Okay, so here's chapter three. I gotta worn you, it gets kind of intense and there's some minor language, but I think you guys can handle it. Let me know what you think, please review a lot--the first chapter still has the most reviews. Although, you guys did do a pretty good job getting chapter two pretty close. Oh well, enjoy this. It's two pages' worth, so you better enjoy it. ; )

Jay backed Paige into the concrete wall, smiling nastily when the back of her head hit it. Her breathing quickened as her body tensed, waiting for him to attack. He gave her a cold glare as he brought his fist back, then squeezed her eyes shut as it shot through the air. It was only a matter of seconds before his knuckles blasted into her face…

I awoke with a start. I could feel sweat all over my body, which was sore and tired from tossing and turning all night. I glanced to my right and breathed a sigh of relief to see Paige sleeping soundly next to me, She was lying on her stomach, her right arm wrapped around mine as I lay on my back, my chest heaving for oxygen.

I had had this same nightmare every night since Jay had delivered his threat, and each time it seemed even more terrifyingly realistic. My eyes teared up at the mere thought of Jay getting violent with her, but I wiped them away and turned toward her.

My shifting my body caused Paige to stir, and she peered at me in the dark through half-asleep eyes.

"You okay?" she asked quietly. I had a feeling she knew I was having trouble sleeping.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I didn't fool either of us.

She turned her body so she was on her side and placed her right hand on my cheek, caressing my skin with amazing gentleness. "Hon, you can tell me if something's wrong." She paused, bringing me closer and brushing my hair with the side of her thumb. "You know that."

"I do."

"So tell me."

I hesitated, debating how I could possibly explain my worries to her without sounding completely paranoid. "I'm just scared about…about you and Jay." Damnit, my eyes were welling up again. "I don't want him to hurt you."

She kissed me on my cheek, jawbone and chin, then paused with her face inches from mine. "Hon, don't worry about it. I won't let him do anything to me." She kissed me on the lips, her right hand still resting on the side of my face. "Besides, there's only about five minutes every day that I'm not with you, so I'd say the chances of him catching me alone are slim to none."

She kissed me again and I kissed her back strongly, my arms wrapped around her. "I know." Another kiss. "It's that five minutes I'm afraid of."

We kissed again but there was no more conversation. There was, however, the eventual loss of shirts and pajama pants as we felt the pure heat of each other's skin.

Who knew Paige Michalchuk tasted so sweet.

I slowly became aware of the fact that there was a quiet roaring coming from outside the house. I cautiously blinked my eyes open and peered out the window. It was pouring rain outside, and a flash of lightning lit up the sky before I could look away.

I rolled over, armed with a smile that would say "Why, no, Paige, I had absolutely no more nightmares last night," but the other half of the bed was empty. I sat up and glanced at the bedside table--there was a note in Paige's horrifically neat handwriting. Went to go get breakfast--you like The Dot's bagels, right? See you soon. Love, Paige.

Paige went out in a storm to get my favorite bagels for me. Ahh, the things that made my heart melt. I was halfway through forming a smile when I froze, my blood turning cold in my veins.

Jay's favorite hangout was in the pool hall. Which happened to be right next to The Dot.

I pulled on jeans and a t-shirt, completely forgot to grab my rain jacket and bolted out the door. I had to find Paige.

I was a few blocks away when my cellphone beeped, its way of announcing that I been sent a text. Paige's number appeared on the screen. I attacked the green button and anxiously waited for the message to manifest itself. My eyes nervously scanned the words. Alex, I need help. Jay has me, wont let me go. He says you know where to find him. Please hurry.

Suddenly I had all the energy in the world. My speed increased two-fold and my feet carried me to the front door of the building. I ripped it open and quickly scanned the room, but there was no one in sight. I wasn't discouraged--I knew about the secret room in the back where Jay and his friends played poker.

I navigated through the room with nothing but adrenaline driving me, then I burst through the Employees Only door, my jaw clenched in anticipation.

I was immediately met with a punch to my face, sending me back out the door. I clutched onto a nearby table and scrambled to my feet, my eyes widening.

Jay was standing before me, his face expressing a calm anger that scared the hell out of me. That's when I noticed what was in his hand, which hung at his side--Paige's pink Moto Razr. This had been a setup.

Jay followed my gaze and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, it's like that. I swiped it from her purse during our little altercation the other day. Figured it might come in handy." He tossed it onto the table and took a step toward me. "Guess I was right."

He must have seen the anticipation in my eyes. "If you try to run, you'll never make it." He took another step forward as I backed up.

I took a chance--I whipped around, prepared to high-tail it out of there. Once again, Jay was right. He grabbed my hair and yanked me back as I let out a small cry, stumbling into him. I tried to give him a shove, but he grabbed my wrists with surprising strength and held me still.

"You see, I don't give a shit about your girlfriend," he began, emphasizing the swear as a means of insulting Paige further. "I just happen to be really, really pissed off that you would choose her over me." I struggled against him but he began to push me to the floor. "So I've decided to show her how damn angry I am over the entire thing by going after the one thing she cares about most."

I let out a little gasp and my eyes widened in fear.

He let out another laugh. "Yeah, I know--you wouldn't think someoene like Michalchuk would actually have enough heart in her to care about anything. I guess it's just surprises all around."

He continued to push me down until he had me pinned to the floor. He pressed my hands to the floor with his and kneed me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me.

"I think it was pretty brilliant planning for a guy like me," he continued, following his statement with a hit to my face. "I made you both think I wanted to hurt Paige, and then I used her as bait--it reeled you right in."

"Jay, get off!" I shouted, and I brought my shin up to his groin as hard as I could. He yelped with pain and jumped off of me, hunched over. I sprang up and darted for the door, but he grabbed my ankle and I came crashing to the floor. My head hit the hard linoleum floor as my arm was sandwiched between it and my body. Pain ripped through my arm as it twisted at an akward angle.

I could feel blood dripping down my forehead as he dragged me further int the kitchen. I knew he was trying to get me away from the front windows, and I clawed against the tile to attemp to slow my progress. I might have been able to do more, had I not been slowly fading into unconsciousness. I weakly kicked my foot, and to my surprise, Jay let go, probably thinking I was out cold. I frantically crawled forward, trying to ignore the horrible pain coursing through my arm.

My eyes shot to the front of the room as a passerby caught my attention, and vice versa. What were the chances it was Paige? If they were slim to none, I was the luckiest person on earth.

Her expression immediately changed for the worst when she took in the scene. She wrenched open the door and rushed toward Jay, digging through her purse. She ended up producing a can of pepper spray (good ol' Paige), aimed, and fired. She waited until Jay was on the floor with his hands covering his eyes before tossing the canister aside.

Paige then crouched down next to me, immediately eyeing my arm. She gently rolled me onto my back, being as careful as possible so she wouldn't cause me too much pain. When she softly touched my arm I knew it should have hurt, but I was nearly unconscious so I felt almost nothing. She reached over to the table and dialled three numbers on her phone, her eyes more scared than I had ever seen before.

As she clutched my hand in hers I tried to squeeze it, crying out as a flare of pain reminded me about my broken bone. Paige caressed the hand with her thumb…I could see her eyes getting wet and shiny. She then put the phone on the floor without hanging up and put her free hand on my cheek.

All those times in stories and movies when the characters peacefully drift into unconsciousness are complete bull. It fucking hurts.