When Souls Collide

The apartment building where they both lived came into sight and Petra pulled in and pressed the remote to raise the gate into the underground parking. A short elevator ride up to the fourth floor and Tabby stopped at her door.

Petra put her hand on Tabby's hand that was holding out her key. "Grab some stuff and come sleep at mine. You are not staying by yourself and you are definitely not staying in here alone, considering that bastard knows where you live."

A fresh wave of despair rocked Tabby and she almost stumbled with the weight of that realization. Jerry had all her pertinent details on her employee file. He could find her any time he wanted!

"Oh shit!" Tabby began hyperventilating with panic. "I didn't even think about that. What am I going to do?"

Petra worked Tabby's keychain from her hand and unlocked the door. "First, you're going to grab a change of clothes and your toothbrush," she said, pulling Tabby gently into her apartment. "Then you are coming to stay with me." She led Tabby, shuffling behind her like a sleepwalker, into her bedroom and helped her gather her things. "Tomorrow, you can hand in your notice and move in with me."

When Tabby made to protest, Petra held up her hand, cutting off her refusal. "Diego covers most of the rent and he won't mind me having a roommate. It would actually make him happy to know that I'm not alone when I'm here. I can keep us fed until you find work, Tabs. It's not a problem, sweetie."

Tabby had dropped onto her ancient mattress, listening to her friend save her skin. She couldn't bring herself to find relief in Petra's offer, too afraid that if she did, there would be a hidden catch.

Like Jerry.

Tabby had learned a painful lesson tonight that nothing came without a price.

Petra sensed her reluctance and sighed, she sat down beside Tabby and pulled her, unresisting, into a hug. The fact that Tabby didn't shy away from her, showed how traumatized she really was. She leaned into the comfort of Petra's embrace and began to sob.

"Oh baby, I'm so sorry that this horrible thing has happened to you. You poor thing, you must feel so overwhelmed and here I am pushing even more stress onto your shoulders." She brushed down Tabby's hair, cooing and murmuring sentiments that Tabby couldn't understand, but the soft sounds eventually helped soothe the sorrow that had gripped her and she slowly got herself back under control.

"Feel better?"

Tabby nodded, sat up and blew her nose in a most undignified manner.

Petra chuckled and picked up her hand, giving it a little squeeze. "We've been friends for five years, Tabs. I know that you don't trust easily and don't accept help. You need me, baby. I promise that there are no strings attached to my offer, no hidden agendas. Diego is a good man. Hell, he's better than anything I deserve. He really won't mind and I want you here too. I get lonely all by myself." She looked at Tabby, nothing but raw honesty in her honey-coloured eyes and Tabby felt some of her stubbornness loosen. Petra was throwing her a lifeline and she'd be a fool to refuse to grab on.

"Okay," Tabby whispered. "Let's be roomies."

Petra bounced to her feet clapping her hands in joy. "Come on then, let's get you home...to your new one, that is!!"

Petra's suite was on the tenth floor of their building, among the purchased condominium units as opposed to the cheap, social housing rental suites on the lower levels. It was better appointed and much more spacious than the cramped one bedroom apartment that Tabby had been renting, not to mention the view was spectacular compared to the stellar view of the parking lot that Tabby had enjoyed. She adored Petra's place and secretly hated returning to her claustrophobic, shoebox sized one after spending time in her larger suite. Tabby's had a dowdy, institutional appearance that made her feel low class and embarrassed, even though Petra never said or did anything to make her feel diminished.

If she was being completely honest with herself, now that she'd accepted Petra's generous offer, she was actually relieved. Petra's place was a home - warm, lived in and full of character and colour. Tabby's was a place to sleep, but she never considered it to be home - it was just a place to be when she wasn't somewhere else. She hated the pressboard cupboards, paper-thin doors and stark, white washed walls. Being rid of the place was like a weight being lifted that she didn't even know she was carrying.

Petra, bless her sweet heart, had bought Tabby some much needed breathing room and Tabby was determined to make the most of the gift her friend had offered her.

