“It’s me, Kas – I’m here, darlin’. Shhh, it’s okay, you’re safe now…”
As sirens approach in the distance, I hold her as she shakes uncontrollably, rocking and murmurin’ gently to her, letting her know that nobody is gonna hurt her again.
Chapter Seven
Kassidy
As I slowly awaken, I bolt straight up in bed, thinking I’m just coming out of a horrible nightmare – that’s until the pain hits me from every fiber of my being.
My eyes dart around and I realize that I’m in Mercy General, apparently in the Critical Care Unit, by the looks of it. Tubes and wires are hooked up to me, and machines are beeping and clicking.
Panic hits me hard, and I feel the great need to run away. Buck…what if he’s in here lookin’ for me? What if he comes to finish the job he started?
That’s when I realize that someone is in the room, sleeping in the reclining chair by my bedside…Lukas.
Tears fill my eyes as the memory of waking up in Buck’s closet slowly comes to my fear-stricken mind. Lukas was there…Lukas saved me.
A sudden surge of emotion overtakes me, and I begin to weep silently, hands over my mouth, sobs wracking my body.
Lukas stirs in his sleep, opening his eyes slightly. Upon seeing me conscious and alert, he jumps to his feet and is at my side in an instant. Grabbing my hand, he squeezes it tightly.
“Shhh, it’s okay, Kassidy. I’ve got you. Nobody’s gonna hurt you again, I promise. You’re safe now,” he says gently, rubbing the top of my hand that he holds between his own.
Still, the flood of tears will not subside for several minutes. All the while, Lukas never lets go of my hand. When I’ve finally calmed down enough to talk, he pulls his chair closer to my bedside, filling me in on what’s been going on while I was unconscious.
“Your mama was here a while ago. She went to get some coffee. I had to make her leave for a little while, she’s so worried and scared. Melanie called and is worried sick, but you know she ain’t comin’ nowhere near this germ-infested place. She feels damn guilty about it, though.
The deputy sheriff is gonna come back in a little while to see if you’re awake yet. They need to ask you some questions, so they can get a better idea of where Buck might be,” Lukas says, his expression becoming dark. “That son-of-a-bitch better be long gone,” he says through clenched teeth.
His phone rings, and he looks down to see who’s calling. “She can just wait,” he mumbles under his breath, rejecting the call. Jessica, of course. She ain’t callin’ to check on my condition, that’s for sure.
“Are you feelin’ okay? Can I get you anything?” Lukas asks, anxious to help. How did I get so lucky to have such an amazing guy as my friend? Jessica has no idea what she has, and that’s just so sad.
“No, I’m good, thanks so much,” I say, trying to smile, wincing in pain, it comes off as more of a grimace.
“Kas, I am so, so sorry you had to go through this,” Lukas says, cupping my face in his hand, his thumb brushing my cheek gently. Tears in his eyes threaten to open up the flood gates of my own again, causing me to have to look away. He mistakenly takes this as an indication of shame.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, you’ve gotta know that,” he says urgently. “I blame myself – I had a bad feelin’ about how mad Buck was when he left Joe’s…I shoulda made sure you got home okay. That was my plan – til Jessica showed up,” he says, his voice bitter.
“No! It’s not your fault,” I cry out, grabbing his hand this time, my heart breaking at the thought of him feeling guilt over what happened. “Please don’t say that…if I’d had my keys out when I got out of Jake’s car, none of this would’ve happened!” I say, desperate to convince him that he has no reason to feel badly. From the look on his face, though, this did nothing to ease his mind.
“No, if Jessica wasn’t such a cold, manipulating person, none of this woulda happened. You woulda been with me,” he says, staring at the floor and shaking his head. “What the hell am I doin’ with somebody like her, Kas?” he asks, looking like a lost little boy, and causing my heart to ache.
Taking a deep breath, I refrain from saying what I really wanna say, which is, ‘I’ve been asking myself that since junior high.’ Instead, I softly say, “That’s a question that only you can answer, Lukas.”
