Star Bright

by Christina OW

  Maria ran to the kitchen and took out the wade of money from under the sink. She might have been a fool staying with Ricky for so long, but she wasn’t that much of an idiot not to save for a rainy day, and the rainy day had arrived. Edna came into the kitchen. She climbed the counter and reached above the cupboards. She took out a heavy envelope and jumped off the counter. She turned to Maria with a smile, “Get away money. I’ve been waiting for this day for years.”

  Maria looked at her, unable to return the smile. She felt so guilty for keeping her mother and son in the same hell hole she was in, “I’m so sorry mama.” She choked out, blinking back the tears.

  Edna put her hand on Maria’s cheek, her eyes gentle and understanding, “Hush. You were scared and what kind of mother would I be if I left you alone with this monster?”

  “What kind of daughter and mother does that make me, having brought the monster here in the first place?” Maria let her tears flow freely, but Edna wiped them away.

  “Maria, Edna we need to get out of here!” Jane came yelling into the kitchen. That only meant one thing, Ricky was back. Maria ran into the living room and looked outside the window. Ricky was limping and all his clothes were bloodied and he looked viciously angry too, with a gun in his hand. Tom did a number on him and now he was going to take it out on her.

  “Maria, I know you are in there. You and that bitch Jane. I’m going to kill her for what Tom did to me!” he limped faster towards the house.

  Maria retreated to the kitchen, a cold chill running down her back. They couldn’t run if they were all to get out alive. Ricky was a good shot, drunk or sober.

  “Jane, you and mama need to get out of here!” she gave Jane the money she had and pushed them towards the back door with the bags.

  “No. We can’t leave you.” Edna protested.

  “He’s got a gun. I can’t risk him killing either of you. He’ll beat me, but he won’t kill me,” Maria was sure of it. Ricky may use her as a punching bag, but in his own sick way he loved her too much to kill her, even though he threatened to do that a number of times. The door came crushing in, making all of them jump, “Go, now!” Maria pushed them out the back door then turned to face the kitchen door way, scared, waiting for the inevitable.

  Ricky stomped into the kitchen, a wicked smile crept over his face when he spotted Maria. He could smell her fear and it satisfied him more seeing her shake in it. She took a step away from him as he moved closer, but he lunged for her. He punched her, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out, “If I don’t see my kid here in the next hour, you’ll find yours buried in your garden!”

  Edna looked at him, anger flowing through her veins more intensely than ever. She got in the car and drove off with Jane. She was going to put an end to that maniac, and she knew exactly how. She should have dialed that number years ago when the abuse started, she was too soft, but not anymore.

  Maria had been in a daze after the punch, but his words woke her up, “Please don’t!” She yelled and got a knee in the stomach for it. She fell to the floor and curled up, her hands over her aching belly. Several kicks to her back made her unwind. She rolled away from him and crawled back into the house trying hard not to cry or scream, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of shedding a tear, not this time.

  She managed to get to her feet. She got as far as the living room before he tripped her. She fell on the table and it broke under her. She screamed, unable to contain the pain in her shoulder and ribs which had only began to heal after her last beating. She didn’t have time to recover before she felt Ricky’s hard boot make contact with her head. She rolled to the couch, still, completely blacked out from the blow.

  Chapter Four

  Dave walked down the stairs with his daughter in his arms. They were both dressed and ready to go to the firm, it wasn’t bring your kid to work day, but what else was he to do? Amy didn’t show up the night before and Dave didn’t feel comfortable leaving his child with a nanny. He was a little glad Amy didn’t show. Seeing her face anytime soon would send him to a rage that he wasn’t so sure he would be able to control.

  He spent the whole night thinking of a way to get Amy out of his life and get full custody of his daughter. He was tired of her and he didn’t want his wife influencing his daughter in any way. He knew it would be difficult being a single dad, but he was practically a single dad now with his whimsical, annoying and self centered wife, and he would have to give up a lot, and reduce his work load if he was to be there for his daughter twenty- four seven. The drive for being senior partner grew, but was backed by his concern and love for his baby instead of ambition. If he got the promotion he would have less work, and could just concentrate on the big cases which weren’t that many.

  Five months, he had to wait before he could be sure of his promotion. That meant spending five more months with the witch before he could start the process of getting rid of her, but one thing was for sure, he wasn’t leaving his daughter in her care ever again.

  He picked up his briefcase and walked out of his home. He was glad they had a day care in his office building, but he was still skeptical about leaving his child with strangers. He’ll make sure to get everyone’s information and back ground checks before he finally takes her there.

  “Ma.” Elizabeth yelled pointing out to the lawn. Dave pulled out of his worry fest, turned and followed her finger. Amy was asleep on the lawn. She was too drunk to even make it to the door.

  Dave stared at her completely unconcerned about her. He found it hard to believe that she was the same woman he was married to for five years, spread out on the lawn. He opened the back of his BMW Prado and put Elizabeth in her baby seat. He walked to his drunken wife and took a few photos with his I-phone. She was making it easy to build a case against her. He smiled, excited that the custody battle would be a slam dunk. The pictures may not seem like much, but he had won cases with much less.

