Close: A New Adult Thriller Read Online Free PDF Page B
Author: M.H. Young
universe just threw bad stuff at you. It was always down to something she’d done, or hadn’t done.
I was crying now. Becky and the lady doctor who’d examined me had left me alone in the examination room while I got dressed. I was sitting on the leather couch with the paper sheet over it, sobbing.
The tears came in waves. My throat was raw. I could taste the salt of my own tears as they ran down my face. I felt like I’d never be able to stop.
Reaching over to a side table, I grabbed some tissues. I blew my nose.
There was a gentle knock at the door.
“Uh, come in,” I said.
“Are you dressed?” Becky asked from the other other side of the door.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
The door opened and Becky’s head appeared. “You want another few minutes? There’s no rush. Or if you want to talk.”
I shook my head, pushed off the couch and stood up, feeling a little woozy. One of the worst moments of the exam had been when the doctor had told me that I couldn’t drive, or work for the next twenty four hours in case the drug I’d been given impaired my ability. It felt like I was still being violated, that Bentley still had a hold over me.
“No, I’m okay,” I told Becky.
Okay was a relative term. What I meant was I’m not dead. I’m safe. He didn’t kill me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be really okay again. I felt like a different person. I didn’t know how I could have felt the same. I’d always sort of trusted people, but that was gone now. The world seemed different now; darker somehow.
“Detective Brody has offered to drive you home. If that’s okay with you? We could get you a cab.”
“Whatever you want to do,” said a man standing behind Becky. “Oh, and no one calls me Detective Brody, unless I’m in court. I’m Drew.
I was shocked. Somehow I’d expected Detective Brody to be a woman, and also I hadn’t expected someone who didn’t look much older than me. The first thing I noticed about him was how big he was. I was five six, not exactly a shrimp, but Drew was easily six feet two, with broad, muscular shoulders, and an equally broad chest that tapered in a V-shape to his waist, like someone who’d been on their college swim team. He had collar length, tousled brown hair, a two-day stubble, and the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen. But there was a softness in his eyes too. I could see it in his smile. There was something in the way he looked at me that instantly made me feel safe.
“You’re a Detective?”
I said it without thinking. What I meant was that I had an idea of what a Detective looked like (overweight, middle-aged, losing their hair, gruff), and this definitely wasn’t it. Drew looked like a younger version of Gerard Butler. He even had the same deep voice, though not the accent.
He helped up his hands. “Laura, can I call you Laura?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
“We’re a little short-staffed right now. Usually we’d be able to assign you a female officer. I wanted to come down here straight away to let you know how seriously we take your complaint. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so if you’d like me to drive you back home, I can go through what happens next.”
Drew apologized as he cleared a bunch of papers from the front passenger seat of his Accord. He stepped back and held the door open for me as I got in. I noticed the gun he had holstered on his right side. I wondered if he’d ever had to use it, but didn’t want to ask him. Drew closed the door, walked round to the driver’s side and got in.
Before I’d left, Becky had given me her card and written her cell phone number on the back. She’d told me that I could call her anytime, day or night. It did make me feel a little better,
Drew glanced over at me, expectantly. I drew a blank until he said, “You’ll have to tell me where you live?”
“Sorry, I’m so....” I said.
“Don’t worry about it.”
I gave him the address of my dorm building and we took off. We pulled out of
I was crying now. Becky and the lady doctor who’d examined me had left me alone in the examination room while I got dressed. I was sitting on the leather couch with the paper sheet over it, sobbing.
The tears came in waves. My throat was raw. I could taste the salt of my own tears as they ran down my face. I felt like I’d never be able to stop.
Reaching over to a side table, I grabbed some tissues. I blew my nose.
There was a gentle knock at the door.
“Uh, come in,” I said.
“Are you dressed?” Becky asked from the other other side of the door.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
The door opened and Becky’s head appeared. “You want another few minutes? There’s no rush. Or if you want to talk.”
I shook my head, pushed off the couch and stood up, feeling a little woozy. One of the worst moments of the exam had been when the doctor had told me that I couldn’t drive, or work for the next twenty four hours in case the drug I’d been given impaired my ability. It felt like I was still being violated, that Bentley still had a hold over me.
“No, I’m okay,” I told Becky.
Okay was a relative term. What I meant was I’m not dead. I’m safe. He didn’t kill me. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be really okay again. I felt like a different person. I didn’t know how I could have felt the same. I’d always sort of trusted people, but that was gone now. The world seemed different now; darker somehow.
“Detective Brody has offered to drive you home. If that’s okay with you? We could get you a cab.”
“Whatever you want to do,” said a man standing behind Becky. “Oh, and no one calls me Detective Brody, unless I’m in court. I’m Drew.
I was shocked. Somehow I’d expected Detective Brody to be a woman, and also I hadn’t expected someone who didn’t look much older than me. The first thing I noticed about him was how big he was. I was five six, not exactly a shrimp, but Drew was easily six feet two, with broad, muscular shoulders, and an equally broad chest that tapered in a V-shape to his waist, like someone who’d been on their college swim team. He had collar length, tousled brown hair, a two-day stubble, and the most piercing blue eyes I had ever seen. But there was a softness in his eyes too. I could see it in his smile. There was something in the way he looked at me that instantly made me feel safe.
“You’re a Detective?”
I said it without thinking. What I meant was that I had an idea of what a Detective looked like (overweight, middle-aged, losing their hair, gruff), and this definitely wasn’t it. Drew looked like a younger version of Gerard Butler. He even had the same deep voice, though not the accent.
He helped up his hands. “Laura, can I call you Laura?”
I nodded. “Sure.”
“We’re a little short-staffed right now. Usually we’d be able to assign you a female officer. I wanted to come down here straight away to let you know how seriously we take your complaint. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, so if you’d like me to drive you back home, I can go through what happens next.”
Drew apologized as he cleared a bunch of papers from the front passenger seat of his Accord. He stepped back and held the door open for me as I got in. I noticed the gun he had holstered on his right side. I wondered if he’d ever had to use it, but didn’t want to ask him. Drew closed the door, walked round to the driver’s side and got in.
Before I’d left, Becky had given me her card and written her cell phone number on the back. She’d told me that I could call her anytime, day or night. It did make me feel a little better,
Drew glanced over at me, expectantly. I drew a blank until he said, “You’ll have to tell me where you live?”
“Sorry, I’m so....” I said.
“Don’t worry about it.”
I gave him the address of my dorm building and we took off. We pulled out of