I Miss Her [Jessie J]

Chapter 18 - Rescue Mission

*Emma's pov*

"What was all that about?" Danny asked as we were walking away from the house.
"He abuses her." I told him and he stopped dead.
"No he doesn't."
"He does! Jess has admitted it to me."
"Why hasn't she told anyone else?"
"It's not an easy thing to do. I had to force it out of her. She feels ashamed and she feels stupid for letting it happen again." I paused, "we need to stop it, Dan."
"How do we do that?"
"That's what I was trying to work out..."
"We should confront him."
"He'll only hurt us if we do that."
"He won't hurt me." Danny said stubbornly.
"Well if he doesn't leave her alone after that, he'll only hurt Jess even more, and we can't have that."
"No..."
"We should go back later tonight. If he's asleep, we'll take Jess back with us." I told him.
"And if he's not asleep?"
"We call the police."

As soon as we got to Danny's flat we started planning. We decided we'd dress in all black so it would be more difficult for Aaron to see us and we would find some sort of weapon that we would only use in self defence. We don't want to be the guilty ones in all of this.
Danny found a couple of old baseball bats he had lying around in his attic and all we had left to do was wait until it was late enough for us to go. I thought I'd text Jess to try and find out what was going on but there was no reply. It did worry me quite a lot. I had no idea what he was doing to her, if she was safe, if they were even in the house. I paced around the house impatiently as the clock slowly ticked away at the seconds.
"You're gonna wear away my carpet, Ems." Danny grabbed my waist to stop me from moving. I turned to face him with worry evident in my eyes.
"But what if we're too late? Even if we're not too late there's going to be months of recovery for Jess..." I sighed as Danny pulled me into his chest. The smell of his aftershave travelled up my nostrils and relaxed my senses slightly.
"We'll always be here for her, Ems, you know that. You're right. It's going to be a long and difficult journey but we'll get there." He kissed the top of my head. "I know you're worried about how you are gonna cope with this. But don't. Because I know you're strong. And you have me. And you have all of Jess' family. You know they'll help and support you both."
"You know me so well Dan." I giggled slightly. "Thank you, though." I smiled up at him.
"It's okay." Danny smiled back, "let's go over this plan once more and then we'll go."

Half an hour later we were sitting in the car just slightly further down the street than Jess' house. From what Danny and I could see, there were no lights on in the house at all, so either they were asleep, or they were out. I took in a deep breath and stepped out of the car. Danny took the lead and I followed close behind him. We clambered over the iron fence at the back of the house and jumped down into the garden. "Remember the code?" Danny whispered to me and I nodded. Our plan involved splitting up so we could find Jess as quickly as possible and we decided that we needed to let each other know if either of us found Jess. A whistle would mean we've found Jess and a shout of "I'm going to call the police" means we're in trouble.
"I'll go round the front. I'll wait five minutes before I break in okay, just in case you can get in. Remember, no lights on at all."
I nodded, "we've got this."

I took in a deep and shaky breath as I placed my hand on the cool handle. To say I was nervous was definitely an understatement. I pressed down on the handle and to my surprise there was a crunch as I heard the mechanisms of the door move. I gently pushed it open just enough for me to slip in. With my baseball bat in hand I made my way quietly but quickly through the kitchen and unlocked the front door for Danny. This was too easy. Jess would never leave a door unlocked as she slept or if she had gone out. Something was definitely wrong. Danny signalled that he was going to check the ground floor as I checked up stairs. We decided that I'd be the quietest to go up the stairs because of my weight.

I tiptoed up, one step at a time. If Aaron was in the house any slight noise could wake him. I stayed low as I reached the top of the stairs so I could look to see if anyone was there. I analysed the dark for a while before concluding it was safe to move. I turned quickly as I crept across the landing as I heard a door creak behind me. I gripped the baseball bat in both hands as I searched the darkness. But there was nothing. I took in a few breaths to calm myself before moving closer to Jess' bedroom. I gently pressed my ear against the door but there were no sounds from within. No snoring. No whimpers of pain. Nothing. I still needed to check though. I quietly twisted the door knob and opened the door carefully. I took two steps in and let my eyes adjust. As I scanned the room I made out a still body slumped on the bed. My heart raced as I realised that was Jess. I frantically scanned the darkness with my eyes. I couldn't see anyone else so I set the baseball bat down and turned on the light.

Tears pricked my eyes as I saw Jess. She was sitting up, unconscious and naked, battered and bruised. Her feet were bound together with thick rope. Her arms were around her legs and tied together at the wrists. Her head was rolled to one side. I ran over and checked for a pulse. Luckily there was a very slow and weak one. "Jess?" I whispered her name and gently tapped her cheek. She started to stir and I slipped the gag away from her mouth.
"Help me..." she mumbled as she woke. I got the penknife from my pocket and started to cut through the rope. I whistled for Danny.
"It's okay, your safe. I've got you, Jess. It's me, Emma." I whispered to reassure her.
Jess' eyes fluttered open and her lips attempted a smile as her eyes focused on me. I looked into her eyes before they darted behind me and widen. "Ems! He's behind you-!" Jess' raspy voice tried warning me before Aaron's strong arms pulled me away from her.
"I'm gonna call the police!" I screamed as Aaron tried angling the penknife in my hand towards my body. He pulled the small knife out of my grip and held it at my throat as he held my hair tightly and his arm pressed down on my chest, pinning me tightly to his body.
"And how are you going to do that, hero?" He laughed. My  breathing quickened as I tried to wriggle away from his grip, the knife digging further into my throat.
"She's not." Danny's accent broke through the ringing sound in my ears. Aaron spun us around and I squealed as I felt the knife pierce my neck. "I already have." Danny lifted his bat high above his head and hit Aaron right across his. I spluttered and coughed as I was released from Aaron's grip and he fell to the floor out cold. "Are you okay?" Danny asked.
I nodded, "find some clothes for Jess." I took the penknife from the floor and continues to Jess free.
Danny wrapped a scarf around my neck, fairly tightly. "You're bleeding." He noted before helping me to dress Jess.

Jess made no sound or movement as me, Danny, the police and the paramedics fussed over her. She just sat on the bed and stared into space. This is where the journey began. The journey along the long road to recovery that ended up in freedom. But we were far from there. Very, very far.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So here's an update! Is Jess gonna be okay??

I wanna dedicate this to LeahLangley97 for always liking my updates ☺️

But shoutout to my girl for persuading me to write again 😄

Diolch yn fawr xx