Chapter 8 The dark night

Amelia had been returning home early last couple of days. But it was 8pm today when she was welcomed by the sight of Sandra smooching her boyfriend, Aaron. It was the first time Amelia saw Aaron in person, she had only seen his photos prior to this. They were sitting on the sofa in the living room and Aaron was pleasuring himself touching Sandra who wore a tube top dress exhibiting her muscular body. Amelia was equally astonished to see Sandra having magnificently sculpted biceps.

Sandra was a psychologist who worked in a private company to counsel the employees; when did she get time to devote herself to high level fitness. They did not hear the sound of the key turning the locks as they were busied in themselves.

"Ahemm..." it was only then that their heads flew in her direction. Amelia excused herself and went straight to her bedroom to give them space. Sandra quickly followed her wearing her jacket.

"I never formally introduced you guys but now you have met each other. Amy meet my boyfriend Aaron, Aaron meet my roommate Amelia." Aaron seemed nervous when the introduction was happening although Amelia never understood why as he seemed comfortable minutes ago while making out with Sandra in the living room without bothering to find a private area like the bedroom for themselves. He even hesitated to meet her eyes.

Amelia extended her hand forward for a handshake; he was skittish to return the handshake. He kept looking at his hand and Amelia hand, recapitulating his gaze between the two as if he didn't understand what a handshake meant.

"oh hi, feeling nice m...meeting you too. Heard a lot from Sandra about you. Feeling nice me...means feeling ok... not so nice. Ok means simply ok." His hands were now buried in his pocket. Was he nervous while speaking? When Amelia had extended her hand, he seemed flummoxed and now he was so jittery while forming a simple sentence. She didn't understand the connotation of all the 'ok' he used in his sentence. Sandra mentioning him working in a pub puzzled Amelia with his confused anxious nature.

"Sorry Amy but Aaron has to leave for work." He let out a small sigh which didn't go unnoticed by Amelia.

"I am also leaving with him. I have prepared Spaghetti and vegetable balls for you. Its high time I stop being a free loader and contribute to cooking." Sandra chuckled.

"I have also prepared special herbal tea for you. Will help you relax. I get the herbs free at my workplace. I grabbed some and brought it home for you. My patients relax during my sessions after taking the tea. Don't forget to drink it. Its should be consumed cold and not hot; I have kept it in the refrigerator" Sandra pointed her fingers at the small refrigerator.

"Don't lock the main door. I will not come before dawn. I will use my keys to open; won't bother to disturb you by ringing the bell."

Sandra left leaving Amelia sipping the tea while leaning on the sofa. The taste appeared vaguely familiar; she had savoured it before 10 years back when she was rich. The special herbal tea leaves were imported from Japan. Amelia's rich father always purchased superlative products for his family. It costed around five thousand dollars for 100 grams that would suffice for a month. How could Sandra get such expensive herbs in her company for free of cost. Additionally, it had a slightly pungent taste. It could be a poor mimicker of the original herbs.

The tea was veritably soothing enough. She quickly had her dinner before feeling a little light headed. She headed towards her bed; she felt a little weird while walking hers steps were heavy though her head seemed light. She ultimately crashed on the bed and went into deep slumber.

It was in the middle of the night when she heard some noise. She tried opening her eyes but was unable to do so. With great difficulty her eyes were partially opened but everything seemed blurred in the small area of vision available. She noticed a silhouette of a man sitting on her bed getting closer to her. She couldn't appreciate his features well but his perfume seemed oddly familiar.

She could feel his thumb caressing her cheeks for a while; it then moved to her lips as if trying to feel it. Amelia tried hard to move her body but couldn't; she seemed to be paralysed. She tried to open her mouth to scream but even a single sound couldn't be produced.

