Two white sophomore boys, Rivers Aschler and Henry Driscoll, surround a new girl, Nadia Shakhei, who is Muslim, and a new student, while she is exiting the girls' bathroom.
Rivers asks Nadia,
"You hiding something in there?"
Nadia is on the verge of tears.
"Please, please, leave me alone."
Henry laughs and high-fives his friend and Trish is on duty in the Marino High School hallway, with her walky-talky on her hip. She sees Rivers yank off Nadia's hijab and Henry reaches into her dress, feeling up her chest. Feeling her blood boil, she blows her whistle.
"Henry Driscoll and Rivers Aschler! I can't believe what I just saw!"
Rivers looks at her.
"Oh, it's you again. I was just fucking with her."
Henry pipes in.
"You better check her, Ms. De La Rosa. She's probably a terrorist."
Trish says,
"This is unacceptable. I'm calling the principal right now."
She picks up her walky from her hip.
"Principal Warner, do you copy? This is De La Rosa."
"Loud and clear, De La Rosa. What's your 20?"
"First floor, by wellness. I just saw Henry Driscoll and Rivers Aschler harassing our new student Nadia Shakhei. Can you send Ms. Gatlin or Mr. Cochran to get them?"
"Copy that. On it."
"Thank you."
Being in the halls gives her a major blast from the past from when she was a student at Marino High School with her friends, her peers, and now her fiancé. She wears many hats at her job- family liaison, security guard, paraprofessional, and translator, but she loves it. She gives Nadia a warm hug and whispers,
"I'm so sorry about that, Corazón. Are you OK?"
Nadia says,
"I'm so embarrassed. Why would they do that to me?"
The girl bursts into tears and Trish asks her,
"Do you want to go to see Ms. Walker? I'll write you a note and give it to your teacher."
The girl says,
"OK."
"Whose class do you have right now?"
"Biology class with Mr. Scott."
"I'm here for you, OK?"
"Thank you, Ms. De La Rosa."
"You know I'm here for you, Nadia."
The Muslim girl wipes her eyes and looks down at Trish's ring on her hand.
"That's a beautiful ring, Ms. De La Rosa,"
she says.
"Thank you. I love it, too,"
Trish whispers to her.
"Do you have a husband?"
Trish giggles.
"Well, I have a fiancé. His name is Jace. He's my whole world."
Ariella Fernandez, one of Trish's "fans" as she calls them, who is in the wellness center with an injured ankle, pipes in as Ms. Walker applies ice to her ankle.
"You should see Ms. De La Rosa's man. He's a yummy meal."
Trish starts to laugh.
"Don't make me laugh, Ariella."
Back home, Trish is exhausted from a long day of corralling teenagers. She had to deal with two white boys harassing a Muslim girl in the hallway, for which they were now facing in-school suspension, she witnessed a couple of students ditching classes or "going to the bathroom" (aka sneaking out of class) and ended up returning them to class, and today, one of the paraprofessionals in one of the special day classes had to leave due to a family emergency and Trish ended up covering for him. One of the students in the special education room had a major meltdown and ended up punching a hole in the wall and running around the schoolyard in his underwear. She needs wine and cuddles with Jace and she needs them, now.
"Hi, mi amor,"
she calls out as she takes her shoes off in the apartment.
"Hi, beautiful,"
he tells her.
The two embrace each other with Trish having to stand on tiptoes and they both kiss on the lips.
"I've never been happier to come home to you. Today was long and I'm tired."
Jace asks her,
"Do you want to talk about anything? You're allowed."
Trish says,
"Just a lot of redirecting at work today, kids ditching classes, and even stopping two boys harassing a Muslim girl."
Jace pipes in.
"That's horrible. I hope she's OK."
"Me too."
Minutes later, Trish is in silky loungewear, and her bra is off, she puts her phone down on the table, and she snuggles up next to her husband-to-be, practically falling asleep against him. She can't remember the last time weeknights after work involved bras. Jace poured her a glass of red wine. Trish plants a soft kiss on Jace's cheek and says,
"You're my safe haven, Jace."
