My name is Kyla Eleanor Darter. I am seventeen years old and I live in
hells kitchen New York with my Irish mother Sarah and my Hispanic father
Benicio.
I have 5 sisters, a lot I know especially since we live in a house with two
bathrooms one in which has been out of order for about seven years.
Well Tatiana is the eldest of us all she's twenty-two and has a shit job as a receptionist down at the local hotel. She wanted to go to Harvard to study law but she couldn't get the grades for a scholarship and we just don't have the kind of money to pay for it. I guess because she's the oldest she's always on a power trip. It can get out of hand sometimes especially because none of us want to put up with it.
Brenna, she is the next one down she's nineteen, she's real smart to, she's going to Harvard and is going to be a doctor but before she starts which is next year she wanted to see the world. so her and her boyfriend Jason Grisham have gone jet setting around the bloody world. She can't afford it but using her powers of persuasion that thankfully have been passed on to me, was able to con dad into paying.
Then there is me Kyla. I guess if you had to put a label on me I'd be the loudest. Mum says I should be seen and not heard. I say if you've got something to say, say it. What's the point of trying to be something your not just because it's what everyone wants? Last year I was told to face my fears, I'm afraid of heights. My uncle took me to the top of a huge hill or mountain to me. And he pushed me off. I passed out and haven't spoken to him since. Screw facing your fears why should you have to? I go to Saint Bernadette's school for girls. Nuns as well as normal teachers teach us, if that's what you could call them.
Then there is Claudia, our own Prima Donna. Everyone spoils her rotten. She has a face like a china doll and beautiful golden ringlets. Too bad she's a horrible little brat. She's fourteen years old and already extremely manipulative. Although last year when she was sent to Saint Catherine's boarding school she was knocked into her place, a little. she still has god- awful tantrums when things don't go her way.
Anna is the second youngest and extremely quiet she never stands up for herself and very nearly always has her head buried in a book. She is a thirteen-year-old piano genius she's almost guaranteed to get into Julliard.
The youngest of all six of us is Patience. She is ten years old. And the closest to me. Patience is as loud an opinionated as I am and we are always told how alike we are.
Any way my story starts on my very first day of year eleven. My best friend Trisha and I walked to school together everyday. Saint Bernadette's a respectable school for women, Claudia and Anna would be driven to school by dad, and Clodagh was still at elementary school. Trisha and I were both not so popular at the school. We had a very tight circle of 5 friends. Dara McCauley, Keegan Walters and Andrea Prince made up the circle. We didn't exactly pick each other for friends on the first day of the ninth grade when everyone was picking their friends we were the only ones left. Not that it matters to us really. But back to my story Trisha and I had to walk to school the long way as to avoid the gangs and hustlers. The scariest of all were the racist skinheads, who would put us both in the hospital, me because of my tanned Hispanic skin and Trisha because of her dark African-American skin. So we would walk the extra two kilometres to school for our own safety.
Any way this one particular afternoon Trisha and I were both held back after school. I could bore you with the details but I won't. Let's just say it was messy. "Kyla?" Trisha whispered to me in detention. "What?" I whispered back staring at sister Aileen, Watching as her snake like eyes darted to where a red haired girl, Molly Cook sneezed. "God bless you," everyone in the class cooed systematically.
"My dad is going to kill me, I'm going to be so late" "We could always go the short way home?" "Do you have a death wish?" Trisha asked stunned. "Hey" I whispered back gesturing for her to keep her voice down as sister Aileen had begun to get suspicious. "You're the one with the death wish Trisha. I've seen your dad get angry." Trisha and I both laughed with caused sister Aileen to clear her throat. Warning us to be quiet. For the rest of the hour we sat silently watching the clock as second after second went by Excruciatingly slowly.
Finally the clock struck four o'clock. "Au revior mes infants", Sister Aileen in a sickly sweet voice. "Au revior Madame" we chanted. It was so old fashioned, sister Aileen made us speak French whenever we had her it was really horrible.
"Kyla, please let's go the long way." Trisha pleaded. "Trisha it's fine by me let's walk the long way. Just don't blame me when your dad murders you." There was a long silence. Well long for me. I'm always being told I have the attention span of a goldfish. "Look if we go the long way it's only what? Fifteen extra minutes?" "Yes, it is but look I have to get home I promised Patience and Claudia that I'd take them both to the movies." "Okay we'll go the long way. BUT on one condition." "Trisha I know what you're going to say." "If we get murdered I'm going to hold it against you." "Trisha if were murdered were dead how can you hold it against me if your dead?' "Oh shut up, let's just walk quickly."
