Chapter one

Chapter One

(C) Mary Lochridge, 2013

Deep breaths

Throbbing head pain awoke Jessie from a deep sleep.  It felt as though her head was imploding.  She could calculate her heart rate with each steady and punishing thump to her skull. 

          Lying in bed, the young woman strained to understand why nothing in the room looked familiar.  Sounds and smells were foreign.  Distant sirens meant she likely was still in the city.  Stale air mixed with a musky odor provided no clues as to where she might be, but they did rule out home.  She definitely was not in her own bed.  
            Jessie forced herself to slow her breathing.  Like magic, the effort reduced the harshness of the throbbing in her head.  Healthy breathing was something Jessie had done practically all her 24 years, thanks to her mother.  Her mother thought it fixed everything. 
          Deep breath, hold, release.  Deep breath, hold, release.  Deep breath, hold … are those voices?   The voices she now most definitely could hear seemed to be in the next room.  She held her breath, this time trying to make out words.  No luck, just garble.  
          Jessie tried to make sense of what she heard, what she smelled, what she was feeling.  Fear directed her thoughts.  She must have been doped and now she was being held somewhere. Why?  Ransom?  Her family had no money.
           A heavy door nearby slammed shut and the voices stopped. 
          Are they coming for me?  Frozen and barely breathing, Jessie listened for signs of her … captors?  Instead she heard a humming sound that drifted away from her room.  The voices, too, thankfully drifted away.   
          Jessie put her whole effort into following the voices and the strange humming until she heard the distinct and familiar ding-ding of an elevator door opening.  This is a hotel!  The humming likely wheels on some luggage.
          Jessie let out her breath, temporarily relieved.  She now turned to the task of piecing together what she could remember of the night before.

            I was at the GOP fundraiser at the new art gallery.  It was packed by the time I arrived.  I had one mission: to tear apart Hank Solis, the newest staffer for Texas House member Ted Jefferson. We argued.  It was hot inside.  Way too many people for that small space.  I was using cocktail napkins to wipe sweat off my face for chriss sake.  Then… goddammit.  Then what??!!  How did I get here?

Jessie was not about to lose it.  She was taught better. 

Action now, reaction later.  It was her mother again.  One of her many mottoes that typically amused Jessie but this time she was grateful for her mother’s company.  Moving to get out of the strange bed, pain shot up Melanie’s thigh and tore through her guts.  Gasping, she retreated to prone position. 

Deep breaths.  I can do this. I have to do this.  Jessie forced herself to try again.  Against her body’s will, she pulled herself upright, throwing both legs over the side of the bed, toes now feeling the floor.

            Assess, then progress.  Jessie now seemed to be channeling her mother.  Mom, is that you?  Are you really here?  I’m so scared.

Jessie took in more deep breaths to calm a racing heart and begin the assessment. My head hurts, now my gut hurts.  Shit.  What do I have on?  Just underwear?  I am gonna puke. Stop it.  Breathe. Be brave. Assessment. 

 After two minutes of eternity, Jessie braced herself with strong hands, leaning forward she was able to inspect the damage.  Even in the dim, early morning light Jessie could see that her inner thighs were spotted with odd shapes of black and blue.   Are those bruises?

Real time ended in that moment because Jessie understood.  Assessment complete.

            I was raped!