“Kennedy, you need to sit down before you pass out,” Violet demands sounding frightened of what she just witnessed. Her voice is muffled and seems as if she’s far away between my harsh intakes of breath I have to remind myself to take. I’m struggling to gain the upper hand on this meltdown.
“I’m fine. I’m okay,” I lie. I’m beginning to feel lightheaded. Violet’s whispering in my ear to take small breaths. A few minutes pass as I get my breathing under control.
“Kennedy, what the hell just happened? Graham walked in here drunker than I’ve ever seen him and then he’s yelling at you about you not keeping your mouth shut. Explain to me what the fuck is happening before I freak the hell out on someone,” Violet questions with concern laced through her words.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I lean my elbows on my knees and rest my head in my hands. I feel Violet rubbing my back in attempt to relax me. The last thing I want is to be around anyone right now. I have to stand up. I know it’s a bad idea when I feel the lightheaded feeling coming back with a vengeance. I sit down just as quickly as I had gotten up.
“Dan, grab Kennedy something to drink. Preferably something with zero alcohol…that’s the last thing she needs.” Violet turns to face Dan. He nods leaving the room heading towards the kitchen.
Dan comes back a few moments later with a red cup. He looks at me sympathetically as he hands the cup over. I sniff it before taking a drink. It’s just water. I down it in a few quick gulps. I throw the cup on the coffee table standing up feeling a little less lightheaded and a little angrier after letting it all settle in.
“Where are you going?” Dan asks quickly just as I am about to round the corner to head towards the kitchen. He stands in front of me to block my path. I can still feel everyone’s eyes on me. Too upset to care.
“I need fresh air and I don’t need a babysitter,” I snap pushing his arm up to duck under his protective stance. I’m, in reality, going to look for Graham.
“Kennedy, I don’t think you want to go in the kitchen.” Dan looks at Violet having a silent conversation. He isn’t telling me something. What’s going on in the kitchen?
“I’ll go with you out front,” Violet rushes over to me trying to drag me towards the front hallway.
I stand my ground yanking my arm from her grip. Hell bent on figuring out what all the whispering and knowing glances are for.
“Violet, whatever is in the kitchen can’t stay hidden forever. Whatever it is I can handle. I’m a big girl.” I walk down the hallway with Violet and Dan whispering to each other behind me.
I’m sure it’s just an illusion, a figment of my imagination. Everything’s in slow motion. All of the voices in the house are hushed as I pass by groups of people standing around whispering to each other. Some look at me with pity while others have smirks on their faces. As if I’m not part of some inside joke. It turns out I’m so far from the joke that it isn’t even funny. I am the furthest from it all.
Amanda’s sitting on the counter top with her legs spread far enough for Graham to be nuzzled in between them. Her short denim skirt is hiked up to her hips. I can see a hint of her bright pink panties. Graham’s back is to me which I think I’m thankful for until Amanda opens her mouth. Standing in the doorway just staring in fear of moving, in fear of being noticed. I can’t seem to force myself to look away.
Watching them is punishment. That’s what this is. It’s punishment for doing what I thought was best for him. This was him punishing me for the decisions I made. The decisions that were meant to protect him.
Amanda looks up at me from Graham’s neck that she’s just seconds away from kissing. With a grin on her face as if she won the biggest prize at the fair. She did win. I’m standing here loving the Graham that I thought that he was and she’s with the Graham that everyone believes him to be. Maybe he’s a little bit of both of them.
“Do you need something sweetheart?” Amanda cocks a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me trying to get a rise out of me. Graham turns to see who she’s addressing. His expression’s blank. There’s zero emotion in the eyes that I have spent many nights staring in to. His eyes are glossy and bloodshot.
“No, I don’t need anything…especially from either of you,” my voice was near a shout to prove my point. I can feel my shallow breaths going in and out on the verge of hyperventilating. All the emotions I think I have under control come crashing down.
