小暑 [2] / [11]
Now she was actually wailing. He couldn’t just hang up the phone. Not because he loved her, but because it seemed that Ed was involved somehow.
“Tell me where you are. Give me your address.”
Alexander drove the car towards the address she'd given him. No matter what their relationship was now, once he got her call, her plea for help, he couldn’t ignore it.
Violet stayed in a very cheap inn adjacent to an alley. When he burst open the door, there were no lights on in the room. The place was different from the one in the video. Violet crouched in the corner of the room, her face was covered with long disheveled hair. She didn’t make any movement despite the sound of the door opening.
She wore a torn up sweater which revealed her chest and a stretched out bra. Her jeans were unfastened and half unzipped. Tears poured from her eyes like a faucet when she found him standing in front of her.
He couched down beside her, and she buried her face in her hands as she continued to sob.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Alexander asked her, in a sympathic tone that surprised even himself. He waited for her to collect herself. Brushing her hair away from her face, she spoke, voice shaking,
"He planned this from the beginning."
Alexander stared at her with concern,
"Who planned what? What are you talking about?"
She didn't say anything for a few moments, then she tried to get up, but faltered.
"I need some water,"
she said, and Alexander, helping to her to her feet, guided her towards the kitchen. She grabbed his arm and leaned on him as they walked. He helped her into a chair, grabbed a pair of glasses from behind the counter, and poured two glasses of water for them both.
He sat across from her, took a sip, and said,
"Okay, start from the beginning. What happened? Where did it happen? And who was responsible for it?”
Violet answered with a shuddering voice,
"I want to get out of here, but I'm so scared and I have nowhere to go."
Violet began sobbing again. He stood up and pulled his phone out of his pocket to call the police station to ask for the address of any nearby shelter where she could stay. Violet grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing?"
he could see her tear-stained face.
"I will find a shelter for you. You can stay there."
"No, I don't want that! Don't you know that? What I need is a someone I can really rely on. It's only you. I don't need any shelter . . . I have needed you since . . ."
She crouched on the ground, and burst out crying. Alexander stood beside her dumbfounded, looking again at her torn clothes. He took off his own jacket and placed it on her shoulders. He tried to persuade her.