Conquest of the Heart (28 page)

Adrian picked up. “Gavin. How are you
son?”

“Something’s happened. I’m at the hospital,”
said Gavin.

“Are you okay? Did you get into an accident?”
asked Adrian in a concerned voice.

“It’s Faith, Dad.”

“What happened? Was she in an accident?”

“Carter,” Gavin took a deep breath, “Carter
tried to rape her.” He had a lump in his throat from fighting back
tears.

“Damn!” exclaimed Adrian. “How bad is
it?”

“I don’t know yet. They were just starting
the exam when I left. I can’t talk too long. I have to get back to
her.”

“We’re coming to the hospital. Which one are
you at?”

“No, Dad. Faith is already feeling humiliated
and scared. Having you here right now would only make things
worse.”

Adrian sighed. “You’re right. Well, don’t let
her be alone tonight. She’ll need your support. Also, take tomorrow
off. She shouldn’t be alone for awhile. Call me when you get home
and fill me in a little bit more. I’ll let you get back.”

“I’ll talk to you soon,” said Gavin. He
pushed a button to end the call and rushed back to Faith.

Adrian immediately made another call. “Hi ….
I don’t have good news …. Faith has been hurt.”

Leisa was now performing a pelvic exam and
swabbing to test for sexually transmitted diseases. Gavin walked in
quietly, going to Faith’s side. Faith reached for his hand and
looked up at him. A single tear rolled down her face.

He sighed and said, “You’re doing great.”

“Yes she is,” said Leisa. “How long have the
two of you been dating?”

“We’re not really - ” he paused when Faith
squeezed his hand and nodded her head. Gavin smiled. “Officially
about two weeks ago, but we’ve been getting to know each other for
about four months.”

“Well, she’s a lucky woman. Since I’ve been
doing this I don’t think I’ve seen a significant other be as
supportive as you. She’s going to need you in the coming weeks,”
Leisa stated.

“I’ll be there. Whatever she needs me to do,
I’ll do,” said Gavin. “How extensive were her injuries?”

“Most of them were external. A lot of
bruising. Do you know if her attacker penetrated? I know that’s a
hard question, but it might explain some things,” said Leisa.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I heard her
screaming,” he said, taking a deep breath, “and I ran to her
office. He had her pinned on the floor. I pulled him away from her
and punched him a few times before he ran off.”

“Sounds like she knew her attacker.” Noticing
Gavin’s hand, Leisa asked, “Would you like us to wrap your hand?
You must have hit him pretty good.”

“I did, but you don’t have to worry about my
hand. Right now, I just want to focus on Faith,” Gavin replied,
trying to keep calm.

“Well, it’s a good thing you were there. I
didn’t find any damage from forced penetration. We’re doing all of
the necessary tests, but I’m pretty sure the results will be
negative. Sounds like you pulled him off before he could get
started. I’ll take a look at that hand when I’m through with
Faith.”

“I forgot my phone,” said Gavin.

“Excuse me?” asked Leisa.

“That’s why I was there. I had forgotten my
phone and had to go back.” Gavin kept his eyes on Faith the entire
time they were talking. “Has she said anything?”

“No. That’s why I was asking you what you
knew. She’s still pretty shaken up and the French is still coming
through. These exams are no walk in the park. They’re probably not
helping with her level of comfort.”

“Are you almost done?” Gavin could tell that
Faith was ready to go.

“I am. The police will have some questions
before you leave. They’ll file a report, but it will be up to Faith
as to whether she wants to press charges against the man who did
this. She won’t need to make that decision tonight. At minimum, get
the report filed. Then you can take her home.”

“Thanks,” replied Gavin.

An officer came in and took down what
information he could. Since Faith was still speaking French, the
officer asked questions that only required a yes or no answer. Her
clothes were kept as evidence, so she changed into the spare set
that she had in her gym bag. While she was changing, Leisa wrapped
Gavin’s hand.

When Faith walked out of the bathroom, she
staggered toward Gavin, sore from her bruises and the examinations.
He picked her up again. She rested her head on his shoulder as he
carried her out of the hospital. Various doctors and nurses watched
this tender moment. At his car, Gavin gently placed her in the
passenger’s seat, and again placed her bag in the back. When he got
in, he started the car and turned to look at her.

