Blind Faith (33 page)

Will continued to scan the crowd
,
but for some reason that eluded him, his gaze kept migrating back to Randy.  If Rick’s kid brother really had been with Serena earlier, then where was she now?  His imagination invoked all kinds of horrible scenarios; Randy making a pass at her while Serena tried to ward of his advances and then escaping from the cave in tears…or being left behind to try and find her way back out again.  That one gnawed at his gut as he studied Randy and the three other boys he was with.

They were huddled together and seemed to be having a pretty heavy discussion, which he found extremely odd considering everyone else at the party was laughing and whooping it up.  And he could tell from their grim expressions and the way they kept casting furtive glances over their shoulders that something was making them edgy. 

Will’s eyes moved past them, up a small incline where a well worn path led to one of the caves.  Was Serena in there?  His stomach knotted.  Was that why they kept looking back at it?  Had they left her all alone in the dark and were worried because she hadn’t found her way out yet?

He borrowed a flashlight and headed across the clearing, his temper barely in check as he passed Randy Porter and noted the guilty look that stole across his face.  Will could almost feel Serena’s fear as he made his way up the hill and into the mouth of the cave, but the fear became even more tangible after calling her name several times with no reply.

The air inside the cave was stagnant and the darkness seemed denser than it had been in the woods, making it impossible for the beam of the flashlight to penetrate more than a few feet in front of him.  The tension in his neck and shoulders began to subside the deeper he went because he knew none of the caves stretched more than a few hundred feet.  Even if Serena
had
gotten turned around, eventually she would have reached the back wall of the cave and started back.

Will was so relieved he
had
been wrong, he almost laughed out loud.  Convinced that his suspicion of Randy was a result of his concern for Serena and an over active imagination, he’d just about made up his mind to turn back when something on the outer edges of the light caught his attention.  He inched closer, raw fear sucking the air from his lungs when his eyes finally made sense of what he was seeing.

“Serena?”  His voice sounded hollow, mimicking the empty feeling deep in his chest as he leaned over her, desperately searching for some sign of life.

Will’s gut wrenched at the sight of her lying there, so still, so…devoid of life. 
Like a mannequin that had fallen
onto its back
, he thought dully.  Will dropped to his knees, the
salt sting of tears blurring his vision for a moment when the flashlight illuminated the deathly pallor of her face.  He reached out and gently brushed the tangled strands of hair from her face, his heart silently breaking when he felt how cold her skin was. 
She was dead.
 
Oh God, his beautiful Serena was dead!
  Pain ripped through him; jagged shards of grief and guilt that shredded him to the bone.

Lowering his cheek to hers, Will whispered in her ear.  “I’m so sorry.  Forgive me, Serena.  I should have looked for you sooner…I should have…” he choked on his words, drowning in the merciless waves of anguish that crashed into him from all sides.

Will was devastated.  He knew he should do something; go for help, get the police…something, but it was impossible to think past the unbearable pain.  That’s when he felt it; just the faintest of warmth sifting across his cheek.  Hope surged through him when he realized it was Serena’s shallow breathing that he’d felt.  He lifted his head just as Serena blinked, the ache inside his chest more acute than ever when she didn’t speak or acknowledge his presence in any way.

Until that moment, he’d naturally assumed the dark smears on her thighs was dirt and that her disheveled appearance was a result of bumping and scrapping against the cave walls as she fumbled for a way out of the darkness.  Based on that assumption, he concluded she must have fallen and hit her head on a rock.  Except…Serena was catatonic and there weren’t any rocks big enough to cause a head wound that traumatizing.  So what did that leave?  A broken bone?  Spinal injury?  Shock?

Anxious to get her out of there but worried that moving her without knowing the extent of her injuries could cause permanent damage, Will made the decision to do a quick check first.  Bringing the flashlight closer to Serena’s face, he noticed several small bruises on either side of her jaws.  Acid churned in his stomach when he
panned the light around the floor of the cave before turning the
beam on her legs.

He prayed that he was wrong, prayed Serena hadn’t been brutally violated, but the torn remains of her panties a few yards away forced Will to face the ugly truth.  What he’d initially thought was dirt on her upper thighs was actually dried blood, and he could see now that her dress had been ripped up the center, the tattered ends lapped over each other to cover her partial nudity.  Will’s throat constricted.  What would have happened if he hadn’t come looking for her?  And what should he do now that he
had
found her?

Will had
seen
enough true crime shows to understand that touching Serena or anything else could destroy crucial evidence.  Which meant he should leave her just as she was and go call the police.  Logically, he knew Serena wasn’t even aware he was there, but he couldn’t just leave her here.  His mind made up, Will quickly shrugged off his jacket and covered her with it, an anguished cry tearing from his throat before he could rein in his emotions. 

If he lived to be a hundred, Will would never forget the sight of Serena lying there like a corpse, robbed of her innocence, her chance at a normal life.  The image was burned in
his mind forever, but that wasn’t the only thing searing itself into his brain.  He knew who was responsible for committing this abominable act of violence, just as he knew the punishment would never be harsh enough to fit the crime. 