  “Thank you so much.” he spoke to his still wife. He walked back to his car, but stopped, an impish idea in his head, “Daddy is going to be right back.” he said to Elizabeth before he walked away. He couldn’t, in good conscience leave his wife out on the lawn, the least he could do was wake her up, show her the same courtesy she’d shown their daughter when she left their door wide open for any psycho to walk in and harm his child.

  He turned on the sprinkler and walked back to his car and waited.

  “You son of a bitch!” Amy woke up screaming and cursing at him as she ran on to the path, away from the water. Her red party dress clung to her as she was soaked to the bone. Her blond hair had mud in it and her make-up spread all over her face. She looked like a Halloween character.

  “Good morning honey.” Dave said laughing, as he got in his car and drove away.

  “Carol, could you put me through to the day care center?” Dave rapped his pen on his desk. He found it hard to concentrate knowing his daughter was been looked after by strangers. He had already done the back ground checks and had gone as far as getting their contact details and those of their families and saving them on his computer, but it wasn’t enough to keep him calm. He used to be a trusting man, before he got into this line of work, and before his wife became a self centered brat who couldn’t be trusted with her own daughter.

  “You’ve just been down there for lunch.” Carol responded, a little annoyed, “And called eleven times in total. She’s fine!”

  Dave stayed patiently quiet for a while, glad he didn’t start an affair with her. She would have been a real pain in the ass, “Just put me through.”

  “You are being a very over obsessive parent,” there was a click before another voice came on, “Mr. Greer for the umpteenth time, your daughter is fine.”

  Dave felt a little awkward, but she was the only child he had, he was entitled to be over obsessive and over protective, “Is she asleep?”

  “Yes, and yes we have someone personally and exclusively watching her.” the lady said sarcastically.

&nbs
p; Dave didn’t get offended. He figured he had annoyed her enough and being as rude to her would not help either one of them, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, and could we please not speak again today?” the line went dead.

  Dave glared at the receiver before he put it down. He felt a bit more relaxed and he could concentrate on his work now that he knew his baby was fine, until he got hysterical again and needed to check on her.

  His phone rang, but he didn’t need to pick it up to know what it was about. He could hear Amy’s raised screeching voice outside his office, Carol’s was raised to match hers. It didn’t take long before the insults began to fly, and Carol seemed to be winning on that front. Dave rushed out of his office, he needed to stop the commotion before it attracted an audience or developed into a fist fight and end up on You Tube. He opened the door just in time to catch Carol’s last insult.

  “That little girl is lucky to have Dave, you aren’t fit enough to be a mother to any child, not even to a cold blooded reptile like yourself! I’ve heard of animals that eat their young, but you are far worse!”

  Dave looked at her amused. Amy was staring at her with lethal eyes. He pulled back the smile, then grabbed Amy’s arm and pushed her into his office, “What are you doing here?” He spoke, his voice dangerously low, all the amusement gone. Lately the sight of Amy got him in the meanest of moods.

  “How could you let your bimbo secretary talk to me like that?” Amy yelled, still very livid.

  “Don’t answer a question with a question and bimbos are blond.” He answered in a mild tone glancing at her held up blond hair, which looked a lot better than that morning.

  She glared at him, “Of course you would let her speak to me that way, and she must be your mistress. It would explain why you haven’t touched me in months!”

  Dave felt like telling her exactly why he didn’t touch her. She had spent countless nights away from home and has been receiving gifts that he knew he hadn’t bought. It didn’t take a genius to know she was having an affair or two, “Amy, if you have nothing sensible to say get out of my office!” Dave held the door wide open. Amy sat down on his desk, a heinous smile on her face.

  “I want my daughter, I haven’t spent much time with her lately.” She held her hand out and stared at her red nails.

  “You’ll see her when we get home.” he answered impatiently.

  “I want her to meet some of my friends who may become permanent in the near future.” She looked at him, a laugh in her eyes.

  Dave banged the door shut enraged by the hint. He knew exactly what she meant by friends and the near future. A woman like her could only have a specific character of friends, and they must be lower than the dirt he walked on, “If you dare take my daughter anywhere near your lovers, you will regret the day you met me, more than you do now!” He answered in a low harsh voice.

  Amy stood up, shaken by the warning in his voice, “You have your lover watching her, why shouldn’t I have mine?” she bantered. She didn’t want the child, she was just taking the opportunity to annoy him. Scared or not, she was determined to ruin his day for turning the sprinklers on her.

  Dave took a step towards her, his eyes boring holes in her. She side stepped, then rushed around him and stood next to the door, staring at him a little more frightened, “Get out Amy!” he said acidly.

  “Just so you know I will make your life a living hell if you don’t stop your affair with that stupid red head. And I’ll hit you where it hurts most.”

