Blue Ribbon Summer

by Kelly Collins

  “Yeah, but I’m not coming home right away. My friends are at the lake, and I’m going to join them.” I waited for his standard reply.

  “You know I don’t like you hanging out at the lake. Your friends are always drinking, and someday something is going to happen down there.” I could almost see his face through the phone. His eyes would be narrowed, and his lips would be crushed in a tight line.

  “Dad, you’re going to have to let go. I’m eighteen, I’m responsible, and I’m leaving in a few months to go to college. When are you going to let me figure it out on my own?”

  There was silence on the line. “You’re right, Tills, I just worry. Have a good time, and don’t drink and drive. Actually, don’t drink at all, okay?”

  “Got it, Dad. Love you.” I hung up and took another look around the diner before I locked up for the night.

  It was a ten-minute drive to the lake. I pulled my Honda Civic between two large trucks. What was it about big trucks and men? Was it part of a Napoleon complex where everything had to be big? A girl would need a ladder to get into half of those trucks.

  It was still hot. The heat from earlier in the day had turned into a sweltering thick night. The crickets sang in a chorus, only stopping their music when my presence posed a threat. I heard the squeal of a girl’s voice and a splash. Obviously, someone was going for an unexpected swim. Sometimes people never grew up. I supposed throwing a girl in the water was the quickest way to get her to take her clothes off.

  Personally, I would rather have a man peel my clothes off one piece at a time. I closed my eyes for a moment and saw one face in my mind: that of the stranger from the diner. The thought sent chills down my spine. I’d obviously been reading too many romance novels.

  As I walked down to the beach, Rachel ran up to greet me. “Well, look who decided to show up,” she teased, dancing around me like a gypsy. The scarf she had in her hands glided over my shoulder as she flitted about. When we got to the water, I saw Tommy sitting on a log looking toward us. He raised his beer to his lips and grinned while Rachel dragged me into the fold.

  There were three new boys here tonight. I said, boys because they didn’t look old enough to grow facial hair. I didn’t know why I had such a hard time with kids my age. Maybe it was because I’d had to grow up so fast after losing my mom.

  All three jumped up to meet me. I shook hands with Jake, Brian, and Sam, thinking a little sarcastically, Eager little beavers, aren’t we?

  I sat for a while but got a bit antsy when people began to couple up and disappear, leaving Sam and me alone.

  “Do you want to go on a walk or something?” He looked around us and shrugged as if saying that we were alone anyway so what would be the harm. I looked around us too and nodded my head. It would be nice to walk a bit.

  We walked the shore and chatted. He was unsteady on his feet, which was an obvious sign that he’d had too much to drink. He’d just graduated and would be leaving to work on an oil rig in a few weeks. I listened as he told me what was going on in his life. He pulled a bottle of something out of his pocket and poured the remainder of the liquid down his throat.

  “Do you think you should drink that much?” I asked him while he swayed back and forth. “You’re already stumbling.”

  “Nah, I’m good. You know…when you walked onto the beach tonight, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, she’s beautiful.’ I’m glad we ended up together.” His hand tried to grab mine, but I was able to avoid him due to his inebriated state. His comment about being together sent up a red flag. There should have been no talk of us being together in any way, shape, or form.

  “We should get back to the rest of the group.” I looked around and realized we had walked a fair distance from where my friends were. We were in an isolated area near some private homes. A chill raced up my spine.

  “Don’t be like that. I was told that someone would show me a good time. I chose you. If you’re anything like Rachel, then we should have a great night.” He groped for me and grabbed my breast roughly. I swatted his hand away.

  My heart was in my stomach. How stupid could I be, walking away from my group with a stranger? “I’m not like Rachel at all. You have totally misread the situation.”

  In a millisecond, I was pinned on the ground. I had no idea how he took control of the situation so fast. Sam’s hips were grinding into mine, making me sink into the wet, boggy sand beneath me. His arms had me pressed solidly to the ground. He had both of my hands stretched above my head in a bruising grip. His other hand held my chin in place. His head descended, and I knew he was going to kiss me.

