“Thanks, Austin. It’s nice to know that I have a permanent dinner date in you.” Kelly thought to herself that it was always nice to have someone around since the accident, but she didn’t say it out loud. Just then a little black lab’s head poked around the door. Austin bent down to pat the little black lab’s, but the pup turned on it’s heels and ran back into the apartment. Kelly said, “Oh, don’t worry Austin. He’s just a scaredy cat around men. He runs when the mailman comes.” Kelly thought to herself again, “Yeah, he’s a scaredy cat because of that damn man.” Austin smiled at Kelly and said, “Whatever. Hey I’ll see you tomorrow. You start around one right?” Kelly looked at him and said, “Yah, one o’clock for another wonderful day of work.” Kelly kissed him lightly on the cheek, “Bye, see you tomorrow,” and shut the door. She turned around and heard Riley barking right behind her. The little dog was staring at the door. “Oh, man little boy. I almost forgot.” It had been a year since she had gotten the new set of locks on her door and she was still having trouble getting used to locking all three of them. Ever since last winter she was so cautious now. She cringed as she thought about why she needed all these locks. She stared at the locks and slipped back into the horrible memory...
It was almost a year ago. It had been a dark, snowy night. She had just gotten off her shift and was alone in her brand new apartment, reading in her room, with Riley dead asleep on the floor next to the bed. Kelly heard a noise and got out of her bed. Riley woke and had followed her into the living area. Right as she was looking around the area a man in a ski mask broke down her door. Immediately he saw her and ran towards her. Riley, who was very little at the time, ran and intercepted the man right before he had reached Kelly and bit his arm, but to no avail. Kelly remembered the man’s gruff voice as he cussed at the dog. The man picked up Riley and threw him against the wall. The little dog was knocked unconscious. The man advanced towards Kelly again. He picked her up and slammed into her room. He ran after her with a knife and slashed her across the stomach. As she was fainting from the shock and loss of blood, he raped her. When she woke she saw what little things in her house were ruined. The house was a mess. Kelly immediately called her best friend Madison. Madison came and helped Kelly. She took Kelly to the hospital and took Riley to the vet. Kelly had needed ten stitches across her stomach while Riley had a broken leg. Once everything had calmed down Kelly had made Madison swear not to tell a single soul about what had happened. Madison had even thought ahead and had not taken Kelly to the hospital where Kelly worked so that none of her co workers would recognize her. No one would no ever know. Madison promised. The only people who knew were Madison and her parents, not even Austin. The hospital reported the incident to the police, but they never found out anything. Her parents had tried to run a private investigation, but nothing came out of that either. They decided that it was a patient that had been unhappy with Kelly when she treated him and he seeked revenge. That’s when her life went towards the dumps. She was so afraid of men that her relationship with Austin ended. She had ended it. She just couldn’t take it. He would never find out.
She paused, shook her head at the horrid memory, looked once more to make sure that the locks were closed correctly. “You wouldn’t let anyone get me, would you Riley?” She smiled and kneeled down and gave her pup a big hug. She went into the kitchen and fed him. As she filled up his water bowl she thought about Riley. Madison, her best friend had given him to her as a Christmas present right after Kelly had moved into her new apartment. Madison brought him over for a house warming gift. The girls decided that they would name him Riley, and call him Ri for short, after Kelly’s nickname. Kelly smiled at the pup as she put his bowl down. He was a good dog. While he was busy eating she checked the messages. She dropped down in front of her big screen TV on her leather couch and listened. “Hi Kelly. It’s Mom and Dad. Just checking up on you. Wanted to see how the promotion was going for you. Call when you get a chance. Love you.” “Thanks Mom,” Kelly mumbled as she clicked onto ESPN Sportscenter. “Nice, just in time for the show.” Her parents still lived in her hometown of Lexington, Kentucky. Her mom’s accent was still strong as ever. Kelly’s accent had slowly disappeared since her arrival in New York, but there was still the slight trace of the south in it. Her message bleeped again and she listened for the next message. “Hey, Ri. It’s Madison. I’m back in town for the Versace show and I was wondering if I could crash at your place for a few weeks? If you don’t want me to I completely understand, it’s been a year and all and I know it’s been a month since we’ve talked, but you know I am sitting here all alone in my little hotel room with no friends and no Jacuzzi. Call back tonight if it’s all right with you. Well, if it’s not all right, then don’t expect to hear from me until I leave. Just joking. Oh yeah, our show is next week and I have two extra tickets. One for you and one for a date if you can find one. If you can’t find one you can always take Riley. Hee hee!! Well gotta go. Later.” Riley barked at the sound of his name.