by P. Roper
He had rolled the windows of his car down, so I could hear them all. There was a moment of strategizing before they all nodded and closed in on the house, guns drawn. But not the Chief. He just walked up and knocked on the door. My brow dipped in a frown. Straight to the point in just asking him, then? I supposed I could respect the directness of it. There was no need to open fire without undo cause. And no one was sure where Deliah might be, or if she was even in the house. Shots fired could very well harm her.
Niles answered the door and my head tilted. How had I never noticed how villainous he looked until that moment, all dark and twisted? He hadn’t changed anything. But the circumstances painted him evil in my mind. Mr. Manchester spoke to him in a low voice and my brother’s shoulders slumped. He nodded and his arms were pulled behind his back. He threw a final glance back into the house before being led off. I sat up straighter and my eyes narrowed.
What was that for, Niles? Moments passed as officers escorted my brother to a waiting squad car. One put a hand on his head, ducking him into the back seat. I wanted to be relieved that he was detained. But his gaze turned directly to me, as if he had pinpointed my location in advance. And in the same moment my hand met the door handle, a menacing grin broke across his face.
Seconds later, the house blew apart. The officers that had been left surrounding the perimeter were knocked back from the force and probably couldn’t hear a thing. Even at the distance I was, the bang left my own ears ringing. I bolted from the car as the dust settled, getting as close to the smoking rubble as I could. I needed to get to her. I knew she was still there; it was like I could feel her. “Deliah,” I called out at the top of my lungs, causing myself to cough.
There wasn’t much to the house originally, but it had been levelled and the dust was already settling. I felt a tear trail down my cheek. She wasn’t there. Where are you pretty girl? I repeated to myself for what felt like the millionth time in the last week and a half. I ran my hands through my hair, turning around before repeating the motion over and over.
Closing my eyes as the conversations around me lined up, a literal second of silence fell over everyone gathered. And in that moment, I heard it. I heard her. “Shhh! Everyone quiet!” I shouted above the commotion that had risen from the ashes of the building.
“Deliah!” I called out again before holding my breath to wait.
And again, it was faint. Barely there. But I heard her.
Chapter 24
Deliah
“Help!” I called out. I had heard and felt an explosion. I could faintly smell dust and smoke filling the hall beyond my door. “Help me!” I cried; my voice hoarse from lack of use and dehydration.
Time dragged on as I slid down the wall. Tears fell down my cheeks as sobs ripped through me. I was still cold. He may have brought me a cardigan, but he cut clean through everything else I had been wearing. And he never brought me any water to wash with. Niles had only just left me here again, after finally letting me down, moments before the blast shook my concrete room.
Sliding to my hands and knees, I felt around the floor. I knew there was still a half full water bottle somewhere in here. I sniffled in an attempt to stifle my tears as my hand came in contact with the plastic. A sigh broke from me. I may have been trapped but I could still keep myself alive a while longer. Pulling myself up onto the cot and wrapping the sweater around myself, I sipped from the bottle.
I counted to sixty, eighteen times before I heard it. Someone was calling my name. I bolted upright, returning the call. “I’m here! Help!” I shouted over and over with everything I had, occasionally swallowing some water to allow my voice to continue. Finally, heavy footsteps crashed down the stairs.
“Fuck!” I heard as something hit the door. “Deliah?”
It took everything in me to reply. “Yes. I’m here.” I collapsed into sobs again, crumbling to the floor with one palm pressed to the door.
The voice came slightly softer, “pretty girl, I’m going to get you out. But I need to go get something to open the door with. Okay? I’m not leaving you here Deliah. I just need to go back up for more help. I’ll be right back. I promise.”
My breath caught. He came for me. I slid away from the door slightly. I knew that the frame wouldn’t allow it to open in toward me, but I also wasn’t sure what sort of force it would require. I drank the last of my water and waited.
Three minutes. Counting had become critical to my sanity here. I heard him returning, like he promised, before he shouted in my direction again. “Deliah? I need you to get as far from the door as you can. It looks like we have to break it. Back up now.” Then the distinct crash of metal on stone echoed through the very small space.
I cried out, covering my ears, ducking down on the opposite end of the cot. It wasn’t far, but the room wasn’t really big enough to get farther. I closed my eyes and flinched with every hit against the door. But then there was silence a moment before a warm hand touched my skin.
My eyes shot open. Letting out another sob, I stared at him. My hands left my ears and reached to touch his face. He pulled at my wrists and I cried out at the sting. Worry marred his beautiful face before he pushed the cot aside and gathered my whole body up in his arms. “Pretty girl,” he whispered against my hair as he carried me from the room.
Someone draped a blanket over me as Nathaniel passed them on the stairs. Pulling it up over my face as well, the man spoke softly. “The light’s gonna be hard for her for a bit. Take her up; an ambulance is waiting to take you up to Lawrence General before you can get her a transfer into the city.”
