There was the light, in the middle of the room. I remembered it had a bouquet of pink roses around it. I could almost see them. Then, there was Maggie, in her pale green dress. Was she laying next to me? It couldn’t be.
I must’ve been hallucinating, as I was now starting to see Eva. She seemed to be in the door. She said something, or Maggie did, then I fell asleep.
***
It must’ve been right before dawn when I woke up. I didn’t know for sure, I only had a feeling.
“5:43,” I read aloud off the clock directly facing the bed.
Then, there was the dreadful feeling that kept nagging me even before I fully awoke. I felt the strangest way. My limbs were heavy, and the headache from last night was still lingering at my temples.
“Last night!” it dawned on me and I sprung up. Immediately after getting to my feet, I thought I would collapse, but I recovered quickly and wobbled over to the table where I remembered there was a bottle of water.
I drank the whole thing in one gulp and, as I was wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, my eyes fell on the two glasses Maggie and I had drunk last night. One of them seemed to have some white residue at the bottom. It didn’t take me long to figure which one was mine.
“You bitch! You drugged me,” I growled at Maggie’s tiny frame cuddled up in bed.
“What?” she mumbled, still sleepy.
“Wake up!”
“What is it? David, you’re scaring me!”
“Stop acting. Why did you drug me? Where is Eva?”
“I didn’t...”
“Woman, don’t lie to me!”
She cowered between the pillows. I was pretty certain it wasn’t an act when I raised my hand to run it through my hair and she flinched.
“The fucking bastard.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He hit you just the same, didn’t he?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she tried to lie, and looked away.
I shook my head, starting to pace the room.
“Your brother is a bastard. That has been established. But why did you drug me? Was it him?”
She didn’t answer.
“Maggie! Was it him?”
“Yes, I’m sorry,” she mumbled between silent burst of crying.
“For fuck’s sake. Why?”
“He needed you away. And he needed Eva to see you with me.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted her alone. I’m sorry, he made me do it. I’m sorry, David.”
“He wanted her alone,” I repeated, my mind racing to find the reason behind all this. “Why would he... What did he want with her, Maggie?”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, OK?”
“What. Did. He. Want?”
“He wanted to take her away from here.”
“What? Where?”
“Our family has a cabin in the woods.”
“Show me. Now!”
“But...”
“Now!”
“He’ll kill me!”
I grabbed her wrist, despite feeling bad for terrorizing her like this, and pulled her out of bed.
“Take me to that cabin. Now!”
Maggie didn’t say anything. She just grabbed her keys and a fleece from a chair and left the room. I followed her into the sorority house parking lot and got into the passenger seat.
“How long was I out?” I asked her as she started the engine of her Mini Cooper. It must’ve been at least a few hours, because I remembered not staying too long at the party.
“You were out when Eva came to see you, so about five hours.”
“Eva saw me like this?”
I frowned, trying to remember. “So that wasn’t a dream. She really was at the door,” I thought out loud.
“Yes.”
I couldn’t bear to hear her speak anymore, it scratched my eardrums like sandpaper, so I kept quiet for a while.
“Drive faster!”
“I can’t, it’s illegal.” She was crying again.
“Stop the car.”
She obeyed without a word and we switched places. Despite my lingering grogginess, I managed to drive faster than her. She only directed me here and there, as she was the only one who knew where that cabin was.
“On the other side of the lake. Cross the bridge and make a right. The cabin is right at the edge of the water.”
I followed her instructions, then stopped the car behind a dark blue truck. I didn’t even stop the engine, I just jumped out of the car and towards the wooden cabin.
“Eva!”
The door was locked. “Do you have a key?” I asked Maggie, who was at my side. She shook her head.
“Step away,” I told her and took a step back myself. Then I leaned onto my left heel and plunged my right foot right next to the door lock. After several tries, I managed to splinter the wood enough so I could open it with my hands.
A searing pain went up my shin as I ran inside.
“The bedroom is down the hallway,” Maggie pointed. I left her crying in the living room and went in search for the bedroom.
Easy enough to find, as it was one door of only two down that hallway. I kicked in both and finally found Alex on top of Eva.
“Bastard!”
