Chapter 14: "What Have I Done To Deserve This?"
Ten Years Ago
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The cab pulled over and Kacey alighted from the car. She had taken extra shifts at work for extra cash, and she was really late. Dinner was supposed to be ready by now, but she hadn't made a start.
She paid the cab fair and walked up the porch into the house. Layla ran down the stairs immediately almost as though she had been waiting for her for the past few hours... well, she had.
"Mom, you're late." She said as she followed her mom into the kitchen.
"You think I don't know that?" She retorted, dropping her bag and groceries on the kitchen table. She turned on the gas and placed a pot on the fire. "Where is Raven? Go call her right now, I need extra help in the kitchen.'
"Mom, Raven isn't yet back," Layla said slowly.
"What do mean she isn't back?" Kacey queried, surprise etched on her face. "She should've been back a few hours ago."
"I know, but she isn't back," Layla replied. "I even tried calling her but she isn't picking up.'
Kacey turned off the gas and searched for her phone in the bag she had placed on the kitchen table.
She dialed Raven's number and then waited, her heartbeat racing alongside the dialing tone.
Raven didn't pick up.
She tried again, again, and then again. Yet no answer.
She wouldn't have been so worried if this was Raven's usual way, but no, it wasn't. It was so unusual of her to be out by now and to top it off, she wasn't answering her calls.
Her motherly instinct kicked in.
Something was amiss.
She decided to call the school but she realized she didn't even have the school's number.
Ugh! What kind of mother was she?
She made her way to the door.
"Where are you going?" Layla queried, trailing in her. "I'm going to look for her. It's unusual for Raven to do something like this. If James comes back, tell him what happened okay?"
"But I can't stay home by myself!" Layla began to protest, her eyes filled with terror, "What if something happens to me? I want to go with you."
"No, I need to go by myself." Kacey persuaded. "I'm sorry, Layla but you need to stay."
Just as Layla was about to protest even more, the door opened and then James came in. "Mom, I'm home... and I'm hungry..." He trailed off, sensing the tension of the room and the state his mom and sister were in. " What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Oh dear, James!" Kacey helplessly advanced towards him, a little relieved to see him. "Thank goodness you're here. Your sister isn't yet back! Something must have happened to her."
"Mom. She's probably busy at school." James sighed "Raven is a college student now. You know the lives of college students, partying, clubbing, and all that. You worry too much, Mom. She'll be back."
His words seemed to have calmed her down a little bit but the worry still lingered.
"I guess you're right." She said hopelessly, "But she isn't picking up her calls." She protested once more.
"Do you think I would pick up your call if I'm out having fun with friends?" James asked. "Mom, you worry too much, Raven will be back, I promise. Now I'm hungry, and please don't tell me you haven't made dinner yet?"
Kacey decided to believe his son's word. Perhaps she might be worrying too much.
She headed back to the kitchen and then began to prepare dinner while Layla volunteered to help her out since Raven wasn't yet back and she was hungry too.
Fast forward, the meal was done being prepared, the table was set, and the three were sitting around the table, eating, and yet there was no sign of Raven.
Kacey's worry grew with each passing second. She kept telling herself that her daughter was fine and that she would be back anytime soon.
Well, until she couldn't any longer.
"That's it!" She drawled, slamming her hand on the table and getting to her feet, startling both Layla and James who were enjoying their meal. "Something must have happened to Raven. I knew it! I'm going to report to the police."
She darted towards the door.
"Mom wait!" James yelled after her, getting to her feet as he trailed behind her. "I'll go with you."
"Wait! Don't leave me here!" Layla yelled, chasing behind them. "Wait for me!"
In a matter of minutes, the three family were at the Chicago Police Department.
The front desk officer welcomed them and inquired about their business at the police station.
'My daughter is missing!" Kacey was hysterical, "Something must've happened to her! You have to find her! I just lost my husband; I can't lose her, too!"
"Calm down ma'am." The police officer persuaded. "Everything will be alright. We will find your daughter; all I need you to do is to calm down, okay?"
Kacey managed to calm down a bit with James' help.
The police officer referred them to the Missing Person Unit, where they were investigated and made their statements.
"We have everything we need ma'am." The police officer told them after signing their written statements. "It's now up to us to ensure that your daughter comes back safe and sound. Be rest assured."
But Kacey was anything but rest assured.
She kept imagining the worst that could happen to her daughter... her little pumpkin.
"Now, I'm gonna need you to go home." The police officer said, "We'll contact you when we have any news."
Kacey only managed to agree to go home with some persuasion.
As the night turned to midnight, Kacey grew more and more anxious to the extent that she became sick.
Layla and James were worried too.
Sleep eluded them at the moment all, and they could feel nothing but anxiety.
They all sat around the house, waiting with bated breath for a phone call. But... there was no phone call.
Meanwhile, Raven lay helplessly at the warehouse. She was mostly naked, her torn clothes scattered on the floor beside her.
Her head throbbed violently, a relentless pounding that echoed through her skull. A sharp ache pulsed behind her eyes, making it hard to focus. Her limbs felt leaden as if drained of all strength, while a dull, numbing pain spread through her body, making every movement agonizing. Her chest burned with each shallow breath, and a deep, gnawing ache settled in her bones. Every inch of her skin felt raw, tingling with discomfort, as if fire and ice waged war beneath her flesh.
But most unbearable of all was the searing pain between her legs. A deep, wrenching ache radiated from her core, raw and unrelenting. Warm blood gushed out, soaking her thighs, its sticky heat a cruel contrast to the chilling numbness consuming the rest of her body. Each pulse of pain sent fresh waves of nausea through her, making it impossible to tell whether the dizziness came from agony or the sheer loss of blood.
It was her first time, and Antonio had been rough... more rougher than he needed to be, as though he enjoyed seeing her in cry in utter pain as he pounded her, not caring a dime whether or not she was conscious.
Raven felt as though she was going to die, and at the moment, death was what she longed for. She couldn't endure all the excruciating pain flowing through every inch of her body.
But death didn't come.
As she slipped into the abyss of unconsciousness, she asked herself.
What have I done to deserve this?