Kevin hung up his phone in shock. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The sounds of her screams echoed in his head. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being violated. Kevin licked is lips in panic and tried to think of what he could do. He couldn’t very well save her since he had no idea where she was. He looked at his caller ID and had her phone number. He decided to quickly search for the address online. Kevin went to his office and plopped down at his desk. Frantically typing in the info on his laptop, he clicked on enter and waited for her information to pop up. Kevin jumped in fear as he saw her address come on the screen.
"Sarah Putman," he said out loud.
Kevin quickly wrote the address down. He only hoped it was the right one. He immediately picked up his phone and dialed 911. After reporting the incident, he hopped in his car and drove to the address he found. Frantically he drove around Orlando, trying to find Sarah's apartment, feeling almost stupid for not searching for directions online. After an hour of driving around, he finally found it. There were two cop cars sitting outside the apartment building with their lights flashing. Kevin rushed up the stairs and stood in the doorway of her apartment. He saw Sarah standing a few feet in front of him, talking with two police officers. Her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was messed up. Kevin stood silently as he watched her talk to the cops, obviously shaken from what had happened. Sarah looked over at the door and saw him standing there. He very carefully stepped into the apartment as she stared at Kevin with fear in her eyes.
"Kevin, what are you doing here?" she asked with a trembling voice.
"I came to get you," Kevin said in almost a whisper.
"Why?"
"Excuse me, sir. This is police business. I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."
"But I'm the one who called you guys," he stated.
"Wait a minute...you're the one who called?"
"Yes," Kevin said as he slowly moved closer to her.
“I assumed it was one of the neighbors.”
"Well, I think we have all we need here, ma'am. They've taken him to the county jail. Do you want to press charges?"
"Do I have to answer this now?" Sarah said as she wrapped her arms around herself.
The police officer handed her a piece of paper. "This is some information on restraining orders. We can only hold him for 24 hours on a domestic dispute. If you feel you're in any danger, you might consider leaving the apartment and filing for one."
"Thank you," she said softly.
The police officer nodded and stepped out of the apartment. Kevin looked at Sarah as she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.
"I can't believe you called them. I don't understand...why would do that?"
"Because I care about you."
"Kevin, you know nothing about me. How can you care for me if you don't know me?"
"You don’t have to know a person to care about their safety. I know it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's true," he said with a sigh. "Look, you need to get away from this guy. Pack up your stuff and come with me. You can stay at my place until we figure something out."
“Kevin, I can’t just stay with you. Why would you want a complete stranger living in your house?”
“Why are you fighting me on this?” he asked softly. “I just want to help.”
“Maybe I’m not used to it,” she said with a trembling voice.
“At least let me help you get your stuff out of here. You don’t have to stay with me permanently. I just want to get you away from all of this.”
Sarah slowly nodded. "Okay," she said softly. She stood there and stared at Kevin.
Kevin gave her a sympathetic look. "The longer you wait, the more risk you run of not getting out of here safely."
"Come with me," Sarah whispered.
Kevin nodded and put his hand on the small of her back. They quietly crept down the hallway to her bedroom. Sarah quickly grabbed a few of her things and handed them to Kevin. He helped her put her things in suitcases and plastic bags. Sarah was frantically picking up anything she could find to take with her. It was nearly two in the morning, but there was so much more to pack.
"I have an idea," Kevin said as he pulled out his cell phone. "Do you mind if I call someone to help?"
"Whatever it takes to get me out here," she sat as she huffily plopped on the couch.
Kevin pulled out his cell phone and dialed Brian‘s number.
“Hello?” Brian said with a yawn.
"Hey, it’s me. Did I wake you?”
“No, I was just watching a movie. What’s up?“
“Look, I know it’s late, but I need a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“I'm trying to help Sarah get her stuff out of this apartment.”
“At this house?” Brian questioned.
