Behind The Mask (Nurses Book 2) (11 page)

On the bright side, I didn’t have to deal with Gage too much other than when I was sitting with Allyn. He came over and listened to what he had to say, which I must say is a welcome addition. Not only for the eye candy but because I want Gage to get better. I want him to succeed and not be trapped in this place. It has to be hard to be a man his age and be stuck in rehab. He doesn’t get any visitors so I assume he’s not from around here.

Walking out to my car, the sun is starting to set and the air has that chill that you feel when you’re by the water. It’s like the wind cuts down to your bones. Getting to my car has me shivering more than the wind does. Two of my tires are flat! I immediately look around because these tires aren’t just flat, they have been slashed. I run back inside because I figure I’m safer in the building than out in the open. A pounding has started in my ears, and my hands are shaky as I fumble through my purse to grab my phone. Hurrying up, I send a text to the only person I know that will come.

Please come to the rehab facility, someone slashed my tires!

As I await a reply, I nervously look around me. I’m scared and almost in tears.

“Cori, what’s wrong?” Just what I need. I turn around to face Gage who has a concerned look on his face.

“Just waiting for someone.” It’s been fifteen minutes since I have texted Damian and he hasn’t responded. That’s unlike him and now I am worrying about him too.

“Since I have met you, I have done nothing but worry about you, please tell me what’s wrong, so I can try to fix it. I’m trying here, I’m trying to get to know you, trying to get better, I’m just trying. So please help me out a little, maybe cut me some slack, and throw me a bone and tell me what is really going on.”

“Um, nothing, just…” Before I can finish I’m grabbed from behind and it has me screaming my head off in terror.

“Shhhh, it’s just me.” Thank God, my savior, Damian.

“You scared the shit outta me! Cheese and rice Damian, you’re gonna give me a fucking heart attack.” I slap him on the chest, but my heart hasn’t calmed down.

“Who’s this?” Gage says with an edge to his tone like he is pissed off.

“Oh, Gage this is Damian. Damian this is Gage, one of the residents here.”

Men, instead of shaking hands or anything, they seem to be sizing each other up. Both are covered in tattoos, both are hot as sin, both seem to have this alpha, beat on their chests kind of complex.

“Sup, man.” Gage breaks the staring contest first. Damian offers a ‘sup’ back and apparently that is the end of them sizing each other up.

“Cori, do you know who the fuck slashed your tires? Do they even have security here? Has anyone been messing with you?” His questions make my head spin, and the pounding within my ears get louder. Especially when he asks if anyone has been messing with me. Damian was of course at the prison with me. That was how Olivia and he met. He was undercover police on a fact-finding mission against another inmate. He was supposed to just gain intel and admission of crimes, but of course, that wasn’t how it went. The inmate he was sent to gain information on was none other than that piece of shit Xavier. But Damian helped saved me, and he’s been family ever since. He’s one of the few who can touch me without making my skin crawling.

“D, calm down, please. I’m already scared enough, and I don’t need you adding to it.”

“Cori, what the fuck do you mean someone slashed your tires?” Great now Gage is joining in on the shit storm.

“Well, after I got off work I went out to my car and two of my tires have been slashed. I didn’t see anyone running away, but it was getting dark. I ran inside and texted Damian.

Damian leans down and kisses my forehead. “You did good. I’m glad you texted me. Have you called the police?”

When Damian wraps his arm around me and kisses my head I hear a faint growl coming from Gage. I don’t know why, he isn’t my boyfriend and neither is Damian. Just added shit I don’t need. Just when I think I’m getting into somewhat of a routine, shit like this happens.

“No, but I can page Martin.”

“Who the hell is Martin?” Damian growls out, and I remember that even though we have an amazing friendship, I haven’t kept him or Olivia in the loop lately.

“He’s the head officer here. He has left for the day, but I know he will come back in.”

