Page 5 of Bleed for Me

After they left, she grabbed a bag off one of the chairs. I didn’t remember seeing her with it when she came in, so she must have brought it while I was asleep sometime. I’d been in and out of consciousness since arriving here.

Alex grabbed my right arm, hesitation flashing across his face. “Do you need help up?” he asked.

“Please.”

I was far too weak to attempt it on my own. Alex wasn’t very lean or muscular, so if something did happen and I lost my balance, it was unlikely he’d be able to catch me anyways, but it still offered some support. His fingertips pressed into my bicep as he helped pull me into a sitting position. My abdomen throbbed lightly, but for once, it was much more bearable. The stitches tugged at the skin surrounding my wound, and while it was uncomfortable, that didn’t hurt much either. Either I was healing nicely, or the pain meds were doing a hell of a job.

Positioning my legs over the edge of my bed, I allowed him to pull me to my feet. My knees wobbled slightly from their lack of use and my arm snapped out in search of the nearest object I could hold onto, which just so happened to be the bed.

Taking slow, steady breaths, I worked to calm my racing heart to the best of my abilities. When I considered myself calm enough, I crossed the room at a snail’s pace with Alex clinging to my arm, doing his best to guide me.

My mom met us halfway, setting the bag down on the floor by our feet. Hesitation filtered through me and a blush crept up my neck. Alex had never seen me undressed before. He was a Christian and believed in waiting for marriage—that the wait would be worth it. I agreed with him, being in no hurry to lose my virginity anyway. I’d grown a love for church and for the community. Everyone seemed too nice, aside from the judgmental ones I’d catch whispering about other women within the building from time to time, but for the most part, everyone was genuinely kind.

Alex must have sensed my hesitation, because he swept his free hand along my back in a comforting notion. “It’s okay,” he assured me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nodded. My mom took up the spot in front of me. Her gaze moved to Alex. “Would you mind untying her gown?”

To my surprise, he didn’t even hesitate. His hand moved to my exposed back, nervous energy fluttering through me from the simple touch alone. Even that felt intimate to me. I leaned my weight against him as his fingers worked on untying the gown. Finally, it fell from my body, leaving me in only my bra and underwear.

Mom handed me a shirt that I tugged on over my head, the pain pulsing through my stomach intensifying slightly. Next, was a pair of athletic shorts and then my tennis shoes. Hergaze swept over me assessing; pity shining through her blue, bloodshot eyes.

“This is for the best,” she said softly, moving her hand to cradle my face. A sheen of unshed tears coated her eyes, making my chest clench. I blamed her for what Gentry did. She knew he was out of control and that he was violent, especially when he drank. She subjected us to his abuse on numerous occasions. She had to have known that it would only get worse with time.

If there was anything that psychology class taught me, it was that most abusers would never take accountability for their actions. Most of them didn’t even see themselves as abusers, often thinking that their victim was the one in the wrong within their warped sense of reality. They seldomly changed for the better.

Mom dropped her hand to her side and shot me one last fake smile. She didn’t need to pretend with me though. In her eyes,Iwas to blame. She turned to the door and opened it a crack, letting the police know that I was decent and ready for them to drag me off to jail, or worse…prison. I didn’t want to think about any of that right now.

Alex moved to stand in front of me, his bright blonde hair slicked back, giving him that preppy-boy appearance that had grown on me over time. His light blue eyes sparkled with sympathy.

“I love you, Rosie. We’ll see you soon. Promise.”

Emotions welled up inside me and I nodded, stepping forward and wrapping my arms around him. He hugged me back instantly, his chin resting on the top of my head. “Love you, too,” I murmured.

“I’ll drop some more clothes off for you later today,” Mom chimed in, breaking the moment.

This confused me further. Why would I need more clothes if I was being hauled off to jail or prison? The question wason the tip of my tongue, but before I could utter it, one of the policemen started winding my arms behind my back, and cuffed them together.

The cop by the door looked at my mother. “I’m sure they’ll give you a call once she’s all checked in and fill you in on visitations and whatnot,” he assured her with a softer expression than the one he graced me with.

My mom nodded, wiping her nose with the palm of her hand before sniffling and returning her attention to me.

I said my goodbyes to Alex one last time before I was being ushered out of the room. A feeling of unease settled inside my stomach as we navigated down the hallway, fear of what was to come spiking through me.

The cops spoke amongst one another, but I tuned them out, too lost in my own thoughts to even care about what they were saying. It felt like my life was crashing down all around me. Hell, it felt like my life wasover.

When we got outside, they helped me into the back seat of the cruiser before taking their spots up front, and then we were off.

Trees blurred by, taunting me with their freedom and it made me feel even that much worse. What would the ladies at church say once they knew I’d been arrested formurder? Would they make Alex an outcast as they’d done to so many others before us? I didn’t want to think about that, either.

As screwed up as my situation was, it did feel nice to be in a car again after being chained to the bed for so long. The sun was bright, shining over us and bleeding its light into the car. The luminosity of it had me wincing slightly, but I enjoyed that, too.

“Did you see that doctor?” The cop with the black hair asked, referring to Dr. Tanner, I was sure.

The other cop, the one behind the wheel, released a laugh. “The one with the big rack? Yeah, I saw her.”

I rolled my eyes, settling into my seat in an attempt to get comfortable. Alex never talked about women like that. Maybe I’d gotten lucky in the boyfriend department after all.

As we reached the edge of town, my eyes grew heavy. It had taken a lot of energy just to get out of bed, and then to get dressed on top of that. Hopefully the ride didn’t take much longer, then again, I kind of hoped it did.

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