AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I glared at him and muttered under my breath, "What an arrogant prick."
When I returned, he was still standing there. "You know," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "it's not very neighborly to park in front of someone else's house."
I clenched my jaw, trying to keep my temper in check but losing the fight. "I said I was sorry," I snapped back, my own tone matching his biting sarcasm.
He shrugged, clearly unimpressed. "Just don't do it again."
I shook my head in disbelief as he tromped away. I didn't understand why he was being so hostile towards me. But one thing was for sure, I wasn't going to let him intimidate me.
The sight of the vacuum cleaner I had laid out earlier reminded me of the house chores I had postponed all week. The beach house was in great condition but quite dusty and dirty. Apparently, it hadn't been used for a long time. The kitchen was a nightmare, and the bathroom, which was the first place I attacked when I arrived, had been filled with animal droppings and a rusty tap that I made a mental note to get fixed later during the week. The blinding rays of the sun announced noon, and I suddenly remembered that I needed to get groceries.
I quickly dashed out of the house and decided to walk to the store since it wasn't far away. After crossing off most of the items on my list, I emerged from the store struggling with six full bags of groceries to last me for a month. I felt a sense of relief wash over me as I walked down the short pathway home, the sun warm on my skin. However, my relief was short-lived as I felt a presence behind me. I turned around to find three men following me, all with lecherous looks on their faces.
"Hey, pretty lady," one of them said with a smirk. "What brings you out here all alone?"
I tried to ignore them and walked on, but they continued to follow me, making lewd comments and grabbing at my arms. As my heart started to race, I realized I was in trouble.
"Let go of me!" I shouted, pulling my arm away from one of the men. "I don't want any trouble."
But the men persisted, with one of them reaching for one of my grocery bags. I fought back, kicking and punching as they tried to grab my belongings. Once the bags were all on the ground, one man knocked into me, directing me towards his buddy, who grasped my waist and an arm to pull me closer. I pulled away hard, flinging my hands out to get loose. I was scared and angry, and I didn't know what to do. Were they trying to steal from me? Or worse, would they rape me? It would be easy to be assaulted on a lonely road such as this, or even killed, even in the broad daylight. No one would know what happened to me. Hysterical bubbles filled my throat as the implications of what these men could do to me dawned fully.
"Leave me alone!" I yelled, my voice shaking.
Fighting them off with tooth, nails, and flailing arms, I screamed. "Help!" We weren’t that far from the beach, hopefully my voice will carry and someone will hear.
I managed to bite one of the men on his wrist, and he let out a sharp cry. His companions distracted for a moment gave me the opportunity to take flight. I'd hardly moved two steps forward before I was rewarded with a blinding slap that threw me to the ground in confusion.
"Now what did you do that for? You don't want to play?" the man raged as he held me down. I struggled, trying to scream but another man stuffed my mouth with a dirty rag.
Blind panic seized me as my heart pounded furiously against my ribcage like a trapped bird. I wanted to punch them in their jaw as they looked at me, licking their lips lasciviously.
"C’mon, we don't want to fight. We just need those nice bags you're holding and we'll be on our way. And maybe...” He tried to reach for my face, but I shrugged him off, disgusted.
“... We can play a bit, eh."
This last bit met grunt of approvals from his friends.
"Oh no." I groaned painfully.I can't let this happen to me.I struggled against them again, kicking wildly, screaming as loud as I could behind the gag. Then a gruff menacing voice suddenly stilled every movement.
It sounded...
I recognized that voice. An overwhelming sense of relief washed over me as I caught sight of Raymond running towards us with an expression like thunder.
"Leave her alone!" He yelled as he got to us, his stance threatening and his eyes filled with a cold fury emanating from him in waves.
".... I won't ask twice."
CHAPTER 2
RAYMOND
The first man stumbled backwards, looking surprised by my sudden appearance.
The other two men turned to face me, their expressions turning from amusement to anger. One of them spoke up, "Mind your own damn business."
I clenched my fists and stood my ground, gritting my teeth so hard that my jaws ached. "It is my business when someone is being attacked right in front of me. Why don’t you pick someone of your own size? Cowards!” I spat in disgust.
Sophie had managed to wrestle herself free from the grasp of the third man and was standing behind me, her eyes wide with fear. I could feel her heart beating fast and her shoulders shaking slightly behind me. My fists grounded in deep fury. I wanted to bury it in all their faces for daring to put their filthy hands on her.
