The following chapter will have contents that might be disturbing for some people.
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Tears brimming my vision, I stare at Vaughn storming in our direction. I can't believe that someone actually comes to save me.
The sick, perverted psychopath abruptly lets go of me, pushing me to the wall. He wastes no time to run off, leaving me here with mouth agape, shaking on the ground.
"Don't you dare, you asshole." Vaughn is ready to run after him, but when he sees the state that I'm in, he stops dead in his track. He freezes. I can see that he's shocked by how I look.
My head pulses with sharp pain, and I wince, touching my forehead. Then I find blood on my palm. My forehead is apparently bleeding from the smack against the brick wall.
"Jesus, Mel --" he rasps before his jaw tightens, and I can even see his eyes burning with rage before he snaps his head back toward the bastard running away.
"No," I cry out, stopping him before he can move further to catch the bastard. "D-don't leave me," I stutter. I can barely speak after what happened.
I don't want to be left alone in this dark alley. Definitely not now while I'm trembling in fear.
At first, I think that he will just ignore me and run after the man, because the look on his face shows me how bad he wants to kill the person who tried to rape me. But then his eyes soften as he looks at me. I look down at the ground, another sob breaking as I hug my arms around my shoulder.
Vaughn bends down to me but doesn't say anything. He doesn't even ask me whether I'm okay or not because he knows damn well that I'm not.
He reaches out to touch me, but I snap his hand away. "No!" I cry, startled by my own move.
I can't let anybody touch my body. The feeling of the rapist's touch is still fresh on my skin, in my mind.
"H-how did you know I was here?" I ask, still stuttering.
"I saw you looking for me at the football field," Vaughn says. "I was just coming out from the locker room when I saw you walking away. I thought you didn't bring your car, because I didn't find you again in the parking lot. I was about to get you when I spotted you walking to the bus stop. But then after I shifted my focus back on the road for a split second, you were gone."
Oh, God. What would have happened if Vaughn hadn't come here? The thought of it makes me shiver, and my sobs break again.
Vaughn drives me home in his car, and when we reach the house, he guides me slowly to my room -- even though he can barely touch me because I'm still traumatized. And he acts as if his touch would break me. My arms still wrapped around my shoulder, I try my best not to collapse.
"I need to clean myself up," I say, wanting to get rid of whatever is left from the bastard's touch on my body. I can even take a bath seven times if that can make it all go away. As for the clothes I'm wearing, I will just trash it.
"Okay, I'm going to call the cops," Vaughn says. I can still hear the anger in his voice.
I just nod slightly and walk into my bathroom before locking the door behind me. My legs finally give in, and I slump against the door before sliding down to the cold marble floor.
The full body length mirror in front of me gives a crystal clear view of how wrecked I look. My lips tremble as I see two hickeys on my neck. They look horrible and definitely won't be gone anytime soon. Blood stains my forehead and the front part of my hair.
I pull up my tank top and unhook my bra, unable to wait any longer to wash myself. When I take off my skirt, what I see makes me gasp.
A thick white substance has stained the back of my skirt. A precum, a cum or whatever it is makes me want to throw up. What the hell?
The guy's words ring back in my ear.
"I've been watching you for a long time."
I'm so disgusted that I feel like I can throw up everything inside me. How can I forget the fact that the guy was so determined to get into my pants?
The sick bastard probably couldn't help it because he was so excited. It was a miracle that he didn't manage to rape me.
I rush to the sink and gag, turning on the water to the max. The sound of me vomiting echoes inside the bathroom, followed by cries, sobs and whatever the hell it is that I can't understand myself.
I thought that I could handle it. But now, fear overcomes me. I can't even look at myself.
"Melanie!" Vaughn shouts behind the door, slamming his palm against it. "What is happening there?" Panic and urgency fill his tone. He turns the doorknob, but it's no use because I locked it. "Damn it. Are you okay?"
He finally asks. Desperately.
No, I'm not okay, Vaughn. I sob, my shoulders shaking. My stomach drops again, and I push myself toward the sink to throw up again.
"Goddammit, Melanie," Vaughn barks. "If you don't open the door, I'm going to break it." And he means it. A moment later, I can hear him slamming his body against the door.
He keeps shouting, banging the door, but the sound of water pouring hard from the sink and my own coughs block everything off. My throat hurts terribly. It feels like burning.
Then the door is banged open. Vaughn finally manages to break in, making me jump. He narrows his eyes at me, and my heart thumps against my chest. I see hurt in those amber eyes as he looks at my condition.
To my surprise, he bends down and pulls me into a tight hug.
"No, get off me!" I struggle to break free, but he doesn't budge, his hold on me too strong for me to escape. And suddenly, I have this panic attack, the images of what happened inside the alley haunting me again. I push, punch and slap him -- anything I can do to get off.
"It's okay. You're alright now," he whispers as I sob on his chest. "Don't worry. I'm here. You're safe, Melanie," he keeps soothing me, his warmth gradually sipping into me.
Slowly, I can see better. This is unlike the cold alley back then. He feels different, not like that psychopath. He feels warm, protectively wrapping his arms around me. He feels safe. I feel safe when I'm with him.
My breathing eases, and soon the panic attack is gone. Vaughn keeps whispering to me soothing words, and I sigh, circling my arms around his torso, laying my head against his broad chest.
A tear falls from my eye. A sign of relief. It's unbelievable that being this close here with him can erase all of those horrible moments in the dark alley, even just for a while.
And I've never realized it before that I would need someone so bad in my life. Until now. Right at this very moment.