"I hear you have a new boyfriend," Jacob's mouth hovered near her ear. Sera squirmed beneath him as she tried to turn her head away. "Are you giving it up to him?"
Sera choked against his hand. He smiled chillingly as he licked her ear. Bile rose in her throat and it took everything she had to shove it back down. She would probably choke to death if she threw up now. "I'm going to take my hand away so that you can answer me. If you scream again, I'm going to gag you, understand?" She nodded as a tear slipped down her cheek. She hated herself for the sign of weakness, but she couldn't stop it. He eased his hand away and she felt something cold press against her throat. She tried to retreat further from him, but it was impossible as he smiled down at her. "Yes, it's a knife. Now, answer me."
Her heart was hammering in her chest and she couldn't stop the shaking that wracked her. "Are you sleeping with him?" he demanded, his face twisting into a sneer.
A wave of defiance washed over her as she tilted her chin. "Yes, I am."
He smiled coldly as he leaned down to kiss her. She turned her head away in a desperate attempt to get away from his repugnant touch. His hand twisted cruelly in her hair as the knife pressed more firmly against her throat. "That's what your friend said."
Revulsion swamped her, and it took everything she had not to vomit as he ran his hands over her body. "Stop it." She tried to squirm away from him but he pressed the knife more firmly against her throat. "What friend?" she asked as his words registered.
"Your girlfriend called me. She told me where you were. I decided to pay you a visit to finish what we started."
With a violent jerk he ripped open her shirt. Sera cried out in distress and horror as his hand ran down to the edge of her jeans. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she began to buck crazily in an attempt to dislodge him. "I'll slit your throat you bitch!" he spat. "Stop moving!"
Sera whimpered as his hand cruelly squeezed her breast. "You feel good," he purred as he licked her ear.
A knock on the door froze his movements. "Are you expecting anyone?" he asked in a low voice.
"No," she answered honestly.
"Get rid of them." The knife cut into her flesh. She could feel blood running down her throat. She froze, unable to move, unable to breathe as she fully realized that he would kill her. "Now!"
She inhaled sharply. "Who is it?" she called.
"It's me, open the door," Liam replied.
Her heart gave a little skip of hope that quickly faded away. Liam was big, but Jacob was bigger, and obviously crazy. She didn't want Liam to be harmed, and she knew that Jacob would kill him, or her. Hopelessness filled her as she swallowed heavily and resigned herself to what she had to do. Jacob would hurt her, but she wasn't going to let him hurt Liam too. "I'm not feeling well," she called out.
"Sera open the door!" he yelled.
She was puzzled by the annoyance in his voice, but she didn't have time to figure it out, and right now she didn't really care. "Just go away Liam." Her voice cracked as tears spilled down her face. "I can't see you tonight."
"Sera..." Jacob gripped her hair painfully and dug the knife in a little deeper.
"No, I don't want to talk to you. I... uh... I just need to be alone. I need to study!"
Silence came from the other side of the door, and she held her breath as she prayed he would stay there all night. "Fine," he finally said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
She almost screamed for him to help her but she kept her mouth closed as tears flowed freely and her hope vanished. Jacob's eyes sparkled with malice. She closed her eyes, unable to look at him anymore, unable to think anymore.
The loud crash startled her eyes open. Jacob gasped as he was ripped off of her. The knife sliced her as she was knocked to the floor. She cried out as she fumbled at her cut neck. Blood spilled between her fingers, ran down her arm, and dripped onto the floor. She sat numbly, barely hearing the crashes around her, and the grunts of a fight.
She stared numbly at her bloody fingers as her mind spun in directions that she didn't understand. She couldn't grasp hold of a single thought. Liam was suddenly before her, his face was pinched and there was blood around his mouth, and on his cheek.
"Are you all right?" he demanded. "Sera, are you all right?"
She was unable to answer. He gingerly explored her wound. "Don't move." He swiftly moved over, shut the battered door, and slid the chain lock into place. She watched his legs as he strode to the other side of the room in search of something. He came back with a towel that he placed against her neck. She winced in response. "You'll be okay," he whispered. "It's not deep. Just hold this on your neck."
He took her trembling hand and placed it against the towel, forcing her to hold it. He brushed back her hair and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back, okay?"
She watched as he walked away. She wondered dully where Jacob was but she couldn't seem to ask the question out loud. She heard him shuffling around on the other side of the bed. Loud music gradually began to register and she dimly recalled the Halloween party going on downstairs. That was why no one had heard her, why no one had come sooner.
"Sera, do you know who this is?" Her hand fluttered up to clutch her torn shirt together as shivers wracked her body. The blood was drying on her fingers, but she could feel more seeping into the towel. "Sera," he said more firmly. "Do you know who this is?"
"Is he still here?" she croaked, the words sounding alien to her own ears.
"Yes. Do you know who he is?" She nodded as her hand fell into her lap. "Who is he Sera?"
