"A
Single Yellow Rose" – Chapter Fourteen
"What do you mean you can't find
Belle?" Chloe asked.
"Just what I said," Shawn replied,
"the last time I saw her she handed Mimi a cup full of that booze punch and
then Mimi took off after seeing Jason walking away with Jan and she took off
after her."
"You saw Jason with Jan?" Philip
asked.
"Yeah, I was a little surprised
considering that kiss earlier between him and Mimi here, but when I turned back
Belle was gone too. Did she find you?"
Mimi shook her head. "No…lucky me I
found Jason and Jan."
"So you're saying Jason and Jan were
making out?" Chloe said.
"Well, let's see…he was naked from
the waist up, Jan's shirt was barely covering her chest and he was busy sucking
on her neck…sounds like making out to me. What do you all think?"
"I think we never should have come
here tonight," Chloe replied, sharing a long look with Philip.
"Well, we agree on something, let's
get outta here!" Mimi said.
"Wait a minute," Shawn stepped into
the middle of the group. "I'm not going anywhere without Belle. Where in the
hell is she?"
No one had an answer for him and
Shawn flung himself down into one of the empty chairs. Mimi sat down in another
one, brushing away the tears she seemed unable to stop from coming before
anyone saw them. Chloe reached out for Philip and he held tightly to her hand,
offering a quick squeeze of reassurance. "Look, there are a lot of people here. Belle is probably off talking
with someone."
"Where?" Shawn asked. "I've looked
in every corner of that house and believe me I ran into a lot of people talking
and…doing other things. In fact, I walked into the middle of so many love
scenes that I finally just stopped apologizing. It's a good thing Nick and Rita
have a good sense of humor."
"Nick and Rita huh?" Philip's lips
curved into a smile.
"Yeah, and I'm lucky he plays center
and not quarterback since the ball he tossed at my head missed by a mile."
"Look, why don't we split up and see
if we can find her? With the four of us looking we should find her soon
enough." Chloe said, checking her watch before gazing out at the yard. "Let's
meet back here in twenty minutes and-"
"Forget it," Philip turned to stand
in front of Chloe, his smile disappearing as his voice dropped to a low
whisper. "I'm not letting you walk around alone out here."
"I'll be fine," Chloe's tone matched
his. "Brady probably isn't even here anymore and even if he is I don't think he
would do anything-"
"I never thought he would do what he
did tonight either. I mean, I knew the guy had feelings for you but when I came
around that corner and saw you trying to get away from him…"
Chloe closed her eyes against the
memory "Please, I don't want anyone to hear you. I don't really think Brady
meant to hurt me or to scare me he just-" she stopped in mid sentence, her eyes
suddenly fixed on something over Phil's shoulder. "Is that Jason?"
Shawn rose from his chair at the
same time as Philip spun around.
"Where?" they said in unison.
"Down over there, by the woods."
"Who cares?" Mimi muttered, refusing to give into
the immense desire that filled her to look in the same direction as her
friends.
"Do you see him?" Chloe asked. "He's bent over
leaning against that tree…is he getting sick?"
"Good…he deserves it." Mimi said bitterly, "Isn't
Jan there holding his hand?"
"No, and he looks like he lost his shirt and jacket
somewhere along the way." Shawn said.
Unable to stop herself, Mimi rose, her eyes
immediately seeking and finding Jason who was indeed naked except for his jeans
and sneakers and she felt her stomach muscles clench at the sight of him. "You
believe me now?"
Philip shook his head as he started across the yard.
"No, something is wrong here…come on."
Chloe and Shawn quickly followed him and Mimi
battled with herself for thirty seconds before she hurried after them. Moments
later they were gathered around their friend. Philip crouched in front of
Jason, who was using a large tree to keep himself from falling to a heap on the
ground.
"Hey man…what's up? You okay?"
Jason slowly shook his head but his eyes remained
closed. "Gotta…gotta get some…help."
"Yeah, I'd say you need some help." Philip replied.
"You been taking turns with some of the guys laying underneath that keg spout
again?"
Rising, Jason turned and leaned back until he rested
against the tree. "No…you don't…you don't understand…"
"Jason, what's wrong?" Chloe asked. "Is your mouth
bleeding…what happened to you?"
Covering his face with his hands, Jason pressed his
fingertips hard against his closed eyelids, the thunderous pounding in his
temples was back again. Unexpectedly, he dropped his hands and his gaze bore
straight into Mimi's who was standing directly in front of him. "Why did you
leave me?"
Mimi's mouth dropped open as her gaze flickered back
and forth between her friends. "What are you talking about?"
"Hey buddy, you were the one who walked away from
the dance floor." Shawn said.
