It was late on a Saturday evening when I finally arrived home from my girlfriend's

house. Spring break had just started and she would be leaving in the morning for a
week on a yearly family reunion she always attended ever since she was 8. Her and
I were both 17 and had been dating since we met our freshmen year of high school.
Her name is Kaitlyn, she is five foot nine, long blond hair with blue eyes that can
stare into your very soul. I would be lying if I said she was anything less then
drop dead gorgeous. She has a little sister Lauren who�s 15 and just started her
freshmen year at the same school. She looks exactly like Kaitlyn aside from her
being a little shorter and her eyes are not as piercingly blue.

At the beginning of the school year Kaitlyns dad told me to watch out for Lauren
and make sure she didn�t fall into the wrong crowd and that she wasn�t bullied. I
agreed as I really liked their father, I considered him to be a father me as well
since my dad had passed away when I was 10. I didn�t like to talk about it so
Kaitlyns family didn�t really know a whole lot about what happened but they were
understanding and accepted me into their house. All and all I really enjoyed being
around them and doing normal family stuff as my own mom was the head nurse at the
local hospital and worked crazy hours to make sure we had everything we needed and
roof over our heads. I love my mom to death but it was nice being at a house that
did normal stuff like barbeques and family game night.

I had taken Kaitlyn out to a farewell dinner as I wouldn�t see her for a week and I
would miss her terribly. Sure, we could text, call, and video chat with each other
but it wouldn�t be the same as being in her presence. I took her to her favorite
sushi restaurant in town, then to a movie before I had to finally take her home
since she had an early flight out. I got home and immediately went to my room, I
knew my mom wasn�t home yet since the tv in her room was off. I took a quick shower
then sank into bed trying to relax. I wasn�t looking forward to a week without my
girlfriend and my heart kind of hurt but I knew she would be back before I knew it,
I let that thought put my uneasy feeling to rest. I was about to fall asleep when I
remembered I had forgotten to tell Kaitlyn I had seen Lauren hanging out with a
well-known dirt bag from school. I quickly grabbed my phone and sent her a text.
She replied back a few minutes later letting me know she would talk to her sister
and to not worry about it too much while she was gone. I told her I loved her and
drifted off to sleep.

I woke up late the next day. It was around 10am and mom was still asleep. I laid in
bed for a little longer before grabbing my phone. I had two missed messages from
Kaitlyn. The first was thanking me for dinner and the movie, the second said that
she was about to board her plane and that she loved me. I sent one back tell her I
loved her as well and that I already missed her terribly, knowing she would get it
as soon as she landed. I got up and made myself a bowl of lucky charms and texted
my buddy Mike asking if he was doing anything today. He didn�t immediately reply so
I assumed he was still asleep since he was at a party the night before. I went back
to my room and laid on my bed before deciding I would go work on the car my dad had
left me. It was a rough looking 1969 Ford Mustang, the paint was severely faded
with dents here and there. It ran but was in desperate need of a full tune up and
some other parts. I stood there looking at it for a while wondering if I really
wanted to fix it up or sell it to one of the neighbors down the street that had
been hounding mom about buying it, she always politely declined telling him it
would be up me when I turned 18.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard my mom's voice from behind me. �Finally
going to work on that thing?� she said I turned to look at her �Your dad would be
proud it was his pride and joy until you came along� I turned and half smiled at
her �I don�t know it�s a lot of work maybe we should just get rid of it� She
frowned she knew I didn�t like talking about dad but continued on anyway �Your dad
wanted you to have that car he loved it and you will to just give it some TLC and
you just might change your mind, I have to go to work now call me if you need
anything I love you� With that she went back into the house. I looked back at the
car and decided to give it a chance, it would give me something to distract my mind
until Kaitlyn was back in town. I started making a list of what I thought I needed
and 20 minutes later I heard moms car start as she left work for. I finished my
list hoping I didn�t forget anything and went inside to grab the keys to my crummy
Toyota Camry.

As I was leaving, I noticed an envelope by the door addressed to me. On the other
side it simply said in case you change your mind, love mom Inside there was $1000
in cash, I tried calling her but she didn�t answer so I sent her a text thanking
her and that I would see her when she got home. With that I got in my Camry and
headed to the parts store. When I got there Mike finally texted me back I told him
to meet me at my house in an hour to help me work on the Mustang as he was more
mechanically inclined then I was. I got what I needed, stopped at a fast food place
for something to eat later and headed home.

