Page 53 of Another Love, Another Time
“Are you delusional?” I snap. “I didn’t even know who you are.” I go to dart around him, but he’s too quick. He pins me to a table and tries to cup my crotch. I bring my knee into his groin as hard as I can.
“You little bitch!” he shouts.
I think I have a second to get away, but again, he is too fast. He catches me by my hair and pulls me back. He slams my face into the table. I scream out in pain.
He brings his mouth to my ear. “I have waited all night to get you alone. I knew I would get my chance. I know you want this too; she told me you wanted this. She told me you would try to fight, but you like it rough.”
Before I can process who she is, he reaches around and squeezes my breast. Bile rises in my throat. At the same time, I try to think and stay calm. Freaking out is not going to get me out of this mess. My nose is bleeding, and I can feel my left eye swelling.
I wrestled in sixth and seventh grade, so I can try to get out of this hold. The first thing I do is swing my head back and connect it with his face. It connects, but it is not enough to get him to loosen his hold. I use a reversal stance and try to twist out. He’s at my back. My hands cover his on my waist. While I twist, I use my hands to break his grip. I get away, but he grabs me by the shoulder this time and pulls me to the ground. He quickly covers me with his body.
“Oh my god. This is going to happen. He is going to rape me,” I think, panicked.
He holds me down with his body weight and puts pressure on my chest with his forearm. He uses his other hand to lift my dress up and rip my underwear off my body.
“I can’t let this happen.” I start to scream for help. I have to fight.
He still hasn’t started on his pants. I search for anything I can grab to hit him. I don’t see anything. The only thing I can reach right now is one of my shoes that must have fallen off during the struggle.
He will have to change his position to get his pants down. I take advantage of this, grabbing my shoe and hitting him with the heel. A thought comes to me of the Converse I was going to wear, and I’m so thankful Aunt Connie talked me out of wearing them.
My memory is interrupted when his fist connects with my face. I lose the shoe. I blink away tears and the swarming darkness of my vision.
He’s readjusting himself. I can’t stop fighting. This time, I push off the ground with my legs into a bridge and twist over to the front. He responds, telling me this is his favorite position.
Both of my eyes are swelling, leaving me almost blind. He has my dress lifted up so my backside is showing. He has his pants down.
I only have one more shot before it’s over with. I pray to God for a way out of this. He moves to shove his underwear down. At the same time, I use all the strength I have to propel my body up and forward. I’m on all fours now. I lift one leg up, using my foot to stand and twist away from him.
I get away from him, and I scream for my life. I’m at the door.
His pants are down to his ankles, so he is having a hard time getting to me now. I don’t waste any time looking back. I shove the door open.
I scream again and run as fast as I can. I get a short way down the hall before I trip.
He’s right behind me. He grabs my ankle and starts to drag me back into the room, but I continue to scream for help.
A blur moves down the hallway. I scream louder. A few people are heading in my direction, yelling, “What’s going on?”
The guy drops my ankle, and he’s gone. The hallway lights brighten. Something drapes over me, covering me up. My eyes are swollen shut now. My head is pounding. Blood still steams from my nose.
I’m sobbing now. All I think is, “He didn’t rape me. He didn’t fucking rape me.” I was lucky. I don’t know how long I lay there. I’m shaking. I know my body is in shock.
The crowd moves to the side to let the paramedics in. Someone must have called 911, or they must have been on-site.
I hear Auggie say my name. He falls to my side; I hear him crying too. The paramedics try to get him to stay back, but he doesn’t back down. He goes to grab my hand, and I pull away with all the strength I have left.
“River, let me help you,” he says.
The paramedics have me on the board and are lifting me. I turn to Auggie, and in a steady voice, I murmur, “I needed you, Auggie. I needed you, and you weren’t there.”
Then, the paramedics transfer me to the stretcher and roll me away with Auggie chasing after me. “I’m sorry, Riv! I’m so sorry! Who did this?”
We make it to the ambulance, and he tries to get in with us. “Riv, I’m going,” he says sternly.
The paramedic asks if I want him to go, and I shake my head. I had put all my trust in Auggie, that he would keep me safe, and he failed me. I don’t tell him I saw him with Melissa. I don’t know if I can ever forgive him for this.
They push him back and shut the door. Then, we are speeding towards the hospital. I close my eyes and thank God that he didn’t rape me.
