Sophie's POV:

I trusted him. As I stepped out of the Mustang, I called Derek's name.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied just as my opponent finally showed up.

"Impressive!" he called out, climbing from his own car. "Does that mean I owe you a drink?"

I grinned, feeling proud of myself while Derek and Ayden broke into laughter. Those two always knew how to act like kids when the mood struck them.

Derek rolled his neck and tossed my jacket back to me.

I shot him a look while joining my opponent. For a while now, Sophie had been behaving so strangely. Why all the warnings lately?

Derek's POV:

Something about Sophie's eyes grabbed my attention; I found myself wanting to learn more about her.

With a shrug, I wandered off, hoping to spot the girl with green eyes. Since those two kids hadn't taken their bikes, she couldn't have gone far.

Her gaze really stuck with me. I wanted to understand her better. There was nothing flirtatious about the way she looked at me—completely different from most people these days.

Too bad for them, I just wasn't in the mood.

As I scanned the horizon to see if I could spot him, my attention shifted to a young man stepping out of the alley, glancing behind him as though checking whether anyone was tailing him.

I moved closer and realized it was the same kid I had bumped into earlier, the one who had been with the mysterious girl with the green eyes.

Reaching the entrance of the alley, I looked around, unable to pick him out among the crowd of teenagers celebrating like they always did at the end of a race, then I turned my gaze back toward the narrow passage.

I had no idea why I kept staring into that alley or why something inside me urged me to walk in, but I felt pulled in that direction, as if something there needed to be found.

I took a step forward, lit a cigarette, and only a few paces later, I noticed a pair of legs behind the trash bin.

At worst, it was just two fools fooling around behind the dumpster, which was never discreet. Everyone passed this alley whenever they needed a place to relieve themselves.

As I passed the dumpster, I looked over, and my blood went cold on the spot.

Lying in front of me was the bare body of the girl with the green eyes.

Alix's POV:

When he finished what he wanted, he let go of me, and I crumpled to the ground. I had no strength left, not even the will to make the smallest movement.

"You better shut your big mouth!" He released me while getting dressed again. "No one will believe you anyway!"

I heard him walk away, and my tears began to fall in silence once more.

I had just lived through the worst nightmare any woman could imagine. My body had been violated and taken, and I had been powerless to stop it.

I stayed there, numb on the ground, thinking of nothing except how much I wanted to die.

How could I go on living after what had just been done to me?

I did not even have the strength to dress myself. My body felt so battered that I no longer knew how to move.

I just wanted to die at that moment, I told myself as I closed my eyes and held my breath.

As I resigned myself to stopping my own breathing and ending my miserable life, a noise came from beside the trash can. I opened my eyes halfway; his green eyes were staring at me with disgust.

"Damn it!" he exclaimed, clutching his head and spinning in place.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I did not want to look at him. I was half‑naked in front of him, unable to speak or move enough to cover myself even a little.

All I could do was cry and pray that he would leave as quickly as possible and let me die behind that trash can.

When I heard him kick the trash can, my shaking grew worse. I waited for him to finally leave.

For a few seconds, I heard nothing except laughter growing closer.

I trembled even harder, still unable to move or cover myself.

Derek's POV:

I did not know what to do when I saw the state she was in, and I vented my anger on the trash bin.

She was shaking so badly that I could not touch her or comfort her after what she had gone through.

I leaned against the trash bin after hitting it several more times, just as a group of boys started heading our way.

I glanced at the girl with the green eyes and realized I could not leave her there, and I could not let them see her like this.

"Sorry." I said as I moved in their direction. "Can you go piss somewhere else?"

"Why is Speed Breaker having an issue?" he asked me, trying to look behind me.

I positioned myself so he could not see the girl behind the trash bin, although I suspected they had already noticed something.

"She's sick, so she took off her top after throwing up, and well, you know, she's young and it wouldn't be right for the guys to gawk," I replied, forcing a smile.

"No worries, man, we can go somewhere else," he responded, understanding.

"Cool, thanks!" I said to them as I watched them leave.

I ran a hand through my hair. It had been a close call, but I needed to get out of here.

"Yo Speed Breaker!"

I turned around, surprised as the guy came back toward me.

