Page 46 of I Still Love You

His eyes darken with an emotion I can’t place, but I know it isn’t good. I mean, he has me barricaded against the wall. If I don’t get out of here, away from him, nothing good is going to come from the dilating of his pupils. There’s no doubt he’ll take advantage of me. I grow tense at the prospect. “I’ll never forget this happened,” he says, causing a row of nasty goosebumps to pebble along my skin. “If you won’t give me what I’ve wanted all this time, well then, Layla, I’m just going to have to take it, aren’t I?”

It’s so quiet in this little space. Virtually no noise ricochets off the walls and sneaks in. Andrew distracts me from listening for the side entrance, from noticing if anyone enters. Is there a soul beyond on the other side of this wall? Is there someone out there who could save me, yet is none the wiser? I’ve seen my fair share of women come into the E.R. with cuts on their faces and bruises on their bodies, but this puts it in perspective. What those women went through…

A fire grows in me, solid and scalding. Andrew will not take my innocence from me, damn it. I won’t let him. It’s hard to fathom assault when you’re not a victim of it. Women are prey to slimy, disgusting men like Andrew all the time. I can’t believe there are people like this who exist. My heart hurts at the notion, at the thought of innocent people being held in place by aggressors all over the world.

It’s what gives me the courage to scream. To shout at anyone who’s listening, hoping someone is. I open my mouth and appreciate the rumble in my throat. It’s shrill and comes out more like a panicked shriek than anything, causing Andrew to quickly clamp his palm over my mouth, silencing me.

His lip curls up, his eyes narrowing on me before glancing over his shoulder once. “You stupid, stupid bitch. You realize what I’m going to have to do now, don’t you?”

My eyes move away from him and toward the opening in the wall that leads out to the bright, safe hallway. If there’s anyone out there, they’ll come to my rescue in the next minute. They have to.

“Drag you into that bathroom, and you know what that means?”

NO. No, no, no!

My mind runs rampant at what he could do to me behind a locked door. There’s probably a lock on the other side of the men’s door, and no. He’s not taking me in there. He can’t.

There’s no way I’ll let him force me in there and pretend I’m a rag doll. I squirm again, tossing my weight around. I try to yank my wrists free from his grasp, try to barge my way past his heavy hips. “I am not going in there with you!”

“You bet your ass you are. Don’t you think you deserve some kind of consequence after you nearly ruined this?” His hot breath fans over my face, and it’s all I can do not to gag.

“Crystal is going to wonder where I’m at,” I tell him, heaving out breaths as my bottom lip quivers. My confidence is flying out the window as each second passes. He’s dragging down my hope, leaving me to wonder if I’ll get out of this unscathed. “You can’t do this!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make it quick.”

“No!”

I squeeze my eyes shut and start praying, begging God, the Universe, whatever higher power there is, to get me the hell out of this. Also, it’s lunch hour. Why is no one walking in through the side door for cafeteria food? God, please. I will endure whatever you want if you just get me away from this guy!

I turn my head to the side against the wall to avoid eye contact with the monster in front of me. How long have we been back here? Has it been a few minutes? More? Jesus. It feels like I’ve been stuck under his nasty paws—

A shadow dances across the shiny tiled floor. Luckily, Andrew doesn’t recognize the hope in my blink because he’s too busy lowering his mouth to my ear again. Too busy smelling my skin and running his disgusting nostril over me. There it is again. Another shadow comes and goes. I grab onto it, hoping like hell my savior is just around the corner.

Andrew whispers, and it’s the lowest, most gravelly it’s been yet. “Let’s go. Any minute, someone is going to break this up, and I’m not waiting for another chance at having you.”

A shoe comes into my line of sight at the alcove’s opening. My eyes snap skyward to the chest of the person who’s my savior, causing my heart to leap. My faith is paying off, someone is saving me, and it’ll be Andrew’s worst nightmare.

The figure lunges at Andrew, and I flatten my back against the wall, shuffling to the side. A head of brown hair and slacks looking the same color as the shoes Luke wore yesterday flash in front of me, and oh my God.

“Luke!” I screech, but he’s already throwing Andrew up against the wall opposite. The monster’s body smacks against it like a ragdoll. He grunts. Luke pulls his fist back, driving it into Andrew’s gut. I race to Luke’s side where I’ll have the chance to look him in the eye.

“Luke!” I skate around his body quickly, grabbing the hand he throws at Andrew. Once again, I find myself up against someone who’s stronger than me, and my grip does nothing. “Luke, stop!”

When Luke turns his gaze on me, I nearly shrivel into a piece of dried fruit. His eyes dark, he burns me to a crisp in one fell swoop. As much as I’d like to say Andrew had this coming, Luke can’t beat the shit out of him. He has too much to lose. We’re in a hospital for crying out loud!

I try to pull Luke’s hand back, but he’s another caliber of strong. Stronger than Andrew, even, and it’s no use. My nails scrape down his arm and leave a trail as I frantically try to peel him away.

“Layla, get the hell out of here. Go find security. A doctor, too, because there might not be much left of him by the time they get here.”

I’m practically hanging off Luke’s arm, my face etched with worry and my eyes distraught. “No. You need to stop. You can’t do this, Luke.”

Luke’s face twists. “He was holding you up against the wall.” His eyes turn to slits. “Was touching you. Someone is going to have to drag me off of him to stop.” Luke shifts back to Andrew, who’s doing all he can to keep his eyes open. “You hear that, buddy? I’m going to beat you to a bloody fucking pulp, so the next time you think about laying a hand on an innocent woman, you’ll think of me.”

Damn it!

I twist to run out of the alcove when Luke raises his fist again. Andrew, too stunned from the shock of Luke’s presence and getting hit, doesn’t fight back. Luke’s red-hot rage overflows into him, and it makes me fear the worst. I blink and try to focus because all I hear are Andrew’s groans and Luke’s threats, and the hall is spinning. “Help!” I scream, and thankfully, it carries to the security guard at the front entrance. “I need help!” People who are coming and going, and a patient who looks like they’re being discharged, turn their heads in my direction as I flap my arms to get their attention.

I’m terrified Luke is going to kill him. Terrified that after being assaulted by Andrew that my coworkers will have to work to revive him in our emergency department.

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