Summary: Title song is Rescue You by Craig Manning.
So heavy trigger warning, this chapter will feature sexual assault. As this could be a sensitive area for many, if you want to skip that part, the scene starts with “The next thirty minutes felt like thirty hours but it was finally over” and ends with “She started sobbing. Despite the immense pain he felt, Eli reached out and held her hand”.
“So you and Marisol have been getting cozy lately, huh?” Fiona asked him with a mischievous smile.
“Only as friends,” Eli replied firmly as he did the finishing touches on Cece’s portrait. He held up the portrait and found himself admiring his work. For someone who wasn’t really a painter, he was pleasantly surprised on how much the portrait looked like his mother. Cece would probably smother his face with kisses when he brought it home from school. At least he had Mother’s Day in the bag this year.
“She walks around the school as if she’s floating on air these days. You guys must have a really nice ‘friendship’,” Fiona pointed out.
“Purely platonic,” he responded tiredly, not wanting to think about the very intense sex dream he had about Marisol last night. What they have gotten up to in that dream was more than anything he and Julia had ever done during sex. He couldn’t even look at Marisol when he got in her car today.
“Come on, Eli, I think you like her but you’re just in denial about it,” Fiona teased. He snorted in response.
“You’re insane,” he told her in exasperation.
“She’s one of the prettiest girls at school and you can’t stop spending time with her. I think she’s having a good influence on you,” she argued.
“I’m not dating Marisol ever. I’m getting back together with Clare, and it’s only a matter of time now,” he replied.
“Are you sure about that? She looks like her and Jake are pretty tender right now,” Fiona said, frowning.
“There is no passion in any of their kisses,” Eli argued, “They kiss like they're related!”
“If you say so,” Fiona replied, which made him roll his eyes. It was annoying how everyone doubted him and Clare. They saw how in love he and Clare were as a couple, why couldn’t they just understand that their reunion was inevitable?
Eventually Art class ended, and they walked out into the hallway together. They were heading to their next class when Marisol happily walked up to them.
“Fiona, Eli,” she greeted cheerfully, and Eli was already suspicious.
“Hello Marisol,” Fiona greeted back, “You seem excited today.”
“Well tonight at Little Miss Steaks, we’re having a special event where the customers get to dance with the employees. It’s our party night, and you’re going to be my partner,” she explained while poking him in the chest.
Fiona smirked at Eli while he shuddered at the thought.
“Oh I don’t think so, Princess. Dancing isn’t my thing,” he rejected.
“You swore you were going to come to the restaurant every night to protect me, right? Well this is what’s happening tonight,” Marisol stated.
“Protecting you doesn’t involve yeehaw dancing,” he opposed.
“Well, you’re going to do it, and we both know it. So I’ll be looking forward to seeing your cute little dance moves tonight, Cowboy,” she teased, and then she walked away with a bounce in her step. He shook his head.
“What does she mean by protecting her? What are you, her knight-in-shining armor?” Fiona interrogated him with a raised eyebrow.
Eli took a deep breath. He almost didn’t want to even tell Fiona but they were friends now and she deserved at least some explanation.
“Some biker losers are harassing her so I told her that I would be at the restaurant to defend her if they try anything,” he explained.
“These wouldn’t be the biker guys that are rumored to have been involved in several fights, murders, drug dealing, and rapes across the city recently, right?” Fiona asked him in worry. Her face went white when he didn’t say anything. “Eli, are you nuts? You’re trying to take on a whole GANG instead of reporting to the cops?”
“What is reporting to the cops going to do if they apparently aren’t doing their job? These assholes, along with that other gang have been terrorizing the city for two months and not a single person has been arrested? No, I think at this point we’re better off dealing with this ourselves,” he ranted.
“Have you seen Drew Torres right now? One encounter with a gang member and he can’t even sit straight in class without shaking! Do you really want that, Eli? You’re not Batman and these are not Gotham villains. You could die!” She exclaimed.
“I have my own ways, okay? Drop it, Fiona,” he commanded.
“That savior complex is going to really kill you one day, Eli,” Fiona warned him.
