Safe and Sound (19 page)

10

 
Bob
was right
in front of her, blocking the hallway that led to her bedroom.
Lola couldn’t see his eyes, couldn’t see his face. Blackness
, like his soul,
had taken over his features.

 
He didn’t speak, didn’t move, and for one dizzying moment, Lola wondered if he was even awake. Then he reached for her
, the smell of
body odor
and beer coming with him
.

 
“You thought you were pretty smart earlier, huh, with your boy toy?
Running off like that.
What did you think was going to happen when you got back?
”
Bob
’s sweaty hand encircled her bicep and squeezed so hard Lola winced.

 
Lola couldn’t breathe, felt like she
might
faint.
Bob
was drunk and furious.
He was going to hurt her.
Bad.

 
“What you been telling your boyfriends? What’d I tell you would happen if you went blabbing to people?”
Bob
shook her.

 
“I didn’t tell them anything!” she cried.
Lola pushed at his hand
; crazy with fear
, but he only tightened his grip.

 
“Then why’d you run off like that, huh?
Huh
?
”
Saliva hit her
face, along with his putrid breath, and Lola gagged and turned her head to the side.

 
Do
something, Lola.

 
“Let me go!”
Survival instincts kicked in and Lola renewed her efforts to get free.
Bob
was strong, stronger than his unfit body let on.
Stronger than her.

 
Bob
turned her and slammed her against the wall. Her head bounced off it, pain exploding
behind her eyes
. Lola closed her eyes, lightheaded.
Her legs buckled and all that held her up was
Bob
.

 
“I told you I’d hurt them if you talked. You want me to, don’t you? You
want
me to hurt them,” he
snarled
close to her ear.

 
Lola fought the blackness that wanted to take over. His words came from far away, a distant memory flooding to the surface.

 
“You tell anyone, anyone at all, and I’ll
kill
them, Lola. I’ll hunt them down and
kill
them. People have accidents all the time. Sebastian could have something go wrong with his car. Rachel could get food poisoning. All kinds of bad things hap
pen to good people
every day
.
It would be such a shame, a tragedy, for ones so young to lose their lives.

 
“You don’t talk to them. You don’t even look at them. They don’t come here. You don’t go to their houses.
Nothing
.
You talk to
no one
.
They no longer exist to you.
”

 
A broken sob fell from her lips.
Bob
was pressed against her, his
lower half against
her stomach.
Oh, God.
A whimper fell from her lips.
Lola felt vile,
unclean
, trapped
.
She couldn’t think straight; couldn’t move.

 
No. No, no,
no
!

 
“Please,” she begged, tears choking
her and
falling from her eyes. “Please
,
don’t.”

 
Bob
’s breathing was heavy, his perspiring face against her neck. “I’ll teach you all kinds of things your little boys have no idea about. You’ll like it. I know you will.”

 
Lola gagged.
This isn’t happening.
This i
s a nightmare.
I’m in my bed, sleeping.
This isn’t happening.
She felt herself shutting off,
going
numb as his hands groped her and s
queezed her tender flesh.

 
Jack’s words echoed in her head. She clung to them, clung to the sound of his voice.

 
“You promise me you’ll call me, Lola.
Promise
.
If you can’t get to a phone, you go to him.”

 
Lola thought of Jack, thought of his strength. She thought of Sebastian; so close and still unattainable.
No one was going to help her.

 
You have to fight, Lola. You have to fight.
Fight!
Jack’s voice s
hout
ed inside her head.

 
Lola cried
out and bit
his neck, her teeth sinking into the salty flesh.
She tasted blood and h
er stomach roiled.

 
Bob
bellow
ed in surprise and pain, his grip slackening.
Lola brought her knee up and
Bob
roared, his hands dropping complete off her to grab himself.

 
“You little bitch! I’ll kill you for that. You’re dead!”
he shouted in a voice higher than usual.

 
Lola
fled
for the
front
door.
Bob
went after her, tripping in his haste. He fell, his h
an
d catching her pant
leg. Lola tried to shake him off. She kicked at him, connecting with flesh.

 
Get to the door and get outside. Get to the door and get outside.

 
Bob
raged at her, promising pain and suffering. His grip ti
ghtened on her leg and he jerked her toward him
. Lola lost her balance, her head hitting the coffee table as she fell.
             

 
Everything went black.

