Chapter 1

She grunts in pain at the impact her ribs receive, the blow knocking her against the wall. She looks up at her attacker, as he steps from the shadows, slowly making his way towards her with a smile that would make anyone’s skin crawl.

Her breathing quickens out of fear as the man drags her by the hair into the shadows, pinning the terrified girl down. Her struggles against him are weak due to her injured state. The hot tears trail down her cheeks as he shoves a hand over her mouth, muffling the screams, and reaches for the top button on his jeans. His grin never falters as he hikes the dress up around her waist, laughing quietly as she screams into his hand.

She sits up, gasping, as a bead of sweat rolls from her forehead down her temple, and drips off her chin. Looking around the dark apartment, she swipes at her wet cheeks. Her body eases out of the bed as she replays the dream over and over again. Shaking hands pick up the glass of water beside the bed and presses the cup to her dry lips, trying to calm her mind.

“I seriously need to get a grip on this shit. It’s in the past Jess, forget about it.” She mumbles to herself as she stands, stretching. Glancing over at the clock, she lets out a long groan, running a hand through her hair. An hour until she has to go meet Maria.

She and her cousin had made plans a few weeks back that on her birthday, she would come down and meet the Avengers. She doesn’t see why it is such a big deal, but Maria also wanted her to meet her boyfriend, some guy named Phil.

She grabs a towel as she heads to the bathroom, plundering in her thoughts, and starts the shower. As the steam begins to fog up the mirror, she steps in; a small sigh escaping her lips. Jess' thoughts lull to a slow trickle when she begins lathering in the kiwi scented shampoo, the smell and the warmth from the stream of water running down her back, pull her into the small place in her head that she rarely gets to visit. It is the place that blocks out the pain, the hurt, and only lets in the good thing.

Jess' head hangs down, water dripping off the tip of her nose, and she takes a deep breath, turning off the water and stepping out. Wrapping a towel around her, she heads to her closet and pulls out the outfit for this special occasion. Black skinny jeans, blue tank top, grey leather studded combat boots, and to top it off, a matching leather jacket.

Slipping on the outfit, she combs through her hair, running a hand through it as she stares at her reflection in the mirror. Long, chestnut brown hair waves to about the middle of her back, framing her heart shaped face. Blue eyes stand out against the slightly tanned skin. She brushes some gloss across her lips as she takes one last glance at herself, her dark pink lips gleaming.

She shakes her head clearing her thoughts and grabs her side bag, slipping in unto her shoulder and walking out the door, locking it. Glancing down at her watch, she grimaces.
“If I don’t get a move on, I’ll be late”.

The taping of her shoes send small echoes through the quiet apartment building as the sun peeks over the tall buildings in the horizon. Jogging to her car, she slides in, clicking the seat belt before looking both ways and backing out of the parking lot. Nudging the volume up on the stereo, “Beast” by Nico Vega blares from the small speakers. Bobbing her head along, she passes some slower cars, heading for the main road.

When she pulls unto the highway, she sets the car to cruise and relaxes, allowing the drive to calm her jittery nerves.
“This day is going to be long.”

Notes

I do not own any of the character in the story except my original character, Jessica Livingston. Please do not copy my story line, I have worked hard on it as any other author has with their storys. Come up with your own stuff and don't copy :) Hope you enjoy!