After Midnight

by Lacy Hart

  I patted my pants pocket to make sure I had still had the phone in there and felt a little better about things as soon as I knew it was there. I turned off Oak Street and made my way down the darker streets towards the house. The street lights were few and far between on these blocks, and the residences that were here were all dark for the night, making the only light available the slim glimmer from the moonlight.

  I could see the shadows of my house looming down the street not too far away, and I picked up my pace to try to get there quicker. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a car came up the street, blinding me with its headlights. I put my hand up to shade my eyes from the glaring light on my face, as the car came to a stop at the curb right near me. All I could see was a brief shadow moving towards me, and once my vision cleared, I could see that the shadow was Jared’s.

  I turned in the other direction and started to run, and I could hear his footsteps moving faster behind me as he was gaining on me. Within seconds, he was on me, tackling me and pushing me onto the lawn of one of the nearby homes. Jared turned me over and immediately clamped a hand over my mouth so I couldn’t scream for help.

  “You’re really making me have a bad night, Sarah,” Jared said to me. I could see his face clearly, with a menacing look on it framed by the halo of the streetlight across the street. He had clearly been drinking more than before, and he had a wild look in his eyes that sent fear coursing through my body.

  I struggled beneath him as he pressed himself against me tightly to keep me from moving away or fighting back.

  “Where’s my phone, Sarah?” he asked me. “I noticed I didn’t have it when I got to the police station, and I was just back at the diner looking for it, and no one there had it. I know you must have it.”

  I shook my head no, telling him I didn’t have it and hoping he would just get up and go.

  “Is it in your bag?” he asked, getting louder and more demanding. “Or do you have it on you?”

  Again, I shook my head, more frantically this time, because I knew he was likely to start looking for it himself.

  I saw Jared reach into his back pocket and he then revealed, in his right hand, a long, thin-bladed knife. The steel blade of the knife reflected in the street light.

  Jared pressed his body tightly against me again, this time bringing the blade up to just beneath my chin. I could feel the cold blade pressing on my throat, causing me to freeze the wriggling I had been doing to try to get away from him.

  “If you don't admit you have it, I guess I’m going to have to look for it,” he said with a sinister smile. While his right hand held the blade against my throat, I felt him reach down and pat the pocket of my pants. Luckily for me, the phone was in my pocket on the other side, but it would just be a matter of time before he switched.

  “You know, you probably could have avoided all this long ago if you had just agreed to go out with me back in college,” he said as he pawed up and down my right leg. “Maybe then I wouldn’t have to put those cameras in your room in the first place. It was the only way I was ever going to get to see you I guess. I had to settle for your sister-in-law instead, but I never thought I would get the chance to do more pictures of you. That was quite a treat for me, almost as much fun as this is now. Nothing in this pocket here. I guess I need to check somewhere else.”

  I could feel Jared’s left hand start to unbutton my blouse. He had gotten the first button undone and was working on the second when I knew I had to do something. Instinctively, I moved my right knee up as fast as I could, catching him right in the groin and causing him to scream out in pain. I was able to push him off me, and I tried to scramble up from the ground and run. I had only taken one step when I felt Jared’s hand reach out and trip me, causing me to hit the ground. I felt my head hit the soft, damp grass with a thud.

  My head was spinning and ringing as I tried to focus, but Jared was back on top of me again.

  “You bitch!” He hissed at me. “It’s time to show you who’s boss.”

  I wanted to scream out, but I couldn’t get a clear focus on what to do or how to make my mouth work right. I squirmed to try to get away from Jared as I felt him kneel on top of me, trying to get more clothing from me. I looked up at him and could see him smiling at me as he stood up over me, working to undo his pants. Everything was moving in slow motion and was almost dreamlike. At one moment Jared was wrestling with his belt, and then there was a shadow behind him that tossed him away.

  I closed my eyes and opened them again and looked to my left. Jared was scrambling to his feet, and Caleb was standing over me to protect me. I moved back, shuffling my body with the palms of my hands, to move away from them.

  Jared stood there, unsteady on his feet, wielding his knife while Caleb watched his every movement.

  “You again,” Jared spat at Caleb. “You always seem to be spoiling my fun lately. I think it’s time to end that.”

  Jared lunged towards Caleb with the knife, and I finally heard a scream leave my throat. The next sound I heard was an ungodly crunching sound. Caleb had ducked under the move by Jared and swept his leg so that it struck Jared’s hard. The crunching sound was bone breaking in and around Jared’s right knee as he crumpled to the ground. Jared let a loud wail out as he lay on the grass, clutching his knee that was now bent well out of its natural position.

  Even in all his pain, Jared still went to grab the knife that was next to his hand. He reached for the knife, and Caleb quickly kicked it away and then stomped hard on his hand, sending another piercing scream through the air as Jared’s fingers broke. I saw Caleb walk over and pick up the knife and he knelt next to Jared’s quivering body. I could hear Jared crying now, and it sounded like he was pleading for his life.

