Chapter 27 - James

Chapter 27 - James

Ready to know who was at the door?

TW - Non-graphic mentions of rape and abuse/Graphic mentions of violence

Jade pov

I go to open the door and find a man in his thirties with a vaguely familiar face.

"Hello?" my greeting comes out more like a question but I wasn't expecting visitors and I'm trying to figure out where I've seen this man before.

"Good morning miss...?"

"Thirlwall...? And you are?"

"Agent James Drew, police, I need to speak to Miss Edwards about her case. Is she here?" he explains as he shows his badge.

"I'll go get her, I'll be right back"

Maybe the man looks familiar because he was one of the officers guarding Pez before they caught Alex? I keep thinking about it as I go to warn my favourite blonde that she has visitors.

She frowns but goes to the front door, I'm about to follow her when Jes asks me who was at the door, "A cop. He wants to talk to Perrie about her case" I explain.

Jesy nods in assent and I go back to the door. Arriving I already see Perrie's tense body, I squeeze her waist to reassure her but strangely she gasps.

"Love, are you all right?" I ask her.

"Miss, I need to speak to Miss Edwards about her case... in private" the cop tells me. I still don't understand where I saw him but I'm convinced he was at the hospital. Still I have a bad feeling but I put it in the back of my mind trying not to think about it.

I'm just paranoid

I call Perrie a couple of times but she seems in her own world until finally she looks at me and I ask her again if she's okay, she doesn't answer though. A thousand questions run through my mind but I think maybe Perrie is just feeling intimidated by Agent Drew.

"Miss Edwards, like I said I need to talk to you about your case, can I come in?" the cop asks smiling. Perrie remains silent so I step forward.

"Excuse her officer Drew, Perrie is still recovering from what happened and we weren't expecting your visit, please come in" I squeeze Perrie's hand and let officer Drew in, I walk him into the kitchen when he repeats that he needs to talk to Perrie about her case. I'm a little shocked but I pull myself together.

I see Pez trembling so I give her a warm smile and reassure her, "It's okay love, Officer Drew is a cop and me and Lesy will just be in the other room" I kiss her forehead and go back to the living room.

Meanwhile...

Perrie pov

This can't be

How did he find me?

He looks down on me like he did every time he came to our place-Alex's. He was the first, the one who started it all.

"W-what do you want?"

"Come on, Perrie, aren't you going to let me in?"

"Love, are you all right? " Jade squeezes my waist and I gasp. She notices and looks between me and my nightmare.

"Miss, I need to speak to Miss Edwards about her case... in private " he smiles, flashing his badge. Fuck!

James

I feel my body shake and my breathing get heavier as the memories come back.

"Come on, James! Fuck her harder!" one of them cheers him on.

"Please let me go!" I cry and scream begging him to stop.

"Come on, baby. You'll like this" he says as he ties my hands behind my back. Alex laughs and helps him hold me down. Then I feel him enter me. Again.

"Perrie, love!" I return to the present moment hearing Jade's voice, "Baby, is everything okay?"

I stare at his badge again unable to wrap my head around the fact that this cop is actually a monster.

"Miss Edwards, like I said I need to talk to you about your case, can I come in?" he asks again with a warm smile, but his eyes hide something else. Lust.

"Excuse her officer Drew, Perrie is still recovering from what happened and we weren't expecting your visit" Jade replies quietly, if only she knew. "Please come in" she squeezes my hand and we walk into the kitchen, Jade doesn't pull away from me.

"Miss Thirlwall, right?" the asshole asks her and she nods in response, "As I said I need to speak to Miss Edwards in private"

Jade is speechless for a minute but then nods slowly, "It's okay love, Officer Drew is a cop and Lesy and I will just be in the other room" she kisses my forehead thinking her words may have reassured me but they do quite the opposite.

I see Jade leaving the room and feel Drew's eyes on me. His smile widens. I can't move, my body feels frozen and my mind is in overdrive.

"H-how did you find me?"

He lets out a resounding laugh as his eyes darken, "You know, sweetie, it's not hard if you're a cop"

"What do you want?" I ask again trying to show confidence, but inside I'm losing my mind.

"Simple, that you retract all the charges and say you wanted it. Soon the process will start for Alex and all the others.... well, the ones they caught" he smiles.

"There are the videos and the doctor's report. I was in a coma for two months, I don't think it was consensual, even if I retracted it now it wouldn't do any good"

"Oh, Perrie. The videos? The videos where you said you liked it and wanted more?"

"You forced me!"

"Keep your voice down, sweetie"

"Come on, sweetie, spread your legs. You like it when I fuck you like that, don't you?"

"Don't call me sweetie!"

