Why did these things keep happening to me? How many different signs did I have to see before I finally realized that I was fighting a losing battle?

The woman at Christian’s house made some very valid points. I am nothing at all like the girls he was used to being with and I am pretty sure I never would be. Christian was the first man I had ever given myself to so I didn’t have any experience when it came to sex.

He was the complete opposite. He’d had numerous sexual partners and had most likely seen and done it all. I couldn’t say the same. I was very much learning things as I went along.

He might not have shown it but I’m sure Christian would lose patience eventually before going out to find more excitement.

I thought about him non-stop during my entire ride home. I didn’t want to give up on him but if what that woman had said was true, what other choice did I have? I cried and cried for the duration of the trip, which seemed to make the driver rather uncomfortable.

That wasn’t my intention but I was upset and couldn’t help myself. My sister had a lot more experience when it came to dating so I just wanted to get home so I could tell her what happened. She isn’t great when it comes to giving sisterly advice but I was hoping she would come through for me on this occasion.

When the car dropped me off, I made my way inside as fast as I could. I called out to Lexi but didn’t get a response. All of the lights were off downstairs so she was either not home or she was up in her bedroom.

It was very possible that she was still fast asleep considering her love for partying late into the night. After making my way up the stairs, I crept into her room as quietly as I could debating whether I would wake her up or let her sleep and talk to her later.

That was a choice I wouldn’t have to make because she wasn’t in her room either. I had no clue where she was but she wasn’t at home.

Hoping she may be coming back soon, I called her cell phone but got sent to voice mail after the second ring. I hoped she would call back soon but in the meantime, I needed to relax and the best way for me to do that would be to take a nice, long, hot bath.

In my room, I kicked my shoes off and turned on the light. I screamed loudly when I turned to make my way into the bathroom only to find Kade sitting in the chair by the window. I didn’t know what to do.

I wasn’t sure what his intentions were but they couldn’t be good if he had been hiding in my room waiting for me to come home. I thought about what my options were. What I really wanted to do was make a dart for my door and run away.

I knew that wouldn’t work because I’m not the fastest person in the world and he would be able to catch me well before I got to the top of the stairs. Instead, I decided to ask him point blank why he was there.

“What are you doing in my room, Kade?”

“You think you are really fucking slick, don’t you Sarabelle?”

“Slick? What are you talking about?”

“You stupid bitch! Did you think I wouldn’t realize what you did? Did you think I wouldn’t notice that the memory card was suddenly missing from my phone? How fucking stupid do you think I am?”

“I don’t believe you’re stupid, Kade, but you had no right to take those pictures of my sister. I was just doing what I had to do to protect her.”

“Bullshit! You knew what you had to do to protect her.”

“What? Sleep with you? That’s not going to happen. I don’t understand you, Kade. Why do you want to have sex with me so bad? Why do you wish to have sex with someone who has no desire to have sex with you? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Don’t question me. You have no right to question me about anything. I’m here to get my memory card back. Give it to me and I’ll be on my way.”

“I don’t have your memory card.”

“Bullshit. Where is it?”

“I gave it to my sister and she made sure it was thoroughly destroyed.” That part was a lie. I had no idea what my sister did with the memory card but I didn’t want to let him know that.

“Well that memory card is mine and if you can’t produce it, you’re going to have to pay me for it.”

“Fine, I’ll pay you for it. What was it? Twenty bucks? Thirty? How much do you need?”

“There you go again, Sarabelle. Always acting so naive. This is not about money. This has never been about money. This has always been about you. You’re going to give me what I want this time or I’m just gonna fucking take it.”

Kade got that same scary look in his eyes as he did the night at the gala in the labyrinth and I could tell that he was serious. I darted out of my room and ran as fast as I could. As I moved, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Christian’s number.

I knew I wouldn’t have the chance to talk to him but I hoped that if he heard what was happening in the background, he would send the cops. Kade grabbed me right as I turned to go down the stairs and dragged me back into my room, throwing me onto my bed and ripping my t-shirt in half. He was pawing at me, trying to get into my bra.

“You might as well let me do this. You might even be surprised by how much you like it,” he snarled through gritted teeth.

I was fighting him off and trying to push him off me but he was much bigger than me and far too strong. I looked over and saw that my cell phone had fallen onto the floor right next to the bed. I could also see that the call I had made to Christian was still active. He was on the line and I needed to make some noise to let him know what was going on.

“I said no Kade. Get the fuck off of me or I’m gonna scream,” I yelled.

“Go ahead and scream. Nobody’s here but me and you. Who’s gonna hear you?”

“Why are you doing this to me? Just leave me alone. I promise I won’t tell anyone if you just get out of my house.”

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for too long, Sarabelle. I’ve wanted you for so long but you’ve been too stubborn to let it happen. Let’s get these clothes off you and you can be my next model. You’re the twin that I really want to take beautiful pictures of.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up in front of me, preparing to take a photograph. Knowing what he intended to do with the pictures, I refused to let him. I moved from side to side quickly and was eventually able to kick his cell phone out of his hand.

It hit the wall hard and crashed to the floor. I could see the cracked screen from where I was lying and I could also see the anger brewing in Kade’s face.

“You fucking bitch! Look what you did,” he screamed as he slapped me in the face with the back of his hand.

I froze in place, stunned that he had just hit me. I should have known he was capable of it. I mean, any man capable of trying to rape a woman wouldn’t think twice when it came down to hitting one.

Still, I was taken aback by it. It stung and left my jaw hurting. While I was stunned, he managed to rip my bra apart and started to work on my pants. When the air in the room hit my nipples, I was snapped back into reality.

I wasn’t going to make things easy for him and started to struggle once more. I wanted to reach up and claw at his face but I stopped myself, fearing that he might strike me again.

Struggling against an attacker is exhausting. The longer I tried to keep him out of my pants, the more tired I became. Eventually, I thought he was going to succeed as I didn’t have it in me any longer to keep resisting. Just when I thought all hope was lost, Kade was pulled away from me.

Looking up, I was relieved to see Christian struggling with Kade. Seeing a quick opening, Kade took a swing at Christian, knocking him down. He tried to make a run for it but Christian grabbed his legs and tripped him.

Kade was willing to do whatever he could to escape but it wasn’t going to happen. Christian pinned him down to the floor and climbed on top of him, raining down fist after fist across his face.

“What in the hell is the matter with you?” Christian yelled at him as he pummeled his face. “Didn’t you learn anything the first time this happened?”

Eventually, Kade was yelling that he’d had enough and was begging Christian to have some mercy on him. Christian wanted nothing more than to beat Kade’s face to a pulp but he looked over at me and could see the fear in my eyes. After one more well-placed shot, he got up off the floor while Kade groaned in pain.

“This might be your lucky day, you little piece of shit. I want you to remember the third time’s a charm. Next time you won’t be so lucky. If you mess with my girl one more time, you might not make it to see the light of day ever again. I don’t even want to see you in the same vicinity as Sarabelle. Do you understand me?”

Kade nodded, signifying his agreement.

“I’m serious. If I see you around my girl again, I’ll kill you.”

Kade crawled out of the room, only getting up onto his feet once he was in the hallway. He left a trail of blood behind on the floor that would have to be cleaned up.

None of that mattered to me. The only thing I was thinking about was the fact that Christian had just called me his girl not once but twice. Maybe I was wrong and was once again letting my mind make decisions for me. Perhaps it was time to start listening to my heart.