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Insatiable Revenge

Page 25

by Cynthia Freeman Gibbs


  Thump. Click-Click.

  Short spurts of air burst through her flared nostrils. Olivia gripped her right hand with her left fingers to steady the loaded gun. A bullet in the chamber was set for action.

  “Don’t come any closer,” Olivia screamed and bolted from behind the clothes. The moonlight through the sheer curtains covering the window bounced off the weapon she held with a finger against the trigger. Any pressure applied would fire a shot.

  The intruder stopped in his tracks two arms lengths away. She could make out only his nose, lips, and eyes through the mask. He remained silent and positioned himself in a crouch as if prepared to pounce.

  “What are you doing in my house?” Olivia yelled at the intruder. “Whoever you are, you picked the wrong house to break into,” Olivia warned. “When I pull this trigger, I’m shooting to kill. Believe that.”

  Sweat trickled along the side of her face. The silent invader took a step in her direction.

  Olivia screamed, “I told you not to move.” She adjusted her stance with the pistol pointing at the man’s chest. He took another step and Olivia pulled the trigger.

  Click.

  Olivia stared at the gun in disbelief upon realizing it misfired. They made eye contact and a shocked moment of silence passed between them. Every hair follicle on her body prickled with horror. A sudden chill spread throughout her bones.

  Without warning, the intruder laughed. Before Olivia could rack the gun again, he leaped at her and closed the gap between them.

  “Aah,” Olivia screamed before he slammed his shoulder into her chest like a linebacker. Every ounce of air in her lungs was forced out. Her ribcage ached from the brunt force. She huffed in a struggle to catch her breath. He forced her back into the closet, causing her to lose balance. The clothes on the hangers kept her from falling to the ground.

  Olivia regained footing and jumped into survival mode. She grabbed hold of a cluster of dresses and rolled to the side out of his grasp. The intruder lost his footing and stumbled deeper into the closet. Despite the hit from him, she slammed the gun hard against the side of his head and punched him with an uppercut blow to his chin with her other fist.

  “Oww,” he howled and gripped the areas of impact with his hands and dropped to his knees.

  Olivia considered reloading the gun to try to shoot the man. Fear of another misfire convinced her to choose to escape instead. She darted around him and ran from the bedroom. Her bare feet pounded along the wood floors through the hallway to the living room. She reached the front door and struggled to turn the bolt lock key. Her sweaty palm slipped on the doorknob, preventing her from opening it.

  “Help me,” she hollered in hopes Dion or other neighbors would hear her cries. Panic filled her mind with the threat of death if she couldn’t get out. She pivoted toward the kitchen as the sound of heavy footsteps slammed across the hardwood floor in the hallway.

  Olivia turned in time to find the intruder pursuing her in the moonlit room. He chased her around the kitchen island multiple times as if they were playing a game of tag. Out of breath, he finally stopped and stood at the opposite end from her to catch his breath. He gripped the sides of the granite countertop.

  Air forced its way into her lungs as she heaved to control her breathing. She focused on him to assess which way he may attempt to run. Remembering the gun, she extended her arms and stood with the weapon pointing toward the man. She racked the gun to advance the bullet into the chamber.

  This time, Olivia knew with certainty, it loaded. Shaken, she managed to steady her hands. “Get out of my house,” she yelled.

  “Olivia.” The silent pursuer spoke. He held his hands out toward her as if he expected a hug.

  “Why are you here?” Olivia bellowed. Her hands trembled. She froze with the recognition of the attacker’s voice.

  “Women like you think you can do whatever you want without consequences. I’m here to teach you a lesson,” he said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Before Olivia understood what he meant, he ran around the island and growled as he sprung to slam into her again.

  Olivia felt her body go airborne. A shot rang out into the shadowy room. Her head hit the hardwood floor, slipping her away into darkness and silence.

  FORTY-ONE

  Olivia

  A ringing of high-pitched bells filled Olivia’s ears. The coldness of the floor on her face made her mind wonder how she ended up on the ground.

