Chapter 5

Damian’s one condition was to show him how the printer in his office worked. It is this ancient, old printer that Ms. Winterfell had probably decided to keep out of sentiment but the poor thing had already given up.

I have to kick it thrice before it comes back to life. "Easy peasy," I say dusting of the imaginary sand on my hand. I turn to look at him just to find him already staring me.

"Thank you," he says, "I’ll call her right now and know where she is," he takes his phone out and walks away to make the call. I wonder why he keeps giving me those type of looks. It’s disorienting the way his eyes linger.

"She just left but she did say you should come to see her tomorrow," he says to me once he’s done with the call.

"Oh alright", I say a little sad and unfortunately my face betrays me as always, the next person would immediately know whatever I’m feeling.

Damian looks me up and down again. "It’s late, I should drop you off," he says coolly. It’s already dark outside, I notice. Normally I’d be home by now if I didn’t take this detour.

I weigh my options and decide to let him drive me home because it looks like it’s about rain.

Damian car is a sleek black one that purrs to life when you ignite it. The ride starts off as awkward at first but I decide to ask him some questions to lift the mood.

"Mr. Eiserman-" I’m interrupted by the sound of him bellowing in laughter. My eyebrows scrunch as I look at him and arch one of my brows.

"Don’t ever call me that again," he says in all seriousness once his laughter has calmed.

"Okayy then, Damian. I just want to know why you’re always so grumpy all the time. I rarely ever see a smile on your face" I say to him.

"You on the other hand though, you smile too much. Don’t you think?" He says and takes his eyes off the road to look at me.

"This is not about me and what’s wrong with that?"

"Everything actually. Why are you smiling every hour of the day. I personally cannot begin to wrap my head around why you would give such punishment to yourself," He says, his eyes focused on the road again.

"I don’t see it as a punishment though,it’s just my way of getting through the day. You should try it sometime,"

"What ever you say, Sunsmile," he says still deeply concentrated on the road. I decide I’ve had my fill of answers from Damian so I just keep shut as rest of the ride goes on.

We finally get to my apartment and I get off. It’s raining so I hurriedly run in after thanking him.

When I get to my door, it’s ajar and lights are not on. A wave of fear travels down my spine. Quen has never left the door open like that and the lights are always on once she’s in the house. Not to mention, she’s not supposed to be home tonight. She travels to Cancún this night with her boyfriend.

I take my taser out of my hand bag and tentatively walk into the apartment and then shut the door behind me, hoping that my brain is just making stuff up and there’s truly no one in the apartment.

I walk tentatively from the sitting room, to the kitchen, to Quens room inspecting carefully as I do. I find nothing out of the ordinary there and finally, it’s time to check my room. For some unknown reason, this makes me really nervous.

I walk to my room and the door is open wide. The same way I left it this morning. I take careful steps into the room and nothing seems amiss. Everything seems to be where it ought to be but I can’t seem to shake that anxiousness I’m feeling.

I take more steps into the bedroom, trying to inspect further and as I do, I feel something metallic hit the back of my head with so much force, I’m not even aware of when I let go of the taser in my hand to clutch my head.

Once what I assume to be a frying pan meets with my head, I loose my vision and the pain that spreads through my head is blindingly excruciating.

I try to turn around to see who my assaulter is but I’m smacked in the face and pushed down to the floor and it’s not until he gets on me and I smell his cologne that I realize that it’s Joel. Joel is the intruder?

My heart sinks in confusion and dismay.

"Joel?" I try to blink my eyes open and try to fight my way out of the tight grip he has me in. I hear his laugh and it just confirms the more that it’s Joel assaulting me.

"Why would think you can leave me in the dark like that, Claire baby? I’ve had you for years and now you want to leave? On your own terms??!!" His voice is raised and coarse, I can just tell he’s intoxicated by something.

My body starts to shake all over as I realize how bad my situation is right now. I’m about to be raped Joel. Tears start streaming down my face and he tightens his grip on my wrist against floor.

"Joel, this isn’t you. Please stop this, I beg you." I cry to him admist tears but I can already see none of my words are getting through to him. I try harder to get out his grip, he doesn’t let up at all.

"That was a really disrespectful thing to do to me, consider this a punishment," he says to me in slurred words. "But don’t worry, Claire baby. I’ll make it fast"

I start crying out louder, telling him, begging him to stop but he doesn’t. He starts by ripping my shirt off me and then he roughly tries to push down my pants.

I shut my eyes, as I think to myself that this can not be happening to me. At the mercy of Joel’s rough hands as he grope at parts of me, I try my best to break free of his hold but I’m too weak and he’s so much stronger. It leaves me purely defeated and in agony.

In the blink of an eye, I feel Joel yanked away from me and tossed across the room. I hear Joel’s loud groan of pain but I’m not looking at him.

My eyes are on him, the man’s silhouetted figure at the door who’s looking down at me. I’d recognize him anywhere.

I immediately sit-up and cover myself up with my arms. He rushes over to my side and yanks the blanket off my bed in one swift motion. He then wraps me up in it.

His eyes are full of concern but his voice is so reassuring when tells me, "Don’t worry, the police are on their way here. You’re safe now, okay?"

I can’t help the tears that begin to overflow in that moment, I begin to wail while dragging the blanket tighter around me. I let my head fall into my palms as I continue to cry deeply. He tries to console me by patting down my back but at one point, I can no longer feel him beside me.

To afraid to look up, the next thing I hear is a shuffle of clothes I think, and then afterwards it’s the sound of knuckles hitting bone and a painful groan afterwards. This happens again and again and again and again until it that sound becomes a squelching noise that I hear.

He finally comes to a stop and walks over to my side, his hands dripping with blood. "You’re safe now."