On Her Own
Chapter 7
Rachel lay curled in a ball in a corner of her room, crying quietly. Roy had ripped all her clothes off of her. He had left her alone in her room hours ago, and she had only just managed to grab the sweatshirt she had been wearing earlier. It was currently laying on the floor next to her.
She hurt so much, she just wanted the pain to stop. He had been so rough, ripped her to shreds.
Someone knocked on the door.
She didn't move, she couldn't move.
Again someone knocked.
She was on her own with this.
She couldn't tell anyone.
She choked down a sob. She wanted to be alone.
Except for her crying, all was quiet for a few minutes.
A lock clicked.
She closed her eyes, she wanted to be alone, she wanted the pain to go away. She wanted to be alone.
"Rachel!" She curled tighter into herself. It was only a moment after she heard his voice that she felt his warm denim jacket against her cold skin, before long a blanket was laid over her bare body as well.
"Oh Rachel, what happened?" She felt Toni take her hand.
"Toni, go find help." Richard instructed. She started shaking again, she didn't want anyone else to know about this.
"Shhh Rachel, baby. It's alright. I'm here now." She tensed when he placed a hand against her shoulder.
Lifting her head a bit, she looked quickly at Richard and Toni before scooting backwards away from them while trying to keep herself modestly covered.
Toni picked up the sweatshirt that had been by her feet and offered it to Rachel.
She slowly took it and pulled it on. It was one of Richards and was big on her, which some part of her brain was grateful for.
"I'll be right back love," Toni placed a hand on Rachels shoulder before getting up. Rachel tried to object but couldn't from hours of screaming and begging Roy to stop.
She shook her head frantically and reached for Toni to keep her from leaving.
"Toni stop." Richards voice had stopped her by the door. "I don't think she wants you to leave…"
"Rachel, it's all right. It's all right now." His voice was quiet as he slowly made his way over to Rachel.
He hated to see her cry, she looked so scared. "Rachel?"
She shook her head and looked at the floor, he hadn't even bothered to do it on a bed.
She hurt so much.
He ripped her apart.
She flinched when he laid a hand on her arm. "It's okay now baby,"
When she didn't pull away, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest.
She cried silently in his arms, with him whispering calming nothings in her ear while Toni watched.
Toni eventually got up and left, saying something about getting them some lunch.
"What happened Rachel?" Richard murmured, getting off the floor and moving to lay on her bed with her.
She curled into him, fisting his shirt in her hands. He was warm, he was safe.
"Rachel?"
She looked up at him, and he used a thumb to wipe a few tears off her cheek. He leaned down to kiss her but she shied away from him. Whimpering.
Afraid.
He gave her a small smile and ran a finger along her cheek. "I love you Rachel, no matter what."
She wanted it to stop hurting. She didn't want to be afraid of Richard. She loved him. She hated that she was afraid of what he could do to her.
Looking away, she laid her head on his arm and buried her face in his shirt.
They laid there in silence till Toni got back with Subway for lunch.
Richard and Toni had their sandwiches and were eating on the floor. Rachel was still laying on her bed, as still and silent as ever. She didn't think she'd ever be hungry again.
"Who could have done this to her?" Toni asked between bites.
Richard stared at his sandwich, wishing it held all the answers. "Roy, I know it was him. It had to be him!"
Toni gave him a strange look, not believing him. "Where's your proof? Roy's a friend. You just don't like him and would love to be able to pin this on him."
She took a sip of her soda before continuing. "Besides, the door automatically locks on the outside. She would have had to let whoever did this in."
Richard glared at the british girl. She didn't believe him.
"I don't have any proof, but Rachel. Rachel is living, breathing proof!" His voice kept getting louder and louder.
He paced between the two beds.
Rachels eyes got wide when he yelled the last bit at Toni. She sat up and scurried further back on the bed, curling up in the corner where the footboard met the wall.
Her heart was pounding in her ears. It was so loud, she thought the others could hear it.
When Richard glanced up from the floor his eyes softened, seeing he had startled Rachel.
"I think you should go Richard." Toni said frostily as she got off the floor. "You're scaring her."
She added when he made no move to leave.
After a moment she threw his jean jacket at him and went to hold open the door for him.
Glancing at Toni, he stepped closer to the bed and offered Rachel his jean jacket with a small smile.
Tentatively she reached out for it and pulled it close. She had one of his sweatshirts and his jean jacket. The thought comforted her.
"You know where my room is if you need me." He said quietly as he made his way to the door.
She waved slightly at his back. She wasn't sure she wanted him to leave.
Toni passed the time for them with movies, and got irritated when someone made a bad decision in them. She couldn't get Rachel to say anything. She tried everything she could think of, but the other girl still hadn't made a sound by the time it had started getting late.
Rachel had stared at the wall since he had left, not even acknowledging her roommate. It still hurt a lot, even hours after. She was beginning to wonder if the pain would ever ease up.
It was long after midnight when she was sure that Toni was asleep. Carefully sliding off her bed, she pulled his sweatshirt down, it went to just below her hips. Going in the closet, she pulled on some underwear before making her way to the door.
