Feeling a mammoth, icy hand grab the back of her neck, Emily turned and squinted in the darkness at Chuck’s smirking face. He reeked of alcohol and cigarettes, and she grimaced in disgust.
“Chuck,” she said his name matter-of-factly, hoping she could say a quick hello and get on her way.
“Why are you leaving so early? I just got here,” he said as he forcefully steered her by the neck toward the bonfire.
“Oh, I have to get home,” she informed him, not able to come up with a good excuse as to why she was hiding behind a tree.
“Come on, Em, stay for a little,” he urged as he continued shoving her toward the fire, his hand still gripping her neck. Emily tried to thrust her body weight back to stop him from pushing her forward, but he was double her weight and triple her strength.
“I really do need to get home,” she repeated as they inched closer to the fire and she looked at the faces of the people around the fire, not recognizing anyone she knew.
“Just one drink, baby,” he purred as his hand inched its way down from her neck to her butt, as he led her the rest of the way to the fire. They walked to a cooler, and he grabbed two beers and handed one to Emily. She took it from him so she didn’t make him angry and held it in her frigid hands without taking a sip.
“I really have to go after this drink.” She tried to think of a plan to escape. Chuck took a hefty gulp of his beer and leaned toward her, sloppily trying to kiss her neck. She inched backward and stumbled on a crushed beer can on the grass behind her.
“What’s wrong?” he slurred in her ear as he grabbed her sweatshirt. She glanced around the fire nervously at the group of people. Some were in conversation, some were chugging beers, and a couple of girls were giving her mean looks.
“I really do need to be going,” she said again as she tried to pull his hands off her.
“Don’t be a tease,” he whispered in her ear. “You owe me from last time.” He put his lips against her neck again and she felt a slobber of spit on her skin.
She cringed and then started to panic that time was passing and Sophie and Katie were alone in the house. I need to get back now, she thought. She pulled away from him, deciding that she needed an excuse fast.
“How about we go somewhere private then?” she asked him as she tried to come up with a plan.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about,” he murmured in her ear as he grabbed her butt. She grabbed his hand and led him toward the side of the firehouse, figuring once they got to where there were no more lights, she could start running. There’s no way in his drunken state that he’ll be able to catch up to me, especially if he doesn’t know which direction I’m going, she thought. She led him to the dark side of the firehouse.
“How about here?” she asked him, trying to sound seductive.
“Perfect,” he mumbled as he stopped and began to unbuckle his pants. Before Emily could make a run for it, he lunged toward her and forcefully pushed her against the brick wall. “How do you like it?” he slurred as he fiddled with his belt.
Emily’s eyes darted around in a panic. She had led him to this spot and now she needed to do something about it. She looked below her and saw a loose brick on the ground. She had only one way out.
“Take off your pants and lie down. I’ll take care of you,” she directed him. Sophie, Katie, Sophie, Katie, she repeated in her head. She was getting angry. Why do these guys think they can do this to me? Do I have a sticker on my forehead saying, Rape me? I need to get back to those little girls. No one will ever do to me what Mr. Thomas did to me again. No one.
“Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about,” he repeated himself as he unzippered his pants and lay down on the graveled lot. Emily bent down and pretended to begin, but instead she grabbed the brick with her free hand. She glanced up at him to see if he caught on to what she was doing, but his eyes were closed, and his hands were behind his head as if he were basking in the sun.
“Hurry the fuck up,” he snapped, keeping his eyes shut.
She stood up slowly with the brick in her hand, not sure exactly what she was going to do with it. I can’t exactly hit him in the head with it, he could die. I don’t want to kill him. She looked down at his growing erection and made a decision. This is for all you assholes who think you can do what you want to girls, she thought. This is for you, Mr. Thomas. She raised the brick high above her head and threw it down on Chuck’s crotch as hard as she could. She squeezed her eyes tightly and held her breath.
“AHHHHHHHH!” Chuck screamed as he curled into a fetal position. Emily turned toward the bonfire to see if anyone had heard him, but everyone seemed to be in the same spots they had been in before. She turned in the direction of the Thomases’ house and began to run as fast as she could.
“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” he yelled. She could hear Chuck stumbling to get up as he tried to run after her. She started to run faster as she got into the neighborhoods that she’d taken on the way there.
