Dark Secrets

Chapter 11

"I'm sorry this happened and ruined your night with Nathan..." Rachel spoke as we got to her apartment. She sat on the couch while I went to get us some glasses of water.

"Hey, don't even think like that..." I said as I watched her sit down, hoping it would make her more comfortable. I came back with the water and sat down beside her on the couch. "I'm just glad you're okay right now... everything else can be figured out." I added, hoping to reassure her a bit more.

I could see the relief spread across her face as my words landed, and I was at least happy that I was able to offer her that much on this very troubling night.

It felt like she was having a hard time gathering her thoughts. and while I could see how exhausted she was, it also felt like her adrenaline was still rushing. She looked like she was in shock in some ways as if she wanted to process the whole thing still, but she also just wanted to sleep and try to forget it as quickly as possible.

"Still... some of the things that man said to me..." Rachel continued. "I didn't understand..."

I could see her mind trying to process everything, her eyes going slightly wide in reflection. It was clear she was still stuck in the moment, reliving every little detail and trying to make sense of it all at the same time. "What did he say?" I asked curiously, yet also nervous.

"He was... looking for someone..."

When she didn't respond, I kept my eyes on her. Looking for someone; Those three words caused me to sit up a little quickly, like my entire body was suddenly alerted and all the blood that was in my veins had now frozen. I could feel my heart drop in my chest as we spoke about the incident more, the words she was saying had a different kind of seriousness than I thought. My mind kept going back to my past and I was trying to keep pushing it out. "I'm sure it was just crazy ramblings..." I responded in an attempt to calm her, but I didn't feel that sure of what I had just said. Maybe there was more to this whole attack than just a simple attempt to hurt her.

"When he pushed me up against my car, he kept asking 'where is she?' like the attack wasn't meant for me in the first place," Rachel said as she looked up from her lap at me, the fear and worry still clearly present in her expression. "I didn't know who he was talking about... so he then said he would just have some fun until then... After that, he started pressing the blade of the knife up onto my throat..." Rachel looked as if she was having a hard time even speaking these words. "I thought I was going to die."

I couldn't look away as she continued to tell me what had happened. I was torn from feeling angered and scared, and that feeling of being completely and utterly terrified was taking me over.

"It took everything in me not to freeze up completely..." Rachel said quietly as she looked up at me. "I can still feel the cold metal against my throat... and the feeling of his hand holding me up against my car..."

"I'm so sorry, Rachel," I spoke, grabbing her hand in mine.

"It's... it's okay..." She responded, but the trembling in her hand and the way she looked down told me that this wasn't true.

I couldn't help but wrap my other arm around her, hugging her in this tender moment.

"Just at the wrong place at the wrong time, right?"

I still held on to her, trying to let as much of my body's warmth and comfort flow as I could. I wished I could think that it was bad timing. First Vanessa and now Rachel... I had a gut feeling that this was no coincidence. The break-in at my parent's house and the banging outside my door... it was all coming together that someone... someone was trying to get my attention. Someone was coming after me.