Sitting in the waiting room I grab out my phone to call everyone, they need to know what happened, they love her as much as I do. Choosing to call Brady first, I hit his number and wait for him to answer “Hey bro, enjoying your day off?” he says sarcastically “Braid’s…” I choke out down the line, “Reid. What’s happened?” he says much more serious now “It’s Becca. We had a little fight, so she ran off to think for a little while. I didn’t run after her…… why the fuck didn’t I go after her” all my fault “Reid? Just tell me bro. Is she okay?” he says more sternly, he’s going to hate me “She’s in the hospital. I found her on my doorstep. She was beaten and….and” I can’t say it, saying it makes it real “Where are you? Colchester gen?” he strangles out, I can hear him shouting to lizzie that he has to cut out “Yeh, they haven’t let me see her yet. I’m stuck in the waiting room” they rushed her through those doors with orders for me to stay put. The last thing I wanted to do was leave her, but I needed to let them help her “I’m on my way bro. Hold tight” he says before ending the call. Closing my eyes, I rest the back of my head against the wall.
She has to be okay.
I can’t live without her.
Chapter Nine
Becca
Waking up in an unfamiliar room I try to pry my eyes open, my left eye refuses and pain crawls across my forehead. Managing to open my right eye I see I’m in a hospital room, it’s so bright in here making me wince, moving my face all I feel is pain. Looking around I lift my arm to see an IV in my hand. The room is empty and quiet except the regular beep from the machine monitoring my heart rate mocking me that I’m still alive. Feeling exhausted and defeated my one open eye starts to close again. Hearing some noise at the door, I try to force my eye to open again, but it so heavy I end up giving up. Hold on…. I recognise that voice! “She’s still not awake Shez. I’m going out of my mind” he sounds so defeated “I just need to hear her voice. I need to know she’s okay” I hear him sniff and it makes my heart hurt. I’ve never known Reid to cry “She’s been through hell Reid. We need to just be with her and help her through it” Sherri tells him with a choked-up voice “Have they found them yet?” he asks her croakily “No, they’ve searched the house, apart from the……bodily fluids they found on the floor there is no trace of either of them. It’s like they never existed” she says sadly, I try so hard to hear his reply, but the darkness is dragging me under again, I have no choice but to give into it.
I wake to someone stroking my hand, the feeling is comforting and for a moment, I forget where I am. Prying open my good eye I look down at my hand to find Reid with his head laying on the bed, hand stroking mine. I bring up my thumb and stroke the side of his hand, this makes his head snap up and focus on mine, he looks at me as if he is dreaming “Beck’s! you’re awake! I’ve been waiting days for you to wake up. I’m so glad you’re okay” he says as he kisses my hand, he looks so relieved… wait... “Days? I’ve been asleep for days?” I ask my voice not sounding like my own. It can’t be, it was only yesterday I dragged my beaten body to his door. I didn’t know where else to go and I didn’t think my body would let me go much further, “Its Saturday Beck’s. you’ve been here since Tuesday” he says as he looks at me with so much sympathy. How can it be Saturday already? Hearing then the door jiggle, I clam up and squeeze Reid’s hand. He stands up to see who it is, when a man in a white coat walks in with a clipboard in his hand “Hello Becca, I’m glad to see you awake” he says in a soft tone. He stays at the other side of the room and for that I’m glad, even though I know he’s a doctor, I still don’t want him too close to me “I’m Doctor Allen, I’ve been treating you since you arrived here” he says, I don’t know how I feel about a man touching me while I was unconscious, even if he is a Doctor.
”Do you remember what happened?” he asks me which instantly brings tears to my eyes, as if I could forget what happened.
I’ll never forget.
