Define Me (19 page)

"Cat, what happened?"

Before I could tell Vincent the story, Heather came running into the house. 

"Wow, did you see who …, what the fuck happened here? Caitlin, oh my word what happened?  Are you ok? Why are the police and paramedics outside the house?"

"Hunter ...”

"WHAT, how did he find you?  I thought you changed your number." 

"I did, he must have seen the photo in the newspaper and come looking for me. I think the white van that was following me must have been him.  He said he’s been watching us."

“Why haven’t you told me about Hunter before?”

"I’m Sorry Vincent, I was going to tell you but I didn't want my past to ruin our future.  I didn't want you to know the weak person I was before I met you." 

With that I started crying again.  Vincent lifted me up and placed me on his lap.  My body was sore and I flinched. 

"Get the paramedics, why are they taking so long" 

"I will get them Vincent, just look after her." 

"Caitlin look at me!" 

I lifted my eyes to meet Vincent’s. 

"Did he, you know, did he r......"

"Oh god!  No when you knocked on the front door I managed to get him off me before it went that far.  You saved me!"

Heather walked back in with the paramedics behind her. 

"Is it ok if I go and talk to the police? I won’t be long, I promise." 

"I'm here Vincent, I will look after her" 

"Thanks
, Heather."

Vincent lifted me off his lap and walked towards the front door. 

Heather came to sit next to me, taking my hand in hers.  I started crying again, Heather never knew about the abuse in school.  I never told anyone, not even my parents.  This is the first time that anyone has seen me like this.  In school the bruises were always in places that no one could see. 

"Caitlin what happened?"

"I thought it was Vincent at the door, I was so stupid."

"Don't say that; tell me what happened it looks like World War One in this place."

"Hunter!  He wanted me to take him back and when I said no, he attacked me.  Luckily Vincent showed up when he did.  They got into a fight, Hunter ran off and Vincent went after him, then Brent showed up."

"Brent?!"

"Yes Brent, didn’t you see him when you come in?  He said he was going to talk to the police" 

"No, I didn't see him" 

The paramedics looked me over and decided that the knocks to my head needed to be looked at.  They loaded me on the stretcher and were wheeling me to the ambulance, I saw Vincent walking towards us. 

"Why are you taking her?"

"Sir, she sustained serious injuries to her head and needs to be examined out at the ER."

"Ok, Heather you go with her.  I will pack a bag and meet you guys there."

"My front door is broken." 

"Sorry that was me, when I heard you scream I broke the door down, I will get Cole to sort this out." 

"Cole, is he here too?"

"Yes, we just locked up the shop."

"Ok, girls you need to get to the hospital.  I will see you soon"

The paramedics loaded me, Heather was right there with me. 

"So tell me about Brent?"

"Heather, really?  You want to know about Brent right now?" 

"Just thought I could take your mind off things."   

The ride to the ER was horrible, my head felt like it wanted to explode and I couldn’t see out of my one eye.  How could I have been so stupid, to not look who’s at the door.  With everything that has been happening the last few days I should have been more careful.  Heather was trying her best to keep my mind busy, but I could see the look of concern on her face. 

I couldn’t believe Hunter had gone that far.  The abuse was bad at school, but never like this.  Hell he needed to be stopped, what if he did it to someone else?  What if they were not as lucky as me?  If Vincent hadn’t arrived when he did this would have been a whole lot different. 

By the time we got to the hospital, Vincent was already waiting for us.  They quickly wheeled me into the ER and started assessing my injuries. 

Heather was by my side the whole time, not moving.  Vincent was standing when the police arrived.  I knew I needed to tell Vincent the truth about Hunter, but first I needed to give my statement to the police.  I don’t want him to be there.  I wanted him to hear the story from me, not while I spoke to the police. 

“Heather I need you to do me a favour.  I need to give the police my statement but I don’t want Vincent here for that
.  I want to tell him about Hunter when we are alone, I don’t want him to find out this way.”

“There is no way I am going to get him out of here; you see that look on his face.  No way, are you crazy!”

“Think of something! … I need this … please!!”

“Oh
God
!  You owe me big for this.”

Heather turned and walked to where Vincent was standing, she whispered something to him and very reluctantly he followed her out of the room. 

The police came to take my statement, I told them about the nights events and also what Hunter said about stalking us, the white van following me.  Then I told them about the abuse at school, that Hunter has a long history of violence.  The police put an APB out for Hunters arrest and advised me to not go home until they had apprehended him. 

