What It Feels Like for a Girl (Part 7)

Treylan and Sheridan McCartney went over to Shaun's apartment to go check in on her since they were unable to reach their third on the phone. They were identical triplets and of the three, Shaun was the independent one. 1

"I hope she's okay," said Sheridan as she pulled out her set of keys to open the door to the apartment. The triplets had made copies of each other's keys for emergencies for easy access.2

"She didn't show up for class or for work," answered Trey. "I hope Danny boy didn't hurt her again."3

"Knowing him, that's probably the case. I tried calling her mobile but all I got was her voice mail."4

Once inside the one bedroom apartment, Sheridan and Treylan were horrified to find the place in a mess. "What happened in here?" Trey asked her sister as she stepped over an overturned table.5

"Looks like things got out of hand. I'm going to check her bedroom."6

Trey picked up the table and placed back where she knew Shaun had it placed then picked up the floral arrangement that had been scattered about the floor. 7

"TREY!! GET IN HERE!" Sheridan shouted. The other young woman ran down the hall to the room and was nearly floored by the amount of blood that covered the floor and wall. She hugged her sister who had begun to cry.8

"I'm sure Shaun made it out alive, Sher. If she were dead, we would have known it."9

"What can we do?"10

"You grab your cell phone and a phone book and I'll use her phone. We start by calling every hospital, clinic, and doctor's office in Manhattan until we find her."11

~**~12

Leaning against the wall in the kitchen, Shaun called Treylan's apartment but received no answer. Next she dialed Sheridan's house number but received no answer as well. "I wonder where they could be," she said aloud as she hung up the phone and began dialing Trey's cell number.13

A moment later, she got answer. "Hey, Trey, it's me."14

"Good God almighty, Shaun, where have you been?!" her sister almost shouted into the phone.15

"I'm at Alex's house."16

Trey took a deep breath and composed herself before saying another word. "What happened in your apartment last night? Sher and I came over to see if you were okay when we got no answer on your home phone."17

"Daniel got rough with me last night and left me knocked out on the floor. After I came to, I packed up my bags and left. I don't feel safe in my own house anymore."18

"It's good to know that you're safe but you still should have called us to let us know what happened. Sheridan thought that he had killed you from all the blood on the wall and floor."19

"He tried to beat me to death and threw me into the wall, splitting my scalp open."20

She heard her sister breath 'Jesus' upon hearing the news. "Are you going to file charges against him?"21

"I don't know, I don't feel safe coming back to the city."22

"Shaun! He just tried to kill you for crying out loud. You need to file a police report and get a restraining order against him."23

"I just need to clear my head first, Trey. I can't face him just yet."24

"Do you want me and Sher to clean out your apartment? We can tell the landlord that you wanted to move and we'll foot the bill for you breaking your lease."25

"That's sweet of your but I don't want to be a burden to you and Sheridan," she whispered into the phone.26

"We're sisters, Shaun, and sisters look out for each other. Sheridan and I will get the guys, pack up your stuff, and move you out. You don't have to come back to the city if you don't want to. I'll store your stuff in my storage block until you come back and find yourself another place."27

Tears rolled down the young woman's cheeks as her sister laid out the plans for her. "Do you need to talk to Alex?"28

"That would be a good idea. Is he around?"29

"Yeah, just a sec."30

Shaun called to Alex who was sitting in the living room, watching TV. "Alex, Treylan wants to talk to you."31

"Okay," he said, reaching over to the side table to pick up the black and silver cordless phone. "Hello."32

Shaun hung up the phone to give her sister and Alex some privacy to talk. For months, Trey had been telling her to dump Daniel and hook up with Alexander. Sheridan had even told her that she and Alex would make a perfect couple. 33

She went into the living room and sat down on the sofa beside Alex, curling up to him. He draped his arm around her shoulders, lightly rubbing her arm as he talked on the phone. She wrapped her arm around his waist and sighed deeply. 'A perfect fit,' she thought as she closed her eyes, listening to the rhythm of his breathing and the soft beat of his heart.34

This was heaven to her and Alexander Riley was her guardian angel...