by T A. McKay
I wrapped my towel tighter around my body and walked over to my locker. My locker was easy to spot, it was the only one with a number combination padlock on it. I had added that very quickly after coming in one day to find all my clothes missing. Even though everyone looked confused and swore they hadn’t taken them someone was behind it. Why would I hide my own clothes just to get someone into trouble? I was the one who had spent the remainder of the day in clothes from the lost property box, the school hadn’t even let me go home to change. Now everything was safe behind a lock. I put the combination into the padlock and turned quickly when I heard a noise. It sounded like a footstep walking over the tiles.
“Hello?” I called out into the silence, cringing when my words echoed off the walls. I didn’t know why I’d call out, if the girls were here to mess with me then there was no way they would answer. I walked to the end of the row of lockers and looked around the corner. I can’t see anything and I haven’t heard anything else. I chastised myself for being so paranoid. No one was there.
I walked back to the locker and started taking my clothes out of the locker, placing them on the bench behind me. When I turned back to my locker to grab my underwear I was pushed against the hard surface by a powerful body. A scream instantly tried to escape my throat but a hand covered my mouth cutting it off. I felt warm breath against my neck and it gave me goose bumps all over my body, and not for good reasons. The weight against my back increased and I was finding it hard to breathe, panic and pressure making me hyperventilate. I felt a hand moving down my body before it worked its way under my towel. I squeezed my eyes closed and prayed that I was dreaming, that I would wake up any minute and laugh with relief. As the hand moves further up my body, grabbing my hip and kneading it I realise I'm not going to wake up.
I could feel an erection pushing into my butt and I felt the first sob escape my body. How can this be happening to me? I’m was in school, I should have be safe. Where were the teachers? The hand moved further down my body, running along below my belly button. The muscles in my stomach cramped in fear. Lips moved to my ear and the person’s breathing became faster as their hand, his hand, moved lower down my body. I knew I should struggle, should fight against what was happening but I couldn’t get my body to move. I was standing there frozen with fear. I can’t believe I was going to stand there and just let it happen because I wasn’t brave enough to fight back.
“Do you think I will find you wet?” The words broke through my frantic thoughts and I shook my head furiously. I kept thinking if he knew I didn’t want this then maybe he would leave me alone.
“Oh, I think I will. I think under all that freak clothing you are a dirty slut and you’re screaming out for my dick.” Tears flooded my cheeks, a part of me wanted to know who it was, I needed to put a face to the voice but I was scared that if I knew I would live in fear every single day.
My body shuddered and I tried to squeeze my legs together when his fingers moved further down, and I felt him rubbing over my opening. His leg pushed in between mine and he easily pushed them apart, leaving me open to him
“I’m gonna move my hand, I’m gonna need both of them for what I'm about to do. If you scream I will hurt you, do you understand?” I nodded my head, if I could just get him to think I'm going along with this then I would be able to get away when he least expected it. His hand moved and I took a huge breath filling my lungs with cool air. I focused on my breathing, trying to fill my lungs with the air that they had lacked when I felt the towel being ripped from my torso. The speed had shocked me and I was unable to hold on to the edge of it. With my arms trapped between my body and the lockers I couldn’t reach down and grab it from around my waist. A moment later the body at my back moved and the towel was around my ankles. I felt the roughness of his clothes as he pushed back against me and it pulled me from the numbness, this is happening and if I didn’t stop it he would rape me.
“Please don’t do this. I promise I won’t tell anyone if you just walk away. I don’t even know who you are so I can’t tell anyone.” His chest moved in silent laughter as his hands continued to touch me, moving roughly over my body.
“But you do know me, and I want you to know me. I want you to know who is about to rock your world. I want you to be able to beg me for more.” My body started to shake with fear, the thought of this happening was too much for me and I started to beg.
“Please. Oh God, please don’t do this.” He didn’t answer my pleas but his hand disappeared from my body and it filled me with hope that he was going to show me mercy. I quickly lost that hope when I heard his belt buckle being undone.