“I said drop it!” Eli commanded with a stronger voice this time.
The rest of the walk to class was silent.
This was going to be a wonderful night.
Marisol was dressed in her work uniform, with her pigtails extra curled tonight. She applied her makeup in anticipation. For tonight, she was going to wear shimmering pink eyeshadow and lip gloss with a soft blush, sharp eyeliner, and glittery mascara. She had to look amazing for Eli.
Her stomach tightened at the thought of him. They weren’t even dating and she felt that Eli had shown more consideration for her as a person than Owen ever had. Eli teased her a lot for her preferences but at least she felt like her voice mattered. Whenever she tried to talk to him, he would act uninterested until she reached for his pants’ zipper. She never really felt like a guy took her seriously until Eli.
He was just perfect.
As Marisol looked at herself in the mirror and admired herself, she realized that she was in love with Eli Goldsworthy. He would be the dream boyfriend she always wanted as he was handsome, intelligent, compassionate, protective, brave, and strong. Sure he dressed like a vampire, his interests were a little odd, and he could be too much of an edgelord but it made his presence a breath of fresh air. She never met a guy like Eli and she hoped she never will.
He was truly extraordinary.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was annoyingly cheerful.
Eli ate on his barbecue wings as he watched several patrons of the restaurant dance happily with the staff to some old music. The songs must have been only from the sixties and seventies. Cowboy hats were passed around, toy spurs were clacking against the floor, and toy horses were ridden. There were even people trying to ride a mechanical bull in the back of the restaurant.
The place was more decorated than usual with festival lights and a disco ball, and the restaurant was packed tonight. It was almost claustrophobic.
He turned his attention to Marisol, who was dancing with K.C. Guthrie as some song by the Four Tops blasted in the background. The way K.C. was looking at Marisol was making him scowl. He was looking at her with obvious attraction in his eyes and his hands were on her waist a little too tightly for his liking. Wasn’t it like an open secret around the school that K.C. was currently cheating on his baby mama, Jenna Middleton, with a girl named Jess or something? He recalled how he brought the girl to Movie Night where a third of the school could see it. He also remembered Clare telling him how K.C. was her first boyfriend and that he dumped her for Jenna. The guy was a mess. If he was religious, he would have prayed for his kid because he was obviously being raised in a dysfunctional home.
Eli narrowed his eyes as K.C. spun Marisol around, which made her giggle. K.C. was looking at her body in desire which Eli did not like to see. At all. He almost couldn’t blame the guy as Marisol did look more stunning than usual tonight. She was glammed up in flashy hair and makeup, and combined with her signature smile with big dimples, she just seemed to glow tonight. The sight of her was making him feel things in his gut that he hadn’t felt since the beginning of his romance with Clare.
But some reason he just couldn’t help but feel disgust at her smiling so cheerfully at K.C. The guy didn’t deserve it. He looked like an absolute goofball in his cowboy uniform. Eli chewed on his food more vigorously in irritation. His mood was tanking further with every minute Marisol was dancing with that loser.
Even worse the biker gang was all here tonight, and the same creepy assholes that were harassing Marisol last time were leering at her again. Luckily he had a plan for that this time: laxatives. He bought them from the pharmacy just for tonight. The second they got up to dance was the moment he was going to strike.
The manager of the restaurant walked up to a microphone and tapped on it loudly, with the sound getting everyone’s attention.
“Attention cowboys and cowgirls! We’re about to put on a slow song so grab someone you’re sweet on and give them a little dance to remember!” He announced enthusiastically as multiple couples immediately huddled together.
K.C. finally parted away from Marisol, and she gave him a parting smile as he went back to tending some customers. However, one of the bikers got up from their booth and stalked towards her and that’s when Eli had enough.
He got up out of his seat and strode towards Marisol who looked at him in surprise. Putting on his best confident smile, he offered her his hand.
“I would like a dance, please?” He asked. The resulting smile she gave him had his heart beating rapidly.
“Of course, cowboy,” she accepted as she took his hand. Her own hand was so soft and smooth. She wrapped her other hand around his shoulder as he held her waist. When the song started playing, they swayed together against the beat.