"Keep. Your. Fucking. Voice. Down" he growls as he grabs my throat and starts to tighten it. I feel a shiver run down my spine, and the touch of his hands sends my mind back to that house and that bed. Again, everything seems to be happening now. Again, I hear his voice, his screams, his laughter, his hands and his breath as he is inside me.

I return to the present when I feel him place his finger on my lips and force them open, panic sets in and I bite his finger to defend myself, but he, again, puts his hand on my throat and squeezes it, forcing me to gasp for air. His eyes fix into mine and a grin appears on his face as the help I want to ask for dies in my throat.

"Like I said, those videos mean nothing. Do you think it will be enough to say we forced you to soften the jury? There's no evidence. It'll be your word against the word of almost thirty people, baby. One of whom is a cop. Who do you think they'll believe?"

"N-no. They will believe me, they will read the doctor's reports"

"Do you really think that will be enough? It was just a kinky sex game gone wrong, Alex panicked and tried to run away. No one will believe anything you've told them. Public opinion will destroy you, you don't even know who those people are. They have families, important careers. They are pillars of the community. Your word against theirs will mean nothing. People will start to have doubts and when they see the videos and photos they will just think you are a stupid slut who likes to get tied up"

"Jade will believe me, my friends and family will believe me" now the tears are running down my face unrestrained.

"Maybe, it would be a shame if something happened to Jade, don't you think? A car accident or a robbery gone wrong..."

"Leave her out of this" my voice is a whisper, "Please don't hurt her"

He smiles knowing he has me in his grasp, "I won't if you say you were okay with it. Think about it, sweetie. I'm sure we'll get to see each other again soon" he smiles getting up and walking towards the door.

"Oh, one last thing... I miss hearing you scream, now that I know where you live, watch your back, sweetie"

Jade pov

I hear the door close and realise that the agent must have just left. I walk towards the hall but I don't see Perrie, so I go to the kitchen and find her in the exact same spot I left her. She clenches her fists and her knuckles are white, I slowly approach and see eyes circled in red and some tears on her cheeks.

"Love, what's wrong?" I ask brushing her arm, she jerks and pulls away, she looks at me with horror in her eyes and I immediately panic. I see her cover her throat and avoid my gaze.

Not again

"Pez, look at me love, it's me, Jade. What's going on?" I speak softly and show her both my hands so she can keep an eye on me. I know it makes her more confident.

"Pez, what did the cop say? Why are you so upset? Talk to me love" I try again but Perrie keeps looking at me in despair.

"N-nothing, he just had some questions and I had to tell him part of the story again" she stammers in a rough voice. Why do I get the feeling there's more?

"OK, why don't you go and get some rest, baby?"

She nods and slowly walks towards the room, I see her body shaking and I wonder what upset her like this.

This whole thing stinks to me. Why didn't Agent Jareau come and talk to Perrie? Why does she look like she just saw a ghost?

I go back to the living room and sit on the couch thoughtfully, I feel two pairs of eyes on me and when I look up I see Lesy staring at me intently, "Are you OK, Jadey?" Lee-Lee asks me.

I shake my head, "No, something happened with Perrie. She seems shocked."

"What did she say about the agent?" Jes asks.

"That he asked her some questions about Alex" I reply, going over the whole conversation in detail.

"Maybe she remembered something else. Maybe it's something she didn't want to remember" Lee-Lee tells me.

"I thought that too. But she seemed desperate. Something is wrong, I can feel it. I don't want to make the same mistake I made the first time. I'm going to get to the bottom of this" I share my thoughts.

Jesy and Leigh nod and I realise they are with me, then we hear a noise coming from the bathroom. Shower water. I know what it means.

"Perrie, love... you don't have to answer if you don't want to but would you like to tell me why you take so many showers?" I ask her.

She clutches her knees to her chest and shakes.

"Baby, I'm not going to hurt you. You can tell me everything" I sit in front of her keeping a good distance. We are in the bathroom at Jes's house. Pez spends most of her time here. Sometimes she takes up to five showers a day. Her skin is red and chapped but it doesn't seem to bother her.

"Love, I promise I won't hurt you" I try again.

"It's bec-it's because I f-feel d-dirty" she confesses, "I f-feel their hands on me and I c-can't push them away" she says with tears in her eyes.

My heart aches to see her so scared and helpless. I want to hug her and hold her but I know she doesn't want to be touched.

I can't even imagine her pain, if only I could take it away from her....

Me, Leigh and Jesy look at each other with a look of understanding, I think all three of us are thinking the same thing.

"Perrie has improved so much. Whatever it is, this wasn't just a conversation with a cop" Leigh says with determination and I can't help but agree with her.

I walk to the bathroom and start knocking but get no answer, I know I can't go in, Perrie has never let me see her naked since we met again, so I sit on the hallway floor and start talking to her, "Baby, I'm worried, tell me you're okay"

"I-I'm fine" she stutters.

