Part 360
The stage crew had been in Calgary for two days and had set the stage up before they had arrived. The majority of the stage crew was now elsewhere, enjoying their time off. The sound and light crew along with the band was already out in the arena getting ready for sound checks and the dancers were in and out getting costumes fixed for the show that night. Basically, the backstage area was deserted, only a handful of people milling about.
Sarah had left AJ, Kevin, Brian and Howie on Kevin’s bus watching the ‘Drowning’ video. She was going to do her sound check. As she passed through the backstage area, she spoke to the crew that was there.
"Hey, Sarah…make sure you introduce yourself to David," called Ben.
Sarah stopped to talk to Ben, head carpenter and the man responsible for Kevin’s toaster. "Who’s David?"
"New man…he just joined us a couple days ago officially but he’s been with us since Detroit. You guys just had so much going on, we didn’t have a chance to introduce you. He’s Danny’s replacement."
"Cool. Where is he?"
Ben looked at the others with him and Todd spoke up, "Last time I saw him, he was in the ‘underworld’ making sure Nick’s toaster was working right."
"I’ll try and catch him before I go up to do my sound check. Thanks, Ben."
As Sarah started off, Todd stopped her. "Hey, Sarah, good thing we aren’t near any beaches. You might be mistaken for a beached baby whale," he teased.
Sarah spun around on him with a playful glint in her eyes. "You know, if you didn’t hold my husband’s life in your hands every time he stepped on his ‘toaster’, I’d tell you where to go," smirked Sarah as Todd got up to hug her.
The guys laughed as Todd said, "I’m just playing’ with ya, beautiful. Where’s Howie anyway? I’m surprised he’s letting you out of his sight these days."
"He’s on Kevin’s bus with the others watching a video."
"Are you performing tonight?"
"Yeah, you gonna work his lifter for me?"
"You know it. See you later."
"Later, Todd."
Sarah headed out to the ‘underworld’ hoping to see this new guy. As she moved through headed to the steps, a shadow caught her attention.
"Who’s there?"
A tall, lean, muscular figure stepped out. Sarah guessed him to be about 6’ 4" and he had long, dark hair that hung down to his shoulders. He was dressed in black jeans, boots, and a white wifebeater that was set off by his dark complexion. The feature that caught Sarah’s attention though was the steel blue eyes. He was almost as gorgeous as Howie, but not quite. Those eyes were unforgettable but where had she seen them before?
"Hello," he drawled in a distinctly Southern accent that Sarah seemed to recognize.
Sarah moved towards him saying, "You must be David. Hi, I’m ….."
"Sarah."
She was astonished that he knew her name but then realized the other crew must have told him about her. "That’s right," she said reaching out to shake his hand. "I’m Howie’s wife."
"It’s a pleasure to see you….again."
"Again? I don’t understand. Have we met before?"
"Not officially. We have mutual acquaintances from our past."
Sarah was falling for his charm and her curiosity was piqued. "Where are you from?"
"Northern Florida."
"Really? What part?"
David smiled, "Yulee…your brother, Mark, and I would have graduated together."
He’d gained her trust now. "You knew Mark?"
"Yeah, but I dropped out of school when I was sixteen and went to work for .38 Special. Donnie Van Zant got me a job on their crew."
"I remember Donnie. This is so cool."
David hadn’t released her hand and now pulled her to him twisting her arm behind her back. Her body was pressed against his as he said, "I always heard you were a wild one and from what I hear, you still are."
"I think you need to let me go, NOW!" said Sarah forcefully, not leaving any doubt that she didn’t want this, trying to push him away from her.
David had the advantage with his size and strength. He took her other hand in his and put it behind her back. He now held both her hands behind her back in his one powerful hand. With his free hand, he slipped it into her blouse grasping her breast firmly as he ripped her shirt open. Before she had a chance to scream or call out for help, his mouth crashed down on hers, his teeth tearing her lips.
Sarah could taste her own blood as her mind spun out of control. Dear God! Why was this happening? The more she struggled, the tighter he held her. Somebody! Anybody! Why was it today of all days that NO ONE seemed to be around?
David pushed her down onto an equipment box pinning her and freeing his hand that had been holding hers. He clamped it over her mouth to stifle her attempts to call for help and made quick work of her maternity jeans, then his own.
Thrusting into her hard, he grunted, "Damn! You are one hot bitch!"
