Warning Notice:
This Story was written with difficulty, featuring a sensitive topic on the subject of Drink Spiking; if you have been a victim of such an act, please read with caution, the topic selected is to raise awareness to the violence woman and girls have been subjected too.
The Coming From the Shadows Series
The Following Story: Difficult Times Ahead Part 2 – Has Been Updated as of 29.04.2025
Previous Instalments:
- Difficult Times Ahead: Part 1 – Facing Challenges: Raven and Yasmin’s Morning of Change
England, Blackpool
July 3rd, 2015 A.D.
Yasmin had spent a lot of time living with her girlfriend since she and her family had welcomed her in after being thrown out of her own home by her parents; though grateful, Yasmin still didn’t want to be a burden on the Wright family, she was also well aware of Philip; Raven’s father intended return from his months-long trip from the Mediterranean within the coming days, and she didn’t want to create more problems, she wasn’t ignorant of Philip’s homophobia, it was Jenna that kept him in check, if Raven’s mother wasn’t around, she fully believed that Raven would be in the exact same situation as herself.
Returning once again to the Advice Centre, Yasmin met Michelle, Michelle had been working wonders to help her, and on this visit, she finally had some good news for Yasmin; the two greeted each other warmly as Yasmin came up to her desk “Yasmin” she said with a bright smile “Glad you came in today; I have a set of keys to give you” she maintained her smile as she spoke with an enthusiastic tone
“What for?” Yasmin raised her eyebrow, she was a little confused at first before she realised, a smile curving her lips as she felt her excitement growing “Wait…, are they…”
Michelle maintained her smile, nodding her head “Keys for your own flat” she told her “It isn’t the most luxurious of accommodation, but it will be somewhere for you to call your own” she then raised her finger “If…, you can maintain it and pay the rent” she added “I am sure that wont be an issue for you”
“Nope” Yasmin shook her head as she kept smiling “I just got a job in that little shop that sells a variety of little keepsakes” she told her “I think its called ‘Little Darlings’..”
Michelle nodded her head “Then you have a Job and your own flat” she looked at Yasmin as she brought the keys out from a draw, jingling them a moment “Shall we go take a look at your new home?” Yasmin quickly nodded her head with excitement and they were soon off
At the Wright household; Raven found herself on her own, with Yasmin having left to go to the Advise Centre, her Sister out with her boyfriend; her brother out with their mother, she sat on the couch wondering what to do with herself, she wasn’t sure what to do with her free time, pulling out her mobile phone she started to check her latest messages.
One new message stood out to her; it was from Daniel, he was originally part of their little group; it was only after Raven and Yasmin entered a relationship he seemed to grow distant, sometimes having made homophobic comments towards them, more-often than not he would apologies, being so forgiving, Raven did as she usually did; She forgave him.
The text she had received from him was inviting her out to attend a party, there was even an invitation for Yasmin; though she wasn’t sure what he was up too, she decided to respond to it, sending a message back, shifting her attention for a moment she looked at the television to watch what came onto the screen, hearing something that caused her to giggle, but her attention returned to the mobile again when she got a response ‘We’re meeting down at Thomas’ Flat on Topping Street’ the message read, she thought a moment, when a second message came through after only a few seconds, asking if she wanted to attend, it seemed a little pushy to her, but she decided to agree, sending her reply.
Though knowing she would still need permission, she wasn’t certain if sending such a quick reply was a good idea, and she still wanted to check with Yasmin, to find out if she also wanted to go; letting out a sigh she turned her attention back to the television, watching the old 80’s comedy show that was currently being played.
Elsewhere, Daniel set his phone down; Daniel was quite a rough lad, often getting into fights without any reason, being a rather violent young man, countless times he had found himself locked in a cell at a police station, he was quite well known to them, it is only by sheer luck he hadn’t done anything that was serious enough to warrant a prison sentence, though he had started dipping into much more dangerous territory that could land him there one day, the crowd he often found himself around just as criminally active.
