He took a step toward me. “If you really cared, you would’ve locked the door. But you didn’t.”
Why would I when I knew the school was empty? He was the only one who knew where I was.
“There’s not a living soul in the building.” As soon as I said those words out loud, I felt a threat. What the hell did Gabriel want?
“Yes, it’s just us. And now you’re coming with me.”
I looked at him more in surprise than fear. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Don’t be rude. I asked you to dinner and the only thing I expect from you is to say yes.”
This man looked quite attractive to me before, but he was now scary. Who did he think he was?
Remembering I left my phone on the bench, I grabbed it quickly. “I’m busy. I’m meeting my boyfriend and have to call him now.”
He burst out laughing, almost hysterically. “Don’t try to play me for a fool. I’ve been watching you since you started working here and I’ve never seen any man sniffing around you.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “Don’t you know lying is wrong, Emily?”
“Since you’re so observant, you should be able to tell when a woman doesn’t want to go on a date with you and—”
“Let me say this loud and clear. Nobody turns me down. Ever. Do you understand?” he said, flames shooting out of his eyes. “And for lying about your imaginary boyfriend, I think I deserve something in return. Take off your clothes!” He narrowed his tar-black eyes and licked his lips.
“What?” I exclaimed, fear tightly gripping my throat.
“And don’t try to resist. I have a black belt in karate, so I could break every bone in your little body if I wanted to. But it’d be better if we had some fun instead. You have a duty to please me. And if you’re good girl, I’ll give you pleasure too. If you’re bad, however, it’ll hurt. So think about how you’ll behave. Now get on your knees and take care of me.”
I didn’t have to look to know he had a hard-on. Dirty perverted psycho. How had I failed to see him for who he really was from the start?
Where had his radiant smile gone? Where had the charming coach gone, the guy I’d had so many friendly conversations with? He’d disappeared, his place taken by a dangerous maniac who probably had serious psychological problems. Being alone with him in the school building, where no one could hear me scream, was, to put it mildly, absolutely terrifying.
It was like God had heard my prayers, because right then, my phone started ringing again. My heart skipped several beats when I saw Ryan’s handsome face on the screen.
My fingers shaking, I accepted the call. “Ryan…”
His face looked tired, but his eyes still shone with care and tenderness—those eyes stole my heart. “I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to see you.”
I sank my nails into my palm to suppress the desire to raise my hand and stroke his image on the display. Sharp pain pierced my chest. The need to hold him in my arms was agonizing.
At that moment, I remembered I wasn’t alone in the room. I moved my eyes toward Gabriel and said, “See? I wasn’t lying. That’s my boyfriend.”
“Who the hell are you talking to?” Ryan asked worriedly, seeing the terror on my face.
“A co-worker, I was just telling him we have a date.” I hoped this would be enough to put Gabriel off and make him leave me alone.
“That American asshole lives in the States. You’re not going on a date with him.” Gabriel countered, unhappy with the way things were going. Fortunately, some of his confidence waned.
“Emily, what does that fucker want from you?” Ryan’s concerned voice made me look back at the screen. “I’ll call the police if you’re not out of that room in the next three seconds.”
I raised my head, meeting Gabriel’s eyes again to find he now had a confused look on his face. “Ryan is waiting for me outside, so I have to go.” I grabbed my gym bag and coat and walked past Gabriel, who’d moved slightly away from the door to make way for me.
Once I was in the corridor, I sprinted. I was running as fast as I could, holding my cell phone in hand. I had to get out while I still could.
“Emily, is everything okay? Emily, where are you? What the hell is going on?”
I had no time to answer Ryan’s questions, not while Gabriel could at any moment realize I’d tricked him and start chasing me. And if he caught me… God only knows what he’d do to me. He’d probably beat me senseless and then rape me. He was strong enough to do that.
