29. benched

Kitt waited in the line for the outhouse, feeling disconnected. The alcohol had done its job, and she was sufficiently tipsy.

She was enjoying the quiet. The air was cooler away from the fire, but her flush skin welcomed the change.

As soon as she was done, she felt better. She still wasn't in the mood to socialize with the group as a whole and debated going back to her room, but she decided that dipping her feet into the cold stream was a much better idea.

She walked down the path away from the clearing to a spot where she could sit on a rock to remove her shoes and socks and dip her feet.

"Hey there." She turned to see Axel walking up out of the shadows.

"Ew, what?" She said, slipping forward to swing her feet over the rock into the water.

"That isn't very nice. I thought we were friends?" He said sloppily. He was drunk.

"Decidedly not friends." She shook her head.

"You talk weird. It's super cute." He awkwardly sat beside her.

"Don't you have a super bitchy girlfriend to get back to?" Kitt asked.

"Who? Ammmberr? It's not like I let her control me." He leaned back on one elbow and tried to grin, but to Kitt, he just looked creepy.

"Cool, that's something you should discuss with her." Kitt wanted him to leave.

"Nah, she knows I do what I want." He reached out to touch Kitt, and she recoiled.

"That's great, good for you." Kitt scooted away as best she could on the rock.

"It could be good for us." He spun around until he was behind her. He was surprisingly agile suddenly.

"I don't think so, I have a boyfriend." Kitt slid as far from him as she could with the little space she had left. He moved to fill in the space behind her.

"That's not what I hear. Who is this boyfriend?" He ran his finger down her arm, making her shiver with discomfort.

"Leo." She just said on the edge of the rock, she had nowhere else to go.

"Gordon? Pfft, that guy was out with Eva just two days ago. I don't think he is the loyal 'boyfriend' you think he is." He leaned in to kiss her shoulder. He grabbed her upper arm tightly and tried to pull her back against him. He continued to try to kiss her shoulder and her neck.

She wrenched her arm from his grasp, and she stood up in the river. It was deeper than she expected, and the cold water was shocking to her system. Her pants were soaked.

She snatched her shoes off the rock before he could react. She was now thigh deep in the swirling water and she had no choice to use it as her escape route.

She couldn't move very quickly and the sharp rocks on the riverbed hurt her feet, but she pushed on until she could find a clear spot to climb out. The water was cold making her legs numb. The air made her shiver as she climbed the steep bank.

Axel followed her along the shore and appeared around the tall grass the moment she was back on dry land.

"You are a funny babe." He said roughly, scooping her against him as she tried to avoid his lips that he had aimed at her. He held her against him tightly, with her arms pinned at her sides.

"Get off me!" She said, struggling against his advances.

"I told you, Leo won't care. We share everything. He's my defenseman." Axel slured with his hot beer breath in her face.

Her heart was pounding heavily and she could feel panic setting in. They were only steps away from a hundred people, but in the dark, away from the music and noise of voices and life. She could see them but no one was looking their way, and even if they happened to glance over, would they be able to see into the dark?

Kitt decided that no one was going to help her. So she would have to save herself.

Axel held her tightly with one arm around her and his other groping at her. He was trying to kiss her but she was avoiding his face as best she could so his lips landed on her shoulder and her hair and her ear.

She had one chance and she didn't care how, but she was going to take it and get away from him.

"GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME! GET OFF! LET GOOOO! DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY FROM ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!" She started yelling as loud as her voice would go. She started punching and kicking with what little room he had. She pinched his inner arm, which was the only skin she could reach. He immediately tried to cover her mouth, she tried to bite him but his hoodie covered him as a layer of protection. She reached up and pinched harder this time.

"Ouch!" He loosened his grip momentarily.

"LET GO!" She continued to scream when he wasn't blocking her mouth.

"Leo didn't tell me you liked it rough." He laughed pulling her backwards.

