Beautifully Unfinished

by Beverley Hollowed

  “Maybe she isn’t here,” Tucker said, as Lucy pressed the buzzer again.

  “She is,” Lucy replied. “She is just not answering the door.”

  Tucker walked back down the step and looked up at the windows. The moment he did, he saw someone move behind the curtain like they were trying to hide.

  “She is in alright,” he said, as he walked back up the steps to where Lucy was. “I saw her curtain twitch.”

  “So, now what?” Lucy asked as she looked at Tucker hopefully.

  “I have no clue,” he sighed.

  “UGHHH! Lucy cried in frustration. She held her finger on the buzzer for longer this time. “OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!”

  “She isn’t going to let us in,” Tucker said, as he reached up and took hold of Lucy’s hand. “But I have an idea. Step back.”

  Lucy did as she was told. She stood and watched Tucker as he pressed all the buttons for the building and waited to see what would happen next.

  As she stood there, once more she felt like she was being watched. She turned and looked around her, but all she could see were people going about their own life.

  I need to get a grip, she thought to herself

  “Hello,” a lady’s voice finally came from the speaker.

  “Good afternoon, ma’am,” Tucker spoke into the intercom on the wall. “I’m Deputy Tucker Flynn, from the River Spring’s police department. I have reason to believe one of your neighbours might be in danger, and I need to get into her apartment. Could you please open the door?”

  “Do you mean, Alison?” The woman said, surprising both Tucker and Lucy.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Tucker replied. “Do you know her?”

  “Yes,” the woman replied. “She lives across the hallway. I could hear her crying late last night and again this morning. I knocked, but she didn’t answer.”

  “Mrs. Lewis,” Lucy said, as she moved closer to the intercom. She had met the lady a couple of times when she was with Alison. Lucy hoped the old woman would remember her. “It’s Lucy Chance, Alison’s friend. Do you remember me?”

  “Yes, dear,” she replied.

  “Please,” Lucy begged. “Can you buzz us into the building so that we can check on her?”

  “Certainly, dear,” the old lady replied. Suddenly the door buzzed, and Tucker and Lucy hurried inside.

  When they reached the door of Alison’s apartment, Lucy took a moment before she softly tapped on the door.

  “Alison,” she said, as she pressed her forehead against the door. “It’s Lucy. Please let me come in.”

  She waited, but there was no reply.

  “Alison, please,” Lucy said, as the tears trickled down her face. “I know you are in there. I am not going anywhere until you let me come in.”

  Lucy jumped as Tucker touched her shoulder and she turned to look at him.

  “I need to see her,” she whispered. “I know what she is going through.”

  “I know,” he replied, as he softly touched her face.

  Suddenly the latch on the door sounded, and Lucy turned back toward the door and held her breath.

  Chapter 27

  The first thing Lucy noticed was the huge bump on Alison’s forehead and the bruise just beneath her eye. Then her eyes dropped to the finger marks on either side of her mouth. Finally, her eyes drifted back up until they met Alison’s puffy, bloodshot eyes.

  There were no words Lucy could say. She blinked back the tears as she quickly stepped forward and went to hug Alison, but Alison quickly stepped back.

  “Why have you come here?” Alison asked, sounding colder than Lucy had ever heard her.

  “I came to see if you were okay,” Lucy said, as she held her breath, unsure if her friend would even let her and Tucker past the front door. “You left so suddenly, and David called…he is worried about you. We all are.”

  “Well as you can see, I’m just fine,” she said, as she turned and walked back into the apartment. Lucy glanced at Tucker before they both stepped further into the apartment and closed the door. “So you can go back home.”

  “Alison, you’re clearly not fine,” Lucy said, as she followed her friend into her living room. “You’re hurt.”

  “It’s nothing,” Alison said without looking at Lucy as she sat down on her sofa. “I bumped my head, that’s all.”

