Within Time: Divine

RHIANNON

I walked out of the door and past the buses. My mother who claimed to love me more than my 2 other sisters didn't bother to pick me up afterschool. I lived ten minutes away from the school, but walking it took almost thirty minutes; that was when I took a shortcut. Today I was in no hurry to get home so I took the long way. I walked along the road; there was no side walk because of all the trees. This was the best time of year to take a walk in this small town. There were leaves with all types of shapes, colors and textures everywhere. Leaves crunched everywhere I stepped. I loved the sound it made. I looked up and caught a glimpse of the sky; it was cloudy. I loved days like these; it's warm, humid with a slight chilly breeze passing by and a cloudy sky protecting me from the rays of the sun. I felt light sprinkles on my cheeks and I smiled. This is the perfect weather for me and this is what I looked forward to every year. I twirled around with my arms in the air and looking up at the sky and I caught a glimpse of a figure several yards behind me. I stopped playing around and sped up my pace. After a few yards I heard leaf crunching behind me. I turned my head to the side pretending to look at the trees and saw through my peripheral vision that the person behind me was closer.

"Hey, princess why don't you wait for me? We could walk together." He said. I didn't answer. I wished my mother would've changed her mind and decided to come pick me up after all, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. My mother was selfish; all she cared about was beauty.

"Slow down princess." he said as soon as I picked up the pace. I wanted to run but that would make him come after me.

"You have a nice body, you know?" I didn't answer and kept walking. I heard him speed up and then I felt a hand grip my arm and twirl me around. The man looked like he was in his early forties.

"Answer me you little bitch!"

"Let me go! Help!"

"Babe, don't bother screaming, barely any people come by this road." He said with a laugh.

"Leave me alone! What do you want from me?"

"I think it's pretty obvious Rhiannon. You know I've always wanted you."

"Let me go! I don't like you!"

"Why Not?”

I smacked him and he loosened his grip. I took the opportunity dropped my book bag and ran as fast as I could all the while pulling my cellphone out and attempting to call the cops. He tackled me down to the floor; my phone flew out of my hands and landed on the road with the battery popped out.

"Shit, you’re going to give me a hard time aren’t you babe?" He said grabbing a fist full of my hair and pulling me up.

"Let me go." I got up close to his face and bit his nose as hard as I could, until I heard a crunchy noise. He smacked me so hard I fell back in between trees. I tried to get off my back and I became dizzy by all the leaf colors under me. I shook my head and got on my feet. I took a short glance back at my aggressor who was staring at the blood coming out of his nose and on to his hands. He looked at me and I began running deeper into the trees.

"Get back here you little bitch I'm going to make you pay for what you just did." He yelled. I kept running without the intention of ever stopping. I was in the track team for school; I could run a long time without stopping. I looked back to see if he was behind me and I noticed he was close by. He was able to grasp my leather jacket but I quickly slipped out of it and kept running diagonally I saw he slowed down once he thought he had me but then started running again. I felt my foot hit something and I fell face first into the leaves. I looked at my feet and noticed there was a small rise on the ground where roots of trees popped out. That was what had made me trip. I heard him getting closer and I tried to get up but my foot felt like it was on fire. He grabbed a fist full of my hair and pulled my head up next to his.

"Did you think you could get away from me? Did you? No, babe. I'm determined that you are going to be mine. You're going to be my princess.

"No! Leave me alone!" I yelled. He ripped my tank top apart while I was struggling to get his nasty hands off of me.

"Stop screaming you know you’re going to like this." He laughed. I saw not too far away a house. I couldn't see any details because then he flipped me over to face him.

"Help! Anybody help!" He laughed so much as he heard me screaming for help.

"Don't waste your breath princess, no body lives there. That place has been vacant for years." I had never seen that house in my life and I didn't know who or if anyone lived there.

"Help please." I continued yelling. Then he smacked me in the face.

"I told you to shut the fuck up!" He laid down on me kissing and biting my neck holding both of my tiny weak arms behind my back with one hand, while he ripped off my bra with the other.

"Leave me alone. I'll do anything you want."

"Your already doing everything I want princess why should I leave you alone?" He sucked and bit on my nipple and suddenly he let go of my hands only to unbutton my pants. Soon after he slid my pants off of me with a laugh, he went back to grabbing my arms when I tried to get away.

"Don't do this please, please don't" I said with streams of tears pouring down my face. He ripped off my panties with one hand.

"Yes princess, beg me just like that. You make me get hornier." He unbuttoned his pants and reached inside.

"You see this babe? This is what you call a cock; of course you wouldn't know that. You've never had one in you." He laughed ripping off my panties.

"Now hold still princess, you’re going to like this."

"No, leave me alone please. Help! Somebody Help me! Please!" He smacked me again this time making my mouth bleed.

"Shut up and open those delicious legs." I refused to so he grabbed my hurt ankle as tightly as he could. I let out a piercing scream of pain.

"Stop!" I yelled.

"Thought you wouldn't open those legs princess?"

"Stop calling me princess." I screamed and spat at his face. He wiped it with one hand and put it into his mouth. The he grabbed his cock and brought it near my private parts.

"I'm going to stick this in your pussy babe, and I know you're going to like it. After this you'll be begging for more."

"NO! Let me go damn it!"

