Saving Me

Alex’s POV

I laid in bed for over three hours with my eyes closed, but I just couldn’t sleep. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t shut my mind off enough to fall asleep. It had been four weeks since I had talked to Jack. Things were getting really hard without him. I missed my best friend.

Katherine was slowly getting warmer to me, but she still refused to let me see her. At least the last time we talked, she didn’t hang up on me, and for the first time she had actually said goodbye to me like a civilized human being.

Stella hadn’t tried to mess anything up since she last attempted to sleep with me. She hadn’t even called me or texted me. I was impressed.

My phone vibrated at the end of my bed, with Katherine’s name as the caller ID. It was late, almost midnight, and Katherine had never called me before.

“Kat?” I asked, shocked.

“Can I see you?” She whispered.

“Are you okay? What’s going on?” I thousand things ran through my mind, and my stomach started to hurt. Something bad was happening.

“Can I see you?” She asked again.

“You know you can. Where do you want to meet me? You can come to my house if—“

“Your house is perfect.”

I spoke frantically and gave her my address. We both clicked off quickly.
My mind was running a million different places, and none of them were good. I wanted her to be safe, and I knew she wasn’t.

I jumped out of bed, put some shorts on over my boxers, and threw on a tshirt. I couldn’t even think about my appearance, I was just so scared that she wasn’t okay, and I didn’t know what was happening. Quickly, I ran over to my kitchen and watched for her out the window.

Within minutes, she pulled into my driveway. I had never seen someone move so quickly. She turned her car off and came bursting through my front door before I could even get up to walk out to her.

Her face was red and her cheeks were wet. She was breathing really heavy to the point of where it seemed like she was wheezing.

“Kat, what’s going on?” I asked.

She jumped at my voice but didn’t say anything. I ran to her and led her to my bed so that she could lie down.

“I’m..... having.......... a panic attack,” she said in between heavy breathing.

“Do this for me,” I started. “Close your eyes and try to gradually slow down your breathing. Think of a happy place. Just breathe for me, okay? You’re going to be fine, I promise.” I grabbed her hand and watched the fear in her eyes.

She closed her eyes and started to slow her breathing. She looked so beautiful, even when she was fearful for her life. She had a thick headband covering up the bald spot on the top of her head, and her right arm was in a sling, and her left was in a purple cast that ended at her elbow. Makeup was running down her face from her eyes, and her clothes were trashed. She was wearing a black tank top and a white, lose, see through, shirt on top, which was ripped in several different areas. It looked like she wasn’t wearing a bra. She wore longer shorts with holes running from the very bottom to the top. This didn’t seem like her. This seemed like Rena.

Her breathing slowed down and she looked up at me. She spoke so small and frightened. She was almost at a whisper. “Alex, something terrifying just happened to me.”

Katherine’s POV

“RENA?” I screamed over the music. The lights were off, and there was a strobe going. I couldn’t believe how many people were there, and the place reeked of alcohol. I’d never find her.

I had convinced Rena to take me to a club one night after we had the conversation about how boring my life really was when I got off the phone with Alex. She was right. My social life was dryer than the Sahara, and I wanted to spice things up a little bit. I covered the bald spot on the top of my head with a thick headband, and threw on some of her clothes. She agreed to take me here tonight, but she warned me that I’d be on my own for the night once she got some alcohol, but she didn’t just get into some alcohol; she was on ecstasy, marijuana, cocaine, and more. She was completely fucked up, and I couldn’t find her anywhere.

I couldn’t take being in that room alone. The music was too loud, and there were way too many people that I didn’t know. I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack. I needed to find somewhere to breathe.

I fought to find an exit, but it only led to a dimly lit hallway. That was good enough for me. I threw my back against the wall and tried to breathe. I had taken a shot of whisky with Rena, but that was it. I was told that it would make me feel really good, but it only made me more scared than what I was before.

“Hey, baby,” an older man with a bushy mustache and a balding head smiled at me. He held his arms on both sides of me and got extremely close to my face. I could smell alcohol really bad on his breath.