With his remarks, we were moving upward again. There was so much commotion around us that I couldn’t see. The blanket shielded my eyes and practically naked body. “I have to put you down and move the blanket, pretty girl. Close your eyes until they can get you out of the sun,” Nathaniel whispered to me.
I obliged, pressing my eyes shut as I was lowered onto a soft surface. The blanket was pulled away and my cardigan was drawn back around my body. There was so much movement in those moments. Tears leaked from the corners of my tightly closed eyes. It felt like it had been so long since I had heard anyone other than my captor.
There was more shuffling before doors shut near me. “Deliah,” a kind female voice began. “The lights should be dim enough in here. Can you open your eyes for me?”
I nodded, starting off with a squint as my sight adjusted. The single light in the room had been turned on a few times, but the light inside the ambulance still felt like staring into the sun. I gasped as my eyes adjusted and focused.
“Good. I’m going to get readings on all your vitals and start an IV for you now, okay?” I nodded and she set about her work. Removing my shredded clothes and tucking a warm blanket around me.
Turning back to face the doors, my breath caught. “Nathaniel,” I choked out. “Y-you’re here.” I couldn’t stop the shuddering breaths that escaped me as an onslaught of tears ran down my face. I opened my mouth to speak again, but nothing came. At that moment, I didn’t have words.
“I am so sorry it took so long to find you. It’s going to be okay though, pretty girl. You’re safe now,” his mouth turned up slightly in a sad sort of smile. Both regret and sympathy shone in his eyes.
I nodded and we sat in silence while the paramedic worked around me. My eyes never left his until I couldn’t hold them open anymore. As my body relaxed, finally warm, I began to doze off. I heard her say, “Its okay, let her rest. Her body needs it, probably more than we even realize.”
I woke with a gasp and bolted upright. My heart ran rampant in my chest, but noting the dimmed lights instead of darkness and the temperature in the room, I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I looked around, blinking rapidly. Monitors, dials, charts. Hospital room. Relaxing back into the bed, I took note of the tubes and wires running from my body.
Trying to swallow just caused a cough to bark from my throat, prompting the door
of the room to push open. “Oh, deah. Theyah you ah,” the nurse’s face was kind and her soft voice was laced with a distinct Southie accent. “We been waitin’ faw ya to wake up. I’ll jus’ buzz the doc to come an’ check ya ovah, yeah?”
I nodded. “Where am I,” I whispered, my voice coming out grated.
She smiled at me, “You deah, ah in the Phillips House at Mass General. Mr. Halstead’ll be up with Dr. Brooks soon, an’ they can explain everythin’ to ya.” I nodded. She busied herself a moment more before someone tapped on the door and it eased open.
“Deliah, I’m so glad to see you awake.” The doctor smiled at me brightly. He looked so familiar, but it took me a minute to place him.
My eyebrows shot up. “Evan?” I looked between him and Nathaniel. “Evan is Doctor Brooks?”
“Technically, I’m a resident but yes. Dr. Brooks, at your service. You gave everyone quite the scare. Thankfully though, short of some significant dehydration and malnourishment you’re actually okay. Jane bathed you and we’ve dressed a few minor abrasions.” I nodded, feeling the bandages on my knees and stomach. “You’ll need to stick around for a few days while we stabilize your metabolism, essentially until you can maintain an appropriate caloric intake.”
Nathaniel stepped up to my bedside and reached for my hand. I flinched, closing my eyes a moment before reaching for his hand in return. My eyes met his and I tried to convey an apology that way. I wanted to feel his hand in mine, but I found myself so terribly jumpy. He gave me a soft smile as his thumb traced circles on the back of my hand.
“I have rounds coming up here, but I’ll check back in later. They’re sending an officer for a statement at some point today, but in the meantime, rest is going to be your best friend. Your body needs it, more than anything else.” Evan squeezed my foot with a smile before turning and leaving the room. The nurse had disappeared while he had been talking. I turned to the only person left in the room with me.
“What day is it?” I croaked. He pursed his lips before taking a deep breath, releasing my hand and rounding the bed. He brought a cup with a straw to my mouth, prompting me to drink; allowing mouthfuls of water to soothe my throat.
“Better?” He inquired, forehead creasing. I nodded, so he pulled a chair to that side of the bed. “Where do you want me to start?”
“How’d you find me?”
“Eleven days after the party his plate was flagged on Main Street, after the car had been assumed abandoned.” I must have lost more hours than I thought. I had only counted eight and a half days. “They left it, just in case he returned. He went into one shop before driving back.” The cardigan. “The police had someone follow the car back to the house.” He paused, pushing his hair away from his face. “It was an abandoned shack, on the edge of town. He went quietly but he must have seen them coming. He had set something to blow up a minute or two after he was put in cuffs.”
“I felt it and heard it. Then you found me. I don’t remember anything past the ambulance and even things before that are pretty foggy.”
“Uh,” he paused, dragging his tongue across his lip. “We took the ambulance to the hospital; you were assessed and deemed in no immediate danger. So they transferred you here. The doctors kept you sedated for 24 hours. They stopped the meds yesterday afternoon and you finally woke up today. I think that catches us up.”
