Insane

Lena's POV

"Have my baby, Lena," he whispered to me.

"He'll throw you away himself once he realises you're pregnant. He won't marry a woman who is already pregnant with another man's child."

"What?" I gasped.

"David, no. That's... that's insane!"

"Oh, come on, Lena!" His hand came around to cup my cheek. "You know you want it. A part of me inside you, growing and changing you. Tying us together, forever!"

I turned my face away, trying to break free of his grasp. "Stop it, David. This isn't you."

But he didn't stop. If anything, my pleas seemed to encourage him. His hand slid down to my throat, squeezing lightly. "It's exactly who I am, Lena. This is the man you fell in love with, the man you're betraying."

I tried to push him away, but he was stronger than I was. His other hand moved down to my waist, his fingers digging into my behind.

"David, please," I pleaded with him. "Don't do this."

"Shh," he whispered and brushed his lips against mine. "Just relax."

I turned my head away again, but he followed, his lips trailing down my neck. I felt his hand slide under my shirt, his fingers cold against my skin. I tried to grab his wrist and pull his hand away, but he's too strong.

"David," I gasped, struggling against him. "Stop!"

He moved his hand up my dress, cupping my breast through my bra. I felt his hips press against mine. I could feel his erection even through his jeans.

"Please," I whimpered, tears streaming down my face. "Don't do this."

But he ignored my pleas. David's other hand eased into my panties, his fingers finding their mark. I screamed and tried to push him away, but he was too strong. He started to grind against me. When I moved again, he pinned me to the wall with his hand against my throat.

"David," I sobbed. "Please stop!"

"Shut up, bitch!" David roared and clawed at my clothes. He ripped the green dress open, popping the buttons off.

"Beautiful," he murmured, his hands roaming over my exposed skin. "You're mine, Lena. You'll always be mine."

I struggled against him, "No!" I screamed. "No!"

I began to struggle more rapidly, and my fingers found something ceramic beside me. In desperation, I grabbed whatever it was and smacked it against his head.

David roared in pain and surprise, and collapsed on the ground. With one hand holding up my dress, I staggered away from him. I stared at the man writhing on the ground in disbelief.

He looked up at me from the floor with glassy and unfocused eyes.

"Lena?" he slurred. "What... what happened?"

I gave him a look of horror. How could he not remember? How could he not know what he tried to do?

I turned and ran, fleeing from the house and the man I once loved. I ran until my lungs burned and my legs gave out, until I collapsed in a heap on the sidewalk.

From the depths of my subconscious, I heard the low rumble of a car. I was so numb that I barely registered the sound. I could not sense the world around me.

A car door opened, then closed. Muffled footsteps approached. I felt a light but insistent nudge on my shoulders. My mind snapped back into focus. My legs and arms felt very stiff as I forced myself to look up.

A man stood over me. His dark and curly hair framed a face that looked like it had been carved from stone. He reminded me of a Greek god. Green eyes gleamed under the streetlamp. There was no mistaking him.

This was Nathan Hale.

“What the hell are you doing lying on the curb?” His voice wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t kind. It was clipped and impatient, like I was an inconvenience rather than a concern.

I wanted to answer with my own barrage of questions, like how he had found me, why he was here, what gave him the right to even speak to me, but my throat was much too hoarse. My body refused to cooperate. All I could do was wail loudly.

Nathan sighed and crouched beside me. His voice lowered, but it was still very impatient “Come with me, Lena. I’ll tell you everything.”

I wanted to refuse and push him away, to demand he leave me alone. But my body betrayed me. I let him take my arm, let him pull me up. My legs wobbled under me, barely holding my weight, but Nathan Hale kept a firm grip, guiding me toward the waiting car.

He opened the door and helped me inside. The driver in the front didn’t acknowledge me. Nathan Hale slid in beside me, closing the door before murmuring an address to the driver.

I groaned and rolled my head backwards. Images of David flashed behind my eyes. I felt his hands on my body again. The betrayal in his touch, the horror in his voice when I fought back.

He had been my safe place. My very own person. And he had tried to rape me.

Tears burned down my face, but I didn’t wipe them away. I let them fall. My body curled into itself, my arms wrapping around my middle as though I could hold myself together.

After a few minutes, I finally gathered myself. I stared at Nathan, my heart still hurting. I don't want anything to do with men.

“I’m not interested in whatever marriage this is.” was the first thing that came out of my mouth.

Nathan didn’t hesitate to snap back. “You proposed to me, Lena. You begged me to marry you.”

I turned to him. “That’s a lie!”

“It’s the truth.”

I shook my head. “No. Why would I do that?”

“You did.” He insisted. “I have the contract. The signatures. There were even witnesses.”

A cold dread seeped into my bones. “You forged it. You forged my signature, and now you're trying to convince me it was all my doing!”

“You know that’s not true.” Nathan Hale told me. "Do you really want to tell me you don't remember a single thing from that night in Las Vegas?"

I remembered the hotel room, the way I had gripped on to his lapel and begged him to marry me. It was a memory I didn't remember forming. I was drunk. I had to have been.

I shook away that thought. “I don’t remember signing anything.”

Nathan turned his head to the side. “Maybe you just don’t want to remember.”

“Go to hell.” I turned away, pressing my forehead against the cool glass of the window.

I wanted to rewind time and erase every moment that had led me here. But there was no undoing this. No waking up. Nathan Hale claimed I had begged him to marry me and I had no way to prove him wrong.

Finally I turned to him again, my eyes pleading for a solution. Any solution.