Trisha and I started to walk the short cut. Both with are heads held low as not to draw to much attention to us. It had gotten pretty dark Because of all the arguing we did.
We were almost two streets away from home when my life was changed. Trisha had needed to sit down because well she was lazy. That's why we were such good friends.
"Kyle, I want. no scratch that. NEED. To sit down" Trisha whined. "Trisha don't call me Kyle" "Okay sorry about that Kyle" "That's okay. HEY" "Sorry."
We both sat down on a park bench. "I'm going to call Keegan" "What for Kyla?" "She can pick Claudia and Patience up now and drop them off at the movies, I'll just meet them there instead of going home first." "Oh okay then."
I pulled my mobile phone out of my bag and turned it on, I had no credit left. I got up and saw a payphone not far up the street. "Hey Trisha, I'm gonna use the phone over there? K? I'll be like one minute." "Yeah, yeah" She was preoccupied messaging her boyfriend Soap. Of course, Soap wasn't his real name I don't know what it is.
I got up rolled my eyes at Trisha and walked over to the phone. I dialled Keegan's number.
"Keegan?" "Yeah." "It's me Kyla, hey do us a favour? You know how you and Andrea were meeting me and my sisters at the movies?" "Yeah?" "Well I'm going to be late." "Okay? So what's the favour" "Will you pick up Claudia and Patience?" "I dunno." "Pretty please with sprinkles on top?" "Of course you dope!" "Thanks you're a legend." "I know, see ya at the movies, say hi to Trisha" "How do you know were together?" "You guys got a detention didn't ya?" "Yeah.. I was just about to go into a long and detailed recount of what had happened to earn us both a detention from crabby old Sister Aileen, when I heard a scream. "What was that?" "I dunno Keegan but I'll go find out Bye."
I put the phone down and ran to where Trisha and I were sitting. When I got there I froze in terror. Three or Four skinheads had Trisha's hands behind her back and had her pinned face down on the floor; her face was being wiped on the sidewalk. Her skin scraping back and forth along the pavement. It was drawing blood; I heard her scream in agony. Tears stung my eyes as I stood there watching these Men beat my best friend.
And in a moment of blind panic I did the only thing I could think of little did I know what side effects my actions would make in my not to distant future.
I ran forward knocking one of the men down. I grabbed A rock that was on the side of the road, lifted my arm and with all of my power brought the rock down to the mans nose. Blood spurted everywhere. In less than a second my uniform was soaked in his blood.
"BITCH! She broke my fucking nose." The man stood up and staggered towards me. The other two men had been trying to get Trisha into a nearby van. With the hand that wasn't holding his bloody and broken nose, the man grabbed a hunk of my hair, and threw my head into the telegraph pole, nearest where we were.
As if in slow motion I remember every detail of what happened after that. The moment my head made contact with the telegraph pole I felt excruciating pain, I fell to the ground and grabbed my head. The blood from my head dripping down my face and soaking into my clothes along with my attackers.
Blood and tears blurred my vision; I looked up to see the two men had succeeded in forcing Trisha into their van. My attacker obviously wasn't done; he grabbed my arm and screamed at me to get up. I didn't. He picked up the rock I had shattered his nose with, and rammed it into the back of my head, thrusting me forward. He hit back and me eight more times to the head, neck, arms. All the while the other two men were laughing.
My attacker bent down and dragged me over to the bench Trisha and I once felt at least a tiny bit safe on. My face was bruised and bloody. My wrist felt broken. And the pain to my back and neck was over bearing. The man leaned down to my ear and said the words I'll never forget the words that will haunt my nightmares forever.
"Your kind pollutes our country. Your kind ruins everything. Your nothing vermin, garbage. You are a worthless waste of oxygen. Your kind spread disease. I'm going to kill you and your friend and then I'll go home and celebrate with my friends and family.
I layed there Frozen in horror at the things this man was saying. He was going to kill us. And it would be like taking out the garbage. At that point I was to weak to struggle and Trisha had stopped screaming. The man reached slowly into his pocket savouring, the moment. He was enjoying every second. He slowly pulled out a pocketknife. He placed the knife gently onto my neck. He was about to run the knife along my neck and end my life. When he froze. A man had held a gun to his head. I didn't know who he was but if it weren't for him I'd be dead now. "Drop the fucking knife." The stranger said in a fierce whisper. He had no need to raise his voice. The man stood up slowly placing the knife on the ground. He did what the stranger said and so did his friends. Who would argue? The man had a gun and about seven of his friends each with a different weapon. Two of the stranger's men had managed to release Trisha from the van. "Fuck off!" the stranger ordered. The three men did so.