My skin was wet from the tension, beads of sweat running down my back even though it was cool outside. I stopped to catch my breath and checked the display. I hadn’t even realized I was crying until Ryan said, “Fuck, you’re crying. Did that bastard hurt you?”
I wiped the wetness from my face with shaking fingers and replied, “No, everything is fine. Don’t worry about me.”
I turned back to check if I’d really managed to escape. When I saw an empty street, with Gabriel nowhere in sight, I headed to my car with quick strides. The old Citroen I drove was small, making it perfect for the town’s narrow streets.
“Take a taxi. You shouldn’t drive in this state,” Ryan said, trying to attract my attention.
I had to get away. Fast! And get home, where I felt safe.
I climbed into the car and left my cell on the passenger seat beside me.
“I’m okay to drive,” I replied quietly.
Ryan must’ve heard me, because he ordered softly, “Drive carefully. We’ll talk when you get there. But don’t hang up. I want to know everything is okay.”
I’d just locked all car doors when Gabriel’s fist landed on the windshield. Face twisted in an ugly grimace, he shouted threateningly, “Open the door, bitch. Don’t make me break the window.”
I turned the ignition key, but the car didn’t start.
Don’t let me down now, please! The car was old but had never given me serious trouble before. Of course, there was always a first time for everything, usually when you least expected it.
I heard Ryan’s voice, but couldn’t focus on his words. I panicked. My heart throbbed in my throat and I felt faint.
I looked through the side window. Gabriel approached, holding a rock.
I turned the key again. Amazingly, the car started. I put it into gear and floored the gas. Tires screeching, the Citroen shot forward. I pulled out of the small street where I’d parked and, making a sharp right, joined the traffic flow on the high street.
With all the adrenaline surging through me and blood pulsing in my temple, I was going too fast. I heard tires screeching, but they weren’t mine. Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw an Audi I’d almost crashed into slide, but the driver got the situation under control and continued.
Shit, shit, shit… I’d escaped by the skin of my teeth.
“Emily, Emily! Are you okay?” I heard Ryan’s voice again from my cell. Much clearer this time.
“Yes, yes.” I wanted to tell him that everything was okay, that I was fine, but the words wouldn’t come out, stuck behind the bars of my prison of fear.
The panic had my nerves to breaking point. I wondered what I’d done to deserve such misfortune. Fate was cruel and kept testing me in ways I wasn’t prepared for. Hopelessness, pain and uncertainty were often my fellow travelers. But with Ryan, I’d felt true happiness and security for the first time. And had it snatched from me so soon after.
I was driving the car in something like a trance, and the world around me had seemingly ceased to exist. But I had to concentrate on rush-hour traffic. One mistake and I’d end up splattered on a roadside tree. I’d escape the agony I felt, but what would that do to the people who loved me?
Get it together, Emily. If not for yourself, then for Ryan, Chantal, and Fabien.
Ryan’s support kept me from cracking up. The rest of my life wouldn’t be enough to wipe what I felt for him from my mind. Forbidden or not, love can’t simply be put aside and forgotten.
Finally, I was h
ome. I pulled up the driveway and parked right in front of the front door of our house. I switched off the engine and rested my forehead on the wheel. The realization of how close I’d been to getting raped by Gabriel made my heart leap wildly.
“Emily, where are you now?” Ryan’s voice made me lift my head. I picked up my cell from the seat and, seeing the pain in his eyes, felt my stomach clenched into a ball. My entire world had been taken, robbed of my dreams for a happy future.
“I’m safe. In the car, parked outside my house.”
His shoulders sagging in relief, he said, “Thank you, God.” He examined me carefully and, probably noticed I was on the edge of collapsing, frowned. “You have to go to the police and file a complaint for sexual assault. That motherfucker won’t get away scot-free.” He paused for a moment, his beautiful eyes continuing to stare at me. “Dammit… Fuck, I’m so far away and can’t take care of you. It’s killing me.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m okay now.”
“Okay? Is that your idea of okay? That fucker could’ve raped you,” he said, his voice an octave higher.