I screamed. I put every ounce of panic I felt into it and screamed until my throat hurt. The pressure of his body vanished and was replaced with a hand at the back of my neck. I only had a few seconds to think about what was happening before my head connected with the locker in front of me. My screams stopped instantly and I felt dazed, bright lights flashed in my vision. I heard a door opening and a voice calling out, making me almost cry in relief when the hand let me go and I tumbled to the floor. I didn’t even care that I was naked, I knew help was coming and that’s all I could think about. A face appeared above me, a face I knew. Marc. He was in a few of my classes, the school bad boy and Mindy’s, the main girl who bullies me, boyfriend. He moved in close, his voice was low and fear inducing.
“Tell no one. If you I'm gonna make you suffer, are you listening?” I managed to nod my head, pain throbbing through it. He leaned down and kisses me lightly on the lips.
“Just know I'm coming for you again. Next time I’m gonna make you scream.” He moved away from me quickly leaving me lying in shock on the floor. He headed away from the voices and disappeared before Miss Black walked around the end of the aisle.
“Oh my God, Rhys. What happened? Are you okay?” She rushed over to me and covered my body with the towel. She took a corner of it and placed it against my head and it then that I realised I was bleeding.
“I’m…I’m fine. I slipped on the tiles and hit my head. I’m sorry.” I couldn’t tell her what had happened, the threat that Marc had made frightened me. I knew I could tell and get him removed from school but that didn’t protect me outside school. I’d always be waiting for him to attack. This way he might forget about me, thinking it was too much trouble to try again.
“Oh, Honey. Let’s get you up and dressed. I’ll take you to the nurses office and she will look at your head.” I let her lift me up and dress me, not able to move on my own to help her. The shock of what had happened was starting to register in my mind, how close I had come to being raped.
The shakes took over my body as I was moved to the nurse’s office and I could feel someone staring at me, watching my every move. I turned and looked, seeing Marc lean against the wall outside the boys toilets. He smiled in my direction before he put his finger to his lips, telling me to keep quiet. I turned away quickly, not wanting to look at him any longer. I just wanted to die, I wanted to vanish from this life and never come back. I wondered if I should do it, I wondered if I should just end it all?
I wipe the tears from my cheeks and take a deep breath. That was the scariest moment of my life and I hate remembering it, but it’s also the incident that made me the person I am today, it made me stronger and able to cope with things better. Other than a few panic attacks when people get to close I’m perfectly normal. I just wish it hadn’t made me so cut off from people, so scared of letting anyone in. Maybe now I would have friends to turn to and not be so reliant on Gabe. He’s been so helpful but I don’t want to take advantage of him, and now with this attraction that we both seem to have, staying here doesn’t seem like a good idea but I have no other options.
I turn back to the house, closing the patio doors as I enter. Tonight isn’t the night to try and sort this out, I’m too emotional to make any important decisions. I need to sleep, I need to just shut off my brain and rest. I'm just hoping it will be as easy as it sounds.
; Chapter Eight
“The whole place?” I sit at the table on my patio and listen to Clay on the other end of the call.
“Everything. You should’ve seen the place, it was completely fucked. I’ve never seen anything like it, it was crazy. Someone’s pissed off at her, Clay. I’m glad she wasn’t there or I'm not sure if she would have gotten out alive.” I hear the grunt from Clay telling me he’s getting pissed. I know the feeling, I spent most of the night pacing my bedroom trying to calm down. I wanted to go back over to her place and look for clues, anything that would tell me who I needed to kill.
“Fuck. Well I'm glad we took her out then. Actually I was glad before I heard about his. She really is something else isn’t she? Sexy and as funny as fuck.” I grind my teeth listening to Clay calling her sexy. He shouldn’t be looking at her like that. Not that she’s mine but … but well he shouldn’t look at her like that because she’s mine. God I need to get myself under control. After our near kiss last night it took me too long to calm down. Even in the shower when I used my hand to relieve the hardest erection I’ve ever had, it only took one thought of her lips and I was ready to go again.
