Chapter Six
Arianna
Six months ago
“Thanks for letting us know,” Coach Sutter says.
“If the police need a statement or anything, I…”
“We will talk to the boys. Just finish up with inventory, and you can go,” Coach Landry says.
“Okay…” I say slowly. They just stare at me, so I turn and leave Sutter’s office. I go to mine and grab my clipboard before going to the supply closet. I hate counting inventory. We have the same number of shit we had last week.
I can’t get my mind off that girl, though.
I walked into the locker room, thinking it was empty, and there they were.
Conrad was taking her ass while Ethan throat-fucked her.
She was sobbing, and Conrad had a hold of her wrists as she tried to pull away.
That was rape. I am questioning now if I should have just called the cops instead.
I assumed that Sutter would. Maybe I should call now.
I finish what I am doing before leaving the supply closet.
As I am walking back to my office, I hear footsteps behind me.
No one should be in this building this late, so who is it?
I try to ignore it and just go to my office.
A knock at my door has me immediately on edge.
When I open it and see both Conrad and Ethan, fear starts to creep into my mind.
“Hey. What’s up?” I ask.
“Oh, nothing. Just saw you were still here. Can we talk?” Conrad asks.
“Uh. Yeah. I’m just finishing up inventory,” I say hesitantly. I go back to my desk and sit, but Ethan goes to the water cooler. “What’s up?”
“We just wanted to talk to you about what you walked in on,” Conrad says. “Water?”
“Uh… sure… Sorry about that. I didn’t know anyone was here,” I say.
“We just don’t want you to get the wrong impression,” Ethan says, setting a cup of water in front of me.
“Thanks,” I say. “Really, it’s okay, though. It was my fault. I forgot something and came back for it.” I drink the water before tossing the cup in my trash can.
“But you went to Sutter,” Conrad says.
“I should have just talked with you guys. I’m sorry about that,” I say nervously. When they don’t say anything, I stand. “I need to recount something.” I go to the door, but Ethan grabs me before I can get out.
“Run, Ari,” he whispers in my ear. “Run like your life depends on it.”
I yank the door open and sprint out of my office.
Fuck them and fuck all of my belongings.
I hear their maniacal laughter as I run down the hallway.
I opt to cut across the rink and get to the exit on the other side.
My car is parked out there, so I’ll be able to get away faster.
What I don’t consider is the fact that it’s fucking ice.
I get about halfway across when my feet slip out from under me, and I fall.
I try to scramble up, but a hand grabs my ankle.
“Stop it! Let go!” I scream. I am roughly flipped over, and I start screaming when I see two demons. One is over the top of me, and the other is helping tear my clothing off. I fight back, but the assistant pins my arms. “Stop! Please don’t do this. Please. I’m sorry. Please don’t.”
“Why’d you have to run your mouth, huh?” One of them screams at me as my legs are forcefully pulled apart.
“Stop! Please, God. No. Please. Someone help! Please, help me!”
“God can’t help you now,” the demon grunts as he slams into me.
A shrill scream rips from my throat as fire burns through my pelvis.
The other demon straddles my face from above me and thrusts down my throat, forcing me to take him as I gag.
I let out a gargled scream when they grab my nipples and twist hard before pulling out.
“Let’s see how much this bitch can take,” one demon says to the other.
When I see the hockey stick, I start screaming and fighting against them, trying to get away.
I manage to get to my belly and drag myself across the ice a short way, but scream in pain when they shove the hockey stick into my vagina and thrust hard and fast as they cackle at my agony.
Today
A scream rips from my throat as I try to jump out of bed and evade the hands on me. I thrash and fight when they pull me back down.
“Shhh. You’re okay. It’s me. It’s Jovi. You’re okay,” Jovian says as he wraps me in a tight hug against his chest. Elijah is behind me with his chest pressed against my back. Being squished between them and unable to move helps ground me. “We’ve got you. You’re okay.”
“What’s wrong? Is she okay?" Kip asks, running into the room.
“She’s okay. Just had a nightmare,” Jovian says, still holding me as my entire body shakes.
“It seemed so real,” I whisper.
“It’s over now, Ari. It wasn’t real,” Jovi reminds me. “You survived.”
“I survived,” I remind myself. “They weren’t trying to kill me.”
“No?” Jovian asks, lifting my chin.
“They said if I opened my mouth again, they’d kill me. They knew I’d survive,” I say. “But… Ray?”
“Yes?” he asks as I sit up.
“Are the cops here?”
“Yeah. Detective Rogers is. Why?”
