Page 40 of Of Pranks and Passion

Before I had the chance to type in a message, a large body slammed into my side, sending me to the ground. My phone skittered away out of my hand, and I could barely see where it landed, the screen lit up over a dozen feet away. My eyes watered from the pain of the impact, and it felt like the wind was knocked out of me. Which meant I didn’t have any ability to fight back when I was dragged off the well lit sidewalk and into the dark alley between two buildings.

Oh Crap Oh Crap Oh Crap.

My back hit the wall, and I smacked my head on the concrete hard enough for my ears to start ringing. Whoever it was, they weren’t playing around. I couldn’t see anything in the dark, but they left little to the imagination about what they wanted whenI gasped from the pain and they shoved their tongue into my mouth.

My automatic response was to bite down, which had my attacker jerking back with a curse. “What the fuck! She said you liked it rough, not that you’d fight back! Hold still!”

Oh, hell no. I thought maybe after so many weeks of quiet, the rumor had finally died out but apparently not. They must have just been waiting for me to be alone. I struggled against them, but they were a lot bigger than me, and when they spun me and my chin and chest collided with the concrete next, it was like it was effortless for them. Tears burned my vision, but I wasn’t going to take it complacently. I wasn’t a little kid anymore, squeezing my eyes shut until Brienna was done punching me. If I didn’t fight, I’d be a hell of a lot more hurt than a few bruises.

“Get off me!”

“That’s right, baby. I know you like the fight. Keep going,” he purred.

I shuddered, repulsed. Whoever liked this without getting confirmed consent beforehand was sick. Since I couldn’t reach him behind me, when he started to paw at my pants, I did what I had to do. I started screaming.

“Help! Someone help!”

A large hand grasped the back of my head and slammed it hard against the building. Ow. It made me dizzy, and my vision blacked out for a second. When I came to, he was fumbling with the buttons on my jeans. I was grateful these were my tightest pair, because his thick fingers were struggling.

“Let me go! I don’t know what my sister told you, but I don’t want this! Leave me alone!”

He scoffed. “She said you’d say that. Shut up before we get caught.”

That was the point, dumbass. I cast my mind for the moves Easton taught me to defend myself, but none of them had anything to do with me being shoved face first against a wall with my feet off the ground. I couldn’t even look down. The only thing I could do was flail my legs. Maybe if I aimed right…?

I didn't have any room to pull back, but I was pressed high enough for the leverage I needed and a quick jerk of my heel upwards hit his testicles dead on. He let out a shout of surprise and dropped me, stumbling back. Everything hurt, and I was pretty sure I was bleeding, but I couldn’t stand around worrying about it. I scrambled out of the alley, barely remembering to scoop up my phone on the way.

“Get back here, you little slut!”

My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and I put every ounce of energy I had into outrunning him. I almost cried when I noticed a group of students coming out of the front door of the dorm, grateful I didn’t have to waste time unlocking it. I caught it right before it slammed closed, slipping inside and yanking it shut behind me. If he lived in the building, that would only stall him for so long, but I needed every second I could get.

By some stroke of luck, the elevator was already on the main floor and empty, so I slipped inside, rapidly pressing the button to close the door. At the last minute, before it shut completely, I saw a furious red-faced man shove through the front door of the dorm building. He locked eyes with me, and his lip lifted into a terrifying scowl, but the elevator doors shut him out before he could come after me again.

A whimper caught in my throat. He was in the building. What were the chances he knew where I lived? If he took the stairs, I’d only have seconds to get to my room before he got there. The elevator wasn’t that fast, and our dorm room was closest to the stairs.

A lump in my throat, I readied myself to book it out of the elevator. I had my key in hand, ready to go, and crouched a little like a runner at the start of the race. As soon as the doors were open wide enough for me to slip through, I tore down the hallway as fast as my injured body could carry me. I nearly slipped when I stopped in front of my door, and my hands shook while trying to get the key in the lock. I could hear stomping footsteps coming up the stairs, and the terror was overwhelming. The closer the footsteps got, the harder my hands shook, but I managed to get the key in and the door opened before the guy got to my floor. Yanking the key back out, I spun and slammed the door behind me, locking it in one quick motion.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

GARY

I stood there,staring at the lock on the door, until the stairwell door slammed open. Slapping my hands over my mouth, I muffled my shriek. Please don’t know which room, please don’t know which room.

Backing up slowly, I stared at the door, waiting. The handle jiggled once, then he pounded on the door loud enough to make me jump. “Open up!”

He waited a second before trying again. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I’m not into it. Just open the damn door. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Liar. If he actually meant that, he would’ve stopped when I told him to. I kept my hands over my mouth, my vision still blurry from so many knocks to the head.

Finally, he gave up, and I heard him suck his teeth in irritation. “Not fucking worth it,” he growled, and the elevator dinged a few minutes later. I wasn’t stupid enough to open the door to check if he was gone. Instead, I called Easton, and it rang until it went to voicemail before I remembered it was fight night. Coach was supposed to be with him, so I called Angel instead.

“Hey, shortie. Bored without your boyfriend?” he teased.

“Angel…” My plea came out as a sob, and his voice turned serious.

“Gary? What happened? What’s wrong?”

I couldn’t answer him. All the emotions that I’d been holding back hit me at once, and I sank to my knees, my whole body shaking as I sobbed into the phone.

---