  “Olivia? Do you hear me? Wake up.” A faint voice floated into the distant air. The constant sound of ringing muffled the words.

  Olivia moaned from the sudden pain ripping through her skull. She gripped her head with both hands to soothe the agonizing ache of what had to be the splitting open of her cranium.

  “Olivia.” The voice sounded closer.

  The scene of running from an intruder flashed through her mind. Someone had been in her home which brought about an awakening of her senses. She jerked and forced each eye open. A face appeared in the moonlit room.

  “Aah,” she screamed and raised from the lying position on the kitchen floor with her hands up to protect herself.

  “Olivia. You’re okay. It’s me, Durbin.” He flipped on the light switch.

  “Oh, my Lord. Durbin.” Olivia held her head in relief and squinted from the brightness in the room. “What are you doing here? What happened?”

  “Someone broke into your house.” Durbin pointed to the body of a man laying a few feet from them.

  “Aah,” Olivia yelled and rose from the floor forgetting about the pain in her head. Panic filled her body with full remembrance of the nightmare she had experienced. She clung to Durbin’s arm and peeked around him. Blood pooled around the man’s torso. “Is he dead? Did I kill him?”

  “No. I checked his pulse. He’s not dead,” Durbin said. “He passed out.”

  “Humph. My aim had to have been off. I need to work on my shot.” Olivia growled in disappointment. She inched closer to the man on the floor, unsure if he would awaken and attempt to grab her foot.

  “You didn’t shoot him,” Durbin said.

  Olivia snapped her head in his direction. “There’s blood on the floor. He has a bullet in his side. I shot him.” She waved a hand above the man.

  “No.” Durbin removed a gun from inside of his jacket. “I did.”

  Olivia slammed her hand to her mouth. “What? H-how?” she stammered.

  Durbin slid his glasses higher on his nose. “I have alerts set for motion detection on the cameras around your house. I noticed him breaking in and called you. You didn’t answer.”

  “I was settling in to go to sleep when you called.” Olivia shook her head.

  “I wanted to warn you. When you didn’t answer, I called the cops. I grabbed my gun and headed here not knowing how long it would be for them to arrive. I entered through the window in the guest room. Your intruder left it cracked open. I followed your screams and found the two of you running around in the kitchen.”

  “He snuck into my bedroom. Thank God, I heard him and hid in the closet with my gun. I tried to shoot him. My gun jammed.” Olivia’s body tremored. “I remember him ramming into me. I managed to get away and ran into the kitchen.”

  “I’m glad I made it here just in time.” Although Durbin’s voice had a reassuring calmness to it, the veins protruding from his neck showed his angered emotions about the situation.

  “Me, too. Thank God.”

  They stood together and stared at the unmoving body on the floor. The reality of the night’s events began to set in. Durbin placed his hands on Olivia’s shoulders and rotated her to face him. His eyes darted back and forth across her face. “You’re safe now. He can’t harm you anymore.”

  Olivia realized she’d been holding her breath from the tension in her body. She wrapped her arms around Durbin and enjoyed the security of his strength. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if
you hadn’t shown up.” She leaned back and gazed at Durbin with appreciation.

  “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  Olivia turned from Durbin and leaned above the intruder. She bent at the waist and yanked the ski mask from his face.

  “You, bastard,” she screamed and slapped the man on his cheek as hard as she could. He didn’t budge.

  “Olivia, stop.” Durbin pulled Olivia back. “Do you know him?”

  “Yes. I’ve known him for years,” Olivia spat. “He’s my psychologist of all people. Dr. Blair Fluellen. I can’t believe this psycho broke into my house.”

  “No way. Why do you think he did it?” Durbin asked and kept his eyes on Blair.

  “I don’t even know. I had a strange encounter with him on my last visit. He’s married to one of my classmates, Quinn. She’s in a mental health facility and he told me not to visit her,” Olivia recalled. “I did anyway. Quinn told me he drugged her and committed her to the psych ward. He had to have been afraid of the possibility of me turning him in to the police.”

  “I bet you’re right,” Durbin replied.

