I couldn’t speak if I wanted to, the walls closed in on me. My stomach tightened and continued churning away in fear. My legs are like jelly and I only make it to the chair with his help as he pushes me along with his hand still firmly gripping my hair. I’m roughly shoved down onto the chair and my hands grip the sides to stop myself from falling off. He sits down opposite me and pulls my chair closer so we are face to face and knees to knees. I can’t help the sob that erupts from my mouth and I lower my head refusing to focus on him. My whole body racks with tremors and a sheen of sweat breaks out and covers me from head to foot. My legs start to bounce and he painfully grips my knees to keep them still causing me to cry out in pain again, and more tears to leak from my eyes. “What is it about you that draws men to you like flies to shit? You’re a good fuck, I will give you that, but you’re not unique Peppa.”
He forcibly seizes my chin and lifts my head up to peer at him. I gasp when my eyes rest on his, I notice his hatred for me, but it’s the other thing that clearly blazes from his frigid blue eyes that’s scares me the most as I have no idea if he will act on that lust.
“You see I can’t for the life of me remember why I left Devil Records. Yes, Noah is fucking you, but that wouldn’t have made me resign. Then it’s the dreams I keep having where I can hear you crying and I watch some woman moan with pleasure as she squirms over Noah’s dick.”
Jacob’s free hand parts my knees and it travels up my leg landing on my thigh, where he rubs. I flinch and my body goes rigid. I try to close my legs so his hand can’t travel any further, but he is too strong. Bile gathers at the back of my throat and I gag as I’m forced to swallow it back down.
He carries on talking, “Then all I feel is pain, and I wake up with my hands wrapped around my neck. I feel like I’m going mad sometimes, my mind tells me that the dream is real, but that can’t be true can it Peppa?”
His hand quickly moves and I thank God I wore leggings today, because he now has his hand over my pussy. I begin to scream for Juan and Noah while fighting to break free of his hold. He quickly covers my mouth and I find myself lifted off the chair and bent over the table. “Now that Juan no longer pleasures you, I think I will have one more taste of you.”
My mind goes blank and I close my eyes tight. I find a place inside my head and hide away so I don’t have to feel what is coming next. His hand starts to snake up my leg and then it’s suddenly gone. I sense a rush of air and then a crashing sound as the chair I was sitting on flies across the room. My throat constricted and my heart felt like it is fighting to rip itself out of my chest. Everything inside of me screamed to make a run for it but my frame collapses to the floor as I hear the voice of my lover and saviour. “Saul should have killed you the first time, you bastard.”
I barely get his name out, but Noah hears me. “He will never hurt you again, sweetheart. I’m going to finish this once and for all.”
That’s when I hear the most deafening scream explode from Jacob’s mouth and I have to cover my ears as they threaten to burst from the high pitched sound. I sense another rush of air, “Noah, noooooo you will kill him.”
My head twists to watch Juan pry Noah away from Jacob. They fall to the floor where Juan keeps a firm hold on Noah almost like cuddling him.
My eyes meet Juan’s and I notice his distress. He asks me, “Are you hurt?”
I shake my head and mouth, ‘No’.
Noah starts to struggle in Juan’s arms, “He was going to rape her Juan. Let me kill the fucker. He deserves to die.”
Jacob makes a strangled sound and all heads swivel his way. He is holding his neck and I notice the blood seeping through his fingers. His face is pale and his eyes are enlarged, almost like they are going to pop out of his head.
His mouths opens to speak, “Please don’t kill me, I…vampire.” He shakes his head and turns it to face me, “The dream, it was real. Fucking Vampires.” He starts laughing, I’m not sure if it’s out of fear or desperation.
His head snaps back to Juan and Noah and that irritating sneer of his appears, “I have a feeling I’m not going to get out of here alive so to hell with it. All she wanted me to do was kidnap Peppa so Juan would feel loss like she has. I have never met a woman with so much venomous hate towards someone. It was her last-ditch attempt after the newspapers blew her scheming wide open.”
From the corner of my eye, I notice Noah shift in Juan’s arms and he shouts out, “What the fuck are you talking about?! You’re insane and who is she?!”
An evil laugh escapes from Jacob, “You really don’t have a clue, do you? It’s your mother Noah, she is the one who has been trying to ruin Viper.”
Noah leaps forward, “You lying bastard!”
