Turning of the Stars Ch. 05

"Dude, I want what some of what she's smoking," a heavily made-up woman said to her friend as they walked out the door.

That made Anna giggle some more and she forgot what she started laughing about. Oh! Grant. She needed to find Grant and tell him that she loved him. That's what she was doing. If the room would stop spinning for just a minute she could find his office. His office. It was right outside. She just had to make it outside into the hall and then she could find Grant and tell him...something. Something important.

She stumbled to the door, swiping at the handle twice before her hand finally landed on it. She pulled it open and saw that someone was standing there. She smiled, happy that Grant was waiting for her, but then she smelled cologne and realized the man had blonde hair. Grant didn't wear cologne. Grant didn't have blonde hair. She stared at him for a moment, wondering why he looked so familiar.

"You don't look like you feel good," he said in a friendly voice. "I bet some fresh air would make you feel better."

She stared at him, trying to remember where she knew him from. Then he was next to her, putting an arm around her and helping her walk. He was going to help her find Grant.

"Thank you," she said, or thought she did, she couldn't be sure. She pointed at Grant's office and started to move that direction, but her knees buckled and he was holding her up, dragging her toward the back door. She turned her head back and looked at the office just a few feet away, but she was going the wrong direction.

Then she was outside and the door between her and the office slammed closed. For the first time she felt a pang of fear. Adrenaline coursed through her and instinct made her dive at the door, but something stopped her. Someone was holding her around the waist, pulling her backward.

She felt dizzy and couldn't remember how she got outside, but someone was holding her up and kissing her neck. She closed her eyes and felt Grant's hands on her body, groping at her breasts.

Her eyes snapped open. There was the door. She was outside. And those weren't Grant's sure, confident hands, those hands were clumsy and rough and that awful sickly sweet scent was filling her head, making her want to throw up. One questing hand slid up her thigh and she jerked as it cupped her naked flesh. The man behind her chuckled darkly.

"Oh, ho, ho what do we have here? You are making this way too easy."

Anna tried to twist away, slapping feebly at the hands and making noises meant to be words. "No, stop," she said, or tried to. "I have to go."

One of the hands clapped over her mouth, silencing her, while the other arm wrapped around her waist and hauled her off her feet. They were headed toward the back end of the alley that opened into the parking lot. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew she needed to stop it before she got too far away from that door. Instinct kicked in and she started kicking and flailing her arms.

The man spun her around so she could hold her still and the motion overwhelmed her along with his cologne. Everything went gray and her stomach heaved, emptying itself all over him and splattering on her as he jumped back.

"You stupid cunt!" he screamed and backhanded her, knocking her to the ground.

The next moment all hell broke loose. The door to the restaurant slammed open and someone came running out, hurtling toward the blonde man, knocking him down, slamming fists into him.

Grant. She found him. Anna smiled, she needed to tell him something, but she couldn't remember what. Her smile faltered when she saw his face twisted into a mask of rage. She could hear a woman's voice and noticed a small person pulling on Grant, yelling at him. Another large man came running toward them from the other end of the alley.

Anna's eyes drifted closed, but she could still hear voices floating in the air.

"....have to stop..."

"...crazy mother fucker..."

"...take care of your girl, I'll deal with him..."

Someone was touching her face, saying her name. Grant. Anna opened her eyes and there he was kneeling next to her, his face back to normal, his gentle hands smoothing the hair out of her face. Anna smiled up at him and he smiled shakily back at her. There was something she needed to tell him. Something important.

"I was looking for you..." she said, trailing off, trying to remember.

She must have said something wrong because Grant's face fell. He looked so sad. She reached up and touched his cheek, shaking her head. She didn't want him to look so sad. If she could just remember what she was supposed to tell him she knew he would be happy.

And then his arms were around her, pulling her close, and he was lifting her, making the world spin again. She closed her eyes and let her head fall onto his shoulder, surrounded by the smell of him. She was safe. She was sleepy.