Stay With Me

by Grayson, Alivia

  “She’s never a handful, but she always asks for Bryan when she’s supposed to be staying over. However, it was you Faye asked for this time.”

  So it’s not just me Faye does this too then. Interesting. It also makes me smile. My stepdaughter wants to spend time with me, and I love that.

  I follow Marie inside, out of the cold. “I’ll put her to bed.”

  “No!” Faye hangs onto my neck and looks at me with narrow eyes. “I want to go home. Take me home!”

  “No!” God, I don’t want to upset her, but I have to put my foot down. “You’re staying here with Grandma tonight. Daddy and I will collect you in the morning. We’ll spend the day together as we planned, then you and I will spend all night watching movies and getting ready for the wedding. Okay?”

  I swallow hard, trying not to let Faye see how much I didn’t like being so strict with her. However, she nods her head, and I breathe deep in relief. “Okay, Mommy.”

  I kiss her head. “Good girl. I am so proud of you.”

  Marie rubs my back with a proud smile on her face. “Well done, sweetheart. I knew you could do it.”

  It seems everybody was thinking the same thing.

  Why didn’t Bryan say something to me?

  It doesn’t matter now because I understand, and the truth is, I feel better for it. This whole mom thing won’t be as bad as I thought it would be.

  I take Faye to the guest room and lay her down in bed. I read her a quick story, then hold her hand until she falls asleep after I tell her how much I love her. I stoke her hair and smile at myself. I can do this. I know I can.

  It isn’t long before I’m texting Bryan to let him know that after my night out with the girls, I’ll be coming back to his mother’s house so Faye can wake up with me beside her. He texts me back, telling me to have fun and that he loves me.

  I giggle to myself while walking to my car. Faye is settled and sleeping, Bryan is having fun with his friends, now it’s time for me to have some fun.

  However, as I open the door to my car, a hand slams over my mouth. My eyes widen as I scream behind the hand. “There’s no use, Lyric. Save your energy; you’re going to need it.” I don’t recognize the voice, but I don’t stop screaming as if Marie might hear me and come outside to see what’s going on.

  Then there’s another person in front of me, dressed from head to toe in black. I can’t see his face, but I can tell by their eyes that they’re smirking behind the mask they’re wearing. “Take her,” He says. Whomever, he is. “I’ll take the car.”

  “On it, boss.” Boss? The guy taking my car is the boss, the one now dragging me away is...? “Pipe down, bitch!” He hisses in my ear, but I won’t pipe down. I will not let this idiot take me without a fight.

  I kick back at him and drop my weight so that I’m heavier in his arms. However, it doesn’t seem to faze him. He drags me along the road, my shoes falling from my feet, my feet getting cut up on the concrete. I don’t want to panic, and I’d like to think I was strong enough to fight this pig so he’d let me go. However, no matter how hard I try to fight, he holds me harder.

  I bite down on his hand, and this time, he drops me to the floor. Just when I think I have my chance to run, he hits me over the back of the head with something heavy. I can hear the sound of the sea in my ears, which is weird because I’m nowhere near the sea. Everything in front of me is becoming blurry, and my body is so heavy that I hit the ground with a thud.

  “Stupid girl. Why couldn’t you just come quietly? Now you’re damaged, God kno... Fuck, are you even breathing?” I don’t know if I am, but I do know that I can’t move. I know he just slapped me, but I didn’t even flinch.

  Yes, I think he might just have killed me here tonight.

  My whole life has been taken from me, and for what? So they could steal my car?

  I love you, Bryan. I will always love you. Tell Faye that I loved her, and don’t mourn me for too long. Live and love, my handsome man...

  Chapter 27

  Bryan

  Shit, my head!

  I groan while rolling over in bed. I shouldn’t have let my brother and our friends ply me with so much booze last night. However, I can’t deny that last night was a blast. I’m not sure that I’m young enough to be dancing around in a night club like a teenager anymore, but it was a good laugh.

  I think Tyler still believes himself to be eighteen, and the number of women that flocked around him... the man’s got a gift. I had one or two young ladies want to dance with me, but they didn’t stand a chance. The only girl for me is my girl – my Ricky.

