by Aubrey Cara
“What the hell?” He nearly stopped in his tracks, his heart jumped out of his chest when he saw her. She was balled up on her hands and knees in the gravel sobbing. He didn't think, he just wanted to comfort her and assess the damage. He went to pick her up, and she came alive screaming and punching his chest. He grabbed her hands, yelling in her face, “Kat, dammit, settled down, it's me! Kat it's me Caleb. It's okay, Kat.”
The sheer terror receded form her eyes and her lips started to tremble as her face scrunched up and she starting crying again, only this time she grabbed at him, clinging to him as if only he could save her. Between the parking lot lights and the interior light of her car he could make out the bruise forming around her left cheek, and her nose was bleeding.
As much as Caleb wanted to keep holding her in his arms he had to know what the hell happened. “Kat, look at me. Did someone attack you? Can you tell me what happened?”
She took some shaky breaths, shaking her hands out as if that would help settle her down. Some gravel shook free from her hands and he took her wrists to look at her palms. They were all scraped up and still had little pieces of rock imbedded in them. He started carefully picking out shards of gravel and asked, “Who did this to you, kitten?” He manage to ask gently when inside he was ready to tear apart whoever had done this to her.
Kat shook her head, blinking back tears and squaring her shoulders after another deep shaky breath. “It was one the assholes that got kicked out of the bar tonight. I came out and he grabbed me. Then he wouldn't let go. He was really drunk and mean and he started dragging me between the trucks, and I freaked out and started fighting. I tried to knee him, but I missed. Then he punched me.” She tentatively touched around her swollen cheek as if just remembering he had hit her. “When I fell I started digging out my keys cause I keep pepper spray on my key ring. He grabbed me from behind and I sprayed him. I'm not sure how good I got him because I took off as soon as he let go of me.” She took a shuddering breath, “My damn car wouldn't start,” she said blinking back more tears. “I thought he was coming after me, but he drove away.”
Caleb smoothed her hair out of her face, pulling her in to his embrace. That she'd let him be this close, even lay her head on his chest, was a testament to how shook up she was. Her tears had slowed down to a gentle trickle as he held her tight. Rubbing circles on her back he thought she felt terribly small and delicate in his arms. He wanted to hunt this would-be rapist down and feed him his own teeth, one at a time. Listening to him scream.
“Did you call the police?” he asked.
She shook her head, “ I was going to go back to the bar, but it was like my legs were numb.”
“You were in shock. You probably still are. Where's your cell phone?”
“I don't know. I couldn't find it this afternoon before I left for my shift.”
“It's alright. I'm going to call this in. Then let's lock up your car, and head back inside to get you cleaned up.”
Kat nodded numbly with a hollowed out look in her eyes. If he got his hands on the man who did this before the police did, Caleb would be sharing a cell with his dad. Because he was going to kill the bastard. He would do it slowly, and he instinctively knew he wouldn't feel any remorse when it was done.
*** ***
Kat felt stupid. She had calmed down considerably. They had come back in the mostly cleared out bar. Mimi had taken one look at her and taken her straight to the bathroom to help clean her up. Thankfully she hadn't seen Candice. She had nothing nice to say to her about the company she kept. Mimi had wanted to stay but Kat had insisted she go home. John had not so subtly insisted everyone else head out shortly after.
The police had asked if she had gotten the guy's license plate but she hadn't. She barely had a description of his truck. When they asked for a description of the man who had attacked her, her mind had blanked. She had a roundabout idea of his height. She remembered he was wearing a baseball cap low over his face. She couldn't remember color or logo. There had been three guys wearing hats in the group that got kicked out tonight. They all kind of looked the same to her and she lumped them all in the same category. The parking lot only had two lights and everything else was cast in shadows. She wasn't sure what color hair he had or what he was wearing, other than a t-shirt and jean jacket.
The only thing she could remember with perfect clarity was the sound of his voice. It kept playing in her head. If only she could play that for the police officers sitting across from her. Maybe then they wouldn't be giving her those pitying looks that said finding an unidentifiable man was unlikely. Charging him for anything was even less likely.
The officers pushed back from the table and stood up. “Well Ms. Martin, I'm sorry this happened,” said the officer asking all the questions. “If you remember anything else you think could be helpful, let us know.”
He handed her his card and walked out. Kat looked at it. 'Officer Donald Buckus' was scrolled across the top and his phone number was under. She put it in her purse. She stood up and was surprised to find herself a bit wobbly on her feet. John clapped a big hand on her back making her jump. Caleb placed a steadying arm around her waist and for once she was glad he was around. In truth she was glad he had been the one to find her. He had been calm and collected, and it helped Kat pull herself together.
John said, “I should'a shot those shits while I had the chance, Kat. I think everyone would understand if you wanted to take off tomorrow night. I'll get someone to cover. Why don't you go home and get some rest. McCrae, you driving her home?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You make sure she puts a steak on her cheek. It'll take the swelling down. Already looks something awful.”
It was on the tip of Kat's tongue to protest having off work tomorrow night. She needed the money, but before she could open her mouth Caleb was ushering her out the door. He had her to the passenger side of his truck before she dug in her heels. “Wait, what about my car? How am I going to get to work tomorrow?”
Caleb lifted a brow. “You're not going to work tomorrow.”
Kat could argue that point, but instead she said, “Okay, fine, but I'm still going to need my car at some point.”
Caleb opened the passenger side door to his truck and indicated she get in, but she wouldn't budge. He rolled his eyes and said, “You can drive me out to Circle F tomorrow, then take my truck. If I need to go somewhere, I'll just take one of the work trucks. I'll call my friend to come pick up your car tomorrow. He owns Coleman Automotive. I'm sure it's an easy fix like needing a new battery.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm not trusting your friend just because he's a good buddy of yours. He could be some crook for all I know. I need to call around, get some estimates. I have no idea how much this is going to cost. I'll let you drive me home. And tomorrow you can come back to my place and take me out to the Circle F, and I'll ask Diane if I can borrow a work truck. ”
“Kat?”
“What?”
“Get in the fucking truck.”
She had her arms crossed over her chest. Head held high, her nose slightly in the air. She glared at Caleb for a full minute while he just stood there holding open the door. Finally she relented and climbed in the truck, not because he told her to, but because she knew he'd just throw her in the truck when he got sick of waiting her out. And the only reason he was being patient was probably in deference to her getting attacked earlier. She called out, “You could have asked nicer,” as he shut the door in her face.
Caleb came around and climbed in behind the wheel and she told him her address. She couldn't wait to be home, even if home at the moment was her sparse apartment. It was better than Delia's studio back in Virginia, and it was all hers. She would thank Caleb for helping her out tonight, then she'd tried to forget this night ever happened.
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