Page 58 of Consumed By You

A hand covers my mouth. Sweaty palms grab ahold of my legs hard, pushing them apart, and I fight to close them but I can’t. They’re too strong. I raise my knee and push it straight into the groin of the guy in front of me. He grunts and a set of hands leaves my body. I remember from my defense class that the neck is one of the best places to hit someone. I try to see through the darkness but can’t locate an exact spot to hit. They’re moving too much.

“Don’t move unless you want to get cut,” one of them warns, and I cry out when I feel something pull at my bra. A blade slices through the fabric and the material breaks open from the front.

“I suggest you back away from the girl…now.” The hands on my body still and I sob with relief when I recognize the voice.

“There are guns pointed at every single one of you. Make one move except putting your hands behind your head and you’re all fucking dead.”

The hands leave my body. The bony fingers free my mouth and I fall to the ground as my legs give out, gasping for breath I don’t have.

A flashlight shines on the drunk men. One of them already had their jeans pulled down. I watch deliriously as Dimitri and another man handcuffs them one by one.

“If one of you moves a goddamn finger, you’re dead. Don’t fuck with me!” Dimitri snarls, bending down in front of me.

“Darcy, come on, sweetheart,” he says, taking my arms. “We need to get you to the hospital.”

I can barely stand. My legs are shaking uncontrollably. He must realize my struggle because he scoops me up into his arms, carrying me out of the alleyway to the car.

He sets me down in the back seat and shrugs out of his jacket, covering my bare chest. “You’re okay. We’ll be at the hospital in a couple of minutes.”

He shuts the door and my body trembles harder at the realization I’m not going to die.

The tears have stopped by the time Dimitri opens the door again, but my body is still convulsing with shock.

“Hold the jacket.” He lifts me as if I don’t weigh a thing. I try to move my hands but they don’t obey.

“I-I can’t,” I stutter, blackness blurring my vision.

***

“Darcy?”

My eyes blink open, adjusting to the bright lights. There is a woman above me. Her hair is the brightest red I’ve ever seen. “I’m Nancy. You’re in the hospital. I’m a physician.”

I look around the room frantically, searching for Dimitri.

“You passed out.”

“For how long?” I say hoarsely, sitting up.

“Not long. The man you came in with is in the waiting room talking to police.” She places a hand on my forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” I tilt my head away from her touch. “I want to go home.”

“You’ll be able to leave soon, I promise. Do you understand what’s happened, Darcy?”

I can still feel their hands on me. “Yes.”

“I know this may be hard, but I need you to explain to me what happened if you can.”

I shake my head, panic washing over me like a infecting poison. “I can’t yet. I can’t.”

“Okay, just tell me if you were penetrated,” she replies calmly. “We need to know if we have to perform tests.”

“No. I wasn’t.”

I need to get out of here.

“You’re positive?”