He turned and walked to me, he scooped me up in his arms and his friends called an ambulance. The last thing I remember was saying, "tell Claudia and Patience I'll be late to the movies."
I woke up In Saint Monica's hospital at eleven am on Sunday morning. My mother was at my side as well as Tatiana. I slowly opened my eyes and asked them if I could have some ice cream.
My mother burst into tears and kept apologising. And Tatiana ran for the nurse.
As it turns out I'd suffered Three concussions, a broken wrist and displaced a vertebrae in my back. The nurse explained I'd need to have two weeks in hospital. "It'll fly by." They all said. I just looked away. Trisha. She was all I kept thinking about. Mum thought it was best if I didn't know anything as it might have upset me. "Don't worry pet, you'll be out of here in no time. Two weeks. Not to mention you miss out on school."
In two weeks I was sent flowers by Brenna, she wrote in the card she was sorry she couldn't leave Harvard.
Claudia, Anna and Patience all made me wooden peg dolls. I loved them.
Keegan and Andrea both came everyday after school and stayed late into the night.
Andrea came before school after school and on weekends.
Mum couldn't visit me. Every time she'd just breakdown. Dad brought chocolate and flowers and teddies, and Tatiana had bought me a beautiful puppy. I was so excited it was at home because it couldn't be brought into the hospital. Claudia had named it Malakai. In Hawaiian it meant great warrior.
But despite of all the attention and visits. I could only think of Trisha. And the Stranger who had saved me.
Two weeks. Sounds like a short period of time. When our friends and family are with you all day. But they can't stay at night. After visiting hours, your left alone. Alone in the dark listening to whimpering, and sometimes howling of the other patients. And the only two thoughts were of your best friend and the stranger who saved you.
Finally the day came when I could go home.
My mother came in around half past ten that morning. "All packed?" she asked, knowing quite bloody well I was seeing as she was there the day before and packed my things for me. "Yes, mum." She picked up the two bags and handed them to dad. Dad took them down to the car.
"Are you ready to go now dear?" my mum asked. "Mum, tell me." "Tell you what love," I wanted to scream you know what you damn bitch! But I kept my cool, took a deep breth and said "about Trisha mum." "Oh" mum said calmly. Her face sullen. I knew something was wrong. "Patience, dear Trisha. I don't know how to put this." I looked wide-eyed dreading what I knew was coming next. I couldn't help myself. "She's dead isn't she?" "No dear she isn't but" "But what" "Dear Trisha was locked inside a van," "I bloody well know that mum. I was there I have the two weeks of hospital stay to prove it." "Patti." "Don't call me Patti!" "Sorry dear. She had a seizer while she was in there. She hit her head pretty hard. And well, she was in special care until last week." "Well is she okay?" "She had bad brain damage. She can't walk or talk." "Oh." I looked down. I wasn't sure what to do or say. "But, just yesterday she couldn't talk. So her health is improving rapidly." I smiled but I knew even if she recovered she'd have emotional scarring. Like I do.
The trip home wasn't so bad. Anna, Patience and I sat in the very back. Claudia and Tatiana sat in the middle, where all my flowers and presents were shoved in as well as they could be. Dad drove and mum sat in the passenger seat. We stopped for ice cream on the way home and we got some movies, we were going to have a night in.
The next day, a Saturday. I went to visit Trisha. It was hard at first. Because she couldn't talk. I made a few lame jokes and she laughed. And then like so many people had told me I told her everything I felt. I told her how sorry I was and how it was my entire fault. She shook her head and wrote me a long letter saying we weren't the ones to blame they were. And we shouldn't have to avoid gangs on the streets. We hugged and I promised to bring her all her schoolwork so she didn't miss out. She just loved that. Before I left she stuck stickers on my cast and signed it. Her parents drove me home and both said how sorry they were that it had happened to us.
That is what got to me. Everyone saying 'sorry'. Why? It irritated me. I mean come on. How is that supposed to help my recovery? Yes let's talk about it. Remember what happened. Life's so fucked up.
The next day I helped Anna with her homework and took Claudia to the movies. Both Tatiana and Patience had come down with the flu. Claudia and I saw a bad movie. But we only went to do something together.