"Here, take my sweater." He did so by pulling off the sweater tied around his waist. "She won't make her way through the crowd in just a bra."

"Thanks, man. I'll pay you back for this."

"Don't worry, seeing you run is already a gift for me!" he said as he walked away.

I looked at the sweater, thinking that at least it could cover her a little when she walked through the crowd, but would she even let me help her?

Alix's POV:

I tried desperately to pull up my shorts and underwear while he was talking, but I could not do it as my body refused to move.

"Listen, tell me if you don't want to." he began speaking softly. "I have a sweater here, I could give it to you to put on so that I can take you back to your friend."

My god, Marina! There was no way she could find out what had just happened to me. She would call my mom, and they would be so traumatized by what had been done to me that I would never be able to look them in the eye again.

But honestly, who would I ever be able to look in the eye?

"I'm going to come closer to help you put it on, if you don't want me to, say so. I promise I won't do anything to you. I'm just going to help you put it on," he told me in a neutral voice.

I still did not have the strength to respond to him. My god, let me die! Why did it have to be the man with tattoos who found me like this?

"I know. So you can trust me, I'm not going to take my eyes off you for a single moment. I'm going to count to three."

He began counting, and when he reached three, I heard him move toward me slowly while I flinched at every step he took.

"You need to open your eyes so you can trust me. I know it's not easy given the circumstances, but I want to see your eyes in case you have any doubts about my intentions."

"I'm trembling so much that I feel like my bones are going to crack."

"Please, look at me," he gently said, and I could sense his scent close to me.

"I won't do anything to you," he insisted. "I just want to help you."

"I don't know why." His voice seemed soft and reassuring for a moment, and I timidly opened my eyes, fully sinking into his, which were only a few centimeters from mine.

"I won't look away for even a moment," he said as he stepped a bit closer. "I'll help you put on the sweater, and when that's done, I'll adjust your clothes."

I closed my eyes at that sentence. By that, he meant my shorts and underwear.

I really wished I could die at that moment.

"Please open your eyes and look at me," he told me again.

Even though I did not want to open them and wanted to stay in the dark, I felt his gaze pressing on me, and I opened my eyes again.

He gave me a reassuring smile and came closer, never breaking eye contact, and pulled the sweater over my head in one smooth movement.

He touched my arm to straighten the sleeve, but I instinctively pulled away.

"Sorry. We can leave the sleeves like this," he told me, clearly worried about how I reacted.

He did not break eye contact, and neither did I.

"You'll need to stand up; it'll be easier for me to help you dress."

I began crying even harder. Why did it have to be him helping me get dressed again? Why had he come into this alley?

"Don't close your eyes. Look at me," he pleaded.

He placed his hand on the sweater's sleeve as I opened my eyes.

"You know how to stand up."

I shook my head weakly, and he slipped his arm between me and the wall while keeping his eyes fixed on mine. I knew he was far too close, but for some reason, I was not afraid.

Was it because of his intense, neutral gaze that remained locked on me?

In an instant, he pulled me up, and before I realized it, my clothes had been adjusted.

He stepped back toward the trash, and I collapsed to my knees again, still unable to regain control of my trembling body.

Derek's POV:

Without knowing it, I caught her so her head would not hit the ground. Feeling her trembling and crying against my chest made me realize that I was hurting for her too.

How could someone do that and walk away as if nothing had happened?

How could someone inflict so much suffering on another person?

How could someone violate a woman and leave without even looking back?

I felt hatred rising in me as I pulled the hoodie up and lifted her into my arms.

There was no way I was leaving her here, and even less that I would let her go home alone.

So I decided to take her with me.

We moved through the crowd like that, with her curled against my chest, crying, while I held back the anger pushing me to go after that little fool.

"Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?" I asked her as I approached my motorcycle.

She shook her head no. At least she knew how to move again.

I set her against the Ducati, keeping one hand on her so she would not fall, and grabbed my helmet with the other.

"I'm going to have to take off your hood." I spoke softly to her.

I gently let go of her and removed her hood, revealing her face hidden beneath her long black hair. I reached out to fix her hair, doing it unconsciously until she lifted her head slightly.

I placed the helmet on her while holding her gaze, then lifted her onto the Ducati, where she slipped her arms into the sleeves and took off at full speed.