Her breathing became faster when the silhouette moved further close to crash his lips on hers. She could feel his tongue getting inside the small opening her mouth made. His thumb went further down to her shirt. She wanted to push him away but couldn't even move a finger. She could feel everything, smell everything and had to endure it all. He was now unbuttoning her shirt and his head now shifted to her bare upper chest. There were suckling sounds heard and she could feel the patches getting cold where his saliva was deposited; his fingers moved down to her panty line and then stopped abruptly. Amelia's breathing had got faster with tears trickling down making her cheeks moist. She was sure to be raped down. The silhouette seemed to be stationery for a while. He bent down to reach her ears and whispered, " I will wait till you willingly give it to me. You will feel everything but detest it all. Soon I will make you my whore." He then got up and left as if he had realised what he had done was wrong and immoral.

Amelia kept looking at the blurred door frightened that he may come back and finish the act he had started. But she went back to sleep very soon. When she woke in the morning, she saw her duvet was pulled down, her shirt buttons were open exposing her skin besides the cleavage and she could touch the dried saliva on it. She was indeed molested the previous night.

Sandra brought breakfast to Amelia's room; pancakes and smoothies. Sandra had turned a new leaf by providing cooked meals to her. Sandra saw that Amelia was sitting on the bed with her back rested on the headboard and eyes closed when she entered the room.

"Good morning, babes" she took a pause. "what's up with you?" Sandra was quick enough to understand that something was wrong with Amelia. She shook her head but Sandra realised something was disturbing her.

Sandra sat besides her and held her hands, Sandra's thumb was caressing her thumb. "Whats wrong sweetheart. Tell me. Am I not your friend?". Amelia only shook her head and a lone tear dropped from the corner of her eye.

"Come on. Tell me. Don't hide anything" . Amelia had great difficulty in opening her mouth to form the dreaded words. " I was molested... last night."

"by who? When ? why didn't you tell me?" A startled Sandra jumped on the bed with her questions. Amelia burst out crying; Sandra hugged her and Amelia rested her head on her shoulder when she cried. Sandra was caressing her back to comfort the crying beauty and get the details.

Amelia then narrated the set of events; how the blurry figure touched her everywhere and left his saliva everywhere on her skin without forgetting to mention that he will repeat the act again with her consent. Each sentence she spoke added to the weight on the pain her soul was going through.

"Did he fuck you? I mean did he have intercourse?" Sandra's question was specific. "We should lodge a complaint as soon as possible. I hope you haven't bathed. Let's hurry up or the results from the samples of your vagina will not authenticate the case." Sandra had done her masters in psychology and was aware of the role of forensic investigations in rape cases.

Amelia shook her head.

"what does it mean? You don't want to approach the police or you bathed and ruined the only piece of evidence we have?"

"You didn't hear me Sandra, he only touched me, he didn't do much; he didn't do sex."

Sandra blinked her eyes and furrowing her brows, " You mean a man entered our apartment yesterday with the sole objective to touch you and threaten you that he will touch you again. He didn't break the lock as I remember using my keys to open the door."

" He wasn't a thief and I cant see anything stolen from this house, anyways we never had anything valuable to steal. Was he a saint?"

Amelia would have laughed out loud at the last sentence but arduous situation was bringing tears in her eyes even at her jokes.

"believe me, he just touched and left.." Sandra interrupted " And left when he had the chance of doing much more..."

Disbelief was clearly visible in Sandra's eyes. Anyone in Sandra's place would laugh after hearing that a man entered a house with closed and locked windows and door without breaking in, and simply molesting a woman without raping and then leaving the place as it is.

"I suppose you had a bad dream last night. Is possible...you understand ....it just didn't happen... just a nightmare.." Sandra tried logically explaining Amelia.

" But when I woke up, my buttons were undone, my skin was bare.how can you explain that... It was real... It just can't be my imagination."

"parasomnia. You unbuttoned yourself during the dreams. It happens specially when you have erotic dreams." Sandra winked at her.

"you know well that I have masters in psychology. The dreams are common in people who..." Sandra took a brief pause trying to find the right words that could explain her without compromising Amelia's state of mind. " erm haven't been intimate for a long period of time and yearn for physical intimacy."