On Monday I went back to school it was an endless parade of questions "who did it? What happened? I heard you were in jail?" It wouldn't stop. Andrea, Keegan and Dara were my only escape. They acted like it hadn't happened. Just what I wanted school to be like. School was like this for about a week or so, then the novelty moved on. Trisha came back to school, so she was asked all the questions.
The five of us were together again. The only difference was that we were now closer than we'd ever been.
It took a while for me to be able to go out on a night. But after many pretend promises and begging, I was finally allowed to go out. I had to be back by one am though. But oh well. We planned on going to Fantom, a nightclub. It was local but it was really happening. The second my parents said yes I went looking for an outfit.
Dara and I had been shopping for an hour or so, when she saw a kick ass new store. We walked in and in less than half an hour had tried on almost everything in stock. I settled on a pair of black leather pants and a backless silver top that tied at the neck and back.
We met Keegan and Andrea at the food court at eight that night. Trisha couldn't go out yet she wasn't well enough.
The four of us had made plans to stay out until we were to tired to dance anymore, and then go back to Keegan's her parents were on a business trip so we'd have the place to ourselves.
It took us exactly seventeen minutes to get to the club. We had to stop a few times to adjust makeup and hair.
The four of us got there finally and decided to split up Andrea and I went straight to the dance floor. While Keegan and Dara went to sit at the bar. Andrea and I were having a great time on the dance floor, guys kept coming over to us it was great! Two songs later. Some weirdo with a bad haircut and an earring had chatted up Andrea.
As much as I'd love to stay and watch them make out I decided to find keegan and Dara. I found Dara at the bar by herself. "Hey" she shouted over the music. "Hey! Where's Keegan?" "On the dance floor with some guy" "Oh"
The two of us ordered some drinks and sat there staring at the people on the dance floor. We'd been there for three hours both bored out of our minds. "Fuck this Kyla, let's get out of here" "What about Keeg and Andy?" "I messaged them both we'll meet at kegs later."
We got up and walked out of the side door of the club dodging the drunks and the dancers.
We walked around for a while unsure of what to do, until we saw a pool hall. "Dara I don't know about this" "Come on we'll only stay for a while." I looked at her and rolled my eyes. "Why the fuck not" "That's the spirit."
We ran across the road and into the busy pool hall. We found a table almost straight away, even though the hall was packed. I took off my jacket and sat down. A waitress with blonde hair came over and asked what we wanted. "Two beers please." Dara said. The waitress wrote it down and walked off. "Ouch!" Dara said to me pointing towards four men at a pool table. "Dara, do not go over there." "Give me a reason why not." "Look you freak, look at the tattoos they have." "Yeah so?" "What are they of?" "A tiger and a flame" "What does that mean?" "I don't know" "They all have the same tattoo they're in a gang." "So what? I don't care it just makes me even more interested."
I sighed knowing to well Dara was going to go over there. And sure enough she walked over. I sat there watching her. I had no Idea what she was saying but I had an idea. Dara loved to flirt sometimes it was sickening. I rested my head on the table and stared at her laughing silently to myself as I imagined what was going through her pretty blonde head. My mobile started vibrating. I reached into my pocket and got it out. "Hello?" "Kyla?' "Yes" "It's me Andrea" "Yeah?" "Just thought I'd say I'm going to be a while." "Okay that's fine" I lied. I was so bored. I just wanted to go home. "Bye then Andy." "Bye" I pressed cancel and put my phone back into my pocket. I looked up and saw Dara walking towards me. "Guess what?' "What" I said flatly annoyed that I had been left by myself for three quarters of an hour. "They want us to go to their party!" "Wow." "Kyla, come on look at him." She pointed to this huge tank of a guy. He wants me there.
Of course she persuaded me to go. "How are we going to get there?" "Well K, Darren and his friends will take us." "Dara you fool, I'm not going."
Dara grabbed my hand and dragged me outside where the guys were waiting. "Okay" the tank Dara liked, said. "Me and Dj, will take Dara and Frank." "And the boss can take Dara's friend."
I stood there not knowing what to say as this guy I had never met took me to a strangers car. "In you get." I did as he said and got in. all the time calling myself an idiot. "Hello." The driver said. "Hi" "I'm Tristan." He said as he extended his hand. "Kyla," I said as I took his hand and shook it.
He was a hottie; he had spiky sandy-blonde hair and was muscled without being to muscled. He started to drive behind the car that Dara was in. "Where are we going?" "To a warehouse somewhere downtown." He said. "Are you going to kill me?" I asked seriously. I was really scared. "No way." He laughed. Seeing I was really uncomfortable. He started talking to me.
