Trigger Warning: Assault & Rape
I was laying in a hospital bed surrounded by the boys. Josh holds my hand and kisses my cheek. Pain floods my chest. The hospital monitors beep loudly. My eyes shut. My heart stops. Cries fill the room. Funeral workers take my body away. They dress me up and put me in a coffin. My family, the boys, and Josh mourn. My funeral is held at Bondi. They have me buried at the cemetery overlooking the beach.
I jolt awake sitting up in my bed. I breathe heavily. I tap my face with my hands to make sure I'm not dead. My face is sweaty. I check my phone to see what time it is. 5:45. I have to be up for work in fifteen minutes, so I might as well stay awake. I slip my feet into my thongs and walk downstairs. I turn on the light, pour a bowl of cereal, and eat it dwelling on my disturbing dream. I wonder if it means anything. I splash cold water on my face as I washed it to clear the nightmare from my head. I brushed my teeth, put on my lifeguard uniform, put my hair in a ponytail, and head to Bondi for my shift.
"Good morning," I say walking into the lifeguard tower. "Hey Angel! You're here early," Chappo commented. I walk up the steps to face the beach. "I had a nightmare," I whisper. Chappo puts his arm around me. "I'm sorry. What was it about?" he asks. "I died," my voice says shakily. I put my face into his chest. Chappo wraps his arms around me. "That's scary eh. That scares me, too," he says. I hug his waist. "Do you think it means anything?" I ask. "I wouldn't think so. We'll always look after you and make sure nothing happens to you," Chappo answers. "Thanks," I smile. We head inside the tower to hear our positions. "Okay everyone, here are today's positions: Deano and Jennifer at backpackers, Harries and Jethro up north, Kerrbox and Chappo at the flags, and Tom's with me in the tower," Hoppo announced. "You ready, Jennifer?" Deano asks putting his hand on my shoulder. I nod with a smile on my face and we drive down to backpacker's in the rhino. "You're awfully quiet today. Is everything alright Angel?" Deano asks with a concerned look on his face. I knew I couldn't fool him. "I had a really creepy nightmare last night where I died," I say putting my knees to my chest. "That's awful." he frowns.
By mid-morning, the beach is beginning to fill up. "Attention to all these swimmers in front. You're in a very dangerous area. Please return to shore and swim between the red and yellow flags," I say on the megaphone. A swarm of people leave backpacker's. "Look at you! It's like you're the pied piper," Deano smiles. I laugh. A man remained in the water and got caught in the rip. "I'm going in," I radio. I take my jacket off and run into the water with a rescue board. I paddle out to the man drifting out to sea. "Jump on the front," I tell him. "But you're a girl! I'm not getting rescued by a girl. They can't be lifeguards," the man shouts. "Well mate you better get on if you if don't want to float out to New Zealand," I tell him. He scowls and gets on the board nearly kicking me in the stomach. I bet that was on purpose. I pull him back and paddle him back to shore. We catch a wave and get off the rescue board. "Why's she a lifeguard? Girls can't be lifeguards," the man yells at Deano. "Mate leave her alone. She's one of the best in the service. Girls can absolutely be lifeguards and if you don't like that, go somewhere else," Deano stands up for me. The man's face gets red. "What a disgrace," he mutters walking up the beach. I dry myself off with a towel. "Well he was sure a nice bloke," I joke. "I'm sorry you had to experience that. Just know that none of that is true. Don't let Mr. Grumpy Pants ruin your day," Deano says giving me a hug. "Thanks Deano," I reply hugging him back.
"Jennifer, go ahead and take your lunch break," Hoppo radios. "Okay," I radio back. I walk back to the tower. "I'm so sorry that happened to you, Jennifer. If he bothers you again, we'll kick him off the beach," Tom says. "Thanks. I'm surprised something like this hasn't happened to me before this," I replied. "Thankfully most people are decent down here," Hoppo states. There's a knock at the tower. "I'll get it," I tell Hoppo. I jog to the door and open it. "Hey babe," Josh says holding a bag. "Josh, how did you know I was going to be here?" I smile. "Lucky guess. I brought you fish and chips from Speedos Café," he answers. "Thank you so much! Today's not been my day," I sigh taking my food. "It just got a lot better," Josh replies kissing my lips. I smile and kiss him back. "I have to go have lunch, but could you exercise Jewel for me? I'm here all day," I say. "Of course, babe," he replies. I go to the break room and enjoy my fish and chips.