Giving him a slight nod, he continues “Ok, so you suffered a severe concussion which is why you’ve been asleep so long. We sedated you for a few days to allow your body to heal and to make doubly sure there was no bleeding to your brain” he says while looking over his clipboard “There isn’t though is there doc?” Reid asks, still holding my hand “No, we did a CT scan to be sure but you were lucky Miss Hughes” Lucky! Lucky he says, I sure don’t feel lucky, I feel broken. “You also have several bruises to your face and ribs, but nothing is broken. I’ve contacted a councillor to talk you through some things and the rape kit results have been sent to the authorities. You sustained some minor tearing in your vagina, but it will heal on its own” he says with a sad smile. Rape… I’m a rape victim, I choke on a sob as my reality crashes down on me. He took something I wasn’t willing to give, he forced my innocence from my body while I screamed. I take my hand away from Reid’s as I cover my face with my hands, hearing that word makes me relive the whole thing, the pain I felt, the panic, it’s suffocating me.
“Babe shhhh, please don’t cry,. We will get through this, together” Reid says as he cradles my head carefully so not to hurt me “I’ll leave you two alone. Please press the buzzer if you need anything” the doctor says quietly as he leaves the room. I can’t control the sobs leaving my body, I’m feel like I’m losing control of myself. Reid gets on the little bit of space on the bed and holds me while I break down, stroking my hair, he tells me how beautiful I am while I fall apart. I cry until I have no tears left and I’m left spent, only silent sobs remain, that’s how we stay until I finally fall asleep.
Officers come in the next day to question me and get my statement. I’m thankful that they sent two women, as I probably wouldn’t be able to be around men right now, let alone talk to them. They tell me they know who the man is as he left DNA all over the house and is known to the police. They have a warrant out for him and my mum. His name is Gary Spurgeon, apparently this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this. He’s been in prison before but was released on good behaviour. He’s on the register and is meant to see a parole officer, but he’s gone missing since he attacked me. They leave with assurances that they are doing all they can to find him. Reid sits with me holding my hand in a death grip the whole time. I’m rooting myself to him at the moment, he’s the only reason I’m holding it together enough to get through the questions, having to relive every moment of what happened to the police was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Reid was tense the whole time and at certain parts he got up and paced around while trying not to rip his hair out, It’s only a matter of time before he leaves, he won’t want me now. Before I was untouched, pure…. Now I’m sullied, dirty, not worthy of his love.
Once the police leave Reid finally lets Sherri and Brady in the room, he’s kept them away while I recover and I’m glad, they didn’t need to see me fall apart. Sherri comes bursting in and runs straight to me to gather me up in a bear hug “Oh god, I’ve been so worried about you” she says as she starts bawling, seeing her cry makes my tears fall. I grunt in pain as she squeezes me “Sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just missed you so much and someone wouldn’t let me see you” she’s says while she glares daggers at Reid, He lounges in the chair next to me, not taking his eyes off my face “Hey babe, you didn’t half give us a scare” Brady says as he moves to the other side of my bed to hug me, a lot gentler than Sherri did “Hey guys, I’m okay, just looking forward to getting out of here” I tell them. I was a little worried when Reid told me Brady was coming with Sherri, I didn’t know how my body would react to him now. Even though my brain says he’s one of my best friends, I was worried about my involuntary reaction to him. I still haven’t allowed the male doctor to touch me, when he comes in he thankfully seems to sense this and lets the nurse check me over while he writes on his board, “I spoke to the doctor before I came in here. if all your tests come back normal he said you can come home tomorrow” she tells me while sitting on my bed “She’s coming back with me” Reid announces to the room “I
think that’s up to her Reid” Sherri huffs out, she’s majorly pissed with him right now, I turn to look at him, seeing him staring at me. I feel safe with him and if I’m going to have counselling, I’m going to need him “It’s okay Sherri. If it’s alright with you, I’ll stay with Reid for a while?” I say as I look at her “Of course babe. Stay wherever you feel comfortable, but know you are welcome back at mine any time. Mums been ringing me off the hook to get updates on how you are” she tells me with a small smile “Come on Sherri, we’ll get her some clothes and then take the rest to Reid’s” Brady says as he stands noticing I’m getting tired, “Ok, well I’ll see you tomorrow ok? And don’t think because you are at Reid’s that I won’t be coming over to annoy you” Sherri tells me with a laugh, I can see the pity in her eyes though. I’m not sure how much she knows, but she’s going to want me to tell her at some point, I just don’t know when I’ll be able to. Saying our goodbyes, they leave the room with promises to see me tomorrow. I look over at Reid who’s still lounging in the chair next to my bed “You sure it’s okay I stay with you?” I ask him. I’m not sure where we stand at the moment, the last time I spoke to him was when I found out about what Tiff did, which resulted in an argument and me leaving…. If only id stayed to hear him out, I wouldn’t be here right now “You’re not staying anywhere else, mums fine with it. I… I need you to stay with me” he says while grabbing my hand to hold it. nodding I lay my head back and close my eyes, tomorrow I get out of here…. tomorrow I move in with my ex-boyfriend…. This isn’t going to go well.
