Survivor

Chapter 3

Julie's POV:

    His disgusting self got closer to me and placed a few slimy, foul-smelling kisses along my neck.  He started to move along my neck till he got close to my mouth.  I felt like I was going to vomit all over the place just from the idea of his lips touching mine.  I turned my head quickly to try to keep him away but that didn't stop him.  He still placed kisses on the corner of my mouth.

    I turned my head quickly, opened and bit down hard on his lip.  He pulled back quickly and yelled.  I took this opportunity to knee him as hard as I could in the crotch again, causing him to release my wrists and move to the side.  I took my fist the moment it was released, and I hit him as hard as I could in the side of his face.  He fell to the side and I quickly pulled myself up off of the ground and started to run towards the street.

    I turned and looked behind me to see if he was following me and he was!  I turned the corner onto the sidewalk along the street but tripped on something, possibly my own feet, and fell to the ground.  I hit so hard that bracing myself with my hands caused a shooting pain to go through my arms and my hands instantly fell asleep.  My knees were burning from scraping the sidewalk and I wouldn't be surprised if they were skinned open and bleeding.

    "You b***h!"  I heard him from behind me.

    I started to get up but before I could take off in a sprint, he grabbed my hair and pulled me so hard that he was able to throw me up against the side of the building, face first.  I cried out in pain when I hit the stone wall and he quickly pulled my arms back behind me and pushed me harder into the building.

    "You're quite the fighter."  He said into my ear and then ran his tongue along the side of my cheek, causing me to feel the bile start to creep up into my throat.

    "I'm going to make sure I f**k you so hard you are going to wish I would just kill you.  Then, I will dump your beaten body in the river to finish you off."  He said, causing me to cry more in fear.

    I couldn't believe all of this was happening right out on the sidewalk but then again, it's not like anyone appeared to be awake or driving by.  It was completely deserted.  I was really starting to regret my decision of leaving my father.  Maybe heading out on my own to go to my grandparent's wasn't a good idea even though I don't believe staying with my father was the right choice either.  It appears that I was destined to die one way or another.

    I felt his hand slide up under my shirt and grab ahold of my breast and he squeezed it tightly.  So tight that it caused pain and I tried to get out of his hold.

    "Mmmm, those feel so soft.  I can't wait to bite them."  He said as he held onto me even tighter.

    Just at that moment, the sounds of him gasping for air were heard behind my ear.  His grip on my arms released and he was pulled away from me.  I was so scared of what was happening that I didn't have the courage to look behind me so I stayed facing the wall and covered my face with my hands.  I could feel my body tremble as I heard him struggling and his gasping slowly start to disappear until he was no longer heard.  The only sound that was heard was the sound of his body falling to the ground, dead.

    My heart started to beat so hard in my chest that it felt like it was going to break through and hit the stone wall in front of me when I felt the presence of the person who just killed that man.  If I couldn't defeat some homeless man, how am I going to be able to defeat the one who just killed him!  I gasped and jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

    "Shhh, I'm not going to hurt you."  I heard a soft masculine voice and I slowly took my hands away from my face.

    I turned my body just a little and carefully looked over at the man that was standing behind me.  He was fairly tall compared to my five foot six height.  He appeared to be fairly muscular but he wasn't that large of a man.  In the pitiful lighting of the streets, it looked like he had blondish hair and a trimmed goatee.  His facial features were gentle and just the look of him made me feel safer.

    "Are you okay?"  He asked me and I slowly nodded.

    "Here, let me take you to get cleaned up."  He said as he held out his hand.

    I slowly turned the rest of the way around, still feeling unsure if he was someone to trust or not.

    "My grandparents are coming to pick me up,"  I told him and he looked around.

    "Do you want them to see you bleeding with a busted lip and black eye?"  He asked me.

    I slowly took my hand and touched my lip, wincing in pain, and pulled my hand away.  I could feel the sticky wetness of my blood on my fingers as I rubbed them together.

    "No, maybe not.  Do you have a phone?"  I asked him and he gave me a soft smile.

