For the Love of Lacey

An Attack

Dedicating to Skyhawk33....thanks for fanning me!!! Hope everyone's enjoying the story!!!!!

I'm lost in thought as I'm driving home. Something dashes in front of my car and I slam on the brakes and swerve to miss hitting it. I must hit something because I feel my tire blow as I come to a stop. Great! I get out to see what I hit, praying it wasn't something alive.

It turns out to be a rock, but my tire is definitely flat. I start looking for my cell phone to call Lathe to come change it, as I know nothing about changing tires, but can't find it anywhere. That's when I remember that I'd given it to him to get Beth's number and never got it back. Crap on a cracker!!!

I guess I'll have to walk and hope I run into Deputy Dawg. Then I start feeling guilty all over again. I just got through telling him I'm seeing Turner and now I'm hoping to get him to change my tire. Worse! I just kissed another guy that wasn't Turner, AND agreed to see him again. I'm the lowest of the low!!

I'm going along thinking these thoughts when I realize it feels as though I'm not alone. I turn quickly around, but don't see anything in the moonlight. There are too many shadows to see anything clearly. There's rustling in the bushes along the road and I turn and start walking as quickly as I can toward the city.

My heart is pounding in my ears and I'm ready to start crying. Over what I have no clue! But then an arm wraps around my neck and I manage to scream once before the arm is so tight I can barely drag a breath in at all. Whoever has me takes a deep breath along my neck and I hear a sharp intake of breath before a female voice I don't recognize makes a sound of frustration and pushes me away. I fall to the ground and try to see who my assailant is, but when I look to where we had been standing I see no one and am there, on the road, alone.

I sit there shaking and sobbing, and I hear a car pulling up next to me. I hear the radio squawking and the door opens and Carl is crouching next to me on the ground, "Lacey! Are you alright? What's wrong? Where's your car?"

I start sobbing all the harder, and he pulls me into his arms and starts stroking my hair, "Hey! It's okay. You're okay. I'm here now. You're safe. It's okay. Shhh, now!" I feel him kiss the top of my head.

I finally get control of myself and take a deep breath. I've got tears all over my face and Carl's arm and I can feel my nose draining, too. Oh how gross! He pulls a hanky from somewhere, unfolds it and hands it to me. Thank God! I wipe my face and blow my nose.

"Thank you!" I say with a shaky voice.

"He looks at me and asks, "Can you tell me what happened? Why aren't you in your car?! Don't you know it's not safe out here?"

"I do now," I almost start to laugh, but it turns into a sob. I catch myself and take another deep breath trying to keep myself under control. I tell him what happened. He tries to get me to tell him what the person who grabbed me looks like, but I can't tell him what I didn't see. He finally helps me to my feet and drives me to where my car is at the side of the road. He changes my tire for me as I sit in the drivers seat with my feet hanging out the door and go over the whole story again.

When he finishes with the tire he starts filling out a report. I try to get him not to, but he tells me that with everything happening he has to. It may come down to me needing to testify or identify someone if they ever find this person. I don't know how I can do that, as I never saw them, but I let him do his job.

When he's done and I signed it and he follows home me to be sure I get there safely. It's after 11 and thankfully everyone is in bed and I'm able to sneak up to my room. I pull off Xavier's coat and lay it across the foot of my bed before getting into my pajamas and falling, exhausted, immediately asleep.

I keep waking up all night feeling that arm around my neck choking me. It was definitely a female that I heard as she tossed me away from her; I can still feel her cold body pressed against my back. Had she seen Carl pulling up, and that's why she let me go? I've never been so happy to see anyone as I had been to see him! He'd been so gentle as he comforted me. How can I ever repay him?

I finally fall into a fitful sleep around 4AM, but even then I wake up thinking I've heard something, or someone in my room. I'm just too exhausted to care, though, and roll over and let it go.

The morning comes way too early so I just pull the pillow over my head and go back to sleep. When I come to I see it's already 2PM and I'm thanking God it's Saturday and I don't have classes. I wonder what Latham is up to. He usually bugs me long before this. His date with Beth must have been good. I stretch and head downstairs to find something to eat.

Lathe is in the family room watching TV. "How was your date?" I ask.

"Okay, I guess. She's pretty nice, a little gushy, but maybe that'll stop once we've been out a few times."

I laugh, "Yeah, okay, let me know when that happens."

"What did you do last night?" He asks me.

"OH. MY. GOD! I forgot to tell you, I was attacked last night!"

"What!" He stands up and comes in the kitchen, turning off the TV, "What are you talking about? Where? When? Did you report it?"

"Yeah, Deputy Dawg actually may have saved my life. I went to Xavier's and dropped off the folder, " I brush over the whole kiss thing, "and I actually met one of his friends, Dante, but when I left, something dashed in front of the car, and I ended up with a flat, and as I'm walking some woman comes up behind me and starts strangling me. The next thing I know I'm on the ground and Carl pulls up in the cruiser and takes a report and follows me home. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life!!" I finish my story.

"That explains why Carl has called the house three times already today. Are you okay?" He inspects my neck for bruises. "Did you see who it was?"

"No, I didn't see anything; I was grabbed from behind and by the time I was able to look, after she'd thrown me, she was gone. Did mom get her folder from Xavier? I left it with him last night."

"She must have. She left about 9 this morning."

The phone rings and I answer it, "Hello?"

"Lacey, it's Carl. I'm calling to see if you're okay? Have you maybe remembered anything else from last night?"

"Carl! Thank you for rescuing me last night. I'm doing all right. I slept like crap and just got up. Sorry, I don't remember anything more, but if I do I'll call you."

"Have you eaten breakfast yet? We can go to the diner and I'll buy you something."

I'm assuaged by guilt again at the hope in his voice, "I've already eaten, Carl, sorry. Maybe another time."

"Sure, we can do coffee now if you want."

"I've got a ton of homework I need to do for Monday. I'd planned on starting it last night, but you know how that went."

"Yeah," he sounds crestfallen, "I understand. Maybe I'll pull you over again soon."

I laugh, "Maybe, but I hafta sorta hope not."

He gives a small laugh, says goodbye and hangs up. Lathe is looking at me, having hung on every word of the conversation, "What a heel I am! The guy saves my life, and I blow him off like that, I just don't feel that way about him."

Lathe gives me a sympathetic smile, "Course not, you like Mr. Excitement, Turner."

I blush, "Oh, shut up!"

I grab a frying pan and make myself scrambled eggs and toast with coffee. I could have just met Carl at the diner and saved myself the trouble, but I don't want to get his hopes up.