“You have two choices. I can take you home,
or you can stay with me. Either way, I’m staying with you. What
would you like to do?”

“Je vais aller a votre
maison.” She pounded her fists on her thighs, grimacing in pain as
she had forgotten about her injuries, and frustrated that she
hadn’t calmed down yet. (
I’ll go to your
house.
)

“Hey, it’s okay.” Gavin pointed to her, “Your
house,” then back to himself, “or mine?”

Faith pointed at Gavin.

“My house?” asked Gavin, making sure he
understood. She nodded in agreement.

At home, Gavin placed Faith in the room
closest to his. He intended to stay with her through the night,
resting at a distance if that’s what she chose. He wanted to make
sure that she was able to rest, and didn’t want her to be
alone.

“You’ll sleep in here. The bathroom is right
here,” he said, pushing the door open. “It’s stocked pretty well
with towels and toiletries. If you can’t find something, let me
know and I’ll get it for you. I’m sure you want to take a shower.
Are you still good on clothes? Maybe just put these back on?”

Faith nodded.

“I know that I originally asked that you stay
for the night. However, I’d like you to stay the whole weekend. I
don’t think you should be alone.”

Faith nodded again.

“Okay. I’m going to make you some tea and
some soup. You need to try and eat something. I’ll see you in a
bit,” Gavin said, closing her door.

Faith ran water that was hotter than what she
was used to. She bathed, then just sat on the floor with her knees
pulled into her chest, letting the water hit her. She cried for the
next hour.

Gavin warmed up some vegetable soup and
heated some water to make tea for Faith. After a half hour, he went
to check on her.

Knocking on the bathroom door he asked, “Are
you okay in there?”

“Yes,” she was finally able to say.

He left her alone for a little while longer,
but thought that an hour in the shower was too long.

“Faith, I want you to come out now. I’m
worried about you,” he said standing at the door. “Please don’t
make me come in there.”

“I’m okay. I’m getting dressed now,” she
called out.

“I’ll see you in a few minutes.” He went and
poured some soup in a bowl and steeped a chamomile tea bag in some
hot water. He placed the items on a tray, with a choice of honey or
sugar. Shortly thereafter, Faith emerged from her room.

“Hi,” she said. Her eyes were red from
crying.

“Hey, it’s good to have you back. I wasn’t
sure if we’d be able to communicate very well tonight. Come here,”
he said, raising his eyebrows. He wasn’t sure if she was ready for
any physical contact.

She moved in slowly, buried her face in his
chest and put her arms around his waist. Gavin wrapped her in his
arms. Tears began to roll down her face. She looked up.

Gavin let out a deep sigh. “I’m so sorry,” he
said, choking back his own tears. “I’m so sorry this happened to
you.”

She didn’t respond, but again burrowed her
face into him. She was happy to be in his arms.

“Hey, I made you some tea and soup. Do you
think you can eat, or at least try?”

“Yeah,” she said, walking around to a stool
and sitting at the island.

Faith was able to eat most of her soup and
drank all of her tea.

“I need to make a phone call. I’ll be back.”
Faith excused herself and went to her bedroom. She scrolled through
her contact list and found the number she was looking for.

“Salut … Je suis d'accord … Il va prendre un certain temps
… Il veut que je reste avec lui pendant quelques jours …
Très bien … Je vais
rester en contact. Au revoir. (
Hi. I'm okay. It's going to take a while.
He wants me to stay with him for a few days. Okay. I'll keep in
touch. Goodbye.
)

While Faith was on the phone, Gavin called
Adrian as promised.

“Hi, Dad. We’re at my house. I’ve asked Faith
to stay the whole weekend.”

“That’s probably a good idea. Do you know
what happened?” asked Adrian.

“We haven’t talked about it. I think she’ll
need more time before she’s ready for that,” said Gavin.

“That’s understandable. What did you see? How
did you walk into this?” asked Adrian.

Gavin didn’t feel like talking about it
either, but Adrian needed to know.