After the police left, the Doctor came to see me.  I was lucky nothing was broken and I had no major injuries.  Apart from the stiches above my left eye and a few bruises on my arms and face I was fine, good to go.  In the meantime Heather and Vincent came back.  I asked Heather to help me get cleaned up; I still had blood on my hands and needed to change my clothes.  Vincent went outside to talk to Cole, who had just arrived.  He had managed to get someone to fix my front door.  It was a miracle he got it sorted so quickly.  I knew it was not a good idea to go back home but I couldn’t run from Hunter my whole life.  It was time I stood my ground.  The police would be watching my place and they were out looking for him.  I didn’t think he would be stupid enough to go back to my place. 

As Heather and I walked out the room I spotted Vincent, Cole and Brent talking.  Wow, they were not trying to kill each other that were a good sign.  As we get closer they stop talking.  Vincent spoke to me and put his arm around my shoulders. 

“Hey, what did the doctor say?”

“All good, I am ready to go home.”

“Hi Caitlin, glad you are ok.  We will find him, I promise.”

“Thanks Brent.”

“Let’s get out of here, I hate these places, Caitlin what do you want to do?  Cole fixed your front door and got it all cleaned up.  Do you want to go home or do you want to come to my place?” 

“I don’t know, I’m not sure.  Can we go to my place first and then talk?  I need to see how I feel.”

“Great, I will take you home.  Brent can we talk about this issue in the morning, say about nine at the shop?”

“Yes I will see you then.”

I looked at Vincent, what did he want from Brent.  If he saw the questioning look on my face he pretended not to notice. 

Vincent and I got in his car and Heather jumped on the bike with Cole.  We all met up at my place.

They were staring at me as we walked into the house, I knew they were worried about how I would react, but strangely enough I was not scared.  For the first time I had said no to Hunter, no to the abuse and I fought back.  I knew he had a few cuts and bruises from me fighting back.  I would not let him chase me out of my own home.  I would not lie down and play victim, I would fight and fight hard.  He would pay for what he had done and I would make damn sure he never hurt another person ever again. I lifted my head and walked with purpose into my home. This was the new me I would be strong, not for anyone else but myself. 

“So you guys want something to eat?  We can order some pizzas; I think there are still a few beers in the fridge from the other day.  Heather will you sort that out while I jump in the shower?”

“Sure thing.”

“Caitlin” Vincent walked to where I was standing; he put his arms around me and pulled me tight against his chest.  “Are you ok with being back home.  Don’t you want to come and stay with me for a little while?  Even if it is just until this guy is caught?”

I gave Vincent a kiss on the lips, flinching a little.  I forgot about the cut on my lip.

“I need to be here
Vincent; I can’t keep running from Hunter.  It is time for me to be strong and stand up to him; I should have done that long ago.  I want to tell you about him and my history with him.  But I need you to just give me a little time.  Let me get cleaned up and then we can talk, if that is ok with you. 

“Yes its ok, I will wait.  I can’t say I am happy with you wanting to stay here but I respect it, the only condition is that I am allowed to stay with you.”

“Yes I would be very happy with that.”

I kissed Vincent softly on the lips again and walked up to my room.  I closed the door behind me and slide down onto my butt.  With my head in my hands I started crying, everything that had happened the past few days had taken its toll on me,  I tried so hard to be strong and not let it all get the better of me but in that quiet moment I could let it out.  I hated Hunter, to think a few months ago I was sure we would be together for the rest of our lives.  Thank God I saw the light.  Now I just needed to be strong.  After a few minutes of wallowing in pity I got up and walked into the bathroom.  I needed to wash every last bit of that vile man off my body. 

I had a hot shower, scrubbed my body and washed my hair.  I was still in the shower when I heard a knock on the bathroom door. 

“Who is it?”

“It is me, the food’s here”

“Ok, I’ll be down now.”

I put my hair in a messy bun, slipped on some tracksuit pants and a tank top.  I didn’t care what I look like, I just needed comfort. 

When I walked downstairs, Heather and the boys were sitting around the kitchen table drinking beers and enjoying the pizza.  I walked to sit on the chair next to Vincent but before I could sit he pulled me onto his lap.  It was by far the most comfortable seat in the house. 

“So tell me what this meeting you are having with Brent tomorrow is about.  I thought you guys didn’t like each other?”

