“Aren’t you going to greet me?” he asks from behind me. My mind races as I try to think of a way out. I won’t know what my options are until I know exactly where he is. And what he’s doing here.
“Jake,” I whisper, turning to face the man that had haunted my dreams for so long until Grayson walked into my life. Now, more than ever, I wish I hadn’t left that party. I would rather be dealing with what I walked in on at Graysons’ house. “How did you get in here?”
“I told the guy in the lobby that I’m your brother and he let me in. The rest was easy.” His eyes are as black is a moonless night and reflect the emptiness inside his dead soul. His dirty blonde hair is disheveled, pieces sticking up in every direction. I look at his face and notice that it’s thinner, his cheek bones more prominent than they used to be. His body is thinner too. So thin in fact, that he looks sick. His hands shake next to him and I recognize it immediately. He’s coming down from a high, and he’s at his most volatile now. Aren’t I lucky?
“W-w-w-what…are….you… d-d-doing here?” I stutter. He steps a little closer and I mirror his movement with a backwards step of my own
Just don’t get trapped against the wall I tell myself.
“I came to find you,” he replies. He’s already agitated and the fear that surges through me makes the hair on the nape of my neck stand up. He sniffs and rubs his nose repeatedly.
“Why?” I take another step back and jump when I feel the small table in the foyer hit my right thigh. I sidestep it slightly, making the hallway behind me accessible if I need to run. I mentally take stock of anything I can use as a weapon and note that my fathers’ guitar is on its’ stand in the corner by the window, and Graysons’ baseball bat is behind the bedroom door.
“Because you belong to me, and I’m going to take you home.” Jake takes a step closer and again I mimic it by taking a step back.
“Why now?” I ask. I’m stalling. The longer I keep him talking, the more time I have to come up with a plan. There’s no way I’m leaving with him, and I know he’ll be pissed when I tell him that.
He laughs. The sound is bitter and threatening. “You vanished, without a fucking trace. It took me a while, but eventually my private investigator found you.”
“You shouldn’t be here,” my voice comes out shaky and unconvincing. When Jakes’ lips curl into malicious grin, I prepare myself for the inevitable. He’s going to hurt me, but I’m not going down without a fight. Not this time.
“I’m not leaving without you!” he barks angrily. “If I can’t have you, no one will!”
The meaning behind his words sinks in. My fight-or-flight response kicks in and I turn and start running for the room. If I can reach the baseball bat I might just be ok. I reach the entrance to my bedroom but stop short when Jakes’ fingers tangle in my hair and haul me backwards. I stumble and grab onto the door frame, digging my nails in so hard that I feel them separate from the flesh of my nail beds and start to bleed. I ignore the pain and give in to my survival instincts.
“Where do you think you’re going Princess?” His voice is rough and menacing and only makes my need to escape so much greater. I can feel my fear starting to suffocate me.
I push forward, stifling a scream when I feel my hair being pulled out at the back of my head. Jake grabs my arm, swinging me around and before I can register what he’s doing, his right hand is balled into a fist and flying into my left cheekbone. The loud crack resounds through my ear as his knuckles make contact with my flesh. The pain shoots through my cheek and travels down my jaw. My head hits the ground hard and my eyes roll as I try to orientate myself. All I can think about is Jakes’ dark figure looming over me. My body betrays me and I start shaking. I kick wildly, thrashing and writhing as he grabs my hair and drags me until I’m next to my bed. My tears spill over and start sliding down my cheeks. Panic roots itself in my belly. I’m terrified.
“Sshhh,” he coos, “Don’t cry. This is going to hurt me more than it will you.” I’m trapped beneath his body with his legs on either side of me. I have nowhere to go now. This is it.
“Please,” I beg between sobs, “Don’t hurt me Jake. Please.”
His finger touches my cheek and I turn away. His touch makes me want to hurl. He slaps my face so that I’m looking at him and I cry harder. His eyes travel down my torso and his face contorts in anger. “Did you really think that you could ever belong to anyone but me?” he snaps. “He can never love you the way I do.”
He pulls out a knife and starts cutting Graysons’ shirt. He tears it until my torso is bare and my pink lace bra exposed. He starts touching my breasts and I squeeze my eyes shut. I feel violated. Helpless. Scared.