Malik (Carter Brother Series Book 1) (34 page)

An arm dangling off the bed catches my eye and I remove myself from Mason’s hold and let out a strangled cry as I rush over to Harlow who is lying lifeless on the bed, Mason’s hoody covering her half naked body. Her dress has been ripped down the middle, her knickers lay cut up on the floor by my feet and it makes me want to go back over to Davis and finish what I started.

“Harlow baby? Harlow? Wake up baby. Wake up. I love you. I need you to wake up for me babe,’’ I cry wishing she would talk to me, but she’s completely out cold.

I grab the top half of her body, holding it to me while being mindful that the hoody still keeps her covered. My hands run through her hair as I apologise to her over and over again. Begging and pleading with her to wake up, telling her that I need her. Mason sits on the other side of the bed, looking at both Harlow and I with pain in his eyes.

Footsteps run up the stairs and my hold on her tightens. She lets out a whimper making my head shoot back to look at her face. Her eyes are still closed, but her eyes are pinched together like she’s in pain. I hold her again to my chest, not wanting to let her go. Not even when the paramedics tell me they need to check her over, or when Maverick turns up and has to physically pry me off her. In a daze he walks me down the stairs and out of the house. Before I know it, we’re in the car following the ambulance to the hospital.

My heart feels like it’s breaking, the pain slowly but surely suffocating me. I want to cry out, to hit something, but I know being locked up isn’t going to help Harlow.

“Have you called Joan?’’

“Yeah,’’ he croaks, looking at me before turning his eyes back to the road. “Granddad is bringing her. Are you okay?’’

What a fucked up question. Am I okay? I’m far from okay. I don’t think I’ll ever be okay knowing I didn’t save her.

“He raped her,’’ I sob out, my chest hurting me as I remember how she looked lying on that bed, Davis on top of her.

“I’m sorry,’’ he whispers.

Aghhh, why does my head hurt so badly? How much did I drink last night? Did I drink?

My head is killing me, so I’m not even going to attempt to open my eyes. I listen to the sounds around me and all I can make out is the beeping sound in the distance, and a few whispers. Whispers that make my whole body freeze up.

Why do I feel scared? Why can’t I remember? I rack my brain trying to remember something, anything that will tell me why I’m shaking with fear. I feel like I’m going to explode.

Someone’s crying and I try to reach out to comfort them, but my body feels too weak, nothing moves, or even flinches, it’s like I’m not inside my own body.

I remember my parents. They were here. I think. No, they’re gone, they’re dead, they weren’t here, but why do I remember them talking to me, telling me I wasn’t safe?

My whole insides cry out in frustration, my mind desperately trying to cling on to a memory of what happened. Nothing comes and I find myself slipping back into exhaustion.

Waking up my body still feels weak, but stronger than it did before. I remember more clearly now. I can remember my parents were there. Telling me I wasn’t safe.

That couldn’t be right though because I was with Denny at the party. We were.... I don’t know what we were doing. I remember Malik going to his brother... Denny and I getting fresh air, then.... Why don’t I remember?

All of a sudden flashes of memories start flickering in my mind. First it’s a smell of stale cigarettes and alcohol. I think, the smell is bitter, strong and unpleasant and I know it’s a hard liquor of some kind.

A face pops into my mind, the image gone before it even finished coming to me. I’m confused as to why I feel so scared again. My whole body is shaking with fear, wanting to know what the hell is going on.

I feel sore everywhere, my chest, my legs.... then it hits me.

My eyes fly open and a strangled sob tears from my throat as I try to catch my breath. I’m panicking, not knowing where I am, just that I know I need to get away.

“Calm down,’’ a male voice tells me calmly.

The voice just startles me, making me panic even more. I’m not even really listening to who it’s coming from, instead I start ripping the bed sheet off my body and the tubes he’s put in my arms. Oh my God, he was.... the sound of him telling me what he was going to do to me is a blur, but it’s there on the very edge of my mind. Screaming out, I begin to thrash my body harder, even when a set of hands try to pin me back to the bed.

“Please don’t do this. Please don’t... please,’’ I beg crying out; begging him although I know it’s no use.

“Harlow baby,’’ the voice is smooth, not at all like the one I fear and for a second I still, my blurry vision concentrating on him. His features steady out and Malik comes into my line of vision. I cry out rushing into his arms across the bed. I breathe him in, thankful he’s here. Wherever here, is.

I still don’t know much, but I know without a doubt what was going to happen to me.  Or maybe it did. When wetness touches my shoulder I realise he’s crying, his body shaking with tears and I completely tense up.

