Teddy's POV
I am sitting on my sofa staring at those gorgeous eyes, that beautiful smile, those lips that I've must have kissed thousands of times. Rebecca. I chug down my beer and grab another. I'm going to stare at her until I'm numb. I don't want to feel anything, because everything else just hurts too much.
The door to my apartment opens and Sarah stumbles in, but I hardly notice her. Everything is cloudy right now. I glance over at her and I think I see her drop some things. I think I hear her curse at her clumsiness as she picks everything up. I should probably help her, but I'm too distracted, and a bit tipsy.
She walks over to me, and without saying a word, she opens one of my beers and takes a chug. I regard her oddly. She is eighteen and I've never seen her drink. I keep watching her, waiting for some explanation. She took one of my beers.
"Bad day" she says and then sits on the sofa. I nod and go back to my brooding. I stare at the photo of me and my girl once more. It is the one we took shortly after deciding to become exclusive. It seems like ten years ago, but it's only been three. We've been through so much in such a short amount of time.
"Help yourself to some beer" I say without looking up. I saw her expression when she chugged the beer. She did not like it.
"I've seen you drink Teddy, but not like this. What's going on?"
I look over at her and shake my head. "I'm thinking about Rebecca. Today was kind of a special anniversary."
"Oh" is all she says. I see her take another sip of the beer.
"If you don't like it you don't have to drink it" I tell her.
"It is kind of nasty" she says and makes a face. "I guess I don't get the fascination. So, what's the anniversary?"
"Three years ago today we decided to be exclusive."
She looks at me with a sad smile. "The way you talk about her, I thought it was a lot longer than that."
"It certainly feels that way."
"You can't give up." She tells me. "You've done so much to find her…."
"I'm not giving up" I cut her off. "I will look for her for the rest of my life if I have to." I take another big sip of my beer. I'm angry and I know that sounded angry. "I'm, I'm sorry, I don't want to take it out on you."
"It's okay" she tells me. She grabs the remote control and turns on the television. "What should we watch? College Basketball?"
"I'm actually going to go to bed." I stand up but I'm off balance. I catch myself on the arm of the chair before I fall over.
"I'll help you clean up" she tells me. She walks around the coffee table and gathers the empty beer cans. I finish the one in my hand and bend to pick up a can that I've dropped on the floor. How many of these have I had? When I stand up Sarah also stands and our faces are only centimeters apart. Before I know what is happening, our lips are locked and we are kissing. My hands automatically grab her hips and I think hers are on my arms. I grab her face and our kiss deepens. This feels…. I don't know but I don't stop. I reach down for the hem of her shirt and pull it over her head. We kiss again, and then I turn her around and remove her bra. My hands cup her breasts and I kiss and bite at her neck. I start to knead her breasts. This is different. These aren't her breasts. That's not her scent. This is not Rebecca. Oh Fuck!
I release her and back away from her, grabbing my head and pulling my hair. What the fuck did I just do?
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Christian's POV
Taylor and I arrive at a police station in the middle of nowhere. All I know is that we are somewhere in Arizona. Taylor leads the way as we enter the station. It is small and we immediately find the area where they are keeping Rebecca. We enter the room and see an odd looking gentleman in a police uniform. I turn and see Rebecca. She is in the cell, lying on the bed which is just a slab of concrete. She's very thin and very dirty. Her hair and clothes are a mess. She doesn't appear to notice us.
"Open this door, now!" I demand. The odd policeman just chuckles.
"No can do. We need to wait for the judge to get here in the morning."
"Judge? What exactly is she being accused of?"
"Trespassing. The little lady was found strolling along private property. I could also charge her with public intoxication, but I decided to give the lady a break."
I look over at Rebecca again. She still does not acknowledge us. She does not look well. "You need to open this door now. This girl needs medical attention. Look at her." I wave my hand in her direction to make a point. The idiot still does not budge. Before I can rip this guy's head off, Taylor shows him something and says that he'll take full responsibility for Rebecca. Whatever he just did works. The policeman walks around his desk with his ridiculously large ring of keys, and eventually finds the right key to unlock the cell. Taylor and I immediately rush in and check on Rebecca.
"Miss Lincoln" Taylor says and gently shakes her. "Rebecca, can you hear me? Open your eyes. It's Taylor."
"Taylor" she says weakly. Her voice is very hoarse.
"Yes, it's me. Mr Grey is here too. We're going to help you." I look at her face. She looks so confused. But she doesn't look intoxicated. I think she is malnourished and dehydrated. And beaten up. Someone did this to her.
