Revival

by Kirkpatrick, S.

  I take off running towards him, all my anger and pain of the last four years fueling my every step. He has no fucking idea who I’ve become since last we met. But he’s about to find out.

  As soon as I’m close enough, I slash the knife through the air, slicing his cheek open. He’s been so fond of knives for so long, it only seems fitting that he’s on the receiving end of it as his penance.

  “Oh, that does it you little cunt!” He yells, lunging towards me. “Just you wait until I get that knife back. I’m going to stab it in your fucking tainted uterus.”

  I throw the knife to the side and raise my fists. I refuse to be anything like him. I don’t need to stoop that low. I can handle this on my own, just me. I don’t need an equalizer.

  Time to make Phil proud.

  Time to introduce Rob to Mad Max.

  I land an uppercut to his jaw before his arms have the opportunity to grab me. I duck to the side as he stumbles backward from the force of my punch. Phil never let me spar when my head wasn’t clear. He always said at it keeps you on the offense rather than seeing enough of what’s going on to be strategic and play the defense when needed.

  Time to work that to my favor.

  “How’s it feel to be on the receiving end of things, Rob?” I taunt him, intentionally riling him up further. I want him angry, angrier than he’s ever been in his entire life. I want him blinded by his hatred.

  He rights himself, coming at me once again, refusing to back down. But now that I’m free of those ropes, I refuse to be a victim of his ever again. I survived him once, I’ll damn sure do it again.

  He lunges for me. Growling as he does so. I sidestep at the last second, sweeping his legs out from under him, causing him to fall face-first on the concrete floor.

  “Do you know what I thought the first time Abel was inside of me?”

  He roars out his anger, not able to form actual words, just animalist sounds to try and help expel some of his anger. It won’t work.

  I wait patiently while he rises to his feet and turns towards me.

  “I didn’t know men could actually bring a woman to orgasm. It had never happened to me before. I thought it was a myth. Guess the problem was just you all along.”

  He lunges again, practically foaming at the mouth, officially at his breaking point with what little sanity he may have left. Exactly where I wanted him.

  I bring my leg up and kick him in the chin, sending him sailing back, but he quickly recovers. I run towards him and as he stands. He throws a punch, missing me by less than an inch. Something inside of me snaps, I plant my feet and start swinging, fist, elbow, fist elbow, delivering blow after blow as he scrambles to get the upper hand. Those days are over for him. Phil trained me well. I raise a leg and put all of my strength into a sidekick straight to his gut, sending him sailing into the side of the pillar Bree’s body is dangling from.

  Doesn’t feel good, does it, fucker?

  I run and pounce, kicking him in the balls while he’s down causing him to huddle his body into the fetal position.

  He’s had that coming for years!

  I slide in behind him, bringing his body between my legs. I make quick work of wrapping my legs around his front and dig into his thighs. This pushes his legs outward from his body, forcing his brain to tell his arms to disengage from his worthless tiny dick and try to remove my legs from his.

  It’s a move intended to be smoke and mirrors. It doesn’t allow you to sense the impending threat. Without training, the brain can only focus on one intrusion at a time. Without proper training, the human brain generally chooses wrong.

  The moment his arms are up, reaching towards his legs, I grab him by his elbows, folding his arms in half behind his head so that they look like broken chicken wings. I quickly slide my hands down his forearm, grab his wrists and twist his arms outward until I hear both of his shoulders snap. He screams out in agony and it’s music to my ears.

  For this first time in my life, I get high off of causing someone else pain.

  I push out from behind him and stand quickly as his arms limply fall to his sides, both shoulders dislocated and completely useless. He falls on his back, unable to sit back up without the use of his arms. I take the opportunity to jump into the air, bringing all of my weight down on his right thigh, shattering his femur. I straddle his torso and grab his face in both my hands, bringing us face to face as he screams out and writhes in absolute suffering.

  “Understand this, Rob. I will never allow you to hurt anyone ever again. We’ve all suffered because of you long enough. Whatever sick and twisted shit you had planned, it ends now. I win, you lose.”