He kisses her on her temple.
"Trish, I'm going to be your husband. My job is to make sure you're safe and that you have what you need."
She kisses him on the cheek again.
"I love you."
He says,
"I love you, too."
The two are about to kiss each other on the lips when Trish's phone starts to ring from an unknown caller.
"This is Trish De La Rosa."
It turns out to be an automated voice message system.
"Hello. This message is for *Last name* De La Rosa, *First name* Patricia. From Federal Correctional Institution. There has been a modification in the custody status of an offender near you. *Last name* McCoy, *First name* Charles. This offender has been released from prison. If you have any concerns about your immediate safety, you may reach out to your local law enforcement or call 911. Thank you, have a good day, goodbye."
*FLASHBACK. Trish is 15 years old*
Chuck reaches down her shirt and fondles her breasts and then, he grabs her wrists and holds her against a wall by a row of lockers, forcibly pushing himself into her, causing Trish to release an ear-piercing shriek.
"CHUCK! Leave me alone! Please, please leave me alone."
Chuck starts to laugh.
"This is what you deserve, Trish. For refusing to send me a photo of your vagina and for refusing to let me fondle your tits."
She is on the verge of tears. Fortunately for her, Coach Simmons, a gym teacher, comes over and blows his whistle and shouts,
"Time out! What's happening over here?"
Trish says,
"Chuck just touched me with his penis and touched my breasts."
blinking back tears in her eyes. Coach Simmons feels his blood boiling.
"CHUCK, WHAT YOU DID IS EXTREMELY UNACCEPTABLE. WHY WOULD YOU THINK IT'S OK TO PUT YOUR HANDS ON A GIRL? GO TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE NOW."
Chuck finally decides to give Trish her space, but gives her a dirty look and flips her off. The coach's anger disappears and reforms into sympathy while looking at Trish.
"Trish, I'm so sorry he did that to you. Are you OK?"
Trish cries silently and whispers,
"I hope so."
"I'm going to make sure Chuck is punished for what he did to you. I'm here for you."
"Thank you."
*A few weeks later*
Chuck has been expelled for a myriad of sexual harassment incidents and for committing sexual assault against Trish. He is out for revenge against her, driving in his car in front of the Marino High School campus and following her with his car. Trish is halfway home, but she is stopped in her tracks by Chuck McCoy and before she can scream, or draw attention to the situation in some way, he holds her wrists with one hand and puts tape over her mouth with the other hand, and hogties her hands.
In that same flashback, Chuck takes her to an abandoned motel room that is very sketchy-looking. It is surrounded by drug dealers, thugs, and homeless people. He screws a camera onto a tripod, turns the camera on, and then he smiles at her sadistically while she is in her bra and panties, her wrists are tied together and she is gagged with tape over her mouth. She is terrified, but she cannot speak or move.
"Hello, Trish. Are you sorry that you got me expelled from school yet?"
She fearfully looks at her attacker.
"What goes around comes around, Trish. That's just what I'm going to do to you. Maybe, if you're good, I'll take the tape off your mouth."
He comes closer to her, stripping down to his underwear and he unbuckles her bra, covering her breasts with his hands, and climbs behind her on the bed of the motel. Chuck held Trish hostage, raped her, and tortured her for over a week. The only time when he would take the strip of duck tape off of her mouth was when he forced oral sex on her.
*Flashback ends*
Trish is now frozen. The mental image of Chuck's mugshot and his photos from when he was made to register as a sex offender, and how threatening he looked in those pictures come back to her. Jace asks her,
"Trish, Trish, what happened? Are you OK?"
She tries to suppress her panic attack, but fails.
"Chuck McCoy. H-he escaped from prison."
She can't breathe and she is re-traumatized. Jace puts his hands right below her shoulders.
