Dancing With a Stranger

Jodie aimlessly walked through the streets of Sorona, immersed in her tears and the rain. Her mind kept replaying the scenes from what she had just witnessed. Her heart broke afresh as her mind replayed how she had excitedly gone over to Asher's place to surprise him with dinner from his favorite restaurant, since he had earlier on complained he wasn't feeling too fine. Only to find him in bed with her best friend, Claire.   That wasn't the worst of it that broke her apart; one of the causes of her pain was the sight of her best friend slowly and sensually riding her man, reverse cowgirl style. Her eyes were closed in ecstasy as she slowly nibbled on her lower lip while Asher fondled her breasts, which bobbed up and down from behind, eyes half closed. The picture of it all hit Jodie slow-mo as soon as she pushed open the door with trepidation, due to the muffled sounds she heard coming up the stairs; as their moans mingled in agreement and reverberated through the house.   Jodie's bleeding heart seemed to slam against her ribcage as she yelled into the night in pain, anger, and confusion. As she remembered Asher telling her it was all her fault for insisting on being a virgin until her twentieth birthday, which was a month away. She sobbed, her hands involuntarily clawing at her badly hurting heart. She remembered how he had tenderly kissed her and promised to love her forever and a day because he'd never seen anyone else like her and wasn't sure he could live without her. Telling her there was no one else for him but her.   Jodie could barely see her way through the teary haze blurring her vision as she weakly fell on her knees at an intersection. She remembered how tender he had been with her, understanding her reasons every time he pressured her for s*x and she told him no. Her heart squeezed in agony as her mind told her she'd never see anyone else like him again in her life and how she'd lost the best thing she'd ever had.   She screamed again into the night, asking "why" over and over again, wallowing in her pain, when suddenly a weak voice called for help from a little distance away. Scared, Jodie looked wildly around, quiet. But after a few minutes spent straining her ears, she heard nothing but the sound of rain pattering on the ground and all around her.   She was about to put it down to her imagination, get back up, and head home when she heard the voice from up ahead.   "Help, please!" it came again, almost in a whisper.   The brokenness and pain that came with the voice almost broke Jodie's already-broken heart. She wanted to scramble over to where the voice came from, but remembered that the neighborhood was a dangerous one. So she cautiously inched her way forward, hands before her, searching, while her eyes squinted through the pale light streaming from one of the barely functional streetlights that dotted the street.   A few steps away from where she was, her hands touched a soft mass of flesh. The sane part of her mind noticed the wetness wasn't the same as that of the rain, so she yelped and was about to pull her hands away. But a strong hand gripped her wrists and pulled her forward. Jodie's mind reeled as she fell atop a hard body that felt mushy in some areas.   But before her mind could react by telling her to run, the man had painfully adjusted himself to fit her position and hungrily kissed her fully on the lips, all before she could inhale and exhale.   Jodie's mind blanked out at the onslaught of the kiss and the expensive cologne of his mixed with—was that the smell of blood? Her mind roared awake, and she hit him on the ribs with a puny fist. But that was enough to make the man quickly let go of her with a small groan as he passed out.   She jumped to her feet, ready to take off on her heels. But something about the way he lay there made her stop. Jodie came closer and poked him with a finger, but there was no response of any kind. She remembered she had her bag slung over her shoulder and scrambled to take out her phone, then cursed.   She eyed her phone, which had given up on both life and her while she had been acting out her pain under the rain, and slumped into a sitting position, suddenly feeling drained.   She glanced at the man again and reached out to search his jacket pockets. The first thing her hand touched was a cellphone. She almost sagged in relief as she fished it out and turned on the torch. The light flooded the guy, revealing deep gashes and battered flesh, which bled into a drain nearby as his blood mixed with the rain.   Jodie blanched at the sight but clamped a hand over her mouth. She had seen injuries due to her job as the receptionist at a veterinary clinic, but this one topped the list. Her mind furiously worked as she thought of who to call to come help her tow the guy to the hospital. While her fingers frantically swiped the screen of the phone as she prayed for it to be unlocked. She tried not to burst into tears all over again as frustration welled up in her chest. She almost wept in relief as the phone opened up, and dialed the number of her boss she had managed to memorize. She stole glances at the unconscious guy as she waited for Brian to pick up, as though he might just wake up and pounce on her again.   But nothing eventful happened until Brian groggily answered, obviously woken up from his sleep. She shakily apologized for the inconvenience and explained the situation to him. The sleep in his eyes disappeared as he listened to her incoherently recount what had happened and about the guy she had found. He tried to reassure her and calm her down while he threw on a pullover and grabbed his car keys. He then asked her to wait for him and not move the body until he got to them and hung up.   Jodie gave a world-weary sigh after the call ended and walked up to the guy. She cradled his head and shoulders in her arms and leaned over him so that the rain wouldn't get on his face as she waited for Brian to show up.