Chapter 6

 

“Hey man, you going with us?”  Luke asked coming up behind Jonathan.

Two moths had flown by since he and Kait had decided to give in and admit to each other their true feelings, and they had been dating, not the pretend dating, ever since.  He turned and looked at his best friend.  “Sorry man got big plans tonight.”

“Kait again?”  Luke asked, his voice not very pleased.

“Why do you ask like that, you make it sound like a bad thing?”

Luke sat down at his desk chair and looked Jonathan squarely in the eyes.  “It’s just that girl is changing you.  You’re with that girl all the time, you don’t go partying anymore.  She’s changing you, I tell ya.”

“Not all change is bad.”  Jonathan reminded him.

“Yeah, but I don’t know if I like these changes,” Luke said glumly.

“Well then I’m sure you won’t like this change.”  Jonathan opened one of his dresser drawers and pulled out a little black ring box.

Luke sat up and looked at Jonathan shocked.  “That’s just a Valentines gift right?  Please tell me it’s not what I’m thinking.”

“It is.  But before you go ballistic I’ve got something to tell you that you won’t believe.”  Jonathan filled Luke in on the whole dating charade.

“So let me get this right, you two have only been dating, really, for two months and you are going to propose to her?  What did you get her pregnant or something?”

“No,” Jonathan answered shocked.  “We’ve never done anything more then kiss.  What made you think of that?”

“You’re getting yourself in deep, that’s all.  I mean you’ve only been dating two months!”

“I don’t need to spend nine moths of dating her to know she’s the one; I’ve had 19 years.”

“What ever, man.  It’s your funeral.”  Luke shook his head and left out the door.

*****                                             

Kait walked along the now familiar path to McMan Hall.  She walked slowly; Jonathan wasn’t expecting her for another 15 minutes, so she was taking her time enjoying the crisp quiet February night.  The fresh snow crunched under her heels.  Jonathan had called earlier and told her to dress-up, he had a surprise for her; she was beginning to really enjoy the extra attention that he was giving her.

Vaguely her senses registered that the light up ahead was out, casting long black shadows over the path and into the surrounding trees.  But, she paid that no heed, a soft wistful smile played on her lips as she recounted the hesitant but delightful kiss that Jonathan had given her the night before.  She was so immersed in her blissful thoughts that she failed to hear the crunching of footsteps behind her until it was too late.  A gloved hand clasped roughly over her mouth and she was jerked backwards into the darkness.

Kaitlin struggled but a strong arm held her imprisoned like a steel vice across her chest keeping her arms pinned to her sides.  She opened her mouth but nothing more than a squeak emerged.

“Careful little kitty, I’d hate to see this cat lose her tongue.”  Fear turned her blood to ice and all her movements froze.  Why her?  Why now?  A sob escaped her lips.

She felt herself thrown to the ground and she struggled to pull herself up but a heavy weight kept her pinned down.  “Please…” a one word plea was all she could manage, but to no avail.  Her assailant hit her hard across the face.  The blows did not end with that, as she fell into blackness the last thing that registered was the sound of tearing fabric and cold air rushing over her skin.

*****

Jonathan looked at the clock again; Kait was over 15 minutes late.  She was never late, and when she was she would call and let him know.  Grabbing his coat Jonathan figured he might as well meat her as she came; Kait always took the same path.  No matter how many times he asked her to stick to the well-used paths, she insisted on taking the trail.

A last of fudged wing hit him as he exited the dorm and headed for the trail.  On a whim he pulled out his cell phone and dialed first Kait’s dorm room.

“’Ellow?”  The thick English accent of Kait’s roommate grated him.

“Hey Gretta. Had Kaitlin left yet?”

“Yes, over 40 minutes ago.  She’s not there yet luv?”  Gretta’s continually calm and cool voice betrayed her with a hint of worry.

“No, not yet.  I’ll call her cell and see if I can get a hold of her.  Thanks anyway.”

“No, problem luv tolk to ya later.”

Jonathan hung up the dialed Kait’s cell phone.  Vaguely he head a phone ring, he pulled his phone away from his ear and listened.  There it was again, coming from the bushes to his left, under the light that was out.  A ball of lead settled in his stomach, along with a suffocating feeling of dread.

“Kait?”  Nothing.  He called louder.  “Kaitlin?”  He thought he heard a moan from the bushes, without paying it another thought he plunged through the branches.  Praying that he was wrong but dreading that he wasn’t, he looked around.

His world came to a shattering halt, there before him lay Kait, his Kait, bruised, bloodies, and beaten.  For a moment all the fears were realized and he was frozen in place.  He stood here absolutely frozen; until he heard her moan again so faint that it almost was inaudible.  Falling to his knees beside her he didn’t know what to do.  When he reached for her, her body violently flinched away.

“No, please, no.”  Her pitiful whimper broke his heart even further.

“Kait?”  No response.  “Kaitlin, it’s okay, it’s me.  It’s Jonathan.”  His hand hovered over the skin of her arm, too afraid to touch her.

Finally her eyes opened.  They blinked, unseeing at him, after a moment her eyes cleared, filling with recognition.  “Jonathan?”  She whispered his name, her voice laced with fear and hope.  The fear chilled his blood and the hope warmed his heart.

“Yes, it’s me.  Can you stand?”

“I…I don’t’ know.”  Kaitlin answered her voice wavering.

“Okay, never mind.”  Helping her sit up he wrapped his coat around her body.  “Kait, I’m going to pick you up okay?  Put your arm around my neck.”  Kaitlin obeyed.  “That’s right.  Now just hold onto me.”  EH picked her up and carried her along the path to his dorm.  Once safely inside his room he set her down on his bed and knelt in front of her.

Kaitlin kept her head down and refused to meet his searching eyes.  She didn’t want him looking at her, he felt hideous and dirty, she could still feel that animal’s weight on her body making it hard to breath.

“Kaitlin, look at me, please.”  Jonathan pleaded.  Finally she gave in and looked at him.  She was shocked to see tear glistening in his eyes.  Hesitantly and ever so slowly his hand reached out to her face, it only hovered over her skin like earlier.  She watched as the anguish built in his crystal blue eyes.  “Oh, Kit.”  The anguish and sorrow doubled in his voice.  He hadn’t called her Kit in years; it had always been Kait or Kaitlin.  His voice broke through her scattered thoughts.  “You need to go to a doctor.  There’s a clinic a couple blocks away, can you make it that far?”

“No, no doctors.”  Kaitlin begged fear was rising in her eyes.

“Kait, listen to me, you have to see a doctor, please, Kait.”

“No, I don’t want anyone to know, no one can know, you can’t tell anyone.”  Kaitlin begged.

“No one will know, you can use a false name. But you need to see a doctor.  Pleat Kait.”  She looked down at him, her eyes haunted.  He read her fears as if they were written.  “I won’t let anything happen to you.  No one’s going to hurt you.”  Jonathan stood and held his hand down to her to help her up.

Kaitlin looked up and him, her large green-brown eyes staring up at him unlinking.  “Promise?”  The earnestness in her voice told of her fear better than any words ever could.

“You have my word.”  She seemed to think about his words for a minute, then she made her decision.  Taking a deep breath she placed her hand in his and allowed him to help her up.  Jonathan looked around real quick then grabbed a button down shit and wrapped it around her.   “Here.”  Kaitlin slid her arms into the sleeves and pulled it around herself gratefully.