  “Then why did you leave?” Lucy asked, not really sure if she should push her friend or not. “You just disappeared. Why didn’t you call me? If you were hurt…”

  “I needed to come home,” she cut Lucy off and shrugged, still not letting her gaze meet Lucy’s. “I didn’t know I needed your permission to leave.”

  “Of course, you didn’t need my permission,” Lucy sighed. “I just don’t know why you lied.”

  This seemed to hit a nerve with Alison. She looked up at Lucy, her eyes filled with pain.

  “I just thought it would be easier,” she whispered, as the tears danced in her eyes.

  “Alison,” Lucy said as she dropped to her knees the floor in front of her friend and took hold of her hands. “It’s me, please don’t shut me out. I know how scared you are. But I also know shutting people out will only hurt you more in the end. Believe me, I know.”

  “There’s nothing to tell,” Alison cried as she pulled her hands-free from Lucy’s. As she did, her t-shirt moved, and Lucy spotted what looked like a bite mark on the side of her friend’s neck.

  She closed her eyes and pushed the bile that was rising in her throat, back down inside.

  “I know it was Trent,” Lucy whispered, as hot, salty tears stung her eyes. She wished more than anything she could take away the pain her friend was going through. “I know he came to my dad’s house, and I know that he hurt you…”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Alison said, as she stood up and pushed past Lucy. “As you can see, I am okay, so can you please just go.”

  “I DON’T KNOW!” Lucy exclaimed in anger as she spun her friend around before she reached for the buttons on her blouse. “I know exactly what he did, because he did it to me, too.”

  Lucy pulled open her blouse and revealed the scar just above her breast, as her heart pounded in her chest.

  “See,” Lucy said, this time, her voice was calmer. “I do know. The bite mark on your neck is exactly what he does.”

  Alison stared at her friend for a moment, as fat, salty tears trickled down her face. She sat back down on the sofa and finally gave in to her tears.

  “I will go make some coffee,” Tucker said, giving Lucy a knowing look.

  “Alison,” Lucy whispered softly, as she sat down next to her friend. “Let me help you. Tell me what happened.”

  “I was just heading to bed,” Alison finally began in a quiet voice. “You had just left to go see Tucker. There was a knock on the door, and I thought maybe you had come back. I know it was stupid of me to open the door, but I just didn’t think.”

  She stopped and blew her nose on the crumpled tissue she had in her hand.

  “The minute I saw him, I tried to shut the door,” Alison continued. “But he was just too big. He pushed the door and sent me tumbling to the ground. That’s when I banged my head. He called out your name over and over. He said he wasn’t leaving till he saw you.”

  Lucy’s stomach knotted as her friend confirmed what she already knew. This had happened because of her.

  “I told him you weren’t there,” Alison went on. “But he grabbed me by the hair and pulled me up from the floor. He dragged me into the living room and said he had a message for you and Tucker. Then he…he…”

  Alison just began to sob again.

  “It’s okay,” Lucy said, as she wrapped her arm around her friend and held her tightly. “You’re doing so well.”

  “He threw me down on the sofa,” Alison said as she closed her eyes, and Lucy knew she was reliving it in her mind. “I tried to push him off, but he was so big. Then he bit me…”

  She reached up and instinctively t
ouched her neck.

  “I screamed but he covered my mouth,” Alison said, as she opened her eyes and looked at Lucy. “He told me if I screamed again, he would kill me. I nodded that I understood, then he reached down and began to pull up my skirt. That’s when I spotted the lamp on the end table. I reached up while he tried to undo his trousers and somehow I got it. I smashed it over his head and managed to get free from beneath him.”

  “You got away?” Lucy asked, as a tiny bubble of hope grew inside her.

  “I tried to,” Alison sobbed. “I got to the stairs, but he caught my foot and dragged me back down to him. Then he grabbed my hair and pulled me up the stairs. He asked which room was yours, that he wanted to fuck on your bed. I lied and said the spare room was your bedroom. I was not giving him that pleasure. He dragged me in there and threw me down on the bed. Then he climbed over me. Once again he clasped his hand over my mouth…”

  Lucy remembered the night of the party, how he had held her mouth so tightly. She remembered how he pushed his hand so far into her mouth, she vomited. She tried to push the memories from her head. Now was about Alison, not her.

