All night I keep my eye on Lexi, watching her lithe body dancing to the music alongside Faye. She moves in time to the beat, and she still appears to be sober as she leans into Faye before leaving towards the kitchen. I follow and stop when I see the bartender start talking to her, or more likely flirting with her.
Her figure is perfectly displayed in the white dress that flows around her like liquid. Short and sweet. The white stockings stretched over her long legs are held up by a garter that only I know is there. Angel wings have long since been discarded but the halo suspended above her brown hair is entirely inaccurate. My Angel is not at all angelic.
By the looks of the bartender, he's older and probably not a student. I lean against the wall in the corner, hidden from sight but still able to watch her. She sips the drink he makes her as they talk and eventually she goes back to Faye, bringing her a drink of her own. The two of them start to dance again and I continue to watch until I'm shoved to the side. Looking back, I see Maddox with a wide grin, looking at the girls and back. "You creep." He says in a non-accusatory way.
"Fuck off." I shove him back and sip my water. Reece comes up to us and I get sucked into a discussion about our upcoming away game. When I'm no longer distracted, my eyes search for the girls again only to spot Faye dancing alone. "Let's go dance with Faye," I say insistently, pushing Reece to go in front of me. Once we get to her, I ask her where Lexi went.
"To get some air." She slurs, her dance moves getting sloppier. Reece wraps an arm around her as she loses her balance.
"How many drinks have you had Faye?" I ask as a chill runs down my spine. She holds up two fingers and Maddox and I look at each other confusedly. The next thing we know, Faye's body goes limp in Reece's arms and my eyes widen in panic.
"The bartender." I splutter, grasping for an explanation. "He made their drinks." My words are rushed and when I glance over the crowd to the kitchen, the guy is no longer there. "Reece, call an ambulance and make sure they know she might be drugged. Maddox, we need to find Lexi." We all move fast as Reece grabs some random girl and tells her to call an ambulance as he carries Faye outside with his jacket draped across her limp body. Goosebumps prickle on my skin as a foreboding feeling washes over me and everything switches into high gear.
Maddox and I quickly shove through the crowd into the kitchen, but whipping my head around, I can't find Lexi anywhere. Looking to my side, I see that Maddox is equally distressed and pushing random people out of his way. "Didn't Faye say that she went for some air?" He asks and I nod. Throwing open the sliding glass door, we jog outside. I look left and right and don't see either of them. Turning back to the house, I step on something discarded on the ground. Leaning over to pick it up, I find a white, flat shoe. The same kind that Lexi was wearing tonight.
"Fuck." I say and show him. "Okay, if it's the bartender, he's tall, brown hair, mid-twenties. You go right and I'll go left, meet me at the front of the house and call me if you find her, alright?" I say to Maddox quickly and we both run around the house. My heart is racing and my eyes dart everywhere, hoping that we can find her and that they haven't left the property.
I run around the whole side of the house with no luck. After making my way back to the front, my eyes continue to dart around, looking for anything out of place. Coming from the right side of the house, I hear something strange only to find Reece and the random girl waiting for an ambulance. Moments later Maddox joins us looking as stressed as I feel.
"We called two, they should be here in a couple of minutes," Reece says with a shaky voice, still holding onto Faye while sitting on the ground with her in his lap. He looks at her like he might burst into tears, his hands brushing her red hair out of her face while he whispers soothing words that she can't hear.
I look over to see Maddox looking at Faye with composed fear and the girl with them is biting her nails nervously. The air surrounding us is tense and I feel the fear permeate my body the longer we wait.
"Chase, should we check inside? I don't know what to do..." Maddox trails off, lost. "I'll stay here and look in all the cars, you go check inside the house?" Maddox rushes off to go back to the cars in the driveway, looking through each window quickly, desperately wanting to find Lexi.
I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, pulling it and worrying. I know that something isn't right. I can feel it. "Check the field too!" I turn around and run back into the house.
Luke finds me and asks me a question but I can't hear him. I sprint up the stairs and listen in to each and every door closely, vaguely aware of someone behind me. At the slightest sound coming from behind a door, I quickly throw it open only to see Eric, one of the guys on the team, half-naked with his flavor of the week. "Man! Hey, shut the fucking door, would you?"
Just when I move to continue looking, I hear a muffled scream coming from the back hallway. When I get closer, I notice the light beneath one of the bathroom doors. Trying the doorknob frustratedly, I grunt when I feel that it's locked. I knock and hear a shuffling inside, followed by a muffled scream.
Lexi.
I'm somehow relieved and terrified at the same time, preparing myself for what might be on the other side. My reflexes kick in and my body is in fight mode as I start to ram my shoulder into the door without a second thought. The wood splinters slightly but not enough to open it. More grunting and muffled noises come from the other side, increasing my frustration and determination.
TRIGGER WARNING
The rest of this chapter depicts scenes of sexual assault.
Please skip if this makes you upset or uncomfortable.
This time I step back and kick the door directly beside the doorknob and it flies open. I immediately see red, lunging for the guy on top of Lexi with all my weight. The two of us go flying into the side of the bathtub and my fists go flying into his face repeatedly until his blood is covering my hand. I don't stop when his eyes close, only when I hear a whimper come from behind me.
My face falls and I drop the guy into the bathtub. I stand up and notice Lexi, her eyes still closed and her head shaking back and forth. Her angelic dress is hanging off of her shoulders with the hem pushed up to her waist. Her lace underwear torn and pulled down around her knees and Luke is on the ground beside her, looking up at me with wide eyes and using his body to shield her from the hallway.
Crawling over to her slowly so as not to frighten her, my heart breaks when she starts to cry, still unable to do anything more. "Shhh, Angel it's me, Chase. Nobody is going to hurt you. I'm here now," I look over at the unconscious bartender covered in blood and notice that his belt is unbuckled but his pants are still buttoned. Focusing on Lexi, I wrap her in my arms and she relaxes slightly but still cries helplessly.
Rocking her limp body back and forth on my lap, I turn us to face the door and only let go of her for a second in order to unbutton my shirt and slip her arms into it. I push her brown hair back and kiss her forehead in an attempt to calm her down. Her adrenaline seems to have worn off now and she's breathing slowly, still leaning on my chest.
I pick her up from the ground, wrapping her long legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, holding my shirt down around her so as to preserve her dignity as much as possible. There is still a house full of people downstairs. Holding her tightly to me, I feel the slight pressure of her arms hugging me back as I make my way down the stairs. The sound of an approaching ambulance can be heard in the distance and I pray that she will be okay.
People glance at me, walking with Lexi in my arms, as we pass and the entire room goes quiet. The music is now turned off as everyone looks out the windows. Blue and red lights light up the room through the windows. The front door is opened for me and I quickly walk towards one of the ambulances. Reece is talking to the paramedics of the other. I lay Lexi down on a stretcher as directed and inform the paramedics of the situation. I find Luke and grab his arm to get his attention.
"Make sure the fucker stays on the ground where I left him." I growl before climbing into the back of the ambulance. The paramedics work around me when I refuse to leave Lexi's side. She mumbles my name repeatedly as the paramedics set her up with an IV and we drive off.
"I'm right here, Angel. I won't leave. I promise." Bringing my mouth to her hand and kissing it, not daring to let go. I don't think that I'll ever be able to let go of this girl again.