by Rumer Raines
He falls onto my stomach and puts his hands around my throat choking me. As I am losing consciousness, I can feel him move his hands down to my pants and he pulls them down. He puts his hand inside my panties and strokes my pussy. When he removes his hand, he looks at it with a smile on his face. He holds it up so I can see the blood on his hands. I close my eyes and cry as he smears the blood on my face.
Garth leans over and whispers in my ear.
“Don’t let this shit happen again. The next time I’ll kill you along with the little bastard.” He stands up and stomps his foot into my stomach as I yell and crawl to my side.
************************************************
Adele
“Adele!” Alex shouts as I try to yank my arm away from him. I can feel the tears in my eyes and I need to get away from him before I break down.
I hadn’t thought about my baby in years. Garth didn’t want to share me with kids. He always said I was his and only his kids would mess that up. He didn’t want to share my attention with anyone else. I was on the pill, but the pill isn’t perfect. I would have never gotten pregnant intentionally with Garth anyways. He was my husband, but he was a monster that I would have never had a child with. I try to blink back the tears thinking of the night I lost my baby and before I realize it I have fallen to the ground and I hear Alex’s voice trying to comfort me.
“Adele… baby what is wrong?” he asks as he holds me between his legs.
“He killed my baby,” I whisper and Alex tightens his grip around me.
“What are you talking about?” he asks and I fall into his chest.
“I had been sick for a month and took a pregnancy test. I took it while Garth was at work and threw it away in the bathroom. I thought I was so careful and I made sure to throw tissue over it. He found it and he asked me about it. I couldn’t deny it, he was holding the damn stick that read positive,” I tell Alex as he wipes away one of my falling tears.
“He beat me up and I miscarried. It was the worst beating he ever gave me, Alex. He wanted our baby dead and he accomplished it. The whole time he kept saying how it was my fault and I was too stupid to not get pregnant.”
Alex closes his eyes and realization sets in for him. “You do realize that if I got you pregnant tonight, I will take care of both of you. I will never hurt you or any child we may have together, Adele.” Alex looks me in the eyes and I believe every word.
A little while later, Alex receives a call and leaves and leaves me sitting alone thinking about Nick. I know Garth killed him because of me. I walk to the bedroom to where I tossed my bag and reach for Nick’s cell phone. I close my eyes as I hold it close to my chest. I feel I did the right thing taking it so no one would find it. If anyone went through it, they would know that he and Alexis were involved. They would find out their secret and if Nick didn’t want anyone to know, I was going to make sure that wish was kept.
I look through the missed calls and notice that Alexis has called him several times already. I hate that she is most likely worried about him or thinking that he is blowing her off. Alexis has been nothing but kind to me and I am the reason that the man she loves is dead. I wonder if I should text her back pretending to be Nick? I don’t even know what I would say to her? The last thing I would want is to send her a phony “dear John” letter when that is the last thing Nick would do. I pull out my own cell phone to call Alexis. When she tells me that she is at the store, I call a cab and go to her.
When I walk into the store, Alexis is talking to another young girl at the register. I wave and walk over to one of the soap displays that Alexis has set up. She walks over to me and gives me a hug and I can feel the tears starting to form. Alexis pulls away from me and frowns when she sees my watery eyes.
“What’s wrong, Adele?” Alexis questions me in a serious tone.
“Can you get out of here for a little while? I really need to talk to you.”
Alexis looks back over at the other girl and walks over to talk to her. When she is done, she comes back advising me that she can leave for a little while. We head to the coffee shop that is a few doors over from the store and we each order a small mocha. It’ll be perfect to talk here since the shop is ironically slow for it to be in the middle of the day. Alexis and I are the only customers.
“What’s wrong Adele? Did Garth find you again?” Alexis ask me and I now feel the tears sliding down my face and her eyes widen.
“I know about you and Nick,” I tell her and she shakes her head.
“What are you talking about? Alexis asks.