“Please calm down.” We were both under stress, and the tension between us had electrified significantly.
“I’m coming over,” he said in a tone that broke no objection.
My lips trembled. I so wanted to embrace him, to feel his hot skin against mine. The desire in his eyes had heightened mine too, but we couldn’t let anything happen. For God’s sake, he was my brother! That simple fact—more underhand than any rabbit punch—was killing me, slowly, painfully and very surely.
Love had the power to outline new paths, but it couldn’t change the past.
“Please, Ryan, don’t. Don’t make things harder than they already are. If I saw you, I wouldn’t have the strength to stop myself from hugging and kissing you. But we can’t…” I wiped the tears from my face.
“Next week, I’m doing a charity gig in Paris to raise funds for Syrian refugees. I’ve booked a suite in the Hotel Plaza Athénée. And before you start resisting, I want to quickly add that if you want, you can sleep in a separate room. However, I’ll only allow that once we’ve done the medical tests to confirm whether Josef is your father. Only then will you be able to make me stay away from you.”
Ryan was a true alpha male, the type who wouldn’t stop at anything until he got what he wanted. It was exactly because of this strong character that I loved him so much. He was ready to do anything in his fight for our love.
Doubt slowly crept into my mind. Could I really trust Elise unreservedly?
I nodded and whispered, “Fine, I’ll do everything you want.”
He took a deep breath and raised his hand toward the screen. “Fuck, Emily, you’re so beautiful. I want you beside me now, so I can hold you in my arms. I miss you terribly.”
I was on the edge of losing control. If I started crying, I might not be able to stop. My nerves were stretched to snapping point. My heart was bleeding from the pain. I bit my lips before whispering, “I love you.”
He closed his eyes for an instant and, when he opened them, looked directly into mine again. “Nobody can change what I feel for you. Whatever the blood test results show, I’ll still love you.”
How would we be able to keep our distance if the results confirmed my fears and it turned out Elise hadn’t lied?
My love for him spread out from my heart across my chest, trying to destroy the fears hidden in the farthest corners of my mind.
“I’ll send you a message with all the details you need. Suite number. Hospital appointment. Everything. Just promise you’ll come.”
“I will. I promise.”
Ryan gave me a searching look and must’ve found what he was seeking, because he nodded and said, “Okay, babe, I believe you. Now go inside the house. Run a hot bath and try to relax.”
It’d be great if everything were that easy.
13
Emily
Hiding what had happened to me from my relatives was out of the question. As I entered the house, Chantal took one look at my red puffy eyes and asked worriedly, “What’s the matter, Emily?”
I rushed to her, dug my face into her shoulder and starting weeping like a child. I needed to cry away my pain and pour my soul out to the woman who, for the most of my life, had played the part of both grandmother and mother, and whom I could always rely on. Without her warmth, strength and support, I’d have turned into a complete wreck.
When my tears dried up and only sobs remained, Chantal took me to the living room and directed me to sit on the couch.
“Now tell me what happened,” she prompted me again, her hand stroking my back in a calming motion.
She passed me a hankie, and I blew my nose into it, trying to get it together. Granddad and Fabien were sat on the armchairs opposite us, waiting tensely on the edge of their seats. I told them about what Gabriel had tried to do and about Ryan’s call.
“Next time, I’m coming to school with you to protect you,” Fabien said resolutely. He was so sweet, trying to defend me. His concern almost made me cry again.
I didn’t want to offend him by dismissing his offer, so I replied, “You have football practice, don’t you? You can’t come with me.”
“Sis! You’re way more important. Don’t you get it? For years, you took care of me. Now it’s time I did something for you.”
Jean-Paul, my grandfather, disagreed. “You’re too young to get involved in such matters. Why don’t you focus on reading and doing homework instead?” He stood up and went over to the phone. “We need to call the police. This man sounds dangerous.” He dialed a number and waited.