Mike was waiting for me in his truck when I pulled back up to the house. He laughed
as I got out of the car �Finally going to fix up the stang so you can stop driving
this shitty Camry� he grinned I acknowledged his remark with my finger and began
unloading the parts. He laughed again and started to help. We got everything into
the garage and began, with him doing most of the work or directing me on what to
do. As I didn�t have any power tools it was slow going with hand tools but the
quiet was nice aside from Mike swearing when a bolt got stuck or he dropped a
wrench. We were halfway done installing new spark plugs when he paused for a
minute. �Hey I saw Lauren with that jerk off Randy on Friday before school let out
do you need to be concerned about that?� he asked in a gruff tone. �I don�t know
yet� I said �I saw that too and told Kaitlyn about it last night she's going to
talk to her sister this week and find out what's going on� Mike Smiled �Let me know
if he needs his teeth kicked in that kid is a real scum bag if he's trying to get
with a 15 year old when he's almost 18� �Yeah� I replied taking a moment to think.
I knew he was serious about kicking Randys teeth in but if it came down to it I
would be the one to take care of it. I made a promise to their dad and I intended
to keep it. We continued to work while talking about typical high school guy stuff.
It was 5pm by the time we were halfway done with the car. Weirdly I hadn�t gotten a
text back from Kaitlyn even though she had landed in California 2 hours ago. I
restarted my phone just in case it had glitched out but still nothing. I was a
little worried about why she hadn�t texted me back but I tried to put it out of my
mind. Mikes phone rang, it was our friend Billy they had a brief conversation
before Mike hung up and said �Lets get cleaned up Billy is having everyone over at
his house and he wants us there we have all week to work on this� I took a breath
�Cool let me hop in the shower I'll meet you there.� With that Mike cleaned his
hands with a rag and took off to his house.

I thought about calling Kaitlyn when I got out of the shower but thought better of
it. I didn�t want to seem clingy and I know she was spending time with family and
maybe just got caught up with everyone that was there. I pushed the thought out of
my mind and headed over to Billys house. Mike was already there with a beer in
hand. He handed me one as I walked in. All my friends were there and so were some
of the girls from school. There was at least 16 of us in Billys basement all
hanging out, drinking and having a good time. I was slowing drinking my first beer,
I wasn�t really a drinker since alcoholism ran on my moms side of the family and I
didn�t want to press my luck since my Aunt Kathy died from liver failure a couple
years back. I knew mom would be getting off work soon so I sent her a quick text
letting her know I was out but that I would be home later. She told me to be safe
and to have fun.

Soon we all got tired of the basement so we decided to go out to the backyard and
have a bonfire since Billy had a fire pit. I sat down in one of the many lawn
chairs they had and much to my surprise someone sat right my lap. �What the hel...�
I started to say when they turned and looked at me. It was Ashley, it was no secret
Ashley had a huge crush on me. It was one of those things we all sort of laughed
about but when she started drinking it became an annoyance. She was super jealous
of Kaitlyn and made sure everyone knew it. I could smell the hard alcohol on her
and knew she was wasted. Alarm bells were going off in my head when suddenly she
tried to kiss me. She was quick but I was faster I moved my head away and pushed
her off me with enough force she landed hard on the cold ground. I stood up in case
she tried something else. �what the fuck Ashley?� I growled holding back most of my
anger and surprise. �You know I'm with Kaitlyn� Just then two more girls emerged
from the house one of whom was Kaitlyns best friend Nicole. Ashley got up and
staggered back a couple steps �what I just wanted a quick kiss what�s the big deal�
she slurred �besides your precious girlfriend isn't here to stop me� With a speed I
was not prepared for she lunged for me again tripping over another lawn chair and
taking me with her. I tired to turn to catch myself as I fell but she was on top of
me so I did the next best thing and covered my face as best I could. Seconds later
my back hit the ground with a loud thud and I felt the air leave my lungs and then
her lips were on mine. Mike and Billy were both trying to pull her off within
seconds but she was fighting them every with the savagery of a mamma bear
protecting her cubs. Once they got her off me I stood up, I was beyond angry I
could hardly form a clear thought in my mind. �You fucking bitch! What the fuck is
wrong with you!� I yelled. It was the only thing I could think of to say. I glanced
over in Nicoles direction and saw her put something in her pocket. �If I cant have
you then neither can little Mrs. Prefect� Ashley snarled with a devilish look in
her eyes. I looked at Mike �Keep that bitch away from me� I yelled again. Just then
my phone rang.... It was Kaitlyn. �Fuck!� I screamed and looked at Mike. �You can
take that call in my room bro� he said a touch of sadness in his voice. I looked
over at Nicole again and her eyes would not leave the ground. I walked inside to
answer her call and I know it was not going to be good.