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| Chapter Six | |||||
| Chris, JC and Joey bounded up the stairs and flew into Lance�s room. �Dude! Are you serious?� JC asked. Lance nodded. �I think so.� �I have been thinking about doing the exact same thing to Rain!� JC exclaimed. �Are you serious?� Lance asked. JC nodded his head excitedly. �Okay, can someone please tell the two losers here what we�re talking about?� Chris asked. �Lance is going to ask Ocean to marry him!� Justin yelled. �Are you serious?� Joey asked. �So I�m going to be right?� Chris was in shock. �I just don�t know when or where or how�� JC, Joey, Justin and Chris shot suggestions at Lance like rapid gunfire. �You know that fountain in front of Rain and Osh�s house? You could stand in it and propose there�� Chris said. �The beach at sunset,� Justin suggested. �Tonight at dinner � no, after when we�re watching a movie,� Joey said. �How about a Ferris Wheel? No! That�s how I�m going to ask Rain�� JC said. �Why in the world would I stand in Rain and Osh�s fountain? The beach at sunset sounds good, tonight is too soon and JC took his own idea so�but I�m definitely asking Osh when we�re here. This is like the best spot in the world�but I�m kind of having doubts.� Lance sighed. �*Why*?� Joey asked incredulously. �I don�t know�I love her so much � there�s no doubting that�I�m just afraid she�ll say no and hate me forever�� �Oh come on, Lance � is Osh really the type to hate her boyfriend forever just because he asked her to marry him?� Chris asked. �No�� �Then come on � I�m sure she�ll say yes,� Justin said. Lance nodded his head slowly. �Okay.� �Okay, you know what? Somebody else stir the salad,� Ocean said in exasperation. There were lettuce leaves scattered around the bowl. Rainbow laughed and began to expertly toss the salad. �See, Osh, you got to do it like this�� �I was doing it like that. I�m just not talented like you.� Ocean sighed. �So are we carrying this stuff over to Justin�s?� Bridget nodded as she placed a lid over the spaghetti sauce. �I guess so � it�s where everyone is.� �Why don�t we just let �em starve tonight?� Rainbow joked. �I say that�s a grand idea, Rain,� Ocean said with a laugh. �No kidding � I think they should cook for us one of these days,� Bridget said. �Exactly!� Rainbow exclaimed, holding up a spoon she was tossing the salad with in a gesture of rebellion. �Let�s go on strike!� They all laughed. �Well, let�s head on over,� Bridget said. �I just have to find the ring,� JC said. �It�s just an engagement ring,� Joey replied. �I need the perfect ring!� JC exclaimed. �This is Rainbow we�re talking about! The girl I�ve dreamed about my whole life! The perfect ring for the perfect girl.� �Of course,� Justin agreed as the doorbell rang. �Woo hoo! There�s our dinner, knockin� on the door!� Chris hooted. �Actually, it rang the doorbell,� Lance corrected, setting the box on his bedside table as he headed out of the room with the other guys. �Justin, do you have dressing anywhere?� Ocean asked hopefully as she set the noodles down on the table. �Ranch preferably�� Justin shook his head. �Nope, sorry, Osh.� �Oh! I have ranch dressing,� Bridget said. �I�ll go back and get it.� �You�ll be okay alone?� Justin asked, his blue eyes looking concerned. �I�ll be fine. Nothing�s going to happen, okay?� Bridget replied, kissing Justin softly. �I�ll be back.� Bridget walked quickly back to her house, singing softly to herself. When she entered her house, the phone rang. �Hello?� �Bridget? It�s Eric.� �Hey, what�s up?� �Did I get you in the middle of anything?� Bridget opened the refrigerator and rummaged around on the shelves. �Um, I�m going over to Justin�s for dinner with JC and Joey and Lance and Chris and Osh and Rain�� �Sorry.� �It�s okay.� �I�ll be quick. Can I come down there to the house for a few days?� Eric asked. �Of course! You don�t even need to ask.� Bridget shut the refrigerator, phone in one hand, bottle of ranch dressing in the other. �Cool! Ocean and Rainbow are still there right?� Bridget laughed. �Yup.� �Cool. Does tomorrow sound good?� �Perfect. I�ll see you tomorrow?� �Okay. I�ll let you go now. Bye Bridge.� �Bye Eric.� Someone brushed his lips against Bridget�s ear as she hung up the phone. �Justin, I told you � � Bridget stopped when she saw those cold gray eyes. �What are you doing here?� �Bridget, I�m giving you one more chance to say yes,� Damon said in a low voice, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight streaming through the kitchen window. Bridget shook her head. �No, Damon. How many times do I have to tell you? N-O.� �I could make you so happy � � �No! You don�t know how to make me happy! You never will!