When I get back from paging him from the landline and waiting on his call, I see that Damian and Gage are getting along. They have their heads bent together whispering about something, but, of course, stop as soon as I walk up.

“Martin is on his way, he said don’t touch my car until he gets here.”

Damian just nods at me and goes back to whispering with Gage. So now I’m the odd man out, just sitting and waiting. I hate that feeling because I know they are talking about me, but they won’t say it loud enough for me to hear. So I pull out my phone and start playing slots. That has always been my way of wasting time when I have nothing to do, but at least, it’s fun for me.

Sitting here I get a creeping feeling like I am being watched. The hair on my arms stands on end, and goosebumps break out on my skin. I’m trying not to be obvious, but I look around everywhere to see if I can catch someone. Looking outside, it's pitch dark now, so I can’t see anybody. But the feeling is starting to go away, so whoever it was left.

“I think someone was watching me,” I say out loud to anybody who will listen. Looking over at Damian and Gage, their heads are bent towards each other, and they seem to be deep in conversation, so neither one of them heard me.

“Guys, I think someone was watching me.”

Both of them look up at me, then look around the lobby. A chill takes over in the air, dropping the temperature a few degrees in the room. I think it’s from the icy glare the men are shooting in all the nooks and crannies of the room. As if the ice in their stares will produce whoever was watching me.

“Cori, I’m here.” Martin walks towards us with his arms  outstretched like he is going to give me a hug, but then with a frown, he drops them. In this moment, there is nothing more in this world that I would want than a hug from him. He is a solace to me, a father figure of sorts. After quick introductions and handshakes from the guys, we all head outside to my car.

“Well honey, there isn’t much that can be done, except we will pull the tapes on the building. But I’m thinking we won’t see much because where you’re parked is close to the dead zone where the cameras don’t reach. I’m sorry. But I will make a report, and I will personally escort you to and from your car every day for a while.” Martin seems disappointed in the outcome of this, the lines of worry etched on his face, I don’t think he expected anything to happen at his post.

All I can do is nod, while Damian shakes Martin and Gages hand. Guess he has made some new friends while he was here. Damian escorts me to his truck by keeping an arm around me. He can touch me for the most part and I don’t feel anything, thank God. It’s hard enough not being able to be touched by others, but if I couldn’t get comfort from one of my best friends it would be heartbreaking.

As I’m walking to Damian’s truck, Sam runs out of the building and up to Gage. She hugs him but he shrugs her off  like he doesn’t want to be touched. Interesting, maybe Sam is his girlfriend although I know that’s against the rules. But she is the boss so I’m assuming the rules don’t apply to her. Something inside of me hurts seeing her embrace him. It hurts because I will never get that skin to skin affection again. Damian takes great care when he is touching me, making sure not to put too much of his skin against mine, making sure that I know it’s him when he touches me. Olivia is the same way, Jack is for the most part, but he’s young so for him all rules are off because he forgets.

“Earth to Cori, what are you thinking, babe?” Damian says with a knowing smirk on his face.

“Oh, um, nothing. I just want to get home and go to bed.”

“Uh huh, sure, that’s all you were thinking about. Not about that guy back there. It’s written all over your face. I can see right through you.”

Shit.

“D, no, it’s not like that. I was just curious is all. I’ve never seen them together, so I guess I’m just surprised that they are, whenever she has talked about him it seemed like she hated him.”

“I don’t think they are, he was quick to get away from her. Besides, I think he has it bad for you, you’re just too blind to see it.”

“What? No! He does not! Ugh, D, I do not like him that way.” I’m beyond aware of how childish I sound. I know soon I will be sticking my tongue out at him as if we’re five.

“Whatever you say, babe, but that guy growled when I touched you. A man who doesn’t have it bad doesn’t growl.” Damian just pulls off with that smirk on his face still. Classic rock blares through his speakers, the perfect type of music when something is on your mind.

