Chapter 87: Chapter 87

CHAPTER 87

CHRISTIAN

“You are headed to the shelter this morning? Is that what you are telling me son?” Mrs Smith, Christian’s mother asked, and he nodded once, grabbing his coat on the couch and putting it on.

“But you are supposed to get some things done, to facilitate our move to Seattle today. If I recall, you have to go to the ports office to take care of our luggage this morning.”

“Yes!” Christian said, and his mother said again, “Why aren’t you going there then? You can go see Sara anytime you get back. You can…”

“Enough mother, enough.” He screamed, startling his younger brother who was in the living room watching some movies.

“Is anything the matter brother?” Kevin’s soft voice chimed in, his blue eyes worried and Christian mumbled some sorry to his mother before waving of his brother’s concerns.

Raking his hands through his hair, Christian cleared his throat as he tried to compose himself. He didn’t know how to explain how he was feeling, and the way he had been worried sick all night, didn’t help matters at all.

He had barely slept, trying Ariel’s line and then Sara’s but it was switched off. He would have left that night to the shelter, but he would be denied access and he couldn’t risk trekking the distance, just to meet disappointment of any kind.

He didn’t know why, but he was having this bad premonition in him, and it had started when Sara had abruptly ended their last call. Worse still he hadn’t heard from since and his anxiety was only increasing.

“Son…” His mother called out calmly, placing her hands on his shoulders trying to calm him, and her him to talk to her.

A sigh escaping his lips he said gently, “I’m just worried about Sara that’s all mother. I would go to the ports center later, and if I don’t make it today then I could always go tomorrow or can’t I?”

“Yes you can son.”

“Good, good.” Christian mused, glancing down at his cell phone and checking the tone.

“But son, you should calm down. I don’t know why you are like this, and don’t you think you are just overreacting. Yes, she didn’t pick her calls or it’s switched off, but there could be reasons why…”

“Reasons why what mother? Reasons why she cut me of rudely last night? What reasons then, okay let’s say her battery is dead right? Cause that’s the only reasonable thing I know you would say.”

“Yes, you got that right.”

“Then I want to know the reasons mother. I’ll be off now and…” Christian started to say, grabbing his baseball cap, but he was cut off by the doorbell ringing and he glanced straight at the door, already wondering who it could be.

“Kevin, will you check the door?” His mother ordered, but Christian beat him to the chase. His brows dimming, that bad feeling from earlier returning and sending a chill down his spine, he muttered, “I’ll get it, not to worry.”

Striding briskly to the front door, Christian turned the knob open, and swung the door open to meet a post man standing in front of him.

“Mother, are you expecting a delivery, or is Bianca expecting one?” He yelled, as he stretched his hands out to shake the strange man standing in front of him.

“Not really, not that I know off.” His mother replied with a yell, and now staring intently at the man, Christian was curious to know what he had to deliver.

“Am I unto Mister Christian Smith?” The delivery man asked and Christian nodded saying sharply, “Yes, that’s me.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I had a hard time locating this place and…”

“You have something for me?” Christian asked cutting to the chase, glancing at his cell phone again watching time go by. He didn’t want to waste any minute before going to the shelter, and this man in front of him seemed to be taking much time.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Yes I have a delivery for you. Here…” The man handed Christian a large brown envelope, and he was about opening it to see what was inside when the man cut him by saying, “Please you have to sign here.”

Grabbing the pen, Christian quickly scribbled his signature on the white sheet of paper, and mumbling goodbye the post man began to leave.

If Christian heard the goodbye he said nothing, instead he had his focus on unveiling this secret package and what was in the large brown envelope.

He opened it to reveal a wrapped paper, or papers rather and if he could guess correctly they looked like pictures, or had the shape actually. There was a note by the side, folded neatly and he opened it reading something rather mysterious.

‘You’ve been let down by someone you trust. Now you’ll see so many things your eyes were hidden from. She lied to you, she’s a whore.’

“Wait what?” Christian mumbled his hands shaking slightly.

