Trust Me
Chapter Two

“Arrrgh!” I flinched as a finger forcibly jabbed my side.  In an instant I remembered where I was and just what could happen to me.  Visions of tall scary men who planned to carry me off and violate me crept into my head.  In that single instant, I saw my life flash before my eyes.  My blissfully simple childhood, my family struggles as I grew into a teenager, and my wish to die.  It all seemed so stupid now that it was all going to end like this. 

I jumped to my feet and spun around to find the culprit. 

A boy.  A scrawny boy.  A freaking scrawny teenage boy with a gap between his front teeth.  Like hell I was going to let this shrimp take advantage of me. 

“What the hell!” I screeched, my hands flailing high above my head as if making myself seem larger might scare him off.   His sapphire eyes grew wide and he jumped, taken aback by my sudden outburst.  He held his hands out in front of him, as if to say he didn’t want any trouble.  Well he picked the wrong chick to mess with.  “Do you just go around scaring innocent girls often!  Pervert!  Creep!  I don’t even know you!  Go away now, or I’ll… I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” he asked, regaining his composure and plastering an arrogant smirk on his face.  His freckled arms crossed smugly over his chest. 

“I’ll beat you up!”

“Oh, really?” he asked, stepping closer and closing much of the distance between us.  It was then that I realized how much bigger than me he actually was.  Sure, he was on the lean side, but he must have been at least six feet tall.  I myself was only five feet even.
 
I gulped.  “Yes, really!”  My fists clenched and rose weakly.  I scoured my brain in an attempt to remember any means of self-defense.  Nothing.  Uh-oh.  In a desperate attempt to escape, I lunged at him, bulldozing straight into his stomach.  He let out an “oof!” and fell, hitting the ground hard.  His blue eyes crinkled and his upper lip raised in pain, making the gap in his teeth more noticeable. 

“Ow!” he yelled as I hit his chest, albeit weakly.  “Listen for a minute!”  I hit him again.  He snatched my wrists.  “HEY!” I tried to pry his hands off, digging my nails into my wrists and drawing blood in the process.  “Stop that!  Your aunt!  Katherine!” I froze.  Auntie Katherine?  How did he know her?  Did he kidnap her?  Better yet, how did my bad luck follow me half way across the country?