"No!" Jason voice was suddenly strong and clear. "We
were talking…I finally got you to sit and talk with me and then you ran away…"
"Ran away? You were the one who was walking away as
I was about to join Shawn and Belle-"
"Belle," Jason groaned as another wave of nausea
suddenly overtook him. "Oh Christ…not Belle."
Shawn shouldered his way past Philip, grabbing Jason
as he started to lean forward. "What about Belle? What do you mean 'not
Belle'?"
Jason only squeezed his eyes closed, trying to shut
out the painful throbbing in his head and the image of Belle crawling across
the grass and dirt.
"Answer me dammit!" Shawn yelled. "Do you know where
Belle is?"
"Shawn, give him a second," Philip said, placing his
hand on Shawn's shoulder. "I don't know what the hell is going on but he is
really out of it."
"I gotta find him," Jason mumbled, unaware of the
single tear that tracked down his cheek. "I gotta get him to her…"
"To who?" Shawn asked, "to Belle? Who do want to get
to Belle?"
"Shawn…I gotta find Shawn…" Jason opened his eyes
but his stare was hollow and unseeing. "He's the only one…"
"I'm right here buddy," Shawn said, deliberately
softening his voice, "where's Belle?"
"Shawn…"
"Jason…please," he begged, spacing the words evenly,
"where…is…Belle?"
"She needs you Shawn…come on."
Jason turned into the woods and stumbled but Shawn
caught his arm and steadied him and they continued with Philip, Chloe and Mimi
following close behind. Minutes later Jason led them into the clearing, his
lungs heaving from the excursion of running when he legs still felt like blocks
of concrete but he was grateful to see Belle, still huddled in the same spot
when he'd left here, clutching his jacket around her.
"What the hell?" Shawn cried, racing to her side.
"Belle, what happened?"
"NO!" the ferocious scream ripped from Belle's throat as she back peddled away from Shawn, kicking up dirt and rocks at him as Jason's jacket fell from her shoulders revealing her battered and bruised body. Philip grabbed for his friend, afraid he was going to reach out again for Belle but frozen on his knees, Shawn's mind was unable to comprehend what he saw in front of him. Mimi raced past the two of them, grabbing Jason's jacket and wrapping it and her arms around Belle.
"Oh honey, it's okay, it's okay," Mimi cooed,
cradling her in her arms.
Chloe stared at Belle in horror, taking in her wide
eyed, vacant stare, the angry red marks across her neck and chest and the
purple and black bruises that glared off the pale skin of her upper arms. She
immediately knew what had happened to her best friend and the ugly images from
her past flashed brightly in her mind causing her to fight hard to hold tight
to the fragile control she had found in the last few days. A suffocating
sensation tightened in her throat as the memories washed over her and she again
saw herself a little girl, hiding and praying he wouldn't come…wouldn't find
her. And after he left the cuts and wounds he left behind were unlike Belle's,
hers were deep inside, unseen but just as painful as the ones that branded her
friend's skin. Swallowing hard and biting back tears, Chloe could only stand
there and stare.
Philip watched as all of this played out on Chloe's
face as he too had seen what some bastard did to Belle. He desperately wanted
to go to her but doing so meant leaving Shawn and his buddy was gripping his
arm, his fingers pressing hard.
"Chloe!" Mimi called out, "wake up and get over
here!"
Philip's head snapped from Chloe to Mimi and back
again. Prying Shawn's fingers off his arm, he started towards Chloe but he saw
her flinch at Mimi's sharp words and push past her own private pain and seconds
later she was on her knees, next to Belle.
"Come on Shawn, let them help her," Philip said,
pulling his friend to his feet. Shawn allowed Philip to lead him away but his
eyes never left Belle even though he couldn't see her face because of Mimi and
Chloe crowding around her.
"What happened here Jason?" Philip said.
"I don't really know," Jason replied, feeling
stronger but still bracing one arm against a tree for support. "I just remember
being down by the water, realizing I didn't have my shirt and I started to go
looking for it when I heard a noise…a cry, I guess. I thought I was imaging it
but then I heard it again so I went over to the edge of the woods and waited.
Then I heard a girl say 'please…no' and I knew I had to find out what was going
on-"
Jason's voice trailed away as he watched Shawn fold
his arms over his chest, his eyes closing against the words. "I'm sorry man…do
you want hear the rest of this?"
"No," Shawn whispered through clenched teeth, "but
I've got to…go on."
"I tried to get here as fast as I could and when I
came to the clearing I saw this guy kneeling over a girl…I-I didn't know it was
Belle. I saw him backhand her across the face and then I took a flying leap and
landed on him. All I could think about was getting him away from her."
"Do you know who it was?" Shawn whispered.
"No, I didn't get a good look at the guy. We hit the
ground pretty hard, he pulled out of my grip and took off. I was more worried
about her so I tried to comfort her, you know, give her my jacket but she
wouldn't let me near her either. When I realized it was Belle I told her I was
going to get help, that I was going to get you."