"We need to get her to a hospital" I tell Taylor. He stands and takes out his phone. I don't wait to find out who he is calling. I slide over to where Taylor just was so that she can see my face. "Rebecca, I'm going to pick you up, okay? We're going to get you to the hospital." I gently push my arms under her and lift her. She is in really bad shape. What's happened to her? Taylor starts to walk out and I follow him.
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Teddy's POV
Sarah makes coffee and brings over two mugs. She sets one in front of me and then sits on the sofa and puts her feet up, far away from me. I've been drinking all night, but I'm not oblivious to what we did. We almost… Oh fuck I don't even want to go there.
"Sarah" I start. "I don't know what came over me. I'm… I'm sso sorry. I…." I grab my head in frustration, also because I have a major headache.
"You miss your girlfriend" she says. "You're sad and you've been drinking."
"Don't make excusesss for me. I acted like an ass. I don't have those kinds of feelings for you. I would never want to give you that miscon….. misconception."
"You haven't. Do you want some Asprin?"
"No, I want to know what that was. Fine, you know, I'm drunk, I miss Rebecca…. I'm ssuch a shit. I'm a mess." I think I'm whining. And I'm slurring my words. Why did I drink so much? "I don't know, maybe I thought I would feel better. But why did you do it? Why didn't you stop me? Push me away? Anything?"
She shrugs and puts her coffee down. "Probably for the same reason, I thought it would make me feel better."
"What happened today?" I ask her. I remember her saying she had a bad day when she came in here. I watch her sigh and look down at her hands. She looks like she could cry. "Tell me" I coax her.
"This guy, Darren. He comes into the café a lot. He always flirts with me….. at first I didn't like it. I thought he was this typical guy who flirted with all girls he came in contact with. But then I started to like it. And….. like him. He came to the café more often and I somehow fooled myself into thinking that he came to see me, because he would always come in during my shift. The other waitresses said he was only there when I was."
She stops talking. "What happened?"
"I finally worked up the courage to ask him out."
I close my eyes and put my face in my hands. "Oh God, S..Sarah." I shake my head. I really should get some Asprin. "So, so he rejected you, and then I…."
"No" she shakes her head. "It's not the same."
"How is it not the same?"
She lightly chuckles. Is she laughing at me? "Don't take this the wrong way. You are a catch, Teddy. I'd be lying if I said you weren't good looking. You've been more than generous, and you're kind. But it's not the same because I don't have those kinds of feelings for you."
"You… you don't?"
"Does that upset you?"
I think it over for a moment. Does that upset me? It shouldn't. I shake my head. "I guess I'm relieved. I like… I like having you here. I hope I didn't screw it up."
"I'm glad you stopped it. Let's make a deal, okay? No more kissing? I'm sure we can…. find other ways to help each other."
"Deal. And, I'm sorry about that…. guy, whatever his sname is. He's a jerk for not giving you a chance. Do you want me to rough him up for you?"
She giggles. "No, Tony Soprano. That won't be necessary. I would prefer not to see him anymore. Maybe he'll stop coming to the café, now that he knows that I'm interested in him."
"And if he doesn't?"
She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. It's going to be hard. I allowed myself to develop feelings for him. So now I have to get over him. I'm not really sure how to do that."
My phone rings. It's Dad. Why is he calling me so late?
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Christian's POV
"Theodore, have you been drinking?" I know he has been. He is slurring his words.
"Dad, I'm sfine, just….. whadda you want?"
"Sober up. Reynolds is taking you to the airport and you will be getting on a plane."
"Dad, nnno I told you I don't need to come home…."
"Listen to me" I snap at him, cutting him off. "Take some Asprin, drink some water, and get in the car. You can pack a bag or we'll arrange some clothes when you get here. You are not going home."
"Dad…."
"Just do what you're told" I raise my voice even more. "You can sleep on the plane. Teddy….." I try to soften my voice. This will shock him, maybe even sober him up. "Son, I'm with your girlfriend. Okay? I can't tell you where we are in case this call isn't secure. Just go with Reynolds." There is silence. "Teddy?"
"Rebecca" he says softly.
"I'll see you soon, Son."
"Dad, wait….. is she…. is ssshe okay?"
"She can do with seeing her boyfriend. Just get here in one piece, preferably sober."
I end the call and peek in Rebecca's hospital room. Taylor is sitting with her and she is sleeping. They have her hooked up to IVs and a heart monitor. The doctors cannot go into detail about her condition since we are not family, but they've confirmed she has many bruises that are consistent with ongoing abuse. My suspicions about her being malnourished and dehydrated were correct. I hate that Teddy will see her like this, but he needs to be here with her. Her father does too. I've made arrangements to bring him here. He is in France on business so Teddy will get here before him.