“When I started working at the club--,” I start to tell Alexis everything as a pair of fists slam onto our table interrupting and causing us both to jump and look up to Garth’s angry eyes.
“Isn’t it nice to see you two again? Things are going to go much different this time. I have a gun, so both of you are going to get your asses up and come with me peacefully,” Garth whispers as he leans between us.
Alexis looks over towards the baristas and leans back in her chair.
“We are not going anywhere with you,” she says as she glances between Garth and the barista at the counter. Garth narrows his eyes and kneels beside her.
“Listen, bitch, I already had to kill one of her babysitters. I’ll have no issue shooting your ass right now if I must. I have nothing to lose.” Garth shakes his head and chuckles as he grabs Alexis by the arm and forces her to stand.
“Up, bitch,” he barks at me. He pulls her out of the coffee shop and keeps a tight grip on her arm and I have no other option, but to follow them. He killed Nick and I know he won’t hesitate to kill Alexis.
Moments later, I watch as he forces Alexis into the trunk of his car and he pulls me against him, kisses me and forces me in with her.
He grabs my backpack and Alexis’ purse and slams the trunk closed.
Alexis and I both start kicking the trunk once we feel the car moving and scream our asses off. I know it’s pointless because if we’re driving we’d be on the road. Who the hell will hear us yelling if were driving down the road? I stop screaming and shake Alexis telling her to stop and when she does, I can hear her sobbing. I feel my gut being ripped open. This is all because of me, all of it is. Nick being dead is my fault. Alexis being in this trunk is my fault. I should never have stayed in Chicago. I should have left the minute I suspected Garth was in Lola’s house. I should have left and kept running. I messed up and now others are starting to pay the price. Garth is a monster, but he is my monster and no one else should have to deal with him. I brought him into these people’s lives.
“Adele!” Alexis yells and shakes me out of my own self-pitying thoughts.
“What?” I ask calmly. I am almost too calm. There is only one reason that I am this calm and it’s because I have accepted my fate. I am going to save Alexis and go home with Garth.
“What are we going to do?” Alexis asks and I can hear the fear in her voice. She doesn’t realize that she has nothing to fear. I am going to protect her.
“When he stops the car, he’ll let you go,” I tell her.
“Why would he let me go? What are you going to do, Adele?” Alexis asks me as she sniffles.
“I am going home with my husband,” I tell her and the final tear drops.
Alex
Thomas is telling me, Frank, and Oliver about the clean-up of Nick’s condo. I glance at Frank and I notice that he is upset about Nick. I keep thinking that Adele was supposed to be with him, what if she had been? I don’t even want to think about Garth being anywhere near Adele. He just proved to be more dangerous than I thought he was. I warned him, Oliver threatened him, and yet he just won’t fucking disappear. When he killed Nick, that just proved to me that he needs to be taken care of permanently.
“You got rid of the body? You couldn’t have called the cops?” Frank asks Thomas and I roll my eyes. Frank used to be a cop and every occasionally, he’ll forget cops are now the enemy. Thomas shakes his head and looks at me to
explain.
“We couldn’t call the cops, Frank. They would have come in and checked for fingerprints and shit. They would have questioned everyone and Adele’s face would have been all over the news. This guy doesn’t know where she is and they would have led bread crumbs directly to her.” I tell Frank as I stand and start pacing the room.
“You’re right,” Frank says as he drops his head into his hands. “I don’t know how I’ll tell Lola any of this,” he frets.
“Don’t tell Lola shit. As far as any of us know, Nick just left town. We don’t know where he is,” I tell him as I continue to pace.
“You don’t think anyone will miss him, Alex?” Frank asks in frustration.
“It doesn’t matter if they do. They won’t come back to us asking,” I reply and notice as Oliver stands and runs his hands through his hair.
“Look... I hate to be heartless, but Nick is gone. This Garth person killed him and he is out there somewhere, probably looking for your girlfriend. We need to track his ass down and put him with Nick,” Oliver says and I couldn’t agree with him more.
