Note - this is not a part of the same story as "The First Escape", "Floating Between The Words", "Coffee Adventures", "Hope & Pain" or "Treasure On The Beach In The Sunlight". It's completely separate - Melissa isn't an immortal in this story.
{the eternal warrior, Andromache the Scythian}
Original Female Character: Melissa Alexandra Grey.
TRIGGER WARNING: sexual assault (stay safe, loves)
My heart is racing so fast I can see it blaring through my capillaries in my eyelids when I blink. I conceal my shaking hands by crossing my arms, and let my hair shield my face on both sides to hide the tears streaming from my eyes. My shoulders are hunched up against the cold in my thick coat, but I'm boiling inside.
Fury.
Humiliation.
Agony.
My loud sob accidentally alerts the people walking along the pavement around me, but I retreat from their gazes and walk faster. I squeeze my eyes shut at just the wrong time and trip over a crumbling brick on the pavement. I lurch forward with a gasp but regain my balance. I curse, a leaden lump loitering in my throat.
I continue walking. Just a few more blocks to my apartment building. Just a few more blocks to safety. I swallow. I regret taking that walk to the café more than ever. The coffee and croissant I'd eaten churned uncomfortably in my stomach.
Once again, enraptured in my thoughts, I don't watch my steps. A tall man bumps into me - hard. I jerk my head up tautly to meet his soft stare, and he grabs my arm to stop me from falling, gasping an apology.
Fear erupts like a volcano inside of me and I tear myself away, eliciting a confused frown on his kind face. But I can't unsee it. Not after what happened. I can't unsee that deranged, greedy look on every man's face now.
I'm speed-walking, growing increasingly unsteady and woozy. The ground is tipping. I glimpse an alleyway up ahead and slip into it, almost tripping over a humongous flower pot next to a store front. I take a tight hold of the wall and collapse next to it, sobs crashing over me like blows from a wrestler. I curl into a ball, tightly tucking my head into my chest.
"Hey," comes a soft voice, making me flinch. "What happened? Are you okay?"
I lift my head slowly, and peace and relief seep into me as I see a woman approaching me. I shake my head and tremble violently. She glances behind her and removes her jacket. She drops to her knees in front of me. Through my teary, blurry vision, I can see her hollow cheeks and pale skin. As I try to ease the tears, her vivid eyes come into focus and my lips split. She's beautiful.
"Here," she whispers, tightly winding her jacket around me. It smells like worn leather and woody perfume.
We lock eyes and she smiles. My eyes blur over once more and a loud whine bursts from my chest. She pulls me into her on the ground and I weep into her warmth. She strokes my hair and breathes, gently muttering, "It's okay" and "I've got you", every now and then. I try to focus on her steady heartbeat.
Visions and harsh memories attack me internally, but the louder and longer I cry, the duller they become.
As my breathing stabilises, the woman cradling me shifts my hair out my face. My eyes are still glued shut, but I hear her sigh.
"Do you live near here?"
I nod. "L-Lily Heights."
"Can I take you home?"
I nod without a moment's hesitation, which under normal circumstances wouldn't have been the smartest idea, but I was desperate.
Somehow, the tall, sturdy woman is able to help me to my feet and wrap herself around me like a shield, taking most of my weight. As I float alongside her, I bury my head into her shoulder and clutch tightly to her waist. My hand rests flawlessly in the dip below her rib cage.
We reach my building far quicker than I had expected we would, and it takes me a moment to remember which pocket in my coat I've left my keys when she requests them. She unlocks my apartment easily as my tears stream down her neck. They stick my skin to hers and I feel a deep loss when she gently pulls away to slip her jacket and my coat off of me. I shiver at the cold air in my lounge as she manoeuvres me onto the couch and sits down, staying close.
Relatively calm now, I gaze at her. Her soft brown hair is cropped short above her ears, her off-set parting allowing a silky lock to fall into her face. Her eyes are a vibrant sea-green and when I stare into them, I find them to be endless and tranquil. She truly is beautiful. A wave of humiliation crashes over me and my tears return to my eyes. I was such a mess in comparison to her perfection.
Immediately, she envelops me in her arms.
"Hey, it's okay. It's okay. You're home." She presses a kiss to the top of my head. "You're safe."
"I'm sorry," I mumble into her tear-damp t-shirt.
"Don't you worry one bit, okay?" She cups my face in her hands, wiping my tears from my cheeks. "Today, I helped you home. Tomorrow, you can... help someone carry groceries to their car." She gazes at me like I'm the only thing she's focused on at this moment. The only thing she's thinking about. "We aren't meant to be alone." She smiles again.
I swallow with a dry mouth, wincing. "A man sexually assaulted me," I blurt out.
I feel like I've dropped the boulder I'd been crumbling beneath. I take a deep breath.
The woman's eyes widen and she goes still.
"Where did he hurt you? Where did he touch you?" Her eyes begin to search my body, and a deep crease forms in her brow. Her hands brush softly over my arms and face.
My shoulders collapse inward and I wring my wrists.
"He... pushed me against a wall. And grabbed my hips. And my neck. He pressed himself against me." I stare through the window over the woman's shoulder. "And - and - he..." I trail off. My mouth hangs open. I can't form the rest of the sentence.
"It's okay." Her voice brings my gaze back to hers. I breathe in sync with her.
"He shoved his hand under my shirt, and - and grabbed me a-again. I tried to pull his hands away but he was more than ten inches taller and broader than me. I didn't stand a chance."
Her eyes too had tears brimming in them. She licks her lips and shakes her head. I glance down at my hands.
"Someone chased him off me after that. I didn't see who it was. I just... ran."
She takes my hands gently. I heave a long sigh.
"I'm so sorry," she breathes.
There's a short pause. She caresses my hands with her thumbs, her head tilted in sympathy and her eyes wet.
"I don't know your name," I suddenly realise, frowning.
She blinks softly. "You can call me Andy."
"Andy," I repeat, grinning. "You can call me Melissa."
"It's wonderful to meet you, Melissa." Her frown returns. "I wish it was under different circumstances."
I laugh. It's not funny, but I laugh. It's not funny, but I can't stop laughing. I purse my lips to quell my mirth, but even with my mouth closed, I continue to shudder with laughter. Andy gives me an incredulous look, hesitating before laughing lightly with me.
I lean back against the couch and cold air fills my lungs. Andy pulls me into her and somehow I end up on her lap, sobbing once again. She holds me tight and doesn't let go. A small part of me shrieks at the unfamiliarity, but the rest of me suppresses it. There's something intuitive about the way I can fit my arms around her. I've never felt so calm being held by a stranger.
I'd known, from the moment she'd slid her jacket around me, that Andy would be so much more than my comforter on that day.
She had been and would continue to be my protector.
My saviour.
My love.