by Holt, Leah
And in the mess of him beating me down, there must have been a kick. According to the doctor, my broken ribs resulted from a serious hard blow.
But with the adrenaline rushing in that moment of horror, I didn't feel any of it.
Overall, I looked like I had been hit by a car and taken for a spin under the wheel. Every inch of my body was sore, but my face was a giant pulsating pile of pain.
Oh and there's something else...
Not yet, now is not the time.
“I'll be fine, Mom. But my meals are going to be shit for awhile, huh?” I tried to laugh, the fake chuckle escaping by force.
Her eyes opened wide, shining with a spark of humor as her lip lifted into a crescent moon. “I'm glad you can humor yourself, but your meals have been shit unless you were eating at home anyway.” Rubbing my arm, she pulled the universal staple of a hospital blanket higher on my chest.
“Please don't make me laugh too hard, it hurts.” Letting my eyes close, I tried to wish the intense pain away. Only to start hitting the red button on my bed to signal the nurses I needed more pain medication.
Wishing wasn't doing shit.
“Excuse me, Ms. Boyd, this is Detective West.” Dr. Creed was standing next to an older man, dressed in a deep black suit. “He would like to ask you a few questions, if you feel up to it.”
The detective cut in, holding up his leather wallet, and letting it flop open to display his shiny silver badge. “Ms. Boyd, it really would be best if we did this now. Especially while it's all still fresh. I don't want to bombard you with questions, I know you're in pain. But if we're going to catch this guy, we need any info you can give us.”
You're not going to catch him, because I can't tell you the truth.
Nodding my head, I asked, “Can my mother stay?”
“It's up to you. Do you think she'll be able to handle hearing the whole story? Mrs. Boyd, I don't mean to talk like you're not here, but this is up to your daughter.”
Looking at my mom, she had an uncomfortable glare in her eyes. I don't even think she knew if she could handle hearing what happened.
Not that what I was going to tell the detective was even going to remotely be close to the true story.
“Mom, do you want to stay?”
Pursing her lips, she said, “You know, I think I'll go talk with the doctor, find out about what you're going to need once they release you.” Standing, she played with the edges of my crusty, crimson coated hair. “Unless you want me to stay, Honey. I'll stay if you need me to.”
Shaking my head no, I smiled. “No, I'll be fine. Go talk to Dr. Creed. He'll make you feel better anyway.”
Tossing me one last smile with her eyes, she kissed my forehead, and stepped out of the room.
Detective West flipped open a small notepad, tugging a pen from behind his ear. His hair was peppered with black and gray, a trace of youthfulness still hung on his face.
I wondered if he was actually younger than I pegged him for, one of those men that go gray much sooner in life.
Flattening his tie against his chest, he pointed to a chair at my side. “May I?”
“Yeah, help yourself.” I mumbled out, my voice a shade deeper than usual. My throat was dry and scratchy, the small ice chips the nurses left on my tray did nothing to quench the desert in my throat.
“Okay, so let's start at the beginning. What time did you get home? Where were you coming from? Run me through your night up to the attack.”
In that moment, I thanked my parents for having more than one child. Having grown up with a brother like mine, fibbing became second nature. I had learned early on how to falsify silly stories to get him in trouble, or get me out of trouble.
Another thing I suddenly missed, and my heart began to hurt more than my body.
“Well, I came home from work about eleven-thirty. Nothing seemed unusual, I gathered my things together in the car before getting out. Then I started up to my door, when a guy came running out of nowhere.”
The detective nodded attentively, jotting notes on the paper.
Imaginary notes I'm creating on the spot.
Mostly on the spot, I had of course given myself a pre-story before calling for the ambulance.
“Then what happened? Did he come at you from behind?” Holding his pen, Detective West sat in a momentary state of suspension. His finger eagerly tapped the pen, staring at me for more information.
“Honestly I'm not too sure, I caught a quick flash over my shoulder. But he hit me so hard I fell to the ground, I can't say for sure if he was behind or to the side.”
His hand moved wildly against the white lined tablet he wrote on. “Then what?”
“He hit me a few times, then yelled for money. I didn't have any, so he beat on me a few more times. How much, again I'm not sure. At that point everything went into slow motion, and I blacked out.”
“Did you ever see his face? Any identifying marks?”
Yeah, he was a weaselly looking man. Mustache, sinister stare, royal dick.
“No, I didn't get a good look at him.”
“What about a car? Did he get into one when he left?”
“I'm not sure, I blacked out. I woke up on the sidewalk, and he was gone.”
“No one else saw anything? Were there any other witnesses?” His mouth contorted into a warped figure eight.
Is he buying it?
It was hard to tell. He wasn't really giving me anything to go on. His facial expression was a torrent of hard and soft stares, he fiddled with his notepad, shifted in his seat.
I wasn't sure if he was questioning my story inside. But I stayed as calm as I could, firm in my words and actions of the night.
“I don't know, no one came running to help. So I'm assuming not. Shit, if they did and just kept going after seeing some fucker beating a woman, then hell has a special place in it for them.”
Hell has a special place for Vito. And so help me if I get the chance, he's going to meet his maker.