Chapter Ten
Walking into Reid’s bedroom the next day I feel almost at peace, its full of happy memories of sleep overs and stolen kisses. Reid walks past me and brings my laundry bag of clothes with him, he makes a start filling the draw he emptied for my clothes in his dresser. Grabbing my phone, I open it to see a text from Sherri.
Sherri: Hey, you there yet?
Me: Yeh just got in. It’s strange thinking I live here right now.
Sherri: As much as he’s pissed me off lately, I know he cares about you. I know you’re safe there.
Me: I do feel safe here. I just don’t know how it’s going to work. I don’t know where I stand with him.
Sherri: You’ve been through hell lately Beck’s. Just take the time to rest and we will deal with that subject later.
Me: I love you Shez
Sherri: Love you too girl, endless amounts
I love that girl, she’s right though, I’ve got enough going on in my head at the moment, without complicating it with wondering where me and Reid are heading “Hey I was going to order in for dinner, Pizza okay?” he asks after putting my clothes away “Sure, I think I have some cash in my purse” I tell him. That cash won’t last long now I can’t teach dance for a while, but at the moment, I can’t bring myself to care “I’m paying for the pizza, it was my idea” He says as he walks towards the door “I’ll let you get settled, I’ll call when the food is here” He says before leaving the room without another word. Is he regretting letting me stay here? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea
I ended up having a shower, I think I spent at least half an hour under the hot water, scrubbing myself raw. I can still feel him on my skin, it makes my stomach roll. Getting out I look up at the mirror at my naked body, the bruises are mostly faded now, but this is the first time I’ve looked at myself since it happened. A big greeny coloured bruise coats the side of my ribs where my mum kicked me, I have a black eye still, but at least I can open it now. My busted lip was glued back together in the hospital so it doesn’t look too bad. The worst part though is the bruises on my thighs…
Where he prized them open.
I try and fail to keep the tears at bay, but seeing those bruises just makes me remember, not wanting to look at them, I quickly wrap myself in a towel to conceal them. I dry through my hair with a towel and comb through the knots, reaching up to do the back I let out a small shriek when my ribs ache. Reid, hearing the noise bursts through the door “Are you okay?!” he asks, looking me over “I can’t brush the back of my hair. My ribs hurt” I tell him as I look to the ground. No doubt he doesn’t want to look at my body just as much as I don’t. Wordlessly he takes the comb from my hands and starts brushing out the knots, once he’s done he goes to the bedroom, returning with a pair of his boxers and one of his t-shirts “Here, I know you have clothes here, but I thought these would be more comfortable” he says while passing them to me “The pizza is here, so come down when you’re ready” he says before shutting the bathroom door. Looking at the clothes I realise he was right, slipping the towel off, I try not to look at my legs as I pull on the boxers and slip the t shirt over my head, luckily the tee reaches to my knees so the bruises are concealed.