As it turns out he's the leader of a gang. I never found out the name. I didn't want to. "Right" he said. "we're here"
Well Tatiana is the eldest of us all she's twenty-two and has a shit job as a receptionist down at the local hotel. She wanted to go to Harvard to study law but she couldn't get the grades for a scholarship and we just don't have the kind of money to pay for it. I guess because she's the oldest she's always on a power trip. It can get out of hand sometimes especially because none of us want to put up with it.
Brenna, she is the next one down she's nineteen, she's real smart to, she's going to Harvard and is going to be a doctor but before she starts which is next year she wanted to see the world. so her and her boyfriend Jason Grisham have gone jet setting around the bloody world. She can't afford it but using her powers of persuasion that thankfully have been passed on to me, was able to con dad into paying.
Then there is me Kyla. I guess if you had to put a label on me I'd be the loudest. Mum says I should be seen and not heard. I say if you've got something to say, say it. What's the point of trying to be something your not just because it's what everyone wants? Last year I was told to face my fears, I'm afraid of heights. My uncle took me to the top of a huge hill or mountain to me. And he pushed me off. I passed out and haven't spoken to him since. Screw facing your fears why should you have to? I go to Saint Bernadette's school for girls. Nuns as well as normal teachers teach us, if that's what you could call them.
Then there is Claudia, our own Prima Donna. Everyone spoils her rotten. She has a face like a china doll and beautiful golden ringlets. Too bad she's a horrible little brat. She's fourteen years old and already extremely manipulative. Although last year when she was sent to Saint Catherine's boarding school she was knocked into her place, a little. she still has god- awful tantrums when things don't go her way.
Anna is the second youngest and extremely quiet she never stands up for herself and very nearly always has her head buried in a book. She is a thirteen-year-old piano genius she's almost guaranteed to get into Julliard.
The youngest of all six of us is Patience. She is ten years old. And the closest to me. Patience is as loud an opinionated as I am and we are always told how alike we are.
Any way my story starts on my very first day of year eleven. My best friend Trisha and I walked to school together everyday. Saint Bernadette's a respectable school for women, Claudia and Anna would be driven to school by dad, and Clodagh was still at elementary school. Trisha and I were both not so popular at the school. We had a very tight circle of 5 friends. Dara McCauley, Keegan Walters and Andrea Prince made up the circle. We didn't exactly pick each other for friends on the first day of the ninth grade when everyone was picking their friends we were the only ones left. Not that it matters to us really. But back to my story Trisha and I had to walk to school the long way as to avoid the gangs and hustlers. The scariest of all were the racist skinheads, who would put us both in the hospital, me because of my tanned Hispanic skin and Trisha because of her dark African-American skin. So we would walk the extra two kilometres to school for our own safety.
Any way this one particular afternoon Trisha and I were both held back after school. I could bore you with the details but I won't. Let's just say it was messy. "Kyla?" Trisha whispered to me in detention. "What?" I whispered back staring at sister Aileen, Watching as her snake like eyes darted to where a red haired girl, Molly Cook sneezed. "God bless you," everyone in the class cooed systematically.
"My dad is going to kill me, I'm going to be so late" "We could always go the short way home?" "Do you have a death wish?" Trisha asked stunned. "Hey" I whispered back gesturing for her to keep her voice down as sister Aileen had begun to get suspicious. "You're the one with the death wish Trisha. I've seen your dad get angry." Trisha and I both laughed with caused sister Aileen to clear her throat. Warning us to be quiet. For the rest of the hour we sat silently watching the clock as second after second went by Excruciatingly slowly.
Finally the clock struck four o'clock. "Au revior mes infants", Sister Aileen in a sickly sweet voice. "Au revior Madame" we chanted. It was so old fashioned, sister Aileen made us speak French whenever we had her it was really horrible.
"Kyla, please let's go the long way." Trisha pleaded. "Trisha it's fine by me let's walk the long way. Just don't blame me when your dad murders you." There was a long silence. Well long for me. I'm always being told I have the attention span of a goldfish. "Look if we go the long way it's only what? Fifteen extra minutes?" "Yes, it is but look I have to get home I promised Patience and Claudia that I'd take them both to the movies." "Okay we'll go the long way. BUT on one condition." "Trisha I know what you're going to say." "If we get murdered I'm going to hold it against you." "Trisha if were murdered were dead how can you hold it against me if your dead?' "Oh shut up, let's just walk quickly."
