2022 AMBY AWARD WINNER - Cassandra prepares to face her true nature as something other than human while avoiding relentless hunters bent on her capture...
One moment Connell was on top of Cassie peeling off her suit. The next moment he wasn't. She gasped for air when his hand came off her mouth. She opened her eyes. Only able to see silhouettes against the distant bonfire, she witnessed some guy pulling Connell off her by his hair.
Connell yelped and grappled at the other guy's hands. He shouted curses. The other guy let go of Connell and decked him. He crumpled to the sand.
Cassie could only see the dark outline of her rescuer as he approached. "Are you all right?" He had a deep, baritone voice.
She quickly fixed her bathing suit and shorts, grabbed her t-shirt, and slipped it on. One of her long braids had come undone, but it was useless trying to fix it. Her mind still locked in terror, she couldn't speak.
"Did he...hurt you?"
Oh, God, she thought. She had been sexually assaulted and almost raped. She began to tremble uncontrollably. Then she vomited, the sweet-tasting grain alcohol punch now acidy and burning the back of her throat.
Connell started groaning while he lay in the sand.
Her rescuer turned his attention back to Connell. "You ass wipes think you can come down here for a few days each spring and take over; have your way with impressionable high school girls." He kicked Connell in the side. Connell yelped and started crab walking away. "Go the hell back to whatever northern college rock you crawled out from under and don't ever come back."
Cassie watched the silhouette of Connell hobbling away, back to the safety of the crowd.
The stranger extended a hand. "Let me help you up."
"Don't touch me," she yelled. She didn't want anyone's hands on her right now, especially a guy's.
He backed off.
She continued to tremble and started hiccupping.
"You're hyperventilating," he said. "Try to slow your breathing."
She knew this guy didn't deserve it, but she couldn't help lashing out at him. "Don't you tell me what to do. I can take care of myself."
He emitted a baritone chuckle she normally would've found appealing but under the circumstances angered her. "Are you laughing at me?"
"I'm laughing at the absurdity of what you just said. A naïve young girl like you has no business hanging around college pukes who will take advantage at the first opportunity."
No longer terrified, Cassie became furious. "Are you implying I deserved what almost happened to me?"
He softened his tone. "No woman deserves what almost happened to you, but a lamb congregating with hungry wolves should expect wolves to act like wolves."
She stood on shaking legs and managed to get her hiccups under control.
He pointed at the nearest building. "There's a public bathroom in the lobby of that condo where you can clean up. I'll walk you there."
She was humiliated and wanted to be alone. "Don't bother, I can get there on my own."
"Suit yourself," he said and walked away.
Cassie realized she had been in shock, because she couldn't remember walking into the ladies' room until she got there. It was a one-person bathroom. She locked the door, used the toilet, and inspected herself in the mirror. The skin surrounding her mouth was red where Connell had clamped his hand, and her eyes were puffy.
She rinsed out her mouth and washed her face with the liquid hand soap. She dried off with paper towels. Leaning against the sink, she hung her head feeling miserable and disgusted. She would have to call Marnie to come get her and endure her aunt's unceasing, I told you so, sermonizing. Uncle Milos would never take her side again. She'd be stuck in her condo prison until she was an old maid.
A thought came to Cassie. She could call Gracie and ask her to come get her. If she could cajole her tutor – cajole, another vocab word – into not saying anything, her aunt would never be the wiser. It might not work but was worth a try.
That's when Cassie realized she had left her phone in the pocket of her hoodie. Her hoodie was lying back at the bonfire with Connell and his friends. A cold fist of fear gripped her insides. She muttered, "I'm such an idiot."
The phone was too expensive to abandon and doing so would be too hard to explain to her aunt. She was terrified at the thought of seeing Connell again. Damn it, he had seemed nice, and she had trusted him. Why did Connell have to betray her trust?
Tears started leaking again from the corners of Cassie's eyes. She angrily wiped them away with the back of her hand. She would have to dig deep for courage and march back to the bonfire for her things.
Cassie took a deep breath and turned the bathroom doorknob to leave. It was hard to turn. After she got the door open, she found her hoodie hanging from the knob on the other side.
There could be no other explanation. Her rescuer had retrieved it for her. She reached into the front pocket and found her phone. "Oh, thank God." Cassie nearly wept with relief. Her hand also closed around something else in the pocket. She pulled out a note.
I called an Uber for you and paid the fare. You'll find it out front, a silver Toyota Celica. The driver's name is Carlos.
With great shame, Cassie realized she hadn't even thanked the young man who came to her rescue, in fact, she had been rude to him. He hadn't signed the note. She had no idea who he was or how to contact him to express her gratitude.
As she walked through the lobby and out the front door, she glanced around. Cassie had seen only her rescuer's silhouette. Would she recognize him if he was watching to make sure she made it safely to her ride? Probably not.
She spotted the silver Toyota parked against the curb and motioned for the driver to power down his window.
"Are you Carlos?"
"Yes. Are you Cassandra?"
"Yes. Call me, Cassie."
"Hop in, Cassie," he said.
She got in the back.
He looked at her through the rearview mirror as he pulled away from the curb into traffic. "I understand you need a ride to Clearwater Beach?"
"That's right."
She froze after realizing...How did her knight in shining armor know her name? She had never told him. Even more creepy, how did he know where she lived?
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Question - You probably figured out the identity of Cassie's rescuer. (It wasn't Webb.) How did he happen to be there for her?
Top Photo Credit: Kaso Kaishyap http://www.flickr.com/photos/148206889@N03/33460619701 via Photopin.com Creativecommons.org license