With Raven confirming that she will be attending, he glanced up away from his mobile when he heard someone shout his name “What?” he snapped back
“Tom want’s us to go ‘round to Ryan’s house” the lad approaching tells him; he glanced off a moment down the street to watch some cars go by before returning his eyes back to Daniel
“No doubt Tommy said you was to go Matt” Daniel retorted with an irritated tone “You just don’t wanna go alone” he added, standing up, pushing his mobile into his pocket
“Maybe” Matt chuckled in response “You can chat to your girlfriend later” he adds, indicating that they should get a move on; Daniel shakes his head, following Matt as they begin to get a move on
Later into the evening, Philip returned back to his home, upon entering he discovered Yasmin sat at the dining room table with everyone, he raised his eyebrow a moment, he knew not to make any comments, his eyes shifting towards Jenna for a brief moment before he decided to simply take his belongings up to the bedroom; at the table, everyone observed Philip quietly make his way up the stairs “Think mum scares him” Dylan comments
“Never” Raven looked towards her young brother a moment, her sarcastic tone earning an irritated response from Dylan, she just smiles in response at him
“So…” Jenna carries on from the conversation that had been interrupted by Philip’s arrival “This flat is okay then?” she queries
Yasmin nodded her head happily “Yes” she answered “Not massive, but it has enough space for me to live without a problem; and I won’t be causing any issues here for Mister Wright”
“Ignore Philip” Jenna smiled “And you was never a burden Yasmin, you are always welcome here” she tells her happily
As the evening progressed, uncertain about Philip, even with reassurances from Jenna, Yasmin still decided to begin getting what she had acquired over the past two months moved to her new flat, it wasn’t much, but what little belongings she had meant the world to her, she was going to rebuild her entire life and this time she wouldn’t have her parents there to put her down at every chance they had.
Over the next few days, Raven joined Yasmin in her flat; the two sharing a chippy as they sat on the floor of the unfurnished living space; Raven glanced around a moment as they joked and made one another giggle; then, finally she brought up the invitation Daniel had offered, though Yasmin’s expression changed, she was uncertain about a party that Daniel would invite them too, remembering his homophobic comments, unlike Raven, Yasmin was not as forgiving, Raven often wanted to avoid potential conflict, which led to her being as forgiving as she was, but Yasmin, she as already well on her way to learning that you couldn’t please everyone, and that such a forgiving nature allowed people to take advantage; seeing Raven was interested in attending, she smiled at her “When is it?” she asked feigning some interest
“Uh…” Raven thought a moment before picking her mobile from inside of her pocket, getting her messages up and checking the last exchanges with Daniel regarding the date of the meet up and party at Thomas’ “It’s on this Saturday” she said, looking towards Yasmin
“Oh….” Yasmin thought for a moment, she wouldn’t be able to attend; it was both a blessing but also she felt that it was going to disappoint Raven “I wouldn’t be able to go on this Saturday” she told her, Raven tilted her head a little to the left “I’m in work on Saturday night for the later shift” she admits
Raven nodded her head, while a little disappointed she still smiles “That’s okay” she says “I’ll just make up some excuse and not go” Yasmin raised her eyebrow for a moment, Raven noticed the confused expression “If you can’t go, I don’t really want to go alone” she smiled
Yasmin nodded her head, she was much more relieved now, and with Raven changing her mind entirely, she was happy that there would be no interacting with Daniel; she knew he would be trouble, he often was, and with age he had only gotten worse.
After they had finished eating; Raven remained a while longer to assist Yasmin with some decorating, even meeting Michelle who stops by on a quick check-up of Yasmin, Raven and Michelle finally meeting with one another, Michelle looks towards Yasmin and smiles, thinking back on their previous conversations that Yasmin would mention Raven, she could see the look present in Yasmin’s eyes as she looked at Raven, she understood that these two clearly meant a lot to one another.
As Saturday drew closer, Daniel once again messaged Raven; checking up on her to make sure she was still wanting to attend, he wasn’t happy when he received a text back saying there had been a change in her plans, that she wouldn’t be attending, he decided to get pushy about it, sending numerous messages throughout the course of the day to change her mind, Daniel knew that sooner or later she would just give in, she liked to make people happy, and if she thought he wouldn’t be happy, she would try to fix that; when he finally got the answer he wanted, he sent her a text about the time of the meet up.
