Chapter 5
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Goddamn it! That fucking bastard
is gonna regret ever laying eyes on her, Paul fumed silently as he tore down
the hallways. He didn't know what Gabrielle was doing at the arena, but
now that Dwayne had her, Paul knew that she was in trouble. Trish's voice
echoed in his mind, "He's liable to do anything to her now that he knows
the game is up!"
He rounded the corner, arriving at Dwayne's
dressing room, and pulled on the door, but it was locked.
"SHIT!" he yelled. That was not a good sign, not at all.
Suddenly Paul heard noises from inside the room and what sounded like Gabrielle
screaming. His eyes darkened and without thinking he rammed his shoulder
into the door with all his might. It shook considerably and a dent
appeared, but it didn't open. Paul took a couple of steps back, then ran
full steam ahead into it yet again, stumbling as the door gave beneath his
strength and splintered open.
The sight that greeted him made his stomach
lurch and an involuntary shout escape his lips. It seemed to come at him
in flashes: Gabrielle's bloody face, her tears making streaks through the liquid
red on her cheeks, her cries becoming weaker as she began to lose her battle for
consciousness, and Dwayne's body covering hers, raping her, his face snapping
around at the sound of the door breaking down.
"MOTHERFUCKING SON OF A
BITCH!!!!!" Paul screamed, his face a twisted mask of rage and hatred, as
he covered the room's width in two steps and wrenched Dwayne from off of
Gabrielle. Paul's fist slammed into Dwayne's face before he had a chance
to react, and Dwayne stumbled backwards. But as Paul went for a second
punch, Dwayne ducked and hit him right in the side of the head. He went
for another one, but Paul blocked it instinctively, and connected with Dwayne
once more. Another punch to the jaw sent Dwayne reeling and he fell to the
ground, his pants around his ankles. Paul stood over him, fury seething
from every pore. This man, this thing, had invaded Gabrielle's life and
reduced it to shreds. It was time for Paul to repay the favor. He
bent over to grab Dwayne's head and yanked him up with one hand, then rammed him
face-first into the nearest wall. The plaster caved and dust flew about as
Paul did it again, and again, and again, each time envisioning the pain and
suffering Dwayne had put his Gabrielle through. By now Dwayne had blood
flowing from a gash in his forehead. Any chance he had had at an offense
had been missed, for he was now in too much of a stupor to fight back.
Grabbing him by the shoulders, Paul led
Dwayne back across the room and slammed him through the glass coffee table.
Dwayne collapsed into a heap amidst the broken shards, some cuts already
starting to bleed. "This is what I should have done a month
ago," Paul murmured through clenched teeth. He knelt beside Dwayne's
shaking form and proceeded to drive his fist into Dwayne's face time and time
again, oblivious to the glass beneath his knees. His wrath clouded his
vision and his mind. All he could see was Dwayne's bloody face below him.
After a considerable amount of punches,
Paul stood and flexed his aching fist. But he wasn't done yet. He
grabbed a nearby chair and lifted it high above his head, then brought it
crashing down on Dwayne's body. The wood of the chair broke and splintered
under the amount of force Paul was using. A leg of the chair broke off
completely and Paul picked it up. A slight sneer emerged on his face as he
gripped it tightly and bashed it against Dwayne's skull repeatedly. Dwayne
tried to bring his arms up to shield his face, but he just ended up having his
hands beaten as well. His yells of pain and muffled cries were music to
Paul's ears, sending rushes of adrenalin through his body. They almost
brought a smile to his lips. Almost.
Paul dropped the chair leg and kicked
Dwayne directly in the ribs so many times that he lost count. He could
feel them start to give beneath his boot and then heard a cracking snap as he
broke one. Dwayne screamed in agony and made beseeching noises, but
couldn't form words though he tried. From the look on his face, Paul could
tell he was starting to black out. But there was one more thing he wanted
Dwayne to feel before he lost consciousness. Paul stepped around Dwayne's
legs so that he was standing directly in front of him. Gasping for air,
Dwayne groggily raised his head, his eyes trying to focus on Paul. Paul
watched the blood drip from Dwayne's face and glared at him. "That
was for me. And this… this is for Gabrielle." With that, Paul
kicked him right between the legs, as hard as he possibly could. Dwayne
let out a shout that must have echoed throughout the arena and rolled onto his
side, finally surrendering to unconsciousness.
Paul didn't even waste another glance at
the remnants of the man who had destroyed his life. Instead, he went right
for Gabrielle who was still on the couch. She had curled into a fetal
position and was barely conscious herself. "Gab? Oh my God,
baby, are you OK?" Paul asked in a rush, and reached out to hold her, but
she shrieked in fear and pushed herself into the corner of the sofa.
His heart broke and tears rose into his
eyes as he inched closer to her, saying, "Gabrielle? Honey?
It's me… It's Paul… I'm here to help you, babe…"
Gabrielle raised her head slightly and her
eyes seemed to clear a little as she looked at him. "P-Paul??"
Her voice was small and tear-filled, but there was a touch of hope in her tone.
"Is that… really you?"
It was hard for him to keep from crying as
he looked at her, "Yeah, babe, it's me. And Dwayne's not gonna be
able to hurt you anymore… I promise." She gazed into his eyes as if
trying to understand his words, and then burst into tears. There was
nothing in the world Paul wanted more at that moment than to hold her and tell
her everything would be fine, but he had no idea how badly she was injured or if
it was safe to move her. He had to get her to a hospital.
Just then, a security guard ran in to
investigate the sounds that had come from the room. "Oh my
lord…" he said, staring first at Dwayne lying motionless on the broken
glass, then at Gabrielle's battered and naked body.
Paul glared at him and screamed, "Get
the damn EMT's in here NOW!!"
The security guard swallowed hard, his face
pale, and bolted towards the ambulances in the parking lot without a reply.
Paul looked back at the sobbing Gabrielle,
and stroked her hair ever so gently. "It'll be alright, babe.
It's gonna be OK."
And he hoped to God it was.