“Where is Adele now?” Frank asks and the three of them look at me.
“She’s at my place.”
I hear Frank sigh and I look at him with narrowed eyes.
“I told you not to mess with her, Alex. She has enough problems without having to add yours to her plate,” Frank says and I shake my head at him.
“If I would have left her alone Frank, she would be with Nick right now. Would that make you happy?” Frank looks at me and closes his eyes.
“We don’t have time for this shit. Her husband killed one of ours. No one touches one of us and lives to talk about it. We need to find him,” Thomas reminds us as he looks between me and Frank.
“Is anyone watching your place now, Alex?” Frank asks me.
“Yes. Oliver has put someone on my place and they won’t let anyone near my door,” I let Frank know as Oliver’s cell phone rings. He walks out of the room to answer and Frank shakes his head as he walks back to the desk.
“I can’t believe this shit, Alex. I can’t believe that you would fuck around with her knowing she isn’t capable of dealing with you right now,” Frank continues to berate me.
“What do you mean by that? I am not a fucking drug, Frank. I care about Adele and I won’t do anything to hurt her. You make it sound like I am a poisonous disease and her immune system is compromised.” I roll my eyes
“You care about her?” Frank asks me.
“Yes, I do,” I confirm as he narrows his eyes. I open my mouth to say more, but Oliver comes rushing back into the office.
“We have a fucking problem!” he shouts.
A few minutes later, I am in my car driving eighty headed back to my house. Frank is in the passenger seat and Oliver and Thomas are following us. Oliver received a call that Adele’s security had been compromised. Adele had left the house and when he went to follow, he was knocked out from behind. I am looking through the house for any clues to where the hell she would have been going. I can hear several conversations going on in the background, but I don’t hear a word they are saying. I only have Adele on my mind and I am praying that Garth didn’t get to her. Why in hell would she leave this house and where the fuck was she going? Frank walks over to me and puts his hands on my shoulders and I look him in the eyes.
“Did you hear what I said, Alex?” I look at him and shake my head. I haven’t heard anything since I found out Adele was missing.
“I gave Adele a cell phone. It had a tracking device in it. We’ll just trace it and we’ll know where she is,” Frank tells me and I am tempted to kiss him.
Thirty minutes later we are watching as Frank tracks the phone and watch the address display on the screen. I can’t help but notice that it’s indicating that she isn’t moving. Why in the hell isn’t she moving? Did Garth get to her, is she dead? We jump in Oliver’s truck and he drives as Frank gives him the directions. I am sitting in the back with Thomas and I start to feel sick. I can’t believe that I am sick with fucking fear. I am not used to being afraid of anything. I have been afraid one time before and that was when I feared my father dying. I am now afraid for the second time in my life and I can’t believe that it’s because of Adele. I can’t believe this girl that I promised to get rid of has me practically shaking in my boots. If Garth did anything to her, he is dead. Is this what it feels like to care about someone? Adele isn’t family, but I would kill to protect her. If anyone hurts her, they will feel that hurt.
It’s getting dark when we finally pull off the road into a park and continue to drive. There is a parking lot in the back of the park and a car is parked there. Oliver parks next to the car and we all get out. We walk over to the car and Frank pulls out the tracking device and it shows that she is here. I look inside and there is no Adele. I look in the front seat and the back. It never occurs to me that she could be in the trunk until I look back at Frank, Thomas, and Oliver and they are staring at the trunk. I pray that she isn’t dead in the trunk. I close my eyes as Oliver heads to his truck for something to use on the trunk. He hits the trunk handle a few times and it opens. There is a body curled up inside and I see blood in the trunk. I lift her out and lay her on the ground as I pull her arm away from her face. We all gasp when Alexis’ arm falls from her face.
Adele
Garth finally opened the trunk and pulled Alexis and me out. He forces us to our knees and walks behind us. I can hear Alexis crying next to me and I shake my head, hating myself for this. This is all my fault and she doesn’t deserve this. I wonder if Alex will find our bodies? I wonder if I should tell Alexis about Nick? Maybe this will be easier for me if she hates me when this all ends. I hear Garth walking on the gravel behind us and I turn to look at him.
