Lead the Way

by Prince, K. L.

  Copyright 2016

  All Rights Reserved

  Chapter 1

  It’s been a good night. She really needed time out with her girls. It’s been a hectic day and she really needed some time to unwind and relax. The loud music and loud talking drown out all the worries of the day. The soothing booze in her system helps her forget the way her boss yelled at her in front of everyone and tore up her presentation. Her friend’s encouragement has helped her feel like a new woman. Their kind words have rejuvenated her spirit and tomorrow she will be able to return to work with her head held high. She hates to leave, but it is time for her to go home.

  “Eva, are you sure you want to leave? We’re only going to be here for another hour and then we can take a cab home together,” Mira says, taking another shot of Vodka.

  “Yeah, I’m going to go home now. I have a huge presentation tomorrow and I should really get a good night’s sleep. I don’t want to screw the presentation up; especially after the day I had today. My boss will kill me and then fire me,” Eva says, putting her cell phone into her purse.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. I’m going to walk home. It’s only a few blocks. It’s fine. I’ll be fine.”

  “Okay, well, call me when you get home, okay?

  “I will.”

  “Love you,” Mira says, hugging her goodbye.

  “I love you too, girlfriend,” she replies, gathering up her things.

  After saying goodbye to the rest of the girls at the table, Eva makes her way through the crowd at the bar. When she is almost to the door, a man bumps into her and knocks her purse off her shoulder onto the floor.

  “Excuse me,” he says and bends down to retrieve her purse.

  “No problem. Thanks,” Eva says, taking her purse from him.

  She continues through the crowd and after a few more bumps and “Excuse mes,” she makes it outside to the sidewalk. She takes a deep breath of the cool air and contemplates whether she actually wants to walk after all. The heels she picked out are killer and her feet hurt, but she decides she needs the exercise. Plus, she’s not in the mood to deal with a rude cab driver tonight. She just wants to make it to her apartment, safe and sound, and get into her nice warm bed.

  She takes off her high heels. It’s not the most hygienic thing, she decides, but her feet can’t take another second. They just need relief. She gives them a quick rub and starts on her journey home.

  If she had been paying attention to her surroundings, she would have noticed the man she bumped into inside the bar, who knocked her purse off her shoulder, followed her out of the bar. She would have noticed him watching her.

  It takes three blocks before she finally notices that someone is following her. At first, she thinks it’s just her imagination. There are so many people on the street at this time of night; it’s not unusual for someone to be following behind her, as they too make their way around the city. However, when the sidewalk clears and it is just him and her on the street, she can’t help but notice that when she quickens her walking speed, he does the same. When she starts to run, he chases after her.

  She runs as fast and as hard as she can, but he is too fast for her. He catches her and drags her off the street and into an alleyway. He has a knife to her throat. “Please, don’t hurt me,” she begs. “Here, you can have my purse. Take whatever you want.” She’s always been told that if someone mugs you, don’t resist. Give them whatever they want, which is usually money.

  “I don’t want your money. This is not about money, bitch,” he snarls and punches her in the face. He punches her in the face repeatedly. She can taste blood in her mouth and feel it running down her face from her nose.

  He lifts up her skirt and pulls down her underwear. She can’t believe what is happening. Is he going to rape her?

  “Please don’t do this,” she begs and cries.

  “Save your breath, whore. This is happening,” he says, breathing heavily.

  She starts to fight. She has to at least try to protect her life, but it is a losing battle. She suffers several knife wounds to her hands and arms. He is too strong for her, too physically powerful. When he threatens to cut her throat, she stops fighting. She is in serious pain from the knife wounds that he’s inflicted on her. She is bleeding a lot. She can’t endure any more. She starts to worry that she is going to bleed out.

  The attack becomes too much for her to bear. She leaves her body. It is the way her psyche responds to what is happening. Her only defense against the pain is mental escape.

  When she thinks that he is finished and might stop his brutal assault, he starts to strangle her. Suddenly, she is fully present again. She can’t believe that this is the way that she is going to die. She always hoped that she would die peacefully in her sleep. She never imagined it would be at the hands of a stranger. She never imagined that she would be raped and then murdered. She doesn’t want to die. She starts to lose consciousness.

  “Hey! What the hell is going on down there?”

  These are the last words she hears before she passes out.

  Chapter 2

  5 Years Later

  Eva sits in her kitchen and looks at her scars. It has been five years since the attack, but it feels like it just happened yesterday. The attack left her broken and bruised physically, but the real damage was done mentally. Since the attack, she has been plagued by nightmares, but that isn’t the worst thing that she has to deal with. She has been stricken with anxiety so severe that she can’t leave the house. She hasn’t been outside for five years. The doctor’s call it ‘Agoraphobia’. She calls it, ‘Hell’.

  Her life has changed completely. She used to think of herself as a fun person. She used to love to go out for a night on the town with her girlfriends; now, one-step outside of the apartment causes severe panic attacks. If she wants to see her friends, they have to come to the apartment and see her. Luckily, she has truly loyal friends. None of them skipped a beat when her illness reared its ugly head.

