The Other Side of Fairytale: HIS RETURN

Chapter Seven

Annabelle's stomach clenched as she looked at her naked body. She could see round finger length bruise marks on her thighs and red patches where her delicate skin was rubbed raw. Her fingertips grazed over one of these spots, her hand trembling and she gasped at the feel. It was as if her body was not her own. Like someone had stolen it from her while she slept and replaced it with this bruised and battered version. She wrapped her body tightly in the sheet, and buried herself in the bed as her body heaved with uncontrollable sobs. There were no clear thoughts running through her head in these moments, just a jumbled mess of fear, regret and shame. She wished she could just disappear in that moment, cease to exist all together.

Annabelle had worked with HAVEN over the past several years and she knew what a victim of sexual assault should do afterwards. But despite all her knowledge, regardless of the desire underneath it all to prove that Maxwell was in fact a monster and he had again shown his true depravity, no matter how desperately she longed to see him back in prison, the reality of what happened to her was far too much to bare. She could not tolerate an interview, to being subjected to a rape kit, to see the look on Drake's face when she told him that Maxwell had once again defiled his love. Only this time it was so much worse. This time, it was his wife. So instead, she stayed nestled in her blanket until her tears ran dry and then she climbed out of bed with the sheet wrapped tightly around her and entered the bathroom. She turned on the shower and allowed the steam to fill the room until the mirrors were foggy and she knew she could not see her image in them. Only then, did she discard the sheet and step into the shower.

Annabelle kept her eyes trained on everything at eye level and above. The scars on her body where his stubble rubbed her raw and his hands and teeth marked her like cattle, were too hideous to see. So she avoided looking at her body and quickly washed herself, wincing as the soap stung her skin, drawing attention to each wound, despite her attempts to avoid them. It was not long before the mental torment became too much and her mind separated itself from the task. So as her fingers scrubbed her hair and cleaned her skin with a skill one could only achieve from a lifetime of practice, her mind went to a safe place, a place with him.

Annabelle thought of the way Drake looked at her, the way his hands touched her and how she melded perfectly into his strong but loving embrace. He always looked at her with such love and longing, but what about now? How could she ever fit with him again, damaged and broken as she was? What look would be in his eyes as his fingers traced the scars left on her tainted skin? He would pretend it didn't matter, that it wasn't her fault, but how could he ever love her like this?

Annabelle stood in the shower until all sense of time was gone and she felt sufficiently numb inside. Then she heard the rattling of the door handle and breath caught in her throat.

The rattling continued, her heart racing as she managed a barely audible, "Who...who is it?"

A few hours later

Liam had just settled into his car on the train when his phone rang.

"Hi Drake, how is everything in Castelsarreillan?" Drake let out a low growl.

"More of nothing. The address was a small apartment building. The landlord confirmed leasing the apartment to a Maxwell Beaumont but he never met him. He said Maxwell mailed him the deposit and he mailed the key back to the address we already checked in Ramsford. That was how Maxwell requested it. The landlord doesn't live on site and isn't around much, so he couldn't say if he had been there or not. We showed his picture at a few places in the area and some people said maybe he might look like someone they've seen, but they couldn't be sure."

Liam stood pouring himself a scotch. "Well, that's certainly not helpful."

Drake sighed, "No, and I'm starting to wonder if Maxwell planned this. It's like he was leading us on a wild goose chase all over Cordonia. The only problem is, I don't know why." Liam could hear the disappointment in his friend's tone. "Granger has really been dreading coming to Castelsarreillan to begin with, but now with the threat of Maxwell still somewhere in the shadows, it's going to be that much worse. I was hoping to give her the news myself, but I just tried to call and didn't catch her. Is she there?"