“No, it’s okay thanks,” I mutter nervously to him. He must have caught on to my anxious behaviour because he didn’t back away.
“Well that’s a bit shit, coz you aint got a choice you little slut.” His hands reach out and grab my hair fiercely in his fists, pulling some of my newly cleaned locks clean from my scalp.
“Please, just let me go.” I plead him, begging for him to stop. It doesn’t work. He rips at my blanket, pulling it from my tiny freezing body. His hands grasp roughly at my clothes, already so thin and worn that they disintegrate in his hands.
“You’re going to take me like a good little girl and then maybe I might let you go.” I nod trying to avoid anything worse from happening. It’s not like this is the first time somebody has taken me without my consent, but this time is different; this time I fear for my life because he isn’t in control. His eyes are black and demonic; some kind of poison has infested itself within him.
Gripping my hair tightly in one hand and my wrists in the other, he drags me further into the alleyway.
He pushes me face first into the wall of the restaurant, my breasts scraping against the rough textured bricks. I hiss between my teeth, my nipples feeling so raw that I think to myself that they must be bleeding a little. The cold air is hitting my naked flesh so violently that I can physically feel the blood in my veins freezing, taking my heart and soul with it.
I hear his belt being undone, the tell-tale noise of the buckle clinking against his trousers. I squeeze my eyes shut as I prepare for what I know is about to happen, it is inevitable and the best thing I can possibly do right now is hold my breath, take myself somewhere warm and safe, back to my foster home, back to my family, and wipe away any recognition that once again my body is about to be used and abused.
He penetrates me roughly, his penis rubs against the inside of my vagina so hard I feel a slight tearing. A cry leaves my dry lips, tears flooding from my eyes, burning my torn cheeks as they fall.
His hands pin my arms to my sides, restraining me from any movement.
“That’s it you good little whore. I know you like this. You beg for it, sitting there feeling sorry for yourself all day.” Vomit rises in my throat as he begins to slam harder into my dry channel, his penis hitting my cervix harshly. The biting pain sears through my bruising and aching body.
I hear him begin to grunt as his pending release nears.
“Get away from her now.” A deep voice sounds from somewhere in the alley.
The psychopath removes himself from within me and I exhale the frightened breath I had held in relief.
My relief is short lived, because he grabs me and turns me around harshly, my back pinned to his front. One of his arms crosses my chest, using it as a restraint to pin my own bony arms to my sides. His other hand flips open a switchblade I hadn’t even seen and presses it to my throat. As I gulp down the terror that floods my system, my throat moves mere millimetres, pressing my flesh into the blade slightly. I feel the blade nick my skin, the warm trickle of blood escaping and running over my cold skin.
“You come any closer and I’ll slit her fucking throat.” Panic washes over me and I try to control my breathing, small breaths to stop the blade pushing so hard. Every tiny inhalation, another plea to God to do something, to help me. I don’t want to die here, on the grimy floor of an alley behind a restaurant.
My tears silently stream my face, my chest refusing to release the sob it wants to. I remain motionless, other than the very slight rise and fall of my chest as I breathe.
“Let her go now!” The invisible man’s deep voice announces, the malevolence from his lips spitting the warning. There is a hidden threat clearly displayed. How he is so calm in this situation I have no idea. All I want to do is scream, kick and flay my arms out everywhere to try and get away, but with the copper tinge of blood fumigating the air, I have no other option than to silently cry to myself and remain calm and still.
“Sorry mate, I aint losing this bitch for nothing. I’ve been watching and waiting all day for her, she’s mine tonight so take yourself home and find your own whore, kay?” His penis is still erect, pressing firmly between my naked arse cheeks. I can feel a warm unwanted sick feeling in the pit of my empty stomach at the feel of his bare flesh against mine.
“Sorry I can’t do that. So I’ll ask you one more time before things get a little dangerous for you. Let the girl go,” he growls toward the nut job. The animal pushes the blade slightly harder into my throat, causing a little more blood to spill down from the growing wound on my neck onto my bare chest, staining it red.