  Talking of Ricky. I scrunch my eyes as I come face to face with her. I smile and just watch her sleeping. She’s so beautiful - so very, very beautiful. I will love her until the end of time and even longer. I am one very lucky man.

  I stroke Ricky’s cheek with my fingertips, the smile fading from my lips when I feel just how cold she is. “Ricky?” I shake her by the shoulder, but she doesn’t rouse.

  I pull myself up into a sitting position, ignoring the pain behind my eyes. “Ricky, please wake up.” I shake her again, panic setting in. I can’t wake her! “Ricky!” I scream her name as I grab her up in my arms, her head resting in the crook of my elbow. I’m sobbing and begging her to wake up by the time my brother comes running into the room.

  I’d forgotten he stayed over last night.

  “Bry, what’s going on?”

  “I can’t wake her.” I look up at him, tears falling from my eyes. “I can’t wake her, Ty. Help me wake her, please!”

  He touches her throat, then climbs off my bed and calls an ambulance. I can hear him talking to them.

  I kiss Ricky’s forehead, my tears falling on her skin. “Please don’t leave me, baby. I don’t wanna live without you. I’m not strong enough to do it again.”

  “Bry, they said to check her palms and the soles of her feet.” But I can’t, I can’t let go of Ricky. All I can do is rock her gently in my arms. Tyler huffs to himself and sets about checking Ricky’s palms and the soles of her feet.

  I think my mind has gone blank. I know my brother is talking to the operator; I can hear his voice as though underwater. I hold Ricky close to me, my hand on her cold face, my lips pressing kisses to her head, all the while mumbling, begging her not to leave me.

  It isn’t long before some woman is working on Ricky while some guy is prizing me away from her. I scream and fight him until Tyler grabs me around the waist and pulls me away. All I can do is watch through sore eyes as they push a tube down her throat. Then a needle in her arm, and then they’re strapping Ricky to a spinal board and taking her away from me.

  I try to rush after them, but my brother stops me. “You’re not wearing anything but boxers.” He grabs a pair of sweats from the chair beneath the window. “Put these on,” I do so robotically. “And this.” He throws a shirt at me, then my sneakers. I yank them on and rush out the door. I have to be with Ricky.

  However, I’m too late; the ambulance is already pulling away. “No!” I scream while chasing it down and failing.

  Tyler catches up with me. “Come on; I’ll drive.” I don’t answer, I rush to his car and climb in.

  The whole ride to the hospital is a blur. Tyler and I don’t talk once. At the hospital, Tyler talks to the woman at the front desk in the E.R. He explains everything to her about Ricky, who she is, and what happened this morning.

  Neither of us knows what happened last night. I haven’t a clue what she got up to while out with the girls. Hell, I hadn’t expected to find her in our bed this morning when she told me she’d be staying over at my mom’s with Faye.

  What the hell is happening to her?

  She’s pregnant. What the hell is happening to both of them?

  “Mr. Spencer?”

  I look up from my seat in the waiting area at the extremely tall doctor addressing me. “Yes, that’s me.”

  He smiles and pulls up a seat in front of me. He pushes his glasses higher on his nose
while looking at the clipboard in his hand. “Dr. Lyric Spencer’s husband?”

  “Yes,” Almost. “How is she?”

  “Well, right now, we’re a little confused about what’s going on with Lyric,”

  “Ricky,” I tell him. “She hates being called Lyric.”

  “Of course,” He smiles. “Ricky. Well, right now, she’s a mystery to us. When Ricky was brought in, her blood pressure was shallow, as was her heart rate. She was unresponsive, and that hasn’t changed, I’m afraid.”

  “But she’s alive?”

  “Yes, Mr Spencer, she’s alive.”

  I let out a breath of relief and try to force back the tears. “Can I see her?”

  “Not just yet, I’m afraid.” I narrow my eyes a little. “There’s nothing to worry about, Mr. Spencer,” He says that, but it’s not the woman he loves lying in a bed unconscious. “We just have a few more tests to run, and then you can see her.”

  I nod my head because it’s all I can do.