    "I do."  He said.

    "If I go with you to clean up, can I call them to let them know of my new location so they can pick me up?"  I asked and he nodded.

    "Of course.  The sooner you are off of these streets the better."  He said and took a step back from me.

    I started to walk towards the alleyway when he grabbed my arm to stop me.  I quickly pulled it away from him in fear as the nerves started to wreak havoc in my body.  That was enough to tell me that I was still very shaken up and even if he did appear to be a nice man trying to do the right thing, I still didn't trust him and that I would need to keep my eyes and ears open while I am in his presence.

    "Sorry,"  He apologized right away and pulled his hand back.

    "Where are you going?  My car is this way."  He said as he held his hand out towards the street.

    There was a dark sports car convertible sitting there with the top up and the engine running.  It looked very expensive and my old self wanted to get comfortable with him in hopes that he would possibly be interested in me more than just being my hero.  Kayla always said I was shallow but I didn't think that was me at all.  Of course, I want my man to look good but I also feel that a man should take care of his woman and provide for her.  So naturally, I would be more attracted to men who appeared to have money.

    You would think, after seeing how all of this started with my mother getting killed by the mafia and my sister practically getting sold to the mafia that being attracted to a man who had wealth may not always be the smartest decision.  Hell, this man in front of me just killed someone and it didn't seem to faze him a bit.  Although, the more that I think about it, even a rich mafia leader probably wouldn't be all that bad.  They would know how to protect me and have more than enough money to support and spoil me.  Now that I think about it, Kayla was kind of dumb to run away when she could have been wed to someone wealthy and never have to worry about money again in her life like our parents.

    That, though, being shallow as some may think, was enough for me to want to see where this possible relationship may go.  I will still need to be careful because he could still turn out to be a creep or already be married even though I didn't see a ring on his finger. That doesn't always mean anything.  A lot of people take their rings off just so they can appear to be single for a one-night stand.

    "My bag is this way,"  I told him and he just nodded.

    I walked quickly around the corner and ran to where my bag was laying.  I picked it up and started to go through it to make sure my money was still in there.

    "Everything there?"  I heard him say nearby, causing me to jump as I turned around to face him.

    "Ah, yeah, looks like it,"  I told him with a smile.

    "Excellent.  Let's get out of here, this isn't exactly the best part of town."  He told me and I was more than ready to get out of here and off of this street.

---

    "The bathroom is this way.  You can use it to clean up."  He said as we walked through the hotel room that he had, suggesting that this wasn't his place of residence.

    "Thank you,"  I told him as I walked into the room and locked the door behind me.

    I was still unsure about him so I didn't want to take any chances by leaving the door unlocked.  Anything could happen to me while I was in a vulnerable state like being naked in the shower. 

    I walked over to the mirror and took a look at the damage that man did to me.  My eyes widened at the way I looked.  My hair was covered in dirt and mud from getting thrown on the ground and pushed up to the dirty wall.  I had dirt and grime smeared on my face and on my neck, reminding me of that nasty man's hands and slimy tongue that ran along my skin.  My lip was swollen and there was dried blood that had been smeared on my chin.  My cheek had a small cut on it and my undereye was starting to bruise.

    I looked down at my arms and there were handprint bruises where he had held me so tight and the backs of my hands were scraped up.  I really looked like a mess and it made me unsure if I wanted to go to my grandparent's house looking like this.  I know I will still need to call them and let them know that I'm okay because I'm sure they are worried sick about me now after all of that, but first I need to clean myself off.  I can't handle the sick feeling I have knowing that I was covered in that man's grime.

    I turned the shower on and undressed out of my dirty clothes.  I stepped into the shower and hissed in pain when the water hit some of my sore spots and splattered onto the cuts on my face.  Taking a shower is not going to be very pleasant even if the hot water felt so good on the rest of my body.  I carefully washed my hair and used my hands softly on my face to wash the mud and blood off.

    Once I was done, I got out and wrapped myself in a towel, and took a look at myself again.  I looked so much better with all the dirt washed off.  The marks on my face didn't seem quite as bad now that I was cleaned up and with my hair not looking like it was dragged through the mud.

