The Butterfly Effect | Levi x Reader

Chapter 5

*WARNING - MENTIONS OF ATTEMPTED RAPE ARE IN THIS CHAPTER - READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRESION*

Work was going surprisingly well. The customers seemed to all be in great spirits, your drink orders had been very easy and you and Natalie were getting along as if your dispute today hadn't happened. You certainly appreciated the calming, mindless work that was taking your mind off a certain house guest you had back home. Things were finally looking up for you.

You hummed an upbeat tune you heard on the radio earlier as you made your way to your car after your shift. Your lips turned up in a secret smile, feeling the large collection of bills you had accumulated tonight in your pocket.

"Hey!" someone called. You glanced up from your phone, seeing a group of men by the parking lot, loitering around the street lamp. You counted 4; one of them was waving. Checking behind you revealed no one in sight but yourself. Maybe you knew them and just couldn't make out who it was in the dark.

"Hey," you called back tentatively. They erupted into laughter at this. You were beginning to feel uneasy.

"Hey sweetheart," another one cooed, false sweetness dripping from his voice. It was then that you realized you were in great danger. Clutching the end of your keys between your fingers, you turned and began on a different path to avoid the men blocking the way from you to your vehicle.

"Aw, where ya going?" a third voice slurred. Your heart beat rapidly quickened and your walking pace increased when you heard the crunch of footsteps echoed behind you. You forced yourself to summon the courage to check over your shoulder. Two of the men had broken away and were following you. Tears stung in your eyes when you thought about where this was going. Your pace was almost a run at this point, but the men had sped up as well.

You reached your car and scrambled to open the car door but a large palm whizzed past your head and slammed it shut. "It's not polite to ignore someone's question sweetheart," a deep sickening voice murmured from behind you.

"Unwanted company isn't polite either," you shot back boldly. What a mistake that was.

The man snarled and angrily grabbed a large fistful of your hair, slamming your forehead into the front window of your car. You cried out in pain and your hand shot up to your forehead – thankfully you couldn't feel any blood. Your relief was short lived; the man then grabbed your upper arms, his large fists almost completely encompassing them and forcefully pushed your back up against your car. The dull ache in your arms was growing exponentially worse as he gripped tighter. You thrashed about kicking out at him and your foot managed to connect with his torso. He staggered back, giving you a little time to try to open your car door, but you weren't quick enough. One glance over your shoulder revealed him coming at you with clear intent in his eyes. Before you could lash out again, he ripped your keys – the only method of defense you had – out of your hands and threw them on the ground. You could see the dark gleam in his eyes through strands of your hair, your heart beating so fast you could feel it in your throat and ears. More hot tears threatened to stream down your cheeks as the man overpowered you once again, this time ripping your shirt open down the middle. You whimpered as your body went into a state of utter shock.

Why aren't I screaming? Why can't I fight harder? You thought to yourself. Your eyes darted around viciously looking for something, anything that would bring you salvation. The scenery around you blurred and dark as you became more and more panicked. For a split second, your eyes connected with the second man that was there, just standing a few feet away, watching his friend violate you with a conflicted look on his face.

"Help me, please!" you screamed at him desperately. He only averted his gaze to the ground and turned around. "Get the fuck off me!" you screamed at your oppressor, a fire once again sparking in you to fight for your life. You bit down hard on one of his hands that were roughly caressing your face, causing him to stumble backwards once again. The other hand that was on the button of you jeans tore it completely off as he fell.

"You bitch!" he yelled and lunged at you but you kicked out as hard as you could, hitting him square in between his legs. You screamed bloody murder as loud as you could, spooking the second man.

"Come on man let's just get out of here," he dragged his friend back towards the others, who had witnessed most of the assault from a distance.

After they had all left and were out of eyesight, you fell to your knees and broke down on the asphalt.

You picked yourself up off the ground after what seemed like hours laying there in a dazed stupor. Dragging your feet to the location of your keys and retrieving them, you then forced yourself to get in the car and drive home to your apartment.

Pulling up to your building, you felt the burning threat of tears pricking your eyes once more. Resting your tender forehead gingerly on the steering wheel you took a few deep breaths. "Come on Kat, pull it together," you repeated to yourself.

Gathering your strength, you climbed out of the car and dragged yourself of the stairs to your apartment. Luckily no one spotted you on the way up, so you wouldn't have to explain why you looked such a mess.

Shit. Levi.

You forgot all about him tonight. Dreading seeing his reaction or having to explain, you opened the door begrudgingly and shut it quietly behind you, leaning on it for support; your legs felt like jell-o. Levi had moved to the couch but was lounging, still reading your text book – and almost done, you noted. When he heard you enter, he peeked over the top of the book covering his face. His eyes swept over you, confusion and astonishment and fear all swirling in them. The book clattered to the floor as he sprang up from the couch and but he made no move to rush over to you.

"Shit, what happened to you?" he asked, voice quiet but urgent.

"It was nothing," you muttered, knowing he wouldn't accept that answer.

"Bullshit! You look like you got mauled," he retorted, taking in your swollen face, dishevelled hair, ripped shirt and popped jean fly.

You almost made it to your room while keeping a straight face, but when you heard Levi utter those words you burst into tears almost instantly. To avoid humiliation you rushed into your bathroom and locked the door. Staring at yourself in the mirror made you feel sick to your stomach and you were shaking uncontrollably. You curled up into a ball on the bathroom floor; the cold tiles felt good on your feverish skin. There was a slight knock on the door.

"May I come in?" Levi asked in a more gentle tone.

You nodded but realized he couldn't see you so you croaked out a hoarse "yes" through the door, throat feeling like sandpaper from screaming.

Levi felt an icy creeping in his veins when he saw you on the floor. He was worried for you and had no idea what to do. You looked so helpless and frail lying on the floor like that, his heart was filled with sadness and anger for you. Something he would never admit. "Who did it?" he asked pointedly as he helped you into a sitting position and leaned your back against the edge of the bathtub.

"Some guys in the parking lot after work . . ." you trailed off.

"Did they take anything from you?"

"No. They weren't trying to rob me," you stated in a robotic tone, lifeless eyes staring straight ahead. Your words finally donned on him what had almost happened.

"Fuck," he murmured under his breath. The pity in his eyes when he looked at made your chest swell. It helped ground you. "You're obviously in shock. You should take a hot shower and I'll make you some tea," he said, helping you to stand up.

"You don't know how to work the kettle," you replied dully.

"Seriously, that's what you're worried about right now?" he stared at you, dumbfounded. "I've seen you use it. I can figure it out. Let's just focus on getting you in the shower," Levi insisted as he helped you take off the remainder of your tattered shirt, your upper arms revealing large, dark bruises. Levi held his tongue but his eyes widened, but not enough for you to notice. He'd seen bodies in much worse condition before. You flinched when he went to help with your jeans, remembering the man's hand tearing the button from them.

"Sorry," he muttered and backed away, those grey eyes looking stoic as ever. "I'll go start the tea."