� Bridget exclaimed. �If you�d just let me try-� �You�ve already tried and it didn�t work. Leave.� Damon tightened his grip on Bridget�s arm and she tried to pull away with no luck. �Let go of me!� �Bridget, no.� She struggled some more and Damon backhanded her so hard her head felt like it was detached from her neck. �Why are you doing this, Damon?� Bridget whispered. �You need to understand that when I want you to say yes, you WILL say yes,� Damon said. Bridget tried to pull away again, but Damon�s grip remained firm on her arm. �Stop struggling, Bridget. It�ll make things much more easier for you,� Damon said and when she struggled even more, he punched her in the jaw. The pain was so intense it brought tears to Bridget�s eyes. �Oh no, it�s happening again� Bridget thought with rising panic. With a sudden burst of strength, Bridget pulled away and ran down the stairs, slipping and hitting her head on the last step. She lay there for a second, her mind screaming at her body to ignore the pain and stand up. Slowly, she began to stand up, but Damon had caught up and he kicked her in the side. �Where�s your precious Justin now?� Damon taunted, locking the door. �He doesn�t care about you the way that I do.� �Damon, please�� Bridget whispered. Damon pulled Bridget to her feet and slammed her against the wall. �Are you listening to me?� Bridget slowly nodded her head, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. �You�re going to do what I tell you!� Damon shouted. �Do you hear me?� He shook her shoulders, her throbbing head hitting the wall with every shake. He punched her again and dropped her on the floor. �You�re worthless! No one will ever want you!� Bridget began to crawl toward her bedroom to her closet. �Where do you think you�re going?� Damon yelled, kicking Bridget again. She fell over, aching everywhere. Damon looked at her limp body for a second, and then muttering, kicked her again and went upstairs. Bridget crawled as quickly as she could to her room and into the closet. She felt around for the door to the secret passage. It opened and she fell inside. �What�s taking her so long?� Justin wondered, a sense of uneasiness settling in his stomach. Rainbow shrugged. �Maybe a friend called.� �Maybe.� �Justin!� Bridget screamed from his bedroom. Justin dropped his fork and ran to his room where he found Bridget lying half in the closet and half in his room. He immediately kneeled next to her. �Bridgey, what happened?� �Damon�� Bridget whispered. Lance turned on the light and Ocean dialed nine-one-one. Bridget�s face was cut and bruised, her lip was bleeding and her jaw was swollen. �How did he get in?� JC asked as Justin picked Bridget up and lay her head on his bed. Bridget shook her head slightly. �I don�t know. I told you, Justin�I told you he�d come back�� �I�m so sorry I wasn�t there. I should�ve gone with you, Bridgey. I�m so sorry,� Justin said softly. �J, it�s okay. You couldn�t have known Damon was over there�� �But still! I promised you I wouldn�t let anything happen to you and I totally totally broke my promise,� Justin said. �It�s not your fault, Justin,� Bridget replied. �The police and an ambulance are on the way,� Ocean said quietly. �How did all this happen?� �I was in the kitchen and someone kissed my ear-I thought it was Justin, but it was Damon � � �He kissed you?� Justin asked angrily. Bridget ignored Justin�s outburst. �He said he was going to give me one more chance to say yes, but I said no and he backhanded me. I tried to get away, but he punched me in the jaw. I got away and ran down the stairs and I tripped and fell on the last one and hit my head. Then Damon came and he kicked me, slammed me up against the wall and shook me so hard�then he dropped me on the ground. I started crawling to my room then he kicked me over again, so I pretended to just be unconscious and he went away and I went through the secret passage,� Bridget said as a pounding on the front door marked the next chapter of the night. Ocean and Rainbow cringed as the pounding continued. Justin stood up, his blue eyes filled with anger. �J, no, don�t open the door. It�s him, he�s looking for me, he�s going to get me. Please don�t go,� Bridget pleaded, grabbing Justin�s hand. Justin looked at Bridget�s frightened and battered face. �It�s okay. He won�t get you.� The rest of the guys filed out after Justin, and Ocean and Rainbow said, �Bridget � you�re not here, okay? We�re going to go out there and deny we even know what�s going on.� Bridget nodded. �Just don�t let him get me.� |
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| Chapter Seven You Don't Have To Be Afraid index Back to that sweet, sweet gravy |
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