I had never felt so angry or enraged in my life. He had turned me into a walking hand grenade. And I was ready to pull the pin, give him a taste of his own medicine.
Avni, not now. It's too dangerous. You have another life to think about.
“Is there anything else you can remember? Anything at all that might help us find the creep who did this?”
His name was Vito.
“No, I don't think so.”
Flicking his card from his pocket, he held it between two fingers in my direction. “If you think of anything else, anything at all, you give me a call. Alright?” Nodding 'yes,' I took the small card stock rectangle. “You're a lucky girl, Avni.”
Forcing yet another smile across my face, he turned and left me alone with my thoughts. Alone with my false police report filling my head.
Alone.
I don't want to be alone, I don't want to die alone.
I want... Levi.
***
Shuffling my feet across the tiles of my kitchen, I kicked on the gas to make a nice hot cup of tea.
Finally released from the hospital, it took them two days to send me home. My mom tried to coax me back to her house, said she would take good care of me. I just wanted to go home and sleep in my own bed.
Luckily, we were able to compromise. She was going to come over everyday and make sure I ate, had my medicine, and ensure there was no danger.
That one made me giggle.
I didn't like lying to my mom about the real reason I had been turned into a human punching bag. I just had no other choice, it was for the best.
And now, I had to try and pull myself off the bottom. Because it wasn't just me anymore. I had to come to terms with the hand I've been dealt, I had to learn to cope with the nasty things life threw my way.
Because I was pregnant.
Pregnant.
Even thinking the word felt strange and unworldly to me.
I was on birth control, so how the hell does that happen?
&nbs
p; I knew how, and it wasn't because Levi had super sperm that battled a fierce army inside my womb, breaking through and conquering my core.
The why and how was actually more simple than I could ever have imagined, and never took into consideration.
Antibiotics.
All I could do was curse my damn body's natural magnet for UTI's and embrace the new life that was claiming my belly.
Levi had tried to call me over a dozen times, the messages he sent went from curious to panicked.
I had picked up my phone to call him several times, but my nerves had gotten the best of me. I knew he'd be pissed and frantic.
He had called, he never called. Of course he must have been in a nerve-wracking frenzy!
The hard part was thinking of the news I had to give him. I played it over and over in my head.
How I would say it, what words I would use. Wondering if I should just blurt it out, or maybe do something special to hint at it.
Either way, he needed to know.
And he was forever going to have a concrete place in my world.
Mother, mom, mommy; a new label I was going to have to adjust to.
There was no more room for self pity and walls.
Because my life just went from one to two.
Chapter Nineteen
Levi
Her car has been there, but where the fuck is she?
Avni hadn't returned my calls, she wouldn't answer the door. My fear and worry was boiling at a rapid pace. It'd been way too long with no contact, and I had no clue where her family lived.
We were supposed to make plans to go to her parents for dinner, I was finally going to meet her dad this weekend. And now, she seemed to disappear.
Was she having second thoughts about me meeting her dad? Nothing seems to make sense!
T was still home, each time I was at her door, I could hear his little feet scratching the wood. But I never heard her voice, no feet padded across the floor. My stomach had spent the past few days sitting in my throat.
The soft buzz of my phone against the table sent my nerves into a stampede of electric shocks. Grabbing it, I flicked the screen open.
-Sorry I haven't called. Come over and I can explain everything.
My heart began to race, the thought of her trying to pull away again stabbed my brain like a serrated knife.
She had come so far, each day slowly giving me more and more of her. The way she walked was different, her laugh held more weight, even her smile would split from nothing.
Now this, she'd been avoiding me and is finally ready to talk. For the first time, I felt angry at her. To take a step back and try to build her wall again; it was bullshit.
And I wasn't going to let her back out, she was finally feeling true happiness. Something she thought she lost long ago, even though it was always there locked deep inside.
Slamming my door shut, I hit the pavement. I wasn't going to waste one more second. She could talk, I would let her; then it would be my turn.
This time I wasn't going to go easy on her. It was time for me to throw it out there. I knew what I wanted, and that was Avni.
The short walk over seemed to take a lifetime. I walked two steps at a time, and it still seemed to be so much further away. No matter how quickly I went, the time was in slow motion.
Reaching her steps, I jumped the first three, landing on the top stoop. The door slowly pulled open.
I was ready to yell, curse, tell her to stop ignoring herself and finally admit that I meant more to her than a fucking bodyguard or friend with benefits.
Lifting my eyes to meet hers, all the warming sensations slammed to a halt. “What the fuck happened to you?” My hands slipped over her cheeks, cupping her face. I didn't expect the sight that met my eyes.
Avni's face was swollen, deep splashes of blue and purple painted her skin. Her already plump and silky lips were engorged and split, cracking around the blackened stitches holding them together.
Her eye was almost swollen shut, puffing up around the lid and keeping her beautiful eye encased in a tomb. Small scratches rode across her hands, broken nails and splints fitted her fingers.
“Who do you think happened to me?” Her harsh tone speared me, careening my heart in the center and stopping it briefly.