“Just so you know Mr Hero, what I’m going to do now is your fault so it’s on your head you stupid prick.” I smell the alcohol on his breath and it brings the nausea higher in my throat.
He begins to move the blade to one side, clearly preparing to take the deep plunging slice across my throat. I feel the cool blood stained metal lift slightly from my sweaty petrified skin as he arranges the blade to the correct and most effective angle. I take my opportunity and stamp my bare foot down onto his, causing him to move the blade away and hop up and down in pain, then I turn around and boot him full pelt in between his legs, aiming for his testicles. He falls to the floor grabbing his crotch.
“You fucking bitch,” he chokes out, the tears an obvious sign that I hit the right spot, “You’ll fucking pay for that.” He reaches one of his hands out towards me from his crouched position on the pavement, trying to grab my ankle. I kick at his face desperately; the blood spurting from his busted nose, and spraying my legs.
I run as fast as my weak legs will take me, the numb, sick feeling I have in the pit of my stomach and throat travelling through me, I try my damn hardest to keep it from emptying onto the pavement. I have to get out. I have to keep running. I head towards the light at the opening of the alley, closing in on the exit to the restaurant. I cry aloud as I run into a hard wall with a thud.
I look up into the darkness; rubbing my cheek, the throbbing pain spreading through me, then the panic, the feeling of the walls closing in, drowning me where I stand, there was nowhere to go. I need to get out, and he won’t be down forever. My breaths start to become short, my chest tightens and my throat feels as though someone has their hand wrapped around it, cutting my airway off. I start to hit at the wall, trying to push it away, to smash through the bricks, I needed to get out. I begged God to just magically open a gap for me to sneak through. Where was Rubeus Hagrid when you bloody needed him?
“Come with me, I’ll take you somewhere safe,” a deep, gruff voice tells me, taking my hands, the ones that were smashing at his chest. My brain assesses the situation, coming to the conclusion that he was clearly the wall I had rammed into.
I try to back away; my trust for anyone these days is non-existent. I pull my hands from his grasp and then place them up in a surrender gesture. “Please, please don’t hurt me. Just let me go, I’ll leave silently. Just please don’t touch me.” The tears stream my face angrily, the sobs finally escaping from within my dry throat.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll take you inside my place, you’ll be safe there. He won’t be able to get to you, no-one will. Just follow me, I won’t touch you, but you will be nice and warm in here.” He starts to walk away, looking at me to follow him.
I look back to the guy lying on the floor grabbing his groin; he is starting to stand, looking extremely pissed off. He points his switch blade at me, menace in his black eyes, an evil grin on his face.
I run towards the exit where the mysterious unknown guy stands, his tall silhouetted frame holding the door open for me. I nervously, but acceptingly walk through it. My brain informing me that anywhere had to be safer than this, the alleyway where right now a guy who was quite content in killing me was beginning to stand and come towards me.
“Here, put this on sweetheart, you’re frozen.” I didn’t have a chance to answer before he places his winter coat around my body, drowning my mi
niature frame in the warm, comforting material. I walk through the fire exit, into the heated confinements of the restaurant. I didn’t know if it was me or not, but the entire place has an angelic halo like glow surrounding it. Maybe it is just a message, from David, or God, I didn’t know, but I feel like my luck is changing, well for tonight anyway.
The man leads me through what seems to be an endless corridor of the restaurant to a door that reads ‘office’. Opening the door he ushers me in, leading me towards a rather comfy looking sofa, telling me to sit down before disappearing back out of the same door we have just entered through.
Hmm, okay then.
As the doors close behind him, my adrenaline levels begin to crash. The terror, fear and damn right petrification at what had happened minutes ago begins to sink in. How did my life become like this? What must I have done in my past life to deserve so much crap?