Derek's POV:

I had brought her onto the motorcycle without even considering where I was headed, but in a situation like this, I figured the emergency room was the only real option.

I kept my speed in check, unsure if she would keep clinging to my T-shirt the whole way.

It seemed smarter to avoid the police; getting pulled over for not wearing a helmet would have been ridiculous, so I wound my way through Manhattan's back roads until I reached Bellevue Hospital.

Upon arrival, I parked right up on the sidewalk outside the emergency room. After all, it really was an emergency.

"You can get off," I said, noticing she was still clutching my T-shirt.

The girl didn't budge, so I gently placed my hand over hers, hoping she would understand she needed to let go.

At my touch, she released her grip right away.

I swung my leg over and got off the motorcycle, realizing she was still sitting stiffly, her head bowed.

"You need to get off and have the doctors look at you," I said softly.

Still, she stayed frozen, her fists clenched tightly inside her sleeves.

I was at a loss for how to convince her. With the helmet's visor down, I couldn't see her face. I had no idea if she was crying, if she was even looking at me.

Stepping closer, I decided to take off her helmet for her. She didn't react at all as I eased it off, and her face came into view again, streaked with tears and lost in anguish. Seeing her like that made my chest ache.

Her messy black hair tumbled back across her face, but her green eyes were visible—shining with tears, fixed on the hospital with unmistakable fear.

Don't tell me she was scared of the hospital?

Sophie's POV:

As I stepped out of the bar where we'd stopped for drinks, I spotted Derek's motorcycle revving up in the distance, a girl sitting behind him—at least, I thought it was a girl.

He really couldn't control himself. But it was obvious how taken he was with that girl and her black hair.

Part of me figured it was for the best; he was nearly twenty-six, and this wasn't the time for him to start fooling around with someone so young.

"Did you lose your dance partner?" Ayden asked as he walked up to me.

"Yes, and it looks like we've lost Derek too," I replied.

We were chatting with a few friends when my phone began to ring. I glanced at the screen. Why was he calling me already?

"Hello, couldn't you seal the deal?" I laughed.

"Now's not the time, Sophie!" he snapped. "Can you meet me at Bellevue?"

"The hospital?" I asked, surprised. "Don't tell me that..."

"Can you come or not?!" Derek exclaimed, clearly irritated.

"Yes, I'm heading out right now. Can you tell me what's going on? You sound furious," I asked, already making my way toward my Mustang.

"Don't bring Ayden. And hurry up!" he ordered before hanging up.

I stared at my phone, a mix of surprise and worry churning inside me; Derek almost never sounded this serious. Something big must have happened.

"You look off, Sophie. Is everything okay?" Ayden asked, trailing behind me.

"Honestly, I have no idea what's going on, but I think Derek's gotten himself into trouble again," I admitted, feeling the tension.

"Where is he?" Ayden asked, now sounding anxious too.

"At the hospital."

"At the hospital? What are you waiting for, let's go!"

"No, he told me not to bring you, and I'm serious—he wasn't joking. I'll let you know as soon as I find out what's going on," I assured him as I slid into the Mustang.

"It's not true, Derek. What stupid thing did you get yourself into this time?"

Marina's POV:

It had been a while since we returned to the bikes, but Alix and the others still hadn't come back.

"Relax, they're probably off somewhere having fun, just like we were," Daniel told me.

"No, Alix isn't that kind of girl," I replied, scanning the crowd for any sign of her.

I pictured Alix sitting in a corner, lost in her sketchbook, barely paying attention to the guy who'd been with her.

I shouldn't have left her with him. She barely spoke to boys, and since she wasn't sociable, he had probably abandoned her in some corner.

I kept brooding, unsure where she had gone, until I finally spotted the guy she'd been with. Letting go of Daniel's hand, I headed toward him and realized Alix was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Alix?" I asked, a mix of surprise and worry creeping into my voice.

"I have no idea. She left a while ago," he replied, heading toward his motorcycle.

Alix leaving on her own didn't sound like her at all. We were on the other side of town, and I doubted she would have taken a taxi.

Anger boiling up, I turned around and grabbed his arm just as he reached for his helmet.

