Claire #2
Antonio looked down as my hand before sitting the bottle in my grasp with an air of acceptance. “Well, considering your only other competition is dead…” he stated with a laugh.
My eyes widened hearing Antonio’s laughter.
As he regained his composure he glared at me, seeing my lack of enjoyment in his form of comedy. His face turned dark with irritation as red blotched across his cheeks and neck. He pulled the bottle from my hands and took a large swig, finishing it off.
“Speaking of dead…where were you the night Jennifer died? Hmmm?” he questioned me as he stood up.
In that moment I looked around us, slowly realizing that it was only the two of us there. Between the grappa, the shock of learning the truth about Arik, and the stress of trying to make a good impression on Antonio—I had my blinders on.
“I was with in my room—alone,” I mumbled as I rose to my feet.
“Of course you were!” he said as his body began to sway in the direction of the only car that was left. “Come on. I will take you back to the hotel. We can continue our little…chat…in the car.”
I stood in fear. Absolutely not. I would not get in the car with this man.
I need Arik.
“Antonio, I appreciate that, but we’ve had a lot to drink, and it may be a better choice to call someone to come get us,” I stated with certainty.
I could call Arik. Or Sam.
A feeling of helplessness settled over me as I realized that I was still without a phone.
“A better choice?” He laughed as the car keys jingled in his hand. “Sounds like you want to sleep here.”
“I don’t…I just, don’t think that is safe,” I replied, my arms crossing against my chest, weighing the gravity of the situation.
Antonio walked toward me, finally coming to a stop a mere foot from my face. I could smell the grappa on his breath as I watched his eyes go in and out of focus.
“You know, I really do not understand you women. Especially you American women,” he slurred as his finger shook at me. “I try to do something nice and cannot get the fucking time of day. But all of you whores will come running to lay on your backs when men like Lorenzo and Arik show up.”
My eyes widened as I took a half step back, shocked by Antonio’s outburst.
Antonio stepped toward me, his chest against mine as I struggled to breathe. The sudden awareness that I was in danger filled my body, but instead of giving me adrenaline, it turned me into stone.
“Did Jennifer say no to your advances?” I asked, staring dead into Antonio’s eyes. My mind raced as I waited for his response, putting together the puzzle pieces and hoping I could find my way out of this.
Antonio licked his lips as his eyes wandered the surroundings. I felt the sea breeze at my back as I slowly backed up from him until I felt my calves graze the boulders that lined the cliffside.
I am going to die.
Antonio’s eyes met mine once again as he nodded and looked down at his feet. He scanned my body slowly as his chest began to rise and fall faster.
“Bitch!” he screamed as his hands gripped the back of my head, pulling at my hair and forcing me onto my knees.
I reached back and clawed at his hand as my other arm punched at his legs until I was no longer kneeling. The warm earth met me back as Antonio threw me, my head crashing against a boulder as pain washed over my body.
Antonio grunted as his heavy body straddled my frame. I let out a scream that echoed into the night’s silence before his hand covered my mouth. My hands reached into the dirt, pulling me up onto the boulder as I struggled to break free from Antonio’s grasp.
Antonio’s hand moved to my chest as he grabbed my dress and raised my body up to slam my head against the boulder once more. Pain burst in the back of my head as my body became limp, and my vision blurred. The night stars that were once so bright and vivid appeared to flutter in and out of my view.
As my torso dangled over the edge of the cliff, the sounds of waves crashing below overpowered my senses. I heard Antonio whisper into my ear, “Say hello to Jennifer for me.”
My eyes closed in acceptance of my fate as the cold sea breeze whipped my body.
A gush of air rushed across me as I screamed.
The air then filled with the muffled sound of a scream that was not my own.
The weight of Antonio’s body on my torso and thighs was gone, and I could breathe.
I opened my eyes, fully expecting him to be standing over me, ready to seal my fate.
But Antonio was gone.
I pulled my body away from the boulders slowly, crawling toward the fire that was barely glowing now.
I brought my hands to my head, feeling the warm wet blood that was entangled in my hair as it drenched my hand.
In the distance, the headlights of two blurry vehicles beamed brightly down the road as they screeched to just beyond the firepit bringing a cloud of dust in their wake.
I rose to my feet, feeling the ache that was now radiating in my body. My vision blurred as I heard a car door open, followed by footsteps running in my direction. I stumbled forward, collapsing onto my knees again as the dirt stung my kneecaps.
The figure came into focus as it walked through the headlights, allowing me to make out the face.
Sam.
Sam grabbed my arm lifting me to my feet as he scanned my body in silence.
My white dress was now caked in brown dirt with the lace around the V-neck torn into shreds and hanging off one shoulder.
Dots and streaks of crimson dried blood stuck to my neck.
My knees were scuffed and bleeding from the course dirt and gravel that had scraped across them.
But the worst damage was to my head, which was now coagulating with blood against my skull.
I stood in shock looking at Sam, the weight of my body leaning on his outstretched arms. I was unable to make words flow from my mouth.
“You’re okay,” he said calmly as his eyes found mine.
My eyes searched the surroundings frantically. “What happened? Where’s Arik?” I squeaked, my voice course from screaming.
Sam’s eyes locked into something just past me toward the cliff as he slowly lowered his head and took a step back. Fear ravaged my body as my mind raced.
Did Arik save me? Did he go over the cliff? Is he dead?
Sam’s eyes continued to look behind me as he took another step away. He nodded before turning away and walking to the back of one of the SUVs, his body disappearing just past the brightness of the headlights.
I turned around slowly as the blood rushed in my body, my heart racing in my chest. As my eyes focused, there he was.
The headlights illuminated his wet body standing in front of the boulders.
Stringy, black hair covered his face, still dripping seawater onto his shirt.
The white fabric clung to every inch of his skin as a smear of red blood covered the bottom half of his face.
Crimson flowed from his neck down his torso, spreading across the white fabric like watercolors.
His head looked down at the ground as his shoulders and chest rose and fell rapidly. Moments later, his chin slowly rose to face me. I could see his eyes between the strands of soaked waving raven hair. He was locked in on me, and a new fear began to take over my body.
He looked ferocious…and hungry.
He blinked at me slowly as time felt as if it were standing still.
He brought his hands up to his face and slowly slicked his hair back, fully exposing the streaks of water tinged with blood that were dripping down his face and falling from his jaw.
He looked at me silently, his expression slowly changing from beastly to his normal, stoic self.
His hands reached for the space between the buttons in the center of his shirt, ripping it off with force.
He brought the dripping cotton up to his face and wiped away the streaks of blood before throwing the shirt down.
There he was.
A monster…my monster.
All the emotions that had been tearing through my body began to bubble at the surface, coming out in a burst of tears and wails. I brought my hands to my face to hide myself from Arik.
His arms wrap around me as his frigid body pressed against mine. His chin rested against my head as I felt the movements of his chest slowing. I pulled my hands from my face, wrapping my arms around his neck as I pressed my face into him.
“I have you,” he whispered, his voice calming me as he held me until the tears stopped flowing.