“I don't like you, but I love you, seems that I'm always thinking of you. Oh, oh, oh, you treat me badly, I love you madly, you really got a hold on me…,” Smokey Robinson’s voice sang loudly as they danced.
Eli looked into Marisol’s warm brown eyes. They were filled with nothing but adoration for him. Did she really like him even with his dark aesthetic and sharp personality? He didn’t even seem like her type at all but he could tell she was head over heels for him.
He was finding himself...flattered by all of this.
“You really got a hold on me, you really got a hold on me, you really got a hold, baby. I don't want you, but I need you, don’t want to kiss you, but I need you. Oh, oh, oh, you do me wrong now. My love is strong now, you really got a hold on me,” the song continued.
He found himself eerily resonating with the song right now. The lyrics seemed to be speaking to him about his feelings for Marisol. He wasn’t in love with her as he only wanted Clare, but she has certainly ensnared him in her claws. It was scary how she could make him do whatever she wanted, and that he was finding himself drawn to her beauty every day.
He wanted to hate her, but he couldn’t. It was the opposite.
“You really got a hold on me, you really got a hold on me, you really got a hold, baby. I love you and all I want you to do is just hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me...tighter….tighter…..”
With his gaze falling upon her lips, Eli had the strong desire to kiss them. Her lips were glazed with lip gloss and they seemed to shimmer just for him. He kissed them so many times in his dreams that he was wondering how they would taste against his own…..
“I want to leave you, don't want to stay here, don’t want to spend another day here...Oh, oh, oh, I want to split now, I can't quit now, you really got a hold on me, you really got a hold on me, you really got a hold, baby….”
The next couple of seconds felt like time slowed down. He decided to just….kiss Marisol while closing his. He felt her freeze in shock as he slammed his lips onto hers, and he immediately savored how sweet she tasted. She tasted like strawberries. Marisol’s lips were also very soft, and it almost felt like he was kissing air.
She was only beginning to respond when he pulled away.
Marisol’s face was still in shock before joy spread all over her face. Her eyes lit up and her smile was the widest he had ever seen it. She licked her lips presumably to taste him.
“Woah,” she said.
Eli had the sudden urge to leave, but not to go back home to his house…..
“I want to go back over to your place when you get off of work,” he told her.
“My mother doesn’t come home until 4 am, and my brother is over his girlfriend’s house for the weekend so you can come over,” she accepted quickly and enthusiastically.
“Okay,” he replied while his heart was still beating rapidly in his chest. He didn't know why he was doing this, but he wanted more of her. He almost started kissing on her again. He didn't know what he was going to do when they get to her house, but he wanted to continue what just happened between them.
"My shift's pretty much over anyway in like thirty minutes, you won’t have to wait long, Emo Boy,” she said to him while giving him a seductive wink, “Just sit back down and finish your food.” Marisol kissed him on the cheek before going back to work.
Clare’s face flashed through his mind but it didn’t stop the desire he had for Marisol right now.
As he went back to the seat, he noticed the bikers were glaring at him viciously.
He glared right back.
What was they going to do to him in front of the whole restaurant?
The next thirty minutes felt like thirty hours but it was finally over.
“I’ll be in the car when you get out!” Marisol enthusiastically told Eli, who nodded before walking towards the bathroom. She couldn’t begin to contain her excitement. Eli had kissed her! She didn’t even have to make the first move! He did, and he was such an amazing kisser. He was as passionate with his lips as he was with his love of theatre. She looked forward to kissing him again and again.
They were definitely going to be together after tonight. They were going to be a power couple at school. She was already envisioning the things they could do in a relationship. They would walk through Degrassi together, with his arms wrapped around her. She could continue doing makeup for his productions. For pep rallies, she could do a special cheer routine just for him. They could spend nights watching movies together, or make love under the covers.
They could attend prom together and be king and queen.
There were a million things that were about to happen and she was jumping at the chance to do them all at once.