Marcel Gravoin, the chief of police, answered the call. They’d known each other for forty years and played chess in the local pub twice a month.
Twenty minutes after the call, we were in the police station and I was giving a statement about Gabriel Gayet. My granddad accompanied me but was now waiting discreetly in the corridor. He was perceptive enough to realize the questioning would be distressing for me and I’d be more comfortable alone with the officer.
I explained the entire ordeal in detail. Marcel Gravoin wrote down my statement and passed it to me to sign. He stood up from his desk and started pacing across the small room. “Our hands are tied. We can’t do anything because he didn’t hurt you.”
I took a deep breath and instantly regretted it. A miasma of stale cigarette smoke permeated the air. Muffled screams and shouting filtered through the walls to the adjoining rooms.
“Does he have to really hurt someone before you take him in?” My question sounded more reproachful than intended. I was unable to hide my disappointment that nothing could be done.
“That’s the law. We’ll talk to him, hopefully putting the fear of God into him, but that’s as far as we can go. You could try suing him, but you’d only waste your money on lawyers. Gayet will simply deny everything. Since there were no witnesses, it’d be his word against yours.”
“And there are no cameras in the school, so there’s no video of his actions either,” I added, frowning.
“Exactly.”
“He’s dangerous, goddammit. He would’ve raped me without batting an eye. My God, how well he played the part of a good and charming guy. But he’s like a man with two faces. One is sweet and attentive, and you’d never think he’s capable of violence. The other is creepy and scary, a real psycho.”
Gravoin stopped pacing and turned to look me in the eye. “That’s the MO (modus operandi) of ninety percent of rapists. They fawn on the victim until she takes the bait and then strike when the time is right.”
The police gave me no straw to clutch. Gabriel would most likely get away with this, at worst with a report of attempted assault on his file.
When we returned home, I felt exhausted, like I’d been carrying a rucksack full of rocks for hours.
Despite the exhaustion, sleep wouldn’t come. I tossed and turned, trying to forget this horrific day. Every time I closed my ey
es, Gabriel’s creepy face appeared before me.
I picked up my phone from the nightstand and started browsing through my photos. My favorites were those where Ryan was smiling, with a tenderness radiating from his eyes, in contrast with his confident masculinity. An embodiment of strength, dedication, attentiveness and boundless love was written all over his face.
My love for him rose above, like a massive wave ready to engulf me at any moment. Hot tears flowed down my temple, useless like my dreams.
I put the cell down on my chest and hugged myself tightly, imagining Ryan’s arms holding me. My pulse gradually slowed and my heart started to beat evenly. Sleep put a veil over my eyelids, which suddenly felt heavy.
I drifted off into a wonderful dream. Ryan and I were on a yacht gently carried by the waves. He was hugging me, with the breeze ruffling our hair. He kissed me, whispering that he loved me and we’d always be together. The love we felt for each other was strong and beautiful. Nothing endangered it because in my dream, the past simply didn’t exist.
* * *
Sunshine crept softly through the blinds when I woke up the next morning. The cell was still in my hand. There was a message from Ryan: Call me as soon as you wake up.
I opened WhatsApp and selected the video call option. Given the time difference, he was probably asleep. Still, better to wake him up than anger him for not fulfilling his request. He already had enough worries.
When his handsome face appeared on the display, I barely managed to suppress my tears. Even sleepy, he looked so handsome, with tousled hair, sensual lips and serious eyes. My desire to run a hand through his golden locks and embrace him was greater than ever.
“Emily… How are you? Did you go to the police station?” he asked. His voice, although colored by sleep, sounded deeper than usual. He rubbed his eyes to wake up properly and pushed himself up to lean on the bed’s headboard. He didn’t pull his sheet up, revealing a bare chest and shoulders.
“Yes, but there wasn’t much point.”
“What do you mean by that?” Ryan scowled and a line appeared between his eyebrows.