Chapter 9
NPOV
The memory replayed itself again and again as I tore like a mad man from the cabin.
"Give it to me!" Mike towered over me, and glared.
"No!" I shouted, my voice high and young sounding. "It's my guitar! Leave me alone!"
"Look, kid," Mike snarled. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"Why do you want it?" I demanded. "My mom gave it to me!"
"Well, I broke mine. Give me yours!"
"You broke yours because you're an idiot!" I screamed. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"
SMACK!
I ran into a wall of flesh and tumbled to the ground.
"Hey, watch it!" A dangerously strong hand grabbed the front of my shirt and lifted me almost a foot off the ground.
An angry face glared at me. "What do you think you're doing, newbie?" he snarled in a voice that sounded like it should be coming from the villain in a rated R movie then from a fifteen-or-sixteen- year old boy. I gulped.
"Well?" the boy demanded, shaking me.
A sudden spark of anger flowed through me. "Stop…Shaking…me and put…me…down!" I growled.
"Oh, ho ho," the guy laughed tauntingly, and more people joined in. I suddenly realized we were surrounded by more guys, all of which looked impossibly big for their age.
"Let's see how tough you really are," the guy challenged, before sending my back to the ground.
"You tell him, James," a blonde guy laughed and I felt another twinge of horror as I scrambled to my feet, my elbow scraped and bleeding.
Don't talk to James Sanders.
Jason's warning echoed once before James's punch landed me in the gut.
With a chocked cry I doubled over, clutching my stomach.
He lunged at me but I reacted and ducked away, grimacing. "Leave me alone!"
The memory flashed in front of me before he went at me again. I cried out as his backhand hit me on the side.
I fell to the ground. Everyone was chanting "Fight, fight, fight!" and cheering.
James laughed and grabbed me up by my hair, but I'd gotten a little bravery back.
I managed to pop him in the jaw, but it got him furious, and he tackled me. I landed on my stomach. The wind was knocked out of me. He punched me…right on my shoulder, where Todd had hit me with the aluminum bat.
My scream sounded scary, and pain filled, even to me.
"Nate!" someone cried. "Move, move!"
A tall person pushed aside the guys and ripped James off me. "Nate, buddy, are you all right?"
I rolled over and groaned before vomiting up most of my breakfast.
Jason helped me up. "It's okay. Come on, I'll get you to the nurse's office."
The boys laughed loudly. "Aww, look at that!" one shouted. "Nate has got a big older brother. How cuuutee he does the fighting for him!"
Jason glowered at them. I could hardly hear. Blood dripped from my nose (I think when James had tackled me, I'd smashed it into the ground) and down my shirt. I was shivering hard.
"Aww, look at that!" The jeering went on.
"Hey!" an indignant voice shouted. "You won't be laughing now."
Brown and Shane strode into view, Shane looking defiant.
The boys gulped and Shane snickered. "That's right. Have fun, ladies." He then came over and supported my other side.
"T-Thank you," I shuddered. Another round of nausea filled me and I began to gag.
The boys dropped my arms and I vomited again onto the ground.
"What did you do to him?" Shane asked as he helped me back up.
"Ran into him," I muttered, wiping my nose and mouth.
Jason shook his head and sighed. "James is a bad cookie. We'll fix him."
"Looks like Un—Brown is doing that for us," Shane said, looking back at him. I looked too and saw the boys cowering while Brown shook with anger. I couldn't hear his words, but it was clear he was shouting.
My leg suddenly decided to give out and I almost collapsed. Shane and Jason picked me up between them and continued walking.
The nurse nearly had a heart attack when she saw me. I couldn't blame her. There was a mirror in the room, and when I caught sight of myself, I felt sick. My shirt was torn, there was blood dribbling down from my nose and mouth, I had a black eye…"Oh, my goodness!" she exclaimed, jumping up. "What happened?"
"Fist fight, ma'am," Shane answered.
"Oh dear. Here, get him onto the bed."
She opened another door and they helped me into the room. I crawled, still shivering, onto a bed and curled up on my side, shaking like a leaf.
The nurse looked me over for a second, then smiled at Shane and Jason. "Thank you for bringing him," she said. "I'm going to get some antiseptic, but when I come back, you'll have to wait outside."
They nodded.
"Thanks guys," I whispered after she left, before coughing violently.
"No problem," Jason smiled.
"Yeah." Shane looked embarrassed. "And I'm sorry," he added.
"What for?"
"For being so…mean to you. I mean, if I hadn't scared you like that, why, you probably wouldn't be hurt right now. I'm sorry."
"Not your fault," I mumbled, shuddering.
SPOV
I felt truly sick with myself as I saw Nate, trembling and shivering, lay there, blood soaked, on the bed.
This was my fault.
Why am I such an idiot?