The room that Petra led her to was large and decorated with cozy, chunky looking furniture. A queen sized bed was surrounded by two overstuffed chairs making a nice reading area off to one side and sat beside a honey-blond oak dresser. A large walk-in closet and private bathroom occupied the other side of the room. Tabby had been in this room before but it looked different somehow to her today - new and inviting in a way it hadn't done so previously.

She eyed the bed longingly, wanting nothing more than to crawl under the hand-made quilt and sleep for a week. The top mattress alone was twice as thick as the thrift store reject that Tabby had slept on for the last four years. She didn't even have a frame for hers and Petra's looked so high off the ground that Tabby wasn't sure if her short legs where going to be able to get her onto the bed! She wondered briefly if Petra would laugh at her when she asked her for a step stool.

"This is your room from now on. If there's anything you want to change, just tell me and we'll get it done." She glanced at Tabby, worried at the blank, shell-shocked expression on her friend's face. She needed to get her into the shower so that she could make some much need phone calls. Petra was not going to let this assault go unreported, no matter what Tabby had wanted.

"Might as well stow your stuff in the dresser, it's empty but for a few extra blankets. I'll help you transfer the rest of your things tomorrow, okay?"

"Um...sure...Okay." Tabby yawned distractedly, feeling an exhaustion that permeated her bones right to the marrow. "Is it okay if I go and shower?"

Petra waved her hands, pointing her in the direction of the bathroom. "Of course, sweetie. You get in and I'll go grab you some clean towels."

Tabby wondered if she even had the energy to get undressed. In the panic to escape, she hadn't given the state of her clothing much thought beyond trying to cover herself enough to get home. Now, in the clean, quiet room, her clothes took on a life of their own, clinging to her as if they had become an animated second skin that was squirming wherever the material touched her. Her skin crawled and twitched with the poisonous burn seeping through her skin and chewing its way into her soul. Jerry's rank odor was all over her clothes and she could smell him as if he was right in front of her.

Panic rising, Tabby suddenly couldn't get the soiled clothing off her fast enough. She was about to remove the tattered remains of her shirt when she caught sight of several bright red splotches of blood sprayed on the white material. She sucked in a sharp breath and her mind blanked, rebooting with the image of Jerry sneering and bleeding all over her. Petra's beautiful room dissolved, dripping away like wet paint to reveal the small office back at the bar hidden beneath the illusion of freedom.

She'd never gotten out!

Her escape had been a trick and she was still in Jerry's office. Her wild, unseeing eyes darted around the room looking for him but kept coming back to the brilliant crimson stains on her clothing. Terror and revulsion had her screaming, clawing at the shirt in such a frenzy to get it off her body that she didn't hear the seams tearing as she ripped it away. Her bra was the next to go; Tabby saw his ham sized hands groping the satiny material and suddenly couldn't bear it touching her skin, it turned into a living fabric made from thousands of beetles, their multitude of legs scratching over her body as they squirmed. Her jeans hadn't come out unscathed either and there were large patches of blood soaked into them, they had been on the floor in front of the desk, where Jerry had dropped them and he had bled on them when she'd kneed him in the nose.

Petra dropped her arm load of linen and sprinted down the hall and into the bedroom when she heard Tabby's terrified screams. She came in to find Tabby half naked, sobbing and tearing at her clothes with frantic hands, trying to get her pants off. She kept repeating: "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!" like a damned mantra. Petra ignored the awful, purple bruises covering her friend's breasts and stomach, focusing her attention on Tabby's filthy jeans and could see what had triggered her panic attack. Her jeans and the torn remains of her uniform shirt were sprayed with blood that Tabby must not have noticed until just now. She was freaking out and Petra was scared that she was going to hurt herself in her haste to remove her clothing.

"Hey, hey, sweetie. Shhhh, let me help you!" Petra said calmly, hiding her own fear at what her poor, sweet friend must have endured that evening.

"Get them off me!" Tabby shrieked, her face was flushed and her eyes were wild with terror. She had clawed at her own skin in her desperate attempt to remove the offensive clothing and had gouged red streaks everywhere her nails had found unprotected skin.

"I will, I promise, but you have to let me near." Petra didn't think Tabby even realized that she had been flailing her arms at her as she tried to get near to her to help. Poor thing, Petra thought, she looks like a tormented wild animal that had been caged for far too long.