I tuck my phone away and walk in to sit with Rebecca and Taylor.
"Has she said anything?" I ask him.
"No, Sir. I'm going to make some calls to see if we can find out where she was before she was found trespassing on private property." He says the last part mockingly and I can't help but release a chuckle. I can't believe they arrested her for that. Of course if they hadn't, Taylor's team most likely wouldn't have picked up on it.
I sit in the chair that Taylor has vacated and sip my coffee. It's going to be a long night.
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Christian's POV
It's been hours since I'd called Teddy and arranged for him to get here. He should be here soon. I'm still sitting with Rebecca even though she is still out. I know Teddy wouldn't want her to be alone. The nurses have been in to check on her and replace her IV bags. I'm glad they were able to clean her up before Teddy sees her, but he will have to see her bruised and frail.
Taylor has been somewhere else in the hospital checking in with his team. He had flown some men out here to help locate where Rebecca was before she was arrested. I check my phone to see if there is a text from him, but there isn't.
When I glance back at Rebecca I see that she's opened her eyes. "Rebecca" I say softly. I slowly and gently place my hand on top of hers, but I immediately remove it when she gasps. "It's okay, it's okay. It's Mr Grey. Rebecca, you're safe here." I don't know if she can hear me. She starts to breathe heavily and she becomes distressed. "Rebecca" I try again, and gently place my hand on hers. She starts to thrash. I press the emergency button on her bed so that a nurse or doctor would come. A nurse rushes in immediately.
"What's happened?" she asks me.
"I…. I don't know. She opened her eyes and just panicked. Can you do something?"
Another nurse rushes in and asks me to help keep her still. I stand and hold onto Rebecca's wrist and her leg. "Rebecca, it's okay Sweetheart, you are safe" I tell her again. She is being held down by the other nurse too so all she can do is cry out.
"Rebecca, Honey, everything is fine. I need you to take a few breaths for me" the nurse says as she injects something into one of the IVs. Not more than thirty seconds later Rebecca is out again.
"What did you give her?" I ask them.
"A sedative. It won't harm her." She starts to leave.
"Wait, can you please tell me what's wrong with her? Why was she so distressed?"
She sighs. I know she shouldn't be telling me anything about Rebecca's condition, but she doesn't have family here. Her father is on his way but he will not be here until tomorrow. "Miss Lincoln has been through some trauma. We won't know the extent of it until she is ready to talk about it. That was probably a nightmare, or a reaction to waking up somewhere that is unfamiliar." I nod and look back down at Rebecca. "Let us know if she wakes again. We need to make sure she feels safe."
I take a seat again and run both of my hands through my hair. It's now that I notice a text from Reynolds. He is here with Teddy. I text him back with the floor and room number. I take a sip of my coffee and then drag myself out of the chair to greet my son in the hall. I should get some sleep, but I'll wait until I know that Teddy is settled.
Once in the hall I immediately see my son walking toward me. He looks completely shattered. I know he didn't get any sleep on the plane. "Dad" he says. He sounds so exhausted. I wrap my arms around him and hold him. I feel him grab onto me for dear life. "Please tell me she's okay."
"Shhhh. Yes Son, she'll be okay."
"I need to see her" he says and tries to push past me, but I stop him.
"Wait, hold on."
"Dad….. I know, the drinking, c…can we talk about that later?"
"Yes we will, but…." He tries to push past me again but I stop him. "Stop, you need to hear this first."
"What?"
I let out a frustrated sigh. I don't like that I have to tell him this. "The doctors can't tell me anything because I'm not family. But she has a lot of bruises. And she's very thin..."
"I need to see her" he cuts me off.
"I know you do, Son. But I want you to be prepared first."
"Prepared for what? Dad…"
"Just listen" I cut him off this time and put my hands on his shoulders. "Just a short while ago she woke up, and she was in distress. They gave her a sedative. I don't know what she's been through, Teddy but it couldn't have been good. We need to make her feel safe."
He glares at me for a moment and then blinks a few times. "She's safe. She's safe with me. I can make her feel safe."
I nod and walk with my son into Rebecca's room. He stands and stares at her for a moment, and then rushes to her side and takes her hand into both of his.
"Rebecca, Baby I'm here. I'm here and… everything's going to be okay." He leans over her and plants kisses in her hair and on her forehead. He rests his cheek on her forehead and starts to cry. "I'm here Baby, I'm here. Nothing's going to happen to you, I promise."
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Teddy's POV
I'm sitting with my girl and holding her hand. It's been twelve hours since my Dad and Taylor brought her here. "She should be waking up" I say out loud. "Why isn't she waking up?"