Graham turns back around pushing Amanda’s hair away from her neck as if I’m not still standing here seeing his assault happen. Honestly, I don’t think he cares what I hear or what I see. He simply doesn’t care anymore. Perhaps he never did.
Pushing through the crowd that followed me into the kitchen, I make my way out onto the back deck. I lean against the railing resting my head in my hands trying to fight back the tears that keep threatening to fall. A few wiggle out through my attempt to keep them at bay. Angrily I wipe them from my cheeks.
I hate this Graham. The guy that just looked at me isn’t the one that I fell in love with. He isn’t in there anymore. That breaks my heart more than seeing Amanda wrapped around him.
“You are a fucking asshole,” Violet shouts from inside the house. My entire body straightens to attention.
“Violet, back the fuck off,” Amanda voice shouts back. “You’re not his mother. He can do what he wants. He’s a big boy.”
“Bitch, the only reason why he’s with you is because he’s mad at her. When he sobers up tomorrow he’ll realize what a big colossal mistake you were. Just like all the other guys you’ve been with.” Violet screams back.
God, I have the best friend in the whole world.
There are too many voices arguing from within the kitchen. I can barely understand where the argument is actually going. My headaches back. I need to get out of here, away from all of them, away from all of this.
Stepping down the steps, I walk along the outskirt of Dan’s woods that runs the backside of his property. I look back to see every light is on in the house. It’s bright enough to light my way, but there is still darkness that envelopes me. There’s a large green pull barn on the opposite end of the property. I turn quickly thinking I heard footsteps behind me. No one’s there. I keep making my way towards the barn where a large tractors sitting on a slab of concrete. This will be a good place to sit and think by myself for a few minutes until Violet comes searching for me.
My shoes hit the hard surface, that’s when I know someone’s behind me. I hear the light footsteps making their way towards me crunching over leaves. Call it intuition or just pure perceptiveness, but as a species I think we can just sense things. We have a way of knowing when something is going to happen or if we’re being watched. I hear the sticks breaking around me alerting my senses that I was right.
Violet’s checking on me. I’m sure excited to tell me how she gave Amanda and Graham a verbal bitch slap. A little time to be on my own would’ve been nice. When she catches up with me she’ll want me to talk about it. I’m not ready to relive that mess.
“I don’t feel like talking right now. Thanks for yelling at the skank for me though,” I say under my breath leaning my head against the tractor shuffling my shoes on the pebbles underneath me. My eyes are tightly shut. It hurts too bad, makes me feel too hard, to have them open.
“What skank would that be?” a deep familiar chilling voice says from behind me. My eyes spring open.
I turn to see the disturbed face that matches the bone rattling voice. He’s only a few strides away from me keeping a safe distance. As I go to shift to put space between us he closes in on me. I’m pinned against the back wheel of the tractor.
“What do you want Craig?” My voice is laced with fear. The lump in my throat as I try to swallow is impossible to ignore. I squeeze my eyelids shut hoping that it’s not real, hoping that it’s just a nightmare and tonight isn’t real.
“I think we both know what I want.” He pushes me hard against the tire causing a pain to shoot down
my back from the unexpected contact. My first thought is to scream. I know it wouldn’t do any good if I do though. No one will hear me over the music and everyone milling around the house.
Graham isn’t here to protect me this time.
I’m alone.
You need to get away.
Run.
Do something.
Craig hand slides down my arm. His defensive stance is gone. This is my chance to run. As I do, I barely make it a few steps when he trips me. Falling on my elbows to catch the impact, the pain is excruciating. Nothing compares to what I know is coming next. I feel a weight on my back immobilizing me to the concrete.
“Bitch, stay down there. It’s where you belong. You prance around teasing me and now I’m going to take what’s mine.” Craig’s body is pressed up against mine leaving no room for me to move out from under him.
I push off the concrete trying to gain leverage on him. He slams his fist into the side of my head. My vision immediately goes blurry. The pain makes my stomach lurch in protest. Craig grips my wrists flipping me over onto my back keeping me trapped underneath him.
