Page 64 of Take Me (Dark Odyssey 5)

I hope she’s okay.

Chapter Twenty-One

Lilly

The phones not working now.

When Brent threw me on the ground it cracked in my bag. The screen is completely smashed, and I could just about scroll over it to make the phone call to Louise.

My next call was going to be the police but as I was dialing the number a piece of the screen dismantled and the whole screen turned black.

As if things aren’t bad enough that had to happen too. I have no phone now and no way of contacting anybody.

I’d have to leave the apartment to get help and I don’t know if I can. I think it was Mr. Alan that came out of his apartment. I don’t know though. I was too disorientated to know who it was.

Rosie and I stayed by that door for hours just crying and holding each other.

I’m still so shaken, battered, and bruised, and in pain, but I managed to soothe Rosie to sleep about an hour ago, but even in her sleep she was whimpering.

I can’t believe she had to see that happen to me and I pray she doesn’t remember. I seem to be more concerned with that than the fact that I had a lucky escape. They didn’t rape me. It nearly happened. It very nearly happened.

It was only after I took care of Rosie that I looked at myself in the mirror and I realized I couldn’t go to work with my face beaten up, and I need to get help.

That’s when I made the call.

Now I’m not sure how I’ll get help and if I’d known the fucking phone was going to give out on me the police would have been my first call. I was just so worried about my job that I thought I was doing the right thing by calling Louise first.

Hobbling I make my way back to the bathroom and look at my face.

A tear tracks down my cheek when I see myself. I look worse. How could I look worse than earlier? Not even Miguel beat me up the way Brent did. But then Miguel beat me in a way that wouldn’t draw attention to himself. he’d mostly do it in places I could cover up. like my stomach or to my back. the first time he threw me down the stairs I cracked my chin and broke a few ribs. The little mark under my chin that Christian was looking at was from that. he wouldn’t have known the story behind the scar and thinking about it hurts me even more.

I’m so sick of men beating me.

I look at myself and I wonder what it is about me that makes people think they can hurt me so badly. Why?

Brent attacked me in front of my baby, and he would have raped me right there in front of her. The others too.

A sob escapes my lips and I start to cry again. It hurts but my heart is weeping and I’m terrified. I don’t know what the hell to do. I thought of leaving Rosie to sleep and going over to Jenny’s house, but what if I don’t make it?

Brent lives around the corner on this same floor. The guy who was holding me down lives next door. I’m right in the den like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

They could get me. They could easily get to me if they wanted to before I could make it to the elevator or the stairs.

If they attacked me and kill me, what would happen to Rosie? She’d wake and look for me and there would be no one to look after her.

I can’t allow myself to think of such things. It’s too horrible.

But am I going to do?

What is best?

What is safe?

I grab a face towel, turn on the cold water tap and soak it. I then place it over my face and lightly pat over the bruises. I tried ice earlier, but I seemed to make it worse. It hurt more.

Rosie screams out and I nearly jump out of my skin. I rush into our room and see she’s crying again.

“Mama,” she mumbles.

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