She grabbed her things out of her locker, and walked outside the restaurant after saying her goodbyes to her fellow restaurant staff. She skipped happily down the street. Tonight was something out of a fairy tale and it was only going to get better.
She was almost by her car when a gruff voice stopped her.
“Well hello again, little miss,” one of the bikers from earlier greeted her cheerfully as he stepped out of the shadows from the alleyway. “Where are you heading while looking all gorgeous?” It was the tall one with the beady eyes. Something about his tone was off.
“Home,” she answered, “It’s getting late.”
He chuckled. “Not late enough for some fun, right?” He asked, and that’s when a sinking feeling grew in her stomach. She looked around the area. No one was on the streets except them.
“Fun at home, yeah,” Marisol replied while smiling nervously. She saw how he and his friend were looking at her all night. It was way creepier than usual, and she was more than a little scared when they tried to dance with her at multiple points. She thanked God that K.C. and Eli stepped in on time.
He stepped closer to her while giving her a wide smile, and Marisol could see his dirty, brown teeth with several cavities. Years later, she would never forget his stench. His breath and body odor was horrible; It was like smelling a dead animal.
“There’s a lot of fun things to do at home,” another biker said as he suddenly popped up from behind her car, “A lot involving a sweet little treat such as yourself,” he said as he stepped up to her, giving her a sinister smirk. “Isn’t she the sweetest, Bill with how she’s always giving us these nice smiles while she serves us food in that sexy little cowgirl outfit. I bet she tastes delicious.“ He was the shorter, but beefier one.
Marisol started breathing heavily in fear, and she felt her heart dropping. What was taking Eli so long?
“Damn straight, Rick,” the other guy replied, “I bet you’re a good girl in bed, aren’t you, honey? Have you ever been fucked good, little lady?” He asked her with a sinister smile. “We’re about to show you what it feels like.”
The next couple of moments felt like a blur. As soon as the words left that man’s scummy mouth, she reached inside her pocket for her car keys with mace attached to them, only for one of the men to grab her from behind. He covered her mouth before she could start screaming.
“We don’t take no for an answer, little lady,” the man whispered in her ear.
Her muffled screams weren’t heard as she was dragged into the alleyway by the two men.
————————
Eli glared at the biker in front of him in annoyance. The name tag on his jacket read “Derek”. He only looked to be a few years older than him, and was scrawny with a ratty looking face. He was smoking a cigarette in his mouth and was trying his best to look intimidating.
His whole presence screamed “I’m a loser high school dropout”.
The other guy has been blocking him from leaving the bathroom for a couple minutes now and Eli was getting very impatient.
“I don’t know what this is about but I really would like to leave the bathroom right now,” he said to the guy as a warning.
“I don’t think I can do that, emo freak,” the guy replied casually.
“Let me out now,” Eli growled in response as his violent side started to take over.
“Nope,” the other guy rejected, “Can’t do that.”
“Why not?” He demanded.
“My job is to keep you here,” the guy admitted with a smirk, “You can try to get past me but I bet you can’t.”
“Like hell I can’t,” Eli snarled as he shoved the guy aside. The biker tried to grab him at him, only for Eli to ram his knee into the other guy balls. As the guy fell to his knees and grabbed his crotch in pain, Eli let out a satisfied smile. It felt good to not be on the receiving end of it for once.
However, he had a bad feeling inside. What the hell was that douchebag talking about when he said it was his job to keep him in the bathroom?
Frowning, Eli walked out of the bathroom and out of the restaurant. The bad feeling grew even worse as he walked down the street. It was eerily quiet. The light on Marisol’s car wasn’t even on. Why wasn’t she in her car?
Then he heard a scream from the alleyway.
“Shut up, bitch!” A man snarled, and the sound of a slap cracked through the air.
Eli didn’t even feel his feet move as he ran to the source of the scream.
The sight that welcomed him when he entered the alleyway made him see red. Years later, he wouldn’t remember much of what happened other than throwing punches and being beaten down while Marisol was frozen in shock. The only rational thought he held in his mind was murder.
