Nighty Night

By Eilìs Mclaughlin

Rebecca was a quite girl who moved to the city to work much to the
disappointment of her parents. After landing the job of her dreams her
social life leaves a lot to be desired. Walking home late from work one
night she was raped . Trying to put her life back together and cope with
her rape she meets Leigh a wonderful gentle man who she falls deeply
in love with . . . is he just too good to be true.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: May 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456889760

Eilìs Mclaughlin

Eilìs was born in Ireland in 1987. She began writing poems at a young age. She then decide to use her imagination to write a book. She enjoys writing and hopes readers enjoy this book, so she will have the chance to write many more.

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by Eilìs Mclaughlin.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2011904450

ISBN: Hardcover    978-1-4568-8975-3

ISBN: Softcover      978-1-4568-8974-6

ISBN: Ebook          978-1-4568-8976-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

0-800-644-6988

www.XlibrisPublishing.co.uk

[e-mail]

301714

Titles of Tales in this Series

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 1

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Everyday after work Rebecca walked home the same way. Rebecca was a quiet woman, very conservative, and kept to herself. She had moved into the city three and a half years ago to work. She was from a quiet town down south and had not yet gotten used to city life. She was well paid and spoke grandly. She lived on her own in a two-bedroom flat. It had a nice-sized living room and kitchen and two large bedrooms. She was always on time for work at 8.00 a.m. sharp and finished at 5.00 p.m. After work she would always take the same route, she would walk four blocks, and then stop for a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and then on to the walk through the park. The train was an option, but she loved walking and looking at families with their children, people playing with their dogs, and couples meeting for the first time. Then it was just two blocks and she was home. When she would get home most evenings, she would sit and read, but some evenings, it was straight into the bath, and she would dream of her life of meeting her husband in the park, falling in love, and then having kids and getting them pets as they got older. Oh, a girl can dream, she would always say to herself.

Rebecca was a lovely lady with long red hair and very well kept. She dressed well and always wore a knee-length skirt with a small-heeled shoe and a nice top; she was neither over nor under-dressed, just smart and pretty. She always wanted a happy family life and friends and dreamed that someone would whisk her away. Rebecca was quite a lonely person since she moved to the city with no friends, just work. Colleagues at work did try to include her at first, but her shyness came across as awkwardness, and after a while they stopped trying. One day, she always believed, she would be in with the women from work and sit and talk about day-to-day life. She would have an amazing social life, move to a family neighbourhood, go out dancing on a Saturday night, and at tea times meet with the women to talk about husbands and discuss who was bringing the kids to school next week. Work was quite a busy place, and people had to be on top of projects or else the company would lose out on money, and then it would be a ripple effect for all the staff, so you had to keep up.

The next few days at work got very busy as it was coming close to the deadlines and projects had to be finished. Most nights people left at eight, but this night, as Rebecca was a perfectionist, she wanted to just get this one bit right, and she ended up staying until nine. As she walked out the door, she saw the train station across the street and thought to herself, There could be all kinds of people in the park at this hour from underage drinkers to homeless people drinking. This time I will take the train . The first stop was her stop in her whole time of living there, she had never once taken the train, but this time for some reason, she felt compelled to. As she was getting off the train, she realised she had never taken it before and a sudden sense of shock with a mix of fear came over her. As she walked out on to the street, she knew where to go as she only lived two blocks away.

That night there was a mist in the air like a light fog and a weird smell in the air. As she looked down, there was a pile of rubbish. It’s only two blocks, she said to herself as she started walking briskly. Soon she felt herself getting faster and faster. Before she knew it, she was running. As she ran up her steps, she reached her front door, Home at last! It took only five minutes but felt like an hour. She giggled to herself. What an idiot! Why was I running? From now on I am taking the park. I do not know why I got that nervous, but never again, she thought to herself as she walked to the front door. I hope no one saw me. They would think I was a crazy woman.

The next few days at work were as busy, but she walked back through the park, and things were fine. It was a Thursday, and she thought to herself while walking back, Maybe I got a fright walking back as I broke routine. God’s sake, woman, she thought to herself, you are twenty-eight. Just take the train. On Friday at work that is all she thought about, and as it was the last day of projects, she did not finish until ten. She walked out straight to the train as she had thought about it all day. As her stop came, she got off, unaware that there were road works and that she would have to take a detour through some alleyways which would take a little longer. When she realised it, she panicked and began walking around through the back alleyways which were not lighted up instead of following signs. She came across a man who seemed pretty upset. So without thinking she asked him whether he was okay. As soon as she said it, straight away she knew she had made a mistake. He was definitely drinking and God knows what else. Without giving him a second to answer, she turned and walked. She thought it was best not to run as she would show him her fear, but within a second he grabbed her, turned her around, and pushed her up against the wall while he covered her mouth with one hand and ripped up her skirt with the other. He was fiddling around with something and then began raping her. A few moments later, he pulled away, crying and shouting, ‘See, women do like me!’ Rebecca had kept her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes, she could only see the back of him. He was pulling up his pants, and then he ran away. She fell to the ground in tears. A few minutes later, a passer-by saw her and phoned the police. The man who found her asked her whether she was okay. When there was no response, he knew to keep his distance as she was probably afraid of men. So he stood near enough to make sure she felt safe.