“I think you’ve got the wrong person,” I said nervously. I could feel my stomach start to flutter nervously like something bad was about to happen.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t got the wrong person,” he cackled.

I swallowed hard and nervously tapped my feet. Suddenly, the room was warm, and I was getting terrible flashbacks. I knew what was coming. I wanted to fight back, and I wanted to push him away, but both of my arms were in casts. I was trapped.
He stared at me with eyes that screamed ‘bad intent’. He rushed forward and slammed his lips on mine.

I started to move my head side to side against the wall in attempt to get away. “Get off!” I yelled once he backed away.

“Oh, you like that, don’t you?” He smiled as he moved his hand from the wall to my hip, and reached under my tank top.

“Stop! Don’t touch me!” I pleaded softly as he touched my chest. I knew that if I were to yell, he’d take me away. There wasn’t anything I could do. He had his right knee against the left side of my body and his left hand against the right side of my body so that I couldn’t get away. I started gasping for air, and I became light headed. I was on my way to a panic attack and once I was there, he would win.

“Shhh, baby. I know you want it,” he said quietly. He ripped at my bra until it broke, and I could hear my shirt rip. He took my bra out of my shirt and threw it to the ground.

“No! No... no... no...,” I whispered. Tears ran down my cheeks, but he only continued.

His hands fluttered down to my waist and rushed to unbutton my pants.

“STOP!” I screamed, just as my pants and underwear fell to the ground. My breathing picked up and my chest started to feel numb.

“Whoa, now. Don’t be feisty girl,” he smiled and felt around my thigh.

“SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!” I screeched.

He laughed, as he touched me rapidly in between the legs. “Shhh, come on, now. No one is around. I know you enjoy this.”

I watched in horror as he ripped his pants off. This was it. I couldn’t fight it anymore. I closed my eyes and let the tears run down my cheeks. There was nothing I could do.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I heard a girl shriek.

I opened my eyes, and saw two people running towards us. One was a girl with blonde, curly hair, and pretty blue eyes. The other was a boy with short, dark hair, and brown eyes.

“Help! Please help!” I yelled as he bucked his hips against me. I yelped as my back fell against the wall and he got exactly what he wanted.

“Stop!” The boy yelled. He ran towards my rapist and punched him in the face, fast and hard.

“Ouch! What was that for, boy?” He roared, holding his face. The man took two steps back before he regained stability. I was frightened out of my mind to watch.

“Get the fuck out of here! Leave her alone!” The boy shouted.

“I’m not finished here!” The man grinned. He launched forward to throw a punch at the boy who was saving me, but he was so drunk that he missed completely.

I couldn’t watch. Logic told me to pull my pants up and run. I used my arm with the broken wrist and pulled my pants back up as quickly as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough to get away without being stopped.

“Wait!” The girl that came in with the boy called in attempt to stop me from running.

I turned to her and saw something strange in her eyes. It was like she was thirsty for something, but yet she was satisfied as it was.

“You’re done!” The boy screamed. He punched the man so hard just below his ribcage that he fell back a few steps. The man staggered back before he fell to his knees and flat on his face.

“Good job, baby,” she congratulated, “Now go get something to drink, okay? I’m just going to make sure she’s alright.”

His shirt was drenched in sweat, and he was breathing heavy. He looked me in the eyes, and nodded at his girlfriend.

Once he was out of sight, the girl took me by the shoulders and slammed me up against the wall. I couldn’t understand what was going on. If she wanted to hurt me, then why did she have her boyfriend save me? My breathing picked back up and I closed my eyes.

“What is your name?” She demanded.

“Katherine!” I shrieked, quickly.

“Of course it is,” I heard her say. “Katherine, my name is Stella. I’m your worst nightmare.”

“What? Why?” I screeched. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. My chest felt fuzzy and my body was numb once again. My panic attack was peaking.

