she said. "And a good friend."

Sheepishly, he shrugged his narrow shoulders. "No problem. Three Musketeers and all that."

"Yeah, all for one--"

"And one for all."

"Right" She gave him her usual mini-punch on the arm as she passed to go back to the car, but this time it was weak and half-hearted.

"Owww!" he moaned dramatically. "You hurt me, you brute!"

The unbruised side of her face lifted in a long-suffering grin. "I'm sure you're damaged," she said, rolling her eyes.

They made sure they walked several steps apart as they crossed the parking lot again. Luckily, Evan's head was still not visible over the seats.

Before they reached the car, Andi paused.

"What is it?" Dan asked.

"I know this might sound kind of silly, but I was just thinking it might not be a totally bad idea to give my mom a quick call. Just so someone knows where we are and all," she added hastily. "I mean, I don't want her putting out a APB or anything." It embarrassed her a little to sound as though she were a kid calling her mom for help.

"Yeah, I think you may be right. Doesn't hurt to have somebody kind of keeping up when you're on a long trip like this."

The words they used were almost like code, not quite hiding the real meaning they both knew lay between the sentences.

Fishing in her purse, she found the small silver phone and pressed the "On" button. Frowning, she pressed it again, then a third time.

"What the--" she mumbled, and turned the device over to slide off the back cover. Maybe the battery had jostled loose in the cluttered depths of her bag.

Her heart skipped a beat, and her eyes grew wide, as Dan watched her in alarm.

The battery was gone.