  I could see that Caleb was remaining calm and collected, not even breathing heavy, but I could also see something in his eyes – a look that let Jared know he was willing to do whatever he had to so that this ended. I saw Caleb shift the knife in his hands, bringing it closer to Jared’s throat now.

  “Caleb, don’t,” I whispered out, and he looked back towards me and into my eyes. Caleb stood up and folded up the knife, tucking it into his sock. He then came over to me and hugged me, holding me tight.

  “Are you alright?” he said into my ear. Caleb moved back to get a look at me, moving the hair out my face and wiping some dirt off me.

  “I’m okay,” I said, tears in my eyes and caught in my throat as I tried to hold back the emotions I was feeling.

  Two police cars had come screaming up the street and came to screeching halt, flashing their lights all around us. Obviously, someone had heard the screams and called 911 for help. I was able to make out Officer Hernandez as he came over to Caleb and me, making sure I was okay. Two other officers were over by Jared, calling for an ambulance.

  It took several officers some time to sort everything out as they interviewed Caleb, me, and the resident who had called the police and lived in the house that had the lawn where all of this took place. The police tried to get some sort of statement from Jared, and through all his crying and wailing from the pain he was in they were not able to get much. However, they had enough from me that they were planning on arresting Jared on several charges, not the least of which was the assault he had done to me.

  The EMTs on the scene checked me out to make sure there was nothing wrong with me. I had some bumps, bruises, and scrapes, mainly the one on my head from where I had hit the ground, but it was nothing severe. Still, as a precaution, they decided to take me to the hospital to make sure I didn’t have a concussion, and I was okay.

  Caleb followed along in his car and waited for me while doctors examined me and police interviewed me more to get more details about what had happened. I let them know what Jared had said and done, including his admission that he was the one that had placed the cameras in my dorm room years ago and distributed the pictures of me. While the officers weren’t sure about that statute of limitations on something like that, the police felt they had mo
re than enough evidence to convict him on a variety of charges now that not even his family’s high-priced lawyer could talk his way out of.

  It was hours before I was cleared by the doctors so that I could leave, and Caleb was finally allowed to come to see me so that he could take me home. Without saying a word, he put his arm around me and led me out of the hospital and to his Jeep. We went straight to his apartment, where he led me up the stairs and into his apartment.

  Caleb took me to his bedroom, handing me one of his t-shirts to wear as I stripped out of the work clothes I had on that were stained and slightly torn. Once I had the t-shirt on, Caleb had me lay down on his bed, and he pulled the blankets over me. My body felt relaxed for the first time in a while. I felt Caleb lean down and kiss me on the head, letting his kiss linger there for a while.

  Caleb got up from the bed and went to walk out of the room. I peeked my eyes open to look at him.

  “Where are you going?” I asked softly.

  “I was going to lay down on the couch,” Caleb said to me. “I thought maybe you wanted some space after the night you had.”

  “Please,” I said to him. “Please stay with me.”

  Caleb came back into the room and crawled into bed with me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close to him.

  I pressed myself even closer to him, not wanting him to let go of me again.

  “Thank you, Caleb,” I whispered, no longer able to choke back the tears. “Thank you for coming back for me.”

  Caleb just kissed me lightly on the head again, and we lay there with each other. I felt safe, being back where I knew I belonged.

  31

  Caleb

  After spending hours at the police station getting Adam out of there, and then spending hours with the police again, on the scene and at the hospital, I just wanted all the interrogation to be over with. I get that the police were concerned about how much damage I did to Jordan Sterling in a short amount of time, but he was a physically assaulting Sarah when I got to the scene and was threatening me as well. I reacted the way I had to so that I could make sure Sarah was safe. If Sarah had not been there, I am not sure what the outcome would have been.

  There was a lot of rage building up inside me, not just for what he had done to Sarah and what he might have done had I not arrived when I did, but I was angry for what he had done to my family. He had assaulted Adam and essentially walked away without any consequences. And then there was the family connection to Ella’s death and what they had gotten away with there, simply throwing money at it to make it go away. I wanted revenge in some way, even if it seemed petty and wrong.

  I stayed with Sarah all night, doing whatever I could to comfort her and make her feel better. She slept soundly in my arms, and I awoke well before she did in the morning. I made sure to send a message to Linda and Adam to let them know we were safe. I gave Linda some of the details of what had occurred in case the need arose for me to have a lawyer. The police indicated that there wouldn’t be any charges against me since I was protecting myself and Sarah, and there was overwhelming evidence against Jared Sterling, but I wanted to cover my bases.

  After sending my messages and speaking with Linda on my phone, I went back into the bedroom to see Sarah stretching out on the bed. She was yawning and flexing her muscles, apparently feeling a little sore from the experience of last night.

