The Lost Roses

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Christopher you don't want to do this. Trust me. Step away from the girl and put down the knife."
"You don't know what I want. Right now, I want to feel this skanks blood all over me. I want to feel her body go lifeless."
"No you don't. We know she's not the one you're mad at. It's someone else. It's all those kids that turned on you 10 years ago. This girl did nothing."
"Maybe not. But she's still going to die." I feel the knife bite into my skin and then here several gun shots. I fall to the floor and wonder if one of the bullets hit me. Probably not. I'm not that lucky. A figure stands above me. A police officer. No, FBI. Why them?
"Can you walk?" I can't even talk. I shake my head and he picks me up. I bite down the pain trying not to scream. I can feel cuts reopening everywhere. I get placed on a stretcher and a different agent starts asking me questions.
"Are you Natalie Benson?" I shake my head no. Who the hell is Natalie. And how do they not know what she looks like? "Can you talk?" I shake my head no again. "Hey! Somebody get me some water!" When he gets a bottle he opens it and helps me drink some. "How about now?"
"I think so. Thank you." My voice is hoarse and sore from screaming so much.
"Who are you?" Do I tell him the truth?
"Zoey Wolf. My husband is Lucas Wolf. He's a paramedic in Colorado. I don't know where I am. I don't know who that man was. I just want to go home. I want Lucas. And I want my ring." I start crying not even half way through. God I want Lucas right now.
"What does your ring look like?"
"It's an opal on a gold band. There's three small diamond around two sides of the opal. I need it."
"I understand. I'll send a couple people in to look around."
"Thank you."
"They're taking you to the hospital now okay?"
"Wait can you come with me? Please? Please."
"I'm definitely not supposed to. But yea I will." He hops on the ambulance beside me. "My name is Dr. Reed. And I am incredibly sorry this happened to you."
"Doctor? You look pretty young."
"I'm just really smart."
"I get that. So is Lucas. He just prefers being a paramedic to a doctor. Although I think he should go and finish his last two years."
"Where did he attend med school?"
"New Orleans. At Tulane."
"Wow. That is very impressive. They're a very good school. Where did you go?"
"I haven't. But I planned on going to Wellesley."
"That's quite a prestigious school for women. Of course now men are allowed too."
"I know. I was supposed to be doing this three year travel studying different types of medicine around the world. And I was going to study dance medicine."
"Healing through dance. That's quite interesting."
"That's what I thought."
"What changed?"
"I met Lucas."
"Love does funny things like that." I just nod. This Dr. Reed is quite cute. If I didn't already have Lucas I'd give him more thought. I fall a sleep on the way to the hospital. When we get there I'm lifted out and pulled to a room where I'm transferred to a different bed before being cleaned and bandaged and given medications. They put me in a different room after that. And I sleep waiting for Lucas. When I wake up again he's sitting on the edge of the bed. "Lucas?"
"Yea. I'm here." I sit up as fast as I can and wrap my arms around him.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid I thought it was you coming upstairs but it wasn't. I'm so so sorry." I start crying again. This time from relief.
"What are you sorry about? It's my fault you got kidnapped and raped and sliced up. I am the one that is so unbelievably sorry. You should never have been dragged into that."
"Lay down. Please." I scoot over so he can lay on the bed next to me. "Who is Christopher?"
"The man that raped and abused me when I was younger. When he got caught a bunch of us testified against him. The partner or daughter or son or sister or brother of every one of us that told on him was taken, raped, sliced up, and killed. And you would've been too. I didn't think he'd come after you. I didn't even know anyone knew you existed."
"He took my ring. He said he didn't but he had to because I never take it off and now it's gone and I'm so sorry. I know it was your moms and I don't know what I would do if something that important to me was taken. I mean it is extremely important to me. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. An agent brought it in when you were asleep. Reed?"
"Yea. Tell him I said thank you." He places it on my finger and kisses the palm of my hand.
"I'm just so happy you're alive. When I got home and you were gone I didn't know what to do. I didn't worry at first. You told me you might go for a jog or be at Courtney's. I wasn't that worried. I went to bed knowing you would eventually too. The next morning you still weren't home. And you weren't in the other house. And you weren't at Courtney's. I panicked. I knew you weren't dead. And I knew you weren't in the hospital. I couldn't file a missing persons report on you. You'd be found and then taken from me. And I couldn't let that happen. You know I couldn't. I looked everywhere and talked to everyone. I am never turning the cameras off in the house again. I don't care how much they freak you out. If I had have known it was him you would not have been gone four days. You would not have gone through that for any where near that long."
"It's okay. I'm okay. At least now. I'm just tired."
