Page 18 of Behind the Cascades
“Mind telling me whyhewas here? Why he leftthishere? On our special night?!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I shriek at him.
"Now, now, Charlotte.” He says through a condescending smirk while tapping the tin box on the bathroom counter. “Come on. I see how you look at me. You’re my rose.” I don’t have time to process what he’s saying before he pounces on me. He grabs the back of my neck while slamming his mouth into mine.
My towel instantly falls as I try to shove him away. Hedoesn’t realize it, but his vice-like grip around my neck automatically triggers my body into fight mode.
I raise my knee, slamming it into his groin before shoving him back.
He staggers backward but doesn't fall, so I start attacking with vengeance. Releasing weeks of anger, sadness, and fear onto him. I punch with everything I have in me, not taking any mercy as he tries to block my advances.
Thank God for my dad and Uncle Roger making me do years of self-defense and boxing classes. I haven't been in a little while, but the muscle memory kicks in and my body moves on instinct. Every punch and kick is calculated and aimed at vulnerable spots.
I can hear Uncle Roger in a loop saying, "Don't back down from sharks, Char. Don't back down, Charlotte! You kick his ass." Before, he was saying it in jest when referring to my sparring with one of the boys. Right now, I’m using it to fuel my rage.
So, I hit him with everything I have in me. Punch after punch, landing like he’s my own boxing bag. Finally, I throw a left jab into his kidney and then a right punch directly into his jaw.
He unceremoniously falls backwards, eyes closed.A knockout.
I don't even take a second to admire the damage I've done. Or grab a towel. I simply skirt around him and run out my front door, screaming for someone to call 911.
The neighbor across from me is standing in her doorway, groceries in hand, still in her scrubs.
"Get in here!" She waves me into her apartment, slams the door, and locks it.
"Honey, take this! I'll get you clothes." She hands me her phone, already calling 911.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"I was just attacked in my apartment. Palmetto Commons #138."
"Do you need medical care?" The dispatcher asks.
"No. But he does."
I'm faintly aware of my neighbor draping a robe around me, but I haven’t stopped looking through the peephole in her door. Making sure Carter doesn't leave. I don’t know what I’ll do if he tries to come through, but I’m preparing myself for another round of kicking-ass.
The police arrived within three minutes, and thankfully, he's still passed out on my bathroom floor.
The deputies hit me with a flood of questions and it took all of me to answer them calmly. It felt like the first night all over again, and I wanted to scream.
"No, he doesn't have a key."
"No, I don't know how he got in."
"Yes, I'm sure the door was locked."
“No, I didn’t flirt with him or lead him on, you fucking asshole.” I may have left the asshole part out, but I shouldn’t have.
This time, I watched them haul him into an ambulance and cuff him to the gurney. His face was already beginning to swell and turn color.
Closing my eyes, I say a silent prayer of thanks to Uncle Roger and my dad. I know they'd be proud of me for that one.
Chapter Thirteen
Charlie
Idamn near laughed in the officer's face when he told me my apartment was safe to go back into.Again.
