Prescient

Chapter 31

I knew I was helpless to stop him, but I wasn't going to make it easy.

With my mouth covered and my arms and legs bound, what else could I do except squirm around like a fish out of water, desperate for breath. Desperate to escape the groping hands of the filthy fisherman that wished to hurt me.

It wasn't air I needed. It was a miracle. But this wasn't the movies and a knight in shining armour, or the police weren't going to bust into the room to save me. This was going to happen and there was nothing I could do about it.

I made it hell for him, trying to drag me to wherever he wanted me. I'm not a heavy person, but I assumed Donald Haydens was either rather small or rather weak, as he had a lot of trouble moving me.

I tried rolling and squirming away. I thrashed my mermaid tied legs about, attempting – but failing – to kick him.

Eventually, he did get me onto a bed. It stank worse than the blanket he'd had over me. Like stale sweat and oily hair. I felt like vomiting, but I knew if I did I would choke on it, so I held in back.

I simply tried not to breathe.

Once he had me on the bed, I knew this was it. There was nothing I could do, and finally, the tears came. But I wasn't going to give up.

"Don't bother struggling, girlie," he said as he started to yank at my belt.

Despite my bucking and struggling, I felt it slide out from around my waist as he tugged it off, and the next thing I knew it came down hard across my face.

I tried to cry out, but obviously, I couldn't. All that came out was a muffled yell.

My face stung and burned from the slap and I prayed he didn't do it again but I refuse to stop fighting.

"You want another?" I smelled his foul breath only moments before I felt his rough, wet tongue slide over the spot he'd belted me.

I jerked my head away from him, but he grabbed me by the face.

My cheek stung as he squeezed tight.

I began to buck, trying to get him off me, desperate to make him stop and not caring how many times he hit me. I would struggle until the last minute. But he wouldn't give up and I could see him in my mind's eye now, the first glimpse of Donald Haydens as he was in the flesh.

Face furrowed by teen-years acne scars, with the bottom half covered in stubbled reddish-brown hair. His eyes were a light blue that reflected me in them, bound and restrained beneath him.

In one hand he held my belt and he was raising it to strike again.

I braced myself for the blow.

I braced myself for the pain.

But instead of feeling the leather hit my face, I heard hasty footsteps coming towards us. Someone was running across the room and next thing I knew, Donald Haydens' body was yanked right off me.

"Who the hell are—?" Donald's words were cut short by a loud thudding noise that was so obviously something connecting with his head.

"You filthy bastard."

I never thought I'd be so glad to hear Noel's voice.

I was swept away by a tide of emotion at that moment. An unsurmountable pure relief, drenched in something I was still not able to put my finger on. Something like elation, but more intense.

This tide of sentiment washed over me as sweet as honey on toast and I couldn't help but attempt a grin beneath my mouths cover as a fresh wave of tears released from beneath my covered eyes.

I couldn't believe he was here.

Like my own knight in shining armour.

I had no idea how the hell he'd found me, but I didn't care. All that mattered at that moment was that he was there and that he had come to save me. Just like my own personal miracle.

It was strange to me that it felt so good, knowing he cared enough to come to find me. That the fact I hadn't come home had worried him so much he'd sought me out.

That he already knew me well enough to know exactly what I had gone to do, despite denying to him where I had been heading earlier on in the day.

I silently prayed for him to come out on top of the fight I could hear going on beside me, although I'm not sure who I was praying to.

It's not like I believed in God.

Yet, I knew it would all turn out okay because although I could still hear the thuds and grunts of the two men fighting, in the darkness of my mind I could see Donald Haydens' beaten, bleeding face as he lay groaning on the floor. I could see Noel standing up with one cut on his face bleeding, panting and scowling, walking towards me.

My bonds had been untied, and Noel had uncovered my face.

I expected to see that smile, but all I saw was hurt and worry.

Reaching out to my face, he gently grasped me by the jaw, and tilted my head to the side, grimacing as he examined what must have been a nasty mark inflicted by my own belt.

"That bad is it?" I said.

"Does it hurt?"

"It stings a bit."

"Thank God you're okay, Starla. Did he – did he do anything worse than that?"

"He would have if you hadn't shown up."

Then without warning, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight embrace.

It felt strange.

It felt natural.

I hadn't been hugged since I was a young girl and I'd forgotten what it felt like.

"I just wish I'd found you sooner," he said and I used that opportunity to break away from him and take a step back.

"How did you know where I was?"

"Well, I knew you were going to question this piece of shit," he motioned to Donald who still lay on the floor. Not out cold, but barely conscious.

I looked down at the man's unrecognizable face, then to Noel's knuckles that were covered in blood.

"When you hadn't come home by dark, I was worried about you."

"Yeah, I figured you didn't believe me when I said I wasn't going to question him, but how did you find out where he lived?"

"Let's just say I'm going to have to replace a window on your door," he replied with a put-on guilty look.

"You broke into my flat?"

"Yeah, as I said, I was worried about you. I found your notepad on the table and it had Donald's address."

"So you broke in and you poked around?"

"Hey, I'm here aren't I? I wouldn't be if I didn't break into your place."

"Sorry. I don't mean to gripe. I'm just not used to people in my personal space."

"It's all good. I get it. Now, did you find out if he had Kaylah?"

"He reckons he doesn't and I don't know if he's lying or not. I usually can tell, but this time I just can't. I'd started looking around the place before he knocked me out."

"Right, well you finish looking around and see if you can find her," Noel said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "But be as quick as you can. I'll wait here, to keep an eye on him."

I nodded, moving away from Noel.

From his touch.

My stomach was squirming again and the feeling was almost more intense than the throbbing pain of my face.

Almost.

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