*
**

 
Lola’s eyes felt gritty. They fl
uttered opened and saw nothing but black.
She tried to move, to sit up, and couldn’t. Panic set in. She didn’t know where she was, she didn’t know why she couldn’t move.

 
Lola
tugged her arms and legs and realized she
was spread-eagle
, arms and legs tied somehow.
Her last memories caused her to retch. Lola turned her head as bile
came up her throat.

 
She was on a bed. Lola inhaled deeply and gagged once more.
It smelled like
Bob
.
Lola
was in their bed. In the bed
Bob
slept in.
Lola began to weep.

 
He was going to rape her. He was going to violate her and no one could help her, no one knew, no one was able to stop him.
Lola wanted to die.

 
The hot tears trickled down her cheeks to dampen the sheet beneath her
. Please, let me die. Just
let me die now.
Lola tried to bring up rage, tried to hate her mother for bringing
Bob
into their lives, but it was too much effort. Despair and horror choked her, kept her immobile.

 
Lola’s body trembled with fear and cold.
H
er shirt
was
ripped down the middle, her jeans gone.

 
When she heard his
footsteps, her eyes widened,
her breaths became frantic; sobs burst from her lips. Lola wasn’t able to control them and the keens got louder as he got closer.

 
She struggled against the bind
ing
s, launched her torso from the bed.
Again and again she fought, but it didn’t do any good.
Lola cried out in frustration.

 
R
un down, she lay there panting, flinching as she felt his presence beside her.

 
“That’s good. Wear
yourself
out,” he said quietly.

 
She stared at him, tried to make out his features, tried to look him in the eye. If Lola could make eye contact, maybe he wouldn’t be able to go through with it. She couldn’t see
Bob
’s eyes; it was like
staring into an abyss of evil blackness.

 
“Please!
Don’t do this. Please. I’ll do anything you want.
”

 
“I kn
ow you will.” The bed sank down
beside her from his weight.

 
He
r
throat was closing, no air could get through
. She struggled to find words.
“
D
on’t do this. I’ll be good. I promise I’ll be good. I won’t talk to anyone ever again,” Lola babbled, her words frenzied and overlapping.

 
“You won’t tell anyone,” he said, tone soothing.

 
She sobbed uncontrollably, cringing when his fleshy hand touched her breast.
Lola shook her head from side to side, wrists and ankles burning from her tugging at them. The straps didn’t budge.
Bob
kneaded the sensitive flesh, squeezing until Lola cried out in pain.

 
“No,” Lola moaned when his hand wen
t lower. She clenched her thigh
mus
c
l
es
, tried to close her legs.

 
His breathing turned heavy
, sounding excited, and Lola
pray
ed for unconsciousness. “Relax, Lola. Enjoy yourself.”

 
When
Bob’
s hand touched the inside of her thigh, something snapped inside Lola. She opened her mouth and screamed; short, horrible sounds, over and over. Lola couldn’t stop.

 
Bob
yelled at her, tried to put a hand over her mouth. Lola jerked her head away from him.
The cries wouldn’t cease; they sounded inhuman, like an animal.
She
felt
like an animal; a trapped, abused, wounded animal.
On and on they went, never-ending; full of pain and despair.

 
Suddenly
Bob
was gone. Shouts vaguely registered in Lola’s brain, but her own scream
s
blocked out everything.

 
Blinding light pierced her eyes and Lola
averted
her head, trying to disappear within herself.
             
Someone was pulling at her wrists; another person at her legs.
Her face was grabbed and Lola tried to bite the hands.

 
“Lola. Lola, it’s me,” an urgent voice told her.

 
Her eyes searched for
Bob
, a low whimper leaving her. Where was he? He was hiding, ready to jump on her, ready to hurt her.

 
She
tugg
ed away from the hands trying to hold her and
stumbled into the corner of the bed, the wall at her back, and
knelt there, qui
vering.
Lola saw faces, heard voices, but nothing
registered
. There was a buzzing in her ears.

 
“What did he
do
to you
?”

 
“Get a blanket. Cover her up.”

 
A groan sounded from somewhere in the room. A grunt followed.

 
“Sebastian, that’s enough.”

 
“It’s not
near
enough.”

 
A face was before her,
reaching for her, and Lola lashed out, shoving with all the strength she had left.
He kept coming,
holding something in his hands. It was a blanket from the bed. Lola vehemently shook her head, slapping at it.

 
“
No!
”

 
“Lola. It’s okay. I’m just going to cover you up.”