Page 32

Kate

We make it through the weekend and the last of Monday and Tuesday’s exams. I’m over it, I want to shut out the world with my man. I want to go home and see my mom. I want to forget assholes like Trevor exist.

It’s about four o’clock, and I only have three hours left of my shift. Landon and Gabe have both been in and out to check on us. Jameson is due about four-thirty, right before Melissa and I get to take our snack break. He stops in to say hi and walks around the library to make sure Trevor is nowhere to be seen. After he is satisfied, he tosses a wave and leaves.

Since last week, I’ve only gotten a few texts in regards to Landon “sharing” me. They’ve been disgusting, but at least he hasn’t full on stalked or left me anymore presents or notes. When I thought the flowers were from Landon, they were sweet. From Trevor? No. It just made me want to set them on fire.

Taking some seats in the more comfortable reading section of the library, we snack on some Cheez-it style crackers with lemonade. I totally snag some of Melissa’s sour patch kids. She’s not crazy about the green and orange ones anyways.

A smidge after six, Mel and I have to split up in order to finish our restocking duties for the night. The head librarian left us quite a few books since neither of us will be around to help for the next couple of weeks.

I push my cart into the beginning of the maze of the stacks section. This will make it visible to “wandering” couples that someone is in here working. I don’t feel like taking the whole thing with me anyways, I’ll be quicker without it. I scoop up six books and make my way past the first aisle.

Gah, I have a love/hate relationship with being back here. On one hand, the memories of Landon tossing my thigh over his shoulder and giving me a toe-curling orgasm has me smiling. On the other hand, I’ve run into one too many couples back here and ick. Or, I hear books dropping and see Trevor’s creepy smile. I decide to center on Landon and make quick work of the first four books. I’m shelving the last one deep in the maze when I feel fingers flutter over my hips. I jump. I smirk.

“Landon, shit, you scared me...” I turn into his arms, my smirk dying on my lips when I look up into cold eyes. Dark eyes. Eyes that don’t wash over me like a wave in the ocean or warm my soul on a cool crisp night as they trace my face under the stars. These eyes hold nothing but a promise of darkness.

“I finally get a moment alone with you,” Trevor whispers darkly. I open my mouth to scream, but his hand smothers any sound.

“No. Ssh, ssh, sshhhh...None of that, now. I’m just here to show you that I can do better than him.” Trevor pushes insistently, walking me backwards until my legs bump up against the very corner of books Landon plundered my body in weeks ago.

Hot tears sting my eyes, and I look around for anything I can possibly grab that could cause damage. My breasts heave, and my pulse races with fear. I don’t even know if Melissa knows I’m still back here. Damnit! I was so stupid! There’s nothing close by, and I whimper. I close my eyes, praying as his slimy tongue inches up my neck. I want to vomit at the feeling of his hard cock pressing against me. I pray for anyone to come, anyone to hear the struggle. I pray that I’m strong enough to fight or that it ends quickly if I can’t.

“Mmm...I have waited so long to taste you.” Trevor’s fingers slide under my shirt. He greedily squeezes my right breast so hard it’s painful.

I grit my teeth and scream obscenities at him, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. His eyes gleam with heated, sinister desire. He likes my struggle. Fuck... my mouth goes dry. His fingers tangle with the waistband of my jeans, and I struggle harder against him, kicking my legs whenever possible, trying to land something hard to give myself more time to think of a way out of this. He’s strong. He gets my button and zipper undone, and I cry out in anger, trying to bite him as his other fingers slip inside.

“C’mon,” he says, breathless and excited from the fight, gritting his teeth. “Spread those pretty legs for me. Let me in so I can make you feel good. I just want a little taste of what Brooks gets.”

I fight harder and clench my jaw so hard I feel like my molars could crack. My fingers finally grip the edge of a hardback and I grunt as I use all my dexterity and strength to slide the book out quietly. He thinks the grunt is encouragement and tries to slide his fingers between my folds. I twist and squeeze my thighs together, fighting to keep his fingers at bay while fixing my grip on the hardback overhead. I gasp and cry out indignantly as one finger jams into me at the same time I slam the book down hard across his face.

