Abandoned but Not Alone (14 page)

“
My God Hope, what
’
s that matter, what
’
s going on?
”
Aviva asked as Hope flung herself into
her arms.

Perfect
,
“
I have to get away from him,
please...please take me upstairs
…
I need to
phone Steve
…
I need to
speak to Steve.
”

“
Hope what is it sweetie, come on now, you
’
re frightening me. What happened to you?
”
Aviva asked again as she held her friend
who seemed as on the verge of a hysterical breakdown. Her question only seemed
to work her up even more. In her most soothing voice she murmured words meant
to give comfort.
“
It
’
s okay darling, it
’
s going to be okay, please don
’
t cry, it
’
s gonna be alright, come on now. I
’
ll take you to your room and we can call Steve.
”

As she
maneuvered Hope away from what she thought was Jason
’
s office, he appeared in the doorway. Aviva thought he was about
to say something and hesitated to give him time to articulate his thoughts. At
her hesitation and the direction of her glance, Hope clutched her tighter, her
sobs growing in volume. Pulling her gaze from Jason, Aviva supported her friend
as she helped her to the stairs.

Seeing the
look of uncertainty written across Aviva
’
s face, Jason knew once Hope finished spilling her venomous
lies, she would never believe, or want to hear anything he had to say. She hadn
’
t known him long enough to realize that
he would never hurt a woman, even a lying scheming bitch like Hope.

When the
women had disappeared up the stairs, Jason slowly closed his office door and
pressed his forehead against the wooden panel, once again alone, anger and
disbelief pulsing through his body, his mind racing with possibilities of how
to rectify a situation that had completely gone to hell.  Although he had
chosen to ignore the fact that Hope harbored some form of attraction towards
him, he had never encouraged her in any way. He had done his best to keep their
relationship friendly, for Steve
’
s sake;
managing never be alone with her after their initial meeting, when he realized
she had been sizing him up. He had wanted to tell Steve about his suspicions of
the type of woman Hope might be, but had remained silent. He now wished he had
voiced those suspicions, maybe they wouldn
’
t be in this mess if he had followed his gut instincts. Turning
away from the door, Jason came to a sudden stop; Steve was standing behind him
framed by the patio doors, tears in his eyes.

“
It
’
s not what you think, Steve, please let me explain, come on man,
I would never do anything to deliberately hurt you. You know that right?
”
Jason spoke quickly, urgency tearing at
his chest, his heart pounding at how much of the conversation Steve had heard.

“
Why man, why?
”
  Steve cried.

“
Come on Steve, you know me...you know me,
you know I would never do anything to hurt you. She
’
s lying
…”
Jason
trailed off as Steve shook his head unable to comprehend what he had just
witnessed.

Jason broke
out in a cold sweat, If Steve didn
’
t believe
him and they had known each other nearly all their lives, he didn
’
t stand a chance of Aviva being willing
to listen to what he had to say. Hope had been right, it seemed the deck was
stacked against him and he held the losing hand in her game.

For one
moment despair settled onto Jason
’
s large
shoulders and he bent his head. Almost as quickly as the feeling descended, he
pushed it back, squared his shoulders, ready to fight, there was no way he was
going down like this. That lying, two-timing bitch was not about to best him.
He was unprepared to lose the friendship that had taken a lifetime to build.
Steve was the one person in his life he trusted without reservation, he had
thought Steve felt the same way. Never a man of many words, Jason now
desperately sought for the right thing to say, something that would convince
Steve to believe in him
–
but Steve
spoke first.

“
I thought she loved me man.
”
  Steve muttered, as though speaking to
himself, tears running down his face. 
“
I really, thought she loved me.  She told me she loved me and I
believed her. Who
’
s the fool
now?!
”
Although looking in
Jason
’
s direction, Steve
appeared to be speaking to himself. As his eyes regained focus, he noticed the
worry etched across Jason
’
s face.

“
It
’
s okay, man, I heard everything. I just got back from the
jewelers, picking up this big ass diamond for Hope. I wanted to show it to you,
you know, to see what you thought, and I heard everything.
”
Wiping his face with his hands Steve
stood up straighter, braced his shoulders, walking towards the door. Coming
abreast with Jason, he stopped, putting his hand on his shoulder, he squeezed.
“
I know you man, and for the record, even
if I hadn
’
t heard the
whole thing, I would never believe that of you.
”

Jason
closed his eyes, relief washing over him.
“
What are you going to do?
”