Making my way downstairs I stand awkwardly in the front room while Reid clatters around in the kitchen. When he comes back in he sees me standing there, wringing my hands together, I’m feeling embarrassed and a little overwhelmed. He looks me up and down, Then heaves out a horse breath as he sits on the sofa “Come sit down” he says as he pats the spot next to him, on shaky legs I make my way over and clumsily fall onto it. Pulling off two slices he plates them and passes them to me. We eat in silence for a while, then wordlessly he starts up a movie, tucking my legs up on the sofa, I finally relax. A little while later I feel my eyes about to drift, until I feel someone pull the hem of my t-shirt down, opening my eyes I find Reid leaning across me “I can’t look at them” he chokes out, it’s then I realise my t-shirt has ridden up and you can see the bruises on my legs. He can’t stand to look at my body anymore, I feel my eyes well up “I’m going to go to bed” I say as I get up and rush for the bedroom. Throwing myself down on the bed I can’t hold the tears back, I knew this was going to happen, but knowing it didn’t make it any easier to take.
Hearing the door click open I curl up into a ball, trying to escape knowing he’s going to try and lie to me. We both know he’s not attracted to me anymore, he’s only let me stay here because he feels guilty. I feel the bed dip as Reid climbs on, he pulls my back against his chest and hugs me close to him “I didn’t say that because I hate your body like you’re probably thinking. I just can’t see what he did to you, It makes me want to go out and beat the bastard to death” he says as he kisses the back of my head “To know what happened to you, and I wasn’t there to stop it. It makes me hate myself. I should have come after you when you left, No…I shouldn’t have let you leave in the first place…it’s my fault” he chokes out. How can he think it was his fault, none of this is his fault. I turn over to look at him with wet eyes “It wasn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have left, I should have just stayed to talk things out. But I made the wrong decision and that will haunt me for the rest of my life” I tell him with a sob “I’m so sorry Beck’s, I’m sorry that this happened to you” he tells me. I knew he felt guilty, but I thought it was over how we left things, not because he still cared.
Brushing his lips over mine, a harsh breath escapes me, how can he still want me like this. How can my body want sex every again, but it does. I need to give this a try to see if I can ever have this again with Reid. if I don’t, I’m worried I’ll lose my chance.
I pull myself closer to him and put my leg over his, making him growl before pressing his lips against mine. It’s not gentle, he kisses me with passion and hunger, and I love it. He runs his hand up my leg and squeezes, catching one of my bruises I break off the kiss trying to block out the thoughts, but I start shaking “Becca? Are you okay?” he asks me brushing hair from my face “You’re shaking?” realisation dawns on him “You’re frightened…” he whispers, he presses his forehead against mine “I would never hurt you Beck’s. We can take this as slow as you need” He says giving me one last peck on the lips, he gathers me up in a hug and we both stay like that for the rest of the night.
Waking up curled in Reid’s arms is a weird experience, one I didn’t realise how much I missed. Needing my pain meds, I slowly unpeel m
yself from his arms and achingly make my way downstairs. Grabbing myself a glass of water I take two pills from the pot on the counter, standing there for a little while while they dull the ache in my head. Walking into the front room I’m startled when I see a man by the coffee table, my mouth goes dry as he looks up at me. Oh god, I don’t feel so good, I immediately start backing up, panic overtaking me “Hey, sorry I didn’t think anyone was In here. I just came to get my phone” he says showing me it in his hand, my throat closes up as he walks towards me “Hi, I’m Asher, Hayley’s boyfriend” he says as he holds his hand out to me flinching as he moves “Please” I gasp out “Don’t come closer” I say trying to take in mouthfuls of air, I feel like I’m suffocating “Oh hey, ill back off, its fine. Try and take deep breaths” he says holding his hands up in surrender as he backs away “I’ll just call up for Reid okay, take deep breaths” he says in a soothing tone. I can’t hear him though, the blood is rushing to my ears “Reid!” he shouts making me dive on the floor behind the armchair, trying to make myself as small as possible.
Break my heart (Estate Series 1) Page 7