  This night was going to end badly for me if I couldn’t get free. I wanted to lose my virginity this summer, but not by rape. I turned my head as much as I could and let out the loudest scream possible. It didn’t last long because he twisted my head back and crushed my mouth with his. The sweet taste of whiskey entered my mouth as his tongue slipped inside my lips, making me gag. I fought with all my might, but he overpowered me with his weight and strength. I couldn’t make him budge. I felt his hardness against my thigh. The hand that held my chin reached down to unbutton my jeans. I felt the muggy air hit my flesh, and I knew what would happen next. My mind took over as the silent tears fell down my cheek. I let my head fall to the side, not wanting to have the image of his face burned into my mind as he violated me. Not like this…not like this.

  Chapter Two

  I twisted my head, trying to get his lips off of me. He rooted around in the dark looking for my mouth. My eyes were scrunched tightly together. Maybe if I didn’t see it, it wouldn’t happen. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I knew better than to put myself in a situation like this. I had let my guard down because a friend of a friend knew this boy.

  I refused to go down without a fight, so I bucked and pushed with all of my might. It was useless. It was like trying to lift a boulder off a leaf. In a last-ditch effort to free myself, I bit whatever my teeth could sink into. I heard him yell as I crunched into the flesh of his arm. I felt my spirits buoy as his body shifted upward. His body flew off mine, but he didn’t stand. He continued to sail through the air until he hit the soft mud. It made a sucking sound as he sank into the sludge by the shore.

  I struggled to sit up but could only scramble backward like a spider. I moved as far away from my attacker as I could. I pulled at my open pants to close my zipper and button. A shadow pushed past me. I saw Sam being pulled from the mud while the shadow of another stood in front of him. A fist was thrown, and Sam went down with a thud. He was not moving.

  I tried to move farther back but found myself backed up against the bark of a large tree. With nowhere to go, I cowered from the approaching shadow. Hands reached down to touch me, and I flailed about, trying to get loose.

  I swung my fists and connected once. That’s all it took for me to catch the shadow off guard. I saw an opening and ran.

  “Tilly. Stop!” The voice sounded vaguely familiar. I’d lost my bearing and had to stop to refocus. Hands touched my shoulders, and I crumbled to the ground as I succumbed to the fear. My heart sank to my stomach. This would be it because I didn’t have the energy to fight anymore.

  The hands gently turned me around and pulled me in. My face crushed up against a solid wall of muscle. I sucked in a large breath and smelled sandalwood and bergamot. I was in the arms of the stranger from the diner.

  “Tilly, I’m not going to hurt you. I came to help. I saw what he did to you. Are you okay?” His voice was soft and soothing. A hand brushed against my hair in a gentle sweep. I kept my head pressed against his chest and began to weep.

  He didn’t push me away. He pulled me closer and swept my legs into his arms. We began to move, and I didn’t even care where he took me. I felt safe in his arms even though he was a stranger.

  My tears began to subside just about the time I found myself being placed in an oversized leather chair. He moved away from me, and I took in my surroundings. I was in someone’s house, and by the looks of it, it
was a nice house. A box of tissues was shoved into my hand. I wadded up a few and wiped the tears from my eyes.

  “Where am I? Whose house is this?” I asked with a crackly voice.

  “This house belonged to Samuel Saunders.”

  The strange man’s presence now made sense: He was the next of kin to Old Man Saunders. I didn’t even know his name was Samuel. “Who is Saunders to you?” I asked, trying to make the connection.

  “He’s nobody to me.” His voice was clipped, and his tone was unfriendly. I decided I wouldn’t ask any more questions about the homeowner.

  “Thanks for rescuing me. I don’t even know your name.”

  “I’m Alexander, Alex for short. Who was that guy?” His voice was commanding, and I felt I had no option but to answer.

  “I don’t know him, he’s a friend of a friend. We got left alone at the lake, and I thought a walk might make it less uncomfortable. I was stupid and put myself at risk.”

