Cora frantically pushed the button for the elevator, hoping it would come down in time. She needed to get away from him before it was too late. When it finally opened she rushed inside only to discover that it was in fact, too late. She felt someone tugging tightly at her waist. It was him. After freeing herself from the tight grip, she turned and kicked her now ex-boyfriend out of the elevator before its doors closed on her leg. She wanted to think that she was safe now, but she wasn't. She knew he was already on his way to the flight of stairs in the back of the hotel, ready to catch her outside and hit her some more.
She scrambled out of the elevator, trying to decide what would be the most practical thing to do in a situation like this. Should she ask the concierge to call the police? Or should she keep running and never look back and hope that she lost him? Neither seemed like a good idea. If she called the police, it'll come back to bite her in the butt 12 months later. If she kept running from him, he'd surely find her.
Cora and Adam never exactly saw each other eye-to-eye, but they did try their best to work out their problems, not like they ever did. There was a new argument every week about something as simple as how Adam didn't like what Cora chose to wear to work today, even though it was just a simple off-the-shoulder floral pattern dress. Adam often felt like he was lost in life and that nothing mattered. He didn't have a job or a steady income and didn't plan on turning his life around. Cora urged him to get on the right path so she would be less stressed and he would be happier, but that conversation quickly ended with her on the floor of his penthouse suite trying to recover from his heavy hands hitting her soft skin in a way that would traumatize her for the rest of her life.
Cora hid in the garden hedges behind the hotel, praying she wouldn't be found. Not by him anyway. She tried her best to keep quiet, but it seemed impossible to keep her emotions together after what just happened. Soon, her quiet cries turned into full-on sobs. Anyone could hear her at this point.
The outside of the Marbella was quiet compared to the inside, making it easy to tell someone was in the garden and that Cora wasn't alone. Someone was coming her way and she prayed it wasn't Adam.
"Just kill me already! You tried it before and I know you'll do it again," Cora cried.
"I'm here to help." Said a voice Cora didn't recognize.
She looked up to find a handsome young man who looked to be in his early 30's waiting to help Cora up off the ground and when he did, she backed away, not knowing if she could trust him or not.
"W-who are you?" Cora asked as she wiped away her tears feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Your neighbor. I've heard every argument."
"How? You creep," Cora folded her arms and backed away even further from the strange man.
"The walls are thin. Look, I know he hit you. I knew he would, from his harsh tone and loud voice, it was only a matter of time . . ."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better? Cause if so, it's not working."
"I can call the police for you if you want,"
Cora felt her muscles tensing up. Calling the police wouldn't make it any better, he'd just finish with her when he got out of prison. Cora was pretty sure she'd never be safe as long as he was alive.
"That won't be necessary--"
That's when she saw him. Adam dashed out of the back exit and started to make his way to Cora.
"I gotta go!"
Cora ran as fast as she could. She darted way past Marbella territory and cut down a street leading to a neighborhood hoping to get someone's attention. She heard footsteps quickening behind her and although she didn't want to look behind her, she did anyway. Surprisingly, the one who had caught up to her wasn't Adam, but it was the stranger from the garden. Cora felt relieved, but that sense of relief was short-lived when she discovered that Adam was right behind the stranger.
"Slow down! I can help you!" The stranger said. Cora ignored him.
She quickened her pace and made a sharp turn down a street that would take her downtown which wasn't too far away. At least there would be loads of people there who weren't police but were hopefully brave enough to kick Adam's ass.
Suddenly, Cora heard a thud sound and didn't hear the second set of footsteps or the third. She came to a stop and looked back to see if she was safe or not. The stranger was on the ground groaning in pain while Adam bent down to pick up something. Cora wasn't too far away to analyze what it was. He picked up a large rock and aimed it at Cora. It hit her forehead harder than his fist earlier and caused her to lose all consciousness. She hit the ground like a dead crow and closed her eyes. She felt scared, then sad, then nothing.