Trisha and I started to walk the short cut. Both with are heads held low as not to draw to much attention to us. It had gotten pretty dark Because of all the arguing we did.
We were almost two streets away from home when my life was changed. Trisha had needed to sit down because well she was lazy. That's why we were such good friends.
"Kyle, I want. no scratch that. NEED. To sit down" Trisha whined. "Trisha don't call me Kyle" "Okay sorry about that Kyle" "That's okay. HEY" "Sorry."
We both sat down on a park bench. "I'm going to call Keegan" "What for Kyla?" "She can pick Claudia and Patience up now and drop them off at the movies, I'll just meet them there instead of going home first." "Oh okay then."
I pulled my mobile phone out of my bag and turned it on, I had no credit left. I got up and saw a payphone not far up the street. "Hey Trisha, I'm gonna use the phone over there? K? I'll be like one minute." "Yeah, yeah" She was preoccupied messaging her boyfriend Soap. Of course, Soap wasn't his real name I don't know what it is.
I got up rolled my eyes at Trisha and walked over to the phone. I dialled Keegan's number.
"Keegan?" "Yeah." "It's me Kyla, hey do us a favour? You know how you and Andrea were meeting me and my sisters at the movies?" "Yeah?" "Well I'm going to be late." "Okay? So what's the favour" "Will you pick up Claudia and Patience?" "I dunno." "Pretty please with sprinkles on top?" "Of course you dope!" "Thanks you're a legend." "I know, see ya at the movies, say hi to Trisha" "How do you know were together?" "You guys got a detention didn't ya?" "Yeah.. I was just about to go into a long and detailed recount of what had happened to earn us both a detention from crabby old Sister Aileen, when I heard a scream. "What was that?" "I dunno Keegan but I'll go find out Bye."
I put the phone down and ran to where Trisha and I were sitting. When I got there I froze in terror. Three or Four skinheads had Trisha's hands behind her back and had her pinned face down on the floor; her face was being wiped on the sidewalk. Her skin scraping back and forth along the pavement. It was drawing blood; I heard her scream in agony. Tears stung my eyes as I stood there watching these Men beat my best friend.
And in a moment of blind panic I did the only thing I could think of little did I know what side effects my actions would make in my not to distant future.
I ran forward knocking one of the men down. I grabbed A rock that was on the side of the road, lifted my arm and with all of my power brought the rock down to the mans nose. Blood spurted everywhere. In less than a second my uniform was soaked in his blood.
"BITCH! She broke my fucking nose." The man stood up and staggered towards me. The other two men had been trying to get Trisha into a nearby van. With the hand that wasn't holding his bloody and broken nose, the man grabbed a hunk of my hair, and threw my head into the telegraph pole, nearest where we were.
As if in slow motion I remember every detail of what happened after that. The moment my head made contact with the telegraph pole I felt excruciating pain, I fell to the ground and grabbed my head. The blood from my head dripping down my face and soaking into my clothes along with my attackers.
Blood and tears blurred my vision; I looked up to see the two men had succeeded in forcing Trisha into their van. My attacker obviously wasn't done; he grabbed my arm and screamed at me to get up. I didn't. He picked up the rock I had shattered his nose with, and rammed it into the back of my head, thrusting me forward. He hit back and me eight more times to the head, neck, arms. All the while the other two men were laughing.
My attacker bent down and dragged me over to the bench Trisha and I once felt at least a tiny bit safe on. My face was bruised and bloody. My wrist felt broken. And the pain to my back and neck was over bearing. The man leaned down to my ear and said the words I'll never forget the words that will haunt my nightmares forever.
"Your kind pollutes our country. Your kind ruins everything. Your nothing vermin, garbage. You are a worthless waste of oxygen. Your kind spread disease. I'm going to kill you and your friend and then I'll go home and celebrate with my friends and family.
I layed there Frozen in horror at the things this man was saying. He was going to kill us. And it would be like taking out the garbage. At that point I was to weak to struggle and Trisha had stopped screaming. The man reached slowly into his pocket savouring, the moment. He was enjoying every second. He slowly pulled out a pocketknife. He placed the knife gently onto my neck. He was about to run the knife along my neck and end my life. When he froze. A man had held a gun to his head. I didn't know who he was but if it weren't for him I'd be dead now. "Drop the fucking knife." The stranger said in a fierce whisper. He had no need to raise his voice. The man stood up slowly placing the knife on the ground. He did what the stranger said and so did his friends. Who would argue? The man had a gun and about seven of his friends each with a different weapon. Two of the stranger's men had managed to release Trisha from the van. "Fuck off!" the stranger ordered. The three men did so.