"Alix wouldn't leave without telling me!" I shouted, unable to hide my frustration.

"I'm telling you, she let go of me when I suggested we get a drink. Just call her, then you'll know where she is!" He said as he released me while putting on his helmet.

Pulling out my phone, I quickly dialed Alix's number, but she didn't answer.

"Damn it!" I exclaimed, watching that jerk ride off while I was still left clueless about where Alix had gone.

"You're seriously overreacting," Daniel chimed in. "Your girlfriend's frigid. She probably left, just like he said."

I turned toward Daniel and looked him over. Alix might have been frigid, but she was my best friend, and I was the only one allowed to say that. Without warning, I slapped him and headed for the parking lot, trying Alix's number again.

Derek's POV:

That girl still didn't want to get off my motorcycle. I couldn't force her to go inside, so I had called Sophie for backup. She was dragging herself over now.

I pulled a cigarette from my pocket. I needed a moment to calm down before she arrived, because I knew I would have to deal with her temper on top of everything else.

It was hard to believe the evening had begun so smoothly. If I had just gotten off the motorcycle and talked to him, none of this would have happened.

I ran a hand through my hair and took a long drag from my cigarette just as the Mustang roared into the emergency parking lot, tires screeching across the pavement.

I had better explain before she started assuming things and blowing up. With the way she reacted to everything, I half expected her to grab the girl by the hair and drag her out herself.

"What's the problem?!" she yelled as she stepped out of the Mustang. I walked toward her.

I saw her gaze drift to the motorcycle, and her face tightened with anger.

"Are you messing with me?!" she screamed as she marched toward me.

"Damn it, calm down and let me explain!" I said, gripping her shoulders.

"Explain what?! What are you doing with that girl?! Do you want to end up in jail or what?!" she exclaimed.

"Sophie, shut up and let me explain!" I snapped, trying to get her to calm down.

This time, I had her attention and could finally explain what was really going on. As I told her what happened, Sophie's expression shifted to disgust. I saw the same hatred burning in her eyes that I felt inside me, mixed with sadness and revulsion.

Alix's POV:

I was still sitting on the motorcycle, frozen. I didn't want to get down or step into that hospital and risk having my humiliation begin all over again. I only wanted to go home and wash away the filth clinging to me... And the part of it that felt like it was still within me.

I just wanted to go home, fall asleep, and never wake up.

There was no way anyone else could find out what I had been through.

If I stepped in there, my mother would find out, and she would never recover from what I had endured. She would blame herself for pushing me to go out, even though none of this was her fault or Marina's. It was my fault. I should have been more careful. I should have stayed on guard. I should have bitten him, hit him, pushed him away.

I began crying in anger, and when a hand touched me, I jolted so hard I nearly slipped off the motorcycle, but the hand tightened around my sweater to steady me.

The hand belonged to a mixed‑race girl. When I lifted my face to look at her, I recognized her as the girl who had been near Marina during the race.

"Hi, we saw each other earlier at the race." She tried to smile at me.

I realized the tattooed man had called her to convince me to get down and enter the hospital.

"Derek thought you might feel more comfortable with me when going into the hospital," she said gently.

This woman was the kind of woman I wished I had been. Beautiful and aware of it, but also capable of defending herself. You could see it in her eyes, in the confidence of her voice. Someone like her would never go through what had happened to me.

"My name is Sophie, and yours?" she asked.

"Alix," I muttered.

"Very beautiful name," she said, gently tucking my hair away from my face. "Will you please get off the bike now?"

I couldn't stay on this bike forever, and I knew it. Surely they must have had better things to do than look after a wreck like me.

She still had her hand on my arm, and I finally decided to get down, only to end up collapsing into her arms.

I suddenly jerked back in surprise and stumbled.

"It's normal that you're unable to stand after what you've been through. Your body's nerves haven't calmed down yet," she said, catching me before I fell again.

I let her hold me, hoping I would gather enough strength to leave on my own and call a taxi.

But it hadn't even occurred to me that my bag wasn't with me; I had left it in Marina's car.

"What if we went back for a check-up to make sure you're alright?"

"I will not go back into that hospital," I said as I pulled away from her arms.

"But you need to go for a check-up. Tomorrow will be too late. We must do it to stop that bastard," she insisted.