  “I thought there was nothing I could do to stop him,” Alison continued. “And for a moment, I stopped fighting. I just lay there as he tore back my blouse and he grabbed my breast with his big, coarse hands. That’s when you spoke to me.”

  “I spoke to you?” Lucy asked, surprised by what she said.

  “Yes,” Alison nodded. “I could hear your voice in my head saying over and over, ‘No, this is not your story too.' It was like you were there, in my head. Over and over again I heard it. That’s when I bit him.”

  “You bit him?” Lucy asked with a smile.

  “I bit down on his hand so hard,” Alison replied. “I made that fucker bleed. He screamed and clasped his hand, and that was when I clasped my two hands together and punched him right in the guts. Guess my self-defence classes came in handy after all.”

  “That’s my girl!” Lucy laughed.

  “I managed to get to the bathroom and locked the door,” She added. “He banged and kicked the door for what felt like forever. He was so mad. I was sure he would break the door down, but then he just stopped. I heard the front door slam shut, and I knew he was gone. Still, I waited in the bathroom, I needed to be sure. I guess I fell asleep on the floor. When I woke up, it was early. I cleaned up and left.”

  “But, I don’t understand,” Lucy said. “Why did you leave?”

  “He told me that if I told you what happened,” Alison replied. “That he would kill you. Lucy, he meant it too. Everything he did, was to get at you, and Tucker too. It was never about me. He came there looking for you. I think he would have killed you if you had been there.”

  “But you should have still told me,” Lucy sighed. “You should not have had to go through all that alone. He may not have raped you, but he hurt you, he assaulted you.”

  “And if I told you,” Alison continued, as she wiped her nose once again. “You would have just blamed yourself. Just like you did the other day when we met him in the park.”

  “But it is my fault,” Lucy whispered, as she looked away from her friend. “I should have never left you alone…”

  “And if you had have been there,” Alison quickly interrupted her. “Things could have ended very differently.”

  “They ended badly enough,” Lucy sighed. “I think that you should let me take you to the Emergency room, I think you need to be checked over.”

  “I’m fine!” Alison insisted. “I don’t need to go anywhere. I just want to forget this nightmare ever happened.”

  “Alison,” Lucy pleaded, but Alison just looked away.

  Tucker coughed before he appeared in the doorway, holding three cups of coffee. He carefully set them down on the table, then sat down on the armchair facing them, and he gave Lucy a look to which she just nodded in response.

  “What is it?” Alison asked, as she saw the exchange between her friend and Tucker. “What’s wrong?”

  “We need you to come back to River Springs,” Lucy said, knowing what she was asking of her friend. “I know you’re scared, but we need you to…”

  “I…I can’t!” Alison exclaimed as she stood up. “I won’t.”

  “Alison,” Tucker said, as he too stood up. “I promise, if you come back, I will make him pay for what he did to you. Trent needs to be stopped for good.”

  “No, you won’t,” Alison cried. “Look at what he did to Lucy. He didn’t pay for that.”

  “But he will this time,” Tucker insisted. “I promise you.”

  “No,” she said defiantly before she turned to Lucy. “I’m sorry. I can’t go back there. I won’t go back there, ever.”

  Without saying another word, she stormed out of the living room and down the hallway to her room.

  “What should we do now?” Lucy asked, as she looked at Tucker.

  “I have no idea,” he replied.

  It was a little after four when the apartment door flew open, and David came rushing into the living room.

  Lucy had called to tell him she had found Alison, and told him she had been hurt, but she didn’t go into any great detail. She thought it was best to wait to tell him face to face. Lucy did assure him that Alison was safe and that she would stay with her till he returned home.

  “ALI!” He called the minute he stepped through the front door. “ALI!”

  The moment he saw her, he stopped in his tracks for a moment, visibly upset at what he saw.

