by Kay Manis
He smiled, his teeth stained brown. I could smell his putrid breath as he spoke. “We’ll be together. Forever.”
I fought against his hold, beating any part of him I could reach.
He laughed. “I like a girl who fights.”
“No!” I screamed, my head twisting as I searched for someone, anyone to help me.
“Rory!” I shouted. “Rory!”
He glanced over his shoulder, unaffected by my attack. “Bye, Hindley.” He smiled and waved as if nothing were going amiss.
I watched helplessly as he and Geneva slipped out of the door, along with everyone else I loved. The door slammed shut with an ominous thud.
Donald Lee Westbank shoved my chair across the small room and into a corner.
I screamed until my throat was raw as I fought against him with all my might. This time I would not lay back and do nothing. I swung at him, putting everything I had into each blow as if I were fighting for my life. This time I was.
He laughed with the same wicked rumble I recognized from the tapes he’d recorded of us.
“No!” I screamed, punching his face. “No! No!”
“Hindley, wake up. Hindley.”
I flailed about, kicking and swinging, trying to save myself from this mad man’s attack.
“Hindley, stop!”
I quit fighting, recognizing a new voice, a safe voice.
Dana.
Oh, thank God, she’d come back to save me.
I shot straight up, willing my eyes to open but afraid of what I might find. What if it was a trick? What if Donald’s voice now sounded like my best friend’s?
“Hindley. It’s me, Dana. You’re safe. You’re in my house, you’re safe.”
My lids fluttered open and I focused on the face staring back at me, one riddled with pain and worry, all because of me. I reached out and drew her into my embrace, clutching her body to mine like the lifeline she was.
“It’s okay,” she said, stroking my back.
“Oh, God, Dana,” I cried. “It was awful.”
Dana pushed me away to survey the damage as she softly and lovingly brushed away pieces of drenched hair from my face.
I felt mildly better, until I saw the fear in her eyes. “What? What is it?” I asked.
“Your parents. They’re here.”
“Here? As in, your condo?”
She nodded.
“Why?” As soon as I’d asked the question, I wish I hadn’t. “What is it, Dana?” I whispered.
“They’re down in the lobby. I haven’t let them up yet. Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll go down and bring them up so they can talk to you?”
“Dana, what’s going on?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I don’t think it’s good.”
“Oh my God, Dana, what is it?”
She shrugged, feigning innocence, but experience told me she knew exactly why they were here. She was waiting for them to deliver the bad news so she wouldn’t have to.
“Come on.” She hauled me off the sofa. “So,” she nodded at the television that was still on but thankfully not filled with Rory’s face, “a little late night with Paloma, huh?”
I hung my head to avoid her question, and realized I was still wearing the same clothes I’d had on yesterday.
“You didn’t even change into pajamas last night?” she asked, somewhat amused with my rumpled appearance.
I smiled at her light-heartedness but I couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling burning deep in my stomach.
“Oh, well, come on,” she said. “You look fine.”
It was a lie. I was a mess. I always was after a nightmare about Donald Lee Westbank. But I didn’t have time to care this morning. I had to find out what was going on with my parents.
“Go brush your teeth and hair and I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“What time is it?” I rubbed my eyes.
“Almost twelve-thirty.”
“Are you serious? Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
“I knew you needed the rest.” She walked toward the front door. At the edge of the living room, she glanced back at me, motioning to go get ready.
“Dana, you know, don’t you?”
She avoided my gaze, but I saw the slight movement of her head in acknowledgment.
“Will you come back up with them, to be with me while they’re here?” I pleaded.
“Oh, Hindley, why would you ever have to ask me that?” She rushed toward me, wrapping me in her small arms. She pulled back and stared up at me. Her normally sea blue eyes were bloodshot today and filled with tears. This was going to be bad, very bad, and I had to prepare myself.
“Did he get out?” I whispered. Donald wasn’t up for parole for several more years, but after my nightmare, I knew it may be a foretelling of things to come.
“Just go get ready.” Dana pushed me toward the hallway. She was refusing to be the bearer of bad news and I couldn’t say I blamed her.
Chapter 37
-HINDLEY-
When I returned to the living room, Paul was pacing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked downtown Austin. One hand gripped the back of his neck, the other was clenched by his side.
My mother sat on the large sofa, her head in her hands as her shoulders shook.
Shit. This was really bad.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Their heads turned and they stared at me, eyes wide, and worried.
My mother stood and raced toward me, yanking me into a tight embrace. “Oh, God, Hindley,” she moaned.
Before I could ask anymore questions, Paul was on top of us, his arms wrapped around both me and my mother.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my breathing labored from the pressure of their embrace. “Did someone die?”
They both backed away, shaking their heads, neither one returning my gaze.
“Just tell me already,” I said. “I’m sick with worry.”
“Sit.” Paul extended his hand toward the sofa.
“I think I’d rather stand.”
