Another week had passed by and Patrick was finally making progress with Sabrina. Now that she was willingly talking to him, he stopped re-arranging all his shifts. When they did manage to pass by each other in the locker room on their way in or out, they stopped to chat. He still paid for her coffee on the days they worked together and he'd gotten her to agree to sit with him and talk during some of her breaks. They talked about random things that he never spoken to women about before. He genuinely enjoyed talking to and spending time with her and soon found himself anxious to see her. While his goal was still to get her to go to the Ball with him, he hadn't brought it up in fear of scaring her off, as she still got skittish whenever he flirted with her. He'd seen Sabrina leave a little bit ago and knew that she often stopped by the docks to feed the ducks, so he figured he'd swing by and see if he could catch her on his way home. He once mentioned during lunch that it wasn't safe to be in that area, especially at night, but she'd given him a look that basically said she got his concern, but she was a big girl and was going to do whatever she wanted. So, he dropped the subject but silently vowed to keep an eye on her.
Sabrina stopped on the pier to feed the ducks on her way home from work. She knew it wasn't necessarily the safest thing to do, especially at dusk, but she needed to think and feeding the ducks helped her do that. Sabrina was more mixed up than ever since her little chat with Patrick last week. She still didn't get why a guy like him was paying so much attention to a girl like her, but she decided to stop resisting. When she did that, Patrick stopped clinging to her like a barnacle. Instead, he backed off and allowed her to set the tone of their interaction. Although she really liked him (probably too much), she chose to back away whenever he flirted. She knew they would never lead anywhere, so it was just best not to get her hopes up.
Sabrina had just gotten up from her bench and turned around to grab her things when she felt someone come up behind her. Suddenly, whoever it was, yanked her back - hard - into a Bear hug and covered her mouth so she couldn't scream. "Well, well, what do we have here?" he said menacingly.
Sabrina tried desperately to wrench herself free from the stranger's grasp, but couldn't. She began crying as the man maneuvered her toward the ground, knowing in her gut that she was about to be raped and there was nothing she could do about it. Suddenly, she heard someone shout "Hey!" and the man was yanked away from her. Sabrina, having fallen down into the ground, heard grunts and scuffling as the men fought. She tried to see what was happening, but it was too dark out. After a minute or so, a man kneeled down and reached out a hand toward Sabrina. "Sabrina, are you alright?"
Through tear-blurred vision, Sabrina saw that her rescuer was none other than Patrick. Not thinking twice, she threw herself into his arms and held on for dear life.
When Patrick saw the man grab Sabrina from behind, he broke into a run. Scared to death for and furious as hell when he saw the attacker trying to force her to the ground, he shouted "Hey!" and yanked the guy off of her. Sabrina's would-be rapist was slightly bigger than Patrick, but he had rage on his side and was able to knock the guy out during their scuffle. When he was certain the jerk was down for the count, Patrick walked over to Sabrina and kneeled down. When he extended a hand and asked her if she was alright, she launched herself into his arms.
At first, Patrick was surprised, but he quickly recovered and, relieved that she was okay, closed his arms around her and held on tight as she cried. After a minute or so, Patrick heard her attacker stirring, so he gently pulled Sabrina back to her feet. "Sabrina, we have to get out of here. Will you let me take you home?" When she nodded, Patrick grabbed her stuff and maneuvered her toward his car.