Carefully Addicted
Chapter 1
The dresser fell on its side, spilling its contents over the floor, all of its drawers open to some degree. The few small glass figurines lay shattered and broken just past it. Lillian scrambled across her bed, her body covered only by the bra and underwear she'd put on this morning. What seemed like forever ago, was only eighteen hours. She dug through her lingerie, both fancy and every-day, before she could find the Beretta 92 pistol she hid there.
At the door, a rather strong man came in, brash, and also stripped down to his boxers. He ran across her room and got to her bed just as the barrel pointed at him, as Lillian knelt on the floor. "Don't move," she said, her voice shaking, but her hands rock-steady.
The man gulped and stood upright, rather slowly. With both hands on the gun, Lillian stood up, not noticing the chilly breeze wafting past the two of them from the AC unit in her window. "Don't you dare move a muscle," she repeated, moving towards the phone in her room. It sat on her bedside table along with a small reading lamp and her book. She reached down to pick it up, not taking her eyes off the man she pointed the handgun at. Lifting the receiver to her ear, she heard a dial tone and silently thanked whatever god gave her this.
"You don't want to do that," the man said, his name still unknown.
With her thumb she pressed a number. "Why wouldn't I?" she asked, pressing another number. Just one more...
"Because you have an unregistered weapon in your hands," he said, his body not showing a sign of fear at all.
Lillian hesitated to press the last and final number but after a mere moment's consideration, she pressed it and brought the receiver to her ear once more. It rang once, twice before someone picked up the other end.
"911, what's your emergency?" the collected female voice said.
"My house has been invaded. I've been sexually assaulted, and I have him at gun point. Please send someone to Apartment 62, third level, 346 Fennier Drive."
"An officer will be with you shortly. How many attackers are there?"
The man had attempted to move, and Lillian dropped the phone. She returned her hand to the weapon, keeping it pointed at his bare chest. "You really didn't want to do that," he paused. "Lillian."
Her eyes widened. "How...how do you...know my name?" she asked, her voice shaking more now than before. She'd been asleep on the couch, dressed in running shorts and a slightly baggy t-shirt only to wake up to see herself in her undergarments with a man in boxers on top of her, threatening a kiss.
The man smiled and took a step forwards. Lillian took a half step back, her arms the only steady part of her body. "Didn't I just tell you?" he asked, as if talking to a small child with memory problems.
Lillian's eyes narrowed. "No," she said, sternly. Her hands shook, now, because her voice didn't. With this new found detail, the man moved to the end of the bed. Still, Lillian did nothing but back up into the wall. He was within his arm's reach, now. Her back pressed against the wall, the cool surface making her realize she'd been sweating.
"Then you have no idea what you've just done," the man said, and within mere seconds, he knocked the gun from her hand. Because she had pressed herself to the wall, all he really needed to do was keep her hands busy. This was easily accomplished with one hand, her crossed wrists, and forcing them against the wall above her head. He smiled. "You're much prettier when you're scared."
Lillian turned her face from his, squeezing her eyes shut. She knew what was about to happen. She couldn't prevent it...What kind of talk is that? she thought. I can get out of this. I can stop him. I can...I have to.
She could feel his hand sliding down her side, as if he wasn't a sadistic rapist. She could also feel his breath on her open neck, just centimeters away. Basic instinct went unheard, but instead, she brought her knee up. Bulls eye. The man cringed, releasing pressure on her wrists, and she pulled them out from under his hand, and pushed him from her. She retrieved the gun and pointed it again at him, not hesitating as she squeezed the trigger. It hit his shin.
Chapter 2
"Are you alright?" an officer asks Lillian. She looks up at the friendly face of a man. He was pleasant enough, and she sighed.
"Yeah," she replied, her eyes finding the floor again. "I'm fine." She paused, recollecting what happened after her gun fired. "I just...didn't expect that to happen to me." She shivered, despite the blanket around her shoulders. She still only had her underwear and bra on, sitting on the bumper of a police vehicle.
The man she shot was resting on a stretcher, and he looked directly at her before the doors of the ambulance they loaded him in closed. She shivered as the eye contact was broken.
The male officer offered her his jacket. She turned him down. Letting the article hang over his arm, he glanced to the ambulance which began to drive away. "I'm Officer Butler," he told her, now looking at Lillian. "Kyle Butler." He smiled, reassuringly.
She returned his smile. "Thanks," she told him. "For helping...for being there." She stood up from the bumper, checking that the blanket left herself covered. "Lillian Tane." She looked back to her apartment building. "Can I...can I not stay here?"
Her fear was predicted. "You're welcome to stay at the precinct for the night," Kyle replied, and he leaned against the trunk of his car. "It's not every day someone ransacks your home." He chuckled lightly. Lilly thought about how many times Kyle had actually seen this to joke about it lightly. She looked him over with one eye as she pretended to look at concrete. He noticed somehow, but didn't say anything.
Lilly finally stopped analyzing him and said, "Isn't there someplace more comfortable?" She shivered slightly and pulled the blanket tighter around her thin frame. A leather coat was draped across her shoulders. It was still somewhat warm too, and comfortable.
"Is there family you could contact?" he asked, offering a cell phone. This wasn't right. Police usually got all the business out of the way. Something was missing...the medics asked her if anything was wrong with her. She said she was just shook up, nothing major and they went to the guy she shot. Police questioned her lightly and said to question her later, when she was feeling better.