Blood red clouded his vision while he tried to fight the bikers off of Marisol, one of whom had his pants and boxers around his ankles. He wasn’t too hard to take down since he was drunk and stumbling all over. It was the other one, the shorter and more muscular man that was harder to take down and the man quickly overpowered him.
Eli was too drunk off of rage to feel the punches from the man, nor did they stop him. He was still throwing punches even when he was slammed to the ground and was being kicked in his stomach. He could hear something burst in his nose, and felt his ribs being kicked repeatedly on both sides.
“The cops are coming! We need to get the hell out of here,” A scratchy voice called out, and it sounded like the asshole that blocked him in the bathroom.
Both men stopped beating on him. “Shit,” one of them growled, “Can’t we take her home with us?”
“We can’t risk it right now! Leave them both!” The other man exclaimed.
The man looked down at Eli and spat on him before running down the alleyway with the other bikers.
The pain suddenly hit him like a truck. It felt like he was run over by one.
He groaned in agony as he looked at Marisol, who he was more concerned about than whatever pain he was feeling at the moment. She looked at him in shock while covering her chest. She was bleeding from her lower lip while her work uniform was ripped in several areas. Her normally cheerful face was wet with tears. It broke him into a million pieces.
Not for the first time, he hated himself for not being physically stronger.
“I’m sorry,” he croaked out. She then crawled over to him.
“You saved me,” she told him, “They....they....they almost...”
She started sobbing. Despite the immense pain he felt, Eli reached out and held her hand.
————
When she brought Eli home with her after she filed out a police report, the first order was immediately getting rid of her outfit. If she didn’t need to keep them for evidence, she would have burned everything from her panties, to her uniform, to her hair ribbons.
The cop didn’t even want to report what happened at first. He had looked her over with a sneer and basically told her to her face that she wasn’t worth the trouble and that no one would believe her. It wasn’t until Eli angrily pressed him that the cop decided to go through with the charge. She had never felt so unprotected in her life.
Eli refused to go to the hospital as he insisted his ribs weren’t broken no matter how much she begged him. He was too stubborn.
She had him sit in her bedroom as she took a hot shower. Tears wouldn’t stop streaming down her face as she scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed her face and body raw. No matter how many times she washed herself, the stench of those men wouldn’t leave. Even after she was done showering, she still felt unclean. She felt ruined.
They touched her in places they never wanted, whispered vile things to her, and wouldn’t stop hitting her for trying to fight back.
They were going to kidnap her afterwards.
She wouldn’t stop shaking as she started to dress. Marisol threw on some pajamas, her favorite onesie that covered her body completely, and entered her room where Eli was sitting uncomfortably in her bed. He looked completely out of place in his black, goth wear compared to her sugary pink room filled with stuffed animals and heart-shaped furniture. It didn’t matter to her right now though. She didn’t even bring herself to care.
What horrified her was his appearance. She gasped at his face as it was thoroughly bruised and was various shades of purple, yellow, and red. His lips were split and bloody. His nose was bleeding and he was holding his side in pain.
“Eli.....,” she said, whimpering as she sat down next to him, “It’s all my fa-“
“Don’t,” he sharply cut her off, “This will never be your fault. You didn’t deserve this!”
“But you could have gotten killed for me! Why?” She demanded through her tears. She had cried so much that a nasty headache was growing in her head. Other than the images of the men assaulting her body in multiple ways, the sight of Eli laying there bleeding on the ground flooded her mind. She couldn’t stop thinking of how he could have died and she might not have ever forgiven herself for it.
“I care about you, but even if I didn’t, I would never let someone hurt you even if it meant getting my ass kicked,” he rasped, trying to give her his signature smirk before coughing in pain, “I should be the one that’s sorry right now. I didn’t protect you like I promised.”
She pulled him into her embrace, and cried in his hair.
“Please stay with me,” she pleaded. She was too scared to even sleep alone in her room tonight, and especially with the lights off. She couldn’t sleep in darkness tonight.
“Of course,” he responded as he soothingly rubbed her back. “I don’t want to leave you alone. I got you, okay?”
She didn’t how long she cried until she fell asleep in his arms.