A/N: As I stated in the description, this story contains dark themes like SA and R. This is the only time I will warn about that going forward.

On my way home from the city I stopped at Tony's, a pizza place not far from my apartment and picked up the food order my neighbor, Joe, had placed. Joe and his friends had become my friends over the years. We lived in an old three story house that was converted into an apartment building, each floor being its own dwelling.

When I first moved in, I couldn't stand Joe and the guys. They were all in a band together and would come over to Joe's place every night to practice. Their music was terrible, a whole bunch of thrashing guitar, erratic drumming and Connor trying his best at scream vocals. Luckily, they would end up getting stoned most of the time and abandon their racket-making to play video games or watch horror flicks for the rest of the night.

Pulling into my parking spot at the back of the building, I turned off my vehicle and grabbed the pizzas. At the back of the building was a two level deck that had stairs switchbacking up the left side. Joe's apartment had a stone patio situated under the deck structure and that's where he and the guys were; sitting around the fire pit, a raging fire burning away, empty beer cans scattered about. As soon as they saw me getting out of my SUV with the food in hand I was greeted with cheers.

"Hey girly!" Joe scrambled from his chair and came to help me with the food.

Connor, Chris and Sam descended on the box of pizza now in Joes' hands and tore into it, each grabbing three slices each. I took up the empty seat next to Connor, placing the untouched pizza on the brick half wall behind me and opened the foam container holding my cheese burger.

"Hey, let me bum one?" I asked pointing to the box of cigarettes on the arm rest of Joes' chair. I put the empty food container next to the empty pizza boxes on the wall and grabbed for a beer.
"Yea girly, here," Joe said, completely surprised by me asking for one. I took the cigarette from the pack and placed it between my lips and waited for him to hand me the lighter. Instead he leaned over and lit it for me with a smile, "pretty girls never light their own cigarettes."

"Shut up," I laughed before breathing in deeply, holding the burning smoke in my lungs. I closed my eyes, let my head fall back against the chair and then blew out dramatically, watching the tendrils of smoke rise into the air.

"Bad day, Scars?" Connor asked as he lit up his bowl, taking a long hit. Connor seemed so out of place compared to the others. He was very shy, never really speaking up when they were having debates on who they thought was the best guitarist of all time or what gaming console was superior. He just sat there sheepishly, acting like he was having a good time even though you could tell he was trying to think of something to say to join in. This always confused me since he was the lead singer in their band, you'd think he would have a more out going personality.

Taking another drag from my cigarette I shook my head no. "No, just a strange day? I don't know, the police were at the lot today to question my uncle."

"Oh shit," Sam exclaimed, leaning forward in his chair to snatch the bowl from Connor. "What for?

"I guess there was some shoot out at the shipping yard and one of our sea containers was broken into." I answered.

"I heard about that." Joe chimed in. "They think it was some mob business. Like twenty dead or some shit."

"Thirteen," I corrected, as if thirteen dead people is so much better than twenty. "Anyways, because our container was broken into and the shooting happened in front of it, some detectives came by to ask a bunch of questions. The rest of the day everyone just felt off."

I took a swig of my drink while the guys all started to go off on their theories of what could have happened. Their stories got more and more outlandish as they went on. Chris was convinced that the shipping container actually held some damning information that the government had been lying about being in contact with aliens and that the mob wanted it to hold over the president's head so that the mob could take over the White House.

We let him go on for a while, acting like we believed him before Connor lost his composure and burst out laughing which caused a chain reaction. Chris, feeling annoyed that we were laughing at him, plopped back down into his chair and opened up another can of beer.

I ended up spending more time with the guys than I had anticipated. Listening to their banter helped me shake most of the uneasy feelings from today. I hadn't told them about Alex, though.

I tried to talk with him all day today but he seemed to keep alluding me, saying that he had to run to get something or that he couldn't talk because he had so much work to do. Well, he won't be able to get away from me tomorrow. It will just be the two of us for inventory so hopefully I'll get some answers from him then.