  The doctor leaves, and I drop down in my seat. I scrub my hands over my face and pray Ricky comes through this in one piece. I’ve never asked God for much, but I ask him now to keep the woman I love safe. I pray until I can’t pray anymore. Until my brother walking into the room with someone has my mouth hanging wide open.

  I blink, trying to make my eyes believe what I’m seeing. Then the anger sets in, and I’m out of my seat in an instance. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Easy, By,” Tyler shakes his head at me while ushering Kendal into the room and closing the door behind him. My stomach is turning, and my heart is beating so fast, I might throw up. “Kendal called me for help.”

  “Help? With what? Finally, killing Ricky!”

  Kendal shakes her head, eyes wide, tears falling from them.

  “That’s enough, Bryan!” Tyler snaps at me. My eyes land on their entwined hands. What the fuck is going on? “Kendal was the one who saved Ricky’s life.”

  “What?” I am so confused!

  “I never wanted anything bad to happy to Ricky, Bryan. I swear, I didn’t.” She wipes the back of her hand across her cheek, wiping away the tears falling. She still hasn’t let go of Tyler’s hand yet, and I’m guessing she needs his support. Tyler will give Kendal as much help as she needs because he’s a good guy.

  I remember when we were younger, Tyler and Kendal dating in secret. I know, shocker. It was to me also when I caught them kissing. I was fifteen, and they were in my parent’s backyard, kissing behind the garden shed. I put it out of my head for so many years, but I suddenly remember how Kendal mumbled against Tyler’s mouth that she loved him, and he said the same back to her.

  I never saw anything else happen between them, but something must have because it wasn’t long after that day that Kendal became her father’s stooge.

  I could have made life very difficult for Kendal all those years ago. I could have spat out how she’d been having a relationship with my brother the day she came barging into my room with her parents. The day they dragged Ricky away from me and ruined our lives. However, I didn’t because, first off, it never crossed my mind, and second, I wouldn’t have done anything to hurt my brother.

  I’ve always wondered where we’d be now if Tyler and Kendal had come clean about how they were feeling. Though, if I’m honest, I figured Tyler didn’t love Kendal as she had him, and that’s why they broke up. How the hell would I know what happened between them? I never asked my brother, and as I said, I pushed it out of my head.

  “When she came home, all I wanted was to hold her and tell her how much I’d missed her. I couldn’t because I was angry also – angry that she left and never came back.”

  “She was forced out, Kenny, but your insane father!”

  “I know that,” She nods her head. “I always knew that. I never wanted any of this, Bryan. All I ever wanted was for Ricky was to be safe and happy. When Ray forced her to leave, I had no idea something bad would happen to her.” She’s referring to Ryan. She doesn’t need to say the words for me to know that. “I thought she would contact me, but she never did.”

  “Why on this earth would you think that? You ruined us, Kenny. Any chance we had of being together was shattered. All because you brought that psycho to my house and helped him drag Ricky away from me.”

  Kendal nods her head while lowering it. She knows what I’m saying is true. She turned into her father’s mini-me. Now I’m wondering if that had anything to do with what happened with Tyler.

  “What happened to you, Kendal? What made you turn into Ray?”

  “Me,” I look at Tyler. “This is hard, Bryan, and I don’t think now is the right time. However, it’s the only way to make you understand. Kendal and I,”

  “Were together when we were kids, I know. I saw you kissing once.” Tyler blinks at me, shocked that I’ve never mentioned anything before. “I heard Kenny tell you that she loved you, but I didn’t hear your reply. Not long after that is when she changed.” I shrug.

  My brother nods, knowingly. “I loved her, too, but I knew we could never be more than what we were then. Ray would have killed me for even looking at Kendal without his permission. If he’d found out I’d kissed her?” He shakes his head, and I nod mine because I know exactly what he’s saying. “When I told Kendal that we couldn’t be together right then and that we’d have to take things slowly so her dad wouldn’t flip out, she took that as me telling her that I didn’t want her anymore,”

  “I was stupid, and I broke us because I walked away. I’ve made a lot of mistakes the past twelve years, Bryan, too many to count. I can never take them back, but I can make things right for my sister. Ray forced me to leave with him and my mom after he attacked Ricky. I didn’t want to go because I’d already decided to leave to be with Ricky.” Kendal swallows back her emotions.

