Derrick stood up, her legs wrapping around his waist, and turned around to face the bed. He climbed deeper into the bed laying her down on it and she relaxed onto the plush covers, smiling back at him. He wasn’t giving her a boyish grin anymore, instead his eyes were smoldering and he was biting his lip as he attempted to slow himself down and remind himself of her limitations.
He kissed her lips again, then moved to her cheek, down to her jaw, below her ear, and then trailing further down her neck. He paused in the dip of her clavicle at the base of her neck and kissed it gently. She shivered beneath him as she felt her skin tingling with the sensation of his unshaven face scratching softly against her smooth skin. She felt her breath quickening and her heart threatening to slip right out of her chest and it began to frighten her. She felt Derrick kissing her breast softly, then her stomach, and soon he was kissing her thighs.
Kate jolted up in the bed, panicking and forgetting where she was. "Derrick was startled and looked up at her in confusion." All Kate could see was her attacker biting her thigh. The blood trickling down her legs. The pain shooting through her limbs. The humiliation of being invaded. She was watching it all happen in front of her eyes, as if she were experiencing it again.
“Kate! Kate!! Stop screaming! What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” Derrick was calling to her and she blinked, puzzled, as she looked at him.
“What?” She asked him confused, wondering why the last few minutes felt so foggy and why she felt so anxious.
“You were just screaming at the top of your lungs! What do you mean ‘what’?” Derrick asked her, concern etched across his face as he pulled her forward and into his lap on the bed.
“Kate, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I promise I won’t push anything, take all the time you need.” Derrick said, feeling guilty about coming on to her when she was clearly not ready for that only a little over two weeks after the attack.
Kate hadn’t even realized that she had been screaming, but she remembered the flashback. She remembered every image like it had been painted right onto the inside of her eyelids. Things had been so fuzzy for a moment, then brutally clear, then confusing again as she realized she was in bed with Derrick.
She had to remind herself that she was safe.
She had Derrick.
~~~~
“I bet that’s Detective Snow.” Derrick said to Kate as he slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck, standing behind her. She gulped nervously and pushed the negative thoughts out of her mind. She had to remind herself that it was just Derrick’s strong hands wrapped around her. Derrick let go of her and walked over to the bed, picking up his shirt and pulling it on over his head. The duo had been finishing getting dressed when there was a knock at the door.
“I’ll get it.” She smiled at him, seeing him behind her in the mirror. Kate headed out of the bedroom to go answer the front door, smoothing down her skirt and adjusting her blouse.
Kate opened the door and gave a forced smile to the two detectives standing in front of her. Detective Liz Snow was standing in the doorway with her partner, Detective McCraig, behind her. He just nodded his head at her, he was a very stoic person always standing in a military stance.
“Hi Kate, how are you feeling?” Snow asked her as she walked past Kate into the apartment, with her partner close behind.
“I’m feeling a lot better. Time, you know.” Kate told them, closing the door behind McCraig. The detectives picked different seats in the living room, McCraig in an armchair by the window and Snow on the couch. Kate went to go sit next to Snow, angled to face her.
“Well, I think you will feel even better than that when you hear what we have to tell you.” Detective Snow beamed at her.
“Is there a break in my case?” Kate asked, her eyebrows jumping up in surprise and excitement.
“Yes, we ran the evidence from your rape kit and some of the DNA came back as a partial match to a Tracy Glen. Have you ever heard that name before?” Detective Liz Snow asked her, looking hopeful.
“Tracy Glen? That’s a man’s name?” Kate was clueless, never having heard that name before. She searched her mind to see if she was missing anything.
“Yes, he is a man. Have you ever heard of him before?” The detective reiterated to her.
“I’m trying to think but I really don’t think I’ve ever met or heard of anyone with that name before.” Kate looked disappointed.
“Hey, don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s entirely possible that this was a stranger and you never met him before.” Detective McCraig spoke up suddenly from his quiet spot in the back corner. Kate turned to look at him, surprised, but relieved at his assurance.