  Anger filled Olivia’s chest. She raised her hand and slapped both sides of Blair’s face again. He stirred with a labored moan. His eyes flew open.

  Durbin yanked the gun from his back pocket. He aimed it at Blair. “Don’t move. If you do, I’ll shoot.”

  Blair’s eyes widened with fear. He held his hands in front of his chest in surrender. “I’m not moving. Please, don’t shoot me.”

  “He won’t put another bullet in you. I should.” Olivia cocked her arm back and punched him in his chin. Her knuckles hurt from the impact. She didn’t care. “How dare you come into my house and attack me.”

  “Oww. Olivia, stop hitting me.” Blair grabbed his face where her fist landed. “Can’t you see I have a bullet in my side? I think I’m dying.”

  “Are you kidding me? Do you think I care? You’re lucky I didn’t get my shot off, too. I aimed for your heart,” Olivia seethed. “Now, you’re lying on my floor making a mess with your nasty blood.”

  “I need an ambulance,” Blair moaned. He clutched his bloody abdomen with his hands. His face scrunched with agonizing pain.

  “Oh. You’ll get an ambulance alright, along with handcuffs.” Olivia let out a sinister laugh. “Hear those sirens? Yes, sir. They’re coming for you. What the hell made you think breaking into my house was okay?”

  Blair’s face clouded in anger. “We were supposed to be together.”

  “Me and you?” Olivia exclaimed in disbelief.

  “Why do you think I sent the flowers and a new racquet? I wanted to make you believe someone cared about you.”

  “You sent those things to me? You could’ve saved your money,” Olivia scoffed. “Blair, have you forgotten the fact you are married to Quinn?”

  “I wasn’t married the first seven times I asked you out on a date. I only married her since I didn’t have a choice,” Blair bellowed. Durbin moved closer with his gun still pointed at him. “You need to pay for ruining my life.” Spit sprayed from his lips. He coughed and gripped his side.

  “What are you talking about, Blair? You sound ridiculous right now. How could I ruin your life?” Olivia asked.

  “You were meant to be mine. I only married Quinn since she claimed to be pregnant. She lied.” His eyes blazed at Olivia with hatred. “I wanted you. I never would’ve been with her. You forced me into Quinn’s arms when you rejected me.”

  Olivia shook her head in pity. “You have lost your mind. I never would’ve dated you. You aren’t my type.”

  Blair sneered. “See. That’s what I’m talking about. This is exactly why your husband cheated on you. You’re insecure about yourself for a good reason. All you do is try to compensate by being an uppity, conceited whore who sets houses on fire.”

  Olivia circled Blair. “You can’t hurt me with your words. I know who I am and I love myself now.”

  “You expect me to believe that? Did you forget you’ve told me your whole life story? I know everything about you. Everything.”

  His mocking of her didn’t faze Olivia. “Well, what I know about you is going to get you locked up. Based on what’s happened tonight, I believe you poisoned Quinn and tried to make it seem like she has gone crazy. You did it, didn’t you?”

  “That is the other reason why I had to come here to shut you up,” Blair shouted.

  “Yeah. We see where it got you.” Olivia jabbed him upside his head with her hand.

  “This isn’t over, Olivia,” Blair threatened and attempted to grab her leg. She jumped away from his grasp and laughed.

  Durbin blocked the space in between Blair and Olivia. He towered above Blair with his gun pointed toward him. “Keep your hands off of her.”

  Olivia’s heart fluttered from seeing Durbin stand up for her. She liked the way his eyes blazed with an aura of fierceness she hadn’t noticed before. He didn’t appear geeky at all.

  A voice yelled from outside followed by a pounding on the door. “This is the San Antonio Police Department. Open up.”

  Olivia scurried to the door and yelled, “This is Dr. Olivia Maxwell. I’m the owner of this house and I am about to open the door. Come in and get the intruder out of here.” She nodded for Durbin to put his gun away before she let them in. She couldn’t risk the chance of the police grabbing the wrong man.