"The princess has bad manners let me teach her how to correct them." He put his cock in me and I felt a stinging pain go throughout all my body.

"No take it out! You're hurting me! Stop!" I screamed but he ignored me, he would pull out and shove it right back in again, and again. He didn't care if it hurt or not. I wanted to die. I was making miserable attempts a closing my legs but he would squeeze my ankle again. He gave out a groan and fell to the side. I wanted to lose consciousness and never remember this happened. I had just been raped and there was no one to help me. I would probably end up in a ditch like every other girl who gets raped. I heard him groan again and again, but I had no idea why and I didn't bother looking. Suddenly I saw a shadow coming towards me she knelt down beside me and looked at me horrified.

"Look at what he has done to you." She said with a painful expression. I felt myself lift off the ground and her face was right beside mine and I kept staring at her. She was immensely beautiful with an innocent look. A minute later she laid me on a bed.

"Hey... can you hear me?" She asked. I slowly shook my head yes.

"Do you remember where you live?" I closed my eyes for a second.

"I don't want to go home. At least not right now and like this."

"It's OK, I won’t take you home just yet. We’re going to protect you."

"Where is he?"

"He got away." She said lowering her head.

"You’re so beautiful, this shouldn't have happened to you."

"That's why it happened to me." I whispered

"What's your name?" She asked.

"Rhiannon. What's yours?"

"What a pretty name. Where did your mother get your name from?"

"You didn't answer my question. Why should I answer yours?"

"Of course Rhiannon. I don't have an actual name. At least not anymore. Just call me Rowan."

"Isn't Rowan a type of tree?" I asked.

"Yes, but since for now I have no identity I like to call myself like that."

"Why?"

"You're asking too many questions Rhiannon. Why don't you take a nap; We'll talk later and I'll take you back home."

I nodded and pulled the blankets over my head. She let me take a one hour nap and then she returned into the room with folded clothes.

"I didn't know your size so I got something I thought might fit." She extended out white panties and a bra that looked a size too big for me. The she unfolded a white spaghetti strap sundress.

"Go ahead. Try them on. I'll be waiting for you down in the kitchen." She said and she walked out of the door leaving me alone. I slipped on the panties which fit perfect and the bra I thought was a size too big was also a good fit. The dress went down to my knees and was as comfortable as a snuggly teddy bear. I opened the door to the room, and became surprised at what I was seeing. The house was not entirely decorated but it was enough to think someone lived in there. Outside of the bedroom door were bare wooden stairs leading the way down to the right side and into a kitchen. This kitchen had windows above all countertops except for the far left where there was wall and several shelves. She looked up at me from the sink.

"Ready to go home?" She asked with a kind face.

"Not yet." I answered. "Can I stay thirty more minutes?" I asked with a runny nose from all the crying.

"Sure."

I made my way down the creaking stairs and went to sit down at the kitchen table.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No, I want to die."

"Oh, dear. Darling, don't ever say that again."

"Why did this have to happen to me?"

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"Yes, and everything happens for a reason. You can stop with all the clichés."

"Sorry. I'm having a hard time dealing with this. And I'm pretty sure you are too."

Tears were rolling down my face again.

"I'm ashamed. I feel like this is my fault. Like if I hadn't dressed like that or keep myself pretty everyday this would have never happened."

"There's no reason to feel ashamed darling." She hugged me tightly.

"I had plans Rowan!" I yelled getting off the chair. "I was going to stay a virgin until I found the right guy for me; the one who I wanted to grow old with. I wanted to have a different ending than my mother and sisters. Everyone always said that I was too mature for my age. They thought that because I, unlike so many other girls my age, actually thought about my future I wanted to be successful and have my happily ever after." I started sinking back into the chair. "Where's my ‘happily ever after’ Rowan? I won't have one now because of that sick bastard!"

"Rhiannon calm down." She said making me look at her. She also had tears rolling down her face. "Rhiannon, I can understand what you are going through..."

"Bullshit!" I yelled. "That's all bullshit! That's what everybody's going to be saying for the next two weeks to me. They’re going to say they understand. Rowan how the hell can you understand something you have never been through? You can't! Don't come and say to me that you know how it feels. You never got raped."

"You're right." She said lowering her head "I almost was though. When I was...young... my stepfather tried to rape me. He tied my mother up on a chair and made her watch while I cried and struggled to get him off of me. Fortunately I hadn't lost contact with my biological father and he went to visit me every chance he got. He didn't go to work that day and he was going to stop by to spend some time with me. He got to where my mother and I lived and he heard my screams. He knocked down the door and rescued me from Gerard. That was his name." She smiled a little bit after that sentence. "My father freed my mother from the chair and on that same chair he tied Gerard and set him on fire. No one really missed him. No, like you said I never went through it but I'm very sure I experienced the same fear."

"Can you just take me home?"

"Do you feel ready to go?"

I shook my head. Eventually I would have to go home and face my family and tell them what had happened.

"Ok" She said. We went out a sliding glass door in the kitchen and outside there were many trees. I looked back at the house and I saw that it was the house I thought was abandoned and that we were at the back side of it. We walked around to the front where there was a car parked beside the front door. We got in the car and started driving to my house. I was thinking about how to tell my mother the news. And what she would say or do when I told her, but that was another story.