I try to fight him off again with no luck. The more I struggle the more physical he gets. It takes a handful of slaps to my face and an elbow to my nose to figure it out. Blood’s running down my throat causing me to choke. I tilt my head to the side to alleviate the pain in my throat from violently coughing.
Craig grabs my hands pulling them above my head with one of his, leaving the other one open to rip down my pants and unzip his in a matter of seconds. All I can think is that it’s going to happen. He’s going to finish the job that he started a few months back.
I take a look into his eyes pushing through all my fear in hopes to see a shred of humanity. His eyes are exactly what I had been afraid of seeing, an unyielding hollowness. He knows what he’s doing and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care how it will affect me, what it will do to me.
I fight as much as I can until it feels useless. All I hear are Craig’s grunts and moans as I push against his heavy chest. I close my eyes hoping to open them to it all being a nightmare. I’m doing that a lot lately.
There’s a sharp pain at my hip from the fabric being pulled. My underwear is ripped from my body as my eyes spring open. The sound of the fabric being torn apart is near deafening. It doesn’t compare to the ear popping sound of my muffled screams as Craig forces himself to where he isn’t welcomed. Tears run down my face. I refuse to open my eyes not wanting to see the satisfied look on his face as he forces himself inside of me.
“You know you like it,” Craig grunts in my ear. I turn my head to get away from his hot breath that’s fully perfumed with the stench of whiskey. It doesn’t work. He grabs my face forcing my face towards his. “Look at me, slut. You have been begging me for this. You can’t blame me for taking what was rightfully mine in the first place. You didn’t have a problem with spreading your legs for Graham, now did you?”
I force my eyes to shut farther if that was even possible. I felt the punch just as he released inside of me. My lip throbs. I can taste the blood on my tongue. As Craig rolls off of me, I turn my body away from him. The soreness consumes everything. Trying to sit up, I feel the blow of Craig’s boot on my ribcage ring over and over again. I lose count of how many times he has kicked me. The bottom of his boot slams against my face twice as I lay helpless, motionless on the cold concrete. The damage wasn’t going to be pretty. None of this is pretty. I scream out no longer forcing back the tears and pain. It’s unbearable.
“You see, Kennedy, all of this is your fault. If Graham wouldn’t have turned into a pussy when he started bagging you then he wouldn’t have lost his god damn mind punching me in front of everyone. It put a target on my back. No one goes against Graham Black’s actions putting me at the bottom. I don’t belong on the bottom. You know that already though,” Craig vindictively shouts from above me.
As he starts to walk away he turns back to face me making his way back over the top of me. He sees the obvious flinch when he comes near me. I can barely see him. I can feel him though. “Crawl your ass back to your car. You look terrible,” he whispers leaning over me before walking away.
I lay on the cold concrete listening to everything that’s around me. I know that Craig’s no longer close by. I heard his footsteps as he walked away without a care in the world. As if he didn’t understand the magnitude of his actions. I feel every bone in my body throbbing, crying out for help.
I reach into my back pocket to grab my cellphone. I need to call someone--- Do I call Violet? Do I call my parents? What would I say to anyone even if I did call them? I just don’t know who I should call. I feel embarrassed. I know I have nothing to be embarrassed about. I shift my body to try to sit up. I can make it to my car. My ribs scream in pain as I try to move. That’s not going to be an option. I lay there on my side naked from the waist down for I don’t know how long. I don’t bother looking at the clock on my phone that’s resting in my hand. I hear it beep a few times alerting me that I have missed texts. They’re from Violet. She’s probably worried sick. She has no clue where I’m at.
I flick my phone on dialing the number closer to around one in the morning. I explain what has happened and hang up. Folding myself into the fetal position, I cry harder than ever before. I wait and wait until I hear them. Just a few more minutes and I won’t be alone anymore. I’m not going to be out here on my own bruised and battered, scared. I’ll gain back my strength that I lost and fight back.