Kevin sighed and closed his eyes. “It's a long story. Can you come here with your Jeep? It would make much easier if we had more than one vehicle. I’ll give you gas money.”
“No need for that. If you’re doing this at a late hour then it must be important. Where are you?”
“Her address 1301 W. Clay.”
“Oh, that’s not far at all.”
“No, it’s about a mile from you in the Oak Tree Apartments.”
“Okay, I’m writing that down. Which apartment?”
“Apartment A301,” Kevin said softly.
“Alright, Cuz, I’ll see you there.”
“Okay, thank you," He hung up his phone.
"Who did you call?" she asked softly.
"Brian...don't worry, he's not gonna shove in your business. He's the type of guy to help anyone if he can," he said as he sat down next to her.
Sarah looked away from him and nervously folded her hands. Kevin gently placed his hand under her chin and she looked at him. He studied her face. Her left cheek was swollen and her bottom lip was also starting to swell.
"Are you okay? That looks like it hurts."
"I'm fine. I just want out of here," she said as she stood up. I guess we should keep packing until he gets here. It'll be less to do later,” she continued as she stood up and walked to the bedroom.
"Yes," Kevin said as he grabbed another plastic bag and followed her. "You gather everything and I'll put it in the bags," he said as he grabbed some clothes that were sitting on the bed.
They were in the middle of packing everything when there was a knock on the door. Sarah jumped and turned around.
“That’s probably Brian,“ he said then went to the door.
“Hey,“ Brian said as he stepped in.
“Hi, thanks for coming.“
“No problem,“ Brian said as he looked around. “So, what are we doing?“
“We’re just throwing all her things into our cars and taking her to my place. We’ll empty your car and I’ll worry about what’s in my car later.“
“Got it,“ Brian said as he took a box from Kevin.
Not a word was spoken between the three of them as they quickly packed Sarah's things into both Brian and Kevin's vehicles. When they arrived at Kevin's house, he looked over at Sarah. She sat in the car looking down at her hands. Kevin grabbed her hand, she looked up, her eyes were shimmering with tears.
"Hey," Kevin said gently. "Are you okay?" Sarah sniffed. He brought his hand up and touched her cheek, she flinched. Kevin noticed the light bruise on the side of her face had darkened. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"It's okay," Sarah said as she got out of the car.
Kevin got out and helped her get her stuff out of the trunk. He noticed her cautiously looking around as he unlocked the door. She jumped when Brian approached the front door with an arm full of her things.
"Where are we putting everything?" Brian asked.
"Guest bedroom," Kevin answered as he opened the door. "We'll put everything on the floor, for now," he said as he led the way to the guest room.
After they had emptied Brian’s car, Sarah followed Kevin into the living room. He gestured for her to sit on the couch. Brian dusted off his clothes after putting the last suitcase in the guest room.
"That's the last of it," he said.
"Thanks, Cuz," Kevin said as he hugged him.
"Anytime," he said as he turned to Sarah. "It was nice meeting you...even if it was under awkward circumstances," he said as he held out his hand to her.
She smiled softly and shook his hand. "Maybe we can meet again under better circumstances."
He nodded with a smile. "I'm off to bed. Good night you two," he said as he let himself out of the house.
Kevin looked down at Sarah and sat next to her on the couch.
"I'm sorry," Sarah said.
"For what?" Kevin asked as he brushed a stray hair out of her face.
"For not calling you sooner."
"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."
"But why do I feel so bad?"
"Because you're confused."
"What if he finds me?"
"He won't, trust me."
"He's always found me before."
"Why didn't you try to get away from him sooner?"
"Believe me I tried. Don't you think I tried?" Sarah said in between tears.
Kevin put his arms around Sarah and tried to comfort her. Sarah cried in his arms. He wanted to tell her it was all gonna be okay, but how could he if he didn't even know himself? He placed his hand under her chin, she looked up at him.
"Can I ask you a question?" Sarah said.
"Sure."
"Why did you help me tonight? I mean, you only met me two days ago."
