24
CIARA
Mark presses me against the wall with his body, drawing his mouth to mine, stealing a kiss that is both avid and possessive and almost causing me to vomit.
He continues asking me to let myself submit to him but his words are like ice in my veins and make me understand there’s no escape for me. He slides a hand over my body and I shiver in terror.
“Now you’re mine and no one will be able to separate us ever again.”
I close my eyes and cease to exist, swallowing my dignity, my future and my whole life. Because it’s ending now, right here in this basement and it’s all my fault.
Suddenly the weight that was pressing against me is removed and I am able to breathe in fully.
I don’t hear anything other than the dull thud of fists against flesh. I gather up my courage and shake myself awake from the confusion and terror I feel, then I turn and blink a few times because what I see must be a hallucination or maybe I’m already dead and I haven’t realized it yet.
Aaron is kneeling over Mark as he hits, punch after punch, hitting him in the stomach, the face. He punches him repeatedly and there’s nothing Mark can do to stop him.
Aaron is strong, furious and desperate.
And nothing can compete with desperation.
I stand watching the scene as I slide to the ground, hugging my knees and leaning against the wall.
I don’t know how long this goes on for, if Aaron has killed him or if Mark’s still breathing. I can’t feel anything but cold and I’ve got a paralyzing sensation that I’ve lost something forever. Then my sobs break though the unnatural silence, waking Aaron from his fury. He freezes with an arm raised over Mark, who is senseless on the floor, and he runs across to me.
Instinctively, I back away from him, trembling and staring at his bruised and bloodied hands. He looks down and tries to clean them as best he can on his jeans.
Then he tries again to approach me. He stretches his arm towards me and caresses my chin and when he realizes that I won’t withdraw again, he rubs my shoulder with the other hand, drawing me to him.
And when my head touches his heaving chest, I close my eyes and let myself go in his arms that are squeezing me as though my salvation depended on it.
I keep crying in his strong arms that I feel shaking around my body. He buries his head in that space between my shoulder and my face and lets go of his own silent tears that open my chest in two.
He’s crying.
For me.
We are sitting on the floor of the basement next to Mark’s lifeless body nurturing this pain, the fear and tears that we are both spilling. I’ve never felt so grateful and fortunate in my life.
And so loved. In a desperate and complete manner. And I know with certainty that I’ll never feel this way again.
Aaron moves over slightly and after an intense, heartbreaking moment, he looks at me with red eyes and in a broken voice tries, “Did he?… Did he?”
I shake my head. No.
He doesn’t have the courage to ask and I don’t have enough to answer. His sigh of relief shatters the remaining shards of heart that I had.
Then he looks over at Mark and says cautiously: “I have to call someone.”
I nod because the words won’t come out. I’m terrified of what’s about to happen.
Aaron takes his cell phone from his pocket and calls one of the guys, I presume Liam, because Rain’s name comes up; then he calls the police to briefly explain what happened and they will take care of calling an ambulance.
His eyes come back to me and in a whisper he says: “Ciara, I don’t know what’s going to happen now, but I will promise you on my life that I will never allow anything bad to happen to you.”
And I believe him.
I believe in the wetness of his eyes that are still full of fear.