“YOU FUCKING CUNT!” he screamed as he tried to chase after her, but she could hear his yells and footsteps were getting farther away. She zigged and zagged through houses until she couldn’t hear him anymore. As she ran through a neighbor’s backyard, one of her feet stepped into a large hole she hadn’t see in the darkness. Her body hit the ground hard. Trying to catch her breath, she glanced down at her ankle, which was throbbing. Her heart was racing so fast, she felt like she was going to have a heart attack. Her fingers felt like they had frozen.
She winced and took a couple minutes to let her ankle rest before getting back up. She took out her phone, ignoring the texts from Hannah, and opened the baby monitor app, praying the girls were okay. She glanced at the screen and saw that both girls were in the same positions they had been in an hour before. She slowly stood and began limping slowly back to the house, keeping the baby monitor app open the whole way home to make sure the girls were okay.
When she finally limped into the playground across from the house, she let out a sigh of relief. The girls are okay, I did what Hannah asked, and I escaped from Chuck unharmed. Her only worry was what the repercussions would be with Chuck. Her ankle would heal. She glanced down at her phone for the time: 12:20. She limped behind the neighbor’s house, back up the Thomases’ stairs, and into the house.
The house reeked of burnt pumpkin pie. She’d forgotten to blow out the candle that was now giving her a migraine. But everything appeared as she had left it. Sitting down on the couch, she lifted her sweatpants to peek at her ankle and saw that it was beginning to swell. She stood up and limped to the kitchen to get some ice and blow out the candle but decided to check on the girls first. Hobbling her way up the stairs, she peeked into both rooms and was comforted to see they were both still in their beds as she had left them. She wobbled into the girls’ bathroom, relieved herself, and glanced in the mirror. Her face was flushed from being outside in the cold and her hair was tangled in knots. Picking up a Barbie hairbrush from the sink, she brushed the knots out. Then, she rinsed her face in warm water and patted it dry on the princess towel hanging behind her. As she stepped into the hallway and began to wobble down the stairs, she heard the front doorknob jiggle and feet stumble inside. A fright washed over her. She didn’t expect the Thomases would be home until at least after 1:00 a.m. since their wedding was on the Eastern Shore. Did Chuck follow me back? She panicked.
“Hello?” she called as she continued to stagger down the stairs carefully, trying to hide her limp.
“Emily?” Mrs. Thomas yelled out with a twang in her voice, indicating she had one too many drinks.
Emily hobbled down the last step into the foyer. “Hi. I was just checking on the girls,” she said cheerfully, trying to compose herself. She gawked at the Thomases as they were taking off their jackets. They both had glazed-over eyes and were clearly drunk. Mr. Thomas couldn’t seem to get his coat off, and he cursed as he shook his arm furiously.
“How was the wedding?” Emily asked.
Mr. Thomas turned toward her as if realizing for the first time she was standing in the room with him. His eyes moved slowly. He was more drunk than she’d seen him before. “You wanna know about the fuckin’ weddin’?” he slurred, angrily.
“Stop, Steve,” Mrs. Thomas directed him, and she turned toward Emily to speak as if he wasn’t there. “Steve got us kicked out.”
“Kicked out?” Emily asked, not knowing people could get kicked out of weddings.
“Some trashy girl with a fake Chanel bag claimed he grabbed her,” Mrs. Thomas informed Emily as she bent down to unstrap her shoes. “Clearly, she was trying to get with my man.” She looked up and winked. I doubt that, Emily thought.
“Lil skank,” Mr. Thomas slurred as he finally gave up on getting off his jacket. He stumbled into the family room and plopped himself in front of the TV. “Get me a drink someone, will ya?”
Mrs. Thomas looked at Emily. “What an asshole, but ya gotta love him, ya know?” she admitted as she reached into her purse and pulled out a wad of cash. “I’m getting it!” she yelled to Mr. Thomas as she handed Emily the money. “Ya need a ride home?” she asked, still slurring her words. Emily couldn’t even fathom how the two of them could have driven in the condition they were in.
“I just got a text that my mom’s pulling up,” she lied, hoping Mrs. Thomas was drunk enough not to realize that it didn’t make sense since she hadn’t known they were coming home right then. Mrs. Thomas nodded.
“Ok, hon. See ya.” She staggered into the kitchen. Emily suddenly realized that she never had a chance to clean up after dinner and felt slightly embarrassed, but then again, she never planned to see them ever again. She peered over at Mr. Thomas, who was staring blankly at the TV screen, and she crept out the front door and tiptoed down the stairs. Her only solace leaving the house was that she never had to see the Thomases ever again.