Kevin stared into her eyes. "I don't know why, but when I get around you I get this weird feeling inside. When I heard you screaming it scared me and I had to help you."
Sarah smiled. "Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek.
"You're welcome," he said.
Kevin wrapped his arms tighter around her. She cuddled closer and shut her eyes. Kevin kissed her lightly on the top of her head. He pushed back any thoughts of reluctance of their situation.
"Are you hungry?" Kevin asked her. Sarah nodded. "Sit tight, let me get you something to eat," he said as he got out from underneath her.
He went into the kitchen and rummaged through his fridge, taking out several frozen items. Finally he came across a frozen pizza. Taking the pizza with him he went back to the living room.
"Hey do you like--" Kevin started to ask, but stopped when he saw Sarah was fast asleep.
He smiled as he grabbed a quilt off of one of the recliners and carefully placed it over her. He quietly went back into the kitchen and put the pizza back in the freezer. After double checking the lock on the door, he turned off the lights and went upstairs to his room. Kevin found it hard to sleep with all the thoughts he had swimming around in his head. He tossed and turned, trying to make himself stop analyzing everything. When nothing seemed to work, he got up and quietly wandered into the kitchen to make some warm milk. Kevin steadily stirred his milk in the metal pan, adding a pinch of cinnamon. He was still thinking about everything that happened when he heard Sarah softly crying in the living room. Kevin put down his spoon and took the pan off the burner. He walked into the living room and he could see that she was still sleeping, but obviously struggling from a nightmare. Kevin knelt down in front of her and gently placed his hand on her side.
"No, get away from me!" Sarah shouted as she sat up with tears streaming down her face.
"Oh, my, god!" she sobbed.
Kevin held her close, rocking her back and forth to calm her down. "Shhhh, it's okay. You're safe now. I'm here."
Sarah continued to cry in his arms. "He was here! I saw him!"
"No, it was just a dream. You're okay. He's not here. It's just you and me,” he said as he smoothed out her hair.
“I can’t go back,” she said while crying.
“And you won‘t,” he assured. "Come on," he said as he led her to the kitchen and sat her down in a chair. He took the warm milk out of the pan and poured into a mug then handed it to her. "You need this more than I do."
"What is it?" she asked as she stared into the steaming, hot mug.
"It's just warm milk. My mom used to make it for me when I couldn't sleep or had a bad dream. It relaxes you. Go ahead, drink up."
Sarah took small sips of the warm milk. "This is pretty good," she said sipping some more.
"Feel better?" Kevin asked as he sat down next to her.
Sarah nodded. "A little bit. I’m sorry, I'm just a little shaken up."
"It's okay. You're safe here."
"I wish I could believe that," Sarah said taking, another sip.
Her hands were shaking in apprehension, causing her to drop the mug. Pieces shattered all over the floor. She stared at the floor in shock.
"Oh, my gosh, Kevin, I'm so sorry," she said while getting up.
"No, don't worry about it. You sit down, I'll pick this up."
Kevin got the broom and swept up all the broken pieces and threw them in the trash. When he put the broom away he out stretched his hand to her.
"Come on."
"Where are we going?" she asked as she took his hand.
"To bed," he said, leading her to his room.
Kevin laid on top of the blankets and rolled over on his side. He patted the mattress motioning for Sarah to get in. She hesitated for a moment then Kevin pulled back the blankets on her side of the bed.
“I won’t hurt you,“ he said softly. “I’m not even going to lay under the blankets.“
Sarah slowly came over to the bed and got under the blankets. She rolled over and looked at him.
“You don’t have to sleep over the covers.”
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea,” he replied.
“It’s okay, you can sleep under the covers with me.”
Kevin slowly got under the covers and laid on his back. Sarah laid her head on his shoulder and Kevin protectively put his arms around her.
"Good night," he whispered.
"Good night," Sarah echoed and fell soundly asleep.
