Checkmate [Chaelisa]

Chapter 21

Lalisa Griffin's Point Of View

I felt Roseanne's arms wrapping me carefully, as the rain fell over our heads. The car with the men had just gotten lost amid the darkness of that deserted field. I felt my body being lifted, causing me to sit.

"Lalisa? Look at me." I opened my eyes and stared into that pair of so worried brown eyes.

Even with the darkness that surrounded us, I stared at her partially illuminated face by the lit headlights of her car, seeing the raindrops running down her white skin. Even knowing that none of that was real, and that I was never in danger, I felt incredibly safe in the arms of that woman, as if she could surface me from that quagmire of lies and rancor.

"Everything is okay, they are gone."

"I'm sorry." I let out almost automatically, without realizing.

Roseanne frowned, joining her eyebrows in the center of her forehead. She stared at me with a confused expression, but soon took care of shaking her head. I felt my breath falter in pure fear.

"For what, Lalisa?"

"For making you go through this, I..." I put my face in the crook of her neck, interrupting my words.

"You don't have to apologize, Lili. I'll get you out of here, okay? Everything is fine now."

She knelt on the dirty ground, and with all her strength lifted me up, putting my arms over her shoulders while wrapping my waist with one of her arms. I walked with her towards her car, which was in the middle of the sandy road. We were completely wet and dirty. Roseanne opened the car door and settled me in the passenger seat, to then run towards the opposite side. I groaned in pain due to the burning on the cuts in my mouth and eyebrow, unlike all the rest, those were real. Roseanne settled in her seat clumsily, spattering water inside the car as she removed the waterproof fabric she was wearing.

"I'll take you straight to the hospital, and from there I'll call everyone."

Her hands came to my face, sliding her thumb delicately on my skin. Now I had a better view of Roseanne's face thanks to the light that illuminated the interior of the vehicle. She really looked worried, which only increased my load of guilt. I closed my eyes, feeling her soft caresses comforting me.

"You'll stay with me?" I asked.

"I'll do my best for that to happen, Lili."

Carefully, she stretched her body, grabbing a sort of coat that was in the back seat and extending it towards me.

"Put this on, it's cold and it's not good for you to stay wet like that."

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry, Lalisa. I'm fine, okay?"

I nodded slowly, still staring at her eyes. Roseanne had a nervous expression, and somewhat tired. I lowered the straps of my red dress down to my waist, staying only in my bra. I received her eyes on me, but unlike the other times, they didn't show desire, only concern. The coat was part of the woman's uniform at the precinct, its long sleeves and thick fabric warmed me along with the heater turned on by her.

"How is Robert?"

"He's great." She said without even looking at me.

The car was started, and we drove far away from that huge empty field. The place chosen for the rescue was a bit far from the city center, we still had some good minutes alone before the uproar among police and hospital started. Roseanne was serious, somewhat tense, she remained silent for a long time, until I accommodated myself closer to her body, resting my head on her shoulder. The wet clothes gave me chills, and I just wanted to have her closer to warm me.