Felicity closed her eyes. She was in hell. A part of her felt as though she deserved this pain. Karma for the heart break she’d caused Liam all those years ago. She made a mistake when she’d walked away from him – for what? A little freedom from this town? She loved him so much but had been scared to get stuck here. And now look at her – she was beyond stuck. She was trapped – freedom was a link of the past. Jasper and Rob left the room, most likely to get high.
Her eyes grew heavy as she gave into sleep. Her mind swirled with memories of the night she ruined her life.
Chapter 10
“Felicity, talk to me baby.” Liam ran his fingers through her blonde locks. He could sense something was wrong, she’d been pulling away since graduation.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Liam.” She sighed against him.
“You know I love you. Whatever it is bothering you, we can work out together.”
“Not this time, Liam.” Felicity took a deep breath, “I got into college.”
“Wow… that’s amazing. I don’t understand the problem.”
“It’s in Michigan, Liam.”
“Oh.” Liam stood, pacing in front of her, “Ok… We can make this work. I can get job with a department there. No biggie.”
“Liam.” Her voice was filled with warning, “I don’t want you to go with me.”
Liam spun, “what do you mean?”
“I need to find myself. I don’t want you to give up your dream and resent me, and I don’t want to give up mine.”
“What are you saying, Felicity?” Liam stared at her, trying to contemplate what she was telling him.
“I’m saying, when I go to college – you’ll be here. And I’ll be there.”
“Ok… so we do the long-distance thing. I can come visit on holidays.”
“No… you don’t understand. I don’t want you to do that, Liam. I’m trying to tell you I want to break up. It’s the right thing to do. We’re changing, growing up. You should see what’s out there without a girlfriend in tow.”
“Are you crazy? Felicity – you’re it for me. I don’t need to see what’s out there. I want to marry you. Have kids with you.”
“Liam, how can you know that? Were only kids. Hell, you just turned nineteen.”
Liam stood; his whole body shook as tears spilled down his cheeks. Felicity’s eyes welled with tears, “I’m sorry. I love you, Liam, I do. But this is for both of us.”
He turned, facing his car, “Good Luck, Felicity. I hope you know what you’re doing.” Liam walked to his car, got in, and never looked back.
♦ ♦ ♦
Felicity woke to the sound of Jasper’s voice as he and Rob came back into the room. “Wakey, Wakey, Felicity.” Jasper slapped her crotch, causing her to jump.
She cracked an eye, seeing Rob standing in the corner watching. “Rob here is going to watch while I fuck you.”
She whimpered, closing her eyes to block out the terror. “Rob – you ready to see me tear this pussy up? God, I don’t think I’ve ever fucked you high, Felicity. This is going to be good.”
She heard his pants hit the floor as his belt echoed off the hardwoods. Felicity felt Jaspers hands against her skin, his fingers pinching at her center. “Look at that, Rob…” Jasper slipped a finger inside her, “She likes this. Never knew you were a voyeur baby.” He leaned over, running his tongue through her slit, “mmmm, tastes as good as I remember. Open your eyes, Felicity. Look at Rob.”
Felicity shook her head, refusing to open her eyes. Jasper pinched her thigh, the pain forcing her lids open. “I said…OPEN. YOUR. EYES.” Felicity’s eyes burst open as he grabbed her chin and turned her head towards Rob. He stood against the bedroom wall, a look of disgust and concern covered his face. Felicity never broke eye contact as Jasper shoved himself inside her, the pain was unbearable. Her whimpers only drove him into a frenzy, his thrusts getting faster and more violent. She watched as Rob turned his head away as Jasper pulled free, unloading his seed onto her belly. He stepped back, pulling his pants up. “That was fucking amazing. What do you think, Rob?”
“Yeah – it was fucking great. I need another hit, though. Call you when I get some more smack.” Rob rushed from the room, Jasper stormed out right behind him, leaving Felicity tied to the bed like an animal. His fluids coated her stomach. Her sobs filled the empty room as she laid there, praying for death to end her torment.
Chapter 11
Liam sat across from Arden, waiting for him to say something. Finally, he slid the file across the table, “That’s a bad dude. Tell me again how you know her?”
Liam couldn’t believe the record on Jasper. Surely Felicity didn’t know – he couldn’t believe she’d willingly date a man accused of the things he’d been accused of.
“We dated all through middle school, up until graduation.”
“Oh – high-school sweetheart’s, huh?” Liam looked down at his hands, unsure how to answer his friend, and boss, “wait – is this the girl that burned you. Making you steer clear of a relationship?”
“Yeah – you could say that. But that’s not important. Her co-workers are worried about her. And now that I’ve seen Jasper’s rap sheet, I’m worried too.”
“I can see why, but you know we can’t just go charging in without probable cause. And calling in sick and a hunch isn’t enough. Maybe she’ll call again or show up to work and then we can intervene.”
Liam tapped his pen on the table, “I hope that’s not too late.”
“Me either, but it’s what we can do, Liam. Look, go home. Your shift ended an hour ago.”
Liam tossed the pen down, scraping the legs of the chair across the tile as he stood, “Fine. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”
Nodding at Arden as he left, he couldn’t shake his unease. Before he realized it, he was pulling into his driveway. Stepping inside, he was surprised to see his dad sitting on the couch. “Hey dad. Thought you had to work late tonight.”
“Nah – just got home a bit ago. Bad day at work? You look like shit.”
Liam began to fill his dad in on Felicity. “You think this guy is beating her?”
“As much as I want to believe she’s sick… yeah, I think so.”
“Son, I know it’s hard for you to just sit and wait. But maybe she really is sick. Give it a day or two, then go back over there and check on her again.”
“Yeah… maybe you’re right.”
“What else is bothering you, Liam.”
“I’m just confused. I mean… she left me, dad. Said college and freedom was more important. I should be pissed still. But when I saw her the other day – with those bruises…” His dad squeezed his shoulder.
“Liam, you never got over her. I’ve watched you push relationship after relationship away. I knew it was because a part of you still loved Felicity.”
“No – that’s not it...”
His dad put his hand up, cutting Liam off, “Yeah… it is. You always looked at Felicity the way I looked at your mother. That, my boy, is love. I don’t know why she needed to leave and find herself, but something tells me she never stopped loving you. Her mom told me a while back, before she died, how Felicity was in one bad relationship after another. I suspected then, she still loved you and couldn’t find what you two had back then. Maybe this is God’s way of giving you two a second chance.”