A/N : Oh my. I want to apologize for the long, long wait. I lost my inspiration for a while, but the other day I decided that I was going to finish this story. No matter what. Hope you like the new chapter, there's more on the way. Happy Reading! :).

Chapter Twelve - The Signs

With a long breath, I jerked awake to find Alexander hovered on top of me. I blinked up at him in confusion. It wasn't until he was pulling my underwear down that I discovered his intentions. I was too tired to even think about having sex. "No..." I whispered. He didn't listen, he pulled them all the way off and threw them out of sight. "No...I don't want to." I said a bit louder.

When he unbuckled his pants I started to panic, "Shh...let me love you, Aaliyah." His eyes were dark and hard. He looked possessed.

"No...no." I pressed harder, but he clasped his large hand across my mouth so I couldn't make a sound.

Quickly, I shut my legs, trying to deny him access, but his knee slammed between my thighs which spread wide. If I wasn't panicking before, I was definitely panicking now. My depths were dry and nowhere near ready for him...and then he was inside of me, I cried out at the harsh sting. He slid in deep and quick, miraculously.. Tears of pain and humiliation trailed down my cheeks at their own accord. I couldn't believe he was doing this to me.

Suddenly, he stopped midway and looked down into my wide brown eyes. With his free hand, he wiped my tears away, as if he was concerned. "Don't cry my sweet...I'm only taking what's mine." His voice was so low it was demonic. I cried harder.

Alexander proceeded his intrusion, pushing forward as hard as he could until I was sure he was gonna rip me to pieces. I couldn't remember a time in my life when I'd been so terrified. I felt his balls press against my ass cheeks and that's when I knew he pushed all the way in. That's also when it settled in my brain... that I was being raped by the man I loved oh so dearly.

The pain striking my core was too much for me to handle and Alexander didn't give me enough time to adjust as he dived deep, fast, and hard into my already sore body. I whimpered behind his hand with each agonizing thrust.

Soon it got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore. I had to fight back. I tried pushing at his chest but he seized my wrists and pinned them above my head. "My sweet..." His eyes were burning holes into mine, "You're testing my patience..." I choked back a sob.

And then he was hammering inside me so roughly I thought the bed would break and my skin would tear apart.

My eyes shot open and I jumped up, sweating bullets. I tossed my head around, finally realizing I was alone. It was just a dream. Thank God it was just a dream. But who in their right minds dreamed of their boyfriend raping them?

With a deep breath, I got out of bed and decided to clear my mind. The best way to do that was cook.

Out of all of my nightmares, I wouldn't have guessed one of them would be getting raped by the man I loved. If I wasn't so confident in his respect for me, I would've guessed it was a sign. But come on, Alexander wouldn't hurt a fly...not my Alexander.

While in the middle of cracking eggs, my phone started ringing. I found and answered it quickly, "Yello?" I fit the phone on my shoulder so I could use my hands to continue cooking.

"Can you cover for me tonight?" I immediately recognized that voice as Jackie's.

"What time do you work?"

"Six to twelve." I let out a low whistle.

That was basically all night, and one of the worst shifts you could possibly have. But since I didn't have anything better to do, there was no way I'd decline. "Okay, but you have to massage my feet one night."

Jackie's high-pitched giggle always raised eyebrows, "Consider it done, fellow friend."

I smiled warmly, "Alright. Call me later."

"Bye-bye."

With that, she hung up, and I practically threw my phone on the counter. By the sound of it, I could tell it did some damage. "Whoops." I mumbled to myself, and flipped over the el cheapo to examine it. No damage done. I sighed in relief. Maybe cheap phones weren't as bad as people thought.

The moment I turned the stove off-the doorbell rang and signaled throughout the condo. I froze in place. For a second I thought about not answering it, this wasn't my house after all and who would actually knock on someone's door this early in the morning?

But of course, my curiosity got the best of me. I wiped my hands off on a nearby rag then went to see the door. Cautiously, I opened it to find the girl from the beach...Alexander's assistant Fiona. Not only was I shocked to see her, but even more shocked to see her...balling in tears. My eyes widened and my mouth gaped...what the...

"Aaliyah-" The tall, gorgeous, young blonde choked on a gasp, "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were going to be here...of course you're going to be here..." She sniffed, "I gotta g-" I caught her arm before she could turn away.

"It's okay, Fiona. You can come in." I pulled her inside and shut the door behind me.

