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Chapter 8: All Alone

Leo was dutifully working on his chemistry lab when he looked at the clock to see it was already nine-fifteen.

Silently cussing, he collected his lab and cleaned up his station. He then sprinted across the campus, silently praying Piper wouldn't be mad.

He arrived at the house, out of breath. Just as he was walking up the driveway, someone came dashing out of the house, bumping right into him. In the few seconds it took him to regain his balance, the figure was already running again.

"Piper!" he called after the figure, instantly recognizing her. "Piper!" he called, giving chase, but gave up after he lost sight of her. What the hell happened to her? He wondered. She couldn't possibly be that mad at him, could she?

Shelia soon walked out of the house, Darryl at her side. "What happened to Piper?" she asked him.

"I have no clue. I was going to ask you."

"She was upstairs and came running down. I tried to talk to her but she ignored me."

"I'm worried about her," Leo told her.

"Me too. Let's go talk to her."

Leo followed Shelia, his worry growing greater with every step he took towards Piper.

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Kevin was finally finished with her. He rolled off of her and she immediately put her clothes on. She was crying so hard she could barely find all her clothes. Kevin came towards her and she cowered against the wall. "Please, no."

Kevin gently caressed her cheek. She tried to shrink away from his touch, but there was no room. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" he asked.

Piper shook her head.

"Good," he said, his touch traveling from her cheek down to her throat. He suddenly squeezed tight, cutting off her oxygen. He ran his other hand up her shirt and across her chest. "Because you know what will happen if you do." Piper tried to pry his fingers off her neck, but it was no use. "Besides, it's not like anyone would believe you." He released her neck after giving her a rough kiss and she sagged against the wall.

Piper scurried to put her clothes back on. All she wanted to do was go home. Not to the dorm, but home to San Francisco. She wanted to talk to Prue and Phoebe. They could help. They would make it all better.

She finally had all her clothes on and she ran down the stairs. She could hear Shelia calling to her, but she ignored her friend. She ran out the front door and collided with Leo. She didn't stop to talk to him. She just kept running.

She could hear Leo calling after, but she picked up her speed. She couldn't talk to him now, not after what happened.

She ran into her dorm room and slammed the door closed behind her. She immediately picked up the phone and dialed her home number. It rang and rang until Prue finally picked up.

"Hello?" Prue asked.

Piper couldn't make herself reply. It was hard enough to hold back the tears.

"Piper? Is that you?" she asked, obviously recognizing the number on caller ID.

Piper hung up the phone without saying a word. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She turned it to scalding hot and hopped in the shower, clothes and all.

She felt dirty, soiled, unclean. She stripped off her clothes, putting them into a pile on the bathroom floor. She poured tons of soap onto a sponge and began to scrub her body.

She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was bright red and bleeding in some spots. The only physical findings she had of her attack were the scratches along her abdomen she received while she was trying to struggle her way out of Kevin's grasp and a bruise around her neck from where he tried to strangle her.

Afraid someone would come back to the dorm and see her, she quickly turned off the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. She ran to her room, leaving her wet clothes on the bathroom floor.

Once in her room, she changed into pajamas. She huddled in a corner of her room, between the wall and nightstand, arms drawn around her knees as if trying to protect herself. The events in the last hour came rushing over her and she began to cry, sobs racking her body.

Piper stayed in that same postiton all night, until she cried herself to sleep.

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Shelia and Leo entered the dorm room, hoping for any sign of Piper, but seeing none. Shelia walked to Piper's room where the door was closed. She knocked and received no answer. When she turned the knob, she found the door was locked.

Leo came out of the bathroom, a dripping wet outfit in his hands. "This is what she was wearing at the party."

"What the hell is going on?" Shelia asked. She turned and began pounding on the door. "Piper! What the hell is going on? Answer me!"

There was no answer from the other side. "Is she even in there?" Leo asked.

"I don't know. But where else could she be?"

Leo shrugged his shoulders. He took his turn knocking on the door, only more softly than Shelia. "Piper? Are you in there?" There was no reply. "Maybe she changed and went back to the party," Leo suggested, not really believing it.

"Yeah, maybe," Shelia replied emptily.

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Shelia woke up a little late the next morning, only giving herself an hour and a half to shower, eat, and get to English class on time. Before she headed to the bathroom, she looked into Piper's room to see if she was there. Through the wide open door, she could tell Piper was not in her room. The bed was neatly made and her book bag was nowhere to be seen. Shelia assumed she must have gone to class early to meet Leo. She hoped into the shower, not giving it another thought.

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Piper was huddled in her closet. She heard Shelia and Leo pounding on her door last night and knew they would find a way to get into her room if they thought she had locked herself in her room overnight. So she hid her book bag under the bed and hid in the closet, hoping they would assume she went to class.

They must have believed her, because at eight-thirty, no one was there. Shelia and Leo would be in English for the next ninety minutes and Kim was… god only knew where.

Piper got out of her hiding spot and paced around her room. What was she supposed to do? Kevin had raped her. She couldn't go to the police; he would find out and kill her.

Why had she been so stupid? I never should have gone upstairs with Kevin. If I hadn't, none of this would have happened.

Piper stopped pacing as a wave of dizziness took over her. She had been feeling dizzy and nauseous ever since that night of the party.

She sat on the floor, against the wall, just as she had that night after the party. He drew her knees to her chest and hugged them, slowly rocking her body back and forth. She tried to hold back the tears, but it was useless. Crying was the only thing she knew what to do. It was the only thing that seemed right. She didn't know what to do. She felt lost, so lost. She wanted her sisters, but they were California. She wanted her mom and dad, but they were dead. She had no one to turn to, no one to a care for her.

She sat on the floor, rocking, and cried harder.