Save Me.

"Last one in the pool smells like shit!" Jimmy yelled, jumping feet-first into the water. I rolled my eyes and sat down, putting my feet into the pool. The water was a bit cold, but it wasn't too bad.

The guys decided to have a cookout today. Don't ask me why, they just did. Not that I minded.

"So, what do you think of them?" Val asked, sitting next to me. I liked her. She was nice. Her twin sister, Michelle, was cool, too.

"I don't know yet," I laughed. "I'm still trying to get used to all this."

"Understandable. I've been around these guys for ages. It takes a while," she smiled. "Are you gonna get in?"

"I'm getting there. I still have to put my suit on yet," I said.

"Well go do it, woman!"

I rolled my eyes and smiled at her, getting up from the spot I was sitting in. I walked into the house and up to the spare room I was staying in.

My ribs had started to hurt more and more recently. It hurt to touch them and they looked bruised, like I had been in a gang fight. It freaked me out a bit, but I tried not to pay much attention to it.

I knew in the back of my mind that going swimming was a bad idea. But, at the same time, another part of me didn't care. I just had to make sure no one saw my scars. I wasn't worried about bruises, since most of them had healed up. I got changed into a two-piece bathing suit, putting a long shirt over it. I had to cover myself as much as I could.

After setting my clothes on the bed I made my way downstairs, tugging the shirt to go down as far as it would go. I opened the glass sliding and walked outside, feeling the hot California sun against my bare legs.

"Look who decided to join us!" Brian grinned. He, Jimmy, Zacky and Matt were setting up the volleyball net while Johnny fetched the ball from the shed that held all the pool stuff. "You're on the team with Zacky, Val, Matt and Lacey."

I nodded and walked as fast as I could through the water over to my spot on the team.

The bottom of my shirt was already starting to get wet. I knew I'd have to take it off at some point, since I didn't like stuff sticking to me.

"Why do you have a shirt on?" Zacky asked, quiet enough for only us to hear.

"Scars," I mouthed to him. He nodded in understanding before putting his focus on Brian, who was about to start.

"Let the games begin!" Brian yelled as he served the ball up and over the net. He aimed it right between Matt and Zacky, who ended up colliding into each other.

"This is gonna be an easy win," Michelle laughed from the other side.

~*~

After what seemed like an eternity, our team was winning with the score being 21-15. Easy win my ass.

Jimmy was getting ready to serve from the other side. He had hit it pretty high up in the air, which was understandable because of his height. I dove for the ball, but Val had the same idea, so we ended up colliding into each other.

I rose up from the water a few seconds later, spitting out chlorine water as I did so. I opened my eyes, but shut them again as they started to tear up. Colliding with Val caused the pain in my side to increase tenfold. It hurt like a bitch to breathe, and moving wasn't the best feeling either.

Zacky was the first to swim over to me. "Emily? What's wrong?" I couldn't answer him. I didn'tknow what was wrong, I just knew I was in pain. I pointed to my ribs. "Do they hurt?" He asked. I nodded a yes. "Can you breathe alright?" No.

"Is she okay?" Johnny asked. Zacky shook his head.

"She can't breathe. It's hurting her. I gotta get her to a hospital, there's something wrong," he muttered.

Five minutes and a great deal of struggling later, we all made it to Matt's SUV. Matt drove and Val sat in the passenger seat - the whole way she kept apologizing to me about what happened. Zacky, Johnny and I sat in the back, and the rest of them took Brian's car.

~*~

It turns out that my ribs had broken, thanks to my amazing father. It hurt like hell to turn in any direction.

I felt terrible. I didn't want to have the guys dragged into this. If it wasn't for me, none of them would be in this mess.

"How you doing, kiddo?" Jimmy asked as he walked into the room I was in. I shrugged.

"Okay, I guess," I muttered. "I'm sorry about all this."

"Why? Emily, you know this isn't your fault. We're all worried about you. Especially Zacky. He's acting like you're dying or something," he laughed.

I rolled my eyes. "I'd rather be dying than this. But either way, you all got dragged here with me, and you shouldn't have. I'm overstaying my welcome here and you know it."

That's not true." Jimmy shook his head. "We all want you here, Emily. Trust me."

"...Promise?"

"Promise," he grinned. "Now come on, let's get out of here. This place is giving me the creeps." I nodded and got up, following him out of the room.

"You ready?" Matt asked, getting up out of his seat as he saw us. I wasn't sure how everyone fit into the tiny waiting room, but they managed. Everyone nodded and started heading out to the parking lot. I was glad that there weren't a lot of people here, so no one would recognize the guys.

"Are you okay?" Zacky asked, walking besides me to Matt's vehicle. I nodded.

"Yes, Zacky, I'm fine." I didn't understand why he was so worried about me.

"Just making sure," he smiled. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

I nodded, wondering what he could have meant by that.

Notes