"It's out of the question!" I screamed hysterically, backing away toward the road. "I don't want anyone to touch me anymore! Leave me alone! Let me die in peace!"

A car suddenly came out of nowhere, and before I even understood what was happening, I felt myself being lifted off the ground and thrown onto the sidewalk.

I opened my eyes. I felt no pain anywhere except in my foot, and Sophie was hovering above me. I realized she wasn't leaning over me, but over the tattooed man who was holding me tightly in his arms.

"Everything is fine, Sophie. I'm fine. Stop looking at me as if I'm about to die," the man said.

I struggled, trying to break free from his hold. When he still didn't release me, I turned my face toward him.

His intense gaze in that moment was both sorrowful and severe.

"If you want to die, do it after the test so we can stop that bastard," he told me coldly. "And another thing, she came because she knows what it feels like to be violated."

I shuddered at his words. She, who seemed so strong, had lived through the same thing I had.

Sophie gave me a gentle smile and extended her hand to help me up.

I took Sophie's hand, unable to bring myself to meet her eyes, and rose to my feet. Without letting go, I walked toward the emergency room doors, holding her hand tightly.

Sophie's POV:

Derek had been right to reveal my secret to her, even if it stung at first, because this girl would have completely lost control if we hadn't tried to calm her down.

She agreed to follow the nurse into the room, but not before she gave me a frightened look.

The nurse came into the hallway.

"Excuse me, are you the one who came with Miss Stevens?"

I didn't even know her first name, much less her last.

"The young girl who was assaulted," she explained when she noticed my hesitation.

"Yes, that's correct. Is there a problem?"

"Unfortunately, Miss Stevens is a minor, and we are required to have a parent or an adult as a point of reference, but she refuses to give us her mother's number," she said, clearly troubled.

I already knew she was a minor, but I still couldn't understand why she refused to call her mother. She would need her family to get through this.

I thought to myself that she must have her reasons, and if she didn't call her mother, they wouldn't run the tests, and that jerk would end up getting away with it.

"I'm going to be her point of contact," I declared.

The nurse handed me the paperwork to fill out before she went back to the exam room where the kid was waiting.

I sat back down as my cell phone started vibrating in my pocket.

"So, how's Derek?" Ayden asked me.

I realized I had completely forgotten to update him.

"It's going okay. I'll explain it to you—or actually, he'll explain it to you himself," I said then hung up.

Crossing my arms and legs, I wondered how things ended up with Derek in the middle of all this. Not that long ago, I was hoping they wouldn't even run into each other. Now, I would have to talk to him after he got out of the ER.

Derek's POV:

After the X-ray confirmed nothing had been broken, the nurse carefully cleaned my wound and applied a bandage.

"There, it's done. Here's your discharge slip," she said, offering a kind smile.

"Thank you for your work," I simply replied.

Flirting with the nurses was the last thing on my mind. I couldn't stop worrying about the girl with black hair.

I remember when Sophie was raped at school; she was in an atrocious state afterward, but we supported her so much that she bounced back in no time. Since then, she decided to become a lawyer to support all those women who are victims of rape, harassment, as well as abused women. She's taken Karate lessons and has built a real shell around her heart that she only lets breathe with Ayden and me.

I must say we've always been there for her, especially on the day we caught that bastard.

"Are you done?" She asked as I left the room where I've been treated.

"Yes, just some cuts, nothing serious." I reassured her.

She stood up, tilted her head and gazed at me suspiciously.

"Sophie, if you have something to say, just say it. You pulled the same stunt on me before getting into the Mustang earlier."

"This girl is a minor. She's seventeen, nine years younger than us, and she's just been assaulted!" she said, her voice icy.

I still didn't see where she was going with this.

"And?"

Sophie stepped closer and jabbed her finger against my chest.

"I saw the way you looked at her after you won your race. I'm telling you now, stay away from her. You're almost twenty-six, and you have nothing to offer her, not after what she's just been through." She told me firmly, pressing her index finger into my chest where I felt her nail dig in.

I ran my hand through my hair. Even though her intense stare rattled me, I knew Sophie was right. I couldn't risk everything by getting involved with a minor.