  “How are you feeling?” I said to her as I sat down on the bed next to her.

  “I’m pretty achy, and my head hurts some, but other than that, I think I am okay,” Sarah said to me. She reached over and took my hand in hers, running her fingers over mine.

  “Maybe you want to take a nice, hot shower,” I suggested to her as I brushed some hair from her eyes with my free hand.

  “That sounds perfect,” she said to me with a smile.

  “I’ll get it started for you,” I told her, rising from the bed and going into the bathroom to get the water started. I went in and turned on the water, making it as hot as I could so it was tolerable and came back to the bedroom. Sarah was standing up by then, still dressed in just a t-shirt and pair of pale blue panties.

  “Shower’s going whenever you are ready,” I said to her.

  I watched as she reached for the hem of the t-shirt and grimaced a bit as she tried to lift it. I walked over to her and slowly lifted the shirt over her head. She did grunt slightly as she straightened her arms over her head to get the shirt off.

  I tossed the shirt to the floor and took a quick look at her back and shoulder. She had a sizeable dark purple bruise running from her shoulder down towards the middle of her back.

  “That’s going to hurt for a while,” I said to Sarah, trying not to touch it to hurt her.

  Sarah went into the bathroom so she could look at her back in the mirror. I could see her tracing the bruise with her fingertips, wincing when she pressed on it. She looked back at me from the bathroom, Covering up her breasts lightly with her one hand.

  “I’m going to shower,” she said as she went to close the door.

  “Just holler if you need anything,” I said to her. She gave me a shy smile before closing the door.

  I went out into the kitchen and started the coffee pot to make some coffee, and then realized Sarah might want something to change into. All the clothes I had would be too big for her, and Adam was much taller than her as well. I figured Linda would be close and shot her another message asking if she had a pair of sweats that Sarah could borrow to change into. Linda gave me the direction of where to find them in the house, and I ran over and grabbed a pair of sweats and a pair of black shorts so that Sarah could have the choice of what she might want to wear.

  When I got back to the apartment, the shower was still going. I am sure Sarah was hoping to relax some and let the hot water help with some of the aches in her muscles. I folded the clothes I got from Sarah and a couple of t-shirts for her to choose from on the chair and laid them there. Sarah walked out of the bathroom with one of the towels wrapped around her body, over her chest.

  “That shower helped a lot,” she said to me. “My body feels much better.” She walked right up to me, standing in front of me in her towel.

  “I borrowed some sweats and shorts from Linda if you want to change into them,” I said to her, pointing to the clothes on the chair but finding it hard to take my eyes off her.

  “Thank you,” she told me. Sarah lifted her right hand and gently ran it across the stubble on my chin.

  “Oh, it’s no big deal, I just thought you’d be more comfortable…” Sarah placed her index finger on my lips.

  “Not just for the clothes,” she said to me. “For everything. For watching out for me, for helping me, for caring about me even after the way I left things, for saving my life. I’ve never had someone in my life like that before, or that I’ve felt this way about before.”

  Sarah stood up on her tiptoes and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. As she started to pull away from me. I bent closer to her to kiss her again.

  “Sarah,” I said to her, “I know what it’s like to be in a relationship that is special, and I know when it feels right to me. This, what we have had, even in just this short period of time, is right. I didn’t think I could feel this way about anyone else in my life, but I was wrong. I know how I felt before you came into my life, and just the thought of you being out of it, even for just a day or two, made me miserable. You’ve made my life better in more ways than I can express.”

  Sarah threw her arms around my neck and kissed me deeply once again, this time letting the kiss linger. I could feel her moving my body closer to the bed until I couldn’t maintain my balance anymore and fell back onto the bed, with Sarah on top of me. We both laughed and went back to kissing, and Sarah’s towel had fallen open, leaving her damp body pressing against my clothed one.

  “Someone is a little overdressed,” Sarah remarked.

  She began to slide her body down mine, coming to rest between my legs and pulling my shorts down
all the way. She twirled the shorts on her index finger, smiling at me as she did before she flung them across the room. Sarah then dragged her fingernails up my legs, starting at my calves and going all the way up to the tops of my thighs, giving me chills. She then stretched her arms up, pushing her hands under my t-shirt and gliding her palms over my chest, feeling my muscles beneath her while letting her breasts move over my rock-hard erection. I put my head back on the pillow beneath me and groaned.

  Sarah had also tossed her towel onto the floor by now, and I could feel her body slowly sliding up and down against mine. She knelt between my legs, looking down at me, and I looked up to see just how beautiful she looked to me. Everything from the way her wet hair curled and hung down to her shoulders, to the small dimple she had in her right cheek as she smiled at me, to every curve and contour of her body drew me to her.

  I felt Sarah slowly draw her index finger from my waist up and over my shaft, sending a surge of electricity through my body. I could feel myself draw in my breath through my teeth as she teased me this way over and over until I couldn’t take it anymore.