  “You sure fucking did. He was going to rape you. If I hadn’t seen movement from the deck, he would have succeeded. I heard a scream, and it wasn’t one of passion or playfulness. I came running.”

  “Thank you.” I thought back to the moment when I knew Sam was going to assault me, and I began to cry all over again.

  “Do you want to call the police? I can give you my cell. The landline here is disconnected.” He dug in his pocket for his phone.

  “No!” I yelled. “My dad is the sheriff, and I would never hear the end of it.”

  “You can’t let that guy get away with what he was going to do to you.”

  “He didn’t get away with it. He got the pulp beat out of him by you.”

  He smiled and then looked down at his hands. His right hand was bloodied and beginning to swell. “Look at your hand. Let me see that.” I rose from the chair and took his hand in mine. His first and second knuckles were abraded, and the skin looked slightly puffy.

  “It’s fine.” He tried to pull his hand back, but I took his other hand in mine and began to lead him somewhere in the house.

  “Where’s the kitchen?” I asked as I looked around the room. He nodded his head to the right, and I led him in that direction. We entered the kitchen, and I headed straight for the sink. The water took a minute to heat up, but once I got it to a nice lukewarm temperature, I put his bloody hand under the stream of water and began to clean his wound. The sound of laughter escaped his lips. I looked up into his face and saw that he was smiling.

  “What are you laughing at? You always seem to be laughing at me.” I continued to rub his hand gently under the water. Why were his hands so warm?

  “I didn’t laugh at you, although you can be pretty funny. I’m smiling because I haven’t had anyone hold my hand or clean a boo-boo for years. I feel like a little boy right now.”

  “Do you have any Band-Aids? This could use some Neosporin and a Band-Aid. Peoples’ mouths are dirty, and you don’t want to get an infection.” As I looked into his face again, I noticed a small cut on his lip. “Oh, my God, you got hit in the face.”

  He burst out in a full laugh now. He pulled his hand from mine and walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He moved to the kitchen table, still chuckling.

  “What are you laughing at? Are you a crazy person? You’re bleeding.” I followed him to the table with a paper towel and a cup of water. I would at least try to dab the blood off his lip.

  “This cut—” He pointed to his lip, “—is courtesy of you. When I tried to see if you were all right, you began to flail your arms and landed a solid punch to my mouth.”

  I stared at him in horror. I couldn’t believe I’d punched him hard enough to draw blood. He was my rescuer, and I’d caused him bodily harm. I couldn’t do anything to my attacker, but I’d gotten Alex good.

  “I’m so sorry.” I leaned over and tried my best to clean up the small cut on his lip.

  “I’m okay, but look at you, you’re a mess.” His eyes swept over my body.

  My hands ran up to my face, and I could feel the grit of dirt on my skin. My hair was as stiff as a board and caked with dried mud. My clothes were in worse shape. My once light pink T-shirt was now a shade of murky brown I couldn’t describe. The pockets of my jeans were glued shut with whatever muck I fell into.

  “Shit, shit, shit, I can’t go home like this. My dad will wonder how I ended up like this. Can I use your bathroom to clean up?”

  “Yes, but I don’t think you’re going to be able to make it much better. You need a shower and a washing machine.” He took my hand and led me to the nearest bathroom.

  I walked into a large bathroom that had double sinks and a shower and bathtub combination. A towel hung from the towel bar. I pushed Alex out the door and asked him to wait a second. Stripping my clothes off, I opened the door and tossed them out.

  “Can you put these in the washing machine?” I yelled through the door. “I saw a laundry room off the kitchen when I was cleaning your wound.”

  “You can’t shower here. I’m a stranger.”

  Wrapped in a towel, I opened the door and peeked out to find him standing there in apparent shock.

  “If you were going to do something to me, you would have already done it. You saved me, not sullied me. I can’t go home looking like this. It’s bad enough that my wrists are already bruising up. Please throw them in the washer. I’m going to jump in your shower, and when my clothes are finished, I’ll be out of your hair. Please…” I pleaded with him.

