Post by silent.lullaby on Apr 2, 2010 13:57:01 GMT -5
//We Run This Town//Chapter 017// Keep Running
My lungs were screaming over my mind, I couldn’t possibly think past putting one foot in front of the other, and I had even tripped up a few times on that. My knees and palms were bloodied and scraped from falling. My abdomen ached like my lungs. I didn’t take in my surroundings. I didn’t see anything other than my barefoot hitting the sidewalk. I tripped as jerked my foot away mid stride to avoid stepping directly on a broken piece of a glass bottle. I fell to my side onto hard concrete and realized only then that I didn’t have the strength to get back up again. I pulled my body in between two solid concrete staircases and curled into a ball only then realizing how cold I was.
“Serge.” I whispered softly my body felt numb, but my insides were aching, burning, and raking. Father hadn’t said Sergio was dead, but from the pained look upon his face I had assumed. “Sergio,” I cried wrapping my arms around my chest pulling my legs up.
“I ain’t no Sergio Princess.” I lifted my head meekly to see who was talking. A tall white man, thin, wiry, dirty looking, wearing jeans a white wife beater shirt and a gun tucked in the front of his pants. He looked back to his shorter, stockier Latino buddy, and then over his other shoulder to a muscular African American. “You look like you’re on the wrong side of town princess.”
“Yeah, and you look like you dropped the soap a few too many times in a prison cell. Which one of these punks was your inmate? Huh? Or did you let them both go at you?”
“You got a filthy little tongue there princess,” the white man said crouching down in front of me and started undoing his pants, “I think I know a better use for it.”
“Drop dead.”
“No, but you might,” he said pointing the gun at my head.
“Go straight to hell.” I sounded more brave than I felt, or maybe I just felt to dead inside to care.
He laughs and looks over his shoulder, “I found her boys, I get first dibs.”
“She’s one fine piece,” the short Latino noted.
They laughed, “grab her feet,” the white man went for me and I knocked the gun with one arm and I punched him right between his open legs since he was crouching with the other. He groaned and grabbed himself falling over and looking ready to vomit. The other two went and grabbed me at the same time, one at my feet, the other grabbing my torso pinning down my arms.
The first man slowly gets to his feet, “you fucking bitch, you’re going to suck it better.” I spit in his face and continue thrashing in the other two’s arms trying to break free. I felt stupid for running now, for not paying attention to where I was going. I was so scared.
Police sirens went on and I was dropped like a hot stone right on to my ass my head dropping back onto the sidewalk painfully. I feel disoriented and someone lifts my head up and I try pushing away, scared, it was one of the men. “It’s okay Lili, it’s okay, it’s me, it’s Gavin, you’re okay now, you’re safe.”
I look over and see the men running, Detective Burke chasing them tackling the large African American to the ground and the other two are close hanged my by father’s massive arms throwing their heads against the pavement. He got on top of the white man and started beating him and I watched in shock before Gavin noticed what I was staring at and pulled me closer to him turning me slightly so I couldn’t see my father mercilessly beat the man. “Lombardi, get off him!”
“Sir! Get off him, Lilianna needs you.” I turn and see Preston ushering my father off the man, My father seems to study his battered face before coming over to me. Detective McCauley, and Lieutenant Reid get there and put a suspect into each car.
“Lilianna?” My father crouches down beside Gavin and actually pats his shoulder. “Lilianna are you hurt?” I shake my head. “Honey, you’re bleeding.” I look down but I couldn’t feel my body. I look back up at my father. “Lilianna, I need you to concentrate, okay.” I nod. “Did those men...did they...” my father struggled with words.
“They dropped me.”
“Sir,” Gavin whispered, “the back of her head is bleeding, I’ve tried to keep some pressure on it.”
My father looked at the back of my head gently moving Gavin’s hand. I heard a sharp intake and then felt Gavin’s hand back on my head. “Is that all they did? Think Lili.”
I paused a moment, “they were vulgar,” I felt my heart kick up, “he started undoing his pants.” I pointed shakily to the man in the vehicle that had been beaten by my father. “He... had a gun he pointed it at me. He said since he found me he had dibs... he kept calling me princess.” I shuttered against Gavin holding to him fearfully.
“Medics are on the way,” Preston informed my father before looking me over and I watched the muscles in his jaw tighten and he stood turning away.
“Preston, she’ll be alright,” my father says.
“They are fucking scum.” I heard Preston’s knuckles crack.
“Preston...” my father’s tone was a warning.
“Yes,” Preston sounded stressed.
“Call Contessa, let her know Lilianna is alright.”
“Yes sir.” Preston whipped out his phone.
“Gavin?” I whispered weakly.
“Yes.”
“You came looking for me.” I looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Yes.”
I stayed quiet for a minute. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Gavin stayed quite for a minute, “want to know something?”
“Sure.”
“So did Darren. He went with his dad.”
I laughed, “I bet he’d love to see me like this.”
“Shockingly no.” I look up and see Darren standing behind Gavin. My father glares at him. “I might not like you, but I wouldn’t wish this on you.”
“Wow, that is the least douche-y thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
He smiled, “don’t worry, come Monday I’ll go back to my douche-y self.”
“Good you guys have kept her awake and alert.” I turn and see the paramedics. They pull me from Gavin’s embrace and I want to reach back for him, hell I could blame the head wound when my father would ask me about it, but I resisted and they put me onto a board. The one grabbed my eye and held it open putting a flash light beam into it and I wanted to curse at him. “Lets get to the hospital.”
“I’m going with her, I’m her father.”
“Alright.”
“Preston.” Father threw him the keys and I was put into the back of the ambulance.
“Dad, tell them all thanks.”
“I will Lil bug, I will.”
“Daddy.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about Sergio. Please.”
I watched him rub his temples. “He’s bad sweetheart, but holding on.”
“He’ll be okay Dad,” I said with confidence a concussion would will give you. “He’ll be okay.”