He turned and walked to me, he scooped me up in his arms and his friends called an ambulance. The last thing I remember was saying, "tell Claudia and Patience I'll be late to the movies."
I woke up In Saint Monica's hospital at eleven am on Sunday morning. My mother was at my side as well as Tatiana. I slowly opened my eyes and asked them if I could have some ice cream.
My mother burst into tears and kept apologising. And Tatiana ran for the nurse.
As it turns out I'd suffered Three concussions, a broken wrist and displaced a vertebrae in my back. The nurse explained I'd need to have two weeks in hospital. "It'll fly by." They all said. I just looked away. Trisha. She was all I kept thinking about. Mum thought it was best if I didn't know anything as it might have upset me. "Don't worry pet, you'll be out of here in no time. Two weeks. Not to mention you miss out on school."
In two weeks I was sent flowers by Brenna, she wrote in the card she was sorry she couldn't leave Harvard.
Claudia, Anna and Patience all made me wooden peg dolls. I loved them.
Keegan and Andrea both came everyday after school and stayed late into the night.
Andrea came before school after school and on weekends.
Mum couldn't visit me. Every time she'd just breakdown. Dad brought chocolate and flowers and teddies, and Tatiana had bought me a beautiful puppy. I was so excited it was at home because it couldn't be brought into the hospital. Claudia had named it Malakai. In Hawaiian it meant great warrior.
But despite of all the attention and visits. I could only think of Trisha. And the Stranger who had saved me.
Two weeks. Sounds like a short period of time. When our friends and family are with you all day. But they can't stay at night. After visiting hours, your left alone. Alone in the dark listening to whimpering, and sometimes howling of the other patients. And the only two thoughts were of your best friend and the stranger who saved you.
Finally the day came when I could go home.
My mother came in around half past ten that morning. "All packed?" she asked, knowing quite bloody well I was seeing as she was there the day before and packed my things for me. "Yes, mum." She picked up the two bags and handed them to dad. Dad took them down to the car.
"Are you ready to go now dear?" my mum asked. "Mum, tell me." "Tell you what love," I wanted to scream you know what you damn bitch! But I kept my cool, took a deep breth and said "about Trisha mum." "Oh" mum said calmly. Her face sullen. I knew something was wrong. "Patience, dear Trisha. I don't know how to put this." I looked wide-eyed dreading what I knew was coming next. I couldn't help myself. "She's dead isn't she?" "No dear she isn't but" "But what" "Dear Trisha was locked inside a van," "I bloody well know that mum. I was there I have the two weeks of hospital stay to prove it." "Patti." "Don't call me Patti!" "Sorry dear. She had a seizer while she was in there. She hit her head pretty hard. And well, she was in special care until last week." "Well is she okay?" "She had bad brain damage. She can't walk or talk." "Oh." I looked down. I wasn't sure what to do or say. "But, just yesterday she couldn't talk. So her health is improving rapidly." I smiled but I knew even if she recovered she'd have emotional scarring. Like I do.
The trip home wasn't so bad. Anna, Patience and I sat in the very back. Claudia and Tatiana sat in the middle, where all my flowers and presents were shoved in as well as they could be. Dad drove and mum sat in the passenger seat. We stopped for ice cream on the way home and we got some movies, we were going to have a night in.
The next day, a Saturday. I went to visit Trisha. It was hard at first. Because she couldn't talk. I made a few lame jokes and she laughed. And then like so many people had told me I told her everything I felt. I told her how sorry I was and how it was my entire fault. She shook her head and wrote me a long letter saying we weren't the ones to blame they were. And we shouldn't have to avoid gangs on the streets. We hugged and I promised to bring her all her schoolwork so she didn't miss out. She just loved that. Before I left she stuck stickers on my cast and signed it. Her parents drove me home and both said how sorry they were that it had happened to us.
That is what got to me. Everyone saying 'sorry'. Why? It irritated me. I mean come on. How is that supposed to help my recovery? Yes let's talk about it. Remember what happened. Life's so fucked up.
The next day I helped Anna with her homework and took Claudia to the movies. Both Tatiana and Patience had come down with the flu. Claudia and I saw a bad movie. But we only went to do something together.
On Monday I went back to school it was an endless parade of questions "who did it? What happened? I heard you were in jail?" It wouldn't stop. Andrea, Keegan and Dara were my only escape. They acted like it hadn't happened. Just what I wanted school to be like. School was like this for about a week or so, then the novelty moved on. Trisha came back to school, so she was asked all the questions.