She felt her adrenaline spike. She could see the people in the picnic area clearing, but they couldn't see her. She stumbled as he tried to drag her farther into the dark. Her brain panicked, but her muscles knew what to do.

She grabbed his arm down hard and fast. She turned and swiftly punched him in the nose. As soon as she made contact he stumbled back slightly and bent forward.

"LEAVE ME ALONE. STOP TOUCHING ME. LET GO

He grabbed her ponytail and pulled. Hard.

She kicked as hard as her trembling legs would allow.

She had been skating for years.

Her legs were powerful.

Her first kick only grazed his leg because she was too close. Her next attempt brought her knee up squarely between his legs.

Full contact.

He pulled her down by her hair as he crumbled into the damp grass. He fought to free his hand from her hair and punched her in the face.

She saw stars as she fell backward. She felt her arms flail, grasping for something to grab onto. Instead, she was met with absolutely nothing.

She screamed as she tried desperately to catch herself.

She flew back until she hit the surface of the water. It was like concrete. The cold water and the shock of the pain in her cheekbone took her breath away.

The world went black.

***

It was probably only a minute later, but the world felt different. Someone held her as other hands helped pull her from the water.

She could see people talking, but her ears had not reconnected to the brain yet. Somone held her from behind, pulling her to lean back.

Panic set back in, and she clawed at the hands holding her. She started to kick, and her adrenaline shot through her again, snapping her senses back.

"Babe? Kitt? It's  me! It's Leo. Shhh, it's OK, babe." He said soothingly.

"Leo!" She breathed, sinking into him. She half laid on him in the grass.

Somewhere not too far away, she could hear a howl. It took a moment to recognize it as Axel's voice. He was doubled over on the ground, surrounded by his teammates. Someone helped him up as Kitt watched from her spot on the grassy beach, as the group of hockey players loaded Axel into one of the golf carts lined up on the edge of the clearing.

"What happened?" She asked, feeling disoriented.

"I don't know. You were yelling, and when we went to come see what was happening, we heard a loud splash, and all hell broke loose." He said, wrapping his unzipped hoodie around them.

"He attacked me." She said through chattering teeth as she lay on Leo shivering.

"What?!" He said, and she could feel him start to get up.

"I fought him off. I punched his stupid face and kneed him in the balls." She said, him back.

"Kittridge, lots of middle names, McCoy!" Josie yelled, as she ran across the grass to flop down and grabbed her face with both hands.

"Hey." Kitt laughed through her fish lips.

"What the actual fuck happened?" Josie asked. Kitt could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"I'm OK. Now, I'm OK now." Josie shivered.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." Leo said. He stood up, leaving her on the ground for a second. She instantly missed his body heat. The cold enveloped her and she craved the warm comfort that Leo provided.

He bent down and scooped her up. He refused to let anyone else help or even talk to her.

"Kitty! What?! Are you ok?" Trevor appeared beside her as she kept her face tucked against Leo's muscular chest.

"She is FINE!" Leo snapped rudely. Trevor looked surprised as he blinked and stepped back.

"I'm OK, just cold. I will text you tomorrow." She said as Leo put her in the passenger side of the golf cart. He glared at Trevor as he rounded the machine to climb into the driver's side.

People had started talking which meant her teammates started appearing around her making a small crowd.

"I'm fine. I will fill you all in tomorrow." She assured them as Leo grunted and gestured for them to move. Kitt blew the crowd a kiss before Leo spun the tires spraying gravel behind them. Kitt chuckled a little because she thought of the tiny vehicle spitting gravel was just so ridiculous.

Leo looked like he could spit acid. She noted how, even with the anger turning his face red and the weird yellow hue of the safety lights along the path, he was still very attractive.

She felt her stomach roll. Axel's words hit her all over again.

Kitt grabbed the roll bar and pulled herself over the side of the cart and released the entire contents of her stomach.

