[tw: attempted rape; read at your own risk]
eliza hardly noticed the cold droplets of water that pelted her skin. in fact, she didn't notice much of anything. she stumbled through puddles and mud with no regard for the weather or her clothes. she only made it a few yards before she collapsed in a heap on the sidewalk. she sat there, soaked and muddy, tears streaming over her cheeks. she didn't want to move. she didn't want to do anything at all. she would have stayed there all night if someone hadn't grabbed her arm.
she was pulled to her feet and she finally looked up. it was hard to see through the tears and the rain, but she saw a tall man, muscular and blonde. using the hand that the man wasn't holding, she wiped her eyes, seeing a man she recognized faintly as someone who went to school with alexander. thinking of him brought on a fresh wave of tears.
"you look like you might need some help," the man said. his voice was deep and his eyes were glittering with a malicious glint, but eliza hardly noticed. "my name is george king."
at the name, a memory flashed back to eliza: alex, ranting about a student named george king, who was constantly abusing his girlfriends and getting into fights with other students. he was one of the most homophobic, racist, and rude students in alex's entire school.
and yet, here he was, offering her help. she hesitated briefly then nodded. "i'm-"
"i know who you are, miss schuyler," he replied with a smirk, his hand moving from her arm to her waist.
even in her teary state, eliza could tell something wasn't right, but her mind couldn't seem to grasp what it was. "mister king..." she whispered, unsure of what to say and unable to move.
"king works just fine." she flinched as he pressed his lips to hers. the kiss wasn't gentle, it wasn't what a kiss was supposed to be. it wasn't caring, or kind, it was rough, needy. eliza gasped, trying to pull away, but george's hands held her in place. she tried to scream, but no sound came out. all she could do was silently hope that someone would notice-
suddenly george's pressure disappeared from her body and eliza heard a loud thud. unable to stand any longer she dropped to her knees on the pavement. this time, no tears escaped her lips. she couldn't bring herself to cry out, to open her eyes, to move.
she felt a hand on her shoulder and flinched away. "don't touch me!" her voice was barely a whisper, but she opened her eyes and glared at the figure looming over her, trying to seem stronger.
"it's okay, i'm not going to hurt you." the voice wasn't king's. she recognized it, but she couldn't quite place where she had hear it before. "miss schuyler, are you alright? did he- did he?"
she shook her head and finally gave her rescuer a good look. he was short, that much she could tell, but she couldn't see his face. not until he moved into the pooling light from the streetlamp. she let out a soft gasp. "james," she breathed, before the stress and exhaustion got the best of her and the world went dark.