  As soon as I get the words out of my mouth, Rob headbutts me with all the force left in his body, reassuring me that as long as there is air in his lungs, he’ll never stop trying to hurt me.

  I sit back up, grab the hair at the top of his head and start bashing his skull into the concrete.

  “I. Said. You. Will. Never. Hurt. Anyone. Ever. Again.”

  Every word I speak echoes throughout the room along with the crack and splat of Rob’s skull.

  “I.” Crack.

  “Hate.” Crack.

  “You.” Spalt.

  I keep going, slamming his head down as hard as I can, expelling all my pent-up anger, my heartache, my years of abuse, my years of recovery, all the pain he’s caused. I sob through my victory where I take charge and end his evil reign once and for all.

  Every single inch of my body aches, throbs, and begs for me to quit exerting so much energy. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to speak, but nothing hurts worse than the thought of him touching me or Bree ever again.

  Crack.

  Crack.

  Splat!

  I finally let go of his head and stumble off of him, shaking from the adrenaline. There’s so much blood surrounding us, and I don’t even care, I haven’t seen the inside of a bathroom since the last time I used it at DRAB. This blood is the least of my worries.

  I’m finally free. We’re finally free.

  Oh my god, Bree!

  I scan the room for the knife I threw and run over to grab it. I run back to where her unconscious body hangs from the pillar, sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Please be alive, please be alive.”

  I have to wipe off the tears and the blood covering my face so I can see the ropes. My vision is so blurry and my hands are shaking so damn much. I’m terrified I’m accidentally going to cut her instead of the ropes.

  “Don’t you die on me, Bree. Don’t you dare fucking die on me!”

  I cut the first rope on her legs, followed by the one across her chest. Her limp body falls forward and I have to move quickly to drop the knife so I can catch her with both hands, bringing her down to the ground with me. I find her pulse and start sobbing even harder.

  She’s alive. Holy fucking shit she’s alive!

  We made it.

  I cradle her unconscious body in my arms, rocking back and forth as my tears land all over her face. I bring my forehead down on hers, still rocking the entire time.

  “I love you so much, Bree. Thank you. Thank you for giving me a way to save us. I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

  I can’t believe it’s finally over.

  Holding Bree so close that our hearts beat against each other’s, the dam breaks and I wail out so loud that I fear the concrete may collapse around us. It’s the most cathartic cry I’ve ever had and I can’t stop it. There are so many emotions pouring out of me.

  Elation.

  Relief.

  Sorrow.

  Agony.

  Pain.

  Fear.

  You don’t get through what we’ve been through together without a piece of you shattering in the process. I’m terrified that the Bree that got taken might not be the Bree that I bring back. I know I wasn’t the same person when I came out of that hospital four years ago.

  Over my sobs, I he
ar the door open and I jump, clutching Bree tighter to my chest.

  “Max!”

  “Abel! Abel, is that really you?” I sob.

  Abel, Dex, and two uniformed officers run over to where Bree and I are huddled on the ground. Surrounding us so quick I jolt from the sudden intrusion.

  Abel takes in the scene in front of him, his eyes skating from me to Bree, to Rob’s body lying on the ground three feet from us, and back again.

  “Call the paramedics in you guys, we have to get them to the hospital, now!” Abel screams.

  When Abel reaches me, he collapses on the ground and stalls. His eyes caress every inch, his hands hovering over us, not knowing where to touch. I can only imagine what we must look like to a fresh set of eyes. When I let one hand go of Bree to reach for him, he brings me and Bree into his arms clutching us with all his might. We’re both sobbing uncontrollably as Dex falls in behind us. I meet Dex’s eyes and he looks at Bree’s unconscious body, silently begging for answers.

  “She’s alive.” I tell him and allow him to take Bree in his arms as he cradles her in his arms, afraid to be too rough.

