I Need You

Part 14 - If I Needed Someone

           I continued to struggle against him, but my energy was almost totally spent, and my muscles ached and burned from fighting back. He punched me a few times, and knowing I was too weak to combat his advances any longer, he threw me down, kicking me for good measure to make sure I'd stay there. I screamed out one last time, hoping someone would hear me.
         Barely conscious and crumpled on the floor, I was powerless to counter him, and he slammed down on top of my bruised and battered flesh, knocking the last bit of air out of my lungs. A flood of pain rose from between my legs and surged outward, enveloping my entire body in a shroud of agony. I breathed a sharp intake of breath, and everything went black..

Like catching glimpses of programmes on the telly while flipping through the channels, I don't remember a clear view of anything. There was a brief feeling of weightlessness, a few flashes of daylight,  and garbled shouting. Unsure of how long I was out, I awoke sometime later on, in a stark white room, beaten and sore; the burning scent of antiseptic overtaking me. It was dead quiet. The only sound I heard was a quiet breathing coming from right next to me. There was George,  nestled into the crook of my arm, fast asleep.  His deflated quiff hung limply over those bushy eyebrows I adored, deep chocolate orbs hidden behind delicate eyelids. He was beautiful, and all mine.
        I must have been dreaming. He was still in Hamburg, right? I reached over to touch the baby soft skin of his cheek when a rustle came from behind me,  a hand gently falling to my shoulder. I turned, trying not to wake George.
       "Christ,  you scared us, Sunshine," Paul breathed a sigh of relief.
        Paulie?! What are you two doin' here?! I thought you were still in Hamburg? Is Winn here?"
      "We uh, had to come home. George, Pete and I, that is.  John and Stu are still there. Jeannie, what the hell happened?!"
       I sighed, shoulders drooping.
       "My boss.. he was.. he was in a mood already when I got in. Started whingin' about Winnie, how he deserved whatever beating he assumed he'd gotten and then some, and then  said rather than sackin' me he was addin' on to my duties. He got more irritated and slapped me,"...
      "He hit you?!"
     "Yeah, smacked me around a bit. Then he told me to sit on his desk, bein' all pervy, next thing I know, he's grabbin' me and pullin' on my clothes and pushin' me round. Last I remember, I was on the floor, underneath him, before I blacked out. That's all I can remember."
        "That's about the time Geo and I came in. We thought we'd surprise you,  maybe take you out for tea. We'd heard you screaming and ran in to help. Bloody bastard had beaten you and was on top of you.    Uhhh, Jeannie, love, the doctors here, they had to run some tests." He looked away.
     "What you mean, tests? What happened?"
    Paul went to hug me, and George stirred, finally waking and sitting up to look at me.
    "We're going to take care of you, no matter what love. We promise."
      "Paulie, you're scaring me.  What did he do to me?"
       George's face grew hard, and he took my hand in his, trying to comfort me.
       "He raped you, Kitten. The fucker beat and raped you,  and left you for dead. He tried to run off. Macca and I went after him, beatin' the shite out of 'im, and tryin' to keep him there till we called the bizzies, get him arrested. The tests, Lovey.. they had to do a thorough examination,  and they need to take urine in a few weeks.. test for pregnancy."
     "W-what?! P-p-pregnancy?! I'm 17, I can't have a baby, especially not to some rapist! What am I going to do?!"
      "We're goin' to get everything all figured out, Lovey, we'll get through this.  I love you, and I'm not letting you go through this alone. They want to observe you for a few days,  let you heal up, keep watch over you. Then you're goin' home."
      "I- I can't go home, Mimi left this morning to visit her sister,  I don't want to be alone, Georgie!"
      "You won't be. You're staying with me at mine."
      "But, your mum and da, they'd never..."
       "Even before I asked them, they insisted.  I called them while you were still knocked out. Mum asked about you,  knowing Paul and I were comin' to see you. I, I told her what 'appened. She was horrified and DEMANDED that I bring you home as soon as you were released from ozzy. She adores you, Kitten. Wants to take care of you while you recover.  Plus, I'll be home for a while, we can spend some much-needed time together."
        I didn't know if I was crying more from the news I had just received or because Louise cared about me so much.
       "Wait, you'll be home? How long? Why?"
        "Well, we're home because we were deported."
        "WHAT?! What the hell did you three planks do?!"
        "I was deported for being underage. Have to be 18 to work in the club. And THIS idiot," he said, pointing to Paul, "he and Pete were arrested."
        "WHAT?! What the hell were you arrested for?!"
       "You wanna take this, Macca?"
     "Well, Pete and I,  we uhhh, we were arrested for arson."
      "I swear, I can't leave you gits alone for 10 minutes. What did you burn?!"
       "Nothing, Sunshine,  I swear! We got hired at the Top Ten, actually,  so we went upstairs to get our things and pack. Well, it was bloody dark as hell, and we couldn't see anything,  so we tacked a condom to the wall and lit it on fire. It didn't burn anything down. The walls are always damp, you've seen them. Anyway, I s'pose word got out about us leaving, and Koschmider lost his shit. Turned Geo into the authorities and called the bizzies on Pete and I. Boom, deported."
       I sat in awe.
       "Paul, you're the smartest person I know,  aside from Winn.  For you to do something so bleedin' stupid honestly shocks me.  And Winn hasn't gone and gotten himself into trouble?"
         "When we were there, no, but we've been gone a few days, so only time will tell. He IS John Lennon,  ya know."
      "Anything else I should know? Stu alright?"
       "He's in loooooove. Moved in with 'er and everything. But now you're all caught up on our adventures,  and can take it easy. You need rest. Physically and emotionally.  I can't imagine how you're feeling right now,  but we're here for you, and we're not goin' to abandon you when you need us most."
       I sank back down into the mass of pillows, mind going in all directions.  I was exhausted,  but I knew this information I had received would not allow me to sleep. Paul gave me a hug, kissed my cheek,  and left the room, as visiting hours were over.
         "I'm not leavin', they can't make me," George said matter of factly. He squeezed into bed with me, and gently wrapped himself around me, kissing my head softly, carefully taking my hand in his.
        "You're stuck with me, Lovey, no matter what."