“Did you find the bracelet?” He nodded so I continued my questions. “Is he gone? Can I have visitors? What do the police need to know?” Tears stung my eyes. I didn’t want to rehash the last two weeks. My body shivered violently at the notion alone.
“He’s locked up. Audrey’s father assured me that the possibility of bail has been revoked. They’re trying to push it to prosecution as quickly as possible. Partly because my parents have demanded it all be kept out of the press.” He rolled his eyes at that. “Noelle and Audrey are just a phone call away, whenever you feel ready to see them. As for the police, I’m not sure the detail that they’ll need at this point.” His thumb wiped stray tears from my face that I hadn’t realized were falling.
“I’d like to see Noelle and Audrey,” I whispered. “But I can’t delve into details yet, Nathaniel.” Fear washed through me.
“So we’ll tell them that you’re not ready. Let’s see what they have to say first though, okay?”
I nodded before he gave me another sad smile. Worry saturated his whole being, it was so unlike him that it was almost startling. He pulled his phone from his pocket, tapping out a message. Re-pocketing it, he brushed a kiss against my knuckles as a knock came from the door.
Chapter 25
“Deliah?” An older man in uniform peeked through the threshold.
“Yes sir,” I replied, steeling myself for the questions he may have.
“Glad to see you awake and to finally meet you, I suppose. I’m Chief Manchester.” I tilted my head at his use of finally. He returned my movement with a smile. “You met my son, Parker, around Christmas time. He spoke highly of you.” Parker. The other kind eyed friend from the New Year’s party.
“I did. I hope he’s well.” My heart raced in anticipation of what may come during our conversation. The man nodded and stepped further into the room.
“He is, he is. Would you mind answering a few questions for me today?” His tone was calm and hopeful as he pulled a small notebook from his breast pocket.
My hand tightened around Nathaniel’s, as memories flashed through my mind. But I still nodded. “Sure, won’t you have a seat?”
“Thank you,” he replied, pulling a chair closer to the side of the bed. “Nate has laid out some semblance of your history with your abductor, however, what we haven’t yet been able to discern is why he did this. Did he say anything to you?”
I took a deep breath, calming my nerves. “He said that he had paid more than enough in the time he’d known me as a showcase that it was his prerogative to own me at this point. Knowing I wouldn’t go with him willingly, he quite literally took things into his own hands.” Chief Manchester stared at me, more questions swimming in his eyes. “I assume Nathaniel detailed my, uh, job history with you?” He nodded. “Alright, well, he clearly felt that he needed to be dramatic, to get his money’s worth, I suppose.”
“Alright. If I leave a notebook, could you outline some of the happenings during your time with him over the last couple weeks? In your own time, of course,” he pulled another notebook from his pocket, handing it to me before continuing. “We need some testament and in my experience, many victims have found that writing it down rather than verbalizing their trauma, is just a little less challenging. I also don’t need a detailed prose. Anything more than a physical description of the room you were held in, would be more than we have now. Point form and vague will even suffice.”
More tears stung my eyes and I nodded. “Sure, I can try in the next little while.”
“Good, thank you for seeing me today. Finally, I’m presuming that you want to press charges to the fullest extent of the law?” He stood and moved his chair to its original space.
“Yes sir, I would.”
“Alright. Nate, I’m sure you have a legal team all over this?” Nathaniel gave a single nod in response. “Good. Let me know if you make a dent in that book, will you?” He asked me. “I wish you a prompt recovery, Deliah. I know you’re in good hands here.” He closed the door behind him as he left and Nathaniel stood and dropped my hand.
Pacing, he threaded his fingers through his hair, tugging it slightly. “I’m so sorry, Deliah. I honestly don’t feel like my apologies will ever be enough. I should have kept closer tabs on his whereabouts or had tighter event security. Lists of things I could have, should have done have been filling my head for days. But I promise you, he won’t walk away from this. I have agreed to keep the press away from it to the best of my ability. But he will not be a free man. I swear to you.”
“Nathaniel,” I whispered, reaching a hand out to him. He took mine in b
oth of his and sat on the edge of the bed, as if the chair just wasn’t close enough. “I need you to calm down. I’m here. I’m okay. I’m more than a little hungry, but that’s a fairly easy fix in the grand scheme of things.” I gave him a weak smile. “You saved me. Possibly my life, but at the very least my sanity. I know I’m safe now. What’s done is done and I really don’t want you hanging on every what if.”
“But I –,” he began to disagree but I shook my head.
“No, don’t do that. Just be here, be present, with me. Please?”
He nodded, leaning forward to rest his forehead against mine and closing his eyes. “I love you, pretty girl. I thought I lost you.” His whisper is shaky.
“I know, but you didn’t. And I have loved you for longer than you probably realize. Two weeks apart was never going to change that.” I closed my eyes too, our breaths mingled as our chests rose and fell.