But the miraculous thing is that Lukas is here with me. He has been by my bedside since last night, and he cares – he honestly cares about my well-being. My heart can’t help but beat wildly, recalling his words, but mostly the part that started with, ‘If it hadn’t been for Jessica…’ and ended with, ‘you woulda been with me.’ This beautiful fantasy brings me tremendous joy over the coming weeks - trapped in this nightmare that’s officially become my reality.
The fact that I was raped hasn’t come up yet between Lukas and me, although I know that he knows. I feel such shame and degradation. I hate the way I catch him looking at me with such pity in his eyes, and I wish more than anything that I could go back in time to that night at Joe’s. I’d do so many things differently.
The Sheriff’s deputy comes in and sits down in the chair beside my bed, as Lukas leans against the wall, his eyes still burning with anger.
“Kassidy, I am so sorry for what you’ve been through, honey. But we need to ask you some questions, so we can find Buck,” Vernon Jackson says, giving me a sympathetic look. God, I will be so glad when all this is behind me…maybe people will be able to look at me again without pity.
“Better find him before I do,” Lukas says, his voice filled with venom.
“Now Lukas, that’s not gonna solve anything. We don’t hold to no vigilante justice round here,” Vernon says, shaking his head.
“Tell you what, Vernon, maybe if ya’ll had done somethin’ about Buck Dalton years ago, he wouldn’t be out right now, kidnapping and brutalizing women! And don’t even act like you don’t know what I’m talkin’ about!”
Vernon knows exactly what Lukas means, because even I know about Rebecca Davis. You see, Rebecca was a young girl, just twelve years old, who’d been born with a learning disability. Her mama, Janice, used to be a waitress down at Joe’s, and had several men “friends” that used to come around to their trailer out on Route 95 – and one of those men was Buck Dalton.
Rumor has it that Rebecca told her teacher down at the middle school, that ‘Uncle Buck’ was touching her in inappropriate places - but was dismissed as just making up stories, especially after her mama came down and spoke to the teacher, telling her that Rebecca has been prone to lying lately.
Sadly, one night soon after the meeting at school, Janice comes home from the late shift at Joe’s, to find Rebecca hanging in her closet, her mama’s belt wrapped around her neck.
Most folks in the town believe that Rebecca just couldn’t take anymore of Buck’s abuse, and some even went so far as to wonder if Buck himself had hung the girl, to shut her up about the sexual assaults.
Either way, Buck Dalton is guilty of the child’s death, but was never charged with anything. And now he’s guilty of my own kidnapping, assault and rape.
I can’t help but wonder if I will survive long enough for him to be captured and brought to justice, or if he will slip back into town and the hospital – finishing what he started.
Chapter Eight
Lukas
I’ve heard all I can listen to out of Vernon, so I finally tell Kassidy I’ll check on her later, and haul ass out of the hospital and down to my truck. Squalling tires, I head out to Jacob’s place, needing to get stuff off my mind.
As I’m driving, my phone rings. Glancing down at the screen, I see that it’s Jessica – again. Irritated, I place the call on speaker.
“Yeah,” I answer sharply, not in the mood to talk to anyone except Jake. “I’m busy right now, what’d you need?”
“Lukas Crawford, what in the world is the meaning of you staying out all night?” is the response I get.
“Well, I reckon you’ll he
ar about it sooner or later, so I’ll tell ya. I’ve been with Kassidy at the hospital all night…”
“You’ve what?” she cuts me off. “You left me alone all night, to be with her? And what’s she in the hospital for anyway – did she get a tummy ache from eating too much?” she yells emphatically.
“You know, that’s what I love about you, Jess – you’re so compassionate,” unable to hide the disgust in my voice, as I hang up the phone. Never in all the time that Jess and I have been together, have I known her to be this vicious…and it’s all because of Kassidy. But then again, hasn’t she always treated her like crap? And haven’t I just stood by and let her do it?
There’s a lump in my throat, as memories of the cruel things that Jessica’s done to Kassidy in the past come flashing before my eyes. Stupid little childish things, the worst of which was sticking notes in her locker, making Kassidy think she had a secret admirer…only to call her on the phone and laugh, telling her how stupid she was to believe that could even be true, which got all over the school, leading to Kassidy being teased unmercifully.