"Trish, Trish, Trish. You're safe, you're OK."
He embraces her and kisses her on her cheek. She calms down in a few minutes.
"Trish, I want you to know, you're safe with me. I'm not leaving you. Ever. Chuck did that to you because he's fucked up and what he did to you is on him, not on you."
Trish manages a small smile and she whispers,
"You're so sweet, Jace. I love you."
He says,
"I love you, too, Trish. I'm here to protect you. Always."
Thank god it's Friday and she has weekends off. On top of that, her dad is a Special Victims Unit police officer. Her dad says that when a rapist is released from prison, they still have limits, such as restraining orders. She is praying that Chuck doesn't come near her workplace, home, or family's home. It helps that he is not to go anywhere near her, but not all predators comply with restraining orders.
She needs something to calm herself down. Looking down at her engagement ring helps to make her feel calm, as it's a reminder that she's less than a year away from marrying the love of her life. Jace is her rock. She looks into his sweet, piercing hazel eyes, with her eyes leaking.
"Jace, I appreciate you so much."
He plants a kiss on her cheekbone.
"I'm here for you. I'm never leaving your side."
Little does she know, what will happen on Monday. It is not even thirty minutes into first period, when an ear-splitting alarm screeches, startling her as she is reading emails on her laptop. She turns to Dana and whispers,
"What's going on?"
Dana says,
"I don't know."
That question is instantly answered when they hear their radios click. Principal Warner is on the walky and he says,
"There is a person with a gun on campus. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. Hide anywhere you can, cover the doors and windows, and stay quiet."
The phone in the office goes off. It's Ms. Gatlin, the assistant principal. She says,
"There is a person with a gun on campus. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill. Hide anywhere you can, cover the doors and windows, and stay quiet."
Trish's anxiety is soaring. First learning that her rapist was released from prison and could be anywhere, probably stalking her, now there is a person with a firearm on campus. She sprints to the windows and closes them, pulling the blinds down, while Dana covers the door window with a long, thick sheet of black paper, turns the lights off, and locks the door. Trish hides under her desk, clenching the legs of the table. Her Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder has been acting up lately. Who in their right mind shows up to a high school campus with a gun? For all she knows, Chuck could be the gunman at her school. She can feel the palpitations in her chest and she can feel her thoughts racing. She thinks to herself,
What if Chuck knows where I live or where I work and is coming back to hurt me or hurt Jace? Wasn't assaulting me enough?
She stares at some of the photos of her and Jace on her to quell her anxiety and fear. Speaking of Jace, or according to her phone, Mi amor he sends her a text that says,
I heard what happened. Are you OK?
Trish texts,
I'm scared. Especially after Chuck was released from jail. I don't feel safe.
He sends her a message that says,
Let me know what happens, and let me know if I can help you out in any way.
She texts him,
You're my rock.
*Flashback*
Trish is 15 years old after looking at her FaceBook account during homeroom. She was added to a message chain with some of the pedophiles who saw the videos of him raping her and she just saw a photo of Chuck's sex offender registry entry. His mugshot has him looking very threatening and staring directly into the camera and he is in his orange jumpsuit.
Charles Abraham McCoy. Born September 19, 1995. Birthplace Georgetown, Kentucky. 200 pounds. Non-Hispanic white. 5'3. Brown hair. Blue eyes. Arrested on March 4, 2013. Convicted on April 19, 2013. Description: sexual battery of a child under 16, anal copulation of a child under 16, oral copulation of a child under 16, forcible penetration, forcible touching, and possession and dissemination of child pornography.
Instantly upon seeing that photo, she feels retraumatized and runs into the hallway, sobbing, and panicking. Jace goes up to the teacher, Mr. Hallden's desk.
"Excuse me, Mr. Hallden."
"Yes, Mr. Dillon?"
"I think Trish is having a moment. Can I go out and talk to her?"
"You're excused."
"Thank you."