“I forgot my phone. As I walked back to my
office, I heard Faith screaming. I ran to her office and found
Carter on top of her with his pants down. I ripped him up off her
and threw him against the wall. He’ll need a few stitches. I told
him to leave. She was trembling so much. Anyway, the nurse seems to
think that I may have stopped Carter before he could even get
started. When she is ready to talk, we’ll know exactly what
happened.”

“How is she?” Adrian asked, concerned.

“As good as can be expected. She was able to
eat, and I made her some tea to help calm her down. She’s making a
phone call right now,” said Gavin.

“Make sure she gets some rest. I’m sure she’s
very tired. Her body has been through a great deal of stress. Is
there anything we can do? Your mother is worried sick.”

“I think we’ll all know what we need to do
when the time comes. For now, I think we just need to let her know
she’s loved and that she can count on us to be there for her,”
Gavin said.

“I’m sure she’s not ready to call her
parents. Tell her that I’ll take care of that for her.”

“I will. I’ll fill you in when she’s ready to
talk,” replied Gavin.

“We love you. Tell Faith that we love her,
too. Talk to you soon,” said Adrian.

“I love you, too. Good night, Dad.” Gavin
ended his call and turned off his cell phone. He wanted to give
Faith his complete attention.

He walked down the hall to check on her. She
was laying down on the bed. She looked up when he came to the
door.

“How are you doing?” asked Gavin.

“I’m really tired,” she said, turning on her
side to face him.

Gavin walked in and sat on the bed.

“My mom and dad send their love, and Dad said
he’d call your parents,” he said.

Faith nodded, relieved.

“Would you like me to stay with you? I’d like
to. I can sleep on that chair,” he said, motioning his head toward
a chair across the room.

“That doesn’t look very comfortable,” she
said wearily. “I think I’ll be okay for tonight. I shouldn’t have
any problems getting to sleep.”

“If you do, I’m right next door. I need to
shower and get to bed myself. I’ll check on you before I go to
sleep,” he said, rubbing her cheek.

“Okay,” she said. As Gavin started to leave,
she continued, “Gavin?”

“Yes, beautiful?” he said, turning to look at
her.

“Thank you for being there for me,” she
said.

“Always, beautiful. Always.” Gavin turned out
her light and went to do as he said.

Later in the evening, Gavin went to check on
Faith to make sure she wasn’t having any trouble sleeping. She was
resting peacefully. He walked over to check on her. He knelt down
next to her, stroking her hair. A single tear was running down her
face. He wiped the tear away, stood up and put his hands in his
pockets. He turned to look out the window, staring into the
night.

Faith shifted her weight around, opening her
eyes as she did.

“What are you doing?” she said sleepily.

“I just wanted to check on you,” he said. “Go
back to sleep.”

Faith closed her eyes almost as quickly as
she had opened them. Gavin continued to look out the window,
staying close in case she needed him.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The following morning, Gavin
woke up at his usual time and went for a run. He had a lot on his
mind and figured the fresh air would do some good. When he got back
home, he checked in on Faith. She was still sleeping.
‘Good,’
he thought. He
went to his bedroom, took off his sweaty clothes, and took a
shower.

Faith was still resting when Gavin emerged
from his bedroom, clothed and ready for the day. He went to the
kitchen to prepare breakfast. He turned on the stove to warm up
some water for some tea, while cutting up some fresh fruit, placing
it in a bowl. He got a tray from one of the cabinets, sat it on the
countertop, and carefully placed the fruit, a mug for the tea,
honey, and a glass filled with filtered water on it. Grabbing a
fork and napkin from a drawer, he stopped, remembering one more
thing. Gavin got some scissors and walked to the front of his
house. He clipped a single flower from a bunch, brought it back in
and put it in a small vase with water. The kettle began to whistle
quietly as the water boiled inside. He turned the burner off, and
poured the hot water over another chamomile tea bag in the mug that
was sitting on the tray. He sat the kettle on a cooling pad, picked
up the tray, and went to wake Faith up.

She was groggily moving around, yawning and
rubbing her eyes when he entered the room.