“
Don
’
t worry, I
’
m not gonna
wring her neck, although nothing would give me more pleasure. I
’
m just gonna put out the trash.
”
Steve
’
s eyes glinted with a look that Jason could only describe as
determination, heaven help the dumb bitch.

~~~~~~~~~~

Aviva
assisted Hope to her room and helped her to the bed. Hope threw herself face
down, sobs continuing to wreck her slim body. Tears pooled in Aviva
’
s eyes as she witnessed her friends
anguish.

“
It
’
s okay sweetie, don
’
t cry,
everything is going be alright,
”
she
whispered rubbing Hope
’
s back,
offering what comfort she could.
“
I
’
m here
…
I
’
m here
…
please try to tell me what happened.
”
Aviva had heard Hope
’
s shout as she exited Jason
’
s office; but the look on Jason
’
s face was at odds with the thoughts
running through her mind. Something very bad must have happened to cause Hope
such distress, but until her friend was in a fit state to vocalize what that
was, Aviva strove to hold off the thought that Jason may have hurt her friend
sexually.

Aviva told
herself that she didn
’
t really
know Jason; she had only just met him. Yet somehow she found it difficult to
reconcile the man she had come to know and like with the monster that would
attack her friend. As that thought ran through her mind, she felt ashamed of
herself. She had known Hope for years, yes she could be a self-centered jealous
brat, but those traits would not explain her current distress. At a loss as how
to comfort her friend, she continued to rub her back and murmur words of
support. Aviva decided she needed to call Steve as a matter of urgency, maybe
he could get through to Hope, discover what had taken place in Jason
’
s office. About to ask Hope for her
phone, she looked up to see Steve standing on the threshold of the room.

Relieved,
she jumped to her feet and rushed towards him.
“
Oh thank God!  Steve I don
’
t know what to do. Something dreadful happened, but I can
’
t get her to speak to me. You try,
please, you try; she just keeps sobbing.
”

“
It
’
s okay Aviva, calm down, don
’
t worry, I
’
m here
now.  I
’
ll take care of
everything.
”
Steve
walked slowly to the bed and sat down beside a still weeping Hope.
“
Hope, tell me what happened, why are you
crying like this?
”

Throwing
herself into his arms, Hope held him in a death grip. She was so caught up in
her role as victim, she never realized that Steve
’
s arms remained at his sides. With her face buried in his chest,
she cried for a few more seconds; with her eyes pooled with unshed tears, she
looked up at Steve.
“
Jason...he
tried to force himself on me. Oh Steve, it was so horrible, I kept telling him
no, that he is supposed to be your friend, but he wouldn
’
t listen to me. He just kept kissing me
and touching me
–
oh God, I
feel so dirty
…
so dirty.
”
Hope broke off on another sob.

Hope
’
s whispered confession broke Aviva
’
s heart, even as her anger towards Jason
rose to fever pitch. What kind of man was he, how could she have been so wrong
about someone. Surely a man capable of attacking a woman in so calculating a
way, his best friend
’
s fianc
é
, had to be a monster. Surely Steve must
have seen some evidence of this in the past, how could he not know the type of
man Jason was? Lost in her thoughts of disbelief and shock Aviva almost missed
Steve
’
s soft comment.

“
It
’
s alright Hope, you don
’
t have to worry; I
’
ll take
care of everything.
”

Thankful
Steve would take care of Hope, the situation allowed Aviva
’
s simmering anger to reach boiling point.
How dare Jason treat her friend or any woman in such a disgusting manner!
Rushing from the room, she broke into a run, her quick steps taking her along
the hallway, down the stairs, tears of outrage obscuring her vision. She came
to a stop outside the closed door of where she had last seen Jason. Without
bothering to knock, she entered the room all guns blazing, ready to confront
Jason who stood by the patio doors looking out onto the sweeping lawn.

At the
sound of the door reverberating with its connection against the wall, Jason
spun around.
“
How dare
you! How dare you treat her like that! My God, what kind of a monster are you?
I
’
ll tell you what kind,
the worst kind. You prance around in your expensive clothes and live in your
million dollar mansion, and think the trappings of wealth somehow give you the
right to take whatever you like. Well it doesn
’
t! Do you hear me, it doesn't!
”
  Aviva screamed at Jason who, after a moment
’
s hesitation of shocked disbelief at her
verbal assault, took a step toward her.

Jason felt
an urgency to assure her that what she thought, what Hope had told her could
not be further from the truth, but she had blind-sided him with her tirade. He
knew Steve had gone to Hope and had thought Aviva was still with her. But by
the sounds of her angry shouts she was still unaware of Hope
’
s lies.
“
Didn
’
t Steve
explain what happened?
”

“
He
’
s taking care of Hope, she
–
explained everything. Answer me Jason, how could you do
something so disgusting?
”

About to
respond to her accusation, they heard a commotion on the stairs. Dragging her
eyes from Jason, Aviva hurried into the hall. Looking towards the stairs they
saw Steve pulling a screaming Hope by the arm, his free hand carrying a closed
suitcase, clothes hanging out of its sides.

“
He
’
s a liar Steve, you have to believe me. He tried to rape me;
please you have to believe me.
”
Steve didn
’
t break his stride or appear to be
listening to her plea. Reaching the last stair, Hope grabbed onto the banister
with both hands in an attempt to slow their progress. She knew if she couldn
’
t convince him, by the time they reached
the front door she would have lost this dangerous game she had started such a
short time ago.