Chapter Seventeen

Chevelle


I’ve just turned the bathroom light off and stepped into the dark hallway when I feel someone grasp my hand, halting my movements. The heat and hardness of another person’s body presses against my backside as their hand wraps around my middle. I let out a breath that I hadn’t realized I had been holding as I reach down, threading my fingers through Rivers' longer ones.

“God, I’ve missed you,” rasps a deep voice that is definitely not River’s as he pulls me tighter against his hard body. “Do you really not remember me?” I can feel his excitement pressed against my lower back at the same time that his lips touch my neck, his teeth biting the sensitive skin there.

I try to jerk away but he tightens his grip around my waist, holding me against him. “What are you doing?” The question falls from my lips in a whisper, lacking any kind of strength, as the stinging behind my eyes forms into a pool of tears. I feel caught in a situation that regardless of what I do, I can’t win. I don’t want to cause a scene, but I don’t want him touching me either. One of the tears falls against my cheek as I’m hit with a sense of déjà ’vu.

His lips close over my earlobe and closing my eyes, I surrender to fear, my body shaking violently as I pray that someone will come along that can get me out of this situation.

*The stench of whiskey hits my nostrils as his mouth nears mine. My arms are above my head, held there by a strong hand as I feel the other slipping beneath my skirt and sliding up my thigh. My heartbeat speeds up and tears drench my cheeks as his breath hits my skin. “You know fighting me is no use. You do this every time, and every time you end up coming around my fingers, and then on my cock.” The knot in my throat gets harder to swallow around as I try to be strong. I know better than to scream, last time I tried, he hit me. “I‘ll move on to Caprice if you keep fighting me, do you hear? Don’t test me!” The last thing that I want is for this monster to hurt my little sister the way that he’s hurt me. She's just a little girl, she deserves to stay innocent for as long as she can.*

A hand lowers between my legs, stroking me through my jeans but it doesn’t elicit a feeling of pleasure the way that it did when River touched me, or when I touched myself. Instead, the desire to vomit rises up quickly and violently.

*“Please…” I plead as my sleep shorts fall to the floor followed by my panties.*

*“You don’t have to beg; you know I’m going to fuck you.” He murmurs against my neck as he lowers himself between my quivering thighs, his movements fidgety but hurried.*

*“Please don’t do this…” I try again but my pleas are ignored as his hips thrust forward, pain splitting me in half as he pins me down against the bed, his hips piston in and out at a rough, quick pace.*

*“Fuck you feel good! Your pussy is so tight!” he growls as he continues pumping into me, my hands fist into the sheets as I try with all my might to not gouge his eyes out to make him stop.*

Suddenly I’m shoved back and falling to the floor. Bringing my knees to my chest, I wrap my arms around them and bury my face in them, rocking back and forth.

*“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it.” he says as he looks down on me as I curl into a ball at the upper right corner of the bed, tears streaming down my cheeks. “You always act like fucking me is the worst thing that could happen to you, but every time you come on my cock tells me how you really feel about it. Your body betrays you, you little slut.”*

“Chevy…” a form crouches down in front of my quivering body and pulls my hands into theirs, causing me to flinch at the contact. “Chevy, baby, it’s okay, it’s just me.” The voice finally registers as Rivers and I feel my muscles begin to relax just slightly. “Baby, it’s okay. Shh...I’ve got you.”

River pulls me into his lap, curling himself around my body as he starts rocking the both of us. “Shhh…I’ve got you; I’ve got you.” he murmurs against the top of my head over and over again as I try to get control of the hiccupping sobs that at some point took over.

*What was that?* I want to pretend that whatever that was, that it was nothing but somehow deep down, I know that it isn’t just nothing. I replay what happened over again in my head as I try to figure out who the faceless man was, what just happened and what it means.

I hear River say something to someone else and then I hear them say something back to him, but I’m too lost in my own mind to make any of it out.

River shifts his body weight, slipping an arm beneath my knees as he stands, lifting my weight with him. The trembling has finally begun to subside, but the tears won’t seem to stop, and I feel completely and utterly drained, wanting nothing more than to close my eyes and forget everything that has happened in the last little bit.