I had finally found a job I cared about, and I wasn't about to throw it all away for some fleeting romance.

I absolutely meant to do nothing about it. That was my decision.

Sophie shot me a glare just as the door to the examination room opened.

"She's finished," the nurse said, looking at me with a strange expression.

"He's a friend—he's the one who rescued her and brought her here," Sophie added quickly, noticing the suspicion in the nurse's eyes.

"If you say so," the nurse replied. "She's getting dressed and will be able to leave soon."

The nurse shot me another odd look before finally walking away. I lowered my head; she probably thought I was the one who had hurt the girl.

"I'll take her home," Sophie told me. "You should go before she comes out. I think she'll feel more at ease with me."

I nodded; truthfully, I felt uncomfortable too.

Alix's POV:

At last, I got to put my clothes back on, even if it was only a pair of hospital pants. That exam had felt like pure torture. I couldn't stop crying, every second haunted by what happened in that alley. They let me keep the sweater the tattooed man had given me, since they'd kept the rest of my things.

After slipping on my sneakers, I opened the cabin door.

"Miss Stevens. Here's a prescription for sedatives, and an appointment with the gynecologist in three months, just to make sure everything is all right," the nurse told me.

"Do I have to come back?" I asked, terrified.

"It's just for a routine check-up." She reassured me.

Well, that was what she believed. The bills would arrive at my place, and if my mother found them, what would I do? And how was I going to pay them if I didn't mention it to her?

I completely panicked at that moment when she opened the door and I caught a glimpse of him.

For a brief second, I met his eyes, and in that moment, his intense stare looked unbearably sad before the door shut again.

I pulled the hood over my head again before stepping out, and when the door opened, I froze for a moment. He had been right there a second ago, yet now he was gone.

"I'll take you back," Sophie said as I searched instinctively for the tattooed man.

"Derek already left, if it's him you're looking for. His arm is fine, nothing serious, so don't worry," she added while guiding me out of the hospital.

Outside, I realized the motorcycle was gone too. Something in my chest tightened. I would never see him again, never thank him for what he did for me.

Sophie drove me back to the building where our apartment was, and as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I felt myself trembling again, terrified that my mother might be awake.

"Do you want me to come up with you?" Sophie asked, turning off the Mustang's engine.

I shook my head. She had already done so much for me tonight.

"Here," she said softly. "I'll leave you my number. If you ever need to talk, even in the middle of the night, call me. I'll listen."

I took the small note from her, nodded, and stepped out of the car. By the time I slipped into the building, I heard her engine fade away—and then everything inside me collapsed. I sank to the floor and started crying again.

As the hallway light automatically shut off, panic rose in my chest. I pictured myself back in that alley, seeing nothing but his hands grabbing at me, his sweaty scent clinging to the air, and his tongue dragging across my face as he tried to force his way into my mouth.

His hands glided down my body and…

I ran out of the building, crossed the road without noticing the cars, and sprinted through the park that led to the Battery Park esplanade, thinking only about throwing myself into the Hudson River.

I didn't want to live anymore.

Derek's POV:

I left as soon as the nurse walked away, but I couldn't help myself—I ended up following Sophie at a distance all the way to the girl's building.

I had no idea why I was doing it, not really. She was safe now, but something inside me needed to make sure she got home in one piece.

I parked at the end of the street, watching as Sophie's Mustang pulled away only after she saw the girl safely inside.

The memory of finding her in that alley came back with brutal force, sending a fresh wave of pain through my chest. How could someone do something so vile? My anger boiled over, and my hands tightened so hard around the handlebars that the veins stood out in sharp relief.

The hall light inside the building switched off. That was my cue to leave. I no longer have anything to do here.

Just as I started up the engine, a blast of honking caught my attention.

I turned to see the girl burst out of the building, running straight across the street without even looking, then sprinting into the park.

"The esplanade!" I exclaimed in horror, dismounted the motorcycle, and sprinted through the park, trying to reach there before her.

I dashed onto the esplanade, straining to spot her, but she slipped past me in the shadows. I turned around just in time, grabbing her by the hood and pulling her back as she tried to climb the barrier.

The momentum sent me falling backward, and I held her tightly against my chest—for the second time tonight—refusing to let her go.