by Terra Kelly
I bent down on my knees and never took my eyes off of her. “Sarah, you can fight back.” I hoped she could hear me with all the yelling.
In between fighting for air. “I don’t…know, Eddie.”
“I do. Don’t let him win.”
“How?” She gasped for air and tried to pull the guys arms away from her throat.
Right as she asked that question, her body jerked up. The guy, her father was trying to fight off the woman on his back and still had a solid hold on Sarah. I stood, ready to jump in…but I didn’t need to jump in–something shifted in Sarah–you could see it in her eyes.
The guy towered over her but she had the ability to bring her elbow back and hit him in the jewels. The moment she made contact, his eyes went wide, and he loosened his grip on her neck. I leapt forward and reached in to grab her around her waist.
“I got you.” I tightened my hold and took several steps away from the commotion.
She turned to face me and buried her head in the crook of my neck.
“Sarah, can you talk to me?” I rubbed my hand up and down her back. She mumbled something, but I had no clue what she said. “I can’t understand you.” I almost said baby but stopped myself.
She lifted her head. “I–” Then she dropped her head back down on my shoulder.
One of the officers walked up. “We’re going to need to talk to her about what just happened.”
“Okay, can you give her just a minute.” I moved my hand down the length of her hair. The officer could see she was stressed. He nodded and then walked over to the guy still curled up in a ball on the ground. It took two people to lift Sarah’s father up from the floor and they struggled to manage his dead weight. Sarah had hit him pretty hard with her elbow. I pulled her back away from my body. “Do you want me to go with you to the station for the questioning?”
“No.” She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ll be fine.” She bent her head. “And I’ll grab my stuff and get out of your way tonight. I’m sorry for this mess.”
“You don’t have to leave.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Do you have a place to stay?”
“There’s a motel in town. I’ll grab a room for a few nights and then figure things out.”
“No.”
She scowled. “No, what?”
“No, you don’t need to leave and you don’t need to stay in a motel.”
“Eddie, I’ve more than overstayed my welcome.” She wrapped her arms around her body. “To be honest, I never even tried to look for a place.” She ran her hands through her hair. “You and Kelsey made me feel at home. I’ve never felt that before.”
My mind drifted back to my wife the day before she died. I stepped closer to Sarah. “I’ll drive you to the station.” Reaching for her hand. “But I think it’s time we talked.”
“Yeah, okay.”
That’s all she said, nothing more. I was ready for her to disagree with me. Instead, we walked hand-in-hand over to where the cops were waiting for her.
My wife was a warrior. She fought until her very last breath. I knew she would have encouraged Sarah to fight, too.
Since my wife couldn’t, I would do it for her.
Chapter Twelve
Sarah
Canada was looking pretty good at the moment.
When I noticed my father in my line at the grocery store, I knew shit was about to go south fast. Any situation that involved my father never ended well.
“Are you related to the man who attacked you today?” The officer sitting across from me in the interrogation room asked.
“He’s my father.”
“Do you know why he attacked you?”
“I don’t even think he knows why, Sir.”
That was the truth, my father was a classic drunk. Whenever he punched me, it was always followed up by a slurry of angry words. My father struggled to hold a job, loved his booze, and didn’t respect women. Well, one particular woman: me.
The police officer questioned me for another thirty minutes before I was released. When I walked out of the building, I noticed Eddie get out of his car and lean his body against the hood. After what he experienced today why in the hell was he here?
“Hey.” I had no clue what else to say.
“You okay?”
“For now.”
Eddie pushed off the hood and moved closer to me. “Jan just sent me a text.” He held his phone up so I could see the screen.
Everything that happened today was normal in my world. That’s why I left home. It was easier to run away from my past and hide everything about the ugly in my life. So why was Eddie standing here outside the police station? Then he showed me the photo and my heart melted. On the screen, Kelsey was drawing a picture at the kitchen table of a man and a woman with a child. “Awww, is that you and her mom?”
He inched a little closer. “Kelsey told my sister that woman is you, Sarah.”
“Me? But she doesn’t really know me.”
“Well, she is four and she knows what she likes in her world.” He grabbed my hand. “I think children are pretty smart though at that age.”
“Yeah? Why do you say that?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He pulled my body flush up against him. The move surprised me and sent shock waves through every nerve in my body. “Is there such a thing as children’s intuition?”
Up close, I could see every feature on his perfect face. There was a small scar on the tip of his nose and one on the corner of his left eye. His skin looked so smooth and those chocolate-colored eyes were making my insides melt. I had to internally yell at myself, “Focus, Sarah, focus.”
“Children’s intuition?” I burst out laughing. “They are smarter than adults some days.”
“They are.” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Sarah?”
“Yeah?” I stopped laughing and cleared my throat.
“Come home with me tonight. We can figure all this out tomorrow, but we’ll do it together.”
