Chapter 43
"The choices we make echo through the lives of others, sometimes in whispers, sometimes in screams."
Unknown
So, I continued to dance, rolling my hips the way I saw the other women do, smiling as I made eye contact with each and everyone of the men looking at me, showing them what they desired…but would never have.
"You're a real naughty one, aren't you?" Blaze said, grabbing my buttocks and pulling me close enough to feel his erection.
That was the wakeup call I needed.
I wriggled out of his grasp, but he wasn't prepared to let go. His hands were roving around my whole body, and when he reached for my breasts, I slapped him hard across the face.
"Are you crazy?" I yelled.
He put his hands up. "My bad. Forgive me. I guess I got too excited."
Almost as if doused by a bucket of cold water, I looked around, at the gyrating people around me, and I suddenly wondered what on earth I was doing there.
"Take me home," I said. "I want to go home. Take me home now!"
Blaze smiled coyly. "Sure. Let's go."
I was surprised he hadn't protested but glad that I would at least be taken far away from that place.
We rode in silence back to the estate, the only sound coming from the Weeknd as it played on the radio. It was almost 1am, and everywhere was deserted.
"Thank you," I said, making to open the door.
"Not so fast," Blaze said, reaching for me. "Wasn't that why you wanted us to leave? So, we could have fun more…privately?"
My eyes widened in terror at the realization of what he wanted to do. I struggled with the door handle, but he was on top of me in a flash, pressing his lips on mine as his hand went up my blouse. With all the strength I could muster, I kneed him in the groin, making him yell in agony.
Taking advantage, I pushed him off, kicked my door open and scampered out, running as fast as my legs could carry me. When I was sure he wasn't following me, I frantically dialed Catherine i on her mother's number.
" Open the gates!"
Thankfully, even though I didn't need her to open the rusty gate, she was there before I got to it.
"What happened?" she asked, her eyes wide in panic.
I ran into her embrace, weeping, emotionally exhausted from all the awful experiences of the night. How could I have put myself in such a position, one where I'd almost been raped?
What had I turned into?
She led me to my bedroom and stayed with me till the following morning.
"That boy is an idiot!" she retorted a number of times. "So, he wanted to sleep with you, in his car of all places? He is an animal. He's not even happy that a beautiful woman like you agreed to follow him out. Monkey!"
I said nothing and was relieved when she finally left, leaving me to lick my wounds alone.
I behaved stupidly and had almost paid the ultimate price for it. All I could do was be thankful nothing worse had happened. I simply had to find a way to move on with my life, broken heart and all.
I pretty much slept through Sunday, only waking up to eat dinner. By Monday morning, lying in bed, I pondered not showing up at the clinic ever again.
I couldn't bear to face jacobi, not after the catastrophe of Friday evening. But I knew I owed it, not only to him but to myself, to make amends for my horrible behavior.
He had been nothing but nice to me and didn't deserve the embarrassment of me throwing myself at him.
I had to find a way to quickly make amends for my poor behaviour.
Walking down the dusty road, in a shapeless floral gown and a scarf tied securely on my head, I looked the drabbest I had ever done. There was no use wasting any more time on my looks as it had gotten me nowhere.
Getting to the hospital, I noticed an elderly couple walking inside, the woman wiping tears from her face. I also saw a few familiar faces milling around, some of which included the guys who normally sat under the tree. As I made eye contact with first one, then two, then more of them, I couldn't quite make out what I saw in their eyes. It looked almost like…anger.
"What's going on?" I asked Helen, as she brushed past me.
"They brought someone in yesterday," she answered, unable to make eye contact with me.
"Badly beaten almost to the point of death. If they had brought him here a few minutes later, he would have died."
"Who?" I asked, grabbing her by the arm, but she pulled away and rushed off.
I just stood there, as people rushed to and from the lobby. I didn't have to be a genius to know who it was. Or what had happened.
Almost thirty minutes after I'd been there standing like a statue, Jacobi walked out with the elderly couple I'd seen entering. When he saw me, his own face hardened.
I watched him as he spoke gently to them, explaining some things to them in Spanish, before putting them in a waiting taxi.
"Jacobi, please what happened? What is going on?" I asked.
"What happened? A man is lying here fighting for his life because of you, that's what happened!" he exploded, indignation blazing from his eyes. "You almost got a man killed, and I'm told this isn't even the first time!"
"Me? What did I do?" I bleated in protest, even though deep in my heart, I knew. I totally knew.
"You lured the innocent man away from his friends on Friday night. There are several witnesses who can attest to that. And then on Saturday evening, he was attacked in his house, beaten to a pulp and left for dead. When I was called in yesterday morning and saw the extent of his injuries, even I didn't know if he would be able to survive them. I still don't know if he will ever be able to make a full recovery."
I gasped, covering my mouth with my face. "Blaze?"
Jacobi's nostrils flared. "christopher, yes," he glared at me, his disgust seeping out of every pore. "I don't listen to gossip, but I've been told the last guy you cavorted with didn't come out quite as lucky."
I flinched at his reference to Jason, desperately wanting to do everything I could to take it back, to take it all back.
"Please leave, zeynep," Jacobi said. "Leave, and don't come back. Apart from the fact that your presence could upset the boy's friends and family, I really think it's better for you to just go. Just go, please."
And with that, he walked away from the lobby.
I looked around and noticed a few people watching, some of the nurses and a few waiting patients.
In their eyes was the same anger I had seen in the eyes of the people that surrounded Jason's father all those years ago.
I stumbled out of the hospital, feeling like the scum of the earth, wanting nothing but for the ground to open up and just swallow me whole.
I didn't deserve to live.