Out of Love(26)

“Who killed him?”

Another shrug. I didn’t know for sure that it was Slade, so I didn’t say it was him.

“So … someone saved the day, but you don’t know who and they haven’t caught him … or her?”

I nodded.

Her lips twisted to the side, eyes narrowing as I practically heard the whirl of thoughts spinning in her head. “Who was the guy … the one who tried to rape you?”

“Some guy named Stefan Hoover. Twenty-seven. Lived in Nevada. No prior record. He had a wife and a two-year-old son.”

Rubbing her glossed lips together, Jessica nodded slowly while humming. “You need better skills.”

“I don’t think better skills will protect me. It’s not like I tried anything I was taught, and it failed. I just didn’t try. I froze up. You can’t really prepare for something like that to happen through step-by-step role-playing.”

“Then we don’t role-play.”

“I’m not following.” The stiff breeze through the window picked up as if to breathe understanding into my scattered thoughts. I shut it a tad.

“Do you have some good coverup?”

“Coverup as in makeup?”

Jessica nodded, eyeing me like a puzzle with several missing pieces.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Because you’re going to need it. I’ll text you an address. Meet me in two hours, bring lots of water to rehydrate.”

“What are we doing?”

She took another sip of her tea and grabbed her purse. “Making sure you never feel helpless again.”

*

Two hours later, I drove to the address. It was an abandoned building, barn-like, that I would normally not go into by myself, but Jessica’s car was parked by the door, so I felt safe.

“What is this?” I asked, inspecting the empty building with the chirp of birds and ruffle of feathers in the rafters, an odd musty stench in the air, and nothing but a cold, dingy dirt floor beneath my feet. The only light was from the holes in the roof, which were numerous so we could see pretty well.

“It’s where you will train.”

“Train with what?”

She unzipped a black bag and pulled out some equipment that looked like something a boxer might use.

“For now, we’ll train with these.” She shoved headgear on me.

I took a step backward. Dirt and tiny rocks crunched beneath my shoes as I gained my footing. “I didn’t know you boxed.”

“I don’t. I spar. Used to spar with your dad all the time.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“He never mentioned that.”

She nodded. “Yeah, well … there’s a lot parents don’t mention to their children. We protect you with lack of knowledge until it starts to harm you. Then … we arm you with things you need to know.”

“Do you have some sort of crash pads or something?”

Moments …

The next moment tipped my world completely on its side. It wasn’t one I cared to remember or collect for my life scrapbook, but it made a mark. Many marks.

Whack!

Jessica punched my face so hard, it knocked me to the ground. The headgear protected my cheek, but my hands and knees and one elbow took a serious hit, like wiping out on a bike where little rocks made tiny cuts along the skin and embedded into my flesh.

“Wh … what the hell?” I wasn’t sure if I should cry, run, or beg for her to never do that again.

“No crash pads, Livy. Men who force women behind dumpsters to rape them don’t care about crash pads. Now … get up.”

“I’m bleeding, Jess.” My hands burned as I gingerly brushed away the tiny rocks from my bloodied hands and knees.

“It’s a few scrapes, Livy. Get your ass up before I kick you while you’re down. Because I guarantee … men like Stefan Hoover will kick you when you’re down. Then they will rape you in any hole they can fit their dick into. They’ll leave you ripped, raw, and drowning in their cum … then they’ll kick you some more.”

Stunned.

There was no other way to describe it. I didn’t recognize the woman hovering over me. I was taller than Jessica. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to stand up because her confidence towered me by miles.

“Three … two …” She counted down.

My gaze homed in on her black combat boots that inched closer to me—two dogs ready to lurch toward me.

Something inside of me stirred to life just enough to send me scrambling to my feet.

“I don’t want to do this …” I shook my head as tears filled my eyes and fear pulsated from my lungs to the pit of my stomach.

“Do what, Livy? Be abducted? Sodomized? Left for dead?”

“Jess …” I shuffled backward several steps.

“Then what are you going to do about it? Run? If you don’t seriously wound me first, I will chase you down like the fucking animal I am. And I will make you pay.”

I shrieked when she grabbed my shirt and shoved me back down to the ground.

“Fight, Livy.”

I tried to crawl away, acid building in the back of my throat and the rotten stench of the ground just inches from my face feeding my need to vomit.