Before Michelle can get into Grace’s room with her, Grace slams the door in her face.
“You’re acting like a child, Grace. You need to just talk about it and stop trying to find other ways to get rid of your pain.” Grace hears Michelle’s body thud up against the door. “Let me in.”
“Go away! Go home!”
Grace flops into her bed and pulls her pillow over her head so that she does not have to hear the words that her sister speaks. Michelle sits outside Grace’s door for forty-five minutes trying to talk sense into her, but Grace cannot bring herself to respond. Finally, Grace hears Michelle walking away, down the stairs.
Later that night, wearing only a bra and a pair of panties, Grace tiptoes around her room as quietly as she can. She reaches into her closet and pulls out a slinky, black, backless dress she purchased yesterday. She slips it over her head and then grabs a pair of studded silver pumps. She pokes her head out of her bedroom door and listens for Jaden and Michelle. Their voices come from the front porch as she slinks down the stairway. She walks through the kitchen and slides out of the back door. Not looking back, she sprints across the field. Adrenaline rushes through her body while she runs through the tall weeds to the end of the driveway in front of Jaden’s home, her pumps dangling from her hand. Steam from the muffler of the parked taxicab, down the street from the house, fills the cool summer night air.
Grace hops into the back of the taxicab. “Okay let’s go.”
The driver hits the timer and pulls the car away.
They didn’t see me! Grace glances at her cell phone before putting it into her purse. On the screen, a text pops up from Ian. Please call me Gracie. I love you. Her heart aches from seeing his words, but she cannot let herself fall back into his trap. She quickly deletes the text and shoves her cell phone into her purse.
After a half an hour taxi ride to the city, Grace enters the darkened, crowded club and heads straight for the bar. She orders a Cosmopolitan to ease the tension in her chest and then searches the club. She does not see any faces that she recognizes, so she perches herself onto a barstool.
She finishes her drink in minutes and she waves at the bartender and points at her empty glass. Her phone vibrates in her purse and she grabs it. Ian’s face fills the screen. He has been trying to call her every day since their last phone call and continues to text her several times a day. She answers the phone and then immediately hangs it up without speaking a word. I really need to change my number. The bartender refills Grace’s drink and she brings it up to her lips as she spins around to face the rest of the club. On stage, a female singer’s head whips around as dark, poetic lyrics flow from her mouth.
“Can I buy you another drink?” asks a deep, sexy voice.
Grace turns toward the seductive sound to find a hot guy with a dark tan and light eyes. Her eyes flow over his tall, masculine frame and she admires the size of his biceps. Normally, she does not go for such a muscular man, but there is always an exception to her rule.
Grace finishes the remainder of her drink and places it on the bar before she speaks. “Sure, I’d like that.” She smiles.
“My name is, Sean,” he says, as he takes the seat next to her.
“Nice to meet you, Sean. I’m Grace,” she says, as she reaches out to him with her delicate hand.
Sean beams as he shakes her hand with his powerful grip for an extended amount of time.
“What are you drinking?”
“A cosmo.”
Sean waves the bartender over and orders a cosmopolitan along with a beer for himself.
“Are you here with anyone?” he asks, his eyes not leaving hers.
“No. I’m not. Are you?”
“I am now,” he says, as his eyes run the length of Grace’s curved body.
Grace throws her head back and laughs.
Several drinks later, Grace’s fuzzy head will not let her focus on her conversation with Sean. They have sat at the same barstools through the last three bands. Grace pulls her cell phone out of her purse, the numbers on the screen blur as she tries to focus on them.
“It’s one in the morning. Do you need to leave?” Sean asks.
“I was just trying to see what time it is,” she slurs.
“Would you like a ride home?”
Grace’s stomach churns. How many drinks have I had? she asks herself, unable to answer the question.
“I don’t mind driving you home Grace. You’ve had too much to drink and you shouldn’t drive yourself,” he says, placing his hand on Grace’s arm.