  “Why don’t we sit down?” Tyler nods at me, and we all take a seat.

  “I told Ray,” Kendal continues. “That I didn’t want to be part of his church any longer. He’d brainwashed me for years, but I’d finally seen the light. I figured that if Ricky could come back here and try to fix her life, why the hell couldn’t I? The day she came back and told me that she’d missed me, I knew in my heart that she still loved me. Everything Ray had told me over the years was a lie.

  “I finally started seeing Ray’s church for what it was, a cult. You have no idea what it’s like when the fog finally clears. So many things made sense, but nothing did at the same time. I was scared of what I saw, of the things that I had done, and terrified of what I did to my sister. It hurt so much that I couldn’t breathe. All I wanted to do was leave and find Ricky. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, and I wanted to be the big sister she deserves.”

  It’s all well and good to say this now. How am I meant to believe that Kendal is being honest with me? After everything, the woman has done to hurt Ricky, and I supposed to think she’s being truthful?

  “Hearing Ray talking about Ricky being married off to a man much older than she is, the fact she’d have no choices of her own...” Kendal blows out a breath. “I couldn’t bear it. When Ray forced my mom and me to stay there after what he did, I saw so many things I knew God would never agree with. I don’t think I was supposed to know about Ray and Jacob’s plans, but I heard them talking. I heard what they had planned for Ricky. None of it was good, Bryan. They would give her the chance to leave with them. If she wouldn’t, they’d take her and condition her until she understood where she really belonged.”

  My eyes shake inside my skull. I’ve never wanted to kill anyone as badly as I want to kill Raymond Vaughn right now. “Did he have anything to do with Ricky being here?”

  Kendal nods her head and looks to Tyler, who takes up where she left off. “Jacob made a plan to kidnap Ricky last night. Ray found out about the bachelorette party and arranged for three men to take her as soon as the opportunity arose. They followed Ricky to Mom’s and tried to take her as she was leaving.”

  “
Wait,” I hold my hand up, stopping my brother from continuing. “That doesn’t explain why she was next to me this morning.”

  “I can explain that,” Kendal tells me. “When John, Steven, and Thomas came back to the compound, they were in a panic. Jacob asked them where Ricky was and why they dared come back without her. John explained how they’d found Ricky, and were dragging her away with them, but that she’d fought back. Steven said he’d hit her across the back of the head with something just to subdue her, but that she died. Ray went crazy when John said they left her body outside Marie’s house. Jacob asked John if he was sure that Ricky was dead, and John said yes. Then Jacob said to leave the body where it was, and it would look like someone tried to rob Ricky. No one would point the finger at them.

  “I heard everything because I was hiding around the corner. I ran to my mom and told her what I’d heard, but she didn’t care. I couldn’t believe that she would just sit there, telling me that now we were free. Was I really like this?”

  I’m not sure she was asking the question, but it doesn’t go unnoticed how Tyler holds her, nor the way he looks at her. My brother still loves that girl; it’s written all over his face. I think he’s a fool, but it’s his life. If he chooses to take Kendal back and make a go of things, who the hell am I to judge? Isn’t that what I did with Ricky?

  “Anyway, I managed to sneak out of the compound. I don’t know how when the place is closely guarded, but I guess God was on my side. I found Ricky stumbling down the road; I guess trying to make her way home. I rushed to her side, and she smiled. The second she saw me, she smiled as though she was happy to see me.” Kendal sniffs. “I told her that I knew what happened and that I was there to help her. I wanted to get her to the hospital, but Ricky said that she was fine and just wanted to go home.

  “I shouldn’t have listened because I knew she wasn’t okay. I could see that she was out of it, but she just kept on telling me that she was just dizzy from the knock to the head. Ricky had to have been out of it because she wasn’t worried about those men coming back. She just held onto me and talked the whole way back to your house. I would have driven, but I didn’t have a car, and Ricky couldn’t seem to find the keys to hers.