“I still don’t like him.  He is far too friendly with my girl but he’s got all the right contacts to get the mother-fucker faster than the police could.  So we are going to work together to get this asshole.”

“Oh I see…”

Heather and Cole did not stick around long before announcing they were going to bed.  I think having both the guys there would help me feel safer.  I wanted to be home but that didn’t mean I was stupid I will make sure someone is there with me at all times. 

I quickly cleaned up the kitchen before Vincent and I also went upstairs.  I opened my patio door and we went to sit in the moonlight.  I loved the smell of the sea and the breeze help to cool me down.  I was nervous to tell Vincent about Hunter, but I knew I could not hold out any longer, it needed to be done. 

“I need to tell you a few things about my past, things I haven’t shared with anyone.  Not even Heather knows about it, I think she suspected at school but I never told a soul.  After what happened today I think it is better that you know the truth.”

Vincent did not say a word, he just nodded his head.  I think he understood that what I was about to tell him was big. 

“Like I told you earlier, Hunter is my ex.  We dated in my senior year.  In the beginning it was so great, he was great, and my friends all loved him.  Even my mom was fooled by him, although looking back my Dad never had time for Hunter.  Like they say, the honeymoon did not last long.  A few months into our relationship he became obsessed and controlling, I was not allowed to go out with my friends, Heather and I started spending more and more time apart.  I was not allowed to have guy friends, he would freak out.  If we were at one of his games and the guys spoke to me he would get this look in his eyes and that night behind closed doors he would teach me a lesson.  The one time I ended up with a cracked rib, I told my mom it happened during volleyball practise; I fell on the ball or something stupid.  I don’t know if she believed me.  There was a situation during finals when Hunter showed his true colors for the first time and assaulted me in public. Brent stepped in and stopped Hunter, that only made things worse.  Hunter turned the story on Brent and Brent landed being suspended and was not allowed to take part in the graduation ceremony.  I never saw Brent again until the other day on the beach.  Needless to say, I was stupid enough to believe Hunter when he told me he changed, that he loved me.  Last summer I went on vacation with him and his family.  I was a virgin.  One thing leads to another and well, you know…..  His parents found out we had sex, his dad is a minister and they didn’t believe in sex before marriage.  Well, I walked into a fight he was having with his parents, where he told them I was a slut and I seduced him.  It was all my fault.  That is how I spent my 18th birthday.  The next day I phoned my mom and asked her if I could come home.  She arranged for me to fly back.  I walked out, leaving Hunter a DEAR JOHN letter.  He phoned and texted me for weeks afterwards until my mom saw the messages and changed my number. THE END”

I looked down at my hand in my lap; I did not even have the courage to look at Vincent.  I felt so ashamed. 

“Caitlin look at me, I am so sorry you had to go through that.  You know it was not your fault, he is the sick one”

“I know but I was too weak to stand up to him and now look what happened.”

“You are not weak, you loved him and in your big heart you believed you could change him.  There is no shame in loving someone that much, but the trick is to love someone that respects and loves you back.”

“I know you are right, but still if I was stronger back then maybe …”

“You can’t change the past but you can choose to change the future Caitlin.  From what I can see in you right now, you have already made the decision to be stronger and stand up to him.  I promise you I will be right there with you every step of the way.” 

“Thanks Vincent.”

“There is one other thing I didn’t tell you.  We had a fire outside the shop this afternoon; round about the time when shit went down with you.  Rebecca came to the shop again and was causing shit.  The fire was in one of the trash cans outside the shop, we managed to put it out ourselves.  Something in my gut told me to get to you; I could hear you screaming inside. If it wasn’t for Rebecca showing up when she did I would have been here a lot earlier.  I am so sorry.”

“Please don’t, you didn’t even know about Hunter.  We all thought Rebecca would be a problem, I never thought Hunter would do this.  When I walked out on him I thought it was the end, even after the phone calls and shit I never thought it would come to this.  He’s got good parents, church people; he comes from a really good home.

“You are right, but I’m just glad you are ok and that I am here with you.  I have to tell you though; I will not let you out of my sight until this bastard is caught.  This Brent friend of yours seems to think he will be able to assist, with his buddies I believe they have a better chance than police.  We will see tomorrow when we meet.’

“Yeah, Brent had it hard at school.  Hunter had it in for him right from the beginning, there were a few times that things got out of hand, but Brent always just walked away.  That is until that one time, I will be forever be grateful to him for what he did for me.  You know… I never got to say thank you.”