    I opened my bag and pulled out my other pair of jeans and three-quarter-length sleeved shirt and got dressed.  Once I had my hair brushed, teeth brushed, and dressed, I grabbed my bag and stepped out of the bathroom.  As soon as I walked out, I could smell the fragrance of coffee.  I've never had it before but always liked the smell.  My parents didn't drink it.  My mom said they just didn't have the extra money for it even though she used to have a cup of it in the mornings when she first met my father.  I guess when you gamble away all of your money and then some, you don't have any left for the little things you used to enjoy.

    I walked through the expensive living area of the hotel suite and over to the open bar kitchen and sat on a barstool.  He turned around from the counter with two cups in his hands and set them down on the counter.

    "You look much better.  The amount of dirt that was on you, covered up your beauty."  He said with a smile and I felt myself blush.

    "Thank you,"  I told him and he just smiled.

    "I didn't know if you liked coffee so I just made some."  He said and pushed the cup across the counter towards me.

    "I've never actually had it,"  I told him as I reached for it and placed it carefully to my lips.

    I took a small sip of the hot liquid and kind of gave a little bit of a look as it went down.  I wasn't sure what I thought of the flavor.  It was different, not like anything I've ever had.  I took another sip and that time it seemed to taste a little better.

    "Do you like it?"  He asked and I slowly nodded while the cup was still held up to my lips.

    "I think so.  Thank you."  I told him before taking another sip.

    "What's your name?"  He asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

    "Julianne, but you can call me Julie,"  I told him and placed the mug on the countertop.

    "I think I like Julianne better."  He told me with a smile.

    "My name's Dylan Wright."  He told me and I couldn't help but smile as I looked into his soft blue eyes.

    The light was hitting him just right to where I could see the color. They appeared to be very blue and his hair was more like a sandy blonde color.  He wasn't the most handsome but he was rather attractive.  I think his personality more than makes up for it.

    "So you must not live around here?"  I asked him as I looked around the modern hotel room.

    "No, actually.  I'm from New York City.  I'm just here on business."  He said.

    "What kind of business keeps you out so late?"  I asked him and he just chuckled.

    "Actually, I was just heading to the airport when I saw that man pin you to the wall.  While you were in the shower I called and changed my flight.  I will be leaving in a few hours."  He told me.

    "Back to New York?"  I asked and he nodded.

    I felt a little bummed that he didn't live around here because I don't believe that long-distance relationships really have a chance. 

    "What kind of job do you do?"  I asked him as my curiosity started to get the best of me.

    "I specialize in collecting and selling valuables.  I came here because someone had some old relics but it turns out that they were fake so I will be heading back.  I have an auction coming up that I need to prepare for so I can't stay for very long."  He told me and I nodded.

    I never would have thought there would be so much money involved with a job like that but he must be really good at it if he can afford a hotel and car as he does.

    "Why don't you finish that coffee and then you can rest in the bedroom for a few hours before my flight.  By then it will be daylight out and safer for you to continue on with your travels."  He said and I nodded.

    'I think that would be best."  I told him in agreement.

    "I'm just going to gather a few things but you are welcome to go into the bedroom whenever you are ready."  He told me and walked out of the kitchen and passed me to the living space behind.

    I glanced over at him and saw him going through one of his bags.  I just smiled as I watched him.  He would be a good catch, too bad I won't ever see him again after today.

    I turned back around and started to sip on my coffee as I thought about my grandparents.  I set my cup down as I remembered that I was going to give them a call and I had completely forgotten!

    "Ah, Dylan.  Can I use your....."  I started to say and went to turn around when I felt a sharp pain shooting through my neck.

    I looked over and saw Dylan standing behind me as he pressed on a needle that was pushed into my neck.  He had a hardened look on his face.

    "I'm sorry."  He said as he pulled the needle out of my neck and I started to feel really dizzy and lightheaded.

    I felt my eyes close and before I was completely out, I felt my body fall from the stool and into his arms.