Suddenly, she burst into tears. Her hands blotted out most of the street as she leaned on the bumper and cried. Some warm arms pulled her close to a warm body. She welcomed the comfort. It wasn't long before she was led to the door of a car. Lilly sat down willingly, wiping the tears on the blanket she grabbed from the house. Kyle's voice called back, "I'm gonna see if I can grab some clothes." He excluded the part where the police were still thinking of exploring the apartment. She mentioned he knew her from somewhere, and she hadn't met the man until tonight.
Lilly had taken to leaning against the locked door with her eyes closed. Somewhere before the car started, she'd fallen asleep. She had no dreams, no memories to remember. She just slept.
Chapter 3
It'd been several hours since the incident. Lilly bolted up in a light sweat to a blinding vertical line of natural light that managed to filter through the shades. She was slightly wrapped in the blanket with the coat wrinkled at her waist. She looked around after her eyes adjusted to see a general bachelor's living room. It was stylish and covered with shades of blue, all appealing to look at. A slight chill made her remember she was still in her undergarments. She glanced around and on the table was a plain white t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants, elastic waist with pull string. She looked around, listened for a few minutes, then got up and dressed quickly. Once dressed, she felt she could explore a little more.
The kitchen was right next to the living room, almost part of it if it weren't for the breakfast bar-type divider. She could see the dining room too. She saw a hallway across from what she assumed was the door way and moved towards that, hoping for a bathroom. She came to the first door and quietly opened it, suddenly hearing a light breathing sound. She peered in and saw the officer in dull plaid pajama pants and half covered with the blanket, twisted about with it. She smiled, but closed the door, the click sounding unnaturally loud.
The next door Lilly tried was the bathroom. Once she was done using it, she washed off her hands, taking forever, and wondering if it'd be okay to take a shower yet. She turned off the faucet and was drying her hands when the door suddenly opened. This made Lilly panic until she saw the sleepy Officer Butler walking in. He bumped into her before fully realizing she was in there and jumped back almost three feet into the hallway. "Sorry!" he said, closing the door and moving quickly, probably back to his room. She dropped the hand towel on the sink and opened the door in time to see him enter his room, leaving the door open. She walked over to it and leaned on the frame, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Sorry," she said. "I should've said something when you opened the door." He chuckled.
"No, no, I should've knocked. The door was closed," Kyle stretched a little in front of his window and then turned towards her. "Enjoy your sleep?" he asked. "You didn't really leave me any choice when you fell asleep in my cruiser." He moved past her, both turning to face each other in the doorway.
Lilly shrugged. "I'm a heavy sleeper, I guess." She didn't really say it with a light air. She woke up out of a dead sleep to a man straddling her in boxers. It wasn't a good memory. She sighed and moved back into the living room, not hearing what Kyle said.
He shook his head and went to relieve himself before heading to the kitchen. "And what would you like for breakfast?" he asked, sounding much more like some husband she never had.
Lilly stayed standing by the couch, but turned towards him. "Um," she began, but then looked confused.
Having some idea of what she wanted, Kyle immediately smiled reassuringly. "You're welcome to anything in here," he said, busying himself in the kitchen. He started by turning on the stove and the sizzle of bacon filled the air.
"Thank you," Lilly replied, heading towards the bathroom once again. She closed the door, pressing the lock button this time, and got undressed quickly, hopping in an almost-too-hot shower. She stood there, letting the water melt over her with her arms holding the opposite shoulder. She cried a little, not full on sobs, but tears streaming down with the water. She turned down the heat and finally washed off the night before.
Once finished, she got out and grabbed one of the folded towels that sat on a wicker shelf she hadn't noticed before. It was very convenient. She dried off most of what she could before slipping on her undergarments and his pajamas, trying to dry her hair more since the shirt was white. She finally came out of the bathroom to a bombardment of breakfast smells. Her mouth watered and her stomach grumbled. When was the last time she'd eaten something that smelled so good?
"Hungry?" Kyle asked, having already served himself a plate. "Better hurry. Food'll get cold." He chuckled and moved over to the couch from the kitchen, setting his glass on a coaster on the table, surprisingly, and turning on the TV to something general. Lilly's interest was in food. She moved to the kitchen and saw a plate already guess-made by him. She smiled at herself. Somehow, his guessing made her want to eat everything there. She put the eggs back but kept the scrambled ones, and replaced it with more toast. She found the glass set out by her plate and filled it with milk instead of orange juice before joining him on the couch, crossing one leg under the other, letting that one hang.
The two of them sat comfortably on the couch watching TV and enjoying a good breakfast. When Kyle was done, he set his plate on the table by his half-drunk glass, and changed the channel to something featuring lions. "How's breakfast?" he asked, glancing over at her. Lilly quickly wiped her wrist against her face before swallowing and answering.
"I don't remember the last time I had breakfast like this," she said, taking a smaller bite of hash browns than she did before, trying not to be as messy, if messy's what you'd call a natural neat eater.
Nodding with a satisfied smile, Kyle replied, "That's good." He shifted a little, relaxing a bit more. When she was done, she got up to put it away, but as she reached for her empty glass, Kyle had already taken the plate from her. "You don't live here, do you?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow. Lilly smiled; her first real smile since the day before.
He put the dishes in the sink, running some water over them before leaving them stacked neatly and returning to the couch. "You're lucky today's my day off, otherwise we would've woken up at 7 and only had a good 2 hours worth of sleep." He chuckled, settling back down in the couch.
Lilly looked back towards the kitchen at the microwave clock. It said 1:08. She didn't really know how to respond.
EDITING
Stumble!