Brianna sat on the edge of her bed facing the mirror over her dresser. Staring at her reflection she sighed. Even under the heavy makeup there was a faint purple showing through around her eye. She had tried everything she could think of to make it disappear or at least be less noticeable. She realized the best she could hope for was that the dramatic eyeliner and mascara she was wearing would somehow detract from the still slight swelling and purple discoloration of the bruise.

Once again the events of three nights ago played through her mind. Her eyes began to burn and she had to blink rapidly to force the tears away. She couldn’t ruin her makeup now. Mitchell would be here any minute and she would never get it fixed in time. All she wanted to do was climb back in the shower, where she had spent most of the weekend, trying to wash away the memory of Friday night. But there was no time for that. Time had run out. Almost as if on cue there was a knock at the door. A faint knock, and had she not been listening for it she might have missed it. Swallowing the rising bile she forced her body to stand and willed her legs to hurry to the door. Placing a smile on her lips she opened the door.

“Hello beautiful.” She heard his voice but couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Hi. I’m ready to go.” Brianna couldn’t believe how steady her voice was.

“I can see that, and you look, beautiful. Look at me and let me see.” He was holding her hands and pulling her arms out to the side so he could examine her from head to toe. Slowly she lifted he head and met his eyes. At first he smiled as his eyes swept over her face taking in the look he like so well, then the smile faltered. He reached up and gently brushed his thumb over the corner of her eye. “What happened here?” He asked stepping a little closer.

Brianna felt trapped. He was too close to her now and she had to steel her will to stay in place. Instead, she turned her head and looked at the ground. “It, it was nothing. Just a, um, a mistake.” She whispered near tears again.

“Brianna, what did you do? Does it hurt?” He seemed so caring. Her resolve was crumbling. When she looked up at him he could see the tears brimming in her eyes, threatening to spill over. Opening his arms he pulled her into a hug. “What? What happened? You can tell me. You know that, right?”

Choking on her tears and the words she told him what was wrong. “I…was…raped.” There is was out. She had actually said the words she dreaded most.\

“What?! When?” He had her by the shoulders looking straight at her.

“Friday. Friday night.” She hiccupped.

“Friday? But you were out with…” As the pieces fell into place in his mind he was unable to finish the sentence. Brianna was just nodding her head. Yes, Mitchell would take care of her. He cared. He wouldn’t let anything like this happen again. She found herself leaning back into his chest for comfort.

“Oh baby, I’m so sorry. It wasn’t supposed to be like that.” She wasn’t sure what he meant, but she felt comfort in his arms. Brianna felt him moving and then heard some beeping. She realized he was making a call on his cell phone. “Eric, I don’t know where the hell you are, but we need to have a serious talk man!” He was so serious. She could hear it in his voice. “When you get this message you need to call me right away. There are a few things we need to get straight, do you understand me.” Hanging up the phone he led Brianna to the couch. “Come sweetheart; let’s sit down for a minute.”

“But don’t we have reservations or something? I’ll be okay, really. I don’t want us to be late.”

“No really, we can wait a few minutes. I want to make sure you are okay first. Here sit down.” She sat next to him on the couch, still a little uncomfortable with being so close, yet also comforted by the closeness. She felt so confused. Tilting her head back he again ran his fingers over the bruise. Looking her in the eyes he spoke, “I am so sorry this happened. Trust me to take care of everything. Let me take care of you.” He was speaking softly while tracing the line of her brow and cheek, being careful not to put any pressure on the bruise. Slowly he leaned in and placed a soft kiss right at the corner of her eye. “Will you do that? Will you let me take care of you?”

Finally, two tears escaped from her eyes. She couldn’t hold them back any longer. One fell from each eye and landed on Mitchell’s thumbs which he had softly placed on her cheeks. Looking up she kept willing the tears to go away. “Shhh, don’t cry sweetheart. Trust me to take care of everything. Please?” Looking back down at him, she caved. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nodded her head into his chest. “That’s my girl. That’s my good girl.”

<~ Chapter 84 or Chapter 86 ~>

In the End

Karina 2003