The rest of the day is pretty laid back considering how many people were on the beach. "The lifeguard service is closing for the day. We advise that you leave the water and come back tomorrow. If you do go in the water, stay close to shore. Have a good night," Chappo says on the megaphone. Harries and I take down the flags. The equipment gets put away. I sit down on the sand at the southern end of Bondi. "Aren't you heading home?" Hoppo asks. "I will in a bit. I want to relax here for a bit," I answer. "Alright. See you tomorrow," he says walking away. By this point, the beach is empty. I do some relaxation to clear my head of the nightmare lingering in the back of my head. "Well look at you Miss lifeguard," a man says from behind me. I turn around to find the man who said that girls can't be lifeguards. "What do you want?" I scowl. He smiles creepily. "Payback," he whispers. My heart jumps to my throat. The man slaps me across the face causing me to bleed. He kicks my legs and stomach. I shout in pain. The man puts a knife to my throat. "Don't you dare scream," he commands. I nod with tears flowing down my face. He punches my shoulders. I bite my tongue to not cry out in pain. I whimper in fear. "The boys aren't here to protect you now," the man says with a grin. He injects something into my veins and everything goes black.
Chappo's POV
Deano and I are leaving the Bucket List when we see a figure laying alone on the sand. "Let's go check it out," Deano says. We walk briskly down the beach. The figure becomes clearer. "It's Angel," I gasp sprinting towards her. As we approach her, my heart sinks. She has bruises on her legs, stomach, shoulders, and face. Worst of all, her lifeguard bikini bottom is around her ankles and she's bleeding between the legs. "Jennifer, are you alright?" I ask her shaking her gently. Her eyes remain shut. I check for a pulse. "She has a strong pulse and she's breathing," I state. Deano sits down beside me. "Wake up sweetie," he says. Anger floods my veins that someone assaulted and raped her. "Oye there's a syringe next to her," Deano exclaims. "Oh mate, this is awful. Should we take her to the hospital ourselves or get an ambulance?" I ask. "Let's get an ambo. I'll call a few of the boys and Bisho," he says. I call Hoppo, Harries, Kerrbox, and Bisho while Deano calls for an ambo. Everyone except Bisho answers and races down to help us. Hoppo covers her bottom half with a towel. "I can't believe someone would do this to her," Harries says. "It's absolutely horrible," Kerrbox sighs. The paramedics arrive. "Hello, what happened here?" a woman asks. "We weren't there, but it looks like she's been assaulted, raped, and injected with something," Hoppo says. One of the paramedics packages the syringe and Jennifer's bikini bottom. "How long has she been unconscious for?" the male paramedic asks. "At least ten minutes," Deano answers. We help the paramedics put Jennifer on a spinal board just in case and they put an oxygen mask on her. We carry her up to the ambulance. I go with Angel in the ambulance and the boys follow us in their cars.
At the hospital, the doctors are quick to take Jennifer away. Harries, Hoppo, Deano, Kerrbox, and I wait anxiously in the waiting room. "What a rough day for her. She had a bad nightmare and now this nightmare," I say quietly. The boys look a bit confused. "What bad nightmare?" Kerrbox asks. "She had a nightmare where she died. She told me before we started for the day," I answer. "She didn't seem quite herself today. That explains it," Deano says. "I wish I would have known not to leave her there alone," Hoppo sighs. "Thank god you and Deano found her," Kerrbox states. A doctor comes to the waiting room. "Family of Jennifer," she calls. We immediately stand up and follow her to a room. "Is she alright?" Deano asks. The doctor takes a breath. "She is pretty bruised up. Our drug test confirms that she was injected with a sedative which was likely administered before she was raped. She'll need to be tested for transmitted infections in a few weeks since it is too early to know at the moment. There is a risk of pregnancy, so we can provide her with emergency contraception when she wakes up. We recommend having a rape kit completed, but we need the patient's consent for that first. She should be waking up soon. She'll be very drowsy and confused," the doctor informs and leads us to her room. Jennifer is covered in bruises, but she looks so peaceful. She's going to wake up to an awful nightmare.