  I have no idea how long we’ve been gone. I have no idea what day it is, or what fucking month it is. But I know that Rob is dead and both Bree and I survived. I’m in Abel’s arms, and finally… Fucking finally. We get to go home.

  ***

  I wake to the sound of a rhythmic beeping in my ears. I slowly open my eyes, momentarily confused when I find myself able to move my hands. All the events with Rob come crashing over me like an electric shock and I sit up so fast my head swims and my upper body begins to sway.

  Fuck! My ribs…

  “Max, oh gosh you’re awake!” I hear Kat cry. “Here, lay back down, let me get a nurse.”

  Kat helps lay my torso back on the bed and takes off out of the room. I can hear her high pitched squeals screaming out for nurses to come to my room.

  I raise my hand to wipe the mountain of sleep out of my eyes and I feel bandages across the right side of my face and my nose. My jaw feels stiff, like a bad case of lockjaw, and I can’t open it. I hurt all over…

  “Well good evening, Ms. Porter. Welcome back.” An elderly woman says as she enters the room with a cheery, but soft voice.

  Kat follows right behind her, tears streaming down her face as she wordlessly moves around to the side of my bed. She leans in to kiss my forehead, a few of her tears falling on my nose as she does. She sits in the chair next to my bed and wordlessly takes my hand in hers, lightly squeezing it and nodding back to the doctor.

  “Ms. Porter, can you hear me?” The doctor asks.

  I try so hard to respond but I can’t open my jaw. My fingers raise to my lips, unsure what’s going on with my body.

  “My name is Doctor Ray. Try not to move too much Ms. Porter, you’ve sustained several injuries.”

  I don’t listen, I make a move to sit up, to try and find out what the hell is going on with my body. Kat’s other hand grabs my shoulder and eases me back to the bed as tears fill my eyes. I’m so scared, I have no idea what’s going on. I have no idea where Abel is.

  “Max sweetie, please just lay still and listen for a minute okay?” Kat asks me, choking back a sob.

  We’ve been in this exact position before, she and I. Waking up in a hospital with Kat by my side isn’t something I’m new at. It’s sadly a pattern we’ve been in since I was a teenager.

  “Ms. Porter.” The doctor calls out to me, pulling my attention from Kat’s tear-stained face.

  “Please shake your head yes or no. Can you hear me?” The doctor asks.

  I nod yes as a tear slips down my face.

  “Okay, that’s a good start. Do you remember the events leading up to your hospitalization?”

  I close my eyes and nod, seeing Bree’s body dangling from the pillar and Rob’s dead body on the ground. I open my eyes in a frenzy and look back to Kat, pleading for her to tell me what the hell is going on.

  Is Bree okay? Oh god! Are the twins okay?

  “I know you have lots of questions, Max. Let the doctor do her job and then we can go over everything after okay?”

  I sigh, knowing the routine. I nod my head and look back to the doctor.

  “Ms. Porter you received several lacerations to the face that we had to sew closed. We had a plastic surgeon consult on your case and he was adamant about ensuring you of minimal scarring. Your nose and cheek were broken but we did surgery to realign them both. Your jaw was fractured, but not broken. We currently have your jaw immobilized, but not wired shut. You also sustained two broken ribs. You were severely dehydrated, but all in all, you should be out of here in the next couple of days. Your jaw will need to remain immobilized for the next several weeks. I’ve read all of your previous medical files, Ms. Porter. You’re a tough one, one of the toughest I’ve ever seen.”

  I look at the doctor and point to my stomach, eyes bulging, pleading.

  “Yes Ms. Porter, both of your babies are fine. You’re currently 9 weeks along and all signs point to a healthy pregnancy. Although I would implore you to take it easy for the remainder of your first trimester. I can arrange an ultrasound for you if you’d like.”

  I turn to Kat and write Abel’s name in her hand.

  “He’s at the courthouse, babe. He’s been here every second that he can, but he couldn’t get out of this one today, unfortunately.” She tells me.

  I point to my stomach, to the doctor, and then write Abel’s name again.