"Did she say anything to you?" Philip asked.
"She just repeated Shawn's name. I didn't know if I
should stay with her or go…I didn't know what to do."
"Was she…did he…" Shawn's voice faded away, unable
to put the revolting thought into words.
"I don't know…I didn't see. Well, her shirt's
gone…you saw that but I think I got here before…"
Jason
watched as Shawn jerked his head in a quick nod and he let the rest of his
opinion fade away. "I wish I could've gotten here sooner," he said instead.
Shawn finally opened his eyes, his expression dark
with an unreadable emotion. "You got to her…that's the important thing."
"Belle," Mimi asked, as her friend squirmed away
from her touch as she reached out to brush the tangled hair back off her face,
"what happened?"
Jerking her head away, Belle refused to meet the set
of concerned eyes starting at her. I
don't know if I will ever be able to look at them…at anyone ever again. I want
to close my eyes, to shut out everyone and everything but when I do he's
there…his hands touching me…his mouth on my skin…even a fleeting blink of my
eyes causes him to appear. A shudder of revulsion began inside of her and
soon she was shaking deep inside the jacket she clung too.
"Are you cold honey?" Chloe asked.
She was cold…so cold. But it wasn't her skin that was chilled, that still burned from the pain he has inflicted on it. No…this cold was coming from deep within her. It was growing and spreading so fast she felt the control of it slip from her grasp as its path swirled around inside of her, reaching out to the farthest corners of her soul, wrapping it in an icy embrace she felt she would never escape from.
"Belle, we've got to get you inside." Chloe said,
her hands clasped over Belle tightly woven fingers.
She only shook her head, pulling her knees tighter
to her chest, trying to curl into a ball, praying she could disappear within
herself. Leave me alone, leave me alone…she
repeated the mantra inside her head as she began rocking back and forth…leave me alone.
"Can you tell us who did this…how this happened?"
Mimi asked.
Belle again only shook her head. She couldn't open
her mouth…she couldn't speak. Look what
happened when I did…I screamed at the one person that I had always trusted, the
one person I loved. No…it was better this way…better to stay silent.
"Belle, you need to talk to us…we're here to help
you."
"Mimi, don't push her. She doesn't even realize
what's happened to her yet…there's no way she can explain it to us."
"That high honor psychology class make you some sort
of expert now Chloe?"
"All I'm saying is I don't think it's a good idea to
push her to talk until she's ready-"
"Hey," Philip said, interrupting Chloe before she
revealed more to Mimi than he knew she would want to, "should we get her to the
hospital?"
"We've all been drinking Phil, except for Chloe of
course," Mimi said when she saw Chloe begin to protest. "I don't think showing
up in an emergency room right now is a good idea."
"Look, let's just get her inside so we can really
see how she is." Shawn said quietly. "We can't go back to Nick's. Phil, how
about your place?"
"That's on the other side of the lake. Why don't we
go back to where we parked the cars? Maybe I can find a key or a way to get
inside."
Everyone nodded in agreement except for Belle but
when Mimi and Chloe helped her to her feet, she didn't fight their efforts.
Shawn started to move forward but Chloe's quiet shake of her head stopped him
in his tracks. She supported Belle as Mimi quickly snapped in the front of
Jason's jacket, intensely glad she had insisted he keep it because it meant he
had it when he saved Belle.
That thought caused Mimi's fingers to freeze on the last button. Jason saved Belle… Jason making out with Jan.
Refusing to deal with the conflicting emotions
inside of her, Mimi stepped to the other side of Belle taking her hand. They
had only taken a few steps when Belle suddenly cried out, her right leg giving
out underneath her. All the guys rushed forward with Shawn reaching for Belle,
Philip stepping behind Chloe to support her as she taken on most of Belle's
weight when she collapsed while Jason reached out to help Mimi who had landed
hard on her knees.
"No! Please…don't!" Belle cried as
Shawn stepped over Mimi and instinctively reached out to hold her in his arms.
Turning to Chloe, Belle buried her
face into her friend's long curls, her panic filled voice stuttering, "p-please
don't let him touch me…I-I can't let him see me like this."
"Shh…it's okay, Belle." Chloe
soothed, hating the pain she saw in Shawn's eyes as she waved him away. "It's
okay…come on, let's sit down."
"Please Chloe…please," Belle spoke
in a suffocated whisper as she curled into her friend's arms, ignorant of the
four pairs of eyes watching her, "I can't look at him…I can't, I can't."
Shawn slowly rose and backed away.