***

Leo had insisted she take a hot shower and put on her coziest pajamas. He made her sit on the floor while he brushed her hair. He was terrible at it, but somehow the act alone was comforting.

She braided her hair up into a bun. And Leo got her two bottles of water for her night stand. She smiled that he knew that she could only sleep if she had water beside her, incase she woke up dying of thirst in the middle of the night.

He stripped off his jeans and tossed his hoodie on her desk.

"Now, Come here." He climbed into her bed and flipped open the covers for her to join him.

"Thanks." She smiled weakly. She was suddenly very tired.

"Get some sleep. Here. With me." He said as she snuggled up next to him.

She yawned and settled, her eyes heavy.

"Were you out with Eva this week?" She said slowly as she started to drift off, Axel's words playing in her thoughts.

"What, who told you-" He started to say.

"Axel. He said you were out on a date. You were out on a date, while I was home worrying about you. I thought you were my boyfriend, just mine, mine and boyfriend..." She dozed off as she spoke so he didn't get the chance to respond.

***

The dark held a monster just out of sight. Kitt turned around again and again and it maintained its position behind her. She could sense it. She could feel it's heavy wet breath.

Slowly a tentacle wrapped itself around her left leg. She kicked it off. She was frozen in the dark, she didn't have anywhere to go.

The tentacles tickled at her arms and legs. She bolted forward running as hard  as her legs could carry her. The tentacles kept licking at her skin from behind.

"We share." A creepy, husky, raspy voice said right behind her ear. She turned to punch the air where the voice had come from. It was like fighting with the Cheshire cat, it just disappeared and reappeared seemingly to torment her.

"You like it rough." The voice made her skin crawl. She tried to run but there was no escape so she stopped and curled into a ball in the pitch black endless space.

"He isn't Loyal. You think he is your boyfriend? He isn't loyal... isn't loyal." The voice surrounded her as the tentacles snaked all over her exposed flesh.

"He is my defenseman. My defence. He defends me. Mine." The words assaulted her ears as if they were physical blows.

Kitt fought, she pushed and pulled at the tentacles, but there were more and more licking her, overwhelming her.

"You belong to me now." The disembodied voice laughed. There was no humor in the laugh. It was cold and pure evil.

His laugh washed over her like icy water. He body was going numb in the coldness. She was suddenly treading frigid water. Her body loosing sensation and the air being stolen from her lungs.

She felt the tentacle wind around her slowly preventing any movement. She was powerless to stop it as it made its way from her feet up over her mouth.

Her soul was tired of fighting and being afraid. She was ready to give up. The struggle was futile. The demon sensed her weakness and pounced.

It flashed a light at a distance and then It rushed her up to the window. On the other side of the glass Leo sat on the grass by the fire with Eva between his knees. She leaned against him and brushed something from his cheek. He captured her hand and kissed her fingers.

A hole dug it's way through Kitt as she was forced to watch the scene before her.

"Aren't you going to fight? I thought youbwere the feisty one. I like that. I like the weird ones. Especially when they like it rough and fight back." The voice said making her stomach drop. He wanted to hurt her in more ways than one.

"I'm going to enjoy this. And if you let yourself, you will too." The voice challenged.

The voice slowly morphed into Axel's smooth and silky tone. The silk had turned to a rancid slime as he spoke.

"Where is the fight? Huh? Where is the spice? Go on honey, fight." The evil joy in the sound made Kitt feel sick.

She fought with every ounce of power she had left in her damaged body. She scratched and bit at the tentacles that had suctioned to her skin.

Bitter ink filled her mouth and eyes. Acid burned her skin as she willed her finger nails to become weapons against the demon wrapped around her. Her skin burned painfully as she fought.

The demon bit her face. Right under her left eye. The pain shot through her entire being, her thoughts started to swirl, mixing with the acidic ink swirling around her in the icy water.

She had to fight. She couldn't let the demon win.

Demons couldn't win.

Never let them win.

Don't let them win.

Fight.

Fight.

Fight.