Raegan woke up to her alarm. Monday already. She had slept away the whole weekend, occasionally waking up to eat, shower or to take care of her new friend. She often thought that maybe she should post lost dog posters around the building, to see if she could return the dog that had randomly showed up in her apartment, but every time she thought about being alone again, and vulnerable to Ben's return, she decided not to. Besides if he was out loose in the building, then obviously his owner didn't care about him.
She showered and got ready for work; careful to cover up her bruised neck.
***
After along and frustrating day Raegan returned home. She was eagerly greeted by her dog. "Want to go for a walk? Okay, just let me change."
Raegan walked into her room and stripped off the skirt and turtle-necked sweater that she had worn to work, and put on a pair of jeans and a navy blue sweat-shirt. She didn't feel particularly pretty with a bruised neck, and didn't want to draw attention to herself.
She left the apartment with her dog and began walking down a busy market street; she didn't want to meet a stranger in a deserted area again, she remembered how that one turned out.
Raegan bought a piece of beef jerky and sat on a bench feeding it to her dog in small pieces. "Is that good, boy? Ya..." She bent down and kissed his head, and then gave it another rub before getting up and continuing her walk.
She had gone from being extremely happy a few days ago to completely miserable. Raegan found herself miles away from home, raped, and in a job that made her feel like she had wasted the last three years of her life, just so she could run to get coffee for her boss.
While Raegan indulged in self pity two men quietly followed her down the street. As she got to the end of the market she realized she was being followed.
Fuck!
She began to run, but so did they. They grabbed her by both arms, and dragged her into an alley way.
"Qu'avons-nous ici?" (What do we have here?) one asked as he slid a hand up her shirt, while the other un-did her pants from behind.
"Let me go! Arretez!"
The two guys laughed as they exchanged more words in French, and began undressing her. Raegan fought and tried to get away. Her sweatshirt had been removed when all of a sudden one of the guy's hands from her body were removed. She could here him scream. The one still near her screamed as he looked to his friend whose throat was being ripped out. Raegan turned to see her dog standing over the dead man and coming towards her and the other man. The man behind her ran to escape the alley, but the dog pounced and began attacking him. Raegan sought out safety, and huddled behind a garbage can, covering her ears and keeping her eyes closed tightly.
A hand touched hers and began pulling her to her feet, she opened her eyes and there was Ben. He held her sweatshirt and helped her put it on. Tears began to run down Raegan's cheeks, and she turned quickly to find her dog.
"Where did he go?" she asked frantically and Ben smiled, bending down to lick her cheek. She looked back to him.
God no...please...no.
"It's been you!" She yelled at him.
This took Ben a bit off guard. She should be thankful that he had stuck around to protect her, at first he wasn't going to. He grabbed her face in his hand and brought her nose to nose with him; his anger showing in his expression.
"I hate you Ben. Get away from me." Raegan said as she tried to get away from him.
"Whether you like it or not your mine, Raegan. Do you understand me?"
"Fuck you, Ben! I'd rather die then belong to you, you arrogant, chauvinist bastard!"
He released her face and hit her hard. Raegan fell to the ground, unconscious.
***
Five months had past and Raegan had settled in considerably during that time. She had actually started doing some design work, and rarely played the part of coffee and bagel girl anymore. She didn't know if it was because her Boss and co-workers has started to like her, or if they felt bad for her being pregnant. Either way she didn't care. She had gone from living in a rundown flat, and being miserable, to living with a gorgeous man named Tristan, who promised to look after her baby as his own. Her job had improved, and once again Raegan felt happy.
It wasn't until one rainy day when she stepped out of work to go home, that she saw him: Ben...standing across the street, staring at her. If somebody's blood could run cold with fear, Raegan's would have at that moment. She immediately hailed a taxi and got in.
She arrived at her building a few minutes later and made her way up to Tristan and her apartment. Tristan kissed her when she came in and announced that he had made dinner reservations at a very fine Greek Restaurant, and that they needed to leave right away. He put his coat on and they left.
They took a taxi to the far side of the city, where the restaurant was, and when they got there they were seated in the best seats in the house, or so Tristan said. He toasted her and the baby, and talked about how happy he was with her. "I love you Raegan." He said.
Raegan smiled, and then noticed; sitting at a table a few seats away, looking at her, was Ben.