Paul returned to the window, staring out aimlessly as Dana came to stand beside me. She wrapped a supportive arm around my waist and tugged tight. I knew in that moment that what they had to tell me could very well destroy me.
“Paul,” I whispered.
He turned to face me, his expression weary and forlorn. “You may have heard that the authorities believe Rory was drugged the night he berated you.”
I nodded. “Yes. And?”
“The police suspected someone within the hotel, an employee.”
“Yes, I know already. Dana told me.”
“It was Rohypnol,” he said.
“I know that too.”
My mother’s head jerked up and she stared at me. “You do?”
I nodded.
“Rohypnol has different effects on different people,” Paul said. “It’s also intensified when ingested with other drugs.”
My chest seized with pain. “Is Rory using drugs again?” If he was, then all hope for us being together again truly was lost.
“No, he’s not using drugs,” Paul said. “Not to my knowledge, anyway.”
Oh, thank God.
“But he did take the herbal supplements from Luis,” Paul continued, “and medical experts think those heightened the effect of the Rohypnol.”
“So you’re saying his actions really weren’t his own?” After watching Paloma’s show late last night, this was no surprise, but still I was thankful Paul and my mother were trying to clear Rory’s name.
“That’s right.” Paul nodded. “He was literally out of his mind that night, Hindley.”
“Why do you care? I thought you didn’t like him, that he was beneath you.”
“Why would you ever say that, Hindley?” my mother asked.
I stared down at her, surprised to see her brows furrowed in confusion.
“That night at dinner,” I said, “you went on and on about
how important college was, and—”
“That’s really what you thought?” Paul interrupted, his eyes wide, mouth turned down in a grimace.
My mother stood and placed her hands on my shoulders, her green eyes searching mine. “Oh, Hindley,” she cried, squeezing her eyes shut and pulling me in tight.
The hairs on my neck stood up. This was bad. Really bad.
“What is going on?” I said with more agitation than I’d meant. I pushed her away, needing to know the truth. “What are you guys saying?”
My mother’s eyes fluttered open, her expression softening. “What we’re saying is,” she paused and I wanted to slap the answer out of her.
“Just say it, please.”
“Rory has no recollection of the night,” she said. “He truly doesn’t remember because that’s the effect the drug has on people.”
I remembered my own experience with a similar drug Donald Lee Westbank had given me. The drug had rendered me helpless to his attacks, and wiped away any memories I might have had of the awful assaults.
“So why are you telling me all of this?” I asked. “You want me to forgive Rory, excuse his behavior?” My breathing grew shallow as I searched around the room.
My mother stepped forward. “That’s not—”
“He fucked Geneva, for God’s sake.”
My mother winced.
“Please don’t tell me you’re taking his side too.” I stormed around the sofa to the window on the opposite side of the condo.
Downtown Austin was quiet for a Saturday afternoon. The weekday buzz of the worker bees had been replaced with a handful of young, rich hipsters seeking an afternoon of music and mayhem. I envied them.
“Geneva came to us last night,” my mother said.
I turned, garnering all my inner strength. “And I care because?” I asked.
“Stan brought her to our house last night and forced her to talk to us,” Paul said, tears welling in his eyes.
“You haven’t talked to her since Miami?”
“No,” Paul said in a clipped tone.
“She tried to call, but Paul and I refused. Until yesterday.” My mother had drawn a line and for once, she appeared to be on my side.
“So what did she say?”
My mother drew in a deep breath.
“No, please. Forget it.” I waved my hand in the air. “I don’t want to hear anymore.” It was one thing to know Geneva and Rory had had sex, I didn’t need to hear the sordid details from my mother.
“It’s not like that, Hindley,” she said, walking toward me and cupping my face. “Not at all.”
I stared into her beautiful green eyes that were now filled with fear and remorse. For the first time in my life, my mother looked less than perfect. She looked…broken and destroyed. Like me.
“I love you, Hindley,” she whispered. “I’ll always love you. It’s not about taking sides, it’s about being there for one another.”
“So, let me guess.” I jerked my head from her grasp. “Geneva came over to cry on your shoulder about how she fucked my boyfriend, and you and Paul gave her the benefit of the doubt and welcomed her back with open arms.”
She shook her head, her expression blank. “No, Hindley. That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“Please, come sit down.” She motioned toward the couch.
Feeling light-headed and nauseous, I decided sitting sounded like a good idea. I fell into one of the oversized chairs, needing distance.
My mother sat down on the sofa, reaching out to take hold of my hand.
Realizing I may need her support, I didn’t fight her. Instead I clutched at her hand like a small child.
“Geneva has always been jealous of you, Hindley,” my mother said. “I thought it would fade and you two would become sisters, but as the years progressed, her loathing of you grew stronger.”
That was an understatement, I wanted to say.
She scooted closer. “I was naive, never wanting to believe Geneva could be so nasty and vindictive toward you. For that, I’m truly sorry. I thought if I just showed her enough motherly affection and love, one day she’d come around and we could all get along and be one happy family like we’d always dreamed of.”
