Tessa's Escape to Athena's Ground(85)

                David turned and headed for the elevator. He walked as if there was a fire at his back and the flames were about to engulf him.

                “Wait!” Tessa screamed, following him. She only made three steps before her right foot slipped out of the high heel and she fell to the carpet. By the time she recovered, David was in the elevator and on his way down to the lobby.

                Tessa pulled her shoes off and ran to the elevator. She realized she couldn’t appear in the lobby half naked, and when she got back to her room, she realized she was locked out.

                “Fuck!” she wailed. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”





                ***





                “What’s this?” Russell said, the smile evaporating when he saw Tessa huddled on the floor in front of the door.

                She looked up. Black tracks of mascara-laden tears were hardened on her cheeks. Her eyes were red. Her face was pale.

                “What happened?”

                Russell jammed his key card into the lock, pushed open the door and lifted Tessa to her feet. He sat her in a chair, grabbed a fluffy bathrobe and placed it over her. “Are you hurt?”



                             Her heart felt like it had been smashed by a runaway bus. Did that qualify?

                “I thought it was you at the door.”

                “Did someone hurt you?” Russell’s face tightened and his hand gently lifted Tessa’s robe. He was clearly looking for signs of sexual assault.

                “Yes. But not the way you think. And it was my fault.”

                “Tessa, look at me.” Russell kneeled down in front of her and looked into her eyes. “Did someone touch you?”

                She shook her head, no.

                Russell took a deep breath. “Okay. Tell me what happened.”

                “I just lost David.” She burst into tears, deep racking sobs that threatened to choke her.

                Russell got her a glass of water and coaxed her to calm down until she was under control. “David is the guy you met online. The one you hoped to meet in a month or two.”

                Tessa nodded her head.

                “He was here?”

                Tessa told Russell about the email she had sent when she was feeling lonely. “I guess I sounded kind of bad, and I said something like, I wish you were here. He knew about the problem with my husband. And the rape. And the attempted suicide.” Tessa took the tissue Russell handed her and blew her nose. “He got worried about me, so he hopped on a plane.”

                “He flew to Australia for a woman he’d never actually met. Because she sounded a little depressed and he was worried for her?”

                “Yes.”

                “Shit. Sounds like a good man with bad timing.”

                Tessa started to cry again.

                “Did you explain…” Russell had a momentary loss of words.

                “Did I explain why I opened the door to someone named Russell wearing fuck-me clothes while ordering him to give me his big, juicy cock?” Tessa wiped another tear from her eye. “No. I’m not sure I could have, but I didn’t get the chance. He ran like his ass was on fire.”