She looked weak, like she was drugged or drunk, barely fighting him off. He had the upper hand and had already ripped her dress open. When I pulled him off her, he had just hiked her skirt above her hips and was working on getting rid of her panties.
“Fucking prick!” I growled before punching him in the face. He stumbled a few feet towards the door but I wasn’t going to let him escape so I went for his shirt but missed by inches. Out of nowhere, I felt the air being sucked out of my lungs. He had sucker punched me.
“You stupid cow!” he yelled. I heard the slap and Maggie’s small scream as he ran out.
“Oh, no.”
I forced myself to a standing position and followed him.
“Call an ambulance for Eva. Stay with her!” I shouted at Maggie before bolting out the front door.
EVA
“David...” I managed to whisper coherently. “David.”
“Eva, you’re gonna be alright. I called an ambulance. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
At first, I didn’t recognize the voice, but then I saw Maggie. A wave of nausea hit me full force as I sat up.
“Lay down. The ambulance is on the way,” she said. I fought her off and stood.
“David.” I kept saying as I stumbled out of the room.
“Eva, wait! You’re not well. Come back!”
I hugged the walls all the way out. The cold seeped into my bones the minute I opened the door. It helped with the dizziness.
I half crawled a few steps, more and more disoriented.
“David! Baby, where are you?” It took me almost superhuman strength to shout, but once I started, I kept going. “David!”
I thought I heard something. “The lake!”
The dizziness and nausea held me back, but I fought it with everything I had. The noise was becoming clearer; grunts.
“David? David!”
The splash came before I saw the water swallow them. My scream pierced the night but it felt foreign to me, like somebody else’s voice.
“David!”
I tried to run towards the water, but only managed to stumble and fall on my knees at it’s edge.
“David!”
Someone turned the outside lights on, but it didn’t reach too far. I could barely see over the surface of the lake.
My lungs were burning and it felt like I was ripping my throat apart, but I didn’t stop screaming. My body fought the madness back and, after a few forces heaves, I doubled over and puked. Then I screamed again.
Nobody was around. I had to do something. I crawled closer to the water and pushed myself into it; I had to save David.
Someone grabbed me by the waist and hurled be back on the grass.
“No! Dav
id!” I protested, so confused I had trouble remembering where I was.
“It’s alright. We’ll save him,” a man said before leaving me alone. I stared at the sky for what felt like hours, in a state of complete immobilization. Then, I heard the sirens.
“Miss, can you hear me?”
The sudden crispiness of the paramedic’s voice woke me up. I couldn’t have been sleeping, I was in a sitting position, wrapped up in a blanket.
“Miss, can you hear me? Can you tell me your name?”
She shoved a light in my eyes and I blinked.
“Her name is Eva...” Maggie started to answer for me.
“Where’s David?”
“Who’s that, Miss?”
“My boyfriend. Is he alright?”
“He’s on his way to a hospital. How are you feeling?”
“Miss, can I have a moment with you?”
I looked up at the man in a police uniform and panicked. David wasn’t alright. Otherwise why would the police be here?
“Where’s David?”
“He’s being taken to a hospital, Miss. I’m officer Garrett. Miss, can you tell me what happened here?”
“I need to get her to a hospital, officer,” the paramedic argued.
“In a minute, Ma’am. Just let me have a word with her.”
“Sir, you can talk to her when...”
“I want to see David,” I intervened.
“What happened here, Miss?”
I frowned. Too many people were talking around me. Strangely enough, it was quiet, despite the deafening noise from the police officers roaming around, asking questions and looking for things in the grass.
“Can you tell me what happened, Miss? Eva?” The policeman crouched in front of me, trying to make eye contact. I looked away.
“He tried to rape me.”
“Who? Your boyfriend?”
“No! Alex.”
“Who’s Alex, Eva?”
“He’s my brother. Her ex,” Maggie explained.
“I was at the party. I saw David, he was in bed with another girl... I... I had some drinks, and Alex came. And I went with him. Why did I go with him? Oh, God...”
“What party, Eva?”
“Where’s David? Where are you taking him?” I asked on a more demanding tone.
“He’s going to a hospital, Miss. He’s...”
“What hospital? I want to see him!”