I know she's not fine

"Okay baby. I'm outside, I'll wait for you here" I'm not going to play dumb this time, I'm not going to make the same mistake. I'm going to find out what's going on.

A few footsteps bring me out of my thoughts and I see Lesy cautiously approach and sit next to me in the hallway.

"Did she say anything?" Jesy asks.

"That she's fine but I know she's lying" I admit, they look at me with concern, "Do you remember if there was a blonde cop in the hospital when Perrie was in?" I ask them.

"I don't know, it's been so long" Leigh speaks apologetically.

"Mmm, I don't think so. There was Ryan who had brown hair and the other one.... Devon I think his name was, he had light brown hair but he wasn't blonde" Jesy tells me and I wonder how my friend has this impressive memory.

"You don't remember a guy called James? James Drew. Early thirties, blond, neatly trimmed beard" I give her a brief description of the man but I see Jesy shake her head.

"Why does that description sound familiar?" Leigh asks and now I can feel the bad feeling from before coming back.

"He looked familiar to me too when I saw him but I just can't remember where" I admit.

"Okay, this could be huge insanity but Perrie is too upset, I mean, it can't be, right?" I frown and see Jesy get up and go into the living room, seconds later she returns with her phone.

"What are you doing?" asks Leigh.

"Something I wouldn't want to do" she admits in a whisper.

Then I see her slowly scroll over her phone until she freezes with wide eyes.

"Jes? What's going on?!" I ask her in a panic. Her look doesn't bode well.

She says nothing and hands me the phone, "Was this him?" she asks.

I take a closer look at the picture she's showing me and nod.

"Where did you find him?"

"Jade, zoom out...I'm sorry"

I do as she says and my eyes fill with tears as I see James standing behind my baby, she is bent over, tears in her eyes, one hand holding her mouth shut and the other holding her hair.

He is raping her

Oh my God

"H-how the hell is this possible?" I whisper, still holding Jesy's phone.

Panic wells up inside me and I start knocking frantically on the door, "Perrie! I'm coming in! I won't hurt you but I'm coming in now!" I shout. Jesy and Leigh step aside and I open the door, knowing what Perrie could do to herself we decided to get rid of all the keys. I mentally thank Cheryl for the idea.

I enter the bathroom and am hit by a cloud of hot steam. I blink until my vision clears. I have a horrible feeling, what if Pez had hurt herself?

I reach the shower and find her sitting on the floor, her gaze blank as her body trembles. I know she doesn't want to, but her skin is red and irritated from the boiling water and I have to get her out of there before she gets burnt.

I slowly undress, she looks at me in panic, "I won't hurt you" she shakes harder and tightens her grip on her legs. I lower the temperature of the water and sit beside her. "I won't hurt you. I'm here, nothing will happen. I'm here" I repeat to her.

I move a little closer and wrap my arms around her.

"N-no! No! Please!" she cries and screams.

"Shhh... it's me, love, I will never do anything to you without your permission. I'm here" I whisper to reassure her as I gently rub her back.

Slowly I see her relax but the tears don't leave her eyes and neither does the shaking leave her body. We stay like this for almost forty minutes until she silently cries on my shoulder.

I turn off the water and get out first, wrap myself in a towel and take one for her. I walk over again and wrap the towel around her, then help her up and sit her on the toilet, fetch the hairdryer and gently stroke her head as the heat dries the water.

I look at her reflection in the mirror, her gaze is blank and I know her mind is not here, she clasps her hands to her chest and shakes, I look closer and can see reddish marks on her throat.

What the hell?

I go to my room and change into my pyjamas, then go back into the bathroom with hers and slowly remove her towel. She doesn't push me away but I see that she is not quite here. Again the monsters have taken over her mind and who knows what they are saying to her.

As I prepare to dress her I notice every mark those beasts have left on her. It's the first time I see her naked since that morning in the hotel and her body was covered in blood and bruises, now they are gone leaving only scars and nightmares.

The more I look at her, the more I think about how much she suffered. I know that I will never fully understand. Every scar is proof of how sick those bastards were and for her it will be a bad memory she can never forget.

When I have finished dressing her I take her hands and walk her to her bedroom. I make her lie on the bed and slip her under the blankets. Then I stay with her, hugging her until she falls asleep. Safe to say she's going to have a nightmare soon.

I don't want to leave her like this but I have to talk to Lesy and figure out with them how to handle this situation.

I go back to the living room and find them there waiting for me, their faces reflecting concern.

"How is she?" Leigh asks me sadly.

Those words are enough to make me break down in tears, Jesy immediately comes to hug me and I cling to her with all my strength.

"I saw her body" I tell them crying into Jesy's chest, "Those bastards butchered her" I sob and it seems there is nothing that can calm me down now.

