Mchapter4

Leah had the night of her life. Justin had been such a fun date and she was so glad that she�d gotten up the courage to ask him to go with her. They�d just left the prom to check out some of the after parties.

After about half an hour, she was really tired. She asked Justin if they could leave, and she waited while he got their coats. They�d gotten a ride to the party from a few friends who were now nowhere in sight. �Uh oh,� she thought, �how are we going to get home?� She asked Justin that when he came back, and they decided that it was nice enough out to walk. He house was only a few miles from there. Leah grabbed Justin�s hand as they crossed the street. They weren�t in the nicest neighborhood, and it was late and dark. Leah was a little spooked.

�Leah, you ok sweetie?� Justin asked, since she was squeezing all the blood out of his hand. He also saw fear in her eyes when she looked up at him.

�Yeah, I�m all right, why?� she asked, trying to hide her fear.

But that didn�t work.

�Why are you squeezing my hand to death then?� Justin joked, trying to lighten the mood.

�Oh, um, well� This neighborhood just freaks me out,� Leah confessed, slightly embarrassed.

�It�s all right, I�ll protect you,� Justin joked again, puffing out his chest and punching it with his fist. �Owww,� he whined.

�Yeah, you�re tough all right,� Leah said, laughing as Justin pouted. She just smiled up at him. He smiled back, let go of her hand, put his arm around her, and pulled her close to his side.

They were about to turn the corner as two men jumped out of the bushes, each one covering either Leah or Justin�s mouth so they couldn�t call out. Leah struggled, her heart beating wildly. But she stopped as she felt the cold metal press to the side of her head.

She looked over her shoulder to see if Justin was ok, and realized that he was on the ground. �The other guy must have hit him,� she thought to herself. He was lying on the ground, probably unconscious. She had to survive this on her own.

She jumped when the man with the gun to her head spoke in her ear. �Get out your money, now,� he demanded in a stern voice.

�But, I don�t have any,� she tried to tell him.

�Yeah, sure. Bradley,� he said to the other guy, �check her bag and the boy�s wallet too.�

�Yes sir, Ryan,� Bradley joked, laughing bitterly. When he came up with less than ten dollars cash, Ryan was slightly pissed.

�No money, huh?� he asked her, and she shook her head. �Well then, you�ll just have to pay me some other way.�

�Some other way?� Leah thought to herself, �what does he mean?�

But she soon found out as she felt the back of her dress being unzipped. She struggled again, trying to kick the man holding her, but froze as the gun poked into her side.

�Stand still,� Bradley suggested.

As Ryan pushed the dress off of her shoulder, he kept the gun to her side. She shook as the cool air hit her chest. Ryan laughed.

�Cold, sweetheart?� he asked, smiling a crooked smile. It made her sick.

�What are you going to do?� she asked shakily.

�Get my pay,� Ryan answered simply.

�Why? What did I do to deserve this?� she asked, tears pouring down her face.

�Stop crying,� he demanded, pulling her dress to her ankles and pulling her to him. �Oh you smell good,� he whispered.

His hands roamed her body and all she could think was �this is wrong. Stop. Why is this happening?� But she could do nothing to stop it.

He laid her down on the pavement and was about to force himself inside of her, when someone grabbed his jacket.

�I wouldn�t do that if I were you,� a deep voice boomed.

�Shit,� Ryan swore as he saw the policeman standing above him with his gun out.

Leah tried to cover herself up, while sobbing. She looked over to see Justin still unconscious. After the policeman had loaded Ryan and Bradley into the car and called and ambulance, he brought Leah her dress.

�Are you all right?� he asked her.

Through sobs she was able to say, �Thank you, thank you.� But she couldn�t say much more.

The ambulance came a few minutes later, and Leah and Justin were brought to the hospital.

****

Josh was beginning to get worried. He was sure he�d told Leah to be home by 2:00. But now it was 3:30. Where was she? He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Joey was still there. He�d fallen asleep shortly after 2:30 and Josh wasn�t sure whether to be relieved or lonely.

He knew he could easily wake Joey up, but what would he say? He could deal with this himself.

The knock on the door scared the shit out of him. He got up quickly and went to the door.

�Why would Leah knock?� was all he could think.

He almost died when he saw a policeman standing on the stoop.

�Mr. Chasez?� the blonde man asked.

�Yes? Can I help you?� Josh asked, noticing how his voice shook.

�My name is Officer Lance Bass. Are you Leah Chasez�s father?� Lance questioned.

�Yes,� was all Josh could say. He trembled with fear.

�She and Justin, the boy she was with, have been brought to the hospital,� Lance explained, hating his part of his job.

�Th-the hospital?� Josh choked out. His mouth was dry.

�Yes, she was nearly raped,� Lance told Josh.

�R-ra-raped?� Josh breathed. He felt like he was going to faint. And then he did.

The commotion at the front of the house had woken Joey, so he went to the door, thinking Leah had just arrived.

When he saw Josh on the floor with a police officer standing over him, he was thoroughly confused.

�What�s going on?� he asked.

�Who are you?� the officer countered.

�His best friend,� Joey said, pointing at Josh�s limp form, �what happened?�

Joey�s jaw dropped as the police officer explained what had happened.

�Holy shit, are they going to be ok?� Joey asked, referring to Leah and Justin and maybe even Josh. He wasn�t sure.

�Well, all I know is that Justin was unconscious and has a big bump on his head. He may have a concussion. Leah is in shock. Would you like me to bring you and Mr. Chasez to the hospital?� he asked, noticing that Joey was shaking.

�Yeah, thanks,� Joey replied, and together they picked up Josh and got him in the car.