I had never been more scared in my life. I would be raped and murdered in one night by two different people. This was exactly why I never left my house and why my social life was at zero. Nothing good ever happened to me. I wasn’t a sad person, but I was simply a magnet for disaster. I opened my eyes just to look into hers and try to piece together this puzzle. I didn’t even know what I did to this girl, but yet all I could see is that she wanted me dead.

“You fucking know why,” she smiled, and slammed me against the wall once more.
My head began to burn as she smashed it up against the wall. “No, I don’t!” I screamed. I couldn’t breathe. My deep breaths weren’t doing anything for me. I wasn’t ready to die, and I knew that with my brain recently being swollen, it wouldn’t take much to hurt me.

“You’re a fucking slut! We should have just left you with that pig!” She yelled.

I watched her fearfully as she drew her hand back. She slapped me fast and hard, but my cheeks were so numb from the panic attack that I hardly felt it.

She was standing far enough away that I was able to lift my leg up and kicked her in between the legs.

She backed up and winced in pain at the action. “You whore! You’re not going to get away with this! I’m going to fucking kill you!” She groaned.

I ran as fast as I could until I found an exit. I ripped my keys out of my pocket and dashed to my car. My breathing hadn’t quit, and I still felt light headed, but I couldn’t stay here. Someone was trying to kill me. I drove until I came across a local rest stop.

I couldn’t handle this on my own this time. This wasn’t my first panic attack, but it was my first time that I had gotten them repeatedly. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. The closest person to me was Rena and she was trashed. Alex crossed my mind. He was the only other person that I really talked to.

I pulled out my phone and dialed his number.

“Kat?” He asked. He sounded surprised that I would call, but I was too scared to read into things.

“Can I see you?” I whispered, trying to breathe.

“Are you okay? What’s going on?” He asked frantically.

“Can I see you?” I repeated.

“You know you can. Where do you want to meet me? You can come to my house if—“

“That’s perfect,” I cut off.

He gave me his address and I was off. I knew that if I weren’t so desperate, I’d still be begging him to fuck off, but I needed someone to save me tonight, and he was the one.

Alex’s POV

I listened in horror as she told me what had happened that night. I had never wanted to save someone as much as I wanted to save her. She laid on my bed so limp and helpless with tears running down her face. I hated myself for not protecting her well enough to save her from being raped, but I knew I would save her from the girl that wanted to see her dead.

I crawled up next to her in my bed and opened my arms. Shockingly enough, she allowed me to hold her. “Kat, I’m so sorry this happened to you. He’s not going to get away with this. I didn’t watch over you well enough to save you from this. This is my fault. I can’t believe Rena took you there... that is no place for someone as fragile as you.”

She was still breathing uneasy, but she was calmer now. “I don’t understand you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, gently.

“Why do you care so much? I’ve been nothing but cold to you except for when I desperately needed to be saved.”

“Katherine, I know you’re not as cold hearted as you seem. I just want to know the real you, and I know I’ll find her. I just have to crack this shell. You were the first person I fell in love with at first sight. I can’t just let go of you. I just can’t believe that man touched you like that. I’m utterly disgusted. He deserves to be murdered. He deserves to die. I won’t let him get away with this. He can’t rape you and run away. I can’t believe he did this to you. This is all my fault.” I breathed.

“I feel safe right here,” she whispered.

“As long as you stay here, you will be safe. I promise. I’m not going to let anyone touch you anymore. No one is going to lay a hand on you.” I kissed her head and held her close.

“Don’t leave me. Please save me,” she said softly.

“I’m never going to leave you. I promise you’ll be safe with me.”

I couldn’t even think about how I was finally getting what I wanted. All that was on my mind was that she was hurt tonight. A man raped her and she couldn’t even fight back. I couldn’t imagine anyone touching her that way. My mind ran out of control and a tear ran down my cheek. I could feel her breathing slow down, and then it was at a constant pattern. She had fallen fast asleep in my arms.

I was going to save her, even if I had to die trying.