Jesy kisses my head as Leigh draws invisible circles on my back, "S-she has marks... on her throat. I think, I think he's got his hands on her" the sobs don't allow me to speak.

Why again?

Why couldn't I protect her this time either?

"What do we do?" I ask them because I can't think of anything.

"Call Agent Jareau" Leigh proposes.

I shake my head, "If he's really a cop-"

"Agent Jareau will believe her. She's seen the photos, the videos, taken the statement. She'll help her" Leigh interrupts me.

Maybe she's right

JJ has always been very kind and understanding and besides she's the one handling the case, if anyone can help Perrie it has to be her.

I nod, take deep breaths to calm myself and just as I'm about to pull out my phone I hear a scream.

"NO!"

Perrie pov

"Get off me! Don't touch me!" I shout, hoping someone will hear me.

"Shut up, you stupid bitch! Now we're going to have fun" he pushes me onto the bed.

"Help!" I scream before he slaps me. Alex enters the room and his eyes fill with rage as he sees his friend on top of me.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Alex yells as he pulls him off me and starts beating him savagely, like he used to do to me, before becoming nice.

"Motherfucker, that's my fucking slut. You think you can touch her? No one can touch her unless I say so!" Alex keeps railing and punching the other man but my mind is still on how he called me.

When Alex calms down his friend pulls out his wallet, "Come on man, just let me have an hour with her. Come on Alex, don't you want to hear her scream?" he asks throwing the money at him but Alex doesn't take it. I think he's about to hit him again but then I see his gaze change, a smile makes its way onto his face.

"N-no, Alex, please. Don't let him do this! Please" I beg him but by now he has made up his mind.

"One hour, don't cum inside" he whispers but I can hear him.

The man approaches me with a grin on his face, I step back on the bed but get trapped between him and the headboard, "Please don't! Please!" I cry but he doesn't care.

He holds me still and starts undressing me, then...

"PERRIE!" I wake up in a pool of sweat and my whole body is shaking, I can't breathe and the walls seem to close in on me.

"Look at me" I turn towards the voice and see Jade. Her eyes circled in red.

"It was a nightmare baby, you're safe"

I'm not

She isn't

"I know who that man is" she tells me and my eyes widen.

"N-no. It's not what you think. He had nothing to do with it" I try to convince her but I know it doesn't work.

"Perrie, I know who he is. I know what he did. We won't let it happen again" she tries to calm me down but she can't.

"I can't, Jade, I can't. I have to retract the statement. I have to withdraw the complaint" I speak frantically and Jade looks astonished.

"Perrie what are you saying? You can't withdraw the complaint, you can't let Alex go free"

"I wanted it! I asked for them to do it. I liked it. I did it!" I shout. I know Jade will hate me but I can't let anyone hurt her because of me.

"You can say whatever you want, love, but I don't believe it. I know you didn't want it. I know they forced you. Don't lie to me, please. Let's find a way out together" Jade stays calm but I can see the anger growing in her gaze. My old defence mechanisms return and I start to pull away from her.

"Perrie, I don't want to hurt you. Don't be afraid" she whispers and I see her soft eyes return.

Fuck

Why am I so fucked up?

"You are angry, I can see it" I tell her.

"Yes, I am angry, but not with you. I will never be angry with you. I know that man said something to you to change your mind and I know you never wanted any of it. I am angry with those beasts, love. For what they did to you" I carefully assess her words and her eyes and decide to trust her.

"Perrie, tell me what he said to change your mind" she whispers, squeezing my hand.

Tears flow easily down my face, "He said if I didn't retract he would hurt you. I can't let them hurt you, Jade"

"No one is going to hurt me, love. He only said that to scare you, I promise we are safe. Agent Jareau will help us."

"But he's a cop..." I know even JJ won't be able to believe me when I accuse a cop. James is right, it will be my word against a cop's.

"Love, I saw the way Agent Jareau looked at you during the deposition and even before that I saw the look on her face when we showed her the photos and videos while you were in the hospital. She will believe you and do anything to send those sons of bitches to jail. I need you to trust me on this"

I'm still not convinced but I trust Jade. I know she believes and trusts JJ.

"Alright" I nod, "Call her" she nods and I can see in her eyes that she wants to say something else.

"Pez... did he... did he touch you?" her eyes are watery as she tries to hold back her tears.

"N-no" I stammer.

"Love, please, tell me the truth" she begs.

I nod and feel my cheeks wet, "H-he held my throat, I wanted to scream but I couldn't. It was my fault, Jade. I should have called for help but I didn't. It was my fault"

Again

I won't let them hurt you, Jade

It's my turn to protect you now 

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A/N - Hope you enjoyed the chapter and see you at the next update! ❤️

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Thank you for reading and take care 🌈🍪

- C