Using his sharp teeth, Christian quickly tore out the white wrappings and then he saw it…

He had guessed correctly earlier, they were pictures. Black and white nude pictures, and Christian blinked his eyes once and twice to make sure he was seeing correctly.

“No, no…” He muttered his hands shaking, as he stared at the pictures, which were that of Sara and another person he couldn’t identify. A man however, and they were wrapped together on the bed in what looked like a hotel room and having sex.

Sara had this dark gaze on, her mouth wild open, eyes closed obviously in ecstasy, as this man whomever he was sucked on her nipples and held her neck slightly.

Even though the sheets were bunched so he couldn’t really see their nakedness, what he was staring at was unbelievable.

Sara on all fours, with her partner grabbing her hair wide. Sara with her legs wide open on the man’s shoulders, her hands on her mouth with her eye closed still as the person continued to fuck her.

One thing Christian noticed in all these photos was that Sara had her eyes closed in every single one of them, her mouth open and she was clearly enjoying what this person was doing to her.

“No!” Christian screamed, the pictures dropping from his hands to the floor, and he looked straight up wanting to ask the delivery man who had sent him this, but it was to late.

The delivery man was gone, and he was left with this strange delivery.

“What’s the matter son?” Christian could hear his mother say, watching her bend down and pick the pictures muttering her disbelief.

He fell to the front porch in a daze, realization striking him with the fact that Sara had been cheating on him these past few days. No wonder she had been adamant these past few days to his requests, choosing to disobey him at every turn and now this…

Her insistence and disinterest anytime he brought up the idea of leaving with her to Seattle, and how she would adamantly refuse telling him times over and over that she would think about it. She never gave him any answer, and that was because she already had a fling. She was CHEATING on him!

He couldn’t see the signs earlier, but now it was clear as day. All his efforts had been in vain, and he had been foolishly madly in love with someone who didn’t feel the same way.

He tried so hard not to believe those photos, because he knew his innocent Sara, the shy teenage girl he had fallen for deeply couldn’t even do that. She was just 17, she was a well trained child, she was everyone’s favorite, she rarely talked, she couldn’t do this… She didn’t do this… But the truth was staring straight at him.

If Christian had felt pain before, then what he was feeling now was nothing compared to any he had encountered before.

His heart was shattered, he had been fucking betrayed! “No!” His scream tore out again, as his mother fell besides him, and he began to cry his heart out.

This was a nightmare! His day had been ruined.

…….

SARA

Sara’s head was pounding heavily, and she was feeling groggy.

Ever since she woke up this morning, seeing the matrons, Ariel, and Miranda by her beside, alongside some other children from the shelter, she had known that something was wrong.

She had no recollection of the day before, only remembering going to the carnival festival, talking to Ariel, Tessa and then everything after then was blank.

Her head still ached, and even though she had taken some drugs to help with the pain, it still kept on pounding in a bit so good way.

Now, it was afternoon already and the only person by her bedside was Ariel, who was currently caressing her hair gently, singing some soothing sounds.

She had just woken up from sleep too, because the first time she had woken up that morning, a nurse at the shelter had attended to her, and given her some pills to take, and before she could even say a thing, or ask Ariel what the heck was going on, and why everyone was by her side, she had dozed off.

This was the perfect time to talk, and clearing her sore throat, Sara started to say, “What is happening Ariel?”

“Oh my…” Ariel squeaked, coming to her knees in front of the bed, “You are awake. How are you feeling? Hope all is well?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I should be asking how you are feeling too. You must have enjoyed the festival yesterday right?” Sara asked slowly, and this time Ariel said nothing, the expression on her face changing.

Noticing it, Sara raised her brows and asked, “What is it Ariel? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“You really don’t remember anything at all Sara?”

Ariel asked, asking her some other questions that was rather strange, and all she hand in return were negative answers, as she denied all of them.

“What do you remember from yesterday? Tell me, so I’ll know where to start from.” Ariel said, a tear falling down her face and this time Sara just looked at her amused as she replied, “I remember getting there, having the time of my life, the other of us stopping to rest and then a boy coming to talk to you. Then later a girl that looked a lot like Tessa came, and decided to keep me company, that’s all I can recall.” She finished, a dull ache in her skull as she decided to prod further.