His warm touch feels wonderful on her sensitive skin. She fumbles with her purse as she tries to put her cell phone away.
“Come on, let’s get outta here,” Sean says, rising to his feet.
Grace attempts to get off the barstool and almost falls over. She lands in Sean’s hard muscular arms and he pulls her close to his body steadying her.
“Let’s get you home.”
Sean walks Grace to his car parked in the dark alley behind the club. She can barely walk without stumbling over her own feet. Sean wraps his strong arm around her waist as they walk. He opens the passenger door and helps her into his car. Grace leans her head against the headrest and she can feel herself slipping away. Nausea and dizziness take over. Uncontrollably, her eyes close. I haven’t told him where I live, she thinks, unable to speak. Her eyes open, buildings, lights, and cars flicker past her line of sight. She cannot comprehend her surroundings. She slips away once again.
Pain throbs through Grace’s wrists and brings her back to consciousness. At first, she cannot focus on her whereabouts, but feels the bed below her body in the darkened room. The smell of mildew sweeps itself into her nose. Her head pounds, sending stabbing pains into her brain. She attempts to move her arms, but restraints around her wrists refuse to allow her movement. Fear races through her body as her tongue hits the gag in her mouth. Her jaw aches as she tries to cry out for help through the material.
Her eyes sweep rapidly around the darkened room. Thick heavy curtains cover the window to her left. The nightstand to her right holds a turned-off lamp and an alarm clock that beams 2:27 AM in red glowing numbers. I’m in a motel.
She tugs on the restraints that are binding her to the posts on the headboard. Her eyes focus on a figure sitting in a chair directly in front of the bed. A chill touches her skin, and she looks down to see she only has her bra and panties on.
The shadowy figure rises from the chair, the blade of the knife he holds in his hand reflecting off the red beaming light of the alarm clock. Grace flails violently, trying to pry loose from the ties. The rope tied around her wrists scratches and scrapes at her skin, causing a hot, painful burn. She screams as loud as she can, but the gag in her mouth muffles her screams. Slowly the dark figure approaches her and bends down next to her face.
Sean.
“Pretty little thing,” he says in a sickening twisted voice.
Grace looks at him with wide, frightened, teary eyes.
“Shh.” he says, his lips barely touching her wet cheek.
Grace frantically shakes her head, begging him with her eyes not to hurt her.
Sean presses the blade against her cheek to quiet her. “Stop fighting. You make one sound and I’ll shove this knife right into your throat, cunt!”
The cold steel of the knife sends unpleasant shivers through her body.
Sean removes the knife from Grace’s cheek and slides it down her throat. When the blade reaches the center of her throat, he applies pressure. She has never been so scared in her entire life. Her life flashes before her eyes, Ian’s face weaving itself between memories of her past and hopes for her future. With her long fingernails, she scratches at the rope.
“Are you a filthy bitch?”
Grace shakes her head no frantically.
“Oh, I think you are. I think you’re a dirty whore,” Sean says, as he slides the blade down Grace’s throat, resting it between her breasts.
With a swift fli
ck of the blade, Grace’s bra splits down the center, her chest now bared to him. With slow moves, he swirls the tip of the blade around one of her nipples.
Her entire body shakes. He’s going to rape me! she screams in her head. Then he’s going to kill me! She panics and thrashes her body around.
“Be still!”
Once again, he pushes the tip of the knife into the center of Grace’s throat.
“Stop moving or I will fucking kill you, bitch!”
Grace tries to swallow, but the lump in her throat will not allow her to do so. Tears uncontrollably pour out of her eyes, run down the side of her face, and spill into her ears. The gag in her mouth causes saliva to ooze out of the corners of it. Crust has formed at both sides of her mouth from where drool leaked while she slept. Her eyes race around the room again as she tries to formulate a plan of escape.