Sat in her bedroom she looked at the clock on her wall a moment, taking a deep breath she got up and ventured down the stairs asking for permission to go out; when questioned who she was meeting up with; Philip looked at her carefully “I’m going to meet up with Daniel” she answered “He invited me to go to a party..”
“No” Philip cut across immediately hearing ‘party’ leave her mouth “Nope, not going out to some party” he could see Raven’s expression change; she was clearly frustrated now, when she makes an attempt to explain that she already agreed, he shakes his head “Don’t care” he snaps “It’s a no”
Turning away, Raven made her way back to her bedroom; closing the door behind her as she entered the room, she looked around a moment, hearing her phone, she approached to find a list of new texts present “He’s not going to like that I can’t go” she said quietly to herself, becoming fidgety she started moving around her room, she had already agreed to go, but she was just refused permission to leave; she thought carefully about what she was going to do, what she could say; then she got an idea, turning off the bedroom light, she quietly opened up her window, the ladder that had been left was still right were it usually rested; leaning a little she was able to pull it to the left of its usual position, she had to be very careful, otherwise it would fall with most likely the loudest of thuds and she would certainly have no means of leaving the house.
Climbing carefully through, she felt the unsteadiness of the ladder responding to her movement; she wouldn’t deny how unsafe she felt, shifting her attention to her bedroom window, she carefully closed it, climbing down, each movement caused the ladder to wobble and shake, she then felt a shift as the ladder slid a little, she gripped tightly feeling a sudden stop, it had caught something to jam it into place; but it still felt very unstable and unsafe, she decided to move down faster, finally reaching the ground she looked upwards a moment, then pushed the ladder back into its original position before setting off.
She had left everything that would have been helpful in her room as she snuck out wearing simple jogging bottoms and a white shirt with a pair of black pumps on her feet, she was in no way prepared for anything beyond the safety of her bedroom – all she had with her was a few coins that wouldn’t even be enough for a tram.
Loud blaring music filled the atmosphere with shouting and smashing bottles, the atmosphere of a party with a chaotic undertone was palpable; police had been around already in response to complaints, but the raving group just carried on without a care in the world; Daniel sat outside on the wall glancing around, he was certain Raven would be arriving soon, shifting his eyes to his mobile he checked the time displayed on its screen, hearing movement, he glanced up to see Thomas getting into a fight with someone he just shook his head, turning his attention away “Bloody hell” he commented quietly “What’s taking her so bloody long” he glanced down the street, finally spotting someone coming down the street “Finally”
When Raven finally reached Daniel, she noticed the fight breaking out, shifting her eyes back to Daniel, an uncertainty was present “Uh…” she mumbled, turning her eyes back to what was happening
“Ignore it” Daniel responded “What took you so long?” he questioned, his tone indicating his irritation, he wasn’t happy she had taken so long
“I had no money” Raven answered, looking back towards him “I had to walk all the way from Bispham”
“Why don’t you have any money?” he raised his eyebrow, he then realised she wasn’t in her usual jacket, she seemed like she was not even ready for coming out at all “Wait…, did you sneak out?” a small grin curved his lips
“Yeah” she nodded “I wasn’t actually allowed to come out, but I said I would come, so I snuck out” she said with a worried voice, she tried to smile, but her smile quickly faltered as she glanced back the way she had come from, then back to the fighting, she was not feel at all safe
“Come on then” Daniel said; indicating for her to follow him, he started walking towards the door, Raven quickly moving to follow him; she was wary of getting to close to the fighting as the two made their way inside of the building; venturing up the stairs to where Thomas’ flat was, were the party and its chaotic atmosphere was present ongoing
It was a kaleidoscope of chaos; loud, ear-ringing music played, flashing strobe lights made the scene swim with different colours, it was heavily disorientating – then, there was the outbreaks of fighting, the exchanging of drugs – Daniel, very use to the environment even par-took in the odd smoke here and there, offering to Raven who refused.
For Raven, the blaring music pounded within her ears, she felt her head throbbing in sync with the beat of the heavy music.