“Why would you want to help me?”
“Why does that surprise you so much?”
“Nobody has ever wanted to help me.”
“What if you didn’t meet the right people?”
I stepped back because I was finding it difficult to think that close to him. “Do you really want this mess in your life?”
“If it gives me a chance to get to know you more, then yes.”
“Shit.” I wanted to believe him and dammit, I wanted to go home with him. “I can’t right now.”
“Why?”
“I need to go see my mom. I think she needs me right now.”
Almost a month ago when I met Eddie, I figured he was like all the rest of the men in my life. Now I knew that was wrong. As much as I wanted to get in his car and go home to his sweet little girl. There was something I had to do first.
I needed to stop ignoring my past.
“Why are you here, Mom?” I sat down on the edge of the bed in her motel room. There was nothing about this moment that felt okay.
“To stop your father.”
“From doing what?”
“He’s really mad at you, Sarah.”
My dad had threatened me several times but never followed through on his threats. “Dad has always been mad at me. What’s new today?”
Mom sat down beside me and grabbed my hand. “He loves you, you know that, right?”
“Mom, you can’t say he’s mad at me and then follow it up with he loves me.” I laughed at her words. Everything she had just said sounded so ridiculous. “He has a real shitty way of showing he loves me.”
I felt uncomfortable. Why was I really here? In my mind I thought it was the right thing to do. I wanted to check on my mom but yet, she cared more about my dad. Which also meant, mom forgot about everyone else in her life. I stood and made my way to the door. “Mom, I can’t do this. I left home because I was tired of being dad’s punching bag.”
“Sarah, wait.
”
“No, I’m done. I can’t do this anymore.”
The motel room felt cramped, I needed air.
The photo of Kelsey drawing earlier ran through my mind. I wanted to be at Eddie’s house, sitting at the table eating dinner and laughing with his daughter. I stared at my mom for a few more seconds and then I left the room.
It was obvious nothing had changed; my mom was still defending my dad’s actions. I knew she would always side with her husband. That’s why I left years ago.
I pulled my phone from my back pocket and dialed Eddie’s number. He made sure the other day I had his number saved in my contacts just in case I needed to call him. Now was one of those moments.
The phone rang three times, then the cutest voice was on the other end. “Hello.”
“Kelsey. It’s Sarah.”
“Sarah. Where are you at?”
“I had to talk to someone.”
“You coming back?”
“Yeah, I am.” The words felt good to say. “Is your dad there?”
“Yup.” Then I heard the phone drop and the sound reverberated in my ear.
A few seconds later he was there. “Sarah?”
“Hi. Um, I was wondering–”
“Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
He didn’t even let me finish my sentence.
I let him know which motel I was at and that I would wait in the lobby area.
“I’ll be there soon.” That’s all he said and he then he hung up.
Crystal Shores was pretty small. The motel was twenty minutes from town and surrounded by several shopping centers. I made my way to the lobby and sat down in the chair facing the door. The TV was on and the incident at Marv’s was being reported by the local news.
I noticed the woman behind the desk do a double take in my direction. “Is that you?”
“I’m sorry?” I tried to play dumb and look at the TV again. “Oh, um…no.” Then I realized I was wearing the same clothes as the woman on TV. Well, so much for trying to keep under the radar.
Hopefully Eddie would get here soon. It was cold outside, but anything was better than having someone stare at you from across the lobby. I headed outside and found a bench off to the side of the building. The moment I sat down there was a honk from behind me.
His timing was perfect.
Chapter Thirteen
Eddie
“Daddy. Daddy. Wake up.”
I had my head under my pillow and a four-year-old on my back bouncing up and down. “You are lucky you’re cute missy,” I groaned and carefully rolled over.
“I want heart pancakes, Daddy,” Kelsey said and pushed her hands up and down on my chest.
Before she had a chance to push once more, I grabbed both tiny wrists and brought her closer to my face. “Give me a reason why I should?” I tried to say it with a straight face but failed miserably.
“She thinks you make the best pancakes ever.” Sarah’s voice from the doorway made my body come alive.
I still had a hold of Kelsey’s wrists. The moment I let go, I engaged the tickle hands. She squealed and jumped off the bed so fast. Her little squeals rang through the room as she made her way out of the room and down the hallway.
“I have a funny feeling she is not into those tickle hands.” Sarah pushed off the door frame and laced her fingers together.
My traitorous body reacted to the stunning woman with piercing blue eyes. I felt conflicted by my feelings for her. “Yeah, and how do you feel about them?” I sat up and held my hands out but quickly dropped them back onto the bed. “That sounded creepy didn’t it?”
She let out a full belly laugh. “Just a bit,” She turned to leave. I hopped out of bed and walked over to the doorway to watch her saunter away. She was on the second step and surprised the hell out of me by turning around to say something I never expected to hear. “I like them though.” That’s all she said, then she turned back and continued down the stairs.