As soon as I get home I need to call my insurance company and a towing company. Damian said he will come pick me up for work since Olivia has been put on bed rest. Apparently this baby girl is going to be a bigger baby. She is such a tiny woman that I can’t imagine how she is going to get her out.

~~

Xavier is on top of me, forcing himself into me dry slits. The pain is too much, the ripping and tearing. He squeezes my breast hard and bites my neck. Tears stream out of my eyes and fall into my ears muffling his grunting and groaning as he takes what he wants.

He seems to get off on me crying out so I bite my lip as he and his friends take turns violating me. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of crying for him. He deserves nothing from me, not my pain and not my reaction. He can see my tears, and every once in a while he dips down and licks them off my face. He hasn’t cut me yet, but I know it’s coming.

I feel the blood running down my neck, I feel him pushing into me, and then I feel nothing. No pain, no Xavier, none of his friends, no cold floor hard on my back. Just nothing.

I toss and turn the rest of the night, only sleeping long enough to get to right before a dream, but not actually having one. Then I wake up again. It’s broken sleep, yes, but it is better than nightmares.

I’m pissed. So beyond pissed I’m actually shaking. That bitch Sam came running up to me like an overly enthusiastic girlfriend. She did it in front of Cori on purpose, like she was laying claim to me. I saw Cori as she was walking to Damian’s truck and as soon as Sam threw her arms around me she started frowning.

I’m at a loss as to what to do about Sam, her advances seem to become increasingly bolder. I have told her every time she has tried to grab me that I’m not interested, but she has some hair up her ass that I am.

Today was going good, I got measured and cast for my leg. The physical therapists seemed surprised that I was giving an effort two days in a row, but shit they will be doubly surprised tomorrow when I head back again. I’m tired of being in this room, tired of being in this chair, and tired of not living my life.

When I made that decision the other day, I didn’t take it lightly. I’ve been slowly trying to make changes to get my ass outta this seat and outta this place. But first, I need to secure a place to stay. Allyn is from this area and he said he would come by my room tonight to tell me some good places to look, but, for now, I’m going to throw my trust into my laptop and this spotty internet.

It shouldn’t be too much longer now before I’m working towards getting on my own two feet. If you can call a fake foot your own. Once I decided that I wasn’t going to let this stop me, the nightmares have eased up some. Especially in their intensity, I’m not waking up gasping for air, and I haven’t seen that piece of shit Xavier in my nightmares either. That is a welcome relief because for a good few days he was haunting me more than the flashbacks. I would see him hurting her, hear her call out for me to save her, but I couldn’t because I was still in the desert, still missing a leg. The mind has a funny way of taking your deepest fears and amplifying them.

A knock at my door brings me out of my musings; must be Allyn. Using my crutches instead of my chair, I hobble along to let the old man in. It would be awkward trying to get two wheelchairs into the doorway so I use my crutches. Sure I could leave my door open, but I’m not overly friendly with anybody else. Plus it gives Sam the feeling of an open door policy with me which I certainly do not have.

“What took you so long to answer the damn door?” the grizzled old man apparently doesn’t like to be kept waiting.

“Had to get my crutches, hold your horses, not like you have anywhere to be after this.”

“Listen, boy, I have plenty of shit to do than to help your sniveling ass out. Besides, you got bigger fish to fry than worrying about finding a place to stay. You need to be worrying about how you’re gonna help Cori, and how you’re gonna get that psycho away from you.” Allyn knows all about what Sam is doing. He told me that he never liked the girl and that anyone with that much enthusiasm every day is fake as can be. He isn’t wrong.

He thinks I need to report Sam to get her off my back, but I just want her to get the hint and go away, not lose her job. He called me crazy for putting up with her shit. He told me that in his day women didn’t act like that, and his CC never acted like that either. Then he went into some long story about how women these days don’t have the same class as women of his generation. Women those days were classy, they didn’t dress with their ‘tits and ass’ hanging out. He isn’t wrong, I’m sure.