Rubbed Raw - Omitted Scene 4 – Music Blog

Extended White flowers chapter.

White flowers surrounded me while I sat on stage. More were thrown at me every few seconds. I was confused and frightened. It looked to be the same place we played that night, but the rest of the band wasn’t there.

Then voices started taunting me. “It’s your fault he’s on the streets again.” I glanced around trying to find the source of the voice, but angry girls surrounded me. “He raped me too.” “You said you’d help me.” I didn’t know what to do, so I screamed.

Then suddenly I was in Giovanni’s bed. I sat up and searched the room. It had only been a dream. I didn’t remember falling asleep. Then again, I didn’t remember taking my sleeping pill either.

Giovanni opened the door and rushed to me. “It’s okay.” He wrapped me in his arms. “I’m right here.”

I tried to pull away, feeling silly about being afraid of a bunch of angry girls. Then I recalled what they were shouting at me. “It wasn’t that kinda dream,” I whispered. “Those girls… he hurt more of them I bet.”

Warm breath tickled my ear. “I know. I’m sorry tonight brought it back.” His voice was more unsteady that I expected.

“Something wrong?”

He pulled back and lifted my face to look into my eyes. “Chris and Chad’re here. We got something to talk to you about.” He hesitated. “It’s about what the manager told us.”

“The blog?” That was the first thing that came to mind.

He nodded, “You up for it? Or will it be too much?” His arms dropped then his hands covered mine. “You really need to hear what Chad found.”

“I’ll be fine.” I took a deep breath and braced myself for the worst. “When did I fall asleep?”

With a smile, Giovanni caressed my cheek. You passed out just after I put the movie on. I didn’t wanna wake you to give you your pills.”

            When we stood up, I realized I had one of his T-shirts on. It came down just enough to cover my panties. “I should put shorts on.” I looked at my bare thighs, not wanting to invite trouble.

            Giovanni grabbed something off his dresser. “Just wear these.”

            I took the boxers and put them on with a smile. The day I wore Chad’s and danced for him, Giovanni and Rosario flashed before my eyes. “This brings back memories.”

            He blushed. “Yeah, you looked hot that day.” He cleared his throat. “Not the time for reminiscing though. We have to deal with this.”

He led me into the living room. Chad and Chris sat on the couch next to each other. Giovanni sat in the empty space and pulled me onto his lap. No one said anything for a while. It seemed like they didn’t know where to start.

Chad next to us, spoke up first, “Did he tell you we need to talk about something you don’t wanna hear?”

I just nodded, looked down and held Giovanni’s hand tighter. He put his arm around my waist. “Chris and Chad stayed back last night to talk to some of the people at the bar.” I had wondered what took them so long.

Then Chris chimed in with, “Most people knew it was you who was attacked. I’m sorry.”

Chad squeezed both my legs. “I looked up the blog after we unloaded. It got thousands of hits in the last two days.” He bit his lip. “There were some details about what happened on it that only the police would know. His picture was posted too.” He stopped and looked at his hands.

“There’s more isn’t there?” I grabbed Giovanni’s hand to stop it from shaking. Chad’s nod made me lay my head down on Giovanni’s shoulder, unsure if I wanted to hear more. “Just tell me.”

He continued, “There’s a picture of you in the blue panty set next to his. The posting says the author talked to a neighbor who heard your screams. He said you were a slut. It has to be that weasel who was spreading it around the club last week.”

Giovanni held me close. “Our site’s got tons of messages for you.”

“And there’s emails too,” Chad added. “Some wanna help; some wanna make sure you’re alright.” He brushed a tear from my cheek. “Everyone’s on your side, but most people know about it.”

I hadn’t allowed it to sink in until the room was silent. With my eyes closed, I imagined being asked about the incident daily. Could I handle that? What if someone wanted details? Then memories assaulted me. Visions of the evil bastard asking me out. Seeing him standing in the crowd, his eyes glued to me. Then he was in my doorway.

I shivered, fighting the images. They knew he stripped me naked. They all knew he was going to rape me. My breathing came quicker. I clenched my fists, not wanting to give in. However, I was overwhelmed. When I looked up, the room started to spin.

“Crystal, Crystal, talk to me.” Giovanni called to me, as my limbs got weak. Then all of a sudden, I heard his voice again. It was softer though. “Chad please don’t kiss her. I’m upset too.” It took me a minute to realize my eyes were closed.

I lifted my lids and found myself in bed again. Was it all a bad dream? Maybe there wasn’t really a blog blabbing all my business. Then I felt liquid drip down my neck. I turned and Chad held me, crying. Pressure on my other side made me look that way. Giovanni held me as well. It must have been something pretty bad for him to allow Chad to… wait we were all in Giovanni’s bed?

“You OK, Crystal?” It was Chris, but I didn’t see him. Then a hand touched my calf and I jumped. He was kneeling at the foot of the bed.

Both Chad and Giovanni lifted their heads. “It’s okay,” they whispered together.

Confused, was not even close to what I was feeling. “What happened?”

“You fainted.” Giovanni caressed my cheek. “I’m right here. We’re all here for you.”

Chad let me go and sat up. His face stained with tears. He took my hand in his and sniffled. “I’m so sorry, my baby girl. This is all, my fault.” His lip quivered, while he avoided my eyes. “If I hadn’t taken those pictures, he would have never seen your beautiful body. If I walked you upstairs, he wouldn’t have broken in. He wouldn’t have violated you. You wouldn’t be so terrified all the time.”

“I’m fine, Chad. Please.” I had finally let the what ifs go. He was testing my anxiety.

He put his head down on my chest. Through sobs, he continued. “It hurts so much when I see fear in your eyes. I felt like he ripped my heart out. I saw him...” He grabbed me tightly. “I’m so sorry, my baby. I wish I could erase that night from your mind. I love you so much, Crystal.”

I felt his pain in my heart. To try to help, I squeezed his hand. “It’s not your fault. He would’ve have found a way. You saved me from him.”

He slowly lifted his head and kissed my cheek. “You always know what’ll make me feel better.” He patted my hand then kissed it. “Me and Chris’re gonna go. You guys need to be alone. Love you, Crystal.” He forced himself to pull away.

When they were gone, Giovanni turned me to him. I saw tears in his eyes. He was fighting to hold them back. “Crystal, I wish I could take it away too. We’re gonna get through this together. I’ll do whatever you need to help you deal with what’s ahead. And I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you again.”