Joe and Chris were on their Breaking Bad is the best TV show ever soapbox when Jay had pulled in the driveway, taking Mark and Edith's parking spot; they were the old couple who lived in the middle apartment. The lights on his '98 Ford Sable flicked from its normal headlights to its high beams as he put the car in park.

Raising my hand up to my face and turning my head out of the direct beam of light I yelled "Asshole!" Hoping he would hear over his blasting music.

Jay was their drummer and the only one of the lot that I couldn't stand. He was roughly six foot three and lanky with long sandy blonde hair reaching down to his shoulders. He had a nasty temper. The lights turned off and the obnoxious music stopped mid chorus as he stepped out of the car. Immediately spotting me, a slimy smile spread on his face. He slunk over and took up the seat that Connor had been sitting in.

Great.

"Scarlet, what are you doing out past eleven?" Jay flashed me his crooked smile causing a wave of disgust to wash over me. Jay liked to think that he was God's gift to women and that he could get any girl he wanted. The sad part was that he had a wonderful girlfriend, Loey, who loved him beyond reason. I never knew why, she knew he cheated on her all the time but for some reason she just couldn't let this scumbag go. I'm pretty sure he's physically abusing the poor girl, too. There's been too many times where she's wearing long sleeves or hoodies when it's too hot outside or she styles her hair into a deep side part so you can't really see one of her eyes from under her hair.

I hope she wakes up soon. She's too good for him. It breaks my heart seeing her like that and seeing how he acts when she isn't around.

"I was just leaving, actually." I said, putting out my cigarette.

"Aw, really?" Joe pouted.

"Yea. I have to go in for inventory counts tomorrow." I grabbed my purse from the ground.

"Don't go, I just brought the party." Jay said, grabbing my arm so I couldn't get up from the chair. He reached into his pocket, his eyes locked on mine. They were so dark brown that in this light they looked like two black holes. His gaze left me squirming in my own skin. When he found what he was looking for in his pocket he tossed it on the ledge of the fire pit. It was a clear sandwich bag with a bunch of little white pills.

As soon as I saw them I knew it was time for me to leave. I had no problem with them smoking weed. Hell, I join them on occasion, but I was never interested in hard drugs.

"The fuck is that?" Chris asked, reaching for it.

Jay snatched it before Chris could grab the bag. Opening it, he took one of the pills and held it up in-between his index finger and his thumb, the light from the fire pit illuminating it. "Zennies." He answered.

"What, how'd you get those?" Asked Joe, sitting up in his seat. He seemed all too happy to be in their presence.

"My guy just got some in. Said this is the best shit he's taken." Jay answered.

"What the hell is a Zenny?" I asked, scrunching my nose.

Jay turned to me and smiled, showing his teeth that had yellowed from his years of smoking. "It's Z," he scoffed, as if it's common knowledge. "It's like Fentanyl and Ecstasy had a baby."

Jay popped the pill in his mouth while he winked at me and stole Chris' beer out of his hand to wash it down. I had to hold back a gag.

Joe held out his hand for one, followed by the others. Jay obliged and dropped a pill in each outstretched hand and just like that, they were on their way out. This was absolutely my cue to leave. I stood from my seat and ran my hands down the front of my jacket before I grabbed my bag that had fell to the ground when Jay grabbed my arm.

"Aw, Scars are you leaving?" Connor whined as he came back outside from using Joe's bathroom. Jay quickly put the bag of pills back in his pocket before Connor had noticed them.

"Yea, I have work in the morning. Have a good one, boys." I said with an awkward wave and walked to the stairs.

By the time I climbed up the three flights of stairs I was out of breath, a sign I smoked way too much this evening. I leaned against my door, trying to catch my breath while I dug in my bag for my keys.

The door was halfway open when I heard hurried foot steps coming up the wood stairs. I scrambled to move faster into my apartment but I heard my name being called, stopping me in my frantic tracks.

