The Pull

Chapter 12

.

The paramedics insisted I'd go with them and get a rape kit done. I refused. So, they took care of the cuts on my hands and knees and then the cops took my statement. All the while Ben never left my side. They were all there; Will, Lane, Shiloh, and Ty. Concerned faces, worried looks. It made me feel worse.

"Puck. You need to go to the hospital. Get your injuries documented. Please." Ben touched my chin with his gentle fingers. I looked at him.

"I can't."

"You can. Because I'll be right there with you. Ok? We're going to put him in jail. You and I. Together."

And so, we did. Together. He didn't leave my side for one second. While they did the examination, he positioned himself so he wouldn't be able to see anything, and instead focused on me. He talked about places he'd lived, the tall houses in Singapore and Hongkong, how similar and different the two cities were. He talked about the amazing food in Japan, and that he would introduce me to a Japanese food store he'd discovered downtown a few years ago. When he spoke of London I could hear that was the place he called home.

When they photographed the bruises on my body, he turned his back to me, and whispered:

"I'm keeping my eyes closed too, just so you know. But I'm right here."

When it was over, I felt completely drained. Ben just took my hand and guided me to his big, black car. He gently helped me get in, even buckled the seatbelt for me. Before he left the parking lot, he turned up the heat in the car, probably because I was shivering. The quiet humming of the car, the warmth finally getting through to my stiff body, the feeling of being safe and protected by the man beside me – it all finally got to me. I fell asleep.

At one time, I realized the air had changed. We were outside, perhaps. I was being carried. My head resting on a broad shoulder while strong arms held my close.

"Yeah, if you could just push the button, Marcus, that'd be great. Thanks." Ben's voice, and another man who said something. "No, we just came from the hospital. She'll be ok."

An elevator. Ben's steady heartbeat on my temple. I wanted to open my eyes but I just couldn't. Sleep. I just needed to sleep.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that these linens weren't mine. They were soft, expensive, in a dusty grey colour. The bed wasn't mine either. Nor was the pillow I was holding on to. Where the fuck was I? I sat up, a bit too fast apparently, because my head immediately spun. I remembered I hadn't eaten anything since that Snicker's for lunch.

Oh, the beers.

I wasn't hung over, just disoriented. And confused. Why was I here? But then it all came back.

Mark.

I threw the covers off me, realized I was wearing a t-shirt that could sport as a dress on me, and underwear. I lifted the t-shirt in panic and saw the blue and dark red bruises on my upper thighs. And my knees were in Band-Aids. It wasn't a fucked-up dream, it had happened. Mark had tried to rape me.

"No, no, no, no, no..." I could feel my breathing accelerate, the tingling at the back of my neck, the sweating. Suddenly Ben was there, sitting on the bed.

"Puck, you're ok. You're at my place, you're safe. He caressed my arm with his ever so gentle fingers and kept talking to me in a soft voice until I calmed down. He helped me fight the panic attack. We sat in quiet for a while, until I trusted my own voice.

"What happened to him?" I looked at Ben.

"He's in custody. Or to be accurate, he's probably at the hospital, in custody. I broke his arm, and the nose that your friend broke a while back got banged up kind of bad."