  “The person you want is laying on my kitchen floor. Dr. Blair Fluellen,” Olivia shouted through the door and opened it.

  Two officers in uniform rushed in with guns drawn and followed Olivia’s finger directing them to the kitchen. Durbin stood back and pointed to Blair.

  “Blair Fluellen. You are under arrest,” the lankier of the two officers announced as the stocky one produced a set of handcuffs. He kneeled to begin securing Blair.

  “Ouch. Wait a minute. I’ve been shot in my side,” Blair cried with a pained expression.

  The officer lifted Blair’s shirt and inspected the wound. “It doesn’t appear to be life-threatening. The bullet merely grazed you. We’ll call for someone to tend to your injury.”

  Olivia jumped in front of his face and shouted, “You broke into my house. What did you think would happen to you? Huh?”

  The lanky officer turned to Olivia with his hand raised to stop her from moving any closer. “Ma’am. Please step back. We’ll handle it from here.” Durbin drew Olivia near him.

  “Wait a minute. Did you mention, Dr. Blair Fluellen?” the short officer questioned with a puzzled look.

  “Yes. I am Dr. Blair Fluellen. A well-known psychologist here in San Antonio. I demand you remove these handcuffs from me,” Blair huffed despite his pain.

  The officers whispered to each other. They turned back to Blair. “Dr. Fluellen. There is a warrant out for your arrest.”

  “Excuse me. What are you talking about?” Blair asked.

  “Your wife filed a report about you poisoning her. There is evidence to back up her story,” the lanky officer stated.

  “What are you talking about?” Blair appeared flabbergasted and bellowed. “She’s lying and crazy. I will sue the hospital for mismanaging her medications.”

  “You have the right to remain silent,” the lanky officer read him his rights as they guided him out of Olivia’s home.

  “I refuse to let you treat me like a common criminal. I demand you let me call my attorney,” Blair shouted from outside. “I need medical assistance. I have a bullet in me.”

  Olivia’s mouth hung open in shock in regards to all she heard. She turned to face Durbin, who appeared confused by everything.

  “Oh, my Lord. This fool not only broke into my house, but he also poisoned his wife and committed her to a mental institution. What the hell?” Olivia held her face in disbelief.

  “Come here,” Durbin embraced Olivia. “Are you okay?”

  “I can’t stop shaking. This has got to all be a nightmare.” Olivia leaned her head on
to Durbin’s chest and let him comfort her.

  “It’s going to be okay. He’s gone,” Durbin said.

  Olivia allowed herself to sink into Durbin’s arms. “Yes. It is all going to be okay. Thank you.”

  Epilogue

  Olivia

  One year later

  Olivia lifted her Chanel sunglasses to view surfers who navigated their way on the powerful Tahitian waves. Tiny heads bobbed in the water before their daring feats to ride on the crest of swells synchronized with their minds. She grabbed her phone from the beach bag to capture a few pictures of aquatic balancing acts while gliding inside the barrels of waves.

  The smell of the ocean along with the sound of roaring waves crashing to shore brought about a sense of much-needed peace. The after-the-storm period of her life had finally arrived. Olivia recognized her strength in surviving what could have driven others crazy.

  She settled into a moment of reflection. What a difference a year makes. The kids were thriving in schools in San Antonio. The self-harm with cutting had become a thing of the past with Simone. She became an ambassador for an organization that provided education to kids about the dangers of cutting.

  Olivia’s heart filled with pride each time Simone spoke at events about her experience with cutting. Olivia was also involved by sharing with parents about how they could seek help. Their relationship as mother and daughter strengthened despite all that transpired.

  Christian surprised everyone when he decided to give up playing basketball. Olivia had taken the kids to a FAMU football game where he saw the Marching 100 band and fell in love with the tuba players. He decided he wanted to take tuba lessons in preparation for the middle school band in a couple of years.

  Malcolm and Olivia communicated only regarding the needs of the children. He began working for the City of San Antonio, where he earned a dependable salary. He and the kids moved into a comfortable house which wasn’t a pigpen.

 

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