"Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive." -Josephine Hart
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Jared's heart dropped into his stomach and stopped. Daphne was standing in the light of the street lamp and it was casting garish shadows across her face. The man standing next to her was shrouded in darkness as he kept his face out of the light on purpose, holding her from behind with a knife to her throat. He took a few steps forward but stopped when the man spoke.
"You can stop right there," he said, his voice raspy and rough. "One more step and your girlfriend is gonna have a nice bloody smile across her neck."
Jared's heart started racing when he saw Daphne's face. She was petrified. Daphne was NEVER scared. Of anything. She was one of the most fearless people he knew. And seeing her like that scared him more than anything else. And yet at the same time, he found it oddly humorous. It was funny the things that drifted through your imagination in certain situations. He found it humorous because he was playing a character that was a lot like the man holding Daphne; he was crass and rude and had absolutely zero regard for human life whatsoever. Everything and everyone was expendable and replaceable.
"Well, technically, she's not my girlfriend," Jared responded.
"Alright then," the man said, yanking Daphne's head back by the hair and pressing his knife further into Daphne's neck. The shriek she let out caused hairs to rise on the back of Jared's neck. He could see a thin line of red making its way down her neck.
"BUT I am pretty attached to her!" he said hurriedly, holding his hands out in front of him in an attempt to get the other man to stop. He did and Jared let a loud sigh of relief escape his lips. "What the fuck do you want from me? Whatever you want, I'll give it to you."
He heard footsteps coming through the trees on his left and glanced over to see another figure appearing out of the darkness. It stayed in the shadows but didn't disappear. He was aware of its presence like someone who is aware they are being watched.
"What the fuck do you want?" he asked again, this time with more urgency. "Money? My credit cards? What? I'll give it all to you. Just please, let her go."
The laugh that escaped the man's mouth was maniacal and creepier than anything Jared had ever heard before. "You think I want your credit cards? I'm not stupid. The minute I'm gone, you'll call and cancel hem. Credit cards are useless to steal."
"So what the fuck do you want?!" Jared asked, his temper rising. He was doing his best to keep a level head because he knew the wrong thing could be the difference between he and Daphne leaving alive and the very likely possibility that Daphne could be slashed right in front of him. The fear was the worst thing. It left a metallic taste in his mouth that he would never forget. "I'll go to an ATM or whatever and take out money. I'll do whatever you want."
"I know who you are, you moron," the man replied. "Both of you."
He brought his face closer to Daphne's and Jared could see a tear slip down her face. The man released his grip on her hair and brought his free hand down to her waist, pressing her up against his body. Daphne looked like she might puke and Jared felt like he could punch the man in the face. He felt anger, hot and red, boiling up inside his body.
"So tell me. What. The. Fuck. Do. You. WANT?!" Jared screamed. His scream echoed in the empty park.
The man glanced at Jared and sighed. "Your wallet. Take it out."
Jared reached into his pocket quickly.
"SLOWLY!" the other man replied.
Jared slowed his actions. He pulled his wallet out and held it in his hands. He was suddenly aware of the other man walking toward him from the side.
"Take out the cash and give it to him," the man in front of him said. Jared held out about $200 in cash to the man off to the side of him. He took it quickly, shoving it into his pocket. "Your phone, put it on the ground," he continued. Jared dropped his phone onto the cement, having a pretty good idea of what was going to happen to it next.
Exactly as he had predicted, the man he had given the cash to stomped one shoe on top of the device, leaving it shattered and in pieces on the ground. Jared winced when he saw it. That thing was brand new and he had JUST gotten all of his contacts the way he liked them.
"Now then, DAPHNE," the man said her name with a sneer and she tried to jerk away from him as he pressed his lips against her cheek. This only resulted in another red line on her neck dripping down toward her breasts. "Ah ah ah, don't try to run, sweetheart." He took a deep inhale of her perfume, his eyes rolling back into their sockets. Daphne shuddered, clenching her eyes shut. "There is something YOU can give me."
The man ran his hand slowly along her body, pulling her skirt up inch by inch. Jared clenched his fists tightly and shook his head. "Don't even fucking think about it."
"Relax, Leto. I'm not going to rape her," the man said indignantly. "No. I'm just going to take her clothes off. Your dress Daphne. Take it off."
Daphne had been silent until that point, keeping her mouth shut out of fear. Then she spoke.
"Why the fuck should I?" she asked.
'That's my girl,' Jared thought, a small surge of pride filling his body.
And then searing pain hit his body as he was leveled into the ground. The man standing beside him had sucker punched him on the throat. Jared felt like he was suffocating. He clawed at the ground in front of him, his fingertips getting bloodied, trying to gasp for air. The concrete scraped against his skin as he sank against it, feeling his head hit against it hard. He could hear Daphne's shriek and hear her pleading with them to stop, tears on her voice. But it was all tinny, like listening to someone speak to you while you're underwater. It was all distant and soft. He was suddenly aware of his body's dire need for oxygen.