“Yeah, she’s hilarious. I’m not sure if the manager at the bar found her funny when he had to repair the door.” Laughter meets my ears as Clay obviously remembers Rhys getting stuck. It was funny, I’d forgotten all about it with everything that has happened.
“I left him money to repair it so just let him try and bitch. And good save by the way.” What the hell is he on about?
“Good save?” Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with Clay’s train of thought. He can jump from one subject to another in the same sentence.
“Yeah, good save. You totally managed to avoid the comment about how sexy she is. Anyone would think you don’t want to admit how you feel about her.” I grind my jaw again, pain radiating with the pressure.
“Fuck you.” It’s not the right answer, I know it isn’t and as soon as I hear the boom of Clay’s laughter I know I haven’t fooled him.
“Ohhhhh … Gabe’s in love. Did you give her a good night or a good night?” The second good night is dragged out and said in such a sleazy way I can imagine him wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“I don’t hear you denying it, brother.” This is a conversation that I know I can’t win. If I deny it too much he will think I'm trying to cover something up but if I don’t deny it then I'm admitting my feelings. The only course of action is to change the subject.
“Can you come over to Rhys’s place later and help me clean up a bit? I don’t want her going back until some of the stuff is gone. I don’t want her to get upset again.”
“And now a deflection. Someone has it bad. What time do you want me? I’ll head over after Jo leaves.” I shake my head. Jo is Clay’s sometimes plaything and I hate her with a passion. She is one of those ‘friends’ that you can always call on after a night out to provide some entertainment. I just see her as a user. I know it might sound like double standards especially since Clay is basically using her too, but he doesn’t lie about it. He takes the relationship, or lack of it for what it is. Jo uses it for what she can get, I have lost count of the times she’s called Clay to borrow money, or borrow his car or to get a free meal. I’ve mentioned it a few times to him but he doesn’t seem to care, something about it being worth it for the ride she gives. What can I say, the guy truly only thinks with his dick.
“I’m gonna take her shopping this afternoon, replace some of her clothes so at least she doesn’t need to go about naked.” What a stupid thing to say, just thinking about Rhys naked has my dick hardening again. I don’t know how I'm going to survive being around her, I'm going to be like a sixteen year old walking with a permanent hard on.
I hear a noise from the kitchen and look through the window and see Rhys standing there. Her hair is wet and pulled back over her shoulder, immediately I picture her in the shower, washing, rinsing, drying ... I close my eyes and try to think of anything that isn’t sexy. Clay in women’s underwear. Clay in swimming trunks. Clay in a nurse’s uniform. I smile when my dick instantly softens, those thoughts work every time.
“Be there at eight. I’ll text you the address.” I don’t even give him a chance to respond as I hang up on him and put my phone down on the table. I grab my mug of coffee and take a drink as Rhys comes out of the house to join me. She’s wearing the same basketball top from last night and in the light of day she looks even better. She looks happier than she did last night too, not that I’m surprised. Last night must have been like a waking nightmare. She sits in the chair next to me giving me a big smile.
“Morning.” I can’t help but smile at her as she speaks. Her voice is bright and you would never know she had a tough night.
“Good morning, Rhys. You look way to bright for someone who had to be carried out of a bar last night.” I try to keep my face straight as I see a pissed off look cross over her face. She looks like she wants to throat punch me and I can’t help but feel amused.
“Bite me, Gabe. I didn’t need to be carried out, you just couldn’t control you manly urges.” You can see the moment when what she’s just said registers in her mind. She’s completely right, I couldn’t control my urges but it wasn’t in the bar, it was in the kitchen when I nearly kissed her. I'm thinking that’s maybe the thought that’s going through Rhys’s mind just now as that gorgeous little blush appear. I have never seen someone blush as much as she does and I find it so fucking adorable.