  Kat looks over to Doctor Ray. “I think she wants to wait for Abel to get here before she has the ultrasound.” She looks back to me, a small smile playing on her lips. “Is that right.”

  I nod and the clutch her hand back in mine.

  “I can arrange that. I’ll get send in some ice chips and leave you to it then. Please page if you need anything.” Doctor Ray says as she leaves the room.

  I look over to Kat and use my hands to motion for paper and a pen. Ever the artist, she has a small notebook and a pen in her bag.

  I scribble a note and hold it out to her.

  She said I’m 9 weeks.

  That’s a lot of time in between when I went missing and now.

  Tell me everything!!!

  Kat goes on to tell me how everyone pitched in and together gathered all sorts of information. Apparently, Rob’s been not only using, but dealing massive quantities of heroin for Martin Hernandez for years. Long before we got together. The vacations he used to take me on as apologies for his abuse were actually jobs Martin had sent him on. This was able to buy him protection on the inside to make a case for good behavior when he went up for his first parole hearing.

  Apparently one of the parole committee members was having an affair with Rob’s cell mate’s cousin and Martin used that against them to pay them off and threaten them. Lauren managed to get Rob out on his first hearing while Josh set everything up on the outside. Officer Tobias Franks apparently has a gambling problem and ended up losing a great deal of money. Martin Hernandez bought off his debt in exchange for him being on his payroll, keeping him and anyone he deemed fit, from being caught.

  Rob’s attorney was a dirty scumbag. Plain and simple. Martin paid, and he happily went along with whatever was requested. Attorney visits aren’t monitored in jail so he was able to help Rob get all the information and use his access to gain information on everyone and help Rob set this whole thing in motion.

  When Jake, ever the techy nerd that we all love him for, was able to connect the dots, Abel and Dex went to the attorney’s house. Let’s just say I’m not the only one who beat a man to a bloody pulp that day. Lucky for the attorney, he didn’t suffer the same demise as Rob.

  Abel and Dex got the location where Bree and I were being held at, called Shane, and set the rescue squad in motion.

  Everyone’s been brought in on a crazy amount of charges and Abel had to go to the courthouse to meet with a judge that helped our family out
, to give a statement and help seal the fates of everyone involved.

  I was missing for a little over a week, but I’ve been sedated for the last two weeks to go through surgeries and help my body heal from the injuries I sustained.

  So much has happened… It’s crazy to wrap my head around everything and come to terms with the fact that it’s all over. For good. I never have to worry about Rob ever again.

  Not in four years, not in ten.

  Never. Again.

  I lived so long in fear of the day he was released and what might come of it. Never in a million years did I expect this. But at the end of the day, I guess it could have been a lot worse, right? I’m alive, the twins are growing healthy, and Rob is dead.

  Yeah, it could have been so much worse.

  I may have killed a man, and it may make me fucking crazy, but I won’t lose an ounce of sleep over it.

  He tried so hard to break me. Hell, I thought he already had. But Abel showed up in my life and pieced me back together, reminding me that I’m not a victim, I’m a survivor. I’m not broken, I never was. I was just struggling to fix those small pieces that were bent inside.

  My mind fixates on that, pulling a song out of my memory that solidifies those thoughts. I hear Danny Case and Matt Brandyberry’s voices in my head as if they were singing directly in my ear. A hot tear rolls down my cheek, reminding me that I may be battered, I may be bent, but I won’t ever be broken.

  ‘It’s nothing new to me, what you do to me. I’ve seen it all time and time again. I had to fall for me to find my head. I’m staying true to me, yeah, I know who to be. It might be hard for you to comprehend that where we are in life is not the end. I’m standing in the dark. I’ve been damaged from the start. But I know in my heart that I won’t be, be broken.’

  The lyrics pour into my head like a mantra. The same mantra I will share with Bree as she goes through whatever recovery she faces from this. It’s going to be a long journey no matter what, but I’ll be by her side the whole time, holding her up when she threatens to fall.