Page 77 of Back to Me

I bite the inside of my cheek, hoping it’ll distract me from what Julian is doing to me. His breaths grow heavy, and I try my best not to glance in Graham’s direction, knowing what this must be doing to him, having to sit here and watch another man touch me against my will.

“I knew Sara would be there,” he whispers, reminiscing about that night. Images of that night come to me as well, him suddenly appearing beside me at the gallery.

“I was watching you from across the room, Sara. Then you smiled. At first, I thought you were smiling at me, but when I followed your gaze and it led to him…” His fingers hook around the edge of my top, and yank it down, exposing my breasts. He turns toward Graham, taunting him as he glides his fingers over the edge of my bra and I cry out, his finger slithering across my skin like a snake. “I followed both of you as you snuck away to the storage room. I heard you, Sara. I heard you beg for more.” Gripping my breast in the palm of his hand, I sob. I sob for all of it and pray for it to end. With one hand still gripping my breast, Julian wraps his fingers around my chin again.

“I had to listen to you both that night,” he says to Graham. “Now, it’s your turn to listen to us.” Leaning down, Julian presses his mouth to mine in a panting hunger, and I gasp, feeling the full weight of his body land against mine.

I suffocate. The only remaining oxygen left in my body pushes out of me in one quick and painful rush. Just as fast as I feel Julian pressing himself on top of me, I feel him lift off of me. Before I can take in what’s going on around me, I fall to the floor, landing like a sack of flour. Beside me, my phone crashes against the hardwood, the screen bright and lit with an ongoing phone call and the numbers 9-1-1 displayed across the front.

Breathless, I look up and see a frenzy of policemen storming into our apartment. Everything moves in slow motion as I look around, searching for Graham. Three policemen pin Julian to the floor, his body thrashing against them like a fish caught on a line. He’s repeatedly yelling my name, his face pushed into the hardwood floor. Pulling his hands around his back, I listen to the sweet music of clanking metal tightening around Julian’s wrists. I never knew I could love a particular sound.

Feeling my shoulders ache and my head spin, I hear Graham’s voice and feel his hands wrap around my arms. “Sara, oh God.” Pulling me to him, he unties my wrists and wraps his arms around me, both of us collapsing to the floor. Resting my head against his chest, I silently cry, allowing the shock to overtake me.

Graham wraps his hands around my face, pulling me away from his chest. Brushing the hair sticking to my moist, damp cheeks, Graham’s eyes search mine. Staring into his, I watch as the tears spill down his beautiful face.

“Are you okay?” he asks, breathless. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Shaking my head, I keep my tear-filled eyes on him, his face turning into a washed-out vision. “I’m so sorry, Graham. I should have told you.” My voice is coarse and grates against the back of my throat.

“No,” he soothes. “Shh, it’s okay. We’re okay now.” His hands remain wrapped around my head, resting me against his chest.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “For everything.”

Pressing his lips to the top of my head, he kisses me and whispers, “Me too.”

We’re still sitting on the floor, wrapped in each other’s arms when a policeman approaches us. “Are you both okay?”

Graham nods. “Yeah, I think so.”

Pressing his lips together, the policeman sighs, his eyes bouncing between me and Graham. “The paramedics will be here any minute to make sure there are no serious injuries.” He places a gentle hand on my back. “You were lucky you called us when you did.”

He gives us a reassuring nod before he stands up and walks away, rejoining the group of police officers huddled by the front door. Julian is escorted out of our apartment in handcuffs, and the minute he passes the threshold into the hallway, I feel like I can suddenly breathe. All the oxygen is restored to the room, and I inhale a cleansing breath through my nose. I sigh with relief when it doesn’t burn on the way down.

Graham’s hands gently pull me away from him again, but he keeps his body wrapped around mine. His eyebrows furrow in confusion.

“How? When?” he mumbles.

“What?”

“When did you call the police? How did you do it?”

Pressing my palm flat against Graham’s chest, I feel his heartbeat still thrashing beneath his ribs. “My phone slid out of my pocket when he pushed me over. When he threw the letter at you, I watched it fall into the gap in the cushions and saw my phone. I pulled it out when he wasn’t looking.”

“But,” Graham shakes his head, bewildered. “But how did you call them? I didn’t even see you with your phone.”

“I remembered where the emergency call button was,” I shrug. “It’s easy once I unlock my phone.”

“You’re fucking incredible.” A small smile spreads across Graham’s lips. He smooths his thumb across my eyebrow, and for a moment, I allow myself to feel the intimate notion of his touch, but then I’m reminded of what happened between us. What happened the last time I had seen him. I’m not even sure I’m still his.

“Graham.” My voice cracks and I search his face, struggling to find the right words. “I’m…”

Shaking his head again, he keeps his eyes focused on his thumb as it gently and slowly sweeps across my skin. “Shh, it doesn’t matter,” he reassures. “None of it matters anymore.”

His eyes are wet and brimming with tears. Sliding down his cheeks, the tears blend and disappear into the blood smeared across Graham’s face. Cupping his cheek with my palm, I run my thumb along the bottom of his eye.

“Are you okay?”

Inhaling a heavy breath, his eyes search my face. I melt into him, his deep blue eyes warming every cell in my body. Unable to break my eyes away from him, I watch as his beautiful lips curl into a small smile.

“Yeah, I’m much better now.”

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