Raven looked around with an uncertain expression present on her face, she really did not feel at all safe; she decided that she would spend only enough time to make Daniel happy before making up some kind of excuse to leave, she did not want to stay, she was realising just how bad of an idea it had been in the first place
When she felt she had spent long enough, she was going to make her attempt to make an excuse up; though Daniel simply kept pulling her along with him to meet people, getting her stuck in conversation; he kept this up numerous times whenever she made an attempt to excuse herself; Raven didn’t quite click that it was on purpose, locking her into different conversations with party-goers, when she watched drug use going on, she grew more worried about what she had gotten herself stuck in, desperately trying to get Daniel to listen to her, but again he found a way of distracting her.
Daniel he had his plan well in motion; whenever she tried to voice that she wanted to leave; he would drag her with him to interact with people; he would distract as much as possible; in truth, he was waiting, the drink he had given her was only very slowly going down; Raven only took sips, she wanted to leave – but, her need to keep people happy betrayed her, Daniel was well aware of her nature
As Raven took another sip she noticed something, the sweetness masked a harsh undercurrent that burned down her throat.
Daniel noticed the look in her eyes; she was confused for a moment as she looked at her drink, he quickly though, distracted her as he drew her into yet another conversation.
Raven’s worry had built too much “Daniel; I need to go” her tone sounded more like a beg, a desperate plea to get going
“We’ll go in a minute, just want all that fighting outside to calm down first; so just chill for a bit longer, finish drink; then we’ll get going, I will walk you home” he told her; he could see she was not happy, but she decided to at least go with this suggestion, he wasn’t trying to distract her this time; he then glanced in the direction of the doorway, he noticed Thomas had come back, though Raven hadn’t noticed this
Shifting his attention back towards Raven he decided to talk with her about Yasmin, the two discussing how their relationship is, though he isn’t happy about her answers, and upon learning that she was working, he understood why she had not attended with Raven; when Raven finished her drink, it was clear she wasn’t going to be waiting any longer, she needed to leave and she knew that; so he decided to walk her out of the building, maintaining his word to walk her home.
The two walked from Topping Street all the way to the promenade, it was then that Raven realised just how late it actually was; she began patting her pants to check for her phone before realising she had left it at home, though she repeated the same movements a second time as they were walking, she seemed to be growing rather confused, which Daniel took notice of.
She quickly grew frustrated, despite previously just checking for her phone, her repeated attempt to check, she shifted her attention downwards as she came to a stop which caused Daniel to stop; he watched her carefully “Bloody hell, I have lost it, I know I have lost it” she complains quietly to herself
“Your phone?” Daniel asked “You didn’t have it” he tells her; he thought carefully for a moment before urging her to keep walking; the two once again moving along the promenade; when she started to display clumsiness, he shook his head at her, her balance was way off when she nearly tripped over, forcing him to grab her arm to stop her falling, his grip though was a little too tight but it did stop Raven from falling over
It was within these moments she felt something wasn’t right with her, feeling Daniel grab her arm when she nearly trips, she stared forwards for a moment, while she was growing more and more confused, there was a voice at the back of her head, she felt as though she was in danger, and all her senses had began to scream out at her; it was the blurred vision she started to get that finally pushed her warning bells into overdrive, she was no longer certain of what was going on, but she knew she had really messed up in her decision making.
The final thing of that night Raven would remember was simply walking along the promenade with Daniel before everything went dark.
Daniel; watching her head lolling forwards, felt her body going limp, forcing him to grab her fully to stop her collapsing; he picked her up after a moment of manoeuvring – a sinister grin curving his lips as he walked off into the night, his flat wasn’t far from where Raven had fallen unconscious.
When Raven awoke, she woke to a dull but throbbing ache in her head, she struggled to open her eyes at first, they were heavy and unresponsive; slowly she was becoming more aware of her surroundings as her eyes flicked about, she realised that she was in a bed – but it certainly wasn’t her own, nor was it Yasmin’s; the room was unfamiliar, the air was thick with a strange smell, she recognised it; it was a skunky and sour sulphuric scent – it made her nose crinkle in response, but that was only the first thing she could smell, it was the most powerful scent present, but she could also smell the distinct scent of alcohol.
The early morning sun sliced through the grimy curtains; illuminating dust motes dancing in the air.