Juan tries to keep his grip on Noah and they end up rolling around on the floor. “Let me go Juan, I want to rip out his dishonest throat.”
My eyes are focused on the figures fighting on the floor, so I didn’t notice Jacob had moved until it is too late. He grabs me around the neck and the scream I try to get out is cut off as Jacob’s arm crushes my windpipe. Somewhere deep inside of me, I find the strength to turn my fear into anger. I bring my arms up and use my hands as claws as I scratch at his arms and kick my legs to break free. Noah and Juan are suddenly on their feet as Jacob cries out in pain as I dig my nails deep into his flesh.
“Jacob, I can guarantee you if you hurt Peppa, in any way, I will kill you myself.” This comes from Juan who actually appears very agitated as he takes a step forward.
“Do you love her that much Juan? You know I can snap her neck right now and die knowing I had the last laugh.” My eyes fill with tears and I feel the wetness of them as they fall down my cheeks.
Juan looks on petrified, “I love her more than you will ever know.”
I sense a rush of air and then Jacob’s arms loosen from around my neck. I’m snatched out of his grasp and into the arms of Juan. All I can hear is the overwhelming screams that ring out into the night. Juan collapses to the floor with me still in his arms and he holds me against him so I can’t watch what is happening in front of me. My cheek vibrates on Juan’s chest as he speaks, “Noah, please stop. Fight the hunger. Don’t let it overtake you.”
I shift my head slightly and I can hear the sounds of groaning, slurping and the suckling of someone enjoying their food. “Peppa I’m going to have to put you down for a minute so I can help Noah.” He rests me back against the counter and I watch as he crawls over to Noah.
I notice Jacob isn’t moving anymore and I know in my heart that he is dead. I hear Juan say, “Noah he’s gone, his heart no longer beats.”
And then he leans over Noah whispering to him and the words must have had an effect as they both fall away from Jacob’s body and hold on to each other crying. I break down at this point, everything that has happened tonight hits me like a punch in the face. I crawl up into a ball and cry a river of tears. Somewhere in my distant thoughts I hear my name and then I feel arms embrace me and whispered words of, “I’m so sorry Peppa.”
I sense warmth at my back and more arms enclose around me and a kiss is placed to my head and Juan tells me, “I was scared I was going to lose you.”
No more words are spoken as we hold on to each other for dear life. All you can hear are our cries of distress, pain, revelation and the torment that comes with that. Juan’s phone rings, but he didn’t move. It rings again, but still he does nothing. By the fifth ring he removes himself from me and sits up to answer it.
“Cruz, shut the fuck up and listen, cancel the gig for tonight. I don’t fucking care about the reason, just do it. I need you to tell Saul to get a hold of Jade and tell her to come to Café Net with a car. For fuck sake Cruz, stop moaning. This is serious. I also need you and Saul to come too, we have a dead body.”
My eyes flicker over to Jacob’s body and I frown at myself, because I feel nothing for him. Not one part of me aches for his loss. Juan’s voice floats to me as he mutters away to himself, “This is all my fault, I could have lost them both. I should walk away, I have brought them nothing but pain.”
An anger so deep builds inside of me. I’m not sure if it’s the residue left from Jacob’s attack, but I don’t leave it to fester. I move away from Noah without looking at him and use my hands to push myself off the floor and twist my body so Juan can see my face. His eyes widen as I lean in closer and the words just pour out of my mouth, “Don’t you dare take this upon yourself, that monster over there is to blame.”
My finger points in the direction of Jacob. He shakes his head and sadness fills his eyes as a tear falls. Our heads turn to the front door as we hear a car pull up, and Juan rushes to the door. Noah pushes himself upright too, only to find himself back on the floor when Cruz attacks him.
“You stupid fucker! Do you realize what you have done?”
My anger still rides me and my blood boils with rage. I throw myself on top of Cruz thumping his back shouting, “Don’t hurt him, let him go!”
I’m suddenly lifted in the air and Juan speaks into my ear, “Please Peppa, calm down. You need to leave now, we will sort everything out.”
Saul grabs a fuming Cruz by the scruff of his neck and hauls him off Noah. He proceeds to march him to the other side of the room where an argument erupts. Noah’s eyes find mine and I read the anger and sorrow clearly written on his face. His pain creeps up on me and I sob out a moan just as Juan’s pain joins the fray.