I almost broke up with Jess over that one, confronting her with the fact that it’s girls like her that make other girls take their own lives. But of course, she brought on the tears, saying how sorry she was, and how she never meant for things to get that far out of hand, and how the other girls egged her on…and of course, I believed her.
I gotta face the fact that I’m just as guilty for not putting a stop to her bullying long before now. The fact is, I hate drama, and try to distance myself from it as much as possible – but no more.
When I get home tonight, I’m giving Jess an ultimatum…either change her ways or we part ways, one or the other. Right now, I honestly couldn’t care less which.
“Kassidy okay? Physically, I mean…I know that mentally, she’s a wreck,” Jacob asks, handing me a can of soda. “I’m gonna get over there to see her, but figured I’d wait til the cops cleared out and everything.”
“I dunno, dude. She’s pretty broken right now, physically and mentally. The doc suggested she starts seein a therapist as soon as she gets outta the hospital. I think that’s a good idea. She’s been through a traumatic experience…with what all that sonofabitch did to her.”
Although I’d never bring it up in front of Kassidy, I know without a shadow of a doubt that not only did Buck assault her physically, he sexually assaulted her as well. I can only imagine what she must be going though. She definitely needs someone she can talk to about it, and that’s gonna be hard to do with anybody she knows.
“Jake, I gotta tell ya, I’m feelin awful about all this,” I say, shaking my head. “The guilt from not makin sure she got home alright…”
“Lukas, are you nuts? I’m the one who failed her – I shoulda stayed on and made sure she at least got in the car and locked the doors before I pulled off. But no, I let her tell me it was okay to take off…what kind of man does that, ya know? I was raised better than that, Luke! But I got a couple of beers in me, and it made me lax, man. I feel just awful about it,” Jacob says, lookin like a whipped pup. It really put things in perspective for me.
“Yeah, but I had a bad feelin’ about Buck – the look in his eyes when he got shot down by Kas…he had murder in his eyes, and I knew it. But I had to let Jess be in control, like always…what the hell am I doin’, Jake? I’m startin’ to let her take over my life – my friendships, what I eat…even what I can or can’t watch on TV. Who the hell am I here lately? The old Lukas Crawford would never stand for this mess! The truth is…”
“The truth is, Jessica is a mean, spiteful, manipulative bitch,” Jacob says. “Sorry to break it to ya, buddy – but it sounds like you’re comin to realize that your own self,” he says, giving me a meaningful look.
“You’re right,” I say, shaking my head, feeling like I’ve just woken up from a bad dream. “You’re absolutely right. Now I just gotta do somethin about it. She’s either gonna change, or I’m out,” I say, pissed at being a damn fool for so long.
“But as for your guilt over what happened to Kassidy – let it go, man. It’s nobody’s fault but Buck’s, and that bastard is gonna pay, big time!”
The look in Jacob’s eyes lets me know that it’s not gonna be as easy to forgive himself as all that, and I can relate to that feeling. I coulda done better by Kassidy than I did, and Jessica is gonna own up to her role in that night, or she’s gonna lose me for good.
Chapter Nine
Kassidy
As soon as I got home from the hospital, Mama set in taking care of me. She picked me up from the hospital, fussin’ over me as the nurse helped her get me from the wheelchair into the car.
As we drive, she keeps looking at me, sadly. I try to pretend that I don’t see it, but as I stare out the window at the tobacco fields and corn – cash crops in these here parts, I can see her from the corner of my eye, looking as if she’s about to cry. I can’t engage in this, or I might never stop.
As we pull up in front of Mama’s house, I’m surprised to see Lukas and Jacob sitting on the porch.
“They’re just the nicest young men,” Mama says, smiling. “When they heard you were comin’ home, they offered to help me get you settled in.”
Honestly, I was thankful they showed up to help. I’d been wondering on the drive over how Mama was gonna maneuver me out of the car and into the house, seein as my left arm and right leg are both broken and in casts. It’s kinda hard to use crutches when one of your arms can’t hold onto it, but the boys helped me along, one on either side of me, as I hopped on one foot.