"Scars, hey wait up!" Jay called as he finished his way up the stairs.

I stopped in my doorway, my stomach dropping. By the time I turned, he was already standing directly in front of me, hand placed on my door frame next to my head. He was towering over me, making me feel smaller than I already was. I watched as his eyes traveled from my mine down to my lips and then back up again. The feeling in my gut was telling me to push him as hard as I can and lock my door but for some reason I was stuck in this moment of fogginess.

"Jay, I don't mean to be rude," I did mean to be rude, "but I've had a pretty long day, I just want to be left alone right now."

"Let me in and I'll help you forget about today," he answered taking a step forward, his hand sliding in my apartment a little further. If I'd slam my door shut now, I'd crush his hand.

My own hands were starting to sweat. The primal feeling that something bad was about to happen was in full effect yet I was just standing there like an idiot. He was looking at me like I was his prey, like he was about to devour me.

"I'm serious, I want to be left alone."

"Oh, where's the fun in that?" His other hand gripped the metal buckle on his belt.

"Get out." I demanded, clenching my fists. "Go home to your girlfriend and leave me alone!" My words were falling on deaf ears.

Jay was completely inside my apartment now. Because of this being a house that was converted into apartments, my door was at the back of my apartment and the first room you walk into was my bedroom. He eyed up my bed that was to the left of him, pushed up against the wall and I knew what was about to happen. Before he could kick my door closed, I screamed Joe's name at the top of my lungs.

Jay back handed me across the mouth causing me to fall to the ground. I landed on my hands and knees and already I could taste the blood pooling in my mouth from my lip being split. His hand gripped around my neck, his fingers digging in so deep that I struggled to breath. With inhuman strength, he lifted me from the floor and backed me towards my bed until the backs of my legs hit the edge. I clawed at his hand and tried to pry his fingers from around my neck but it only made him squeeze tighter.

He pushed me until I fell onto my mattress. I whimpered when he landed on top of me, making the air rush out of my lungs. He released his grip on my neck and I struggled to take in deep gulps of air.

His hands gripped the back of my legs and forced them apart but before he could move in-between them, I managed to flail hard enough to break free from his grip. I did the first thing I could think of and kicked him square in his groin.

Jay wailed out in pain, falling over at my side while he grabbed at his crotch. I waisted no time, I lunged for the door. My body was shaking with adrenaline making it hard to move. I felt like I was in a nightmare, like when you're trying to make yourself run but it feels like you're stuck in wet cement.

Jay's hand latched onto my hair, stopping me just as my fingertips grazed the handle. I hissed out in pain. My hands instantly shot up to his that was tangled in my hair to try and free myself but he swung me away from the door. He let go mid swing making me tumble into my wall face first.

I was stunned from the force of the drywall against my face. My vision went black and then exploded into hundreds of brightly colored stars. The room started to spin around me.

Before I could even put my hands out to touch something in hopes of making the spinning stop, Jay grabbed my ankle and dragged me across the floor so that I was under him. I didn't struggle. I couldn't struggle, all I needed was for the spinning to stop.

Oh god, I'm going to be sick.

"That's it, no more fighting," Jay shushed, running his finger over my lips. Tears started to run down my cheeks. This can't be happening. He had undone his belt and was starting to work on the buttons of his pants by the time I heard my door crash open.

"You fucking piece of shit!" Joe yelled as he realized what he was seeing. Joe and Chris pulled Jay off of me and Chris began an assault on his face. Connor fell to the ground next to me and quickly pulled me into his chest so I wouldn't have to see what was happening. I laid my forehead on his chest, screwing my eyes shut trying to make the dizziness go away and to catch my breath.

Connor had both arms around me, telling me to breath in through my nose and out through my lips. He kept whispering that he was sorry but it was hard to hear over my frantic breathing.

They dragged Jay down the stairs, yelling out profanities. Connor placed his hands on my shoulders and pulled me from his chest.

