unable to move, his hands roaming freely over my body. I would wake up screaming and sweaty. On one occasion, I vomited everything that was in my stomach all over Mercy’s floor. Humiliation filled my heart and soul. On top of losing my mind, I felt as if I had also lost my dignity. Charlie had brought me more clothes, my usual clothes, and I tried to wear them, but I felt silly sitting around in pretty dresses and pencil skirts, so sweats became my begrudging fashion choice. The swelling in my face had started to go down, and though my face no longer looked like a swollen elephant, it had gained some curious coloring. I still looked like a Mack truck had done a number on me. My ribs still ached, and I had frequent headaches that throbbed. I was going stir crazy sitting around Mercy’s all day and night. All of this free time had me thinking too much, I needed to keep busy. Part of me wanted to be at home, that was the old part of me, pre-assault Rebecca. Post-assault Rebecca was terrified of returning to the scene of my assault. What if I could never return? I’d have to sell the house and the thought made me feel even worse. To lose the cottage would mean losing a part of me, and in the last few days, I had already lost too much of me to risk losing anymore. Staying at Mercy’s has been comfortable and Charlie has been here every night. I would get anxious and restless when he went off to work during the day, but as soon as he got back for the evening, I would immediately relax. I was such an idiot, after all, hadn’t I chalked Charlie Cole up as my one big mistake. It was one night that tilted my world off its axis—he did things to my body that still made me blush an entire year later—but a mistake nonetheless. Consequently, I had joined the vast collection of notches on Charlie Cole’s bed post. Finding comfort in his presence seemed like such a mistake, but at the same time it felt curiously right.
After we got settled at Mercy’s the day after the attack, Charlie wanted to call Ella and Jax immediately, but Mercy and I persuaded him not to. They were having the vacation of a life time in Hawaii, and there was absolutely no way was I getting in the middle of that. Ella would freak out, like ballistic freak out and insist on coming home early. No way was I okay with that. So instead, Charlie called Dillon Montgomery and his cousin, Braiden Montgomery, who have recently set up a second office for their security company here in Claymont. Dillon and Braiden were like ninjas of the security world. While Braiden was apparently sprucing up my non-existent home security system, Dillon was looking into the police reports to see if he could work his own case behind the scenes. I don’t even know if that is legal, but to be honest, I don’t care. The more people out looking for the fucker who turned me into a damn skittish meerkat, the better. I had become so nervous and anxious. I was paranoid, too—I had the feeling as if someone were watching me—it felt like there was a constant prickling at the back of my neck. I hated that feeling. I hated the dark now—waking to a room shadowed in darkness made me feel physically ill—I had to sleep with the constant glow of a lamp to guide my nervous thoughts to calm resolve in the middle of the night. I have never been scared of the dark, not even as a child. But this was my life now: fear and trepidation.
Luke Hollywell had a good alibi. After I left him at the restaurant, he proceeded to order a steak, well done, a side of fries and a salad. He then left for a club where he was filmed on CCTV footage getting into a brawl somewhere around two that morning. My attack was said to have happened between one and two. Luke couldn’t have made it to my house in that time. Anyway, Luke had an endless supply of women coming and going. One failed date didn’t seem like it would have rattled him at all. To think someone like Luke Hollywell didn’t see me as a challenge or
After we got settled at Mercy’s the day after the attack, Charlie wanted to call Ella and Jax immediately, but Mercy and I persuaded him not to. They were having the vacation of a life time in Hawaii, and there was absolutely no way was I getting in the middle of that. Ella would freak out, like ballistic freak out and insist on coming home early. No way was I okay with that. So instead, Charlie called Dillon Montgomery and his cousin, Braiden Montgomery, who have recently set up a second office for their security company here in Claymont. Dillon and Braiden were like ninjas of the security world. While Braiden was apparently sprucing up my non-existent home security system, Dillon was looking into the police reports to see if he could work his own case behind the scenes. I don’t even know if that is legal, but to be honest, I don’t care. The more people out looking for the fucker who turned me into a damn skittish meerkat, the better. I had become so nervous and anxious. I was paranoid, too—I had the feeling as if someone were watching me—it felt like there was a constant prickling at the back of my neck. I hated that feeling. I hated the dark now—waking to a room shadowed in darkness made me feel physically ill—I had to sleep with the constant glow of a lamp to guide my nervous thoughts to calm resolve in the middle of the night. I have never been scared of the dark, not even as a child. But this was my life now: fear and trepidation.
Luke Hollywell had a good alibi. After I left him at the restaurant, he proceeded to order a steak, well done, a side of fries and a salad. He then left for a club where he was filmed on CCTV footage getting into a brawl somewhere around two that morning. My attack was said to have happened between one and two. Luke couldn’t have made it to my house in that time. Anyway, Luke had an endless supply of women coming and going. One failed date didn’t seem like it would have rattled him at all. To think someone like Luke Hollywell didn’t see me as a challenge or
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