When the police came, he explained how he had found her and how she had not said a word. He left and a lady police officer came and sat beside her. ‘Would you like to come with us?’ ‘Yes,’ Rebecca muttered very softly. The officer helped her up. ‘My name is Niamh. Everything is all right now, it’s over.’ They brought her to the station and gave her a blanket and a glass of water. Then they brought her into a private room and asked her what happened. Then they calmed her and then sent her for an examination in the hospital to see if they could find any DNA. When the doctor came to talk to Rebecca and the officers after the examination, she said, ‘I am afraid it appears he used a condom.’ Rebecca began crying, ‘What do you think? I am lying?’ ‘No, calm down. I am not finished. Although he used a condom, there are tears, which show that you have been raped. I will send the report to the station. That is all I can do, but no DNA was found. I am sorry,’ the doctor said, and then she left the room. ‘Rebecca, it’s all right. We believe you, but what is also true is it is very strange that someone would rape in the street while using a condom and then run away crying and shouting what he shouted. He is not our usual rapist, and the chances are this could be his first offence.’ Rebecca began crying, ‘It’s my fault for talking to him, isn’t it?’ Her head fell into her hands. ‘No, it isn’t. How would you have known?’ ‘Come on, let’s bring you home. Have you got family we can call?’ ‘No, they live miles away.’ ‘How about friends?’ Rebecca began crying. ‘No, I have no one.’ Sobbing, she asked, ‘What will I do with work? How can I ring in sick?’ Niamh looked at her. ‘Let’s not think about this until we are at your house.’

They got into the car and Niamh and another office brought Rebecca to her house. Rebecca had only her keys as the man must have taken her bag. They got inside, and Rebecca sat on the sofa. The two officers asked, ‘Can we ring your boss in the morning?’ ‘Yes,’ Rebecca replied. ‘Shall I explain to him what happened?’ ‘I’m not sure,’ Rebecca replied. ‘Would you like us to stay?’ ‘No no, I need a bath.’ ‘We will park outside for the night, and we will call in the morning. Here is my number. When you are up, ring, and we will decide what we can tell your boss. We will see ourselves out. Just lock the door behind us.’

‘Will he come looking for me?’ ‘We doubt it, but we will be outside across the road in the car just in case.’ Rebecca closed the door behind them. She then ran into the bathroom and began running the bath. She lay in it, and unlike her usual bath time, she began crying, questioning everything. Why did I take the train? Did I ask for it? Why did I speak to him? Why me? Why now? Will any man ever want me again? She began crying outrageously and scrubbing herself. That night she lay on the sofa, getting up to look out the window every few hours to check whether the police were still across the road. At seven, she rang Niamh the officer and asked her to call over as she may let work know what was happening. Niamh came in. ‘What will I tell him? I’m not sure what to say.’ ‘Well, look, you will probably need a few weeks off. It’s best you get a doctor’s note so you can relax.’ ‘No, I will need projects to keep myself occupied. I may just explain to him what happened.’ Niamh went outside to make the call. An hour or so later, there was a knock at the door. The officers opened it. It was William, her boss. He came in with a tear in his eye. He looked at Rebecca. ‘Are you all right?’ ‘Yes,’ she replied as a tear came to her eye. ‘May I have a moment alone?’ ‘Yes, of course, Rebecca. We will be parked outside for the next few nights, and you have my number if ever you need to talk.’ ‘Can I speak to you when William goes?’ ‘Yes, of course. I will come back into you,’ Niamh replied. ‘Sit down, William. Would you like tea?’ ‘No, thanks,’ he replied. ‘May I have a hug?’ Rebecca paused and then began sobbing. ‘I need one.’ William hugged her ever so gently. ‘Why you? You’re such a gentle soul. You did not deserve this. If there is anything, anything at all I can do to help, just ask.’ Rebecca pulled away. ‘Yes, I would like projects and plenty of them. I want to keep busy.’ ‘I will have Yvonne drop them over to you in a few days. I know you need to take some time off. Take as long as you want.’ ‘Thank you ever