Trish is standing outside of one of the stalls of the girls' room, crying. Jace looks at her sympathetically and asks her in a soft-spoken voice,
"Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Trish, what happened?"
She looks up at him meekly with a tear-stained face.
"I saw Chuck's mugshot. Everything reminds me of him and what he's done to me. I'm having nightmares about him every night, and I can still feel where he touched me with his genitals. It won't stop."
He sits beside her and puts his arm around her.
"Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Come here."
She is sobbing while he cuddles her, rubbing her upper back, and he whispers,
"Shhh, shhh, shhh. Trish, what Chuck did to you, that's not your fault. You're allowed to feel how you feel."
She wipes her eyes on the back of her hand.
"Thank you, Jace. You're so sweet."
"I'm here."
*Another flashback. A few weeks later, five more weeks left of the school year*
Jace watches Trish exit the office of the school psychologist, Dr. Johnson's office. Jace says to her,
"How have you been holding up?"
Trish says,
"I'm OK. I feel really lucky to have all this support. From my friends, from my parents, from the school psychologist, and especially from you, Jace."
Jace gives her a warm hug.
"I'm glad to see you're healing. I want you to know, I'm here for you, I want to help you, and if you ever need anything from me, tell me."
He gently caresses her hand, which makes her tingle. Trish has a crush on Jace, and she's been processing it for months. He gives the best hugs ever and he has the softest hands. When he whispers in her ear, she tingles. Not to mention, he always smells good and he's cute. She has only told a few people she likes Jace as more than a friend, but she doesn't want to ruin her friendship with him. What she is ignorant of, is that Jace likes her back.
"Thank you, Jace. For being here for me."
The two then shut their eyes and kiss on the lips. Trish is kissing her close friend and the guy she is secretly crushing on. Jace's dominant hand is resting just below her neck, and the other hand is on her hip and both her hands are around his shoulders. Holy shit, she's going to have a lot to process. Jace is an awesome kisser, too.
*Flashback ends*
Trish then has to leave the school to evacuate the school. She sees Jace's car waiting for her. She climbs into his car and she says,
"Hi, baby. I'm glad to see you."
He says,
"I'm concerned about you, Trish. Your anxiety has been acting up more than usual."
"It comes with the territory. I have anxiety and I have PTSD. I'm with teenagers every day who have mental health issues and who are going through hell and back, like I've been."
He slides his hand down her long, black curly hair, tucking a section of her hair behind her ear and he looks at her face.
"Trish, I don't see you any differently because of your mental health, or what's happened to you."
He holds her hand with the ring he proposed to her with and strokes her hand with his thumb.
"When I proposed to you, I proposed to all of you."
She kisses him companionably.
"Yes, Jace. Yes, you did. It's why you complete me."
Back at home, they're both snuggled up on the Davenport. Her head is resting on his clavicle and his arm is around her shoulder.
"I think this snuggle with my man is just what the doctor ordered,"
she says to him. He says,
"I'm glad to supply it to you."
Jace's phone starts to ring. He's getting a FaceTime request from an individual by the name of Danielle Frazier.
"Who's Danielle Frazier?"
Jace smiles at Trish.
"Remember when I mentioned I was talking to a wedding planner? That's her."
Danielle Frazier has long, blonde hair tied in an Ariana Grande half ponytail and blue-green eyes. She looks somewhat sheepish when Jace answers.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I catch you two at a bad time?"
Trish says,
"No, no. You're so pretty."
Danielle smiles.
"Thank you. You two are so cute. Anyway, I was able to find a date and a venue. I was able to pull some strings and get you two in at Pinecrest Riverside Venue on Saturday, May 17, 2025."
Jace tells her,
"I hear that place is gorgeous. Thank you."
Danielle smiles and laughs and says,
"Don't mention it."
Chapter 4 down! Remember to favorite, follow, and review if you like this fic. More drama and dark stuff coming soon, too. *Zips lips and prepares piping hot tea*
Love you, my readers!