Chapter 17

            I opened my eyes as the sunlight poured in through the small window above my bed. It was still early, and looking around the room, I could see that Katie and Kira were still sound asleep. I had a feeling they would be asleep for a couple hours still, due to the massive amount of partying they had done the night before. They looked horrible now that I could actually look at them, they had definitely done some hard-core partying.

            I quietly and carefully sat up, letting the blanket fall off the bed and onto the floor beside me. I hurt more now than I did the night before, and everything felt extremely stiff, way too stiff for me to move without pain. I carefully and slowly dragged my legs over the side of the matress and stood up. Pain shot up my legs and back, but I forced myself to ignore it.

            I knew I should change clothes again, but I didn't want to cause more pain that I had to. Id changed last night, so I figured I'd be okay. I looked over my clothes to make sure there wasn't any obvious blood stains or anything, and headed off to the bathroom. I just stared into my reflection as I brushed my teeth for nearly ten minutes, staring into my eyes, trying to see what was behind them.

             I looked horrible, I really looked like I'd been messed up. I knew I wasn't going to be able to hide it now, and decided that I'd just tell what happened, and hope for the best. Maybe I would just say that I was beaten, and not even mention the fact that I'd been gang-raped. I had to think about the reality of what had happened, knowing that this happened weekly when I was at home, it's not like it's my first time.

            I took another washcloth off the sink, soaking it and wringing it out, making another damp rag to clean up where I'd started bleeding again. The cut over my eye was still bleeding from being bumped and irritated during the night, and a couple other cuts and scrapes were bleeding as well. One by one I cleaned them carefully, and waited for them to completely stop bleeding before moving on.

             I walked out of the bathroom and struggled to pull myself up the stairway, taking every step as light as I could, limiting the impact of the hit. One by one pain shot through my legs, over and over as I moved up the stairs. All I wanted to do was to get something to eat and sit down. I reached the top of the stairs, making a pass through the kitchen, grabbing a cereal bar, and headed into the living room. I dropped down onto the couch, nearly crying out as I hit.

            I laid my head back onto the back of the couch and stared at the ceiling. I memorized the pattern on the ceiling as I ate my breakfast, learning all the weird images and twisting patterns. I was able to single out a rabbit and what looked like some sort of bird. The amazing things people fail to see every day, so many things hidden right under our noses. For some reason the mere fact that I could see things in the ceiling left me in awe.

            After a while I heard someone come up the stairs, and I could tell that it was Kira and Katie, since they seemed to never stop talking. I listened as they messed around in the kitchen, dropping a dish with a loud crashing noise as it hit the floor and shattered. I could hear them argue over which one dropped it, laughing as if it were the funniest thing they'd seen.

            Katie walked into the room and stood frozen in front of me, "Oh my God, Taya, what the hell happened to you?"

            I shrugged my shoulders as if it were no big deal, "Oh, I just got in a fight."

            Kira came over after listening to what Katie said, and she just stared at my face, "Wow, Taya, you're a mess!"

            "Yeah," I said as I moved over so that they could sit down next to me, "it was a big fight. I lost."

            Kira sat down on the right of me, and Katie sat on my left. Katie turned to me and shook her head, "Wow, Spencer is going to love to hear the story."

            "Wait," Kira interrupted as she turned to face me head on, "You should tell us the story first. What happened?"

            "Yeah killer," Katie joked, "What the hell did happen to you?"

            "Well," I started as I switched positions, "I got lost and some guys came and beat me up."

            "You got lost?" Kira teased, "No, not the amazing Taya."

            "The Tags?" Katie asked as she reached up and ran her finger over the cut above my eye.

 I shrugged my shoulders and nodded my head slightly, "I think so, I'm not sure. I didn't really see anything."

            Kira got up suddenly and ran out of the room. Katie told me that she was just going to get something, and not to worry. I knew she was going to get Spencer, but I didn't really care if she did or not. I just sat quiet and waited for him to come into the room with his macho male attitude, acting as if he would solve this whole problem.

            Kira, Spencer and Aidan came into the room, standing in front of me looking me over. They looked me over for several minutes without saying anything, it was driving me crazy. I looked over at Katie and could see that it was driving her crazy too, as she just gave them an expectant look and continued to raise her eyebrows more and more as they stood there.

            "Who did this to you, Taya?" Spencer finally said as he reached over and ran his fingers over the cuts and scars on my face.

            I shrugged my shoulders again, "I don't know for sure, it was dark, and I didn't really get to see who it was."

            "It had to have been The Tags," Katie spoke up.

            "Tell me, Taya," Spencer said as he pulled up a folding chair and sat down in front of me, "Tell me the story. The whole story."

            Spencer looked dead serious, almost scary. I turned and looked at Katie and Kira, seeing the same serious and demanding face that Spencer had. Aidian was dragging a chair up next to Spencer, and he just looked at me as though he were mad at me.

            "Um," I started off, not knowing exactly how to explain it, "I was hanging out with some friends at the beach..."

            Kira frowned, "They did this to you!?"

            I raised my hand at her, "No, no, no! It wasn't them at all, they didn't have anything to do with it!"

            "So then," Spencer said as he sat back in his chair, "Who did?"

            I shook my head slightly, "We got drugged up, I overslept, and then I got lost and ended up somewhere on the other side of the borders."

            Spencer shook his head, "You know you aren't supposed to cross the lines!"

            "I know," I said as I stared at the floor, "I didn't know where I was, and I was jumped. When I woke up, I was tied up in some closet, and then dropped off and left on the side of the road."

             Spencer stood up and looked over at Aidan, "We're going to make a house call . . ."

            I knew what that meant, and I knew what would result from it, but I figured they deserved it. I was somewhat happy to know that they were going to attack my attackers. Vengeance is a bitch.