Petra's words broke the terror fuelled spiral that Tabby had gotten caught in and she blinked owlishly trying to re-establish her orientation. Petra reached out a tentative hand, taking slow, measured steps toward her as if she were approaching a spooked horse.

"You're okay, Tabs. That's it, breathe, sweetie. I'll help get those jeans off, if that's what you want." Petra stopped just short of Tabby, not attempting to touch the skittish woman until she gave her permission. She knew that Tabby had to allow the contact and be aware that it was Petra and not Jerry who was touching her, or else it could send her into another blind panic attack.

"Will you let me help you, Tabby?" Tabby darted her gaze around her, side to side, then focused on Petra. It took her a few seconds for recognition to filter through the adrenaline frying her synapses but Petra saw the moment that Tabby returned back to the present by the way her entire body sagged in place. She swayed alarmingly and Petra jumped forward, ready to catch her should she collapse. Tabby stumbled half a step but quickly righted herself and seemed to recover her equilibrium, becoming more stable despite the tremors shaking her entire body.

"Please," she whispered. "I can't get them off, Petra. I need to take them off." She sounded so pitiful and forlorn that Petra felt her own heart shatter in sympathy.

"Of course, sweetie. Here, let me undo that button and we will get rid of these things, okay." Tabby nodded in response and allowed Petra to untie her boot laces so that she could remove her muddy boots. Then, she slipped the button through the buttonhole and slowly slid the jeans over Tabby's hips and down her legs. More bruises were hidden under a layer of dried muck splattered all the way up to her thighs and Petra saw that she wasn't wearing underwear. Tabby had said that Jerry hadn't had a chance to force himself on her, but what had happened to her panties? Petra swallowed against a sour taste and wondered if Tabby had lied about not being forced into having intercourse with her boss after all.

Tabby was murmuring something so quietly that Petra didn't catch the words the first few times she uttered them. Straining her hearing, it frightened her to hear Tabby repeating: "It's only Petra. It's only Petra," over and over under her breath, attempting to reassure herself as Petra undressed her.

I don't care what she says, Petra thought. I am calling Diego the minute she's in the shower. This needs to be taken care of right away! That asshole needs to be caught and punished before he does this to another woman.

"Are you okay to get into the shower, Tabs? I can stay with you if you want me too," Petra offered, gathering up the discarded clothing in her arms. Tabby looked stricken, her eyes glued to the evidence of her assault carried in Petra's arms.

Petra could see Tabby sliding back into panic and called out to her. "Tabs, you still with me, sweetie. Come on," she caught Tabby's gaze and redirected hers up to meet Petra's eyes and away from the blood-stained clothing that she held. "There you are."

"I can shower by myself," Tabby said absently, slowly shaking off the terrified jitters.

"Okay, then I'll leave you to it. I'll put the towels just outside the door for you." Petra watched Tabby walk heavily into the bathroom, then turned to leave. Before she left the room, Tabby called out quietly to her.

"Petra?"

"Yes, sweetie? What's the matter?"

"I-I just wanted to say, um, thanks, you know. I didn't know what I would have done if you hadn't come for me." Tabby paused and blinked away a stray tear that clung to her eyelashes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she nodded in the direction of the shower. "Now get yourself under that hot water. You'll feel much better once you get cleaned off."

Tabby looked lost for a moment then backed into the bathroom and closed the door. Petra waited until she heard the shower start up then rushed down the hall, into her kitchen. She took out a clean trash bag and deposited Tabby's soiled clothing into it. They were covered in evidence that she knew the police would need if there was to be any chance of prosecuting the bastard who had attacked her friend.

Her next task was to scavenge through her purse in search of her cellphone. She looked up Diego's number and found him under an entry entitled "Master". She dialled and then waited for him to pick up. He did so by the first ring, worry tinging his voice.

"Petra? What's wrong?" his deep voice never ceased to send a thrill through her body and this time was no different. Her core hummed with excitement despite the serious nature of her call.

"Master, I need your help. Something bad has happened to my friend Tabitha and I don't know what to do," she blurted out in a rush, suddenly feeling the anxiety that she had been holding back bubble forth uncontrollably.

