by Rashaad Bell
Chapter 6
Trouble in paradise…
I was so glad he was here. My heart was thumping in my chest so loud it sounded like a drum line being played in my ears. I stopped him suddenly then smelled his neck.
“You do smell like oranges.” I whispered.
“Excuse me?” I could tell he wanted to laugh.
“Nothing. Never mind.” I replied. “I didn’t think you were gonna come.”
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” He responded.
I continued walking, grabbing his hand, pulling him along until we reached my friends.
“Everybody, this is Ethan. Ethan, this is everybody.”
“Hello.” He gave a brief wave before we both sat down.
“Okay, so he is cute.” Audrey admitted.
“See, I told you!” I turned to Ethan. “You don’t eat your own scabs do you?”
“Uh...not since I was four, I think.” He was confused, yet rolled with it.
I just pointed at every one and gave a semi-drunk nod.
That’s when Dave Berger and Aiden came stumbling over, dropping down, kicking up sand everywhere.
“Look what we brought!” Dave exclaimed, holding a large Philly cigar rolled with weed. “Some of that sticky, icky-icky ooh weee!”
“Ethan, my man, you made it.” Aiden gave him a hug.
“Heeey, its Mr. Orange!” Yelled Dave. “You smoking with us dude?”
Ethan shook his head “No, I can’t. Marijuana kinda gets me, I don’t know, it just kinda gets me paranoid.”
“I can feel you on that bro.” Dave agreed.
“If it’s cool, I'd like some of that Vodka though.” Ethan added.
“Hey, knock yourself out dude.” Dave was already lighting the Philly as he spoke. “Friend of Madison is a friend of mine.”
He poured himself a shot, tossed it back then took another.
I was leaned up against Ethan, his arms wrapped around me protectively, chin resting softly on the top of my head. The full moon was out, reflecting its light across the ocean’s surface, it was wondrous sight to behold.
They passed the Philly to me and I took two puffs, then passed it along. “It’s too many people, that thing is almost done.” I announced.
“That’s all I got dudes and dudettes.” Dave said apologetically. “Anybody else got some green on them?”
“Yeah!” Abigail exclaimed. “I forgot, I bought some earlier at the beach today, a forty bag.”
She checked her pockets. “It’s not on me though. It’s in my purse, in the car.”
“It’s cool, I got it.” I said, as she was about to get up.
“You sure?” Abigail questioned. “I can run up there and get it real quick if you want.”
“Nah, it’s cool. I’ve gotta use the bathroom anyways.” I told her.
“You want me to come with?” Ethan whispered in my ear.
“I’m good. It’ll just take a sec.” I told him. “Besides, I want you to get to know everybody. I’ll be right back.”
I stood just a little too quick, not realizing how wasted I truly was. Yeah, nobody is driving home tonight. Abigail drank way more than I did and I’ll never give Aiden the keys again.
I headed up to the house, passing Dave Anderson who was passed out on the beach next to the bonfire. Oddly enough, he was wearing a T-shirt that read: “That Guy”.
He opened his eyes, staring at me half-conscious. “The Mutant among us may be you!” He screamed before passing out again.
I shook my head and continued up the steps to the patio, making sure I gripped the handrails. I’d seen some posters put up that had that slogan. I thought it was for a movie, but I hadn’t seen any commercial for it yet.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I realized there were still people up here, not as much as before, but enough. People I knew from school, one way or another though. No unknowns or anything like that.
I took it slow as I made my way around the side of the house where it was darkest, rounded the corner with practiced ease and found myself out front by the garage, which was completely empty at this point. I went inside and made a beeline towards the bathroom, which wasn’t as clean as I hoped, yet nowhere near as disgusting as I expected.
Thank God for the little things.
I put some toilet paper down around the seat and sat down, grabbing one of the porno magazines that were in the rack in front of me. I flipped through the pages, never really stopping until the very end.
“Those can’t be real.” I said to myself.
I finished, wiped myself and then put the magazine back, washing my hands briefly before staring at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot red and just mere slits because of the marijuana. I made a pose, frozen frame style and then applied a little touch up make up. Some eyeliner and eye shadow, little lip-gloss and some fresh foundation. I made another snapshot pose.
Yup, I look good bitch.
I made my way out of the bathroom. There were already a couple of people passed out on the couch. Few others were playing video games. I went into the kitchen and checked the fridge. Krispy Kreme donuts on the top shelf.
Yahtzee!
I grabbed two. Ate one immediately and then grabbed another. They were so good. The two I had in my hand, I placed on a napkin and threw in the microwave for ten seconds. White Room by Cream was playing somewhere upstairs and I danced along waiting for my donuts to be done.
Ding!