“ BITCH!” Trevor bellows and slaps me hard. I taste blood from the inside of my cheek, but my actions were enough to give me time and enough space to act. I scream and launch my knee up to land a blow while I use a free arm to swipe as many books from the stacks as I can. I want to make as much noise as possible. Books fall from overhead and hit hard. I feel blood running down my forehead. Shit, those are big books. Time seems to slow down. I don’t see Trevor in front of me anymore. What’s worse? I don’t see anything.

?

Landon

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

It’s six-thirty. I grab my phone to turn off my alarm to go pick up Kate from the library.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Melissa. I frown.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

My blood runs cold and I pick up. I stand, grab my keys, and run for the door.

“Melissa, what is it?”

“Landon! Landon, I heard a scream and a bunch of noise so I came looking! Kate?! Oh!” She sounds startled and breathless, I’m pretty sure she just dropped her phone. “Landon, Trevor just ran out with a bloody nose! Hurry! Kate? Kate?” She’s searching for her. In the stacks. That’s the only place she’d have to really search like that. I am pushing the speed limit as fast as I safely can while freaking the fuck out on the inside listening to hear if she’s okay.

“Kate? Oh my gosh! Kate! Kate, wake up!” She’s sobbing into the phone. “Landon, I found her. She’s hurt. Kate? Kate!” My heart lurches as I listen to her clearly shaking her to wake her up. I hear a gasp of relief on her end and take in an unsteady breath of my own.

“Hi, baby. It’s okay. It’s me, Melissa! Don’t try to move yet, you’re hurt. You’re okay. He’s gone. You did good. You made that asshole bleed. Stay awake. Landon’s coming.” I can hear Kate sobbing. They’re both crying. She sounds scared and confused. I can’t fucking stand it that I’m still minutes away.

“Landon, she’s going to be okay. I gotta call someone. You just get here safe, got it?” Bile rages up my throat, but I hold it back.

“I’m just a couple minutes out. Thanks, Mel.”

My pulse pounds in my ears as I push the speed limit even more than I already am.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK! Thirty fucking minutes! I should've gone earlier and waited!

I dial Mason over bluetooth and basically scream the details of what I just overheard. I’m sure Melissa will call Gabe. Mason says he’ll get ahold of Jameson and that they’ll be there as soon as they can.

I hang up and hit the steering wheel twice, then white knuckle that bitch until I’m tearing into the university’s parking lot. I rip my keys out and hit a dead run to the library the second my feet hit the pavement.

When I get there, Melissa is waiting by the door for me, talking to a cop. Her eyes go wide.

“Landon! This is her boyfriend!” She leaves the cop to run and grab my arm.

“Where is she? Is she okay?” I pant, grabbing at my chest from running so fast combined with the anxiety clawing at my insides.

“She’s okay. The paramedic is inside checking her over. She managed to pull out a shit ton of books to make some noise after waylaying him over the head and across the face. They knocked her out.”

The air leaves my lungs, and I burst through the doors. I need to see for myself that she’s okay. I need to hold her. I see her right away in the couch and chair area. The paramedic is cleaning her bloodied hairline, applying little bandage strips and asking her questions although I can’t hear them. A jacket is wrapped around her shoulders. A bright red mark takes up the majority of the right side of her face. Her nose is bloody. Fury surges through my body, and I almost have to empty my guts in the nearest trash can.

When she sees me, tears instantly well and splash down her cheeks. My heart aches so badly, I feel like I’m about to burst into tears myself. I have to hold it together and be strong for her. I have no idea what she had to go through for those no doubt terrifying few minutes.

I approach carefully and pull her into my arms, not caring one bit if I’m getting in the paramedic’s way.

“I tried so hard to get away.” She sobs into my neck, her hot tears soaking my shirt. I grind my molars and pray he didn’t touch her.

“I know you did, sweetheart. You fought so hard. You stopped him. I am so damn proud of you for fighting back.” I rub her back, feeling my own hot tears on my cheeks. When I eye the paramedic, she just nods and steps back, knowing we need a minute. She starts cleaning up her supplies and that makes me feel better that there isn’t more that she needs to see to on Kate’s body.

“Do I need to take her to the hospital?” I ask the paramedic, choosing my words as carefully as I can without coming straight out and asking her if Kate was raped. She looks to Kate and my whole body tenses in preparation for the worst. They both shake their heads no, and I close my eyes, releasing the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding.

