Page 40 of All the Ugly Things
Stars sprung in my vision and tears swam in my eyes.
“No! Get off me!” I screamed, I clawed at the ground and threw dirt and mulch and whatever I could grab behind me, hoping it’d be enough to slow him, but he came back, this time flipping me to my back with embarrassing ease. One of his hands gathered mine, shoved them to the ground above my head.
He slapped me again on the same cheek, and my head whipped from the impact.
“This could have been easy but I don’t mind a fighter.”
He was sweaty. The smell of his disgusting onion breath filled my nose as his hand went to my jeans.
“Get off me!” I screamed again, moving and arching and flailing. I made it difficult for him and he paused only long enough to punch me in the stomach. He stole my breath and I laid there beneath him, beaten, gasping, and wheezing.
Red filled my vision.
I screamed again, loud and like an animal. If I couldn’t get him off me, maybe I could attract attention. From inside. From someone on the street. I screamed so loud I hoped like hell people a mile away could hear me.
He shoved his hand to my mouth again. “Shut the fuck up, bitch.”
Right as he finished, me glaring at him, breath finally returning to my lungs from his punch, a bright light came on.
“Who’s out there? Get out of here before I call the cops!”
Manny froze, glanced toward the door where he’d pulled me from and grinned down at me.
“I’ll see you again. Soon.” He climbed off me, his threat a sickening promise I knew he’d deliver. I spit at him and missed, as he grabbed something from the ground and ran off into the dark.
“Help. Please,” I croaked out, repeated myself and the light grew closer.
“Who’s there—oh!”
It was Samaya.Thank God.
She lowered the flashlight enough I could see her face, dark skin, white and pink floral hijab wrapped around the top of her head.
“Oh child.”
“Not a child,” I moaned, rolling to my side. Tears and mud and blood wet my cheeks. I tried to wipe it away, but my fingers were just as bad, just as dirty.
My entire body felt dirty.
She reached me and fell to her knees. “You’re bleeding. Your face.”
“I know.” Wet blood ran down my cheek into my mouth and I spit it into the grass. “I’m okay.”
“Lilly, you are absolutely not okay.”
Tell me about it.
I groaned again and pushed to my knees. Every small movement sent another flood of pain down my body.
“Let me help you up and get you inside.”
“I can do it.”
“Sure you can, but I don’t want you to fall. Are you hurt anywhere else?”
He’d kicked my ribs. Pretty sure that was the first jolt of pain into the railing because my side freaking killed.
“I’m all right,” I whispered, voice cracking. “Just need my bathroom.”