“After seeing Tessa? You have no recollection of what happened right?” Ariel asked, still crying and Sara just nodded.

She couldn’t even say a thing or laugh anymore, because things were not looking funny.

Whatever had happened, was the reason why her bed side had been filled up this early morning, or had she been hallucinating.

Worse still, was this all a dream and…

“Whatever those people did to you…” Ariel said, grabbing Sara’s hands and breaking into a sob as she buried her face in them.

“Ariel… What’s happening? What people? You are starting to scare me. Where is Miranda also? What are you talking about.”

Wiping off the tears from her eyes, Ariel cleared her throat and began, “I don’t know how to say this but… in summary, you were beaten and almost raped yesterday at the carnival sites.”

“Wait what?” The words burst out of Sara’s lips before she could even think of anything to say, Ariel nodded and added, “You weren’t raped though. The doctor last night confirmed it before we brought you back here. I have no idea what happened, and since you have no idea too, then we are left with no clue whatsoever.”

“Wait I don’t understand…” Sara mumbled, raising herself up from the bed, a hand on her forehead trying to soothe her nerves as she asked again, “How do you know I was raped and…”

She didn’t need to finish her words, because Ariel cut in exposing everything that happened.

When she was done explaining, stopping at the side where she and Miranda had found her half naked outside an empty building, Sara could only open her mouth in shock unable to believe what she had just heard.

“You must be shitting me right? I still don’t believe you and…”

“See…” Ariel cut in again, and dragging a bag that was close by, she began to bring out the clothes she had worn to the carnival festival and Sara could see that it was torn and battered.

“No way…” Sara said stunned, shaking her head trying to see if she could recall anything but nothing was coming to her at all.

“Miranda was not at the carnival if I recall.” Sara said chuckling, but Ariel called her bluff saying Miranda had arrived some time late raising the alarm of Sara’s disappearance.

“So she knows something?” Sara asked and Ariel nodded still crying, “She knows something, and she kept on regretting some stuffs but she still hasn’t told me anything. Dinah, Tessa and some other people were the ones that did this though. We saw them leaving the scene where we found you.”

“No way!” Sara said stunned, scrambling around as she recalled something, “Where’s my phone?”

“I think they left with your phone because we didn’t see it with you.”

“Seriously? How do I track Christian now? I know he must be worried about me and…” “I’ve been calling him since morning but he is not picking. Probably he’s not at home. I’ve talked to Daniel, and he hasn’t talked to him either. He said we should keep it quiet for now, as we both know Christian would make a fuss about the whole situation and you injured. When you get better then you can go see him.”

“What? Christian can’t go a day without talking to me. He would come to the shelter that’s certain. I should just wait for him.” Sara said, falling back to the bed with a sigh.

“Yes you should. I might go to his place later, but I know you would want to talk to him yourself right?” Ariel asked and Sara just shook her head, a tear falling down her face as she recalled something, “Christian warned me. He warned me not to go to this carnival and now just see…”

“I also had a bad feeling Sara, but don’t blame yourself okay. It’s already past and hopefully the police would be able to get something from the carnival attendants.”

“God! I don’t even know what to say now Ariel, I don’t know what to do.” Sara said crying profusely for no reason.

Apart from the headache she was feeling, she was having some small stomach aches and she felt like throwing up but at every turn she resisted the urge. Controlling herself and not wanting to raise more alarm to how sick she was feeling she decided to sleep again.

“Yes Sara, just sleep a bit, when you wake up you would feel a lot better. Are you hungry love?” Ariel asked and she nodded negatively.

“I don’t know, but I’m feeling bad about…”

“Shhhh…” Ariel cut in instantly, stroking her hair softly, “Just rest okay. Once you wake up everything would be fine.”

Closing her eyes, Sara forced herself to sleep hoping that when she woke up everything would be alright just like Ariel had said.

Little did she know… The worst was yet to come.