'Damn it Jay, BREATHE, motherfucker!' he thought to himself as he willed his lungs to work again. He let out a gigantic gasp as he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with precious oxygen.
"Please, stop!" Daphne shouted. "Here," she said, unzipping the dress from behind her and letting it drop to the ground. At least she was wearing a bra and underwear so there was that. "Here, take it," she said.
In the moonlight and light from the street lamp above him, Daphne looked like a slightly nude angel, hovering in front of him, fighting to try to get to him. Of course, that could have also been due to the oxygen deprivation he'd experienced a few seconds prior. Another searing pain came when one of the two men kicked him in the stomach, causing him to roll into the fetal position and lay still, trying to gasp for air once more. There was a shriek from Daphne and then silence. He forced himself to roll over, looking for Daphne.
She was lying flat against the ground on her side, looking over at him. She had a lost look on her face. In her bra and underwear she looked so small. He could see several tears working their way down her cheeks and pooling under her face on the concrete. He pulled himself onto his hands and knees and crawled over to her. There was a rather large bruise forming on her ribcage from where she'd been punched and the two small gashes on her neck had stopped bleeding, leaving two trails of smeared blood down her throat and onto her chest.
She stared at him, more tears flowing from her eyes. He noticed she had started shaking, even though it was a warm summer evening. He pulled her up into a sitting position and wrapped his jacket around her shoulders.
"Daphne, look at me," he said softly, looking around to see if anyone else was nearby. "I need you to talk to me."
He held her face in his hands, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. Her jaw was clenched but her lips were trembling as more tears fell and she came to the realization of what had happened.
"Shhhh," he said quietly as a sob escaped her lips. "Daphne, look at me. You're alright. You're safe," he said, holding her against his body.
She gasped for air as sobs wracked her small frame and he tried to calm her. They sat like that for several minutes until she calmed down again. He stood up, wincing at the pain in his abdomen and helped her stand as well.
"Your phone," she said, gesturing over toward it.
He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll get another one." He bent down slowly to pick up his wallet, which the muggers had been kind enough to leave behind. He tucked it back into his pocket and turned back to Daphne. "Do you have your phone?" he asked.
She reached inside her bra and produced her cell phone, placing it inside his palm. It was still warm from being against her body. He gave her a confused look.
"I didn't have any pockets," she explained softly. He nodded and dialed the phone. "What are you doing?" she asked, walking over to him.
"Calling the cops," he replied. She gave him a confused look. "Daphne, we were just fucking MUGGED! Those fuckers stole my money, stripped you naked, punched and kicked both of us, and threatened your life with a motherfucking knife! Do you really think I'm going to just let them walk the fuck away?"
She glanced at her nearly naked body. "I'm not wearing anything," she said softly. "When they come we'll have to do a police report and everything. I don't want to be seen in my underwear."
He nodded and shouldered the cell phone, sliding his t-shirt over his head and handing it to her. She put it on and it came down past her ass. It was short but at least her underwear wasn't visible. The police arrived after about ten minutes. Considering the crime had already happened and there was little to no chance of even finding the person again in a city as large as Toronto, there was little to be done. Jared and Daphne were taken down to the closest police station in the back of a police car (which provided great fodder for the photographers that were waiting outside the building. Apparently the emergency call had been leaked by someone working in the department when they heard Jared's name and voice) and photographed for evidence.
"And you said they took…?" an officer asked, writing things down in a list.
"I gave them about $200 from my wallet and they took her dress as well," Jared said, indicating Daphne next to him.
She was still wearing his shirt and Jared had put his jacket back on. He was kind of chilly in the air conditioned room and his nipples could cut glass. He had zipped it back up but he was still shivering slightly. Daphne was shaking next to him. She hadn't spoken since they'd gotten picked up by the police. She also hadn't let go of his hand. Assistants had been called and people had been notified. His own mother was on her way from Los Angeles, even though he had insisted he was fine and didn't need her to fly all the way there.
"I'm more pissed off about what they did to her than what they did to me. It's just money," he added. "They forced her to take off-," he was interrupted by Daphne shifting and giving him a look. He cleared his throat and looked back at the officer. "I just want these assholes found before they do this to anyone else."
"Well," the officer responded. "There's very little we can do here. There are no witnesses and you didn't see their faces, so there's not much we can go on. We will put the case in to be reviewed and investigated, but we can't do anything else." He walked around his desk and sat back down. "We'll keep an eye out for that dress online to see if someone tries to sell it but otherwise we can't do anything else."
Jared sighed and looked over at Daphne. She was as pale as a sheet and silent, clutching his hand so tightly her knuckles were white. She shivered against him and clutched her cell phone tightly in her free hand.
