-MARCIA'S POV-
I was never quite sure what I saw in Ace Merrill. He was rude, crude and a bully, to say the least. He always got a rise off of picking on me, especially if it made him look big and important in front of his friends. This evening was no different.
"Hey, doll, where were you this afternoon?" He walked up behind me, his usual smirk plastered across his face, as per usual. Grabbing my waist with a little too much force. Leaning close to my ear, he whispered in a biting tone. "I was lookin' all over for you."
I didn't take my hands off of the pinball controls. My eyes stayed fastened on the little silver ball that ping-ponged back and forth between the pinball paddles. I had become incredibly aware of the fact that, since Ace walked into the nickel arcade, everyone had gone silent. The little kids at the crane machine had scurried away in fear. It was kind of funny how Ace had that effect on everyone. Including me. "I had school, Ace. Some of us still show up for class." As soon as I added that last remark, I regretted it. I wasn't supposed to get mouthy with him, or, it'd come back to bite me later.
Ace let go of my waist, his smirk fading. "Well, why don't I drive you home, little lady?" He asked, his eyes cold. "C'mon, it's getting late." He grabbed my hand, without awaiting my response, and pulled me out of the nickel arcade.
"Ace, let go of me.." I mumbled softly, biting my lip as he dug his finger nails into my wrist. Before I knew it, he was shoving me into the passenger seat of his beat up old truck. The warm leather rubbed against my skin in the most uncomfortable way possible.
The car ride to Ace's place was silent. He didn't speak a single word to me, he just locked his eyes on the road and smoked a cigarette. I didn't look at him. At least I tried not to. The rage building up in his eyes was frightening, even to me. I was supposed to be fearless, but, god dammit, I was terrified of Ace Merrill and he knew it.
The second we walked into his house, I was pushed fiercely against the wall. Ace gripped my shoulders with such force that you'd think he could crush them with his bare hands. "You like making a fool out of me in front of all of those people, baby?" He growled, gripping a handful of my hair. "You like embarrassin' me?" Throwing me harshly against the ground, his eyes narrowed. "You're real fuckin' cute, Marcia, really." He gripped me with his rough hands, again, spitting in my face. "If you keep this up, Marcia, one day, I'll..I swear to god, I'll.."
I interrupted him. "You'll what, Ace?! You'll kill me?!" I let out a pained laugh, tears streaming down my cheek. "Remember when you loved me, Ace? What ever happened to that, huh? Huh?!"
Clearly, I had gotten too mouthy with Ace. I could tell as soon as he kneed me in the stomach, throwing me hard against the wall. As soon as my head collided with the wall, I could feel a soft stream of blood gushing out of the back of my head. As soon as I saw the blood, my vision got blurry and everything went black.