Chasing Starlight

Chapter 32 - Fault lines

**TW: Violence**

Samia felt the stabbings of fear aroused in her body, the man holding her so crassly was far different from the one she's known all this time.

"It's the least you can do, right?" He pulled her struggling form tighter to his body and harshly pulling her hair back to reveal her neck, started biting and kissing her exposed skin.

Her limbs seemed heavy, and the onslaught of vicious affection left her reeling. Somehow, she found a small part of herself still screaming inside and let that take over her.

"NOOO! STOP! GET OFF ME!" She yelled out, it felt like trying to yell into a glass jar filled with cotton, the sound felt like it could barely escape her lips. The giddying flip of emotions from her dreamlike night with Rory to today's Hellish nightmare was making reality difficult to grasp. Please... No... I want this to stop. Tears plopped out of her tightly shut eyes, as if closing them could shield her from the movements he made on her body.

WHAMPH!

A sickly sharp note of something harshly hitting flesh and bone rang in her head. She opened her eyes to see Elliot sprawled on the ground in front of her, holding his head as blood seeped between his fingers. Above him stood Rory, holding a bloodied tire iron. Rory wasn't looking at her though, his gaze was fixed on Elliot as he pulled his arm up again to swing.

"Stop!!! Rory!" Samia scrambled up towards him, catching his arm before he swung it down.

"He was about to fucking rape you, Samia!! How could he-" His words caught in his throat as the anger and adrenaline that was fueling him swiftly cooled at the sight of her. He was breathing heavily, a flush in his cheeks that made him look suddenly so young to Samia. Her heart thudded in its chest. Even though I've been thinking of him like a man, he's still barely older than a kid... This isn't... This isn't right to have him protecting me like this. Rory's hands were shaking, and he wrapped his arms around her with a swift need to be close.

"Rory...Rory, It's okay, I'm alright." Samia, unable to stop herself from hugging him back when she felt his body trembling under her.

"Him..? He's just a kid.. Arghh.. fuck, what the hell did you hit me with?" Samia's body went suddenly stiff as Elliots voice rumbled out from the floor as he started to get back up. Rory pulled her tighter against him, and stepped forward a bit.

"You wanna call me a kid, huh? What kind of man would honestly try to rape a woman just for breaking up with him?" Rory demanded, tightening his grip on the tire iron as anger flashed over him again.

Elliot swayed a bit, blood flowing from a wound on the side of his head down his neck and staining the collar of his shirt. The white hot rage that had possessed him had seemed to deflate with the aching of his skull. He was starting to see just what it was that he had tried to do. He looked over at Samia, who was tucked into the arms of Rory, her face frozen in the same mask of fear and betrayal he had ignored earlier. His heart panged in remorse. He dropped his head, feeling nauseous at his actions.

"....god you're right.... I'm so sorry, Samia.." he trailed off as he fell forward, pale as blood continued to pool around his head.

Samia screamed and ran at him, checking his pulse and listening to his chest as she desperately prayed for him to be okay. She barely heard Rory curse behind her, and run out the door. She got up and grabbed a towel from the kitchen and held it to his wound. It felt like the blood wouldn't stop as it quickly began turning the towel crimson. She distantly heard Rory shouting behind her as she watched Elliots shallow breaths. This... shouldn't be happening.