Chapter Fifty-Two
-Graham-
We hear the sirens a little after one in the morning. They’re in the distance. Far enough away that no one stops what they’re doing, not thinking twice about any of it. Amanda’s sitting on my lap running her pink nails up and down my chest. We’re all playing a game of quarters denting the hell out of the kitchen table.
I barely pay attention to my shot as Amanda grinds her ass into my dick. Violet’s been glaring at me from across the table for the past hour or so. She’s constantly checking her phone with a worried expression on her face. Amanda’s busy nibbling on my ear when there’s a loud pounding on the front door. Dan stands to answer whoever is impatiently pounding for entry.
I can’t hear what he’s saying from where I’m sitting. My body stiffens in full alert as a few cops walk in behind him heading out towards the back door checking over the rooms leaving us all to what we were doing. The state troopers shuffled through the kitchen eyeing us over with disdain, none bothering to ask any questions. I keep looking to Dan trying to understand what is going on. We are all underage, clearly drunk.
God, I’m going to be in trouble.
Fuck.
“What’s going on?” I whisper to Dan running around the kitchen frantically dumping any evidence down the drain.
“I don’t know. The cop said that they received a 911 call from a young girl who was attacked at this address. I didn’t get any other information from them,” he answers slightly panicked. His hands kneed through his hair pulling at the ends in frustration. “I have to call my parents to come back from Nashville early. They are going to fucking kill me.”
“Has anyone seen Craig?” Violet jumps up from the table with panic in her eyes. She scans the rooms attached to the kitchen. When she gets back she stands in front of me with a horrified look on her face. Everyone turns to look at her with bewilderment. I don’t understand the fear until she scans her eyes around the room. I haven’t seen Craig in the past few hours either.
“When was the last time you saw Kennedy, Violet?” I ask dropping the bottles of jack into the sink. I suddenly feel sober, like the gallon of liquor in my body is suddenly gone.
“She walked out the back door when she saw you and Ms. Slut of America making out in the kitchen. I haven’t seen her since then. I thought that she had gone home, but she hasn’t been answering my texts or phone calls since I saw her run out the back door,” Violet explains. Her eyes are wide making the nonverbal conne
ction. “Graham, what if…” She lets the thought trail off before marching out of the room again asking anyone if they had seen Kennedy or Craig.
The pit in my stomach grows to an unthinkable size as the terrifying truth sinks in. I know somehow that everything has changed. Everything is going to be different from this moment on.
I follow Violet through the kitchen out onto the back porch. We stand there scanning the backyard that’s bustling with cops and EMT’s. Lights bounce off of the siding and onto the grass. Neither of us can see anything. I take a step down into the yard.
That’s when I see her.
Kennedy’s lying on a stretcher being attended to by a young EMT. I know it’s her. I can see her long hair dangling lifeless on her shoulders.
I need to see her face.
I need to look in her eyes.
I need to see that she’s okay.
It isn’t until they roll her closer to the side yard that I get a glimpse into her nightmare. Her once perfect skin is covered in blood and dirt. There’s a wool blanket wrapped around her trying to keep her warm. She’s shaking uncontrollably.
Violet sees her at the same time I do. She screams running towards her best friend in a panic. My feet are cemented to the ground. I can’t move. I can barely breathe. My world is frozen. I watch Violet jump into the back of the ambulance with Kennedy without a thought. The doors close behind them. The last thing I see as I walk towards the house is the tail lights of the ambulance. Back in the house I find most of everyone has cleared out with the exception of a few of our closest.
Dan’s finishing up talking to the police when he turns to me.
“She’s going to be okay,” Dan tries to comfort me. I don’t even think he believes what he’s saying. I can see the wetness surrounding his eyes.
“No thanks to me,” my voice hitches. “Have you seen Craig?”
“Why is everyone looking for him?”
When Our Worlds Collide Page 34