"Hey there, slow down. Tell me what happened," he replied and his calm, controlled manner helped Petra settle her own nerves so that she could recount to her partner the terrible events of the night, feeling sicker as she spoke.

"She doesn't want to report the assault, but, Master, she's in shock and I think it would be a huge mistake if she doesn't."

"I agree, love. You did the right thing in calling me. As it would happen, the other Masters are all here with me. Let me talk to them and then I'll head on over, okay?" He paused. "I take it that she doesn't know you called me, correct?"

"Yes, Sir. I waited until she got into the shower. I couldn't keep this secret for her, Sir. She's going to hate me when she finds out." Petra said, feeling tears of her own spring to her eyes.

"Maybe at first, but she'll get over it once that creep is arrested and charged. Don't mention that I'm coming over, just try to keep her calm. I'll be there as soon as possible." He chuckled and his voice softened, filling with pride and love. "Have I mentioned what a good girl you are? I'm glad you kept your head about you tonight, Tabitha is a very lucky woman to have you...as am I. See you soon."

Petra's brain quit working after she heard the words, 'good girl'. It was as if it prompted a preconditioned response to preen and glow with pleasure whenever her Master called her that. It filled her with butterflies and simmering arousal to know she had made him proud of her. She would need to hold onto those warm, fuzzy feelings once he arrived. She had a feeling that Tabby was not going to take her perceived betrayal very well, considering how adamant she'd been not to call the police. Two of the Masters were with the police and Petra was relieved that her Master would be bringing real help with him.

Petra gathered up the linen that she had dropped and took them to Tabby's room. She listened quietly at the door, but only heard the shower running. She tapped lightly, not wanting to startle Tabby. "Tabby, you okay in there?" she called through the closed door.

"Yes. Thanks, Petra," Tabby replied, her tired voice almost drowned out by the pulsing shower head.

"I'm leaving your towels on the chair by the door. Holler if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay," Tabby's called back and Petra left her in privacy.

Inside the bathroom, Tabby sat huddled on the floor of the shower, her arms wrapped around her bent knees, hugging them tightly to her body for comfort. Her eyes were red rimmed and swollen from crying and her bottom lip was bitten and bloody from her using her teeth to try to hold back the screams that choked her. She shook uncontrollably, despite the steaming water that cascaded over her. She'd scrubbed herself raw but couldn't get the feeling of being dirty off her skin, no matter how much she tried. The tears had started up again and the force of the wracking sobs had made her collapse, unable to do more than surrender herself to the misery boiling like toxic sludge inside her.

I can't keep falling apart like this, she scolded herself. The uncontrollable crying jags where somehow offensive to her and she despised herself for being so weak. This is the last time, she vowed. Cry it out now, Tabs, after this, you are done with this shit!

And that's exactly what she did. She let the tears flow freely, crying so hard that she couldn't breathe for all the pain and humiliation that came out with the salty droplets. After what seemed to be an eternity, the waterworks tapered then stopped entirely, leaving her feeling drained but oddly cleansed at the same time. Her mind was working furiously to shore up her battered defences and put the terrible events of the night into perspective, to bring reason to such an irrational act.

It wasn't your fault, Tabs. You gotta believe that. You did nothing to deserve it, that is all on Jerry.

He hurt you.

He scared you. But at least he didn't succeed in raping you. You fought back, girlfriend! You fought back and survived.

Bad things happened to good people because there are bad people in this world.

Jerry was one of those bad people.

You will get through this. You will get over this and eventually, you will forget this ever happened. But you have to pull yourself out of this despair first.

Her monologue over, Tabby felt calmer and stronger, clinging to the words she'd told herself. She got clumsily to her feet, her body stiff and aching from sitting hunched on the shower floor, turned off the water and stepped out. The towels were right where Petra had said they'd be and she grabbed the stack and brought them back into the bathroom with her. She wrapped herself in a soft, fluffy towel, closing her eyes in delight at the feeling of good quality cotton caressing her skin. These sure beat the thread bare, second hand ones she had at her place.

She still couldn't believe that Petra wanted her to move in with her. How had she gotten so lucky? It seemed strange the way the universe strived to keep things balanced, she mused.

Something terrible followed by something almost too good to be true.