Maybe Randy would be tried as adult, but he highly doubted it.  And maybe he would spend time behind bars, but Will doubted that too.  Randy would never know the fear and the pain that Serena had suffered.  There would be no real consequences for his actions, no devastating effects on his life, no nightmares to contend with.  The idea that Randy would get away
with
it festered inside him like an
infected
wound, fueling a rage that seemed as alien to him as the helplessness he felt when he leaned down and gently picked Serena up.

He held her close to his body, sharing his warmth and praying he wasn’t too late.  Will pressed his cheek to hers for a moment, unashamed of the tears that spilled from his eyes and dampened her skin.  He’d never felt such overwhelming sorrow before.  Or such uncontrollable rage.  He wondered how it was possible to retain any clarity of thought while his insides were being shredded to ribbons by a kaleidoscope of turbulent emotions.  Yet he did it somehow.

As he carried her through the cave, Will promised Serena he would take care of her and that she was safe now.  He continued to talk, offering what comfort he could, all the while devising a plan to administer a little justice of his own before the authorities got involved.  He wanted to kill the bastard for what he’d done, but he would see to it that Serena got the medical attention she needed first.  Then he would find Randy and extract revenge with his fists. 

He couldn’t undo what happened to Serena, but he
could
make Randy pay for it.  And the way he was feeling right now…Randy Porter had better pray to God the cops got to him before Will did.  

Chapter 16

Serena waited for Will to continue
,
even as she struggled to absorb everything he’d told her.  For the most part, there had been very little fluctuation in his voice, which she felt was a deliberate measure on his part to avoid upsetting her.  But there was a definite thread of tension when he spoke about finding her in the cave, and a more obvious hardness to his tone whenever he said Randy’s name.

“Tell me the rest,” she urged.  “What happened after you took me to the hospital?”

They had been sitting side by side on the sofa, but now Will put his arm around her and drew her close.  Serena nestled her head against his shoulder and was surprised to feel the rapid thump of his heart beneath her cheek.  Coupled with the tension in his muscles, it was a clear indication of just how difficult it was for Will to talk about.  Serena tilted her head back, giving as much comfort as she took with a kiss so heartbreakingly tender it brought tears to her eyes.

“It’s okay, you can tell me,” she said gently, settling her head back on his shoulder.

“You’re sure?”

Not really.
  “I’m sure,” her answer was firm.

His arms tightened around her before he plunged back into the story.  “One of the nurses took me aside and explained why they shouldn’t treat you until your parents got there.  Because you were a minor, they needed your parent’s consent before performing an examination to collect evidence.  Without it, there was virtually no chance of prosecuting.  So I gave her the phone number but asked if I could call them.  It just didn’t seem right…having a stranger tell them.  It was the hardest phone call I
have
ever had to make,” he said grimly.

“Thank you for doing that, Will.  I’m sure they appreciate
d
it even if they never told you so.” 

“I know, but it’s not exactly something you express your gratitude for, is it?  Your father didn’t say much…just that he and your mom were on their way.  It was seeing their faces that tore me apart.  I imagine it was the same for them when they saw me.” 

Will was quiet for a moment but she didn’t say anything.  There was so much sorrow in his voice, so much pain.  That he could hurt like that for her, touched Serena deeply.  How her parents could ever have believed the lies McKinley told about Will was beyond her.  But she couldn’t blame them either.  She was their child, after all, and it must be difficult for them to trust anyone with her safety, even Will.

“Rose showed up a few minutes after your parents arrived.  I’ve got to hand it to her; the woman was a rock.  Your mom was practically hysterical, but somehow Rose quieted her down so I could tell your dad what little I knew.  I’m not sure why I didn’t tell him I suspected Porter, but I think maybe I knew what he would do.  It wasn’t really my decision to make, but you needed both your parents and I just couldn’t let him do something that would only cause you more pain.”

“So you…,” Serena swallowed hard, fighting the enormous wave of emotion threatening to engulf her, “you went after him instead.”

“It was after your dad authorized the examination and
was waiting for
the police.  I heard him tell your mother and Rose that if the person responsible for assaulting you was a minor, it would be considered statutory rape.  A misdemeanor,” his voice was bitter.  “
If
he was convicted, he could spend up to a year in prison, maybe less.  What kind of justice is that?  None.  There
was
no justice for what he’d done.”

“They
’d
been drinking,” Serena said.  “It would have been used as an excuse and gotten them even less time, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes.  I was furious, out of control.  I didn’t know about the other boys yet, but I knew Porter’s family had the money to buy his way out of it.”

“You were as helpless as I was, all of you.”

“Not all of us,” Will replied.  “I was still a minor too.  I figured if a year was all they could give Porter, I couldn’t possibly get more than that for beating him up.  The problem was, the police were already on the way.  I had to get out of there before they arrived and started questioning me, so I told your parents I was going to find your brothers and McKinley.  They were too distraught to notice how angry I was, but I suspected Rose knew exactly what I was planning.”

“Did she say something to make you believe that?”