“I need to talk to him,” I say. Elijah gets up, and I stand. The shirt I have on is practically a dress, so I decide to just go downstairs.
“Detective,” I say when I get to the kitchen, where he and another man are standing.
“Hey,” he says. “How are…”
“Was the rape kit tested?” I ask. He sighs and just stares at me. “Well?”
“What’s going on?” Ray asks me.
“The nightmare I had. It just replays what happened on a loop. I don’t remember them wearing condoms, and I vividly remember one of them throat fucking me. If there was a rape kit, there would have been DNA,” I say.
“The kit was open when it was given to the lab. It’s useless at that point, so…”
“You lied to me!” I scream at him. “You told me nothing came back!”
“That isn’t a lie, Arianna. They couldn’t test it, so it was disposed of. I didn’t get the case until after that incident, and I only recently figured out it was never tested. The cop in charge of transporting it was fired, so…”
“That was the proof!” I yell tearfully. “Why the fuck are you here then? There is no goddamn proof!”
“This is a pinky finger bone,” he says calmly. “Yours, I assume. That means they know where you live now. They knew when to show up and probably know that you know who they are.”
“I don’t…”
“I’ve been doing this a long time,” he says. “I know you do, but you’re scared. I get that. You do not have an obligation to tell me, but knowing will give me somewhere to start.”
“You don’t get it,” I say. “You don’t fucking get it.”
“You don’t think I’ve seen this before? You think I haven’t gone to a crime scene because a rapist went after their victim again? Arianna, he is not leaving this alone. He kept the damn finger for God’s sake.”
“They,” I say quietly. “They kept it.”
“Jesus. How many?” he asks.
“At least two…”
“I don’t care if I have to personally stand guard to make sure you are safe; I can’t get you justice if you don’t talk to me,” he says.
“I don’t want them knowing I’ve said anything until there is proof,” I say. “They will come after me again.”
“They will find out when I have a warrant. Until then, I won’t approach them unless I approach everyone on that team,” he says.
“Conrad and Ethan,” I say quietly. “Sutter was their alibi, but… I know it was them. I told Sutter and Landry when I walked in on them raping a girl in the locker room. I thought I was doing the right thing… I went and did inventory for a few hours. I thought I was alone, but they came to my office to talk about what I saw. Ethan gave me water from the water cooler, and I was dumb enough to drink it. I tried to play it off, but they knew. When I ran, I made the mistake of cutting through the rink to get to the other exit. I ended up slipping, and they got to me. I tried so hard to fight… I don’t know why they looked like that…
maybe they wore a mask. I don’t know. But it was them.
I tried to apologize… They said that if I ran my mouth again, they would kill me. I know it was them.”
“We have a game there on Friday night,” Ray says.
“We will be on the ice with them. The team knows she was hurt by one of the players, and we are going to make sure no one gets her alone. She is friends with a few of them still that do not know who it is, but we’re not even going to let her be alone with them. ”
“Fuck,” Rogers says with a sigh. “Conrad’s father is the chief of police in Toledo.”
“Fucking wonderful.” I laugh dryly.
“What about Sutter. Why would he lie?” Kip asks.
“Not sure,” Rogers says. “I’m going to find out, though. In the meantime, don’t be alone. Ever. I don’t care if it’s in the house or at the rink. Don’t be alone. Okay?”
“She won’t be,” Jovian says simply.
“We have practice all week, but we will leave for Toledo on Thursday,” Ray says. “We will take a bus, so we will be together.”
“Good. Okay. I’ll talk to my boss. I can get by with more since I work for the state,” Rogers says.
“I’m glad you advocated for the state to take over,” Mom says to Ray.
“Did the camera catch anything?” Rogers asks.
“Uhm… Yeah. I was waiting to talk to you alone, but…”
“What?” I ask. “Let me see.”
“Ari… they’re wearing full-face devil masks,” Hunter says.
“I want to see,” I repeat. He hands me his phone, and Rogers steps over to see the screen.
We watch as two men walk up the driveway with the envelope.
They prop it up in front of the door before turning to look at the camera.
They stare at it for a few seconds before turning and walking off the porch.
Once they disappear, I hand the phone to Ray and sigh.
“Thoughts?” Rogers asks me.
“It’s them,” I say. “That’s who I saw. It was a mask. The acid just made it look so real.”
“Okay. Let’s get you laid down so you can rest,” Elijah says. “That’s enough for now.”
“Come on,” Jovian says, taking my hand.
When they get me upstairs, I start to go to my room, but Jovian pulls me into his room, and Elijah shuts the door behind us. “You don’t have to babysit me,” I say.