I look up to the ceiling, praying David might be able to see and hear me. “If you’re listening baby, I miss you. I miss you like crazy. I can’t seem to cope without you. I’m a mess baby. I need you. Why did you have to leave?” Tears well up in my eyes. If David was able to see me right now, he would be downright horrified at what I’d let my life become. He would kick my arse for letting myself get so low.
Wiping my eyes clear of the tears, I jump as I see the man standing in the doorway, just staring at me, a quizzical look upon his handsome face.
“How are you feeling?” His deep voice penetrates my ear drums, causing a pain between my ears. My head is pounding and my body aching, and not in a good way.
“Eh.” I reply with a simple gentle shrug of my shoulders. What can I say? ‘Hey stranger, just wanted you to know my life is an utter shit heap. I sleep on the street, I’ve been raped far too many times, I’ve been wearing the same underwear from three years ago and I’ve only had two showers this year’ Yeah, ‘cause that will go down a treat. He will look at me with utter disgust and probably kick me out of his office.
“Did you know that man?” he asks me seriously. I thought to myself ‘Are you serious right now?’ I shake my head, annoyed.
“Yes, of course I do. I make a habit of making friends with raging psychopaths,” I reply sarcastically, rolling my eyes at the blatant stupidity of his question.
He doesn’t acknowledge my petulant, ungrateful behaviour. He just walks to me slowly, judging my reaction, before kneeling in front of my seated body.
“I’ve brought a first aid kit. You can have a shower and I have some fresh clothes you can have. Then I’ll take a look at your wounds.” A shower sounded so tempting right now, even though I only had one yesterday. And clean clothes? I have died and gone to heaven for sure.
“So, he’s a doctor as well as a hero. Aren’t I the lucky one?” Fuck Abbi, seriously, I chide myself, enough with the bratty behaviour already.
He holds his hands up defensively. “I couldn’t be further from a doctor darling, but if you must know, I’m quite competent and rather an expert at cleaning and dressing wounds up. Bad luck seems to have nested itself within you, hey?”
“You could say that.” I relax a little, becoming less defensive and a little calmer. I allow my brain to take control and take on rational thoughts. My heart and spirit are damaged to hell, broken, cracked and soiled. But my head, that organ that was shielded underneath the bones of my skull, is good, it is smart and it is sane. It is the only thing that will pull me through this god forsaken life I have been living. “How did you know I was in that alley just now?” I ask intrigued as to why he was there. Was it just pure and utter fate, or had I actually been screaming, even as I told myself not to?
“I always check my alleyway that time every night, sometimes even more than once. So many of the drunken youths coming out of the club opposite, like to use it for various activities. I’d rather keep my restaurant as classy as possible. When I saw him, and what he was doing to you, I couldn’t not do anything. Call it fate but I’m glad we were both there. You could have been anywhere.”
“Oh, okay,” I reply shyly. I feel so raw and open at the moment, I just want to crawl into a hole and not come out for a few years. “I could really use that shower now, if that’s ok?”
“Of course. It’s just through that door, I’ll have one of the girls bring you some clothes in.” With that he nods and exits the room once more.
I relax back into the sofa, breathing out the frustrated breath I held in my lungs. I have really been chucked in the shit pit this time. My life was truly spiralling down further and further into the darkening abyss that was hell.
I thought to myself of the fortunate circumstance that this man was there tonight, that he was able to save me. I have a gut wrenching feeling that whether or not I had co-operated the psycho would still have killed me, it’s just how guys like him work. I would be another Jane Doe on the slab at a morgue, another cold case left and forgotten with no family to claim the body.
“Positive thoughts Abigail, rainbows, sunshine and daisies,” I say aloud to myself, trying to force a smile onto the pale flesh that is my face. “Right, let’s wash the stink of rape from you.” I laugh at my lack of filter when verbalising. Even to myself. If I was any other girl I had seen living my life, I would have been shot up to the nines, high as a fucking kite, trying to block out the fact that once again somebody had invaded my body, taken what wasn’t theirs and given nothing in return. There is no point in sugar coating my life and the events that have affected me.
