Over the Phone

Chapter Ten

Chloe’s breath was coming in ragged gasps. Tears formed in her eyes. She thrashed under the weight of the body above her. She was afraid- absolutely terrified. The hand at her throat was rough and cruel, closing around her neck and cutting off her air supply. Then there was a knee pressed heavily on her chest, holding her roughly to the bed. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move enough to get free, and Adam was out asleep on the couch, unable to hear her because she couldn't scream. She reached for the attacker's face and tried to claw at him, but he just grabbed her hands and pressed them between their bodies.  He started clawing at the shirt she wore, tearing holes in the fabric. Each time he grabbed at the fabric, there was a slicing pain; he was using a knife to cut her clothes off. She was writhing and crying with the pain and humiliation of this situation, but it seemed to excite him. Nothing she did made a difference. She was getting weaker every time she tried to fight him. Chloe pulled her leg as far into the bed as she could and flung it forward, finally managing to connect with her attacker's groin, causing him enough pain to let go. His hand released her throat and she took the only opportunity she was likely to have.

"Adam! Adam," she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face. A hand clamped over her mouth again and the pressure redoubled on her throat as well as on her chest. Adam hadn't been sleeping peacefully at all. He was laying on his back on the couch, staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to come; somehow he knew it wouldn't. He had the weird feeling that Chloe just wasn't safe. Chocking it up to his feelings for her, he ignored his instincts to go check on her. That was until he heard her scream his name. His blood ran cold when he heard his name come from her lips in that tone. He was at the door to the bedroom so fast that he hardly touched the floor at all.

The door suddenly burst open and Chloe had never been so grateful for glaring lights. Adam  had never felt a rage like this before; a man in a black ski mask was sitting on Chloe’s chest; her hands pinned underneath his knees, a hand on her mouth to silence her, and his other around her throat. He didn't spare a second of time yelling at the guy; he ran across the room in two steps, drew back his fist and planted it fully against the side of her attacker's head. There was a sharp snap as he jerked in shock and Chloe cried out in pain; she was sure a rib had broken under the attacker’s. In his surprise, for one awful second he squeezed tighter around her throat before falling to the side and landing hard on the floor. Adam cleared the bed in one jump and, as he did, he saw Chloe's shirt was sliced open and she was bleeding as a result. Seeing that, his vision blurred red. He landed hard on the man and put a knee to his throat. His back was to Chloe and she could see the muscles in his back bunch and release as he beat the man; it was almost scary. Kneeling over him, he hit him over and over again in the face until he'd finally stopped trying to fight back. There was a necktie hanging from the corner of his dresser and he used it to quickly tie the man's hands together, looping it around the frame of his bed as he did. With his back still to Chloe, he picked up her cell phone off the bedside table and dialed 911, his voice cold and distant.

"Yeah, a man broke into my apartment at 817 Hillers Crest and attacked my girlfriend. I think she's okay, but he was kneeling on her chest and I think I heard something pop. You can send the police to come get him. Oh, and you might want to send an ambulance for him too, because I hit him pretty hard." He hung up, took a deep breath, and finally turned to Chloe. He scooped her carefully off the bed and sat her in his lap as he sat down on the bed, crushing her to his chest. Chloe hadn't realized until that moment that she was sobbing. He held her tightly to him, her whole body shaking. She could hardly breathe through the pain in her chest.

"Chloe, it's okay. It's going to be alright; I'm here," he crooned, but she couldn't breathe and the feeling of only taking half breaths was making her feel panicky. Hand clamped over the painful spot on her side and eyes wide with fear, she tried to explain.

"Can't breathe... ribs..." she said before he spoke again.

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry, Chloe. I didn't hear him come in. I didn't-" She had to stop him; this wasn't his fault. She placed her hand over his lips, stopping his tirade.

"Don't," she gasped, "not you're- fault." The words came through her teeth as she fought to stay conscious. Adam wasn’t sure she realized she was bleeding, but he felt sick. The one place she'd felt safe and now she'd never feel safe here again...

Chloe gasped as a wave of pain shook her. She heard sirens in the distance and Adam sighed, holding her closer to his body, but as he did, he squeezed her. Chloe’s eyes went black with the pain and she gave up, letting blackness take her; she collapsed into Adam's arms and passed out. There was a loud knock on the door as an EMT looked in the windows.

"Come in," he yelled and held Chloe closer, realizing the bleeding hadn't stopped yet. One of the EMT's came through the bedroom door quickly and looked to the man on the floor.

"Her first," Adam said, turning his body so that Chloe was visible, "she's still bleeding and he'll be unconscious for awhile." The EMT took Chloe from him and laid her on the bed as 3 more emergency workers came pouring into Adam’s small bedroom, checking her wounds.

"What happened?" He shook my head.            

"I was on the couch and heard her scream. I ran in and that ass was kneeling on her chest and choking her. I punched him in the head, but he had put more pressure on her and I heard a rib pop. After I dealt with him, I noticed she was bleeding. It's been about 15 minutes and it hasn't stopped." Adam was speed talking and he hoped the EMT had heard all of it. The man on the floor stirred and Adam glared at him. Blood was caked in his hair and covered his face.

"Look, we're going to have to take her to the hospital. She's most likely got at least one broken rib and it looks like at least one of these lacerations is going to need stitches," the medic told Adam as he moved out of the way so they could load Chloe onto a stretcher. He followed right behind them while they put her into the ambulance. Adam climbed in right behind them, not even bothering to be acknowledged first. He had to make sure she wasn't going to add to the scar on her thigh... that she wasn't going to have emotional scars because he ignored his fear...