  He looked at my clothes and then at me. He turned around without saying a word, but he took the clothes with him, so that was a good sign.

  I emerged from the shower feeling clean. It was not the mud that made me feel dirty; it was that boy Sam’s hands on me and his lips on my mouth that made me feel soiled. I shed more tears in the shower as the impact of what could have happened finally hit me. If Alex had not shown up, I would have been raped and left in the mud.

  Wrapped in a towel, I entered the living room and found myself alone. I took a few minutes to look at my surroundings. To the right were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with novels. To the left was a large fireplace surrounded by comfy leather furniture. It was a man’s room, masculine and earthy. A few books littered the coffee table. I picked one up and saw someone named Alex Saunders wrote it. Sure enough, when I turned the book over, I was greeted with a picture of Alex, my savior. I rifled through the other books and noticed that two more were written by him. Wow, he was a writer. I read the blurb on the back and saw he was likened to Stephen King. His novels were thrillers of a supernatural origin.

  I started as I heard a noise behind me. The book in my hand fell to the table, making a loud thud. I turned around and saw Alex standing behind me with a robe.

  “I thought you might need something to cover up with while your clothes are in the wash. It’s not pretty, but it’s clean.” He handed me the navy blue robe and turned back to the kitchen. I put the robe on and let the towel drop.

  “So you’re a writer. I saw a few of your books on the coffee table. Obviously, Mr. Saunders was a fan.” I walked into the kitchen where Alex was taking another beer from the refrigerator. “Did you know him? Were you related? You share his last name.”

  “Do you want one? Are you even old enough to drink?” His eyes looked intensely into mine and then slid down my body, stopping at my bare legs. He shook his head and popped the top off of his beer.

  “Yes, I do want one. No, I’m not legally old enough to drink, but I have one on occasion. I know the sheriff, so I don’t get into too much trouble,” I teased. He handed me the beer in his hand and got another one for himself. He sat at the kitchen table and motioned for me to join him. I sat carefully trying to keep the robe tightly closed, but as I sat, the bottom of the robe fell open, putting my legs from high thigh to my toes on display. I quickly pulled the fabric together. I noticed that his eyes were focused on me. His gaze darted down to my legs and then traveled back to my face.

  �
��I pulled your phone and keys from your pants pocket before I threw your stuff in the wash. Your phone has been beeping constantly.” He pushed my phone over to me. I picked it up and saw that I had several messages from Rachel.

  I pushed play and listened to the voicemails. After the third message, I typed out a quick text and pressed send.

  Me: What do you mean you called my dad and asked if I could spend the night?

  Rachel: I saw you walk away with Sam, things looked like they may turn into something more and I wanted to give you guys time. Your dad said fine, so what’s the big deal? You can stay with Sam, and I’m staying with Tommy.

  Me: Sam tried to rape me, Rachel. A man walking along the lake pulled him off of me. He saved me from an awful situation. I know it’s not your fault, but somehow Sam believed I was going to show him a good time. Where did he get that idea?

  Rachel: OMG R U OK? I had no idea. Tommy said he was a nice guy and I thought he would be perfect. I’m sorry. This was supposed to be your blue ribbon summer. Where R U?

  Me: I’m fine and I’m safe, but now I’m stuck without a place to stay the night. Stop trying to be so helpful. I don’t want your help. Some blue ribbon summer it’s turning out to be.

  Rachel: I’m sorry. I’m an awful friend.

  Me: Yes, you are. Goodnight.

  I tossed the phone across the table. I brought the beer to my mouth and drank half of it down.

  “Are you okay? I saw your fingers typing like your nails were on fire.”

  “I’m good, just more issues to deal with.” I reached for my phone and handed it to Alex. He read the text conversation and slowly set the phone down. I picked up my beer and tossed back the rest.

  “There’s another one in the refrigerator if you want one. It looks like you’ll be staying the night here. At least I won’t have to worry about you getting pulled over by your dad. Where’s your car? I’ll go get it for you.”