I stand from the sofa, not actually wanting to go anywhere, but the pungent smell of cheap whiskey and blood are driving my empty gut mad. I walk to the door he had pointed to, pulling the posh chrome handle down and pushing it open.
My jaw hits the floor as I take in the space that is his ‘bathroom’. Yeah okay Mr Mega Bucks, more like spa.
Pristine white and black tiles gleam in the LED lights. The walk-in shower is enormous, enough space to fit at least four adult men. Multiple shower jets frame the walls of the area. I take a deep breath, relishing in the smell of disinfectant and bleach.
I unzip the plush jacket surrounding my body, shuffling it down my arms. I place it on the side by the sink and make my way to the shower. I fiddle around for a good two minutes like an idiot, trying my damn hardest to find the faucet to switch it on. “Aha!” I pull a cream handle and the water gushes from a huge shower head attached to the ceiling.
I put my hand under the billowing water to test the temperature, turning the tap a little to get it perfect before stepping under the torrent. “Oh god, that’s heaven,” I say to myself as I take a deep breath of the condensation, my nose and throat instantly feel clearer and clean. I run my hands through my hair, soaking it with water. I wash and condition it with the men’s wash, rinsing the residue from my locks. I then lather my body in bubbles, the body wash smelling masculine and sexy. I inhale the scent, sighing at my reaction to it.
Finally finishing my shower after far too much time under the water, I wrap myself in a huge fluffy towel and relax into the soft cotton. “Hmmm,” I moan a little as I shield myself from the slight draft that is starting to goose bump my skin.
I find a new toothbrush by the sink along with some paste; I feel a smile erupt on my face at being able to clean my teeth. The feeling is amazing. I can’t remember the last time I brushed them. I always had pearly whites but lately they were dulling and fading.
Feeling utterly refreshed and content I exit the bathroom to find a beautiful woman, tall and slender, standing by the desk.
“Hello,” I say shyly to her causing her to turn and face me.
“Hello dear, I brought you a few things. Leighton said you were tiny but I didn’t realise just how tiny. These should be ok but they may be a bit baggy I’m afraid.” I feel myself turn red.
“Th-thanks that’s very kind of you.” I lean in and take the clothes from her, trying hard not to have too much skin on skin contact. Her hand touches my hand in a kind gesture. I w
ant to smile at her and welcome it, but it causes an uneasiness inside of me that I hate. I want to be able to trust people and feel the comfort another human could bring me, but it was just so damn hard. I’m frustrated that the one person in my life, that should have protected me, had done this to me. I wish my father would just die, be taken from this earth so I could maybe sleep at night without the reoccurring nightmares of his sudden and impromptu return.
She looks at me sympathetically as I pull my hand away quickly, holding the clean clothes to my chest. “It’s not a problem sweetheart. It’s going to be okay now dear, you’re going to be fine. When you’re dressed if you come to the kitchen, I’ll fix you up a quick something to eat. You must be starving.” The lady is sweet, kind and so very welcoming.
“That would be nice.” With that I turn my back on her and re-enter the enormous bathroom, locking the door behind me.
Relaxing against the door I take a few breaths in and out. I think over the words the gentle older lady had said. ‘It’s going to be okay now dear, you’re going to be fine.’ How could she be so sure? Tonight maybe yes, tonight would be fine I would be safe, but what happens when tomorrow comes and I’m back where I started and my life continues as usual?. Then I wouldn’t be fine. I’d be trapped in this never ending descent into hell that my life now was.
Once dressed and feeling rather comfy in the sweat pants and hoodie, I exit the bathroom and then the office and go in search of the kitchen.
I wander aimlessly for at least ten minutes, trying to find it. You’d think in a restaurant and a real nice one at that, it would be a pretty easy thing to see. “Aha!” I finally find the huge culinary heaven, the heat from inside escaping into the hallways, warming the air.
Deliverance (The LockDown Series Book 1) Page 3