How Do You Do?

24: Without the Lack of Limbs Part

The Underground -Palaye Royale

My eyes are two giant saucers, and I'm immediately up and out of my seat. It's been roughly five months since she was kicked out of the house, and almost two months since the party incident. But she's way too big to just be two months pregnant.
My guess? She was already pregnant when I kicked her out.
I scramble out the door, immediately chasing after her. I hear Remington call after me, and Eve stops, Remington's call ringing through the nearly empty street.
Eve turns around slowly, and I suck in a breath. My mother's eyes are staring back at me, not Eve. The woman who would sing me lullabies and pack me lunches for school stands in front of me, not the dead beat drunken druggie that I've grown to despise. I start to cry.
The last time I saw my mother sober was the week after my father died, and it almost wasn't even her, with the way she'd lock herself away in her room to pry the depression take it's toll. After that, Eve took over, and I haven't had my mother with me since.
She smiles at me. "Hi, Stevie," she greets me, and faces me. I take in her swollen stomach, her sober state, her now healthy weight. I notice that her complexion even looks better. I just stare at her--though mostly her stomach. She definitely notices. "I know, very irresponsible of me. And no, I don't know the father. But after what Alice said to me at New Years, I realized that I couldn't abandon my baby the way I did you. And I'm so so sorry that I abandoned you. Because you're--" she stops, and I notice tears starting to well up in her eyes. "You're my baby too, and I should've taken care of you. And I didn't. I all but forced you to raise your siblings, and I scared you off to New York at suck a young age. And I'm just so sorry, Stevie."
My eyes are flooded over, tears streaking my face. I just listen. "And an apology doesn't even begin to cover it, I know, but I want to make things right, and I'm going to prove that to you." With this, she kisses me on the cheek, and walks away. I stare at my mother as she walks away from me, and I can't help but feel like I'm that broken little girl who watched her mother disappear all over again. It becomes hard to breathe.
A hand in my shoulder makes me jump, surprise and fear overcoming my body. I turn to see Remington, looking worriedly at me. I glance away. "T-Thanks for the food, I've got to go," I whisper, and rush away before he can stop me.
And then it's starts. My breathing is so shallow that it burns my throats with the air, and the rapid pace I'm breathing it in and out. Tears are streaming down my face and my whole body starts to shake. My vision starts to tilt and blur, and I stumble through the streets and alleyways, ignoring the stares from strangers.
My legs finally give out, and my hand flies out to the wall for support as I slowly slide to the floor. I'm not aware of the two homeless men slowly creeping up to me until they're nearly right on top of me, and they start to drag me to the darker areas of the alleyway. My attack gets worse as flashbacks to the night Rick raped me occur. I struggle as they rip the button of my jeans, steal my jacket, and as they start to go for the shirt that covers me, I manage to pull off one of my shoes. I chuck it hard at the one currently holding me, and I hear a curse before I'm released. I quickly chuck the other at the second boy, before I start running down the now dark alley. They were guarding my entrance path.
"Help!" I scream, when I hear them curse and start to gain on me. "He--" I'm tackled down and my shirt is successfully ripped. I start to cry harder, and I barely breathe. I'm going to be raped agai---
One of the vile men is ripped off me, and I hear the sound of punches and grunts. Soon, the second molester cusses, and gets up to help his friend, and I hear more fighting before it's silent. I don't realize that I've crushed myself to the wall until my cheek gets cut on a rough edge on the wall.
"You okay?" A deep, slightly gravely voice asks me, and I hear him shuffle towards me. I whimper, pushing my body further against the wall. "Hey, it's okay--it's okay-- I'm not going to hurt you. They're gone now, those f*ckers ran off after I roughed them up a bit. You're safe." He squats down next to me, seeing as he was slowly shuffling his way over to me while he was calming me down. Slowly, he reaches over to but his arm under my legs and around my back to lift me, and I slowly wrap my arms around his neck, my fingers brushing against the short silky soft hair that's at the nape of his neck. He stands with me, and walks me a little ways towards the entrance of the alleyway, until we reach an open door with a lady holding it ajar, staring at us worriedly. He carries me inside of the building, which, judging by the clacking of pool balls and incoherent talking and laugher, is probably some type of bar or restaurant. He carries me out into the bar area--though covers me from sight with his big build--and I notice two things. A, there's a performing stage, and B, Remington is sitting at the bar, drinking away. He noticed us pass him, and stares after us, but I bury my face in the stranger's chest. I haven't worked up the courage to look at him yet.
We enter a locker room type of area. He sets me down in a chair before he opens one and starts to rummage through it. "We don't have any
Clothes for girls, but I do have an extra shirt I can lend you, since they did some damage to yours. Your pants should be okay, though you might have to trash those tights," he tells me. I glance at myself to see that he's right. I also notice that my entire bra is showing, and I quickly cover myself, mortified. He tosses me a black shirt.
"You can change into that in there-" he motions to a side door. "And I'll wait out here to try and find something else to wear in case." I quickly scramble to the room, doing as he said, changing into the shirt gratefully as well as trashing my fishnets. I pad back out hesitantly, and he doesn't look up from digging in a bin, but motions for me to sit. I comply, and he sighs frustratedly. "Sorry, I can't find anything that's small, so you're stuck with my spare shirt, but--where are your shoes?" He asks, and I still don't meet his gaze.
I clear my throat. "I-I threw them at the men to get away. It worked for a little while, b-but they caught up to me." I start
To work myself up again, and I cover my mouth and keep my eyes trained on the floor. He sighs, and squats down in front of me, and I finally get a good look at him.