“Alrighty now, Hop-along, I reckon you can move a little faster than that!” Lukas teases me, and we all get a good laugh out of it. I can tell Mama likes Lukas already, and for some reason this makes me misty-eyed. I quickly shoo those thoughts away as he and Jake help me up the stairs and into my bed.
“Mama, I can just settle in on the couch downstairs,” I say, trying to reason with her about me being all the way upstairs. “I don’t want you having to run up and down those stairs so much.”
“Nonsense! You’re gonna be in your own bed, where you can be comfortable, and that’s that,” she says, waggling a finger in front of my face.
“Well, I guess you heard that!” Jake says with a laugh. “I don’t think you’d better be arguing with your mama!”
With a deep, frustrated sigh, I finally just give up, as Mama fiddles with my pillows, making sure I have enough of them to prop me up, fluffing them and smoothing my quilt over my legs.
“I sure wish I had somebody at my house to take care of me like that, Mrs. Kane,” Lukas says, giving her a sweet smile. “You’re an awfully good mother, I gotta tell ya!”
Mama blushes all over herself, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “I’m gonna go down to the kitchen and fetch ya’ll some iced tea. Won’t you boys stay for supper? I’m fixin’ fried chicken, potato salad, mustard greens and biscuits…oh, and a big ol’ slab of chocolate cake for dessert!”
“Just try and stop us from stayin’, with cookin’ like that!” Jake says, and Lukas seconds his vote.
I get a lump in my throat as I see how likable and gracious my mama truly is. The guys are loving her fussin’ over them, and it makes me ashamed that I never really appreciated her as much as I do now. She is a true gem, and I’m so proud she is mine.
While we wait for the meal to finish cooking, Lukas spots my acoustic guitar sitting up against the wall.
“I didn’t know you played, Kas,” he says, picking it up and plucking on the strings, checking the tuning.
“I don’t,” I say, embarrassed. “But I’ve always wanted to learn. I’ve just been holdin’ onto it til I finally got the gumption to take some lessons.”
“I’d be glad to teach ya whenever you feel like it,” he says, tuning it until the notes are just right. He then proceeds to belt out a song.
“Well, I know a man who once was a sinner. Well, I know a man who once was a drunk. Well, I know a man who
once was a loser, and he went out and made an alter from a stump…sing along if ya know it,” he grins.
“Well me and Jesus, got our own thing goin’, me and Jesus, got it all worked out. Me and Jesus, got our own thing goin’, and we don’t need nobody to tell us what it’s all about,” I sing, slightly off-key, but not too badly I guess, because Lukas looks pleased.
“There ya go, girl!” he says happily. “That’s one of my favorite hymns.”
“Mine, too,” I say shyly. I’m not used to all this attention from the gorgeous Lukas Crawford, and I gotta say, it’s a beautiful thing.
After setting up the tray tables around my bed, Lukas and Jacob help Mama bring up our plates of food, which are piled high, in traditional Mama fashion. For her, happiness equates to a belly-full of homemade food, which is her way of showing her love, and she didn’t miss her mark this time.
I love how her face beams with pride as the boys rave over her cooking. Mama deserves to feel this way, and it makes me love the guys even more for showing her such appreciation. Then again, I’d have not expected anything less from Lukas and Jacob – they are damn good men, for sure. How Jacob is still single is beyond me…but at the same time, why Lukas isn’t single is beyond me as well.
Too bad Jessica can’t see beyond Luke’s good looks to discover what a prize she truly holds…but then again, would I really want her to?
Seems to me that Lukas is seeing beyond Jessica’s looks lately, though – seeing her for what she really is…a spoiled, pretentious brat, who gets her way or there’s hell to pay. And yeah, that is what I really want. It’s about time he realizes that he’s too good to be treated like a possession.
“Whew!” Lukas lets out a sigh of contentment – a beautiful sound as I’ve ever heard, bringing me back from my reverie. “I’m so full, I am bout to pop! You are one mean cook, Mrs. Kane! Thank you so much for the delicious food!”
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