“Don’t look at me, bitch,” he sneers and I quickly turn back around.
“You don’t have to do this Garth. I’ll come home with you. I promise I’ll go with you.” I force myself to bargain with him while I listen to Alexis sniffling next to me. I can tell she is trying to be so strong, it must be the Deluca blood in her
“Really?” Garth laughs and moves to stand in front of me still holding his gun.
“You spread your fucking legs for all these other guys and now you think I want to take you home with me? Garth shakes his head in disgust.
“I haven’t--,”
“Shut the hell up, Adele!” Garth cuts me off and I realize this is going to be harder than I expected.
“I had to kill because of you, Adele. What was the name of that big guy that drove the Suburban? Was it Nate? Oh, wait a minute. Nick. That big bastard was hard to take down, but I thought of you as I did it and it became fun.”
“Nick?” Alexis whispers and both Garth and I turn to her.
“Alexis, I’m so sorry. I was going to tell you.” I start to tell her when I feel something hard hit me across my face and I fall over.
“I told you to shut the hell up Adele,” Garth growls at me and I notice he looks over at a crying Alexis, who has fallen from her knees.
“Oh, wait a minute,” Garth says as he looks at me and Alexis.
“This is perfect. Was he your husband or boyfriend? My wife, who you must have considered your friend, was fucking him. I guess you need to meet the real Adele,” Garth smirks and looks over at me with hate in his eyes.
Alexis looks back at me and I shake my head, praying that she doesn’t believe anything that Garth is saying. Alexis climbs back up on her knees and turns away from me and Garth starts to laugh as he walks behind us once again. I hear him unlock the gun and turn to see as he points it at the back of Alexis’ head.
“I love you, Garth. It has always been you and I am sorry for leaving. I made a mistake. Can you forgive me?” I plead with Garth as I try not to vomit from even saying the words. I hate this man more than I have hated anything, but I am doing this for Alexis. I can’t let him ruin another life. I just can’t let him do it.
Garth sligh
tly lowers his arm and looks at me. His eyes have softened and I realize that he might be buying this shit so I continue.
“I want what we had before. The time I spent away from you only proved to me that we belong together. I ached for you, Garth. Please tell me that you ached for me too.”
Garth sighs and takes a deep breath, so I stand up and walk over to him. I put my hand on his arm, lowering it and put my hands on his face.
“Please tell me that you’ll take me home. Let’s start over and just forget these last few months,” I plead with him.
“What about her?” he asks nodding at Alexis, who is still on her knees in front of us.
“We’ll leave her here. She will find her way home,” I tell him.
“No! She will go to the cops,” Garth shouts at me.
“What if she does? What will she tell them? You didn’t hurt her and she doesn’t have proof that you did anything. I’ll say whatever you tell me too.” I pull Garth’s face closer to mine and I kiss him. I close my eyes to keep from looking at him and to avoid getting sick. I am making a deal with the fucking devil himself, but I am doing it for the people I care for.
Garth pulls away from me and looks into my eyes and I pray he can’t see what I feel. He walks over to Alexis, lifts his gun up and pistol whips her, knocking her out cold. I close my eyes as I see the blood gushing from her head. Garth lifts her up and tosses her into the trunk like he is dealing with garbage. I hate this man and can’t believe at one time I didn’t want Alex to kill him. If only I had let Alex act on that plan, we wouldn’t be here today. I watch as he slams the trunk shut with Alexis inside and he points the gun at me.
“Let’s walk,” he says.
“Where are we going?” I ask as Garth shoves his gun into my back.
“We are going to my real car. You didn’t think I was going to leave your dead bodies in my car, did you? I stole that one and once you were dead and safely in the trunk, I was planning on leaving town in my car,” Garth tells me and I stop walking.