Love/Fail

Chapter 17

WARNING: This chapter deals with the subject of sexual violence. For my younger readers (14 and under) or if this topic is a trigger for you, please skip ahead to the ***

Annoying Pinspiration Quote #17

"Don't ever say 'It can't get any worse.' As long as you're breathing, it can always get worse."

"Mia!" Cody's voice dragged me back from the sinister void I'd been floating towards as he yelled down the phone line, anchoring me in consciousness again. "Mia, stay with me! Savannah, call triple zero, now! Mia, where are you exactly?"

"Mmm? I'm here with you." I smiled dreamily. Nothing made sense except for Cody, and he was sitting in my ear.

Somewhere I could hear Savannah saying, "Where are we going to tell the ambulance to go?"

Cody said something about Insta, about my phone. I didn't listen to the words, just to the rich timbre of his voice that I loved so much.

"Mia, we're going to send help, okay? Just stay with me, keep talking."

"But I want to sleep," I said, the phone sliding further away from my ear.

"No!"

Cody shouted and I frowned. "Don't yell at me. I don't feel good..."

"Mia, tell me something, anything. Come on, M, keep talking, okay? Stay with me. What were you saying before?"

"I told you that I love you. How can you not remember that? How could you not know...?" My second wind dissipated, and the only thing I desired was sleep. The phone slid from my weak fingers and clattered to the concrete as my head lolled back against the wall.

A figure appeared in front of me. "Hey, there you are! I've been looking for you!" he said.

It was the guy with reddish hair from before, leaning over me and grinning. "You don't look so good," he yelled over the racket. "Let me help you, okay?"

"Thanks," I mumbled, lifting my arms like a toddler and allowing him to pull me to my feet.

We started walking for the stairwell, him half-carrying me as my leaden feet dragged on the floor. "Wait... My phone..." I said, turning back.

"It's okay, you don't need it."

My heart skipped again, twittering inside my ribs with foreboding. "No, I don't want to go with you."

"It's okay, you're okay. Here we go, I've got you."

The world faded in and out around me. One moment I was in the factory, trying to reach behind me for my phone, the next we were at the bottom of the stairwell, me propped up against a dark window ledge, my head at an unnatural angle.

The redhead towered over me, his legs straddling my limp ones. "It's all good, girl. This is going to feel good, you'll see..."

He leaned in for a kiss and I twisted my head away, struggling to stay present. "No..." I said, waving a feeble hand. "Stop. Don't want this..."

He ignored me, sliding his hands over my chest. Revulsion burst inside me like ruptured boils, but I was helpless, only able to observe as he pawed at my breasts.

There was still enough strength left in me to shudder. I'd never feared sexual assault before; not because I never went anywhere dangerous but because Cody was always beside me. I never feared the world when I was on his arm. I wished I lived in a world where women could go anywhere they liked without having to worry about being attacked, but it wasn't realistic. And now look at me. One night on my own, and this...