I feel my Dad's hand on my shoulder. "She will when she is ready. Just give her time."
I let out a long frustrated sigh and take some time to really look at her. She has a bandage on her head, a cut above her eye, some bruises on her arms, and indentations on her wrists. Her wrists were tied. She is wearing a hospital gown and the blanket is pulled up to her chest, so I don't know what kind of condition the rest of her body is in. The doctors couldn't tell me or my father much since we're not family.
"I'm here Baby" I tell her softly. "I'm not going anywhere." I continue to hold her hand and rub my other hand up and down her arm. I do this for a while and then notice her breathing change. "Rebecca" I say her name. I keep watching her face and I see her eyes open. "Her eyes are open. Rebecca?" I stand up and lean over her so that she can see my face. When she does, her eyes stay focused on me. "Hi" I say to her and smile. My girl is awake.
"Hi" she says. Her voice is very raspy. I keep my eyes on hers. She looks very unsure. I bring her hand to my face and hold it there.
"It's me, Baby. It's Teddy. I'm right here."
She becomes more emotional and starts to cry. "I missed you so much." It's barely a whisper. I lean down and kiss her, keeping her hand on my face. I pull back slightly and gently caress her face.
"I've missed you too, Baby. So much."
She is able to caress my face too and lets out a chuckle, and then groans in pain. "Ow"
"Relax, relax, what hurts?" I ask her. "What hurts, Baby?"
"Ev… everything" she says.
"Dad" I say and turn my head, but he isn't there. I turn my attention back to my girl.
"How did I get here?" she asks. Her voice is still very raspy. I wonder if I'm allowed to give her water. I turn my head again and see Dad rush in with a doctor. He asks us both to leave.
"No, I'm not leaving her" I say angrily. The Doctor turns and glares at me.
"It will just be for a few minutes. You can come back in when I finish checking her over."
"Baby" I say while I lean over her so that she can see me. "You're in the hospital, and the doctor wants to check you over. It's going to be fine."
"Please don't leave" she says to me.
I turn and look at the doctor again. "You can stay. But please wait over there."
"Teddy, I'll be in the waiting room" I hear my Dad say. I kiss my girl again and step aside so that the doctor can check her over.
I am so anxious, I need to calm down. I've had so much coffee in the last ten hours. Rebecca, she's here…and she's awake… and she's talking. I almost can't believe it. I can't take my eyes off of her. I watch as the doctor checks her over. He is feeling her abdomen and Rebecca is flinching in pain.
"You have a few cracked ribs" I hear him say. He continues to examine her. She is so thin. She is bruised and in pain. I need to find out what happened to her. When the doctor is finished I am by her side again. "I'll be back in a few hours to check on you."
"Can she eat?" I ask him.
"Start with something light, like toast or crackers. A nurse will be in shortly to replace the IV."
He leaves and I turn my attention back to my girl. I can't help but smile at her. She's here, and I have so much I want to say to her, but no words come out. I start to think of something to say and she passes gas. We both laugh.
"I'm sorry" she says.
"That's okay, I'm happy to be here with you, gassy or otherwise." She laughs again and then winces in pain. "Okay, no making you laugh for a while." She nods and then starts to become emotional. "Baby, what is it? What's wrong?"
She shakes her head and tries to hold back her tears, but she can't. "I don't deserve you."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because… I cheated on you. I'm a horrible person."
I bring her hand to my lips and plant a few kisses. "We talked about this. I forgave you. Did you cheat on me again?"
She shakes her head and looks me in the eye. "No, no Teddy I promise I didn't."
"Okay, then why bring this up now? Can you tell me what happened?"
She takes a few breaths and works to compose herself. I continue to plant kisses on her hand. "Water?" she asks.
I look around the room and see a pitcher and a cup on her bed table. I hesitate to leave go of her hand, but I need to get her some water. I keep my eyes on her while I take a few steps to the table and pour some water. I put the cup in front of her face and hold it while she takes a few sips. "Here, drink some more." I continue to help her until she finishes all of the water in the cup.
"Taylor was here, right? I didn't imagine that."
"Yeah, he was here. Why?"
"Could you get him? Please?"
I don't understand why she's asking for Taylor, but I decide to just go along with it. I pull out my phone and send him a text.
Rebecca is asking for you. Are you able to come to her room?
I rub my hand up and down her arm while I wait for him to respond. He does immediately.
I'll be with you in a few.
"Taylor is on his way" I tell her. She nods and takes a few more breaths to calm down. "I don't want you to think you don't deserve me, okay? Whatever happens….. whatever's happened, we're in this together." She nods again, but I don't think she's convinced.
