They danced for hours without Samantha, Joseph, or Mr. Pryde showing up. It wasn't like Samantha to break a promise like this. Had Joseph done something to her again? As if sensing her thoughts, Wendell said, "It's probably nothing. They probably lost track of time." He took her hand and led her upstairs to the bedroom. "I have another gift for you."
"Oh Wendell, I can't. I'm not ready-"
"I understand. We don't have to do that. I've done some research and there are other things we can do." His hands moved down her back as he said this, unzipping her dress. "Let me show you."
"I don't know-"
He smothered her protests with a kiss. Her dress fell to the floor, followed by her underwear and his shirt. A river of nausea coursed up from her stomach to her throat. "Wendell-"
"It's all right, Prudence. We aren't going to do anything bad. This will be beautiful." He eased her onto the bed, her head starting to spin. As he pulled down his pants, she screamed and curled into a ball. "Prudence? What's wrong?"
She threw up onto the mattress. Sweat broke out all over her body and she shivered as though with a fever. "Prudence? Are you sick? What's wrong?"
She couldn't say anything. She had lost control of her body. Her mind emptied of all conscious thought except for a single word: No.
Wendell put on his clothes and then ran to the bathroom for a towel, not sure what else to do. When he came back, he found Prudence with the blankets pulled over her head. He sat down next to her, running a hand over her shivering body. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you. I only wanted to do something special tonight to show you how much I love you."
She couldn't hear him. She could only hear the sound of blood rushing through her head. No, she thought. No. No. No.
At some point the lights went out and Wendell laid down next to her, putting an arm over her. She registered this distantly, as if it were happening to someone else. When she saw the shadowy figures in the doorway she didn't move. She couldn't move. She watched them move towards her, one raising a club and bringing it down on her head. No, she continued to think as she passed out.