“I saw him head up to the bedrooms with Amber about twenty minutes ago,” the girl said, then laughed in Lucy’s face. Lucy just smiled and tried not to react, but inside she could feel a knot in the pit of her stomach.
Without replying, Lucy turned, slowly making her way up the stairs. Each step she took, her heart raced faster and faster. Deep inside she knew Riley wouldn’t cheat on her, but still she was afraid of what she would find. She made her way along the corridor, checking each room she passed. Most of them were empty. One had a couple making out on the bed, another had two girls talking, one of them was crying.
Finally, she came to the last room on the hallway and took a deep breath. She slowly opened the door. A wave of relief washed over her when she found this room too was empty.
What a lying bitch! She thought to herself as she walked further into the room. She knew in her heart Riley would never cheat on her, and she was angry at herself for ever doubting him.
She turned and jumped with fright when she found Trent McAlister standing in the doorway. Trent was on the football team with Riley and was another one Lucy didn’t really like.
“Hey, Luc,” Trent said with a broad smile as his eyes raked over Lucy’s entire body, instantly made her feel uncomfortable.
“Trent,” Lucy said with a nervous laugh. “You scared me. I…um…I’m looking for Riley, I was told he was up here.”
“No,” Trent said, stepping a little further into the room. He was about six foot four and was almost as wide. He was so big; his body blocked the entire doorway. “Last I saw Riley, he was out back with the coach and some of the other guys.”
“Thanks, Trent,” Lucy said with a forced a smile as she cautiously walked towards the door. “I should go find him.”
“Aww, don’t go yet,” he said as he stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him. “When Rachel told me you had come up here, I came to see if you were okay. The least you could do is say thank you.”
“Thank you, Trent,” Lucy said, as she tried to remain calm, but she knew she needed to get out of the room. “I’m very grateful, but as you can see, I’m okay. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
She moved to get by him, but he grabbed her arm.
“Don’t be like that, Luc,” he said pulling her flush with him. “Why do you always have to be such a stuck up bitch?”
“Trent,” Lucy said as she blinked back the tears blurring her eyes. “Please let me go, you’re hurting my arm.”
“I’ll let you go, when I’m done,” he growled at her, as he pushed her back further into the room.
Before Lucy could react, she was on the bed, and he was above her, kissing her hard.
“Please, Trent,” Lucy begged as she tried to wriggle free, but it was no use. “Please don’t do this!”
“Come on, Luc,” he grunted against her throat. “All you need is a good fuck, then maybe you will lighten up. Riley told us how you were saving yourself. Well, it’s time to start sharing.”
He suddenly tore back her blouse, then he bit her on the chest, just above the lace of her bra. The pain shot through Lucy’s entire body as she tried to scream, but it was like the fear had sucked all the air out of her body. She tried to fight him; she tried with everything she had, but he was just too big.
So, she pinched her eyes shut, praying to God for the ordeal to be over.
Lucy lay in the corner of the darkened room curled into a ball, hoping Riley would come and find her. She felt numb and sick. She wanted to cry; she wanted to scream but she couldn’t. Just like she couldn’t stand up and leave the room. She was paralysed with fear.
Her stomach heaved as she could still taste the beer and stale cigarettes from Trent’s breath. She just wanted to go home to her dad.
The door to the room opened, and Lucy froze. She prayed it was Riley, but she was terrified it was Trent coming back.
“Lucy,” a familiar voice said. “Are you in here?”
Lucy held her breath. She wasn’t sure who it was, but she knew it wasn’t Riley. Whoever it was, stood in the doorway for a moment then sighed. She could hear him turn to leave the room, and a sudden sob escaped from deep inside her.
“Lucy, where are you?” His voice said, coming further into the room. Lucy pulled her legs closer to her, as fear gripped her entire body. He moved around the bed, gasping when he saw her curled in a ball in the corner. “Oh God, Lucy! It’s okay.”
When he touched her, she cried out and pulled away.
“Lucy, it’s me, Tucker,” he said, as he moved closer to her. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”
Lucy didn’t respond. Instead, she finally let go of the tears she had been fighting.
“Lucy, I need to get you out of here,” Tucker whispered. “I’m going to pick you up.”
“Don’t…don’t touch me,” she cried. “Please, don’t…”
“I know you are scared,” he said, keeping his voice even and calm. “But I need to get you out of here; you’ve been hurt. I need to get you somewhere safe.”
“I…I want Riley,” she whispered without looking up at him.
“And I will find him for you,” Tucker said as he pulled a blanket from the bed, carefully wrapping it around Lucy before he scooped her up in his arms. “But first, I need to get you out of here.”
“NOOOOOO!” Lucy protested, but she was too weak to fight him. He held her closer to him, quickly heading for the door. Lucy buried her face in his neck and cried.
As Tucker carried her down the stairs, Lucy could hear the blare of the music and the noisy chatter of all the party guests. Then suddenly everything went quiet. Lucy knew all eyes were now on her. A low hum started and Lucy felt mortified. Now they all knew what had happened to her.
“It’s okay, Lucy,” Tucker kept whispering over and over as he stepped out into the night air. “I have you.”
“Lucy,” Riley’s voice came through the night, as Tucker made his way down to his car. Lucy just wanted to die. Now that she heard his voice, she suddenly didn’t want Riley to see her like this. She could hear him running towards them. “Tucker, what the fuck has happened?”
“She was attacked,” Tucker explained as he opened the back door to his car and carefully placed Lucy inside. “I’m taking her to the emergency room.”
“Wait!” Riley said as he reached the car. “What do you mean she was attacked?”
“Christ sake, Riley, do you really need me to spell it out for you?” Tucker said as slammed the door, hurrying to the driver’s side. “Look, I’m not standing here discussing it with you. She needs to be seen by a doctor. Now either get in or get out of my way.”
Riley stared at Tucker for a moment before he climbed into the front passenger seat. He turned around and looked at Lucy, who was curled into a small ball on the back seat.
“Luc,” he said as he reached out to touch her, but she pulled away. She closed her eyes unable to look at Riley. She felt dirty, broken and so ashamed. Why would he ever want her now? She pinched her eyes closed tighter and placed her hands over her ears. All she wanted to do was shut out the world. She knew things would never be the same again.