Sierra

I wasn't planning on disappearing for this long. All I could think about was getting away from the emotions that I've been feeling for Julian. But I knew the moment I stepped inside my car that he would hunt me down. So, as soon as I made it home, I called Mika to get there asap and shut my phone off. I didn't tell her what was going on, I didn't want to worry her and I didn't want her to relay the message to Julian or Cat.

But what else can I do, when I knew he wouldn't leave me alone. I stopped to pick up a burner phone just in case and haven't stopped driving. I'm not sure where I am, just that I've blasted music as I continued driving until I had to get gas. I'm actually surprised that Julian has yet to find me, it's not like I'm really hiding.

I also made sure to call Ryan. I didn't want him to help Julian. I just need time to process whatever this is I'm feeling and try to rebuild the wall that has taken me years to build around my heart. I made it to some little town close to Crescent City, any further and I'd be in Oregon. Which may or may not be the next destination, I'm not even sure at this point.

I've been nursing the same drink since I walked inside this shitty little bar. This place makes the Butterfly look like the royal palace with how shitty everything is here. But it's the closest one to the hotel I'm staying in.

"Hey. I'm Greg," says someone to my side. I don't move my eyes from my drink as I swirl the contents around.

"Pleasure. ," I say softly, bringing the glass to my lips and finishing the whiskey. I look up at the man smiling down at me. He's handsome, pretty blue eyes with thick lashes, clean shaven that shows off his defined jaw, his hair is a dirtier blonde.

"Rough day?" he says, signaling the bartender for another glass for us both. Nodding, I scoff because it's been more than just a day. "More like rough weeks."

He chuckles and it's a beautiful sound, a sound that eases my worries for just a moment. It's weird because I haven't felt comfortable around anyone but Julian. I wouldn't say I'm completely comfortable, but I feel like maybe my body will be okay in letting go of the only man that's made me come alive.

"So, you're visiting or just stopping through?"

"Just stopping through. I'll probably head back home after this actually. I just needed some time to get away." The bartender hands us both a new glass and removes the old ones from the bar.

"Can you put hers on my tab, please," Greg says to the bartender, and smiles back at me.

"Thank you," I mouth to Greg. He smiles and brings his glass up to his lips, taking a quick sip and licks the fragments off his lips. My mind goes to Julian and the way he kneeled before me, the way he licked my pussy like he was a man starving. I squirm in my seat as the air around me quickly changes at just the thought of him .

I look up at the man sitting next to me, wishing it were brown eyes staring back at me and not the pretty blue ones of some stranger. He smiles and I pretend it's Julian smiling back at me.

"Do you want to come up to my room?" I take a moment to look at him, maybe this is a sign and exactly what I needed to get over Julian. I nod and finish drinking the whiskey he brought me.

The walk is silent as we walk side by side to the same hotel I'm staying in. He's kept his distance which I appreciate. I'm not sure I'm even ready to even be with someone different. Julian has been the only one and just the thought of not being with him has my skin itch in discomfort.

Greg opens the door and allows me to walk inside while he takes his coat off. I mimic his movements and shrug off my own jacket placing it by his.

"Want something to drink? I think there might be water in the mini fridge?" he offers and I smile at the offer.

He walks closer, towering over me as he pushes me onto the bed and climbs on top of me. The forcefulness blurs the rest of his movements. He kisses my neck as I stare at the ceiling, memories pouring over me the longer I stay paralyzed. My heart beat starts hammering against my chest, the adrenaline forces through my veins like I had been injected by a syringe full of it.

Flashes of memories play in my mind, one after another I watch as my stepfather pins me down onto the mattress, then images of being chained to a bed with one man pinning me down as the other takes what he wants from me, then images of my stepfather's friends pinning me down as they take turns. Again and again, each time I'm screaming and crying out for them to stop, but no one listens. No one ever listens.

"Wait, I can't do this." He doesn't stop, his mouth is still on my skin. I fight the bile threatening to come out.

"Get off." I groan, shaking my head as panic swells the more he forces himself on me.

"Don't be such a tease," he grunts as he holds my hands down on the bed. I continue moving my head and trying to kick him off as best I can while he straddles me.

The images repeat in a flash to the point that my vision blurs, small fragments of reality mixes with the memories. Darkness is distorted between each flash, until I'm brought out of the haze from the warm liquid splattering on my face.

My blurred vision becomes clear the moment I wipe my face of the red liquid all over my hands staining me the way each soul condemns my own. I gasp the moment I look up, when I see that Greg is on the floor, his body slashed open.

Fuck. He would have raped me. Move. I quickly make my way to the bathroom and wash off whatever blood I have on my face and hands. I grab my jacket and with one last glance at the brutal bloody scene before me, I open the door with my shirt and walk away.

Carefully opening the door to my room, I walk towards the bathroom and robotically take a shower. I'll have to leave the second I feel clean again. The disgust at the asshole makes me feel cheap just when I thought I would be okay, that I wasn't broken still lingers no matter how hard I scrubbed my body.

As soon as I'm done with the shower, I grab my clothes, stuff them in my duffle bag and grab my car keys. I haven't heard any officers and I made sure to pay in cash when I got the room. I'll need to call Ry and have him clear the cameras.

I open up my car door and dial Ry's number off the burner phone and patiently tap on the dashboard while I wait for him to answer.

", are you okay?" I let out an exhale, it's like he already knows what is happening because of course he does.

"I was watching the cameras," he confirms my suspicions, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I'll need you to clear the cameras. I didn't. I blacked. I," I stammer out, not making sense at all.

"Shhh, you are okay. You did what you had to," he says, and he's right. I know he's right. But it doesn't stop the fear I have of myself, of who I've become.

"Where are you going now?"

"I'm going to a different town. I can't stay here. I'll turn my phone on so I can monitor the news and then I'll head home. I just needed some time." I turn on the ignition and quickly get my ass out of there.