Gritting my teeth, I spoke low. “Vito, he did this?” Brushing her hair behind her ears, Avni swatted my hand away.
Hatred filled my soul that a man could actually put his hands on a woman that way, on my woman that way.
“Don't.” She snapped, making my chest hurt.
To see her broken, to see what he had done to her... My blood hit a new boiling point, liquid fire was feeding my body.
This was what I was supposed to protect her from, this was what she needed me for, and I wasn't there.
A surge of anger, turned rage, turned sadness, turned failure.
I wasn't there for her.
And in my absence, he had stretched out his hand of punishment.
Vito had taken the angel that flew into my world, the sacred winged creature that resurrected life back into my blackened heart, and pounded her into the dirt.
“I'm going to kill him.” Balling my fists, the nails buried deep into my palm.
Wrapping her arms tight around her ribs, she turned and headed inside. Her body looked weak and exhausted. Her steps labored and soft.
I wanted to scoop her up, coil her in my arms and sweep all her pain away.
Lowering to the couch, her small companion hopped up by her side. “I know it looks bad, Levi. But I'm okay.”
“Okay? That bastard beat the fuck out of you. You're not okay.” Throwing my fingers through my hair, my hand rested on my hip. I wanted to sit down, wanted to let her fall into my chest.
But my muscles were teeming with hatred, chest hurting with anger. I was ready to bolt out the door and hunt down my enemy.
“Yeah, he beat the shit out me. That's why I haven't returned your calls, I was in the hospital.”
“Why didn't you call me sooner? I would've come to the hospital.” Lunging to her side, I sat on my haunches. “I'm not letting this happen, I'm not letting him get away with this.”
“It's done, Levi. He did it, he beat the shit out of me. What are you going to do? Run and find a ghost that doesn't exist? Even if you could find him, then what?”
“Then what?! I'm going to kill this fucking guy, that's what! How can you just dismiss it like it doesn't matter?” Jolting upright, I bit my knuckles.
How could she just sit there and think like that?
She didn't deserve this, and I was going to make sure he couldn't hurt her again.
I had given her my word, and I failed.
I wasn't going to fail again. There was no fucking way.
“You can't do that, I won't let you. If I just give him what he wants then he'll be gone. I just have to figure out how.” Grabbing her forehead, she fell forward into her hands. “I don't know what else to do.”
“I'm not going to just sit back and let that fucker get away with this. I can't!”
The soldier in me wanted to run off and hunt him down, put a bullet in his head.
But in the same instance, I wanted to stay by her side, never leave her alone again. If he came back while I was out trying to find him, Lord knows what he'd do.
And I didn't know how I'd deal with that. But I also couldn't sit by and wait for him to show up. I was taking charge of this fucking mess, and ending it now.
“Levi! You can't, I can't let you put yourself at death's door. He showed me no mercy, he certainly isn't going to think twice about putting a bullet between your eyes.”
“I don't care, Avni! I can't stand by and watch this happen. I'm not letting him win.”
“Fuck, Levi, just stop. I can fix this myself, I can. I don't need you getting involved and making it worse.” Avni's eye was wide, her deep hazel glare penetrating me in one look.
I wanted to take her right there. In all my anger over w
hat Vito had done to her, my cock surged to please her.
To give her pleasure to replace her pain, to give her ecstasy in place of torment.
“You can't stop this, I need to end it. He can't come back here, he can't touch you again. Avni, this is out of your control, can't you see that?” Dipping to my knees, I squeezed her wrists. “Can't you see this is bigger than you? I promised you I was going to keep you safe. I failed once, I won't fail again.”
“This isn't about that, Levi. You couldn't have known he would do this, I didn't. And I do need you, but I need you here.” Her swollen fingers gripped my hand, face lowering to meet my gaze. “You can't risk your life, not anymore.”
Cocking a brow, I shook my head. “I'm not going to stand by and watch this happen, I'm not.”
Her face was soft, eyes washing over me with concern, despair, tenderness. Placing her hand on my shoulder, she stiffened her back. “I can't let you do that. There's something you need to know.” Nervous twinges hit her wrist, tapping against my shoulder.
“I don't need to know anything, Avni. I need to fix this. And that's what I'm going to do, I have to.” Jerking away, I stood up and headed for the door.
“No, you need to hear this, it's important!” Her eyes burned into the back of my skull, descending in a snap. “Levi—”
No matter how much I wanted to stay, I had to find him. Vito was going to pay for what he did to her, for what he did to my woman.
My feet were unsteady, hands shaking and balling by my sides. Red had bled into my eyes. Rage had finally overtaken any and all rational thoughts that might have tried to force their way in.
At that point, I didn't care about my career, I didn't care about my life; it was only vengeance.
He was going to feel the pain he had created, he was going to experience fearing for his own life. And until he was begging me for forgiveness, begging me to let him live; I wouldn't stop.
Avni's voice faded into the distance as I took off, her screams turned to whispers, words falling to the swipe of wind.
I had to do this. If I didn't, who knows what he might try and do to her next.
There was no way in hell I was going to stand by and let him torment her anymore.
This was ending now.