She was laying on a lumpy mattress; tangled and cheap, a floral-patterned duvet was pushed off at the bottom of the bed; she began hearing a voice at the back of her head, at first it was distant but slowly, it came into focus, she felt as though she was being urged, no; demanded that she move, to leave at once; nothing else mattered in that moment, she just needed to leave right now; nausea washed over her – then she noticed it; her top was torn along the neck, her mind began to register things.
Her body ached; sharp pains became more noticeable; as she moved to try sitting up, her body was unresponsive at first, but as she finally managed to move herself, she felt a sharp pain, it caused her to gasp sharply, as she began to shift her gaze around; she saw shards of broken glass on the floor – shot glasses that had been thrown at some point, there was a suffocating feeling that began gnawing at her; she couldn’t quite grasp it right away, but the feeling made her skin crawl.
She felt a cold wave, a shiver that rushed along her spine as she saw that she wasn’t wearing anything below the waist; that nauseating feeling felt much stronger now.
Bruises were blooming along her skin; her body reluctantly responded to the demands of movement as she got off the bed, it was painful; she saw were her pants had been thrown aside, and got them back on – in the mirror, she saw the redness around her neck.
As everything was beginning to fit into place; she was snapped out of her daze by Daniels’ voice “Ah” he grinned at her “You’re awake then” he chuckled “Bloody hell, you know how to enjoy yourself don’t you” he told her
She just felt fear crashing over her; her body trembled “What…, did you do to me?” her voice was shaking
“Nothing” Daniel looked at her, he raised an eyebrow but held a slight, sinister grin “We was going down the promenade; you changed your mind and we came here; we had some fun and things got a bit rough” he told her
His words were like the final piece fitting into place; she knew what had happened; he had drugged her, assaulted her; her movements became almost mechanical – she stared, trance-like as she felt her chest rising and falling faster, heavier – she needed to leave; Daniel’s voice sounded more and more like a distant echo as she went by him
Getting outside; she kept walking, she had no clue what she was doing or where she was going; she just walked, her breathing was faster; inhaling rapidly – finding herself back on the promenade; her hair whipped around her face as a strong wind began to pick up, she barely registered the early-morning risers that passed by her everything was like a blur to her – she saw nothing, heard nothing; she was trapped inside of her own head, replaying everything that she could piece together and Daniel’s words; each repetition was a fresh wave of agony – the world around her seemed to mirror this, the sky was darkening, the sea was turbulent as it crashed against the seawall – she would finally find a bench and sit there.
On the early morning tram; Yasmin was still in the process of waking up, she wasn’t really in any mood for going to work on a Saturday; but it was what it was – she had to earn the money for her rent, as the tram journeyed along its usual route; she notices something out of the window – she had just seen Raven.
A moment of confusion flashed across her face, she looked completely unprepared for the possibility of rain in just a simply t-shirt and jogging pants; but there had been something else about her posture.
Getting up, Yasmin quickly rung the bell to stop at the next tram-stop – impatiently she tapped it multiple times until finally they came to a stop and she got off in a rush.
Yasmin rushed back along the promenade, when she saw Raven on the bench in the distance she shouted out “Raven; Hey!” she moved into a jog as she kept going towards her, the closer she got, the more the scene revealed something wasn’t right – she was in a daze; a trance – she wasn’t remotely present “Raven?” she said, her concern rising as she moved in front of Raven; she knelt down, looking at her carefully “Raven; talk to me” she said, her voice was a whisper
Raven’s eyes finally moved; they snapped onto Yasmin, for a moment she just stared at her – but her eyes began to glisten as tears began forming in her eyes; she couldn’t form any words, even as she tried to open her mouth to speak – nothing came, she didn’t move but her eyes indicated she was in pain.
As Yasmin moved her hand to reach out to her; Raven reacted; she jerked back immediately “It’s okay” Yasmin said softly; stopping her hand gesture, instead, she held her hands up as if she was surrendering “Let’s just…, let’s just get you home; okay?” she said; her voice was soft but filled with concern, with worry
Yasmin raised up to her feet and slowly backed up to give Raven room – she waited, watching her patiently; as Raven finally started to move, Yasmin decided that it would be best for her to walk, instead of risking her reacting to a crowded tram.
Written By: Westley H.
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