My eyes are ripped away from Noah’s as Juan strides to the front door taking me with him. He lets me go and stands me next to Jade. “Peppa, Jade is going to take you back to her house. Wait for us there, we need to sort this mess out.”
My body starts to shake as my stomach turns over as I realize they are going to get rid of Jacob’s body. To make him disappear. I dash outside and empty the contents of my stomach on the sidewalk. Jade holds my hair back out of my face and when there is nothing left but dry heaving, she helps me into the car. I stare out of the car window, back into the café, to see Noah standing there. He cuts a lonely figure standing by himself, and my heart aches for him. I raise my hand and rest it on the car window to let him know I’m thinking of him. He steps forward and his figure blurs and comes to a standstill outside of the car. He lifts his arm up and his hand presses up against mine through the glass. He mouths the words ‘I love you’ and I mouth them back, then Jade starts the car and pulls away.
I don’t remember much of the car ride, I tried to blank out my thoughts, but they kept creeping back in. Jade showed me into the house and I head straight for the room that Noah and I had made love in the other night. She spoke to me, but I didn’t hear a word at that point. I crawl onto the bed and close my eyes, trying to block the flickering pictures that play in my head like a slide show. I have an emotional overload of denial, anger and guilt. It’s the guilt that plagues me the most. I toss and turn into the coming hours. I shed tears for Noah, Juan and myself but no tears are spilt over Jacob. My body shuts down as exhaustion takes over and my eyes draw heavy as sleep finally takes me.
“PEPPA, PEPPA. Come on wake up.” My shoulders are being shaken as I’m conscious of the voice trying to wake me up. My eyes flutter open and I need to rub them so I can focus on who has disturbed my sleep. “Peppa, please hurry, Juan needs you.”
My mind picks up on the mention of Juan’s name and my heart races. Everything comes rushing back to me like a freight train. I open my mouth to ask what’s wrong but Jade pulls on my hand trying to drag me off the bed, “I don’t know the details. Saul phoned me and gave me directions and said I need to get you there quick.”
I frown at her, I can see the concern on her face and it scares me, “Do you even know if Juan is ok?”
“I’m sorry Peppa I don’t, please let’s just get you there.”
I let her know that I need the bathroom first and five minutes later we are on our way. I try to push away the memories that keep flooding back to me but all I see is Jacob’s body lying there stiff as a board. Jade’s phone rings and she answers it by putting it on speaker phone. Saul’s distressed voice clearly comes through, “Have you left yet? Please tell me you are near?”
I don’t let Jade get a word in, “What the hell is going on Saul?”
I hear Saul take a deep breath, “Tonight has pushed Juan over the edge, and he’s a babbling mess. He’s sitting on top of a hill talking about meeting the sun.”
Jade sucks in a breath and then it sinks in at what that means. My eyes widen and my jaw lowers. Jade answers Saul, but I don’t hear what is said as anger starts to seep out of every fiber. Last night is soon forgotten as my attention is now fully on Juan. I can sense the bitch inside of me waking up, waiting to be released.
When the car slows down I’m out of the door before it stops and Cruz and Saul are suddenly standing in front of me. Saul’s hands land on my shoulders and I glance up into his frightened face, “Bring my brother back Peppa, please I can’t lose him.” I’m pulled closer into him and he sobs silently in my arms, “Don’t let him die, fuck Peppa, save him from himself.”
Every muscle in my body stiffened and I let out a whimper because Saul is scared which in turn makes me fearful. I push myself away from Saul and with no idea how I’m going to deal with this I storm over to my two men who are sitting, staring out at the stars. Noah’s head twirls my way as I approach, which causes my heart to miss a beat. His whole being is clearly distressed as tears run down his face. His hands reach out for me and I take them. I lower my body to the ground to sit between them both. I stare out at the horizon and take a deep breath and slowly exhale. I swallow down my anxiety and blurt out the first thing that comes to me. “Well this is nice. Our first time watching the sunrise together. Thing is most people then go home and have breakfast or go back to bed. But that’s not going to happen for us is it? Because I will be the only one walking away from this. Is that what you want for me Juan? To sit here and watch the two men I worship go up in flames and burn?” Noah’s hand tightens around mine and my resolve breaks as the waterworks spring free.