It happened.

No-one came for me. Another voice enters my mind, a girl’s voice, a cruel voice, but then it turns into pleading sobs and I start to lose my temper when I can’t put a name or a face to what I’m hearing or seeing.

Frantically I pull away from Malik and start tearing at whatever gown they’ve put on me. A pain registers in my left arm, but I don’t take any notice as I claw at myself.

“Get him off me. Get him off me. I can feel him,’’ I scream feeling sick.

In the corner of my vision the door flies open. I don’t bother looking over to see who has entered. I just want his hands off me. I can feel them all over my skin, in my hair, on me.

I shudder, “Please get him off me, he’s everywhere,’’ I scream, Malik’s arms stopping me from pulling off the gown completely.

Malik’s smooth frantic voice finally reaches my ears along with another soft voice that has me pausing.

“Baby girl,’’ my Gram’s sobs. “You need to calm down. What do you need?’’

“Gram’s?’’ I whisper needing to know she’s really here and not another trick on my imagination.

“It’s me girly,’’ she croaks, her cold hand grasping onto mine.

“I can feel him,’’ I choke out. “Please get him off me,’’ I cry.

“Who baby?’’

“I don’t know,’’ I sob harder, my head falling onto Malik’s chest as my one hand clings to his hard bicep. “I don’t remember. I can’t see him, but he was going to.... I’m going to be sick,’’ I say.

Malik moves back to give me room just as a nurse who I didn’t see before hands me a tiny bowl. I empty my stomach, going through two bowls before I finally manage to stop.

The nurse lays me back down on the bed, her voice not really registering to me at all. My eyes stay locked on Malik’s, too scared to look away from him in case he disappears again.

A sharp prick touches my left hand, causing me to jump a little. I’m waiting for someone to tell me what has happened. I’ve gathered I’m in the hospital, but I don’t know why or how I got here and that’s the scariest thing of all. Not knowing.

Waking up, I notice it’s light outside. The second thing I notice is the amount of voices in my room.

My head turns and everyone stops looking at me in surprise.

“You’re awake,’’ Max says cheerfully making my head wince. “Sorry.’’

I smile weakly at him, before my eyes go straight to Malik, urging him with my eyes to explain things to me. I need to make sense of all these images flying through my mind.

He walks over to the bed looking tired as hell. His eyes have dark circles around them and he’s still in the clothes I last remember him wearing.

My Gram’s takes a seat on the other side of my bed and I spare her a quick glance and a small smile before turning my attention to Malik.

“Please tell me,’’ I whisper.

“I don’t think you’re ready Babe. You need to rest.’’

“Please. I’m going insane not knowing. Please, I need to know.’’

“What is the last thing you remember?’’ he asks surprising me. I honestly thought it would take more begging on my part than that.

I think about his question and I close my eyes going back to when he left the party. Denny and I went to the toilet upstairs, she was sick then we...., “Denny and I went outside for some fresh air.’’

I don’t remember going outside, but I remember we were on our way, so that has to be what I did last.

“Yeah, Denny had felt sick. Someone had drugged your drink with a drug called ketamine and knocked Denny over the back of her head when they saw you outside.’’

“Who?’’ I bite out.

He looks at me sadly, his eyes lined with worry and it makes me feel sorry for him, just not enough to tell him I don’t need to know.

“Davis,’’ he sighs looking more pained than before.

“Davis,’’ I repeat, not completely in shock. It would explain why I remember being so afraid. “Just tell me please,’’ I beg, tears falling from my eyes.

Maverick, Max, Myles and Mark all move from the room excusing themselves to give us some privacy. For a second my mind wanders to where Mason is, but Malik’s voice snaps me out of my daydream.

“He had taken you to the old Gunners house,’’ he starts, his voice laced with so much emotion that I know this must be hard for him to repeat. “One of the kids from school saw him with you and he told them he was bringing you to me, that’s how I knew which direction you’d gone in. Mason and I guessed the Gunners house,’’ he shrugs, tears streaming down both our faces. Malik wipes his away furiously, his hands clenched into tight fists on the edge of the bed. I wait in silence for him to carry on, not wanting to ruin my chances of finding out what happened to me.

“On the way we bumped into Hannah. She told us what he planned.’’

“What do you mean planned?’’ I ask, my voice shaky. I already know, I’ve always known deep down. I guess I just wanted to believe it was my imagination, that it never really happened and that really I just fell over and knocked my head on a brick or something.