He pounded into her with such force that Sarah thought for sure he was going to tear her. She closed her eyes and prayed for mercy, that the babies wouldn’t be hurt.
Moving his hand from her mouth, he growled menacingly, "You scream and I’ll hit you so hard, you’ll lose these babies."
There was no mistaking he meant business and he continued to fuck her until he had released himself. Moving off her, he fastened his pants.
"You bastard!" spit Sarah. "You’ll be gone within the hour."
David laughed arrogantly, "You won’t say a word."
"And why not?"
"You do, and your story of how AJ raped you and how Howie, Kevin, and AJ shared you will be front page news for EVERYONE to read."
Sarah glared at him. "How the hell do you know about that?"
"It’s the talk of the crew." David pulled out his wallet and threw a twenty at her. "You know, if Russell had just let me have one shot at you, you’d never have gone to that fucking fag you’re married to now."
"You knew Russell?" asked Sarah suddenly terrified.
"Of course, I knew Russell. What, you really didn’t think I’d tell you the truth right off the bat? I’d never have had this chance to find out just how damn good you really are."
Sarah tried to stand but her legs were weak. "BASTARD! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
About that time, Fiona appeared in the ‘underworld’ and David wandered off laughing. Seeing Sarah, the blood trickling from her lip and clothes torn, she rushed to her. "Oh my god! Are you okay?"
"NO!" hissed Sarah taking the tissue Fiona offered her. Her anger began to build as what just happened began to sink in. "I need some clothes."
"Want me to go out to your bus?"
"No. Go to Howie’s locker. He’s got a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt in there," said Sarah as she attempted to stand again. "Oh god, I hurt."
"He didn’t hurt the babies, did he?" asked Fiona with concern as she gave Sarah a hand.
"No, I don’t think so. Damn him!" growled Sarah as she suddenly remembered where she had seen David before. "He’ll regret EVER touching me."
Fiona went to get the clothes for Sarah and then helped her get them on. As she did, she spoke cautiously, "Sarah, what he said…about AJ raping you and the other thing…"
Sarah looked at her. With more fear in her voice than Sarah truly wanted to show, she said, "It’s true…but if you so much as breathe ONE word to the press, you will be on your ass so fast, you won’t know what hit you."
"I swear, Sarah, I won’t say a word. What are you going to do?"
"He’s gonna be arrested AFTER getting his ass fired!"
"But what if he tells the press?"
"Don’t worry, he won’t! I’ll make sure of that!" reassured Sarah. Looking at Fiona, she said, "Thank you."
"I didn’t do anything. I wish I had come in sooner."
"Me too! God, Howie is gonna blow a gasket with this…and Kevin. I don’t even want to think what Raoul and Carlos are gonna do….and the rest of the crew."
"Come on. You need to go get cleaned up and tell them."
"I need you to go with me, for the police…to tell them what you saw."
"I’ll do whatever you need."
As they started to leave, Mook came down the steps. "Sarah, where the hell have you….WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?"
"Not now, ‘Mook’. I need to get backstage."
All of a sudden, there was a rush of activity and Nikki and Lisa appeared. Seeing Sarah and Fiona, they immediately thought something had happened between the two and rushed over.
"Sarah, what’s wrong?"
Shaking her head, Sarah said, "Not now, Lisa. ‘Mook’, I’ll be back in a little while. Just hang tight. I’m sure Kevin will tell you something more definite in a few minutes."
"I’m going with you," said ‘Mook’ realizing that something major had happened.
Looking at Fiona, Nikki said, "Did you do this?"
"Back off, you two. Fiona helped me. Oh god, I hurt," groaned Sarah. "Lisa, Howie is on Kevin’s bus. Please, go get him."
"Not before you tell me what happened," insisted Lisa as she took a rag and wiped the blood from Sarah’s lip.
"David, the new guy," Sarah dropped her voice, "he raped me."
"Oh shit," gasped Lisa. "Howie is gonna go ballistic."
"That’s putting it mildly," said ‘Mook’. "Sarah, do you want me to carry you?"
"No, I’m okay," said Sarah as they started out. "You know, to add insult to injury, the bastard threw a twenty at me."
"Oh god! And you didn’t kill him yourself?" asked Lisa.
Sarah tried to laugh, "Believe me, he’s gonna regret what he did."