When Stephanie regained consciousness, she didn't immediately remember what happened. Her eyes tried to focus on the dark ceiling, but she was finding it difficult to look at anything clearly. As she slowly pushed her way onto her elbows to look down at herself, she gasped. There was a small pool of blood on the hardwood floor between her splayed legs. It was sticky on her legs as well and made waves of nausea roll through her body. Stephanie continued to look herself over, noting the position of her clothing. Her shorts were around her left ankle, doing nothing to cover her body. Her white bra was on the ground beside her, having been ripped off her body. The Rangeman gag was still in her mouth with the remains of the rest of her shirt underneath her on the floor.
Stephanie spat the gag out as she took inventory of her body further. There were two hand shaped bruises, one on each arm, but other than the obvious, she appeared to be unharmed. Slowly, painfully, she made her way to her feet, kicking off her shorts and moving away from the blood and ripped clothing. It was only then that she noticed the quietness of her apartment. Morelli and Big Dog were gone.
A small sigh of relief came through her chapped lips at the thought of being alone. She slowly made her way down to her bathroom, holding onto her couch and then the wall so she stayed standing. Her mind wasn't allowing her to focus on one thing alone as the trauma she experienced was too fresh. She knew she should call the police, but then Morelli might come back. Or even Big Dog with his partner Carl Costanza. Even with Carl as a good friend, Stephanie didn't want to risk having Morelli come back. She just wanted time by herself to try and understand what she's to do now.
Once Steph reached the bathroom, she turned on the shower with the heat turned on high. She stepped into the scalding water and sat in the tub, hands holding her knees to her chest. As the water rained down upon her head, slowly clearing her mind, the attack came rushing back to her. The words that Joe mentions about their love, the way he let Big Dog have his way with her. This was not the Joseph Morelli she fell in love with. The Morelli curse, she believed he hadn't inherited, finally reared its ugly head and she knew that she couldn't be with him anymore.
Stephanie Plum's life as she knew it was going to change drastically. If the Burg caught wind of this attack, she didn't know if her mother would disown her from tarnishing the Plum name or if they would sympathize with her and throw Morelli out of the family's life. Either way, Steph rationed in her mind that this would forever stay with her and she would not let another man get close enough to take advantage of her again.
As the shower slowly turned cold, Stephanie came back to the present. She turned the shower off and opened the curtain to grab her towel. As she gingerly towelled herself off, she looked at herself in the mirror and froze. Her right eye was lightly tinged black as her cheek was turning purple from the force of the blow to her face. Tears welled in her eyes as she took in her complete appearance. Her face was bruised, her arms were slowly turning purple as well. Her core felt destroyed as her legs and midsection were aching from the onslaught of the two men. Stephanie went from numb to immense pain and let the tears fall as wracking sobs tore themselves from her.
With the towel wrapped tightly around her body, she moved as quick as she dared to her bed and fell upon it. She curled up in a tight ball of pain and suffering and let the world drift away from her. Steph's clock said it was just past four in the morning when she dimly heard her cell ring before sleep claimed her broken self.
A/N: Sorry for the long delay. It is now reading week and this is my first day with Internet. I had this written before but it is the first chance to upload it. Sorry for it being short, but it was fitting. More to come soon! Thanks to everyone for the lovely reviews, you are all fabulous! Hope it's up to your expectations.