Love and ego episode 10

Love and ego episode 10
“How do you like it now?” Derek leered as he loomed over her after refixing the bulb he had removed and switching on the light.
Gr-aning in pain as she slowly came to. Claire tried to prop on her elbows. Her head and eye hurt so bad and she knew she was bound to develop a bad headache later. Blinking several times to look up at Derek, she said weekly, “You need to leave right now.”
“Really? After ignoring me for weeks like I’m insignificant, you think I’m just going to leave?!” He hissed down at her.
“Derek, if you don’t leave right now, I’m going to call the cops!” She threatened.
“Hoooooo.” He feigned a shiver, “I’m scared.” Then taking a good look at her, he smiled wickedly, “Wow, you clean up real good, don’t you? The nice job, the fancy clothes, I can see you are doing well without me.”
“Yea?” She glowered at him. “What’s left is a gentleman for a boyfriend!” She shot at his face.
His eyes shot daggers at her as he bent down and hissed venomously, pointing a finger at her face, “You and I are meant for each other and there’s no way you are getting into another relationsh¡p. We have been through a lot together and you promised to stick by my side!”
“Right, that was before I knew that you were a sick bastard who needed help, who wouldn’t stop cheating, get off his lazy bum and work and also a total jerk who hits women!” She retorted.
He smiled sinisterly down at her then suddenly seized her throat, making her gasp. Forcing her up to her feet, he pulled her face closer to his and she could smell the liquor on his breath. Then he began in a calm voice as he left her throat to dig his thumb and index finger into her cheeks. “You are mine, Claire. You have no choice, as long as I’m alive, you are forever stuck with me and no man will destroy what I have built all these years. Listen, we are going to travel to a nice little town, get married, have beautiful kids and spend the rest of our lives in a ranch.”
“There’s no way I am going to get married to a man who thinks it’s okay to hit and rape a woman whenever he wants!” She said in a slightly muffled voice since he was still pinching her cheeks together, “And so you know, I’m seeing someone else.”
His eyes darkened in anger now and a heavy back hand slap caught her on the cheek and lip, sending her reeling backward and she collapsed this time close to the foot of the bed. “You bitch!” He spat.
Knowing that he was going to hit her the more, Claire scrambled on her knees towards the bedside telephone but he charged after her as she picked the receiver and began to call 911. Snatching the phone from her hand, he angrily snapped the spiral cord connecting the receiver to the phone then yanked the wire of the phone from the wall and hurled it against the wall. As Claire attempted to run again, he caught her by her hair and slammed her chest against the wall, pinning her there and then frantically began to unbuckle and pull his belt out of the loops of his p-nts.
“I’m going to teach you a lesson I haven’t in a very long time!” He hissed against her ear while she struggled to break free. He zipped his fly down and soon began to try to work her skirt up her wa-ist, when she scre-med, he yelled at her to shut up but she wouldn’t heed, worried that a curious neighbour might come knocking or call the cops, he clamped a hand over her mouth while he continued to try to get her skirt up.
Claire kept on struggling, when his hand accidentally shifted from her mouth, she caught his middle finger in her mouth and bit down hærd until she tasted blood. He scre-med and yanked his finger from her mouth, letting her go but not after shoving her away and she crashed and broke her bedside lamp before she hit the floor.
“You stupid bitch! Now you know how to fight back, uh? I’ll teach you not to bite!” He started towards her, glancing around for any weapon, Claire’s eyes settled on a bottle of wine under her bed which Rufus had bought her a day before. She had been too lazy to put it in the fridge and had simply left it on the floor and she figured that it might have rolled under the bed when she accidentally kicked it in the morning.
She quickly reached for it and as Derek grabbed her ankle, then got on his knees before her, trying to push her thighs apart, Claire wrapped a firm hand around the bottle and swung with all her might. The bottle smashed and spilled its content all over them and the floor as soon as it connected with the side of Derek’s head and immediately, he slumped on his side, unconscious and she saw a trickle of blood roll down his face towards his nose from his hair.
p-nting, she scrambled to her feet, wondering what to do. She thought of running out, but where would she go? If Derek regained consciousness, he would only come after her again, without thinking, she rushed to her handbag which was on the floor and fished out her smart phone. Hesitating, she debated on whether to call Salmon, Rufus or Rendell. She decided that it might be weird calling up Salmon when they had never met before and besides, he might be too far away to come to her aid before Derek came to. She cancelled Rufus, he was just not what she wanted tonight then she realized that her only option was Rendell. Suppressing her pride, she finally forced herself and dialed his number.
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Twenty minutes later, Derek who had regained consciousness was being led away by a police officer with his hands handcuffed behind him while another officer quizzed her about details of the incident, jotted on his notepad, asked her to write a statement then left.
When they were gone, Rendell who had stood by her during it all, swept the scattered room with his gaze then turned to look at her where she was seated on the edge of the bed. “You okay?” He asked.
She mutely nodded. She had a black eye and a cut on her lip besides the marks on other parts of her body. Unlike the suit she was used to seeing him in, he was wearing a simple vest, jeans p-nts and a pair of sneakers and looked like a everyday guy, not some CEO.
He approached the bed now and said, “Go take a shower, change into new clothes so that we can leave.”
“Where are we going?” She asked with a start.
“I can’t let you sleep here in this mess after what happened, I’m taking you to my place.”
“No,” Claire started to shake her head. “I can’t, I’m sorry.”
“Why?” He asked in surprise. “You are pretty shaken by what happened and yet you are going to remain here?”
“As long as I know that he’s going to get locked up and won’t be coming back, there’s no need for me to be worried.”
Surprised at how composed she sounded, he asked, “Despite being assaulted and almost getting raped a second time, don’t you think you should relocate?”
She gave a weak smile. “I like this place.”
He scoffed in disbelief and shook his head. “You never cease to amaze me.” Then he sat down beside her. “Fine, take a shower all the same, if you are not going to go with me to my place, I guess I’ll have to spend the night.”
Her eyes w¡dened. “What! No! No, I really appreciate you coming to my rescue tonight but I can take care of myself. Spending the night here is really a bad idea, trust me.” She tried to dissuade him.
“Convince me.”
“One, I snore…” She stated.
“My grandma’s snore can be heard all the way from her room.” He countered.
“Two, trains pass here all the time and for someone who’s not used to it, you could probably go deaf.”
“I do not mind that.”
“Three, um…” She pointed sideways to the wall behind her bed. “I have neighbours who screw almost every night and they think it’s cool to scre-m while they are at it too.”
“As long as you don’t get ho-ny and come at me so we can compete with them.” He teased and when she gave him a look, he cleared his throat and turned serious again.
“Any other excuse?” He asked.
She groped for more in her mind and when she could come up with none, she sighed aloud and her shoulders slumped in defeat as she said in dismay. “That’s all I guess.”
“Good.” He stated. “I’m spending the night.”
She looked around her room. “How can you want to spend the night in this filth? The floor is stained with wine and broken glass.”
“Who said anything about sleeping on the floor?” He asked and when she realized what she meant, he cut her off before she could protest. “We are sharing the bed and that’s final.”
“You are not the boss of me in my own house!”
“Try me.” He simply stated, “Now, scram, off to the bathroom with you, you reek of sweat!”
“Hell, you are pushy!” She mused as she walked away.
To Be Continued….