A/N: It's been more than a year since the last update, for you old readers. And for you new readers, sorry if this story sounds vaguely familiar to anything you've written or read. I haven't been keeping up with any stories on hear lately and anything that's parallel to anything to recognize is just a coincidence.
Thanks for sticking in there. Enjoy...
Suze's POV-
Once, in middle school, my best friend Gina convinced me to join the track team with her. She needed something to do after school, and begged me to join, to keep her company. Running never really interested me, but as I raced around the school's track, I found I had a talent for this. The wind on my cheeks and the sound of my tennis shoes slapping the pavement really got to me. I found myself even winning a few meets.
But this running was different. The wind on my cheeks only made me dizzy, and I knew that with every step I took I wasn't closer to winning, but closer to losing the one person that meant the most to me in the world.
My mind raced with the horrible possibilities of what could have happened. Felix Diego and Maria stabbed Jesse, in his own home, killing him once and for all. I knew this. I should have known that coming back to the past was never going to change anything. Jesse's fate was written in stone. There was nothing I could do to change that.
As I approached the place where the shouts were coming from, I found myself more and more nauseous. The stars above my head spun around me and blurred with the ground. I grabbed my stomach, turned, and hurled into the bushes nearby. The combination of the sight of blood splattered across Jesse's room, the alcohol and the shock of it all was definitely not doing me any good.
Suddenly, as if I really needed any more surprises, I felt a strong hand wrap around my waist. My first instinct was to kick and scream. And boy, did I scream.
I must say, I'm not exactly what you would call weak. An hour of kick boxing a night really helped and I could kick a guy's ass, no problem. But man, either I was weak or this guy was really something, because even after all the flailing and kicking, the guy's grip did not loosen. It was then that I realized that this man wasn't Paul Slater, but someone way more dangerous.
"Oh, my Senorita," he growled into my ear. "So we meet again." I turned my head and, with all my might, spit into his face. He roared and cursed, dragging this cheek along his shoulder, wiping his face clean. "You will pay for that, little lady."
He dragged me deeper into the woods and onto the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean.
Carmel, California was famous for it's plunging cliffs and hairpin ocean roads. Every once in while you would hear about a car that swirved off the road and to it's doom off one of our hundred feet cliffs. They were rocky, jagged and worst of all, deadly. Now I found myself hanging off the edge of one of these cliffs, clinging to the solid ground with everything I had left in me. I turned my head, and took in the view of the hundred foot drop below me. If I went back any farther, I would plunge to meet a certain death as my body met the rocks.
Like a true gentleman, Diego had thrown me down to the ground, and kicked me in the chest with his hobnail boot. He succeeded in knocking the wind out of me, ripping a hole in my hoodie, and getting me very, very pissed, as if I wasn't before this. Oh, was I pissed.
I managed to lift my head and look around. I could have sworn Diego awarded me with another blow, I felt all of my breath escape me, and my head began to spin. But no, Diego hadn't hit me again, I just saw the image of Jesse, on the ground next to me, bleeding.
Jesse clutched his side with his left hand, and heaved every breath. His face was twisted and contorted with pain. I screamed and threw myself at him, holding his head close to me.
"Jesse," I cried, my throat burning and my eyes stinging with tears. "Jesse what did they do to you?" I asked, although I knew that there would be no response on his part. His breathing grew slower and steadier and I knew we would have to get him to a hospital if he was going to live.
"Suze," said Paul from behind me. He had his hand on my shoulder. "Suze, just leave him and get out of here. I told Maria not to shoot him, I told her I would call the cops but she didn't listen, Suze. Jesse... he's not going to make it. Let's just get out of here."
"No..." I whispered, refusing to accept this. Jesse would live. "No!" I shouted, as I put Jesse down and threw myself at Maria, who had just emerged from the woods.
The next thing I knew, we were pretty much rolling around on the floor, and I had landed a pretty fair punch right smack into Maria's nose. She screamed in horror as blood ran down her cheeks and into her beautiful brown curls. I quickly grabbed a handful of these curls and pulled, knowing the pain that came with pulling hair. She screamed and arched her back. She was squirming, but as I have said, I'm pretty strong and managed to keep her under me. She didn't even throw a punch, I caught her that off guard.
Iguess I was pretty pissed, and Maria was my punching bag. Hey, it was her fault that my boyfriend was dying, and she was going to get what she was asking for. I was hurting, and if I had to hurt, so did she.
And I didn't stop hurting her until Paul pulled me off of her about ten minutes later, holding me close to his chest. By this time, I was hanging limp in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. The whole fight was just sobbing, hitting, screaming, and more hitting. How could she do this to Jesse? Jesse was the kindest person I had ever known. He was kind to his sisters, he was smart, and funny and for God's sake he wanted to become a doctor. Why would anyone to this to him? Now more than ever, I hated Maria, that selfish bitch.
I looked up through my bangs and saw that Jesse was being carried away by four men. Jesse wasn't the only one being carried away, though. Maria was being pushed, despite her beat up state, by two men in uniforms. Felix Diego wasn't far behind. Both were wearing a shiny set of handcuffs around their wrists.
The whole de Silva estate had began to assemble around the scene. Other farmers from nearby were watching the scene unfold, holding their wives close to them. By the look on their faces, no one could believe that the most powerful man in Salinas County, Felix Diego, and the most elegant woman, Maria de Silva were being dragged away in handcuffs.
I spund around, burying my head into Paul's chest. He wrapped his arms tight around me and kissed my head. "Suze," he whispered. "Suze, just calm down. Look, we can go home right now if you want, and it'll be like none of this ever happened. It'll be just you and me again, just you and..."
My eyes suddenly grew wide with realization. "Oh my God," I coughed. "Jesse... Is Jesse dead?"
I could see by the dim moonlight as Paul's eyes darted from side to side. "Yes, he's dead. I'm so sorry." He squeezed me tighter, apologizing again and again.
I wasn't going to have any of it, though. I tore myself from his grip. "You're lying, Paul Slater! You nasty liar. Jesse isn't dead and I know it." He let out a dry, laugh. His trademark smirk crept across his face, transforming him from the kind Paul I'd grown accustommed to and into this horrible monster.
"No he's not dead, Susie. But he's going to die soon, there's no point in denying it. Look, what t he fuck do you want with a dead guy, anyway." He took a few steps closer, his hands buried deep into the pockets of his newly donned jeans. "I can give you so much more than him. Come back with me, Suze. Forget this ever happened and come back with me. You wont even remember Jesse anymore."
My voice caught in my throat. No more Jesse. As much as I loved Jesse, this thought was tempting. No more Jesse. I would never remember the pain I'd felt, the horrible void he left behind when he disappeared would no longer be there. I could live out a happy, normal teenage life with Paul, a real, living, boyfriend. It would be everything I've ever wanted. No Jesse...
"Are you coming with me, Suze?" Paul's voice, harsh and demanding, interrupted my thoughts. "I'm going whether you come with me or not. This is your last chance..."
My breathing grew faster, and for the first time that whole night my thoughts were clear. With a new confidence, I strutted up to Paul and put my hands against his chest. I leaned in very close, until my face was only about two inches away from his. I felt his hands start to slip around my waist. Before they went any farther I whispered, "Fuck you, Paul," and spun around on my heel with only one person on my mind: Jesse.
A/N: Hope you liked, the next (short) chapter should be up soon. Please Review : )
