Worth It In The End Ch. 09

After that day's phone call with my mother, I half-expected Gonzalo to show up on my doorstep to claim me as his property. However, no such visit was made. As the days passed, I began to be less and less paranoid about every ring of the phone or knock on the door. The walks to and from work and the time spent there became gradually less tense. After a week and a half, I had successfully blocked him from my mind once more.

Stefan and I continued to grow closer after that day as well. I no longer had any reserved doubts about him: I trusted him completely. There was no doubt in my mind that I was falling in love with him. Every day was another adventure, even if we were just going to the university to meet with Beauchamp. Stefan always found a new way to surprise and delight me.

Throughout this time, Stefan still has his leased apartment on the other side of the city. He usually stayed over at my place due to its proximity to the university, relative to his. Considering it was a 30-minute commute from my apartment, that was saying something.

One afternoon when Stefan was busy with a lecture, I busied myself with preparing dinner for the two of us. It was our three-month anniversary—nothing to make a fuss over, really, but I wanted to do something nonetheless. It wasn't such a fancy dinner as to draw attention to the fact that it might be a special occasion. I had just finished putting the marinated salmon into the broiler and turning on the heat under the salted and oiled asparagus on the grill when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come on in, I'm in the kitchen," I called, thinking that Stefan had gotten out of his obligations earlier than expected. However, the sharp clip of expensive leather shoes on the hardwood floors of the entry hall alerted me to an unexpected presence.

"Well this is an unusual sight, indeed. The 'independent woman' cooking dinner for her 'boyfriend'," came a voice from the doorway. I stiffened immediately, the muscles of my face twisting into a grimace at the sound of Gonzalo's self-confident sneer of a voice.

"And how would you presume to know who I am cooking for?" I replied coldly.

"Lucky guess." This time, his voice was undeniably closer behind me. I looked down at what I was holding. Looks like the only weapon I could arm myself with was a wooden spoon. I was sizing up my chances of taking him down with a spoon when I felt his hand on the small of my back, and heard his voice in my right ear.

"Ooh, making your dad's spaghetti recipe? He really must be a sight in the sack."

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"You invited me in, remember? Goodness you're tense, let me help you out..." Gonzalo murmured in my ear. Goosebumps of dread trickled down my spine as his hands slid up my back to my shoulders, his strong fingers slowly beginning to work on the knots in my trapezius muscles. "There we go, loosen up. I wont hurt you."

"Don't touch me," I snarled, and twisted violently away from him. However, he was faster, and stronger. Right as I turned away from him, he moved forward, pressing me against the counter.

"Where do you think you're going?" his voice was silky steel.

"Get the fuck off of me! What are you doing?" I yelled, hitting him repeatedly over the head with the wooden spoon. Much to my dismay, this did nothing to deter him. He reached up a hand and grabbed my be-spooned arm, sweeping it, and my other arm, behind my back.

"There we go. The sooner you stop struggling the better, trust me Sarah."

I can't say what took over me at that moment. Looking back, I blame those survival shows that purport that playing dead will get a bear to stop mauling you. Much to my dismay, the sudden cessation of my movement did not make Gonzalo leave me alone. In fact, the next thing I knew was his mouth curving into a cruel smile and swooping down to plant itself over mine.

His motion momentarily stunned me. I felt his smile widen over my mouth, and he thrust his tongue out, assaulting my closed lips roughly. Gonzalo moaned into my mouth and ground himself against me, his cock disgustingly hard against my stomach. His hands left mine, and ran up my back to tangle in my hair, passionately for him, I'm sure. I had never felt more trapped in my life. My hands found their way to his shoulders and began to push.

"What is going on here?" Stefan's voice came from the doorway.

"I'm kissing my woman, what the fuck else does it look like?" came Gonzalo's growl of a reply.

Now at that moment I would have liked to hear Stefan reply with a "Like hell you are," or just directing a solid punch to Gonzalo's perfect jaw line, but instead, he shot us an unfathomable look, turned on his heel and left the way he came, slamming the door behind him.

I must have looked ridiculous, mouth agape, staring at the doorway. Gonzalo chuckled deep in his throat and took hold of my face, directing it to look at him again. "Now where were we?" he crashed his mouth into mine again.

At this point, I would like to say that I managed to fight him off. I would like to say that I reached the Mace in my purse and gave that asshole an eyeful of the stuff. I would like to say that Stefan burst back through the door with a new baseball bat clenched in his fists.

However, none of that happened.

All of those self-defense classes prepared me for fights with aggressors who weren't 6'5'' and solid muscle. Somewhere in my mind, I made note to email my instructor pictures of my bruises as my shirt and bra hit the floor.

When I came to, I was lying sprawled across the kitchen floor. Gonzalo was gone, but the memories of him were still fresh. I gradually took stock of my physical condition. I could feel bruises and welts beginning to form on my hips and thighs. A sizeable bump was forming on my head where it had made contact with the floor.

Groaning, I moved to sit up. I had no idea how long I had been lying there, but all my muscles complained with stiffness. My clothes lay scattered across the floor. Some were in pieces, a result of ripping.

Instinctively, I curled into myself. I was naked, cold, sore, shaking, and very alone.