The hand on my mouth feels foreign to me. I can tell it's not Hardin's, mainly because of the accent the man has as he tells me not to move. It almost sounds... German? What the fuck is going on?
"You're gonna keep your mouth shut, do you understand?" The man tells me, his hand still pressing against my mouth.
Fuck this.
I scream, louder than I have ever screamed before, and move against him violently. My back is to his front, and he is much stronger than I am. His arms are probably the size of my entire torso. I continue to scream, kicking and scratching at his arms, but he's not letting up. I feel one of his arms unhook from my body, so I think that this might be my opportunity to wiggle free, but instead, I feel something cold on my neck.
"Scream or move again, and I won't be afraid to use this." I feel the coldness of a knife blade on my neck, and clam my mouth shut. Screaming in New York won't get anyone's attention anyways since the city is so goddamn loud. Fuck fuck fuck.
What am I supposed to do? Who is this man, and why did he break into my home? Because you left the door unlocked, Tessa. By doing that in New York, you practically invited him inside.
"You little tease..." He keeps his grip on my mouth, but moves his free hand to my chest, outlining my cleavage. "You cost me my fucking job, you selfish bitch."
I cost this man his job?
"I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are... I think you have the wrong person." I shakily whisper against his hand.
"Your pathetic excuse of a boyfriend complained to my supervisor and got me fired from Uber, meanwhile you were practically throwing yourself at me. That was my only job, and now I have nothing!"
Oh my god. This man was my Uber driver the night Hardin and I came back from Washington. He's the driver that sexually harassed me, so Hardin called Uber and got his ass fired, as he should have. I feel tears spring in my eyes. I don't want to die, and I am more terrified that I have ever been in my life. I don't know what he wants or what he's gonna do to me, but I hope Hardin comes back soon. This man is obviously mentally ill because he thinks I was throwing myself at him that night.
"You thought you could ruin my life?" He moves his hand up my dress, but thankfully I am wearing tights. This is just like the night at the frat house, except I am conscious for the entire thing.
"I didn't mean to... I'm-" I say, but then he quickly moves and slams me against the wall, knocking down a few frames. The knife is back in his hand up against my neck.
"You liar! You knew what you were doing!"
"No, stop!" I cry.
"Stop talking!" He moves closer to me, so his mouth is close to mine. "You're gonna pay for what you did to me." I feel his lips on my cheek, and I try so hard not to visibly gag. Tears are escaping my eyes rapidly, and I am trying to muffle the sobs that come out as well.
"Please don't touch me..." I say as his lips trace over my skin.
"Don't touch you? Like you don't want this to begin with." He caresses my cheek with his thumb.
"I don't... I have a husband who will hurt you."
"A husband who will hurt me? Please, I would like to see him try." He tightens his arms on me, and I can feel my circulation getting cut off. "I don't give a fuck what excuses you give me."
"What do you want from me!?" I cry out.
"Where's your purse?"
"On the couch." I whisper to him.
"I am going to let you go, and you are going to walk over to the couch and get your purse, and hand me your wallet."
I nod, and he lets me go.
"Don't try anything. I won't hesitate, trust me. I have nothing to lose." He holds the knife up to my back as I walk to the couch to grab my purse. My hands are noticeably shaking as I take out my wallet and hand it to him. As he goes through my wallet, I glance at the door that isn't too far away from me. Quickly, I attempt to make a break for the door, but only make it a few feet before I am yanked back and slammed against the wall right next to the door.
"I said don't try anything!" He yells in my face. He pulls the knife from his pocket, and brings it to my face.
"Please don't!" I scream. I don't want him to hurt me, or my baby. Oh my god. I'm pregnant. "I'm pregnant! Please!"
He looks at me with wide eyes, and surprisingly drops the knife away from my face.
"You're pregnant?" He asks, and now I see a clear opportunity to escape.
I bring my knee up to his crotch, and slam it hard. He yelps in pain before falling to the floor, clutching his dick. Before I can even process what I just did, I rip the front door open, and sprint down the street. My legs are moving by themselves, faster and faster with every step that I take. I don't even know where I am going. I don't have my phone or my wallet, and Hardin is still at Landon's.
Landon.
His house is only a mile from ours, so if I keep up this pace, I should be there in under ten minutes. I am so out of breath and tired, but there is this surge of adrenaline that is keeping my legs moving down my street. I feel myself about to throw up, but I swollow it down.
"Shit!" I scream out loud as I continue to run. I am missing such an important meeting, and I don't have my phone to call or tell Noah and Shannon. I spoke to Noah just five minutes before this meeting was supposed to happen, so I wonder what he's thinking. Fuck! I just wish I had my phone so I can call Hardin, or the cops. He is definitely going to escape with god knows what. I am sobbing uncontrollably now. My feet are killing me since I am running barefoot on pavement. I don't know how I can make it to Landon's with the amount of pain I'm in.
Without even looking, I crash into this big toy car in the middle of the road. Thankfully, I only fall onto my knees.
"Oh, honey. Are you alright?" An older woman comes over holding a little boy, who I assume is her grandson. "I told him to move his car out of the street."
"I'm alright." I say in between gasps of air. Wait, what the fuck am I saying? I'm not okay.
"Actually, can I... use your phone please?" I ask her. I probably look like a psychopath, sprinting down the street barefoot with my makeup smeared down my cheeks.
"Oh of course. Here, come..." She helps me up and leads me inside of her home. "Here is our landline, it's all we have."
"That'll do. I just need to call the police." I tell her as I dial the number.
"The police?" She says with a gasp. "What happened?"
"911, what's the address of your emergency?" The operator answers on the second ring.
"Hi, my name is Tessa Young, there is an unwanted man in my house... 117 West Lakeside Street." I can't even say he broke in because the door was fucking unlocked.
"Are you currently in the house, ma'am?"
"No, I... I was able to escape, and I don't know if he's st-still there or not." I tell her, my voice shaky.
"How long ago did you leave?"
"About five minutes."
"Are you in a safe location now?"
I look over at the old grandmother who is heating up dinner for what looks like her daughter and grandson. "Yes, I am."
"Okay, we have dispatchers on the way. Can you describe this man for me?"
"Um..." Shit. "I don't really remember. I didn't get a good look at him... He was tall, had big arms, dark eyes, um... he was European, he had some sort of an accent but I can't tell which kind it sounded like."
"Okay, how far are you from your home?"
"I just ran down the street, so about half a mile."
"Okay, I just got word that officers are about two minutes from your house. Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine." I tell her, even though I have a little bit of bruising on my arm, and my knees are all scuffed.
I stay on the line for another two minutes before I assure her that I am safe. The older woman walks over with a cup of something steaming.
"Here's some tea, sugar. I overheard your conversation, and I'm sorry that your house got broken into." She hands me the cup.
"Thank you." I take the cup from her hands. "I'm just happy I got out of there. Thank you so much for letting me use your phone. My husband should be home shortly, so I hope that that man left already."
"Would you like to call him?"
"He left his phone at our house, so I can't call him. He's currently at our friend's house right down the road, but I don't know his number by heart."
"Oh, I see. Well, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you need."
"Mimi, dinner is getting cold!" I hear the little boy yell.
"I'll be there in one second, baby." The older woman yells back.
"I should get going. I think I'm going to walk over to my friend's house now." I place the tea on her table, and move shake her hand, but she grabs me in a hug.
"Thank you so much... uhh." I don't know her name.
"Darla." She tells me with the sweetest smile. "I'm glad you're okay, and that I could help."
"Have a nice night." I wish to her before I leave. I really hope the cops have gotten to my house by now.