"I understand. Sleep." And I do. I fall asleep against Lucas listening to his heart beat. For the first time in what feels like an eternity, I feel whole and safe again. When I awake Lucas is gone. Did I dream it? Was he ever here? I call for him hoping he's here and just in the hall. Nothing. I call for him again. Still no answer. I start sobbing unable to control it and curl into a ball in the bed. A nurse comes in asking if I'm okay and I ignore her. Do I fucking look okay? Stupid people. I cry until I realize someone is holding me.  Lucas. He looks like he's been crying too.
"Don't cry."
"Don't worry about me. Some detectives want to talk to you. And then we can go home."
"I don't want to go home."
"Okay. We can go to Courtney's if you want."
"Okay."
"Mrs. Wolf?" A burly detective knocks on the door. "Can I come in?" I sit up and shake my head yes. "We need to know what exactly happened while you were abducted."
"I was upstairs in our home. Lucas had left to go to work. We had just gotten back from a trip the day before. A few hours after Lucas left I heard someone downstairs. I thought it was him. And...it wasn't. Christopher hit me and straddled me and injected me with something. I fell asleep when he did. I woke up in his basement. When he came he cut me all over and then cut my hands away from the wall. He set up a camera and laptop and he raped me. And again the next day. And again the next. And then the fourth day he brought friends. Two other men. They both raped me and then he did. A few hours later they came back. And then shortly after they left police were there."
"Do you know what these other men looked like?"
"No. I was always face down on this table. They came to the basement when I was already cut free. I only ever saw the back of them. All I remember is Christopher saying they were closer to my age."
"You weren't in a basement. You were in his cellar. Do you know anything else about the men? Or the camera?"
"He was filming me to send it to Lucas. And he said he has people watching. And the other two men were people that had bid to rape me and won."
"I have to say this, because its truly awful, I am incredibly sorry this happened to you. Did you happen to see another girl when you were there?"
"That Natalie girl? No. I did hear something though. I thought it was just a mouse. Maybe it was her. I really don't know. I just don't understand why me."
"Because of who you're married to. He was one of the kids that turned him in ten years ago for sexual abuse."
"We aren't married. Not yet. And probably not for a very long time now." I say looking at the bandages and cuts everywhere.
"Don't take this out on him. He was doing what he could. How do you think the police were notified? We didn't know your name. And you and Natalie look like you could be twins. But he put pictures up. He came to us the third day. The first day when you were taken he didn't think anything of it. I wouldn't either. The second day he thought you were messing around. But he still checked everywhere. Hospitals and morgues included. The third day he came to us. He was extremely nervous. But he did it. He had heard about the other girls being taken and killed. He's actually the reason we found you. We wouldn't have known about that house or cellar if it weren't for him."
"I thought you said you didn't go to the police?"
"I didn't go to them. They called. And it's not like I didn't know I'd have to talk to them eventually.  When you put up missing persons signs people tend to notice."
"You risked so much."
"It was worth it to get you back alive. Even if you weren't going to be with me, knowing you were alive would be enough."
"Am I missing something here?" The detective asks.
"No. Don't worry about it." I tell him.
"Well if I have any questions I'll call. Here's my card if you have any questions." Lucas thanks him taking the card. The detective walks out and I kiss Lucas. So relieved from knowing he was trying. That in a way, he had found me.
"Why weren't you there when they got me?"
"Because they thought it wouldn't be safe. They told me to stay home until they called. I sat in my car with a cup of coffee until they called. I had never been so happy to get a phone call before."
"I'm sorry."
"Why? I should be sorry. It's all my fault."
"I didn't think you were trying. I cried for you every time they raped me. I cried and cried and cried. And you never came to me.  One of the reasons I never left was because I always thought you'd be able to find me. But it didn't seem like that was going to happen. I would take you two years ago over that psycho. I mean you're not exactly same but you would never let me be gang banged. Nor would you let some random guy pay you to anally rape me."
"Jesus Christ. How are you even sitting?"
"Lots of pain killers. Trust me he didn't even try to make it less painful. I wouldn't be surprised if there was damage done to my anus. I was bleeding a lot."
"There was. It's torn pretty badly and the cuts on your back side are most likely going to scar. The rest should heal fine. Except maybe the ones on your back on top of the pre existing scars. You may have some scaring around your wrists. And your right arm should be in a sling. It was very badly disconnected from your shoulder." The doctor says walking in. "Here are your papers and prescriptions for Antibiotics and pain relievers. Do you have any questions?" I shake my head. A little overwhelmed from all the news.
"Well then you're free to go." Lucas picks me up and carries me out of the room and to his car. I fall asleep on the way home. I seem to be sleeping a lot now. I don't dream.