She knew she was being paranoid, but she was beyond terrified. Looking over her shoulder every other step, she slowly made her way to Richards room. After a long ten minute walk that normally took less than three minutes, she finally made it.
Nervously she raised a fist and knocked on his door.
She looked both ways before knocking again, knowing that the longer she was in the hallway the bigger the chance was that Roy would come and find her.
She didn't want him anywhere near her.
Ever. Again.
She could still hear him telling her that she wanted it, that she liked it.
She raised her hand to knock again when the door opened.
Richard smiled when he saw it was her and reached out for her hand slowly.
"Is this okay?" He asked as he took her hand in his. He didn't want to scare her.
"He hurt you, Roy did this. Didn't he?" When she looked away and squeezed his hand, he knew that he was right.
She moved into his room and shut the door behind her, sighing with her back against the door.
"Come here Rach," He gently pulled her into his arms and just held her. She was shaking in his arms.
"It's all right, hush now Rachel. You're safe here." She looked up at him and he realized just how upset she really was.
"It's over now. Shhh Rachel, baby, it's over now." He picked her up bridal style and she tensed in his arms, trying to slow her pounding heartbeat.
She had to force herself to see the differences between him and Roy.
Richard was so much sweeter, he was kinder. He loved her.
He'd never hurt her.
He laid her down on the inside of the bed and laid down next to her. He wanted to pull her closer but he didn't know if she'd let him.
He placed a hand gently against her cheek, when she leaned into his touch he wrapped an arm around her waist and moved closer.
She stiffened, watching him, before convincing herself that it was all right to let him get closer.
He loves me, Rachel kept reminding herself. Letting her body relax, she moved a little closer to him.
She curled into herself, tired, in pain, and scared.
He carefully lifted her off the bed and slid an arm under her head, knowing she thought he was a better pillow than an actual pillow.
Rachel kept her eyes closed as he pulled her closer, wrapping her safely in his arms. Roy didn't hold her like this.
Placing her hands on his chest, she sighed softly. She was safe in his arms, Roy couldn't hurt her now.
She slid one of her legs between his and looked up at him, running her fingers through his hair before letting them fall to the silver chain and all the mystery about it. He smiled.
He placed a kiss on her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair. "Go to sleep Rach, you need it."
She closed her eyes and before long, she was fast asleep.
Richard watched her sleep, knowing that what Roy had done, had broken her. He knew it was going to be a long hard road for her to be able to get passed this, but he was planning on helping her however he could.
When Richards alarm went off the next morning, he silenced it with a tired groan. Rachel was still sleeping next to him. He smiled fondly at her before climbing out of bed and getting dressed.
Just as he was pulling a sweatshirt over his head he noticed that Rachel was sitting up in his bed, watching him.
"Hey you," He said as he grabbed his shoes and took a seat on the bed by her while he put them on.
"Are you going to go to class today?" She shrugged, and slid off the bed, pulling the sweatshirt down as she did.
"You don't have to, Rachel."
She turned and looked at him, she knew if she didn't go to class today then she probably just never would.
Going through his clothes, she found a pair of sweatpants and a bra and shirt.
Richard walked up to her and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "You are one of the bravest girls I know."
After they were both dressed for the day, they left his room, and Richard walked her to her first class of the day.
Heads turned as they passed, but Rachel just tried to ignore them and looked at the floor.
He placed a soft kiss on her forehead before promising to be waiting for her outside her last class. He hated leaving her on her own, especially considering she still hadn't spoken since him and Toni found her on the floor yesterday.
Taking a deep breath, Rachel walked into her math class and took her seat in the middle of the room.
A couple girls a few seats over were whispering, "I heard she cheated with Roy."
"She screamed for him too."
"I wonder if Richard would ever go out with me if they end up breaking up?"
Rachel bit her lip in frustration when she heard them giggling.
She lowered her eyes to her desk, waiting for the class to start. She could hear more people talking about her.
Almost every girl on campus knew who her boyfriend was, and they all wanted him for themselves.
After class she was making her way out the door when one girl stopped her. "Are you going to dump Richard for Roy?"
The stranger seemed a little on the eager side and this killed Rachel. Without even answering, she shoved past the girl and started making her way to Richards room.
She couldn't do it.
She couldn't listen to people talk about what Roy did to her, like she was okay with what had happened.
When she finally made it to his room she tried the door, only to find it locked. Leaning against the door, she let her backpack slide to the floor.
She stared helplessly at the ceiling and joined her backpack on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest, resting her head on her knees.
She didn't want to go back to her room. Toni didn't have any classes till later today, and after her not believing Richard last night when he said Roy did it, she didn't want to be around her roommate at the moment.
She pulled out her phone and stared at the screen before she finally put it back in her pocket. Richard was in class, she couldn't text him.
With a deep, trembling breath she got off the floor and flung her backpack over her shoulder. She started walking down the hall towards the stairs. She wasn't going to just sit in front of his door, waiting for Roy to pass by. She couldn't bring herself to bother Richard during class.