Taylor walks in and I let him have my seat. I walk around to the other side of the bed and wait for Rebecca to give me permission to sit. When she nods I sit on the bed and take her other hand in mine.
"Miss Lincoln" he greets her.
She rolls her eyes at his formality. "Taylor"
He smiles at her. "Rebecca. What can I do for you?"
She takes a deep breath and releases it. "I did something….. and I need help. I'm in a lot of trouble."
I squeeze her hand and her eyes dart to mine. "Its okay" I try to assure her. "You can tell us."
She looks at Taylor and he nods. "The guy that took me, Carlos… he…. he did things to me…. he hurt me…. kept me in a cage, he…. he beat me if I didn't behave the way he wanted me to….. and I tried to run away a few times…."
I can't believe this. I'll kill him. I continue to hold her hand and use the other hand to rub up and down her arm. "You got away from him."
She nods and tears stream down her face. "He wanted to do some… scene. So I was out of the cage. I pretended to go along with it and then….. I grabbed the closest thing I could and I…. hit him in the head. I….. I think I killed him. I killed him." She starts crying, and I know this will not be good for her ribs. I shift on the bed so that I am sitting next to her and I cradle her upper body against me. I rock her and plant kisses in her hair.
"Its okay" I say it over and over again to assure her. That son of a bitch deserves to die, but I don't want Rebecca to have to live with the guilt of killing him. I look up and see Taylor leave the room. I wonder where he's going. I continue to plant kisses in Rebecca's hair as she cries into my chest.
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Christian's POV
I've managed to talk Teddy into getting some sleep. He only agreed because Rebecca is asleep again and I told him I would sit here with her. I'd managed to get some sleep while he and Taylor were here with her. Taylor said she was talking about what had happened, and that she confirmed it was Carlos that took her. The police want to talk to her and get a statement. We were able to convince them to come back tomorrow after she's had some time to recover.
She wakes up and looks over at me. "Mr Grey."
I pull my chair closer to her bed so that she can see me. "Everything's fine" I say to her gently.
"Where's Teddy?"
"I sent him off to get some sleep. I told him I would stay with you."
She nods and closes her eyes. "Thank you. He listens to you."
I smile. "Sometimes." She looks at me as though she is trying to gauge what I'm thinking. "What?"
She blinks a few times before she answers. "Did you tell him to break up with me, after what I did?"
"No" I say as I rub my face with both hands. "No I didn't."
"But you think he should."
"It doesn't matter what I think."
"Yes, it does. Teddy really respects you and your wife. He cares what you think. He always wants to make you proud."
"I'm very proud of him" I say with a smile as I think of my son. "Teddy's not perfect, he makes mistakes, but I'm proud of the man he's become. He has a lot of respect for you too, Rebecca. He wasn't going to tell anyone about what you did. He only had to because of the investigation."
She nods and looks away. "I'm such a fool. I don't know why I did it. I love your son so much, I'm….. in love with him, I didn't want anyone else. And I never wanted to hurt him, but I did. I hurt him so much. I caused him so much pain. And I brought this monster into our lives, and I… I might have killed him…."
She is rambling and becoming more and more emotional. "Rebecca….. Rebecca its okay."
"No, it's not okay. It's not okay. I wish everyone would stop telling me that."
I take her hand in mine and it distracts her. I know she wasn't expecting that. Neither was I. But I had to do something. The doctor said we need to make her feel safe. We both keep looking back and forth between each other and our hands, and she starts to calm down. But she's sniffling. I reach over for a tissue and hand it to her. "Here." She takes it from me and cleans her nose. "I know that after everything you've been through, it might not seem like it now but it will be okay. Teddy….. he was so determined to find you. And now that he has he is going to stick by you. You need to let him." She nods and continues to clean her nose.
"Knock knock" I hear a male's voice. I turn around and see that it is Rebecca's father. I look back at Rebecca and she is speechless. She immediately becomes emotional again. "Becky, my Becky" he says and rushes to the other side of the bed. He takes her into his arms and they both cry. I decide to give them space and quietly leave the room.
Once in the hall I see Taylor approaching me. "Anything?"
"Sir, we found the house where Carlos was keeping Rebecca."
"And?" I ask when Taylor stops talking.
"There was blood on the floor, and a broken bottle nearby. I believe that is what Miss Lincoln used to hit him over the head."
I nod. "We should alert the police."
"Already done, Sir. There's something else?"
"What?"
"Carlos wasn't there."
Thank you so much for continuing to read my Fanfic! I am blown away by all of the comments and PMs. You guys are incredible! I hope you liked this chapter. And yes, a bit of a cliffhanger to keep things interesting.