Sudden panic took over my mind and I started screaming David’s name.
“He killed him! David! I want to see David! I want to be with him!”
The policeman tried to put the blanket back on my shoulders but all I could see was Alex forcing me on the bed. I pushed officer Garrett with all my strength and when the paramedic tried to restrain me, I fought her off.
“David! Help!”
“We need to sedate her! John!” the paramedic shouted as officer Garrett grabbed my hands.
“Help! Take me to David! I need to be with David!” I screamed before I felt a sting I couldn’t quite locate. Then I puked again.
***
My knuckles had turned white from how hard I was squeezing David’s hand. I couldn’t take my eyes off his sleeping face.
“Just wanted to check everything was alright, Miss,” the nurse said from the door.
“Yes, thank you. Everything is fine.”
And it was. Everything was finally quiet.
David had been sleeping all through the morning and long after noon. He had woken up a few times, but didn’t seem able to talk or be aware of his surroundings. The doctors told me it was because of the drugs in his system.
I understood perfectly. I, myself, was still feeling weak from last night. But everything was OK, David was alive and safe.
“Hey,” I heard his voice. It was quiet, but it sounded like the loudest thing for me.
“Hey, baby. You’re awake.”
He squeezed my hand back and smiled. “Are you OK, babe?”
I nodded, tears choking my words.
“Come here, don’t cry,” he said and raised his hands for a hug. I leaned in and pressed my head against his cheek.
“What about...?”
“He’s been arrested. Everything is fine, baby. You saved me.”
He hugged me tighter and I let my weight next to him.
“I’ll never let you go,” I said to him.
“I’ll never leave you,” he replied.
We spent minutes in silence. I couldn’t stop crying.
“Hey, why are you crying now? Everything is fine, baby,” he whispered, caressing my hair.
I nodded.
“Come on, baby. What do you say — stop being so dramatic?”
I lifted my head and softly punched him in the stomach.
“Ouch!”
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“Gotcha!”
“You dick!”
“Come here and kiss me.”
I pouted, but couldn’t keep it up for long. I wanted badly to kiss him, so I did.
“I promise you, I will never leave you,” he reiterated.
I smiled bitterly. “That seems almost impossible.”
He looked me in the eyes; he understood. How could we possibly be together? Our parents were together, which meant we had to be apart.
I started crying again. I didn’t want him to see, so I looked out the window.
“You know what? I don’t care,” he said, with finality in his voice.
“You don’t?”
“It makes you cry. I hate that. And it means we can’t be together. So, yeah, I don’t care. I want to be with you.”
“I want that too, but...”
“No, you know what? I’m going to talk to my father. I’ll tell him everything. I want to be with you, I need to be with you. And I’ll make that happen.”
His conviction made me smile. “Speaking of your father, he’s going to be here any minute. He called.”
“I’ll tell him then.”
I rose from his side and walked to the window.
“You think long distance would work for us?” I asked.
“Who said anything about long distance, baby?”
“Well, I study here, and you work...”
“I can transfer here.”
I opened my mouth to argue that his career couldn’t possibly benefit from such a thing, but then a thought sprung to my mind.
“It would be easier for me to relocate. I can transfer credits easily.”
He grinned. It made me happy to make him happy. If he was willing to make such a change in his life, it was only right I was as well.
“I’d do anything for you,” I said. I wanted him to know how I felt.
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you too.”
Me standing next to the window and him in bed was too great of a distance for me, so I sat next to him again, holding his hand.
“Wouldn’t everything be perfect?” he asked. “We’d live together, and I can take care of you.”
“Hold on for a second, cowboy. First, I have to nurse you back to health, then we can talk about who’s taking care of whom.”
Laughing must’ve hurt him, as he pressed a hand on his midriff and looked like he was in pain.
“Are you OK, baby?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
I reached a hand and caressed the spot where Alex hit him. He stopped my hand and interlaced his fingers with mine. We shared a smile that spoke louder than any words.
Our moment was interrupted by the buzzing of my phone. I glanced over to the nightstand and my smile disappeared.
“What is it, baby?”
“Nothing.”
Pursuit: A Bad Boy Romance Page 31
