Chapter Forty Five
She swatted the slimy hands away from her. The numerous hands were clawing and touching her, tearing her clothes off to get to her bare skin. She cringed and yelled as the feel of their touch made her body itch with disgust. When her hands were locked behind her back she wanted to scream and cry in despair, but Dave’s voice in her ear wouldn’t let her. He wanted her to be strong and fight back, not crumble like she was so accustomed to. She felt a little relief knowing he was around, knowing that he would protect her and stop the numerous hands from touching her.
She was pulled down flat on her back, her limbs spread out, her ankles and wrists fastened by strong hands. She struggled to get free, but she couldn’t and Dave’s voice was gone, “Dave, Dave where are you? Help me!” she cried in a panic. She raised her head and looked around the dark room, there was no one there, all she could see were hands moving around her naked body, “Please let go of me!” she begged. Her head was shoved down and held in place by two hands. She wanted to fight them, but despair had already filled her, Dave wasn’t coming to save her, she was alone, like she always was.
She felt someone creep above her, it was the brunette from the cafe, “Your specials look very appetizing.” he said, smiling down at her. Maria shut her eyes tight, but they were forced open when she felt something hot and wet in her ear. She looked to her side, it was the blond, her captive who reminded her exactly why she hated men, “She must taste so good!” He whispered in her ear. She went cold with terror as the hands moved around her face and rubbed her lips roughly, “Yes she does.” a coarse, familiar voice spoke above her, she looked up to see Ricky’s disfigured face, his signature sadistic smile sent a chill through her, “I’m going to enjoy this.”
“No!” She screamed as she lurched up in bed and jumped off it. Her hands moved all over her body as she travelled around the room like a person on fire, desperately trying to get away from the numerous hands touching her. She looked round the room in search of the three men, but the room wasn’t dark, it was empty. She stood in one spot as she slowly calmed down and did a three-sixty turn just to make sure she was alone.
She was in Dave’s room, dressed in a very long shirt that could double up like a knee high dress. She couldn’t remember how she got there, but all that mattered to her was that she was in Dave’s house, in Dave’s room, and very safe.
“It’s okay, everything is fine. It was just a nightmare, nothing more than a nightmare.” She still trembled at the memory of it. She sat on Dave’s couch and drew her legs up, tightly hugging them as she tried to get rid of the nightmare that seemed so real, her skin echoed how real it felt, and she could still feel the hands on her.
The door opened and she jumped, she only relaxed when she saw it was Dave, “Hi.” The greeting came out as a shaky whisper.
“Hi yourself.” Dave responded with a smile. He closed the door behind him and placed a tray on the dressing table against the wall, opposite the bed, “The kids are asleep.”
“What time is it?”
“It’s close to one.” he turned to her, his hands dug deeply into his pockets. He saw the fear in her face and how securely she hugged herself like a scared child.
“In the afternoon?” Maria asked shocked. Dave’s watchful gaze made her release her legs and tuck them next to her under the long shirt. She wanted to seem at ease, but she still felt very shaky and exposed.
“No, in the morning.” he wanted to move close to her, but he thought against it. If she was making an effort to cover herself, it only meant she was uncomfortable showing her skin and sitting next to her would only make it worse.
“What are you doing up?” she asked, controlling the quiver in her voice.
“I have work to do. I came home early from work because I wanted to take care of the kids while you rested.” He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but he still wanted to be close to her so he moved to the couch and sat at the arm of it, far from her.
“You cooked?” she asked, inching away from him. All she could think about was the nightmare and how his voice faded away, leaving her alone.
“Yes.” he answered proudly.
“Poor kids.” she joked, pulling her lips up in a tight smile.
Dave laughed, appreciating the effort she was making, “I used to cook in college. I just haven’t done so in a long time.”
She stood up and made sure she was stable on her feet before she moved forward, “Tasting is believing.” she moved to the dressing table where the food was, “Anyone can cook pasta.”
“I beg to differ, my roommate used to burn it, while it was still boiling in water.” he stood up and moved behind her.
She turned to him and smiled nervously then turned back to the pasta. She picked up the fork with a shaky hand and almost dropped it. She tightened her grip on it, took a deep breath, then took a fork full of it and put it in her mouth.
“Well, what’s the verdict?” Dave asked, moving closer to her cautiously. He was sure he saw her hand shake as the other was held tightly in a fist.
“Pretty good, for hospital food. Don’t you have any spices?” She turned to face him, but took a scared step back when she saw how close he was.
Dave took a step away to give her some space, “I thought Italian’s were the only ones who would hang a person for messing up pasta?” he kept his voice cheerful, intent on getting rid of the heavy tension in the room.
She swallowed the lump in her throat before she spoke, “They would, but any cook would too.” she said moving past him, increasing the space between them.
“Well then, I’ll leave the cooking to you from now on,” he moved towards the door. He didn’t want to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already was, “I’ll go back to work, you, after eating the food I slaved over, should go back to sleep.”
“Wait.” Maria spat out with urgency, stopping him before he opened the door. She should have just let him leave, but she didn’t feel like being alone, “It’s a bit late for you to still be working. You’ll burn out.”
“I want it all done before next week, I don’t want to risk missing the kids’ birthday party.” He reached for the door and opened it.
She took a panicked step forward, “Do you want company?” she really didn’t want to be alone.