“Shit.” I murmured. Now I needed a cold shower.
I had my head under the cool water and ran my hands though my hair one last time to make sure the soap was rinsed out. When I opened my eyes I actually jumped and hit my back against the shower wall. Something was wrong, My mind was playing tricks on me. My wife was standing in the shower laughing. This couldn’t be real. Could she be there? Was it possible?
“Sara, is that you?” I whispered.
The figure in front of me never responded. Of course it didn’t. What was wrong with me? I closed my eyes and rubbed my hands down my face. When I opened my eyes and glanced at the spot where she was just standing, she was gone.
Was my wife a sign for something? What did it all mean?
It took me a little bit longer to get ready because whatever happened in the shower really shook me. As I made my way into the kitchen, I couldn’t get my wife’s face out of my mind. This was all too much. I needed to see my sister.
“Hey Cutie–” I bent down beside Kelsey and kissed her cheek– “We need to wait on the pancakes. Daddy needs to leave.” I felt bad lying to my daughter, but I needed to see Jan.
“Tomorrow?” She held her arms up for me to pick her up.
“Yes, tomorrow. Cross my heart.” I actually used my fingertip and made a cross on my chest.
She nuzzled into my neck. “Okay, Daddy.” Then she wiggled out of my arms and sat back down.
Sarah was leaning against the counter holding a coffee mug against her chest. She pushed off the counter and walked closer to us. “Will Jan stop by today?”
“Yeah, I think she said about twelve o’clock.” The moment her body was near, my insides turned. Then my wife popped in my mind and I realized it was time to leave.
“Okay, because I work at one today.”
My mind replayed my dead wife’s body standing in the shower. Instead of responding, I just smiled and turned to leave. “I’ll see you both tonight.”
“How is this normal?” I asked and continued to turn the mug around in circles on the table.
“Why does it have to be normal. Things like this are bound to happen.”
“My dead wife appearing in the shower is bound to happen?”
“Eddie, be serious.”
“Jan, this is all really hard to process. There was a ghost in my shower today.”
“A memory.”
“I’m sorry, a memory…but it sure looked like a ghost.”
My wife and I used to watch those ghost hunter shows. She would tell me she believed in ghosts. Me, I didn’t have a thought either way…until today.
“Okay, so say it was a memory in my shower. Is there a reason it happened right after Sarah and I had just flirted with each other?”
Jan stood up and headed over to the coffee pot. “That’s exactly why it happened. You are unsure about being with another woman.”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Oh really?”
“Okay, maybe a little,” I held my coffee mug out for her to refill. “But it has not even been a year since Sara died.”
“So.”
“So? So what?”
“It’s been almost a year. It’s okay to be attracted to another woman.”
I sat there for a moment unsure what I was feeling. My mind wandered back to the day before my wife died. Sara had grabbed my hand and she made me promise to find love again. I could see the day like it was yesterday the memory was so vivid in my mind. I could remember my wife saying the words but in the end I never agreed to find love again. I couldn’t imagine myself with another woman.
Now, as my mind wandered, I wanted to know why Sara didn’t force me to respond. She was my best friend, the mother of my child, and the one woman I vowed to love, honor, and cherish.
Then the last part of that vow popped in my mind. Love, honor, and cherish until death do us part.
Jan placed her hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tell me where your mind just went?
”
My marriage vows played over and over in my mind. “I can love, honor, and cherish someone else now.”
“That’s true but are you ready for that?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I know my body reacts whenever Sarah is near, but…”
“But what? You know you don’t have to rush anything. Just take it slow and see where it takes you.”
“I’m not sure.”
“You’ll know soon enough.”
“I hope you’re right.” I stood up and kissed her temple. “Thanks for listening.”
“Of course. Don’t let yourself overthink everything. Just let it happen naturally.”
I made my way to the truck and thought about the vows I made all those years ago. We were young, but we knew what we wanted. Now, today, I wanted it all back. I wanted my wife back…
Chapter Fourteen
Sarah
“That will be fourteen dollars and sixty-two cents,” I said and smiled to the older woman. It took every ounce of strength to wake up and make sure my shift was filled at the store today.
“You’re the young woman on the TV from the other day.” She riffled through her change purse and then handed me the exact change.
“Um, yeah.” I avoided eye contact with the woman because it was easier. My father’s appearance had made staying under the radar more difficult. Maybe it was time to find another job in another town.
“Good for you on fighting back, Dear.”
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” I was so focused on the negative of the situation her words took me by surprise.
The woman reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Bullying and treating women in a shitty way is not okay.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” My reaction was odd and I knew that but I didn’t know what else to say.
“Honey, you don’t have to say, “Yes ma’am” to me.” She grabbed her bags. “You seem like a kind young woman. You deserve so much more.”
I didn’t know what to say. How did she know what I deserved?