Last Chance

Seeing as I couldn't wait to be alone with Kelly, I was nearly bounching out of the shoes when she said she would be right up. I jumped off the bed ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I put some gel in my hair and then did a one over of my out fit. I readujsted my jeans and gave myself a final nod. Why was I so nervous? Still, she made me nervous. I ran my fingers through my hair and chuckled to myself.

I opened a bottle of wine and set out two glasses while I waited. She would be here any minute and I impatiently walked over to the table and looked at my phone. It had been twelve minutes since she said she was on her way. I checked my messages and saw her text.

Kel: Wow, you are fast. What did you do, take the stairs four at a time? I'll answer in a sec.

I thought she said she was coming here. I was sure that's what we agreed on. I noticed that the text was sent ten minutes ago and my heart immiediately started to pound in my chest. I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. I didn't want to jump to conclusions though, maybe it was a teammate trying to convince her to go to the movies. No. They left half an hour ago. I decided to follow my instincts and see if she was okay.

It would have been faster to take the stairs. It seemed like the elevator stopped on every floor for people to get in and get out. Finally, the sixteenth floor. I had just gotten out of the elevator when I saw a Bellman bringing back an extra cart. I stopped him, hoping he could help me. "Good evening."
He nodded at me. "Good evening sir."
I looked at his nametag and put on my best PR smale. "Walter. I need your help."
"Anything sir."
"I locked myself out of my room. Anyway you can let me in?"
"Certainly, do you have identification on you?"
Shit. "Um, yes, here you go." I slipped him fifty Euros hoping that he would put hotel policy aside and help me get into her room.
"Yes, I see. Which room is it?" He asked.
"It's down at the other end of the hall. Thanks."

He followed behind me as I nearly ran down the hall. He didn't seem to have the same sense of urgency as I did and I had to keep looking over my shoulder to make sure he was there. I was half way down the hall when I heard her. I could hear the screams. I ran faster than I had ever ran in my life. "Kelly!" I yelled as I ran towards the door. Looking behind me I saw the Walter finally picking up his pace. "Hurry up! Someone is in trouble! Hurry!" I yelled back at him. He immiediately caught up with me and I could tell he could hear her too. "Open the fucking door! Do it now!" Walter fumbled with his key card, trying to open it. He finally managed to open it and that is when I saw him. Kevin. Straddled over her tiny body as she kicked and screamed at him. I let the fury and rage take over my body as I threw myself at him, pulling him off of her while she still screamed. "Get the fuck off of her!" I slammed him against the wall and landed an uppercut on his chin. He pushed me back and took a swipe at me. I ducked and he tumbled over the beside table and landed on the floor. "Who the fuck do you think you are? You piece of shit! You don't deserve to live!" I grabbed the lamp off the table and hit him across the back with it before I kicked him in the groin and then kicked him again in the back. I looked over at Walter who was talking feverishly on his cell. Kevin groaned and rolled onto his side. "Don't even think about moving you sick sack of shit." I kicked him once more for good measure.

I looked up at Kelly. She has huddled in a ball on her bed. Her eyes squeezed shut and silent tears running down her face. I reached out for her, and put my hand on her shoulder. "Kelly? Hey. Open you eyes Baby. It's me. You're going to be okay." She hugged her legs tighter around her body and shook her head. Refusing to open her eyes. "Shhh, Baby it's okay. I promise, it's me." I sat down beside her and took her in my arms. She didn't say anything as I rocked her back and forth. It took a few minutes for the sobs to come, and when they did they came full force. She finally opened her eyes and looked at me. She wrapped herself in my arms and I held her there, not moving, not talking until the police arrived.

Kevin was still laying on the ground when they got there. Kelly looked at him and I could feel her body wretch. She leaned over the side of the bed and vomitted and then burst into tears again. "You are so strong Kelly. You know that right? Baby you are the strongest person I've ever known." I whispered into her ears. She shook her head. She still hadn't said a single word to me. Finally the inevitable happened and the Detective asked if she could have a few words with Kelly. She was still clutching onto my for dear life. "Can I go with her?" I asked the detective.
"No sir, I'm afraid not. You can wait outside if you like. We will need to collect a rape kit and determine if she should go to the hospital."
Kelly finally looked up at me with soft, sad eyes. "I don't want to go to the hospital. He..." she swallowed and forced the words out. "He, He never got that far."
The detective looked her over and gave a small nod. "If you like we can collect the kit here and let you stay. But take my card and be sure to call me if you need anything, and should we require anything else from you we will be contacting you."
Kelly nodded her head and slowly got up, following the detective into the bathroom. I stood outside the door pacing. A million thoughts running through my head. How could anyone do such a thing to someone so innocent? It made me sick and I ran towards the garbage bin to throw up. Looking around the room I knew that she wouldn't want to stay here. I grabbed her suitcase from the closet and started to pack up her stuff. If she wanted to stay and until the end of the tournament she could stay with me.

After what felt like an eternity she finally emerged from the bathroom, eyes red and puffy. I enveloped her in a hug and let her finish her sobs. "Do you want to stay with me tonight?" I asked her. She nodded. "I'll arrange everything with Coach, no one will have to know what happened. Okay? We'll get Andrea to switch rooms too. I pulled back and moved a strand of hair that was wet and stuck to her face. "Stay strong Baby. We'll get you through this."
"Can we go now? I can't look at this room anymore." She whispered.
"I already packed your stuff. Let's go." I pulled her tighter to me and walked with her to the door.

The walk to the Penthouse was quiet and somber. Neither of us saying anything. "Can I run you a bath?" I asked, grabbing two bottles of Whiskey from the mini bar and pouring them straight on the rocks.
"Yes, I guess that would be okay." She grabbed the glass from me. I didn't need to ask if she wanted the drink. It had always been her go to when something happened and she needed an escape.

-----Summber 2004-----

We sat on our bench at the beach. I was there to make sure she was okay and to make sure she made it home okay. The news from yesterday was still raw on her heart. She took a sip from her travel mug and winced. "How am I supposed to go on? What about mom? Oh god, she'll never be the same." She slurred her words and continued "This." She held up the mug. "Is the only thing that will make me numb today." I wasn't one to condone drinking to make you feel better, but she needed this. She needed to just get stupid and let the pain be gone, even for a short time. The time to heal and the time to deal with the loss of her dad was not today. Today she needed an escape, today she needed some stiff whiskey that I managed to grab from my dad's liquor cabinet. Today she needed me."

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Just like that day so many years ago, today she needed me. I would do whatever it would take to get her through this. I walked to the bathroom and started running a bath, making sure the water was extra hot.. When I walked back to her she was standing in front of the window, her arms wrapped around herself. I came up behind her and put my hand lightly on her shoulder. "Hey." She flinched at my touch and I moved my hand away. "Do you want to talk about anything? If you want I can arrange for a flight home tomorrow." She turned and looked at me and shook her head. "No. I want to stay. I need to play. I just don't want it to be weird around the girls. I can imagine the stories that people are going to start."
I moved closer to her, and slowly grabbed her hand, waiting for her to tell me my touch was okay. When she didn't flinch I was relieved. "We can do whatever you want. Stay here as long as you want. No one is going to know anything about what happened. They're all being told that he had to go back due to family emergency. I'll be here with you for as long as you want."
She sighed. "Thank You. I love you. And, and, I'm sorry I flinched....when you touched me. It's not your touch that scares me. I just, I just need some time."
The strength of the woman standing in front of me nearly had me in tears too. "Kel, you can have as much time as you need. There will never be any pressure from me. Now how about that bath?"