“Hannah... She said he made a plan to get you alone drunk so he can take pictures of you nude and in compromising positions,’’ he grunts out, looking pissed. My hand closes over one of his, needing him to touch me and I needing to touch him. He looks up with a pained smile before looking back down the bed. “She wasn’t meant to be there. She said all she had to do was spike your drink and he’d do the rest, but she wanted to gloat. But when she turned up it wasn’t photos he was doing...’’

“He raped me didn’t he?’’ I cry out shaking. It’s then I feel the need to tear my skin off, not wanting his hands to be on me.

“Baby no,’’ he tells me, but I hardly hear him through my hysterical sobs. How could he do this? No one deserves this at all.

“Did he... did he?’’ I ask, not able to bring myself to repeat my earlier question as bile rises in my throat again.

“No baby. When I got there I thought he had, I nearly killed him. I wish I did. But after the nurses and doctors examined you they told us there were no signs of penetration. He didn’t touch you like that baby. I don’t know Davis’s side of the story and I don’t want to. It will make me want to kill him even more,’’ he tells me.

I breathe a sigh of relief, thankful he didn’t manage to get that far... wait, “Did you save me?’’ I ask surprised because he said he was going for his brother.

“Long story short babe, we got to Mason and found out from another chick that Davis had planned all this out to get you alone. It all clicked, so we raced back to the party where Denny had just woken up. That’s when a kid told us about seeing you with Davis. After seeing Hannah, I charged into the house. I pulled him off you, but I didn’t save you Harlow. He still managed to hurt you after I promised he wouldn’t,’’ he says, his eyes watering.

My Gram’s hand tightens around my hand and I turn my head to see tears falling freely down her face. I give her hand a gentle squeeze back, silently asking her if she’s okay.

“None of this is your fault Malik. It’s his. All we can do now is make sure that he’s put behind bars where he belongs,’’ I tell him, and then he looks at me with a guilty face. “What?’’

“About that.... I beat the crap out of him and he’ll be in hospital for a few weeks before he gets taken in.’’

“Good,’’ I blurt out, completely shocked I said that, even though he deserves everything he gets and much more.

He smiles gently at me and for the first time since I’ve woken up the frown above his eyes relax. The door opens startling us, causing Malik and I to look away from each other. A doctor in a long white lab coat walks in looking down at his clipboard. His glasses are slipping off his nose and when he looks up to see me awake, he pushes them back up his nose.

“Miss Evans,’’ he greets happily.

I give him a weak smile, feeling nervous as he stands at the bottom of the bed, his large frame shadowing over me.

“I’m sure your Grandma and boyfriend here have already filled you in, but I’d like to go through a few things with you. Am I okay to talk about this in front of them?’’

“Yes, it’s fine.’’

“Right, well, firstly I’d like to say you are free to go once you have your discharge papers. There is nothing long term medically wrong with you, but you will need to take it easy for a few days and keep your body hydrated. As for your notes, you came in suffering from a drug called Ketamine on the streets. It paralyses the muscle and causes disorientation. As you may be aware you suffered the majority of the side of effects of the drug, like hallucinations, memory loss, agitation, anxiety, and sickness.

“You have bruising to your inner thighs....’’

“I thought he didn’t...’’ I ask panicked shaking my head. My body starts to clam up and sweat as I begin to shake uncontrollably. Did Malik lie to me?

Malik takes a seat on the bed next to me, his strong arm going around me and I don’t hesitate to lean into him, tears streaming down my face soaking his shirt.

“No Harlow, I assure you there was no foul play sexually, we had a forensic rape test done while you were out,’’ he says softly to reassure me. “Like I said you endured bruising to your inner thighs, arms, back and legs. You have a cut on your neck that is six inches long, but didn’t need any stitches, the wound wasn’t deep.

“What I would like to talk to you about before you go home is about you talking to one of our counsellors here at the hospital. We can offer a different range of help.  They offer a service called a court appointed advocate. What they do is help victims such as yourself with providing support while you give your statement or have to be in court. Is this something you would like to think about doing?’’

My mind whirls trying to process everything. I nod my head, thankful I’ll be able to talk to someone about it. I’m sure Malik, Gram’s or someone would listen about it, but it’s not the same and I’d never want to burden them with this. I guess I need someone to tell me how to remember what happened, or that it’s okay that I don’t remember.

“I’ll refer you to Mrs. Skelding who specialises in cases like yours. She isn’t in this week, so it may take up to two weeks to hear from her. In the meantime here is a number to an organisation that helps women who specialise in cases like yours,’’ he says handing over a leaflet.