Sean places the blade of the knife just above Grace’s bellybutton and applies pressure. He slices upwards, causing Grace to scream through the gag. She lies very still so that she does not enrage him again. He slides the knife into her panties. With another swift move, he cuts her panties and they fall off her body leaving her vulnerable and exposed. Grace scratches desperately at the ropes tied around her wrists. She tries to move her legs, but they are bound to the bed as well.
Shock and horror fill her as the sharp edge of the knife glides down her pelvis and between her thighs.
“I bet you like the way this feels, you dirty whore.”
Grace shakes her head, her eyes red from crying.
She wiggles her feet and to her surprise, she can feel that the rope around her left leg is looser than the others. She rubs her ankle on the bed and realizes that her foot may slide out of the knot.
Sean stands straight up and holds the knife in his mouth between his teeth. He reaches down for his jeans and unbuttons them.
Grace rubs her ankle harder against the bed. The skin around her ankle becomes rawer as she slowly gets her foot free.
Sean places his knees on the edge of the bed and descends over her. Grace’s foot slams into the side of Sean’s head, and he falls backward off the bed hitting his head on the wall. Grace yanks against her ties, and her arm feels like it will rip out of its socket. Her tiny hand squirms, ripping skin from her wrist until she frees herself. Desperately, she reaches around to her other wrist and loosens the other restraints. She looks over the side of the bed, where Sean is still stunned from hitting his head.
Racing to the desk, Grace rips the lamp cord out of the wall and grips the lamp upside-down. She runs to Sean, who is trying to stand up, and bashes him over the head. He crumples to the floor, but Grace does not cease hitting him. Over and over, with hysterical cries of anger and terror, she brings the lamp down on his head until it bleeds and her arms tire.
With Sean unmoving on the floor, she darts to a chair close to the door, where her dress and purse lie. She grabs her dress and pulls it over her head while keeping her eyes on Sean.
Fear grips her, as she has to turn her back on him to unlock the deadbolts. She snatches up her purse, flings the door open, and runs barefoot out of the room. She looks behind her as she runs so that she can read the room number.
Stopping in the middle of the motel parking lot, she searches for the office. When she finds it, she bolts in that direction. She pulls on the office doors and they do not open. Her eyes fall on a sign that says “After Hours Night Bell.” She hits the button frantically with a trembling hand and notices that her wrist is bleeding where pieces of her skin is missing.
“We’re full,” says the voice over the intercom.
“Please help me!”
From behind the glass doors of the office, she sees and older woman pop her head around a wall behind the reception desk. The woman wobbles to the doors, opens them in a hurry, and shuts them as soon as Grace is safely inside.
“What’s the matter, sweetie?”
“There’s a man in room 104, he had me tied up. Call 911!”
While the woman goes for the phone, Grace places both of her hands on the cold, glass door, peering out of it, not once taking her eyes off room 104.
Chapter 14
Grace’s eyes dart to Jaden and Michelle who run into the hospital room with wide eyes and panicked expressions. Michelle drops the bag she was carrying onto the floor and rushes to the bed where Grace lays.
“Oh, my gosh!” says Michelle, throwing her arms around her.
Jaden throws his arms around Grace from the other side of the bed and they remain wordless for a few long minutes. Finally, they pull away.
“Are you okay?” Michelle takes Grace’s tear-stained cheeks into her hands.
“I am now.”
“Did they get that fucker?” Michelle’s head turns to look at the man standing in the corner of the room.
“We got him, don’t worry,” he says, walking closer.
“This is Detective Ramirez.” Grace motions to the tall detective with dark, brown hair, and eyes, who stands with his hand out toward Michelle.
“We got a full statement from your sister and we’re going to put this sicko away for a very long time.”
“Can she go home now?” Jaden questions, as he sits on the bed next to Grace.
“Yeah, that should be fine. She’s had a rough night. I’ll be in touch with you Ms. Hathaway. Thank you for turning this shithead in.”
“Thank you,” Grace says, with a wavering voice.