Unknown to Sandra, Amelia was a virgin. Sandra only knew about her leading a single life past two years, being unlucky in her relationships, but Amelia didn't crave for the physical touch so much that it would mess with her head. She didn't want to have any relationship currently considering her financial obligations towards her family, not wanting to compromise on the time for her profession.

Sandra could read Amelia's mind very easily. " You saw me making out with my boyfiend. So....maybe.." It seemed logical the way Sandra concluded it but, " no wait. I could smell his perfume and his voice was familiar too....like....Mr. Tony Lopez, my boss. Yes he was my boss." Amelia said with certainty after recollecting everything

"Your sexy handsome boss." Sandra's lips curled up while Amelia looked at her in astonishment.

"Describe your boss to me, now, tell me how he looks, be frank." Amelia understood the angle in which Sandra deciphered the whole case. She wanted to imply that Amelia was getting erotic drems as her boss looked hot.

"its not what you think." Amelia blew air through her nose.

"Describe for me, please." Sandra joined her hands in front of her.

Amelia agreed. "He is tall, at least a foot taller than me, built muscular, has brown eyes chiselled jawline, good lips"

Sandra's lips had formed an 'O'. " typically Greek God looks. I have seen his photos in magazines. Can arouse any woman." Sandra winked at Amelia.

" I don't like people just because they look good. You know very well that my exes were average in terms of conventional beauty. I have told you many times that it is the connection with the person that attracts me to him and not his looks."

"Don't tell me you don't get butterflies on seeing him. In picture he looks full of testosterone." Sandra licked her lips. "Any straight woman can go down on her knees for him. No wonder you are getting these erotic dreams of him." Sandra chuckled at her own explanation

"Don't lie to me. Tell me frankly, doesn't your heart beat fast on seeing him?"

Amelia's heart sped like a racing car every time his gaze fell on her but for reasons other than erotica. She failed to explain Sandra who believed it was high time for her to get into a relationship with someone rich and handsome like Tony Lopez to fulfil her lust.

"Don't tell me you are not straight. Only a lesbian will avoid Tony's body. Are you one?" Amelia widened her eyes to see the seriousness emitting from Sandra's words. Equating her refusal to fall for Tony's handsomeness with homosexuality.

As Sandra refused to believe her words Amelia concluded that any further argument in her would be fruitless. Noone would believe her chronicles and that scared her even more. Only if Sandra could empathise her dismay, she would narrate how this wasn't the first time she was touched immorally in her sleep. It had happened before too. Precisely 10 years back when Amelia had been molested.

*******"

Tony's POV.

Tony is sitting on a chair with a gun in his hand, his arms resting on his thighs and his posture bending forward to bring himself close to a man kneeling down in front of him with folded hands.

"I am s..sorry boss. I am s...sorry. Give me a c..chance. I will get all the g...gold back. Just give me t..two days."

He was moving the muzzle of the gun all over the man's face as if deciding the right point to shoot.

"You know me too well Freddy......". Bang! Bang! Bang! All the bullets of the gun were shot right into Freddy's head. Blood had splattered everywhere and Tony's face looked like a canvas splattered with red paint.

"........that I don't give second chance to traitors". The floor was lying in a pool of blood. Tony's lips curled upwards. He enjoyed punishing people for their mistakes. He felt like God because he knew none of his murders and crimes would be visble in the public. He knew money and power would hide all his crimes. Like the crime that happened yesterday, when he touched his little mouse everywhere. It would stay hidden within the four walls of the apartment.

Tony looked at the dead body in front of him. 'I am going to punish my little mouse too for the lies and deceit that happened 10 years back. That destroyed the innocence of a little teenage child. My plan is simple. Seduce her and make her your mistress. She should be ruined. The world saw me as a molester 10 years back and now I will make Giovanni Costellino's daughter a whore in front of the whole world to see the slut selling herself to me. I will ruin her. I will make her my whore.'

He had already been punished for his crimes 10 years back when he was poor with no support, no power. An innocent teenager was brutally punished for no fault of his.

He closed his eyes comparing the irony in the situation then to the state he was currently in. And he laughed so loud that the entire room echoed with his laughter.