"Jesus, you're bleeding." He exclaimed, looking around for something to clean my face. He found the box of tissues on my nightstand and grabbed a few, dabbing them lightly against my brow bone. I winced and pulled away from him.

"I know, I'm sorry but I need to see how bad this is." He said before he kept at it.

A few minutes had gone by before I heard Jay's car start up. Joe and Chris were still screaming at him and it sounded like someone was beating on the hood of his car. The headlights shone in through the window by the head of my bed before his car sped down the driveway and out onto the street.

I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and pulled away from Connor who was still trying to clean my face. Connor gave me a tight lipped smile, his hand lowering onto his lap.

"What a fucking piece of shit! Scars are you okay?" Chris asked, stumbling back into my apartment. He was followed by Joe who's nose had blood dripping from it and Sam.

"Thanks for that guys," I said, barely audible.

"He won't be coming back. We'll make sure you never see that prick again, Scarlett." Sam said, walking over to me to rub my arm in a comforting way. I flinched back from his touch.

Finally standing up, I forced a smile. "Thank you all, really. I-uh,"

"You don't have to thank us," Joe interjected.

"Uhm, would you mind? I uh, I think I kinda just want to be alone right now." I said sheepishly, hugging my arms across my chest.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? Do you want me to call your brother? I'm sure Alex would come over and spend the night." Joe offered.

Yea, right, like Alex would answer. He's been acting weird all day, the prick.

"No." I snapped and then immediately regretted it when I saw Joe jump. "I'll tell him later. I just need to get some sleep, I have work..."

"Alright, Scars. Please just text me if you need anything. I'm staying here tonight with the guys so we're all here for you, alright?" He leaned in to give me a hug. Before his arms could wrap around me, I backed away from him. He gave me a tight lipped smile and pulled his arms back. A guilty look was on his face making me feel worse. I waved them all on and closed my door, making sure to lock it.

Finally, I was alone and that's when everything hit me like a tidal wave. Rage filled me and all I wanted- no, need to do was destroy something. It was like I had no control over my body, just like I had no control twenty minutes ago when Jay pushed his way into my apartment and I did nothing to stop him.

I ran to the door of my room and punched it as hard as I could. Pain erupted in my knuckles when they made contact with the wood but I needed more. I kept hitting my door like a feral animal, relentless and anger driven. Some stupid voice inside my head kept telling me that maybe if I punched it enough I could erase what had happened.

Out of breath, I finally stopped the assault. I wiped the tears from my eyes but was confused when my face somehow felt even more wet. I looked down at my hands to see they were bloody and swollen. Shit, you idiot why the hell would you do that? I scolded myself.

"Fuck," I whispered, my voice trembling.

Rubbing my sore hands up and down my arms, my skin felt dirty. Like Jay had left a layer of toxic slime all over me. Feeling my skin crawl from the thought, I walked into my closet and grabbed clean clothes. I needed a shower to scrub all of this away.

I started down the short hallway and into my bathroom. The sole redeeming thing about this shitty apartment is the massive claw-foot bathtub in the bathroom. Just looking at the spotless white porcelain made me change my mind, a bath sounded way better. Maybe if I made the water hot enough I could boil myself clean. I unlocked my phone and pulled up one of my playlists and put it on shuffle. Insane by Scars on Broadway filled the room.

Stepping into the scalding water that was filling the tub I immediately sank under the surface. I didn't care that my skin felt like it was burning off, it was burning off everything that had just happened. I pushed my hair back from my face when I sat up and rubbed the water from my eyes. Flecks of red-brown were swirling around the surface, my blood.

I scrunched my nose at the sight and then turned the gold handle of the faucet. Reaching up with my tender hand I felt around my head, feeling all of the lumps that were now being hidden by my hair. Pulling my legs into my chest I wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on my knees. My mind finally shut off. The nagging voices stopped belittling me for letting this happen. I zoned out, just listening to the music and feeling myself drift and become disconnected.

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