The five of us were together again. The only difference was that we were now closer than we'd ever been.
It took a while for me to be able to go out on a night. But after many pretend promises and begging, I was finally allowed to go out. I had to be back by one am though. But oh well. We planned on going to Fantom, a nightclub. It was local but it was really happening. The second my parents said yes I went looking for an outfit.
Dara and I had been shopping for an hour or so, when she saw a kick ass new store. We walked in and in less than half an hour had tried on almost everything in stock. I settled on a pair of black leather pants and a backless silver top that tied at the neck and back.
We met Keegan and Andrea at the food court at eight that night. Trisha couldn't go out yet she wasn't well enough.
The four of us had made plans to stay out until we were to tired to dance anymore, and then go back to Keegan's her parents were on a business trip so we'd have the place to ourselves.
It took us exactly seventeen minutes to get to the club. We had to stop a few times to adjust makeup and hair.
The four of us got there finally and decided to split up Andrea and I went straight to the dance floor. While Keegan and Dara went to sit at the bar. Andrea and I were having a great time on the dance floor, guys kept coming over to us it was great! Two songs later. Some weirdo with a bad haircut and an earring had chatted up Andrea.
As much as I'd love to stay and watch them make out I decided to find keegan and Dara. I found Dara at the bar by herself. "Hey" she shouted over the music. "Hey! Where's Keegan?" "On the dance floor with some guy" "Oh"
The two of us ordered some drinks and sat there staring at the people on the dance floor. We'd been there for three hours both bored out of our minds. "Fuck this Kyla, let's get out of here" "What about Keeg and Andy?" "I messaged them both we'll meet at kegs later."
We got up and walked out of the side door of the club dodging the drunks and the dancers.
We walked around for a while unsure of what to do, until we saw a pool hall. "Dara I don't know about this" "Come on we'll only stay for a while." I looked at her and rolled my eyes. "Why the fuck not" "That's the spirit."
We ran across the road and into the busy pool hall. We found a table almost straight away, even though the hall was packed. I took off my jacket and sat down. A waitress with blonde hair came over and asked what we wanted. "Two beers please." Dara said. The waitress wrote it down and walked off. "Ouch!" Dara said to me pointing towards four men at a pool table. "Dara, do not go over there." "Give me a reason why not." "Look you freak, look at the tattoos they have." "Yeah so?" "What are they of?" "A tiger and a flame" "What does that mean?" "I don't know" "They all have the same tattoo they're in a gang." "So what? I don't care it just makes me even more interested."
I sighed knowing to well Dara was going to go over there. And sure enough she walked over. I sat there watching her. I had no Idea what she was saying but I had an idea. Dara loved to flirt sometimes it was sickening. I rested my head on the table and stared at her laughing silently to myself as I imagined what was going through her pretty blonde head. My mobile started vibrating. I reached into my pocket and got it out. "Hello?" "Kyla?' "Yes" "It's me Andrea" "Yeah?" "Just thought I'd say I'm going to be a while." "Okay that's fine" I lied. I was so bored. I just wanted to go home. "Bye then Andy." "Bye" I pressed cancel and put my phone back into my pocket. I looked up and saw Dara walking towards me. "Guess what?' "What" I said flatly annoyed that I had been left by myself for three quarters of an hour. "They want us to go to their party!" "Wow." "Kyla, come on look at him." She pointed to this huge tank of a guy. He wants me there.
Of course she persuaded me to go. "How are we going to get there?" "Well K, Darren and his friends will take us." "Dara you fool, I'm not going."
Dara grabbed my hand and dragged me outside where the guys were waiting. "Okay" the tank Dara liked, said. "Me and Dj, will take Dara and Frank." "And the boss can take Dara's friend."
I stood there not knowing what to say as this guy I had never met took me to a strangers car. "In you get." I did as he said and got in. all the time calling myself an idiot. "Hello." The driver said. "Hi" "I'm Tristan." He said as he extended his hand. "Kyla," I said as I took his hand and shook it.
He was a hottie; he had spiky sandy-blonde hair and was muscled without being to muscled. He started to drive behind the car that Dara was in. "Where are we going?" "To a warehouse somewhere downtown." He said. "Are you going to kill me?" I asked seriously. I was really scared. "No way." He laughed. Seeing I was really uncomfortable. He started talking to me.
As it turns out he's the leader of a gang. I never found out the name. I didn't want to. "Right" he said. "we're here"