“I’ll go tell the nurse we’ve finished in here and let her know you’d like to go home.” Detective Ramirez takes Grace’s hand into his. “You’re a brave young woman. In the future, try to be more careful about who you let drive you home from the bar.”
Grace only nods and then her eyes catch the disappointed looks on both Jaden and Michelle’s faces.
The detective leaves the room and Jaden follows. Michelle sits in a chair in the corner of the room and does not speak. Grace can see her hands are shaking. “I’m okay, “Grace says, attempting to bring some comfort to Michelle.
Michelle returns a weak and unconvincing smile.
Grace runs a hand through her hair. Knowing what a mess she must look like intensifies the shame. She is having a hard enough time getting over the violation she went through when the medical staff performed a rape kit on her shortly after she arrived at the hospital. Not only was tonight terrifying, but it is the most humiliating experience of her life. All the problems she thought she had earlier that evening seem small compared to what she has now gone through.
After a long wait, the nurse saunters into the silent room. “Are you ready to go home, dear?” The kindness in her eyes brings Grace a smidgen of comfort.
“Yeah, please.” Grace’s lips sweep into a faint smile.
The woman takes Grace’s arm and places it close up to the side of her body and she peels at the tape that holds down the needle stuck in Grace’s arm. Grace cannot keep her eyes off Michelle and cannot keep her mind from wondering what thoughts are going through her head while Michelle bites down on her bottom lip and knits her eyebrows together. Her eyes are red and swollen. Grace’s chest fills with remorse as she catches the single tear fall from Michelle’s eye.
The nurse finishes detaching Grace from the blood pressure cuff. “Okay, kiddo, you’re all set. I’ll be back with some paperwork, but you can get dressed.”
“Thank you.”
Michelle stands and walks over to the windowsill where she put the bag of clothes she packed for Grace. Her silence rips at Grace’s heart. Michelle’s phone rings and Grace watches her silence it.
“It’s Becca. Again.”
“She’s probably freaking out.”
“I’ll call her when we get back to Jaden’s. Do you want me to leave while you get dressed?”
“You can stay,” Grace says, as she brings her legs around to the side of the bed. The pounding in her head is excruciating and the raw wounds on her ankles and wrists burn. “I’m so sorry, Michelle.”
&nb
sp; Lunging in, Michelle wraps her arms around Grace. “Oh, honey, you don’t have to be sorry. You just need to start being smart. This person you have become, this is not you, Grace. You’re an intelligent woman. You know better than to put yourself in situations like this.”
“I know.” Grace stares at the speckled tile on the hospital floor. Flashes of Sean standing above her, the knife catching the light from the alarm clock and the sound of his heavy breathing sends chills all over her arms and shivers down her spine. Wrapping her arms around each other, she embraces herself.
Michelle takes Grace’s chin into her hand and Grace can no longer hold back the tears that have been begging to break free since she first saw Jaden and Michelle’s faces running into the hospital room. “Sweetheart, I know you’re in pain. I know that you’re lost. I know that Ian has crushed you, but you can’t allow him to destroy you. You’re stronger than this. I know you’re trying to deal with your pain, but this is not the way. That maniac could’ve killed you!”
Grace throws her arms around Michelle’s waist and allows herself to feel some of the pain she has been fighting all night. The anguish makes her heart hurt as if it were cracking into several pieces. She can hear her agonized cries filling the room, but cannot stop the moans from bellowing out of her mouth. Her lower lip trembles as she pulls away and looks into Michelle’s tear-filled eyes. “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. I thought he was going to kill me. I feel like he’s left his scent on me. I want him off of me!”
Michelle gently pushes Grace away. “Let’s get you home so you can shower.”
Grace’s entire body trembles when visions of herself tied to the motel bed play over and over in her mind as Michelle helps her to get into the clothes that Michelle brought her.
“Did he…did he rape you?”
“No,” Grace exhales. “He was going to I think, but I kicked him and he hit his head.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
The Falling of Grace (The Falling Series Book 2) Page 15