Mimi allowed Jason to help her off the ground before she realized the welcomed
warmth she felt came from his fingers being intertwined with hers and she
quickly pulled away, not seeing the confusion in his eyes as she folded her
arms tightly across her chest. After helping Chloe and Belle back to the
ground, Philip stepped back to Shawn's side as Jason moved away from Mimi to
stand next to him as well. There wasn't too many times in their brave and
resilient youth that they felt totally helpless but this was one of them. There
was nothing they could do for their friend, other than what they were doing
right now. But the act of standing still offered little comfort.
How
can I help her, Shawn thought, if she
won't let me anywhere near her?
Chloe slowly rocked back and forth, gently stroking
Belle's hair, her heart breaking over the unique and saddening bond she and her
best friend now shared. She knew the horror and pain Belle was engulfed in and
she prayed she was strong enough to help her all the while knowing she still
had so much healing to do herself. She
felt the shudder run through Belle as she slowly relaxed her hold on her.
"I think we need to take a look at your ankle okay?"
Chloe asked.
Belle only nodded and Chloe in turn nodded to Mimi
who knelt down and gently lifted the hem of Belle's jean pant leg to reveal a
swollen and bruised ankle. "You can't walk on this Belle."
"Belle, we've got to get you somewhere where we can
take care of you and that means one of the guys is going to have to carry you."
Chloe felt Belle tighten her hold again as she started to shake her head.
"Honey, I can't lift you," dropping her voice to a whisper so that no one could
hear her words but Belle, she continued.
"He loves you Belle…I know that is incomprehensible
to you at this moment but deep inside your heart, in a place you can't even
believe in right now, you know that's the truth. But before he loved you he's
been your best friend your whole life. If there is one person in this world you
can count on it's Shawn."
"Not now…not like this." Belle breathed.
"Especially now…you need to accept his help as much
as he needs to help you. Please Belle, let him help you."
"Don't leave me alone with him."
"I'll be right with you…we all will, okay?"
Several minutes passed before Chloe felt Belle's
slight nod against her neck and she knew what a tremendous effort is was for
her to make that small movement.
"Okay," raising her eyes to her friends Chloe
offered a small prayer that she was doing the right thing here. "We are going
to need your help Shawn. Can you carry her up to the house?"
Shawn only nodded as he bent down next to Belle, nervously
rubbing his hands on his jeans. Placing one arm under her bent knees he started
to reach around to her back but she was still clinging to Chloe, making it
impossible. He looked up to find Chloe's face inches from his.
Slow, she mouthed.
Shawn nodded and waited.
"Belle, you need to put your arm around his neck,"
Chloe whispered.
Shawn heard her soft sobs and his heart shattered
for her. Slowly Belle released her hold on Chloe's shoulder and Shawn ducked
his head, making it easier for her to place her arm on his shoulders. A wave of
emotion so strong ran through him the moment he felt her touch, he had to close
his eyes against it. Slowly, Belle eased away from Chloe and turned into his
arms. Shawn opened his eyes and found himself drowning in the tears that
spilled down Belle's cheeks as their eyes locked for a split second before she
turned away, hiding her bruised face against his neck and shoulder.
He'd been scared to touch her…he could admit that to
himself…even if it was never said to another living soul. He still hadn't had
time to accept all that had happened here tonight but sitting here and holding
her in his arms, Shawn knew she was still his Belle, still his perfect girl.
Everything else they would work out together.
Reaching his other arm around her back he didn't
know where to place it, mindful of what he had seen on her body, he assumed her
back was equally hurt. Chloe leaned away and Philip reached out to help her and
she sank gratefully in his arms.
"Hang-" Shawn cursed his voice as it broke. "Hang on
okay?"
He felt a small nod and pushing off with his leg
muscles, he lifted her in the air, freezing when he heard her hiss of pain as
he was forced to tighten his grip to steady the both of them.
"I'm sorry, Belle…I'm sorry." He only felt her short
breaths on his skin as she struggled to deal with the hurt. "Come on, let's get
out of here."
Mimi turned away first, brushing away her tears and
headed out of the woods with Jason directly behind her. Philip held Chloe close
to his side as they walked next to Shawn and Belle.
"Head over there, down that path" Philip called out.
"We'll bypass the party and come out on the Kelly's lawn."
Minutes later, they were standing at the door while
Philip frantically searched for a key.
"Just break the damn door down," Shawn said.
"This is a million dollar house Shawn, they might
have security system ya know." Philip answered.
"Belle's in a lot pain here-"
"You don't think I know that!"
"Hey guys, this isn't helping," Jason said, "okay,
we can't get in here. So where do we go?"
"Wait, come with me," Philip said, grabbing Chloe's
hand and leading her off the porch. Everyone followed him across the yard and
into the woods on the other side.
"Where are we going?" Mimi asked.
"There's a place down over here," Philip said, "I
used to hang out here with the Kelly brothers before they joined the Marines
last spring. Remember Jase?"
"Oh yeah," Jason agreed as he followed Mimi down a
familiar stone path, "Roseland."
To be continued….