“You caught me, my manly urges weren’t under control last night but I assure you I have them fully under control now.” I hope that she hears what I'm trying to tell her, that I don’t want the near kiss to become the elephant in the room. I want us to be able to move past it and be friends again.
“I’m glad to hear that or I’d be tempted to cut off your manly urges to protect my virtue.” I choke on my mouthful of coffee and I spray it out over my legs and the front of my t-shirt, leaving me with spit hanging off my chin as I try to recover. I would worry about looking like a mess but I'm too busy trying to breathe.
“Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?” She closes the distance between us and starts patting me on the back. The memory of Clay doing this too me not so long ago filters into my mind, thankfully Rhys is a lot gentler and I don’t feel like she’s trying to break me. Her hands feel fantastic against my body but I try not to think about that. I hold my hand up to her and her hand stops moving but she doesn’t remove it, leaving it resting on my back.
“I’m fine. Shit woman, you can’t threaten a man like that.” I pull up the hem of my t-shirt and wipe my chin, trying to clean up some of the mess, my shirt is a lost cause now anyway. I hear her giggling from beside me and it creates a warmth in my chest. I love the sound of her laugh. Shit, I sound like a love struck woman.
“Do I need to get you a bib?” I glare at her, she thinks she’s so funny and I don’t. She doesn’t seem scared of my look like most people, it seems to amuse her more than anything.
“I will add it to our shopping list.” She screws up her face as I mention shopping and I wonder what the problem is.
“There may be a problem with the whole shopping thing. I checked the bag I packed last night and let’s just say there is a reason I'm still wearing my PJs.” Oh, I didn’t even think about the clothing situation. I just assumed that she would have enough clothes for today and we would sort the rest.
“So, what you’re trying to tell me is that you’re gonna have to go shopping naked?” I keep my face as neutral as possible while I speak, watching to see her reaction. I nearly lose the control when I see Rhys biting the inside of her cheek trying not to laugh at my comment. I'm happy that we can still joke with each other, that the awkwardness of last night has gone completely.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re an arse?” I look at the watch on my wrist before looking back at her.
“Today? No, I think you’re the first.” She shakes her head before speaking aga
in,
“So back to this clothes situation. I have nothing to wear and I don’t think the outfit from last night is suitable.” Thinking back to how Rhys looked last night isn’t a good idea but it doesn’t stop my mind from drifting. A pleasant heat works through my body and I need to stop the thoughts before I need to go on hand duty again to fix the issue.
“No, I don’t think that would go down too well in daylight. Let me go and see if I have anything that might fit you.” I look at her as I rise from the seat. There is no way in hell I will have anything that will remotely fit Rhys, maybe a t-shirt tied with a belt could be a dress?
Entering my room I look through the drawers and finally my wardrobe but I can’t see anything that will work. Shit, I'm going to have to go and buy her something so that we can go out to buy her more stuff. Just as I'm closing the door on my wardrobe I see the perfect thing. I grab it and take it out to Rhys so she can go get changed, this and a top will be fine for shopping. She’s standing in the kitchen when I walk in and I had her the item in my hand with a huge smile on my face. She shakes it out and holds it at arm length before bursting out in laughter.
“You can’t be serious? Number one, why do you have this? And number two, why do you have this?” I will admit that a single guy without a sister shouldn’t own a pair of denim hot pants but there’s a really good reason that I do.
“We bought them for a night out. Hear me out here. We were taking Rory out for his twenty first birthday and we couldn’t go out and not dress him up. He looked so freaking funny with his shorts and high heels. After the night was over I ended up with them, I'm not even sure how. But now I'm glad I did.” I smile at her but the look on her face isn’t a look that she believes me. With her eyebrow raised as she nods, nope, she doesn’t look convinced.
“Riiiiiggggghhhhhttttt, of course that’s the reason.” With the drawn out delivery of the right I know she doesn’t believe a word of it. I move in closer to her, getting so close we are nearly nose-to-nose. It’s a dangerous game that I'm playing but I don’t stop. It’s almost like I'm trying to test my control when it comes to her.