“Yeah?” he answers.

“A-a-axel,” I slur.

“Cricket?” he asks. “That you?”

“H-h-help.”

“Meadow,” he says, more frantically now. “Where are you? Are you with Lady?”

“I...he...I...”

“Meadow, speak to me,” he bellows.

“At...L-l-l-lady’s. H-h-he...drugged...help.”

“Who drugged you? Did someone hurt you? Where are you, Meadow?” he yells frantically.

“I...” I begin to sob hysterically.

“Shit, baby, talk to me.” His voice comes across with more concern than I’ve ever heard before.

“He tried to r-r-rape...”

“What?” he says, and his voice is suddenly dripping with venom.

“I need...h-h-help.”

“I’m coming, tell me where you are, Meadow?”

“L-l-lady’s,” I murmur, before the phone slips from my hand and smashes onto the ground.

Then everything goes black.

~*~*~*~

“Where the fuck is she?”

I hear the angry roar, and I blink my eyes open. It’s so dark out now, and there are tiny bugs flying around my face. I hear the sound of music, and people chattering. I blink a few more times, realizing I’m alone, and freezing. My teeth begin to chatter together, as I force myself out from underneath the chair, and up into a sitting position. My head spins, and I’m disorientated for a second.

Until I remember why I’m lying here.

Cold fear shoots through my body, and I stare down to see that I’m not wearing any panties. Oh God, Trigg. He tried to...oh...bile rises in my throat, and I begin to panic, trying to move toward my clothes as tears trickle down my cheeks. Cool air whips through the gazebo, and I’m still struggling to fight past the cold taking over my body.

“Meadow?”

I hear Axel’s bellow, and I snap my head up. He’s here?

“A-a-axel?” I cry out as loudly as I can. Even then, it’s a pathetic whimper.

“I don’t know where she is,” Lady cries. “I thought she was in the house.”

“She’s in trouble,” Axel roars at her. “She’s hurt.”

I try to reach out for my panties, but my hands are shaking so badly I can’t wrap my fingers around them. My sobbing is loud and crackly, and my heart is thumping. I feel ill, knowing what nearly happened out here tonight. I hear the crunching sound of boots, and I lift my head to see Axel step into the gazebo. The moment his eyes fall on me, anger washes over them, but he drops to his knees in front of me anyway.

“Shit, Cricket, I got you,” he murmurs, reaching out for me.

“Oh God, Axel,” I hear Lady breathe from behind him.

I sob harder, and reach for Axel. He shrugs off his jacket, and wraps it around me before scooping me up into his arms. My bottom half is still bare, and Lady quickly takes off her shawl and drapes it over me.

“She’s fuckin’ freezing. We need to get her warm.”

“I...I’m sorry Axel,” Lady says, her eyes wide in horror. “I didn’t...”

“We’ll talk about this as soon as we find out who did this to her.”

Axel walks with me around the back of the house, and he enters through the back entrance. He takes the steps, two at a time, until he reaches the top.

The moment we’re in the spare room, he lays me down onto the bed, and takes the blanket, rolling it over me. My teeth are chattering together, and I feel sick to my stomach. I lift my eyes, and through my tears I see Axel looking down at me. He’s angry—no he’s wild—but he’s trying to keep calm.

“What. Happened?” he bites out.

“I...”

He turns away quickly, getting a glass of water from the beside table. “Drink this, Cricket. You need to flush whatever drugs are in your body out.”

“He must have d-d-drugged me,” I whisper, sipping the water. “I...he gave me a beer and I w-w-went for a walk. He came in, and...”

“And what?” Axel growls, clenching his fists.

“H-h-he touched me.”

Axel leans down, meeting my eyes dead on. “You need to tell me, girl, straight down the line. Did he fuckin’ rape you?”

I shake my head weakly. “He...used his f-f-fingers. Someone called out just as he...as he...” I close my eyes, and tears leak down my face.

“It’s all right,” Axel says, trying to soothe me, but his voice is coming out like gravel.

“He just started to r-r-rape me when someone called out,” I croak. “He r-r-ran off and told me if I told anyone, he would k-k-kill me.”

Axel’s fists tighten. “He put his dick in you?”

I nod weakly. “Only for a s-s-second.”

Axel stands, spinning around, and smashing a nearby lamp. Then he whirls back to me, and the look on his face is murderous. “What’s his name?”

“T-t-t-trigg.”

Axel spins, and charges towards the door.

“Axel...” I squeak out.

He turns, his face ripped with rage. He must see fear in my eyes, because his expression softens a touch. He walks over, leaning down, and pressing a warm, soothing kiss to my forehead. His hand is wrapped around the back of my head, and he stays there like that for a long moment with his lips pressed against me. He pulls back, and strokes my cheek softly.

“I’m goin’ to sort this, you know I gotta. You need to rest. You’ve got drugs in your system. You want me to shower you first, before I go?”