  He quickly pulled himself together before he rushed to her and wrapped her in his arms.

  “Ali, I am here,” he whispered as he held her closely as she cried. “I have you, Baby. It’s okay.”

  “I’m sorry for scaring you,” she sobbed softly.

  “It’s okay,” he assured her, as he rocked her gently. “I am here, and you are safe. No one will ever hurt you again.”

  Lucy and Tucker excused themselves and went to the kitchen to make some more coffee, giving Alison a chance to talk with David.

  “What if she doesn’t come back?” Lucy asked, as they waited for the coffee to brew.

  “She has to,” Tucker said. “He can’t get away with doing this anymore.”

  “I don’t know that she will,” Lucy sighed. “She is beyond terrified, and I can’t say that I blame her…”

  The words that Alison had told her filled her mind.

  “What is it?” Tucker asked, immediately sensing something was wrong.

  “It’s Trent,” Lucy replied without looking at Tucker. “He came looking for me, and something tells me, he is far from finished.”

  “That animal will die before he puts a hand on you again,” Tucker replied angrily. “I will cut his fucking heart out myself.”

  “Please,” Lucy begged, as she stepped closer to him. “Please don’t do something stupid. Promise that we will do this right.”

  “Lucy…” Tucker began to argue, but she stopped him.

  “Promise me,” she pleaded.

  He looked at her for a moment, then softly pressed his lips to hers.

  “I promise,” he whispered.

  “Tell me you’re going to arrest that fucker!” David demanded as he suddenly stormed into the kitchen. Lucy could feel the anger emanate from him.

  “I am,” Tucker replied as he turned to Alison’s fiancé. “I have put a call into the station already to have him picked up.”

  “You have?” Lucy asked, surprised to hear this.

  “I called while you and Alison were talking earlier,” Tucker explained. “But I still need Alison to come back. I need to do a line up. This needs to be done by the book. I am not giving this asshole a way out this time.”

  “And once she does that,” David replied. “You will charge him?”

  “Yes,” Tucker confirmed with a sigh. “But Alison is refusing to come back with us.”

  “SHE’S WHAT?” David screamed angrily. “Why the hell not?”

  “
David, please,” Lucy begged him. “I need you to promise me that you will remain calm. I know you’re angry and upset, but she needs you to be calm and supportive right now.”

  “She said he…that you were…” David said, as he looked at Lucy with sadness.

  “Yes,” she replied. “That’s why I am begging you. Please, you need to look after her right now. She needs to know you love her, above everything else, she needs to know you are her safe place.”

  “Of course, I love her,” David insisted. “But she needs to make this fucker pay.”

  “And she will,” Lucy said, as she reached out and touched his arm. “But when she is ready.”

  “Give me till tomorrow,” David said with an air of determination in his voice. “I promise you, I will get her to go back. Just…just give me till tomorrow.”

  Chapter 28

  “So this is where you live?” Tucker said, as he followed Lucy into her apartment later that evening. “It’s very…you.”

  “Is that a good or a bad thing?” Lucy asked with a laugh.

  “It’s beautiful,” Tucker said, as he took in his surroundings. Her apartment was an open living space, beautifully decorated with natural woods and warm colours. Around the walls, there were several framed photographs hanging and Tucker guessed Lucy took them. They were simply stunning. “Classy and elegant…”

  “But?” Lucy said as she watched him closely.

  “But,” Tucker replied. “It keeps you locked away, up high from the rest of the world. Just like you have kept your heart locked away.”

  “I guess it does,” Lucy shrugged as she looked around.

  When they had left Alison’s apartment a short while earlier, Lucy suggested they spend the night in her apartment, and then call by to see Alison again before they returned to River Springs.

  As they left Alison’s, Lucy got the feeling like she was being watched once again. She knew she was just upset by what Alison had told her, and that it had made her feel unsettled. Still, she was glad to back in her own space, twelve stories up and hundreds of miles from River Springs.

  “Are you okay?” Tucker asked, as he gave her a questioning look. She realised he had been watching her all along.