I pulled them out and took a large bite. Even better warm! I opened the fridge again and checked for beer. Nothing but Bud Light, but it would do the do. I grabbed a bottle, popped the top and took a large gulp as I headed out the kitchen door into the garage, making my way down the driveway towards my car.
I could still hear the music, it was the guitar solo at the end and I continued to dance while I finished my donuts and drank the rest of my beer. I was at the car soon enough, fumbling for the keys, so I could pop the trunk. I really wish I had some twizzlers right now. That would perfect.
“Open the door and get inside of the car.” Someone said from behind.
“What?” I asked, turning around to see who was talking to me.
It was some guy. He was dressed in black. Black jeans, black combat boots, black jacket, everything was all black. He was holding a gun and it was pointed directly at my head.
I dropped my beer. “Oh shit.”
The guy hit me across the face with his freehand, knocking me backwards. “I’m not going to ask you again.” He explained.
I began fumbling for the keys, dropping the donuts. My lip was bleeding; I could taste the blood on my tongue. Metallic and copper. I was trembling so bad it was difficult for me to concentrate. Where is everybody? Why isn’t anybody else out here? Why did I have to come by myself? Ethan wanted to come. Abigail wanted to come. I didn’t have to come by myself.
Oh God, I’m going to die.
“Now!” He demanded in the harshest of whispers.
“Okay, okay.” I managed to reply. I couldn’t find the keys. Where in the hell were the keys? I was too drunk and to high focus. God, why am I even here? I should be at home studying for...for something! I shouldn’t be HERE though; I should be anywhere else BUT here!
“If you don’t open the door, I’m going to put a hole in your skull then open it myself.” He struck me again, harder this time. I fell backward against the car and tumbled to the ground. He was standing above me now, still pointing the gun at my head.
There was a sudden movement behind him. Everything happened so fast; I barely witnessed it at all. Someone grabbed his wrist and spun him around, twisting the gun from his hand, while seizing him by the throat and throwing him against the side of the car. He fired the gun once, shooting the man in black in the leg.
“Run.” The guy said to my attacker.
“You...you shot me!” He cried out, holding his wounded limb as he tried to stop the bleeding.
My s
avior pressed the gun barrel flush against the man’s forehead. “And I’ll kill you.” He proclaimed. “Run.”
The man in black scampered off into the darkness.
The new guy stared into the distance, watching, as if he could still see my assailant even though he was no longer in eyeshot.
“You okay?” He asked, finally satisfied at whatever he was looking at.
I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared. Paralyzed with fear, like a deer caught in oncoming headlights.
“Hey...hey, everything’s fine now.” The guy said, ejecting the clip from the gun. He bent close, offering these things to me as a show of peace. “He’s gone now, he can’t hurt you anymore.”
I took them from him slowly; the gun was so heavy in my hands. A car drove past us on the street, their headlights bearing down on us briefly.
“You’d better put that away, before a Cop sees it.” He bent down slowing, picking up the keys to the car from the ground. No wonder I couldn’t find them! I had already dropped the stupid things.
He opened the trunk.
“We...we should call them.” I stuttered.
“Call who?” The guy asked.
“The Cops.” I replied. “Report what...what just happened to me.” I was shaking so badly that I could barely form a coherent thought.
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” The guy said. “May I?” He reached for the gun slowly.
I hesitated at first, not sure if I should give the weapon back to him, but I did anyway. If he really wanted to kill me, I would be dead by now.
He took the items from my hand, inserting the clip back into the gun, clicking the safety on, then buried it somewhere inside my trunk. I was so glad to have that thing away from me.
“What are you, sixteen, seventeen?" He asked, slamming the trunk closed.
“Seventeen.” I declared. “But what does that have to do with anything? That man, he’s getting away. We need to call the police.”
The guy just shook his head. “Because you smell like a brewery. That’s why it’s not a good idea.” He initiated a step forward and sniffed me.
I instinctively pulled away. “What are you doing?”
He made a face. “What is that? Marijuana?”
“Yeah, so?” I answered.
“You can call the Cops if you want, report what happened.” He began. “More than likely, they’ll just arrest everybody here for underage drinking and possession of illegal narcotics. That’s on you though.” He pulled out his phone and began to dial 911.
“No, wait...” I called out.
“Yes?”
“Is he, is he gone? The man, I mean. The man in black.” I asked.
The guy put his cell away. “Yeah, he’s gone.”
“Thank you.” I said in all honesty.
“You’re welcome.”
“I didn’t get...I didn’t get your name.” I said.
“I didn’t give it.” He responded. “What’s so special about you Madison?”
“Wait, you know me? You know my name?”
“I know a lot of things, Madison Amber Rose.” He continued. “But that’s not important. What is important is why YOU.”
“I don’t understand. What’s going on? How do you know me?” I was starting to get afraid again.
“That gun, that’s a Colt 1911.” He stated. “Did you know that?”
