Save Me: A dark romantic thriller (Novel) by John Meany

sat watching TV in the warm sunny living room of her mother‘s house, where she currently resided. It was July, more than eight months after the assault. Obviously, the good news was that Ashley had survived. In addition, in March, she had given birth to a healthy baby girl, which she considered a miracle. Ashley had worried that the child might be born with some kind of defect.
    It turned out Ashley’s attackers were aluminum siding contractors who’d been in Wichita the day of the crime, to do a job. Craig Elliot and Buck Kennedy were in their mid thirties and had each done time in prison for multiple offenses, ranging from burglary to assault.
    Dairy manager Troy Young, and his co-worker Adam Campbell, though grateful they had saved her life, Ashley had not been in touch with either of the grocery store employees since the day after the incident, when they had come to see her in the hospital.
    Because Ashley had been the victim of a sex crime, the media had not released her name to the public. Aside from the police, the only person who stepped forward to speak about what had been dubbed THE SHOPPING MALL RAPE was Adam Campbell. He did an interview with prominent TV reporter Pamela Delaney from Fox News, out of Philadelphia. Although approached, Troy Young had declined to comment.
    Ashley had been tempted to visit her rescuers, mainly to say hello and to show her appreciation, but hadn’t because she was afraid of returning to the shopping center. So much so, it had compelled her to relinquish her job at the BVX drugstore. Nowadays, she had secured another occupation in a different section of town, a part-time position at Stella’s Bakery.
    The insurance money Ashley had received from Peter’s accident provided her with the opportunity to get out of debt. She purchased a new car, a two-door black Toyota. She had wanted to preserve Peter’s Chevy for its sentimental value. Except, every time Ashley would look at the old classic car, similar to her diamond wedding ring, it would cause more sadness. Therefore, she felt the rational option would be to sell it.
    “Ashley!” she heard her mother call in a friendly voice from the newly furnished upstairs’ nursery.
    “Yeah?”
    “What are you doing?”
    “I’m still watching TV.”
    “What’s on, anything?”
    “Not really. Judge Judy is about it.”
    Pertaining to her mother’s two-story home, the potpourri-scented family room was where Ashley felt most comfortable. Ashley’s mother loved art, particularly anything by Picasso or Salvador Dali. She owned several prints. On the walls were also some of Ashley’s fabulous paintings. They went well with the glass tables, the unique decorations, and the beautifully arranged plants and flowers.
    “Come upstairs for a minute.”
    “Why?” Ashley asked, gobbling another small handful of potato chips. Uptight Judge Judy continued to lecture what she obviously perceived as a dishonest defendant.
    “Kimberly just tried to say grandma. I swear. I’m not exaggerating. You have to hear this. It’s so adorable.”
    Yes. Ashley had in fact named her daughter after Troy Young’s mother. It had not been a complicated decision. She loved the name Kimberly. It resonated with femininity.
    “Mom, don’t keep playing with her,” she yelled up the stairs. “Please! It’s almost five o’clock. The baby is supposed to be taking a nap.”
    “First you have to come up and hear this.”
    Tuning her mother out, Ashley lazily flicked the channel from the courtroom drama to Family Feud. Presently she did not feel like getting up from the comfortable sofa.
    She was high on painkillers.
    After the assault, for her leg injury, the doctor at the hospital had given Ashley a prescription and she had become hooked. Of late, she had also been drinking a lot. Red wine, vodka, gin. She liked them all.
    This abusive pattern had started almost as soon as Ashley had taken her first pill, and had learned that the painkillers not only helped