When John first mentioned driving to Columbus to make a presentation for a customer, I thought nothing of it. It made sense since he developed the entire presentation in the first place. It seemed the only way for Beth and I to have a car would be for all three of us to drive out.
The plan was for John, Beth and I to drive to Columbus. His meeting was the following morning so I would leave him there and drive the car back home. He was so sweet as he begged me to promise to stick to the interstates, even though the back way was faster. I knew it would cut out a good 45 minutes on the drive, but I swore I would follow the main highway. John's blue eyes were full of love and concern as he reminded me it was not a good road for a young mother and her daughter to be traveling alone. The back roads went through miles of uninhabited wooded areas and had only one poorly lit rest area by a lake.
I swore again that I would not stop as John got out of the car. I would have walked him into the hotel but our daughter was asleep in her car seat and neither one of us wanted to disturb her. He kissed me goodbye and asked me to give her a hug and a kiss from Daddy. Ever since we found out I was pregnant with Beth he has always been so loving and protective of both of us. I could always tell that we were his life and he cared for us more than himself. I just knew that if anything ever happened to us he would be shattered.
I had every intention of keeping my promise to John. I was so tired but kept drinking coffee and pop to keep driving. If I stayed on the interstate I knew I would surely fall asleep, I could feel my eyelids getting heavier with every mile. The warm night air didn't help either it wove a blanket of comfort, easing me deeper towards sleep. As tired as I was, the quickest route home was the most appealing.
So I decided to take the shortcut. I knew he would be upset but how would he know? I wasn't going to tell him anything different if he asked. I would tell him I followed the route we agreed upon and leave it at that. In the distance I could see the very rest stop he had warned me about. I have to admit it did look more foreboding since I was alone this time. Every other time we have stopped, I had always been with him. The parking lot was lit with two lights, but as both were blocked in by tree branches, they weren't providing much light.
As my car drew nearer, the urge to pee from all the coffee and pop I had been drinking was quite pronounced, and I knew I had no choice. I gazed into the darkness of the parking lot and felt quite safe seeing no other cars. What I had forgotten was that you didn't need to have a car to be there.
I checked to make sure my daughter was sound asleep in her car seat and pulled into the closest spot. In the stillness, I couldn't hear anything but the crickets chirping. The silence made me even more nervous about even being here so I stretched for a moment and looked around again. The air itself was very warm and sticky but the water must be cooler than the air because a layer of fog was enveloping the parking lot. It was so quiet I could occasionally hear a fish jump in the lake and splash back down.
Quickly I strode towards the door of the restrooms. They were brighter on the inside, but I was still nervous. John's warning against stopping was still ringing in my ears as I heard the first noise. Oh God, it sounds like footsteps! I laughed at myself making myself so scared of over nothing. There it was again coming closer. OH MY GOD! It really was footsteps and coming closer at that. I knew that I had two choices; I could make a run for the car, hoping to get in and get away or I could stay in the stall. I decided I would stay in the stall and see if the footsteps passed by. I thought it was an enormous risk to leave Beth unprotected in the car but I was sure I could get out and get to her. After all, I thought to myself, this is a public place what could happen here, right?
The footfalls drew nearer and the urge to bolt was so electric that I felt charged with the urge to flee. I wanted to run to my daughter's side but I could tell it was too late now. The footsteps had stopped very near the doorway. I could feel my heart beating in my chest, my pulse ringing in my ears. I decided I would walk quickly to the car as if nothing were wrong. Don't look like a victim; isn't that what they tell you - shoulders back, head held high, eyes straight ahead. I was not a victim; I was a mother protecting her child.
Then I heard his voice... the sound hung in the air like the fog blanketing the lot. His voice made me tremble and my heart filled with pain as I could hear my husband's voice begging me not to stop here, reminding me that it was not safe to stop alone. Oh what an idiot I am for not paying more attention to what he was saying! How I was hurting him in just one foolish decision. I could feel tears well up in my eyes.
"Hey look over here, Bobby; we have a prime piece of housewife ass here!"
I could see no one else but there was obviously someone in the darkness.
"MMM mmm mmm, Bobby, you got to get over here to check this out for yourself! She is so hot, she's smoking. Come on now, don't be shy!"
I shivered as I walked, inching closer to the car, trying to ignore the footsteps coming behind me. All at once I felt his hands on my shoulders, his touch made me shiver as if an icy wind had blown right through me.
"Where you off to so quick, honey? Didn't think we were going let you just walk off without so much as a how do you do, did you? I couldn't do that to my good friend Bobby!"
His hands were on my shoulders, and he had stopped me in my tracks. I was frozen in fear as I prayed that he didn't notice my daughter in the car. I thought that maybe he wouldn't hurt me if I didn't struggle. Who was going to hear me if I screamed any way? I didn't remember seeing even one house close enough to hear me.
"So how about it, sweetie? Going come over and say 'hi' to us?"
I started to say no, but didn't get anything out before his hand covered my mouth and he was dragging me backwards. I kicked and fought to get free of his hands. I was so frightened now that my breath felt caught in my chest. I tried to look back to see where he was dragging me, but all I could see was the grey of the mist blanketing the area. In a panic, I remembered seeing picnic shelters just beyond the restrooms just out of sight of the road and any passing cars.
His clothes had a disheveled feel to them. He smelled of stale beer, whiskey, cigarettes and fish bait. His stench was clinging in the air and I felt like it was smothering me. Between his stench and his hand I still couldn't breath and little black dots swam in front of my eyes. The whole time I couldn't help but think he sounded like a bad imitation of a character out of the movie "Deliverance". That realization was almost enough to make me laugh. I would have laughed too, if I hadn't been so scared.
He kept one hand over my mouth while the other snaked from my waist to my breasts; he grabbed one hard and squeezed the nipple. I inhaled sharply in reaction to the touch, catching just a whiff of Tommy Hilfiger for men on him. Something wasn't right here; the expensive cologne didn't fit the rest of the image.
"Oowee. Bobby, our naughty little Mommy has got some damn fine titties! Come over here and get a handful. I guarantee you haven't felt ones like these before."
My body ran cold and I shivered under his touch. My thoughts went to my daughter what would happen to her if these men killed me tonight? Would they find her and do something terrible. The thought of them harming her made me struggle and kick my captor even more. I had to get free to get to her. I had thought if they believed I was alone she would be safer. Now I knew that I had left her totally unprotected and alone. Angry tears welled in my eyes as I thought of my stupidity.
The more I struggled, the rougher and harder he held me. I was sickened as I felt his cock hardening against my ass. The prick was getting off on my attempts to escape from him. I got my arm free just enough to punch him in the crotch. He sucked in air and caught my arm before I could swing again.