  She wishes the same where true about her boyfriend at the time. After the attack, he ditched her so fast, her head spun. She was an emotional wreck and he just couldn’t deal with it. He told her he wanted a ‘normal’ girlfriend, not some basket case. Everyone said that breaking up with him was a good thing, because he had shown his true colors. They said if he wouldn’t be there when she needed him the most, he wasn’t the right one for her. She totally agreed with them, but it didn’t make things hurt any less.

  After the attack, she moved to one of the most secure apartment buildings in the city. The building has a door attendant and a security guard on duty during the day and only a security guard at night. Her apartment itself is protected by an alarm system. It costs a pretty penny for her to have such security measures, but luckily she comes from a wealthy family and her home business has taken off.

  The apartment building that she has lives in now is very upscale. It’s probably more room than one person needs, but she loves it. The apartment is encased in floor to ceiling windows and she has an amazing view of the city, especially at night. She’s filled the place with expensive pieces of art and furniture that she ordered off the Internet and made it into her sanctuary. It’s the only place where she feels completely safe now. Her apartment is the only place where evil can’t get in and hurt her again.

  When she could no longer leave the house, she had to change professions. She couldn’t go to the office anymore. When she called up to resign, her boss was furious. He yelled at her through the phone for twenty minutes. He had no compassion for her or understanding of what she had been through. He expected her to show up for work on time with a huge smile on her face. He was completely clueless and totally unsympathetic. She couldn’t help it; she called him an as
shole before hanging up. It was the first time she had ever talked back to him and it felt really good.

  When the deed was done and over with and she had officially quit, she

  couldn’t say that she was really all that upset that she had to quit her job. She hadn’t really been good at advertising anyway. She was always screwing things up, and as a result, getting her fellow coworkers in trouble. They had started to hate her. She had been growing tired of their dirty looks and ugly stares, as she passed by their desks and in the hallways anyway. Good riddance, as far as she was concerned. It was probably a blessing that she got out when she did, before she found their knives in her back.

  She is a writer now. She writes mystery novels and she’s found that she absolutely loves it on so many levels. She always thought that she had a creative side, which is why she got into advertising. She quickly found out that choosing advertising was the wrong avenue to unleash her imagination. She found that advertising wasn’t the right way to channel her creativity.

  Being unable to leave the house doesn’t offer too many job opportunities. One day when she was stressed out from complete boredom and venting, Mira suggested trying her hand at writing. An acquaintance of Mira’s had found some success at self-publishing and Mira thought that the same thing might be possible for her.

  Eva didn’t have to think about her decision for very long before she started writing. She quickly came to the decision that trying her hand at self-publishing a novel was worth a try. She fell in love with the writing process immediately. She loved being about to create worlds and live in them through her characters.

  She was terrified when her novel was ready to be published. Mira had to push the publish button for her. She was scared that people would think her writing was terrible and she didn’t know if she could handle the rejection. She was completely taken by surprise when her first book was a success and sales went through the roof. To her surprise, she made it onto the New York Times Bestseller List. She quickly learned how hard that is, especially with a first book. Suddenly she had fans and they were demanding the next book. She quickly realized that she had hit a sweet spot. After her success settled in, she threw herself headlong into writing and publishing.

  The discovery of her writing ability has been an amazing journey and she has loved every single minute of it. Agoraphobia forced her into her life’s purpose. It forced her to discover her writing skills, which is something that she may have never discovered if life hadn’t intervened. Discovering her love for writing is probably the only good thing that has come out of her disease. Everything else surrounding it has been a nightmare.

  She had to hire someone to do her grocery shopping and run errands for her. She was lucky to find a woman named Rosa Martinez. Her mother had asked around and Rosa came recommended by a friend. Rosa was her mother’s friends’ nanny and when their kids were grown, they had to let her go. Apparently, they were sad to see her go, but there really wasn’t much use for her services any longer.

  Her mother’s friend gave Rosa a glowing report. She couldn’t say enough good things about Rosa. She was loyal, responsible, an excellent cook, and amazing with their children. They never had any problems with her at all. She was an amazing employee, and lucky for Eva, currently looking for a job.

  Eva didn’t want to go through a long and tortuous interviewing process. The thought of complete strangers coming into her apartment scared her to death. She called Rosa, hoping that once she met her, it would be a home run and she wouldn’t have to look any further. Lucky for her, she liked Rosa immediately. Rosa’s bubbly personality and quick wit filled out the whole room. During the interview, she found Rosa’s happy attitude rubbing off on her. She liked that.

  She pretty much hired her on the spot. Rosa’s job is to keep the large apartment clean, do her errands, grocery shop, and at times simply keep her company. Over time, she and Rosa have grown closer and closer. She has come to really rely on Rosa and wouldn’t be able to function properly in life without her. Rosa has become like a second mother to her, a godsend.

  Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a key in the door. The alarm sounds. She doesn’t panic. It’s only Rosa, right on time, as usual. She listens as Rosa punches in the code to deactivate the alarm and then resets it.

  “Hola. Buenas dias,” Rosa calls out to her.

  “Morning, Rosa. How are you doing this morning?”

  “I’m okay. How did you sleep, Carino?”

  “I slept okay,” she lies. She had her usual nightmare, but she keeps it to herself. There is no use worrying Rosa. “I just made coffee, so it’s fresh.”

  “Okay, you know that tomorrow is Valentines Day, right?”

  “Whoopty doo, Rosa,” she says, rolling her eyes.

  Every year, she acts the same way. She plays it off as if it’s just another day to her. Her favorite saying is, “Shouldn’t Valentine’s Day be everyday?” She tries to act tough, when inside it hurts. When Valentine’s Day comes around, she plays it off as if seeing the advertisements doesn’t affect her. The truth is, Valentine’s Day is a stark reminder that she is all alone. The day reminds her of what she is missing out on, being confined to her apartment.

  “Carino, when are you going to get help? You need to get out of this apartment. All the life you are missing - it breaks my heart. Don’t you want to have a husband… kids?”

  “Rosa, I’m quite happy just the way things are.”

  She can’t bare to say out loud that she has never been lonelier in her entire life. She knows that each day that she spends inside, more of her life is passing her by. She tries not to dwell on it, but she knows that amazing opportunities to enjoy the life are going by at rapid speed. Opportunities and time that she will never be able to get back. She tries not to be too hard on herself. She can’t help that she is sick. She didn’t want or ask to be attacked and turned into an invalid.

  “Eva, it’s not good for you to stay cooped up in this apartment. You need to be out there, living your life.”

  “Rosa, I know.”

  When she was first attacked, she immediately started to see a psychiatrist. Being able to talk to someone that understood what she had been through was very helpful. When she first started to suffer from the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, she was scared. She didn’t know what was happening to her. Having a psychiatrist to speak to was able to alleviate some of the fear she was experiencing. There was a point in time where she looked forward to her twice a week appointments.

  However, over time and the more that her problems seemed to be constant with no change visible, the more seeing a psychiatrist became pointless. It became a waste of money and a waste of time. There was nothing further that could be done for her. She and her psychiatrist hit a brick wall.

  Her psychiatrist insisted that she keep coming, but Eva just didn’t see the point. It just wasn’t useful anymore. She hates to admit it, but she’s come to accept her illness as a part of her, and has accepted that it’s never going away. Being an Agoraphobic and having severe anxiety is woven through the fabric of her life. It is a permanent part of who she is. There is no amount of talking that can make it go away. She deals with the symptoms, medicating them sometimes, and continues about her business.

  She tries to stay positive, which is feat unto itself. How do you stay positive when you’re abnormal? How do you stay positive when you know that you’re missing out on the best times of your life? How do you stay positive when the reality that you may end up being alone for the entirety of your life sinks in? She’s not sure why she doesn’t jump off her balcony sometimes, but she doesn’t. Somehow, she remains hopeful that something good is going to come out of her life

  .

  Chapter 3

  “Ryan Collins, get your stuff,” the guard calls down the range.

  He’s been waiting for this moment for five years. He’s served his sentence and paid his debt to society. He’s being released back into world and plans to finish what
he started five years ago.

  Eva wasn’t supposed to live. She was supposed to die there in that alleyway. He was supposed to watch her take her final breaths. He was supposed to see the light leave her eyes. If that asshole hadn’t interrupted his plans, she would be dead and he wouldn’t have spent the past five years locked up, like a fucking animal.

  He watched Eva in court when she had to testify. He could see the fear in her eyes when she looked at him. He could tell by her body language, he did damage. He hurt her. Knowing that gave him some satisfaction, as he sat in the courtroom, knowing that he was, without a doubt, going to be found guilty. He knew he was going to be locked up. How could he have thought anything different? He was knocked unconscious and lying on the ground when the police showed up. He was caught with his hand right in the cookie jar. He mine as well have walked right into the police station and turned himself in.

  It was devastating when he woke up, handcuffed to a hospital bed, charged with attempted murder. It was even more devastating when he learned that Eva had lived through the attack. His plan had been completely ruined. It was like a punch in the face. He felt like everything that he did was for nothing, because he didn’t get what he wanted.

  At court, the prosecutor offered him a deal and he took it. He will never understand why they did, because he thought that all the evidence against him was solid. There was obviously something about the case that he didn’t know. He asked his lawyer, but his lawyer didn’t have an explanation for it. Ultimately, the reason didn’t really matter. He didn’t get nearly as much time as he should have.

  The good thing about spending five years in a federal penitentiary is you have plenty of time to think. For the past five years, he has been creating and shaping a plan. He’s been putting every detail together, step by step. There won’t be any mistakes this time around. There won’t be any Good Samaritans to jump in and save precious little Eva. This time around, he’s going to achieve his ultimate goal and watch her die. He loves second chances.