"I guess we're done then," he said. The officer nodded and stood up.
"Thank you both for coming in and giving us your statements. We will give you a call if we find anything. And of course," the officer said, glancing at Daphne. "The details of the case won't be discussed with ANYONE without your permission or until the case is solved."
Jared nodded and stood, pulling Daphne behind him lightly. Mara and Kelly were outside in the lobby waiting for them. Kelly gave Daphne a big hug. Even Mara gave Jared one and he was happy to receive it. It was the first taste of normalcy he'd had in the past three hours. They went back to the hotel, avoiding the photographers as best they could.
"Are you going to be alright by yourself?" Kelly asked Daphne after she had showered and was getting ready to sleep.
She nodded. "I'll be fine," she insisted. "Besides, if I need anything, I can just call Wonder Boy over here," she added, nodding toward Jared. He smiled weakly at her.
Kelley nodded and went to the door. "Well if you do need anything, let me know." She moved to leave the room. "Oh and I called Johnny. He should be here in the morning. He said he was getting the first flight he could. I hope that was OK?"
Daphne sighed and nodded. "Unnecessary, but its fine. Thanks Kelly."
Kelly nodded and left the room. Mara followed her and Jared gave her a small nod before she left.
"Are you really alright?" he asked, leaning against the door.
Daphne touched the small marks on her neck. The EMT had said they'd likely heal in a few days and there'd be no marks. They had both been examined and were given clean bills of health. At least, physical health.
"I'll be fine," she said softly.
He nodded and shifted on his feet. "Do you want me to leave the door open or anything? I probably won't be sleeping."
She shook her head no and he left, leaving the door open. He sat down and opened his laptop, trying to figure out a statement to put out so people wouldn't spread rumors. They were already starting a rumor that he and Daphne had been caught having sex in the park by police. He sighed and ran his hands over his face in frustration. He stared at his blank screen for several minutes before starting to type a statement. He was halfway through it when he glanced up and saw Daphne standing in the doorway.
"What's up?" he asked, sitting back from his laptop.
She looked at him uncertainly. "Would you-do you mind-," she stammered.
He raised his eyebrows in expectation of her question.
"I don't want to sleep alone," she said softly with a sigh.
He nodded and stood up. She was wearing a large t-shirt and nothing else. It covered her ass but when she walked he could see her underwear slightly. She had a habit of sleeping in them. He was aware that he didn't have a shirt on, having just stepped out of the shower himself as well. He stood in the doorway, waiting for her to get into the bed.
"Do you want me to turn off the lights?" he asked awkwardly.
She shrugged. "Whatever you want."
He nodded and turned them off before walking over to the other side of her bed. He never shared a bed with a girl unless he was going to fuck her. It was strange to him. In fact he preferred to sleep alone most of the time. It probably came from the many tours he'd been on, having to sleep in single beds. He slid in next to her and lay on his back turning his head to face her.
"Daphne, please don't shut me out," he said softly, his voice a stage whisper in the darkened room. "I know it was scary as fuck. But we did the right thing. We both got out alive and that's what matters. It was just money and a phone and a dress. All of it can be replaced."
She shifted to face him and he heard her sniffle. She was crying. "I know, but I thought they were going to rape me," she said softly.
He grimaced at the image that came floating back to his mind. "I wouldn't have let that happen," he said softly, shifting to his side. The way she looked at him in the moonlight as it came through her window made him think that her fears were not just from this one incident, that there was something else she wasn't telling him. "Daph, has anyone else ever…" he asked, trailing off.
She took a deep, quivering breath and bit her lip. She nodded. "They've touched me, but never actually done anything beyond that," she replied.
"Who did?" he asked gently, trying to control the anger he could feel growing.
"A few different executives at parties or events," she said after a minute of silence. "They would rub against me or try to get me to dance with them or against them. I didn't tell anyone because it wasn't really anything."
Jared sighed and closed his eyes. He'd heard about different executives from studios trying to persuade young actresses to be a little too friendly with them. "When did this happen?" he asked.
She shrugged. "At the 'Rings' premiers," she replied. "But when Pete heard about it he was livid. He threatened to keep me from doing any press at all if it ever happened again. And it didn't," she said. "At least, not with that group anyways."
He reached over and wiped away a tear. She had to be dehydrated with the amount that she'd cried that evening. He had a strong urge to kiss her, just to make her stop crying if nothing else. But he didn't. He was still trying to process everything on his own, but then again, he hadn't had a knife pressed to his throat or been forced to strip practically naked, so he wasn't going to say anything. Another few moments passed in silence and he felt her move toward him more. She snuggled up next to his body and rested her head on his bare chest. Jared was sure she was so exhausted she didn't hear his heart beating out a samba in his chest as she fell asleep against him.