Curling into the crook of his shoulder, I breathe in the scent that is River and welcome the warmth of his arms as we make our way through the house.

“What happened?” Caprice asks as at the same time that Cam’s voice growls out, “What did you do to her?”

“You may want to check the hallway. There is a piece of trash back there who apparently doesn’t know how to keep his hands to himself.” River says, not once breaking his stride.

I know that I need to say something even though I want nothing more than to just go home, get away from this place and just be held by River.

“Wait…” I murmur, finally lifting my head to face the crowd before me.

Cam looks like he wants to murder someone. Corrine looks broken, like she failed me as tears pool in her eyes. Caprice just looks confused. I can hardly blame her; I’m confused about what exactly just happened myself.

I can’t even bring myself to look past my family to see the looks on the rest of the guests’ faces. I would venture to guess that I don’t want to see them though.

“What happened, Chevy?” Caprice asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

The tightness in my throat comes back as my breathing begins accelerating. “Drake…” I barely manage to get out as I begin gasping for air.

“Breathe,” Murmurs River into my ear, “You’re okay. I’ve got you. Just breathe.” I try to breathe but I can’t, the images flashing before me once again making it more and more difficult. “Hey. Hey, Chevy, focus on me, baby. Forget about whatever is going on in that pretty head of yours and listen to my voice.” The deep timber of Rivers' voice starts to break through the images flowing through my mind as he continues to speak.

“Feel my chest beneath your hands, feel how the air enters and leaves my lungs.” Sliding my hands to his chest, my finds curl into the fabric of his shirt as I fight for control. “Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.” I continue to listen to the soothing tone of Rivers' voice, following his instructions until the tightness in my chest begins to slowly fade away. “That’s it, breathe in, breathe out.”

“Has she always had panic attacks?” River asks as he continues to stroke one of his hands comfortingly up and down my back.

“She used to wake up having panic attacks.” Caprice volunteered, “she had several episodes and they became much more frequent just before…” she trails off, not needing to finish the sentence.

A noise behind us draws everyone’s attention. At the mouth of the hallway stands Drake, face beaten and bloody, his left eye swollen shut and his nose likely broken judging by the awkward angle that it’s sitting.

“You son of a bitch…” growls Cam as he rushes Drake, his fist making contact with Drakes’ already bruising flesh, causing him to fall, the wall catching him before he fully hits the floor. “Why?” Cam demands, getting into Drakes face. “Why in the fuck would you so much as lay a finger on her? My fucking sister!” Cam lands another punch before being pulled off by Tanner and Conner both.

“Leave him, man. He isn’t worth it!” Urges Conner when Cam lunges toward Drake once more.

“Maybe not, but she is.” Cam growls, spittle flying from his lips as he speaks. “Are you the reason she ran away in the first place? The reason behind her panic attacks? Were you hurting her?” Cam accuses, getting back in his face as Conner and Tanner each keep hold of him by his shoulders.

“It wasn’t like that.” Drake slurs out behind a fat lip.

“Then what was it like?” River demands, his fist now clenching the material of my shirt at my back.

“We were together. She was too afraid to tell you, but we were together, man. I was in love with her…” he murmurs the last part as though it’s the first time he’s spoken the words out loud. “I thought maybe…I don’t know, I thought that maybe she really did remember me but didn’t want to say so…”

“And that gives you the right to fucking touch her?” I can feel Rivers rage, like a volcano about to erupt, it’s boiling just beneath the surface.

“Get out!” Cam growls, pointing to the door, “You’re no longer welcome here.”

“But—” Drake tries but is cut off by Cam, “I don’t want to hear your excuses. Now get the fuck out of my house!”

I watch as Drake hoists himself up from the floor and makes his way towards the front door, his eyes downcast, shame in his every movement.

Drake stops in front of River and I, raising his stare to look me in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Chevelle. Fuck, I’m sorry.” There’s conviction behind his eyes, I know that he’s sorry for what he’s done but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he did it in the first place. At my silence he nods his head and continues on his way. I don’t watch him as he goes but the sound of the door shutting lets me know when he’s gone.

I release a breath of air that I hadn’t realized that I had been holding at the sound of the shutting door, the last of my panic releasing along with it.