“But?”
“But this time, she’s gone too far.”
I cocked a brow. “You think? Sleeping with my boyfriend definitely upped her game?”
“It’s worse than that, Hindley,” she said.
“How could it be worse?” I snorted. “Is she pregnant?”
“That would be impossible. Well, at least not with Rory’s baby,” she added.
“Yes, I know. Rory’s quite the little Boy Scout when it comes to contraception. Always prepared.” I laughed sarcastically.
“They never had sex, Hindley,” she said quietly.
My head lurched back and I stared at her like she had two heads. “Of course they had sex. I saw them.”
“You didn’t actually see them,” she said.
“I didn’t have to. Their clothes were scattered everywhere and they were nearly naked when I walked in.”
“That’s why Geneva came over last night,” she said, ignoring my statement.
“Why?”
“To tell us.”
I jerked my hand from hers. “And let me guess, you believed her over me? Even though you know she’s a lying, manipulative little bitch, you’re still taking her side.”
My mother folded her hands in her lap, watching me with eyes filled with sorrow.
I sat back into the chair, deciding to play along. I’d never seen that look on my mother’s face before. “So, what happened?”
My mother stared down at her lap, toying with the hem of her shirt. “Geneva was the one who provided the drugs to the hotel employee with instructions to give it to Rory.”
What the—
I blew out a heavy breath, unable to process what my mother had just said. I knew she was evil but this went beyond anything I ever thought she was capable of.
“She knew Rory didn’t drink and she wanted to seduce him,” my mother said. “Apparently, he’d brushed off her advances several times that day and it pissed her off. She’s used to getting any man she wants, especially if that man wants you.” She lifted her head and stared at me. “When Rory denied her, her hatred for you escalated, and she put her plan into motion.”
This could not be happening. This couldn’t be true. Not even Geneva could be this malicious, could she?
“She thought if she gave him the drug, he’d have no choice but to sleep with her,” my mother continued. “She bribed the boy from the hotel with money to have him put the drug in Rory’s pudding. Then she said she gave the boy more money to let her into Rory’s room. She was waiting for Rory when he got back from his tirade with you.” My mother’s chin quivered.
I glanced over at Paul. He was gripping the glass wall with both hands, his head hung low, shoulders slumped. I’d never seen him look so devastated.
My mother swallowed hard, steeling herself. “She said Rory didn’t even know she was in the room when he came in and stripped down in the entryway. She tried to get his attention but he brushed by her, making a beeline to the bedroom. She tried to stop him, putting herself between him and the bedroom door. Apparently, she was totally nude.”
A hiccup of a sob echoed in the room. I stared over at Paul again. One hand covered his mouth as his shoulders shook.
“When Rory finally realized who she was and that she was in his room, he became belligerent, like a crazy person. She said she feared for her own safety.” My mother sat ramrod straight, all emotion from her usually animated face wiped away. There was no way she would condone Geneva’s behavior, ever again. The thought pleased me more than I realized it would.
“Shit,” I said on a heavy exhale, my head falling back onto the chair. Of all the things I thought Geneva was capable of, I’d never seen this one coming. I was too shocked to even be pissed.
&nbs
p; Since I’d caught the two of them together in Rory’s hotel room, it had never once occurred to me that he hadn’t slept with her. He was a known player of the worst kind. Of course I’d believed he’d screwed her. But now? For the first time in over two weeks, there was hope.
I raised my head and stared at my mother. “What happened next?”
“She said Rory cried and moaned about hurting you, about losing you, about pushing you away. It only pissed her off more to see how much he loved you. She said it was obvious he would never sleep with her. But, she still tried.”
Damn, the girl was brazen. Way more manipulative than I’d ever given her credit for.
“Instead, he pushed her off and told her to get out of his room before he called security. She said he went into his bedroom and locked the door, and that was the last time she saw him until he came out the next morning when you showed up.”
“So he never slept with her?” The desperation in my voice was embarrassing.
My mother shook her head.
“And he never wanted to?” I searched her face.
“He never wanted to, sweetheart. Never would.”
Could all this be true? Had Geneva told my mother and Paul the truth? Suddenly I was filled with hope.
“How could he be with anyone else, Hindley?” she asked. “He’s so in love with you.”
My mother loved Paul with everything inside her. They were soul mates. If anyone would recognize true love, it would be Caroline Hagen-Barton.
“Do you really think so, Mom? I mean, that he would never want to be with anyone else?” The idea astounded me.
“Hindley, I know so. Paul and I adore Rory. He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you. You’ve come alive since you’ve met him. He’s given you courage to be the real you. You have purpose again when you’re with him.”
My emotions were all over the map. I’d gone from depressed and desperate an hour ago to elated and euphoric.
Rory hadn’t slept with Geneva. He had been drugged and was out of his mind and really didn’t remember anything.
I had to call him. I had to see him. Now.
I jumped up from the chair, bolting for the phone.
“Wait!” Paul called out.
I stopped dead in my tracks.
