Mercy

"I'm exhausted." Duane Lee says as he loads the dishwasher after dinner.

"I told you I would do it, but noooo, you insisted on being super man and doing it yourself." Nikki says from her spot on the couch, recalling the mini argument they had ten minutes ago about doing dishes.

Neither of them knew why, but for some reason things had been tense in the Chapman family since Leland's accident. The doctor made it clear that someone was to be with him at all times; that put a considerable amount of strain on the family, and their business.

There wasn't a day that passed where someone wasn't arguing over one thing or another. Who would stay with Leland, who would call about a warrant, who would drive...according to Duane Lee, the arguments never ended. Knowing that if Leland was in his right mind he would hate all the fuss, but he wasn't and the family had no choice but to continue babysitting him.

Nikki sighed as she watched him clean the kitchen. She knew he was suffering at work and probably at home. 'My hormones don't help things, I'm sure.' she told herself as he slammed the dishwasher shut, causing her to jump. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and chugged it down, tossing the can in the garbage, before opening the refrigerator and repeating the process.

"I wish you would tell me whats wrong." She says, raising her eyebrows; following him curiously as he moved about the kitchen. Something was definitely going on that she didn't know about. He didn't look at her or acknowledge that she was speaking as he walked outside onto the deck. Nikki shrugged, guessing that he needed a little time alone, and made her way to bed.

Around 2:30 he crawled into bed, shaking Nikki awake as he grabbed her left ankle that was just outside the cover. "Wake up." he says, trying, but failing to whisper. "Nikki...baby...wake up." he says again.

She groaned, forcing her eyes open. "What?" She asks flatly.

"I'm horny." he slurs, rubbing her thigh with a strong hand.

"You're drunk. Go to bed." she says, rolling over.

"Feel this." he says, grabbing her hand and pressing it to his hardness. "I want you. Right now Nikki, roll over!" he demands, trying to pull her over and the covers off at the same time.

"Stop." she says, pulling the cover back over her. She was fully awake now, wondering who this person was that had possessed her fiance, it was so unlike him to act this way. 'Of course, Ive never seen him drunk before.' she thinks to herself while he's pulling his clothes off.

"I need to be inside you Nikki...need to show you how much I love you." he says, almost pleading, trying his best to spread her legs apart. She fought him with as much strength as she could for being pregnant and woken up at 2:30 in the morning. She pushed at his chest as he leaned over her.

"Don't fight me, please." he begs, running a hand through her hair.

"If you hurt our baby, I swear to God I will kill you!" she says through gritted teeth as he succeeds in pushing her thighs apart.

"Nikki, I would never hurt you." he says sweetly, as he pushed himself into her. "I have to prove to you that I'm better than my brother."

She gasps, forcing her eyes closed, biting her lip to choke back her sobbing. The coppery taste of blood filling her mouth as he continued pushing harder and harder against her, as she laid there motionless.

"Do you want me to stop?" he finally asks fifteen minutes later. She looks up, wondering if he might have come to his senses or sobered up. His blue eyes, once sparkling and bright, were cold, almost lifeless as he moved away from her.

"Please." she whispers.

The sun rose hours later. Nikki blinked, her eyes felt dry as she stared at the white gauzy curtains covering the bedroom window, wondering if she had even closed them in the last four hours. She slowly turned her head toward Duane Lee, he was snoring loudly, his right arm hanging off the bed as he slept on his stomach. She wanted desperately to wake him up, to scream at him, ask him why?

She couldn't bring herself to touch him as she pulled the cover back, slowly getting out of the bed and making her way to the bathroom. The tile was cool against the soles of her feet as she quietly pushed the door to. Nikki leaned into the mirror, wincing as she swiped her tongue across the place where she had bitten into her own lip.

A wave of emotion hit as she started to cry; had she been raped by her own fiance? The thought caused her to panic as she braced herself against the sink. 'Why?' she asked herself over and over as she stared at her naked reflection in the mirror. His hands and fingers left bruises sprinkled here and there over her body.

A loud groan came from the bedroom sometime later, as Duane Lee sat up on the side of the bed. She could hear him asking where she was. She stayed quiet; frozen to one spot in the bathroom, not daring to make a noise.

The door slowly opened as he walked into the bathroom with her. He stared, wide-eyed, as she backed away from him, hitting the wall when she ran out of room.

"What did you do to your lip?" he asks, rubbing his eyes, trying to wake up. When she didn't answer he walked closer, pulling her bottom lip out with his thumb. "Are you alright?" he asks,concerned, as she flinches at his touch.

"Don't touch me." Nikki says, just above a whisper.

"Nikki..." he says, reaching for her.

"Are you gonna pretend that last night didn't happen, that you didn't force yourself on me?" a shaky voice asks.

"Force myself on you?" He asks, not believing she would throw that word at him. "I might have been a little drunk and pushy, but I didn't try to rape you, Nikki. I would never do that. I love you."

"You may love me, but the man that crawled in bed with me last night didn't! All he wanted to do was prove that he was bigger man than Leland." she says, walking past him, to get dressed.

"Wait- " he says, grabbing her arm. "I'm sorry. I just lost control. Please baby...Things aren't right inside my head right now, I swear it wont ever happen again...please." he says, begging for her forgiveness.

"You're right. It wont happen again, because if you even think about it, you will never see your child."