“I’ll give you guys a few minutes. She’s going to have a headache if it’s just a mild concussion like I suspect. No stitches are needed for the head wound. Kate assures me she doesn’t need to go to the hospital, and that she will let you know if that changes. Tylenol only for the headaches. Tonight, wake her every couple of hours to check on her, okay? If something seems off, her pupils change, anything out of the norm, then I’d take her in. I’ll send the detective over for a statement in a few. Hang in there, Kate.” With that, the paramedic lifts her bag and walks away, leaving us in our own little bubble.

“You sure you don’t want to go get that head looked at? Any other tests? I won’t let him get away with it if he...” I grit my teeth, gently pushing the hair off her face, thumbing the smudged mascara and tear lines away. I’m still hoping her answer doesn’t change with the paramedic out of earshot.

“I stopped him before he could get that far,” she quietly stutters out, and I search her eyes, seeing only the truth. I kiss her forehead, noticing the cop making his way to us. It’s the same bastard who wouldn’t do anything for us the first time we went to him. I grit my teeth again when recognition crosses his face.

“Going to do something now?” Anger laces my voice, and he at least looks regretful.

“The only good thing about all of this is that we have both of your previous statements from a few weeks ago. I will only have to have Miss Morgan go through what happened tonight. Are you okay with Mr. Brooks staying while you walk me through that, or would you prefer him to step away?”

Kate’s eyes flutter to mine, and she looks between the cop and me with clear anxiety.

“It’s okay if you’d like me to go. Whatever you need to feel comfortable, babe.” I hope she doesn’t make me leave. She shakes her head no, and as much as I didn’t want her to push me out, I suddenly am scared to hear what actually happened.

We all sit down on the couches, the detective across from Kate with his notepad and recorder. Over the next few minutes I listen, horrified at the story as it unfolds. I seethe with anger, but just continue rubbing circles on her back even when she let him know that Trevor touched her. His pen froze and I couldn’t breathe, but he didn’t look up at her.

He was trying to give her as much dignity as he could. She was vague at first, wary eyes drifting up to him, but the officer was kind. You could tell that this unfortunately wasn’t his first time taking a statement in regards to a situation such as this. As awful as it all was, I keep telling myself that this could have ended so much worse and to keep breathing for her. She is going to need time to wrap her head around all of this.

I see the guys and Melissa over by some tables at the front waiting. Gabe is still soothing Melissa. Jameson and Mason are clearly discussing shit if their body language is any indication. They both look worried sick, and the anger is palpable.

“What are your plans for school break?” the officer asks me, breaking me from my silent thoughts. I clear my throat.

“We were going to spend a few days here at the apartment before heading back to our hometown to visit our families. I will stick close to her until this asshole’s caught.”

“That sounds good. Please do. I have both of your numbers. I will let you know when we have him, or if there are any updates. He’s going to lay low for a while, but we’ll get him. You two try to get some rest. Kate, make sure you talk to someone if things feel like they’re too much. Everything you are feeling is okay to feel. Just don’t let it all bottle up okay, hun?” She nods quietly, and he says it’s okay for us to go home. We are to let him know if we see or hear from Trevor again.

Melissa walks over with her arms crossed, and they both fall into each other’s arms, crying again.

“I told Melissa she’s done working here until they catch him,” Gabe announces as he walks up to me. I wholeheartedly agree. Mason steps in and hugs me.

“Fuck, man. I don’t know how you’re keeping it together.”

“I have to for her,” I whisper and eye my girl. The guys all nod in agreement, but you can see they’re all a mess about this too.

“When are you going back to visit your families?” Jameson asks.

“In a couple of days. We were going to stay here the whole first week, but part of me wants to pack her up right now. I know she’s going to want a couple days at least to wrap her head around all of this before going to face her mom.”

“He’ll be laying low for the next couple of days. Hopefully they’ll find him quick. He’d be pretty stupid to come after her again so soon,” Jameson adds, his thoughts mirroring the officers.

“You think he still will?” Mason’s eyes are rounded with disbelief.

“He didn’t finish what he started. I saw the last texts. Landon’s given us the gist of the others. He’s come this far already. He has taken huge risks to get close to her, and we all know how fucking obstinate he is. I think he’ll try again.”

I clench my fists, suddenly wanting to hit something so badly. Mostly Trevor’s face. He almost had her. He got his fucking fingers on her and in her. No, he’s not going to stop now that he’s had his taste. She’s fresh blood in the water, and he’s a hungry shark.