Everything Opposite

Chapter Thirty Two

One month later

Ryleigh
I was actually losing it. Everyday they brought more people in. I felt so violated. There was so much blood and the pain in my lower abdomen was too great. Something was wrong but I didn't know what. They left me untied. My 'father' stumbled in drunk. "Here, want to numb yourself awhile. Might as well enjoy your last few hours alive,"he laughed. His smile faded when I shoved the bottle away.

He shoved me violently to the ground and continued a violent assault on my weak body. I had no strength to fight back. In the time I had been here, I received 3 granola bars a week. He stood up and with his back turned jumped up with the last remaining bits of strength and shoved him. He was too drunk to regain his balance and his face slammed into the bedpost. When he didn't move I knew I succeeded in knocking him unconscious.

I kept the dirty quilt wrapped around my naked body and ran out the door pulling it closed and locking it. I quietly stumbled up the stairs. A snoring was heard from the couch. I tiptoed past the other man, hoping he wouldn't wake from his drunken stupor. The door squeaked and I held my breath but the house remained silent. I took off barefoot down the street. 

It wasn't long before my body rebels against me. The exercise wasn't good for me when I was this malnourished. I felt myself growing faint as my head spun with dizziness. I slowed to a stop, trying to breathe and keep myself conscious. I wasn't far enough away. I went to steady myself on a bush but instead fell straight through to the ground as I passed out.

I gained consciousness for a brief moment to see a gorgeous young woman looking at me in concern. I tried to move as I panicked and couldn't will myself to make a sound. "Ryleigh, don't move. An ambulance is on the way,"her silky voice said. It was then I knew it was Logan. My eyes drifted shut once more as sirens filled the air. Logan wasn't in the ambulance with me. I was only conscious enough to mention the house and my kidnappers before passing out again.

*********

Zack
It's been a month. Ryleigh hasn't shown up. They stopped the search a week ago. We would be lucky to find a corpse at this point. We haven't given up hope. She's out there somewhere. Alex called everyone the day we brought the police in. Logan, Josh, Brendon, etc. Basically anyone and everyone we knew flew out. Some fans even helped search. The police had found her car in the lot of the doctors office. The receptionist had stepped away to copy a paper at the time we guessed she was kidnapped. No one saw anything.

Alex and Lisa were practically living with Clarity and I at the moment. My cell phone ringing cut into the silence. It was such an odd sound. We've taken time off with the band for now. I grabbed my phone off the table and saw the hospital's number. My stomach dropped and I felt sick but I answered anyways.

"Mr. Merrick?"a female voice asked. "Yes?"I asked, my voice barely coming out. "My name is Diane Freebarrow. I work with the hospital. We need you to come down here right away. A woman has found an unconscious and malnourished woman in some bushes resembling the description we have of Ryleigh. She called an ambulance and our staff is currently looking her over,"she explained. "I'll be right there,"I said and the phone fell out of my hand, clattering to the floor as I ran to find my coat and shoes.

"Woah, Zack, where are you going?"Alex asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. When I ignored him, he tried again. "What happened?"he asked. I met his eyes. "The hospital thinks they have Ryleigh. They just called. I'm headed over there. You and Lisa can drive separate just don't bring Clarity in until I know the extent of this,"I explained and ran out the door with my car keys in hand before I peeled away from our house.

I parked and ran inside to the front desk. "I'm Zachary Merrick,"I said. She put a finger up and dialed a number. A doctor approached me. "Mr. Merrick, sir, if you could please follow me,"he said and I followed him down a long corridor. We stopped in front of a glass ICU door.

One glance told me it was Ryleigh. She was covered in bruises. IVs lined her arms, oxygen tubes in her nose and a feeding tube also came from her nose. "She's been in and out of consciousness. Can you confirm this is Ryleigh?"the doctor asked with a gentle hand on my arm. I nodded my head. He squeezed my arm and walked away.

I opened the door quietly and took a seat at her side. I grabbed her hand, not letting go. Her eyes fluttered open and she breathed deeply before turning her head slowly towards me. "Hey,"I said softly. I could see in her eyes how broken, defeated, and tired she was. She burst into tears. I wasted no time climbing into the bed and gently holding her as she cried into my chest. She calmed down after awhile.

"What happened to you?"I whispered, softly rubbing her arm. "I lost the baby, Zack. He's gone. They raped me. I was beat. The stress...it was too much and I lost the baby. I lost him,"She whispered and started to cry, clinging to my chest. I sucked in a breath. It was like a sharp knife to the chest. It took my breath away. I just held Ryleigh tighter and tried to hold back the tears welled in my eyes. I knew they would be red rimmed.

The guys appeared outside the glass door with Lisa and my daughter. Ryleigh was asleep now. I carefully got up and quietly walked outside. "How is she?"Alex asked, clinging to Lisa's free hand. "Broken. She lost the baby,"I said and then the tears fell. Jack pulled me into a tight hug as I sobbed. After awhile, they decided to come in with me. Lisa was going to go back to our house to stay with Clarity. It was too soon to bring her in there.

We all sat around waiting for Ryleigh to wake again. When she opened her eyes again, she pointed to the glass door. A small, young woman caught my attention. "What?"I whispered. "That's Logan. She found me. She saved my life. Who knows what would have  happened when they noticed I was gone,"she mumbled again, her voice coming out scratchy.

I didn't recognize her right away. Her hair was shorter and a different color. Logan notices us looking at her and goes to walk away when I run to the door and open it. "Logan, wait!"I called out. She stopped and looked at me. I motioned for her to come closer. "Thank you,"I said and hugged her before letting her into Ryleigh's room. Ryleigh starts crying once more as they embrace tightly.

A doctor motioned me outside so I snuck away with Alex at my side. "Ryleigh has suffered a lot of trauma in the last month, it's not going to be an easy road back to recovery. I would recommend therapy for her with victims of rape her age. Her ribcage is super bruised along with her jaw but nothing was broken. She's severely malnourished. It's noted on her chart that she has a history of depression and self harm so I would monitor her closely because this is likely to draw those back up again. She's suffered a miscarriage of a fetus approximately 14 weeks along. We're going to try to send her home within the next couple of days. The feeding tube may be optional until her jaw heals and we can get her to eat again. Her kidnappers were caught, however her other rapists, were not,"the doctor informed me. Alex squeezed my shoulder as I nodded to show I understood.

A/N: Hey y'all! Look at me double updating. This chapter was a bit longer than normal but I wanted to make sure I got everything about her rescue in this chapter. Much love!

B