Under My Skin - 14. Part II, chapter 4

- IV -

It took almost a month for Christy’s eyes to finally lose that haunted empty look that was making me almost nauseous with fear. I was seriously afraid that she’d try something drastic. Alex kept trying to get her back, and she wouldn’t even look at him. He talked to me almost fifteen times, and every single time I was restraining myself from beating him into bloody pulp. He sobbed, he begged, he stood on his knees, and finally, I told him to get the hell out and to stop bothering Christy and me. When I told Christy that I knew about Alex cheating on her, she just shrugged it off. I said I was sorry that I never told her, but she twisted her mouth in a bitter smile and said that she probably wouldn’t have the guts to tell me something like that either. Very slowly, she was getting back to normal, and I was beyond relieved. Once again, I was dumb enough to think that this was probably it, and that things couldn’t get any worse. I am one of those people who never learn.

On the last Friday of April, Christy called me, said that she was going to the mall, and asked if I wanted to come with. I winced. I hated the mall.

“Chris,” I said patiently. “I might be insanely attracted to guys, but I still hate the mall, okay?”

She laughed and said that she’d buy me a fridge magnet or something, and that she’d stop by on her way home.

“Okay,” I smiled. “See you tonight then.”

Around ten at night, I finally finished the last of my homework and shut the book with a sigh of relief. I looked at my watch and wondered if Christy decided not to come over tonight. I called her house, but Mary said that she was still out. I hung up the phone and frowned. Weird. She called me around four or so, and now, it was almost ten. No way could she still be at the mall. I called Matt, and his girlfriend answered the phone.

“Hey, Jackie,” I said. “Is Matt there?”

“Yup,” she said lightly. “Hold on a sec!”

“Hey,” Matt said a minute later.

“Matt, it’s Jake,” I said, and he chuckled into the phone.

“Sam really is at work, dude,” he said and I rolled my eyes.

“I know that, smartass,” I said and he laughed. “That’s not why I am calling.”

When Matt found out I was gay, he all but high-fived me. I couldn’t believe at how easy it was for him to accept it.

“What’s up, Jake?” he asked.

“Have you heard from Christy?” I said, fumbling in the draw for a pack of cigarettes – a bad habit that I picked up even though I should’ve known better.

“No,” he said. “Why?”

“She called me earlier today,” I said, finally finding my cigarettes. “And she said she was going to the mall...”

“Dude,” Matt laughed. “It’s my sister we talking about! She will probably stay there until midnight!”

“Matt,” I said, lighting my cigarette. “The mall closes at nine-thirty, and it’s almost ten. She said she’d stop by my place on the way back, but she hasn’t even called.”

“Hmmm,” he said. “Maybe she forgot and went home?”

“No,” I answered immediately. “I just called your parents’ house, and Mary said that Chris wasn’t there yet.”

“Weird,” he muttered, and then someone rang my doorbell.

“Oh hey,” I said with relief. “That’s probably her...”

“Okay,” he said. “Good. Call me if it’s not Crispy, okay?”

“Will do,” I laughed and hung up the phone.

I walked to the door, and the doorbell kept ringing.

“Hold on!” I yelled. “Geez... Impatient, are you?”

I unlocked the door ,and at first, I thought that it was some sick joke.

“Jake...” she muttered and almost fell into my arms.

I brought her inside and kicked the door shut. She was shaking so bad that I thought she was having some kind of a seizure.

“Chris,” I kept saying her name over and over again, but it seemed like she didn’t even hear me.

I lowered her on the couch and ran to the kitchen where I grabbed a couple of bottles of water, some towels, and went back. Christy was sitting on the couch, tightly hugging her knees. Her eyes looked huge and unusually dark on her pale face. Her left cheekbone was swollen and there was blood on her mouth. Her shirt was all ripped up, and I could see a dark bruise blooming on her chest.

I sat next to her and carefully wiped her face with a dump towel. She winced and started to cry. I pulled off her torn shirt and wrapped her into one of Sam’s sweatshirts that was lying on the back of the couch. She hugged me and buried her face in my chest. She cried for almost half an hour, and then I heard the front door opening. I turned my head and saw Sam.

“Jesus,” he said quickly when he saw us. “What the hell happened?! Christy, you all right?”

