| A Second Chance |
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| �If you breathe a word of this to anybody at all, especially the cops, I�ll see to it that your pathetic little life is ended faster than the blink of an eye. Do you understand me?� I nodded a weak yes but didn�t speak. I was too frightened to do anything but stay exactly as I was . �It really was nice to meet you Jasmine,� he said with a wink then strode out of my room and out of the house. As soon as the door shut and I heard his car starting up, I started to cry all over again. How could this have happened to me? I was so strong and independent and now, now I was weak and helpless. My whole world had been turned upside down and shaken, a feeling that I didn�t like in the slightest. I had let a rapist help me and then into my house! How could I have been so stupid? Stop acting like such a baby, I chided myself. Suck it up, get the phone and call the cops. He�ll find out though, and then he�ll kill me. So what, you�re just going to let the bastard get away with it so that he can go do it to some other woman? I�m scared though. You�ll be stronger in the end and that�s a promise. Rolling over, I pulled myself to the other side of the bed to pick up the phone off of the nightstand. Clicking it on, I dialed 911 and relayed to them what had happened and what I needed. The operator told me that the authorities were on their way and kept me on the line for safety�s sake. Only a few minutes had passed when I heard a car pull into the driveway. I couldn�t see if it had flashing lights or not, because my room was towards the back of the house, but I was hoping that it would be the cops. I clicked off the phone after saying goodbye to the operator and covered myself with my blankets. I may have been disturbing the scene but I did have my dignity to maintain. �Jasmine,� I heard a familiar voice call out. Jason! What in the world was he doing here? I didn�t need this. I didn�t need him to see me like this. It would only give him more reason to use to try and get me to get back with him. I was about to tell him to go away when he appeared in the doorway of my room. �My god! Jasmine what happened to you? Emily said you had gotten hit by a car, but this looks a lot worse than what she told me,� Jason said as he strode over to the bed and sat down near me but still far enough away that he wasn�t invading my personal space. �It�s, nothing,� I lied, wanting him to leave so he wouldn�t see me like this. I let my long brown hair fall forward to cover my face so he couldn�t see the pain in my eyes. �Bullshit,� he said. �This is more than nothing. What ha..� The cops had finally arrived, they had their guns drawn, and were aiming at Jason. They told him to put his hands in the air and to back away from me slowly. For the next several minutes there was a bit of confusion, but finally I was able to make it clear to the cops that Jason wasn�t the man who had raped me. Ultimately I ended up going back to the hospital and this time it was Jason who went with me. I still wasn�t sure I wanted him around, but I had to admit to myself that his familiar presence was comforting. The cops had stood guard at the door of the exam room while the exam was in progress, while some other cops went in search of Brad, thinking he might be at the hospital. Jason waited with the guards and after the doctor left he asked if he could come into see me. I agreed and the cops let him into the room. �Jasmine, I�m so sorry this happened to you,� he said gently, cupping my face in his hand. I shrank back from his touch, but not because I didn�t want him near me, it was almost as if I was reacting to Jason as if he were Brad. �Don�t,� I said. �Just don�t.� �Jasmine, listen to me. None of this is your fault. It could�� �Not my fault! How can you say that? I let that bastard take me home and if I hadn�t, this never would have happened. It�s all my fau�� |