Jennifer's POV
My eyes crack open slightly. Everything is blurry, but I'm in a white room. I see five figures. "Hey Angel. You're okay. You're being looked after," Deano says. "What? Where am I?" I ask confused. "You're in the hospital," Harries answers. I'm even more confused. "What am I doing there?" I ask. The boys exchange looks. "Deano and I found you bruised up on the beach. You were assaulted and raped," Chappo says shakily. My heart drops to my stomach. Tears fill my eyes. "It was that guy who insulted me," I cried. Hoppo holds me close. At first, I flinch at his touch before relaxing into his embrace. "We'll make sure the police take care of him," Kerrbox says. The doctor walks into the room. "Hello Jennifer. It's good to see you awake. My name is Dr. Anderson. Do you know why you are here?" she asks. I nod. "I know I was assaulted, but the boys said I was also raped," I force the word out of my mouth. "Yes, unfortunately that did happen. We can recommend counseling resources for you. Our main focus right now is on your physical health. You will need to be tested for sexually transmitted infections in a few weeks. We recommend having a rape kit completed for police evidence. We can offer you emergency contraception if you would like," Dr. Anderson says. I feel overwhelmed. "I think it would be best to have the kit completed and to get the emergency contraception," I ponder. "We can do both for you right now. Gentlemen, please step outside," Dr. Anderson commands. The boys stand up from their chairs. "We'll be right back when it's over," Harries says squeezing my hand gently.
A few minutes later, two sexual assault nurse examiners enter the room with the rape kit. "Hello Jennifer. My name is Michelle and my partner's name is Andrea. We'll be collecting evidence for the police. We know that you have been through a horrible experience, so we will try to make this as comfortable as possible," Michelle says. "Thank you," I smile weakly. The nurses clean up my scratches, ask me information about my health and what happened, do an exam, and collect samples for the kit. The nurses are lovely about holding my hand and reassuring me when I start crying. The exam takes a few hours. A police officer gathers a statement from me. I set up an appointment for my testing. "We'll send this off to the police and they will be in contact with you. Here is your emergency contraception pill. It has a very high effectiveness rating, but there is still a slight chance it can fail. If your period is late or if you feel any symptoms, please take a pregnancy test or go to the doctor immediately," Michelle tells me. I nod and take the pill. I can't believe this is happening. "You can leave in an hour. We just have to make sure the pill stays down," Andrea says. "Would you like you visitors back?" Michelle asks. "Yes please," I answer. "I'll go get them. They seem really great," she replies. I smile. Moments later, the boys rush into the room. "How are you sweetie?" Deano asks. I shrug my shoulders. "Probably in shock. I can't believe this is happening," I look down at my hands. "We're so sorry that happened to you. We'll do whatever we can to help you," Kerrbox says. "Thanks. Thank you Chappo and Deano for finding me," I smile softly. "Of course. We're just sorry we didn't get there sooner," Chappo frowns. "You couldn't have known. I sure didn't," I shiver. Hoppo puts a blanket around my shoulders and the boys help keep me calm.
"Alright Jennifer, you're free to leave. Here are some resources for you. We'll see you for your testing in a few weeks," Dr. Anderson says giving me a brochure. I change into a new lifeguard uniform Hoppo got me from the tower while my exam was being completed and we walk to the parking lot. "I wonder why Bisho hasn't answered yet," Kerrbox ponders. "He's on a date with Vanessa tonight," I inform. "I wouldn't want to leave you alone at home after this. Do you want to stay at my apartment tonight?" Chappo asks. "That would be great. I don't want to be alone any time soon," I answer. The rest of the boys hug me and Chappo and I drive back to his apartment.
Chappo turns on the lights as we walk in. "Can I shower? I feel really dirty and gross," I state. "Of course," he replies. Chappo tosses me a towel. "Can you let Bisho know where I am?" I ask. "Sure," he answers. I take a nice warm shower to cleanse my body and mind after what happened. I change back into my lifeguard sweatshirt and sweatpants. I find Chappo eating waffles in the kitchen. "Want some?" he asks with a mouth full of waffles. "Sure," I laugh. We eat our late night snack. "I can sleep on the couch," I tell Chappo. "I can't let you do that. Take my bed," Chappo insists. "Actually can you stay with me? I don't want to be alone," I tear up. "Hey it's okay. I'm not going anywhere," he promises wrapping me in a tight hug. We climb into bed. I fall asleep knowing Chappo is right beside me to protect me.
Hi everyone! I'm back! I'm so sorry I haven't published anything in over three years. Life has been so busy with graduating college in May 2019 and entering graduate school for mental health counseling a few months after my graduation. I can't promise regular updates because of my busy schedule, but I will work on this story whenever I get some free time. I hope you are all doing well in these crazy times.
Lots of love,
jhorses aka Jennifer