She pulled her face away from my chest, and Sam winced when he saw her bruises.

“What happened, Jake?” he asked softly, and I just shook my head.

“I don’t know,” I answered quietly. “She came here at ten, and she looked like hell...”

Sam kneeled next to the couch and carefully took Christy’s hand.

“Chris,” he said softly. “What happened?”

She looked at him, her bloodied lips trembling.

“He raped me,” she said finally in a small voice.

“Who did?” Sam asked, and I immediately knew the answer.

“Alex,” she whispered, and everything around me turned brilliant-red from the rush of hatred that I felt.

****

I called Mary around eleven in the evening that night, and asked her if it was okay for Christy to spend a night over at my place. Mary laughed and said that it’s just fine, since tomorrow was Saturday. Sometimes I was wondering if I was the only one who had so much trouble with accepting who I was. Mary and Arthur didn’t even blink when they found out about Sam and me. They wouldn’t even look at me differently – it was as if they just found out that I was a vegetarian.

I hung up the phone and went back into the living room. Christy finally stopped crying and she was just sitting on the couch, clutching onto her bottle of water like it was the only thing left in the world.

“You are staying here tonight,” I said, and she nodded silently. “Chris, tomorrow morning you have to go to the police...”

She looked at me, her eyes huge with fear.

“No,” she said immediately. “No, Jake, I can’t!”

“Chris...”

“No!” she violently shook her head. “I am not going to the police! I am not announcing to every single person in this city that I was raped...!”

I closed my eyes. She was open-minded enough to talk about everything, no matter how embarrassing it was, and she was open-minded enough to accept my lifestyle and me, but she couldn’t go to the police and turn that asshole in...

“Chris,” I said softly. “You have to press charges. Plus, what are you going to say about your face?”

“I’ll say that I was mugged,” she sniffled. “Jake, I can’t! Do you have any idea how ashamed I am right now? I know I am being stupid, but I can’t help it... I mean...” she looked at me miserably. “I can’t just go in there and say that he...” she winced.

Sam sighed and lit a cigarette. His fingers were trembling.

“Chris,” I said firmly. “If you won’t do it, then I will.”

She started crying again.

“How did it happen?” I asked and sat next to her.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I was at the mall,” she said quietly. “And then I decided to go home... So I was walking to my car when I heard him... It was kinda late, the mall was about to close... My car was the only one in the lot...”

I started rummaging through my pockets for my cigarettes, and was beyond frustrated when I couldn’t find them. Sam silently handed me his pack and I nodded at him gratefully.

“He was really drunk,” Christy was saying quietly. “He said that I was being really unreasonable and selfish, and that I should just get off my high horse...” she took a gulp of water. “So I told him to get lost, and he wouldn’t leave... I said that I would scream for help if he didn’t leave me alone, and he...” her mouth twisted helplessly. “He hit me so hard that I blacked out for a couple of minutes... And then, when I could see and think again, he was in my car in my backseat, and he...” she buried her face in her palms. “Oh, God... Jake, I was screaming for him to stop, but it was like he didn’t even hear me... I thought that he was gonna to kill me, but he didn’t... Then he just left, and I didn’t know what to do, so I came here...”

I was really glad that Sam didn’t have a gun. I would’ve shot Landon point blank, and I wouldn’t even care if I went to jail for the rest of my life.

Christy slept in my bedroom that night, and I think she was out as soon as her head hit the pillow. I turned off the lights and tiptoed out of the bedroom. Then I went into the kitchen, opened the window, and lit a cigarette. I couldn’t even think about sleep. I smoked for several minutes, and then I felt Sam’s arms wrapping around me. I closed my eyes, deeply inhaling the smell of his skin that I loved so much. I flicked my cigarette out of the window and turned towards him. He kissed me as gently as ever, and I felt like I was melting in his arms again. His mouth was so soft that for a long time now I suspected that he was using some sort of lotion. He laughed when I told him that. “No,” he said. “It’s just naturally soft... It’s a gift, I guess...” I’d say...

“How you feeling?” he murmured, finally pulling away from me slightly.

“I am thinking of murdering that asshole...” I muttered, and Sam sighed. “But I won’t,” I finished, and then he was kissing me again.

I felt more than complete when he pulled off my shirt, and I could feel his mouth slowly sliding down my chest.