Fight fire with fire

I did a lot of drugs back then but I am proud to say that I have been clean and sober for many, many years.

That day, I don't think I was ever more happy to hear Shane's voice.
He left me standing there while he ran into Chris' house. I just wanted to get away from there as fast as I could. But I still couldn't see very well and movements took so much energy, that I really needed help. I heard a lot of noise and yelling coming from the house but it was all a fuzz through my brain. I couldn't focus on anything.
After a few minutes, Shane came out of the house. I swear he was crying but he wouldn't let me see his face. We walked out to the street and Shane made me sit on my skateboard as he pushed me down the road. I was so thankful to have that damn skateboard because there was no way I could have walked out of there.

"B, I can't believe you went to his house without me," he whispered close to my ear. "What were you thinking?"

What was I thinking? I was just so desperate for a connection with M that I was grasping at anything that appeared before me. I really needed to feel that she was okay somewhere so that I could ease the emptiness that I felt inside without her. To maybe ease the pain I felt from her loss.

"I was stupid," I confessed. "I just miss her so fucking much, man. Its killing me...not knowing."

We finally made it to the circle and we stopped at the quarter pipe. Shane came around the front of my board and held my eyes open. He was looking into them like he thought he could figure out what I was on.

"You have to tell me what happened in that house. I have to know, B. Because I'm ten seconds away from calling your grandpa and I need to know if he is necessary here." Shane pushed my hair back from my face and looked at my still bleeding lip. He pushed my hair from my shoulder and looked at the bite marks that were starting to show.

"He didn't get me." I stared blankly at M's house. "He tried. God, he tried so hard. But there was a knock at the door. It saved me." I looked over at Shane. I knew it had to be him that knocked. "You saved me."

"But your jeans," he pointed. They were still unbuttoned. "And your neck and lip. Tell me, B."

I raised my hand to my neck and felt the welts rising in my skin. I could still taste the blood on my lip and I shivered as I remembered his hand going down my pants. I told Shane every detail I could remember from the time I showed up at Chris' front door until I crawled out that front door. Shane's eyes burned with anger and pain.

"Don't call Grandpa. Please. We can take care of this." My head was starting to clear and movements were becoming much easier. I still felt so fucking tired.

Shane walked around to check my head. I could feel the matted blood in it but I was sure it wasn't bleeding anymore.

"Yeah," Shane said as he gently patted my head. "We will take care of this. He's gonna wish he never knew your name."

We walked out to the pasture and waited for Shane's mom, my grandma, to leave the house. When she did, we went inside and cleaned me up. I didn't want my mom to know what had happened. I had to look presentable when I got home. I could hide most of it, except my lip, and I was sure I could play it off like it was nothing. Mom was under enough stress already. I really didn't want her to be worrying about my safety...because I wasn't.

We didn't see Chris for a week and when he did finally show his fucking face, he was on crutches. Seems that I broke his knee when I kicked it repeatedly. Shane, Skippy, 8Ball, Bobby, Brian, Chow, and every other person that was my friend took turns beating the shit out of him. We called his mother and had her come and pick up her piece of shit son and we never saw him again. At least not for a long while.

At the end of that school year, we moved. I left the town of Davie with some wild and crazy memories and some painful ones too. But I left with knowledge and understanding of true friends and the love we shared. None of them could ever be replaced.

Shane is still my favorite uncle that saved me from...God knows what...rape, an awful beating, and possibly death. Since we were so close in age, I always thought of him as my older brother anyway. And I thank him every time we talk. Don't tell him this...but I consider him a hero.