I went to speak, but he just continued talking, not really waiting for a response.
“Of course you didn’t, but that’s beside the point. That gun is worth over three thousand dollars. If you need money, if you really need cash, like as in right now, you don’t carjack a person with a three thousand dollar gun.”
I could hear someone calling my name in the distant. It was Ethan. He would be here in just a few seconds.
“So what you have to ask yourself, Madison Amber Rose, is what’s so special about you? What’s so important about you in particular, that a man, using a three thousand dollar gun, would try to kidnap you?”
“He wasn’t trying to kidnap me.” Ethan where are you? “He, he just wanted the car is all.”
The guy smiled. “Then you have nothing to worry about, do you?” He started to leave, walking in the opposite way of the voices calling my name.
“Hey, where are you going?” I called out.
“Behind the boathouse.” He motioned for me to follow. “I’ll show you my dark secret.” Then just like that, he was gone. But I don’t mean, gone, as in ran off. I mean gone, as in vanished, disappeared. He just dematerialized in front of me like some ghostly apparition. He was just there and then he wasn’t.
“Madison!”
I spun around, suddenly frightened again, but it was Ethan, running towards me. I could tell by the look in his eyes, those gorgeous, radiant eyes of his, that he was worried. Not far behind him trailed Abigail and Aiden.
“Madison! What’s going on, are you okay? I thought I heard... something.” The look on his face, how determined he was to protect me, made me realize that there was anything he wouldn’t do to keep me from harm.
I collapsed into his outstretched arms, comforted by his protective embrace, the tears overflowing from my eyes, a waterfall of emotion that I could no longer sustain. “I just wanna go home. Just take me home.” That was all I could manage in-between sobs.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Abigail demanded, but I couldn’t answer her, not now. I couldn’t stop crying. It was all I could do to stand, let alone speak.
“Oh my God, she’s bleeding.” Abigail noted in horror.
“I don’t know what happened.” Ethan held me tightly. “All she said was that she wanted to leave, she wanted to go home.”
Abigail was stroking my hair, trying to calm me down. “It’s okay, baby.” She whispered. “Everything is gonna be just fine. You wanna go home, we’ll go home.”
“Where are the keys?” Aiden asked. “I’ll drive us.”
“Goddamn it Aiden!” I cried out furiously. “You’re not driving the fucking car, so stop asking!”
“Hey, it’s okay, everything’s gonna be okay.” Ethan whispered. “Give me the keys, I’ll drive. Everybody just get in, we’re leaving.”
I let the keys pass from my hands to his as he helped me into the back seat. Abigail climbed in with me and I wrapped myself up in her arms and continued to cry softly, my head against her chest as she continued to gently stroke my hair in a vain attempt to calm me down.
I had started to shake again, the events of the past few minutes replaying over in mind. If it wasn’t for some random guy, there’s no telling what would have happened to me tonight. I could be in a ditch somewhere, or worse. I just wanted to be as far away from this place as possible. I never wanted to come back.
Ever.
I closed my eyes, my saviors face staring back at me within my mind’s eye. He saved my life and I didn’t even know his name. The way he just took that guy down, snatched the gun from his hand and shot him in the leg. It was like some Jason Bourne shit. Then he disappeared, just up and vanished. How could anybody do something like that? How could a person move that fast?
He knew who I was, knew my name. I tried to pass that part off considering the small size of our town. Not to mention if he was at the party, it would have been easy to ask random person number three who I was, yet, the way he spoke my name, it was as if he actually knew me. He knew who I was, not in just passing, but rather on some deeper level altogether.
The things he said though. The expensiveness of the gun, the gun that was now resting comfortably in my trunk, God, I hope we aren’t pulled over.
I called out randomly to Ethan. “Don’t speed okay.”
“Sure.” He was looking at me through the rearview mirror and I could see the worry in his eyes, see the guilt he carried for not being there with me when everything went down. He doesn’t even know what happened and I could tell he was blaming himself because he wasn’t there to stop i
t.
“Whatever you say Madison.”
I didn’t want to speak anymore and just closed my eyes, trying not to concentrate on anything at all, but it was futile. I couldn’t get the vision of the gun barrel pointed at my face out of my head. I just kept reliving the man in black hitting me repeatedly, only to have his face replaced by that of my savior. My beautiful, dark haired savior. The more I thought of him, the more I wanted to know more about him.
He was no older than me and he knew how to handle a gun with ease. He shot my attacker with no remorse, no hesitation, just BAM! When he ejected the clip and cleared the chamber, he didn’t even look at the gun when he did those things, he was looking at me the entire time. Something like that, you just don’t pick up randomly at The Dave’s, smoking weed and playing video games.
So you have to ask yourself Madison. What’s so special about you?
That was the last thing I thought before sleep overtook me in the back seat of my father’s car.