My eyes were still the size of quarters as I led her over to the couch and sat her down. "I'll..." I gulped, still startled at her disastrous appearance, "I'll get you some water."

Fiona nodded and attempted to wipe some of her dry tears, while fresh ones continuously escaped her wary eyes.

In a rush, I escaped into the kitchen and grabbed a clean glass. I put it under the sink and ran the water until the cup was a little over half full. In order to prepare myself for the girl awaiting, I took a deep breath.

When I walked back to the living room, I hadn't expected her to be knocked out on the couch. I sighed and set the glass down on the coffee table. It'd be best to let her sleep, after all, I had no idea what she'd been through...but another part of me questioned as to why she'd come to Alexander's condo of all places? I shook my head. I could play jealous girlfriend later, now it was time for me to play supportive stranger.

I went back into the kitchen to retrieve my phone. I couldn't just leave this tear-stricken girl alone in Alexander's condo, so obviously, I couldn't cover Jackie that night.

To my surprise, she answered on the second ring. "Please don't tell me you're backing out." She whined.

With a deep breath, I chewed the inside of my cheek. This is one of those moments where I wished you could be in two places at once. "I'm sorry, Jack. But something came up...well, someone." I decided now wasn't the best time to tell Jackie about Fiona since I didn't know why she was here myself...much less crying her eyes out.

"Let me guess-Alexander came back early and you're going to be getting freaky all night?" If I wasn't so worried about the girl in the other room, I would've laughed.

"No, no. It's not him...just someone that needs my help a little more than you do right now." That was the best way I could put it.

"Alright, fine. But back to Alexander...when are we gonna get to meet him?"

"Soon. I promise." In a way, I realized I was keeping him all to myself...he was too good to be true after all, besides the whole bitchy baby mama and Fred incident.

"Well," Jackie sighed, "I gotta go, Danny's taking me shopping!" She squealed and once again, I almost laughed.

"Bye." Was my response before throwing my phone on the counter. This time I didn't care if it broke or not...my mind was reeling.

For a total of three hours I sat in the chair beside Fiona...half asleep myself, and half staring at the wall as if it would magically come alive.

When she reached for the glass of water (which was probably hot by now), I realized she had finally awoken. Her face looked much better, sleep always did the trick. But...her hands were shaking, which concerned me.

"Sorry for falling asleep...I guess I was more exhausted than I thought." Even her once emotional voice had grown dry and shaky.

I got up from the chair and took a seat beside her on the couch. "It's okay..." I rubbed her back comfortingly as the glass shook between her hand. My brows turned in a frown, "Fiona..." She turned her head to look at me, "What happened to you?"

Slowly, she set the glass down. And just like that-her face fell and the tears came running back. She sobbed softly and I wrapped an arm around her. I'd never seen anyone like this before... "I...I shouldn't tell you." She managed to get out between sobs.

"Why?" I asked confusedly.

"Because..." She sniffed hard and sat up straighter, trying to get control of herself. "Alexander loves you...he's never loved anybody..."

That just made me even more confused. I felt as if I was in a hopeless maze with no way to escape. "That's why you shouldn't tell me what's wrong with you? Because Alexander loves me?"

"You...you don't understand," She ran a hand through her tousled blonde hair, "I..." She got up, "I shouldn't have come here." She started to walk off, but I quickly caught her arm again.

"Fiona...please don't leave." I practically pulled her back down to the couch. I searched her eyes intently, "Just...just tell me what's wrong...please?" I couldn't live with myself if I let her leave in the state she was in now.

For the countless time, she burst into tears and cradled her face in her hands. I resorted back to rubbing her back in slow circles. "I...I can't live with myself anymore." I blinked, "Not with the things I've done, the way I've lived...But I...I can't get out." She gulped, "Every night, every night I cry myself to sleep. I don't want to live this way anymore...but they won't let me out." She cried even harder and it made my eyes sting.

What the hell was she talking about? What the hell was she going through? Was she a part of some secret assassin association or something? It seemed the more she explained herself, the more confused I became.

Fiona lifted her head and stared at me pleadingly, her eyes were glassy and she looked helpless. "Aaliyah...please, please promise me you won't tell Alexander I came to you?"

My brows furrowed in even more confusion, but I nodded regardless. "I promise I won't."

The important fact was...whatever Fiona was a part of...Alex was involved. Whether I wanted to accept it or not, it was the obvious truth.

As I sat there, letting Fiona rest her head on my shoulder as the tears kept coming, I silently wondered...

What had I gotten myself into?

R&R :)!