  Dave rushed for her, she barely got out of the office, closing the door behind her. She ran for the elevators not wanting to give him an opportunity to catch up with her. Dave stood looking at the door. For the first time in his life, he regretted not hitting her. She might have gotten him arrested for assault and it would have completely ruined his chances of getting full custody, but it would have given him a minute of happiness, taking out all his frustration on the root cause.

  He walked behind his desk and sat down taking a few calm breathes. It only took him a second to realize that Amy might actually take his daughter from day care, just to annoy him further. He picked up his phone and dialed for Carol. There was no answer. He was about to stand up when the door opened, Carol had Elizabeth, asleep on her shoulder.

  Whispering, “With that witch here, I figured she’d want to take Lizzy.” She walked to the cushioned play pen he had set up in his office that morning, and laid her down, “good thing I swiped her before she could.” She turned to Dave with a wide smile on her face. This was one of the times Dave liked having her around.

  “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” she whispered back. She turned and left, closing the door gently behind her.

  Dave knelt down next to the pen and watched his daughter sleep. She was smiling, that meant she was having a wonderful dream. Dave watched her for a while as her face changed expressions, then feeling soothed he got up and went back to work.

  Chapter Five

  The stinging pain in Maria’s forehead woke her up. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her back was too much for her to bear. She lay back down carefully and stayed still unwilling to provoke anymore unnecessary pain. She was stripped down to her bra and shorts. She looked around, she was in her son’s room and it was dark outside. She tried to listen for her son’s or her mother’s voice, but there was nothing, the house felt empty. She panicked, realizing she had been out for so long. She sat up, biting her lips together to hold back a cry as her back and stomach screamed in pain. She felt between her legs. The last time she was out so long, Ricky had raped her. But he couldn’t have been so crude to have done so in her son’s bed?

  “Mama.” The door flew open and Michael came running in. Maria teared up when she saw her son. She caught him when he jumped on her, holding him tight against her, completely ignoring the screaming pain in her body.

  She hated being touched by anyone, but she always looked forward to her son’s embraces, which were like a cover of love that helped her get through the day.

  She was glad to see her son, but she wished Edna hadn’t brought him back. Edna came behind him, a basin in her hand. She locked the door behind her and pulled the chair close to the bed and sat in it.

  “Come Michael, I need to nurse your mama’s wounds.” Michael let go reluctantly, but sat under Maria’s arm and held her close, sniffing quietly. Maria felt like she was going to break down seeing her son cling to her, frightened and his eyes wet with tears. Edna was about to move him further away, but she shook her head, unable to speak.

  Edna dabbed at her wounds and bruises quietly. She concentrated all her energy on that. She didn’t want to let her rage take her over. She was going to stay calm and wait. It would take close to a week before she could carry out her revenge and she was going to be patient as much as she wanted to carry it out immediately on her own. Ricky was going to get everything he deserved and more.

  “Mama.” Maria whispered. Edna looked up to meet her daughter’s frightened eyes. She knew what she was asking, and for the first time she felt glad Maria had suffered a lesser evil. The last time she had to tell her it crumbled Edna’s heart.

  “No, he didn’t...” she stopped. She took a deep breath and swallowed a sob. Maria closed her eyes and exhaled in relief. She couldn’t have stomached that degradation again, “He’s passed out in the living room.” Edna lowered her voice to a whisper, “Tom and Jane are coming to pick us up.”

  Maria’s body tightened. They’d tried that already and it didn’t work. She was too scared to try it again. Edna put a reassuring hand on her, “I took the gun away from him, and Tom will handle him.”

  The door crushed in and fell on the floor. Michael held Maria tighter and hid his face in her side. Maria stood up and placed him behind her. She too was scared, but not too scared to protect her son. Edna passed a shirt to her before she placed herself in between Ricky and Maria. She stared at him, full of rage. She might not wait a week she was ready to take
him out right there and then.

  Ricky staggered into the room, a bottle of vodka in his hand. He was still wearing the torn up bloody shirt, but it was also wet with liquor, “It’s good you are awake,” he stumbled forward, “Now go clean up your blood from my carpet!” he yelled, but no one moved which only pissed him off even more, “So, you haven’t learned your lesson yet?”

  Maria and Edna just looked at him not saying a word. Maria put on the shirt, then held Michael against her, gently rubbing his back to sooth him.

  “Michael, come here!” Ricky barked.

  Michael stiffened behind Maria. He pressed himself hard against her as if he was trying to hide inside her back and clasped his hands around her chest. All Maria could hear was muffled moans and his hot breath on her back. Maria pressed him tightly against her, feeling her son’s fear.

  “He’s not going anywhere!” Edna barked back.

  Ricky pushed Edna aside. She fell against Michael’s desk, pushing all its contents on to the floor. He then slapped Maria and she fell on the bed. Michael looked at his mother and grandma before he looked up back at his father. His face stern, all the fear wiped away. He looked angry, with his little fists clenched at his side. Maria looked up at her son, fear crept into her when she saw the image of Ricky’s angry face on her son’s. She hated that look and she hated the fact that they resembled each other in that angry state more.

  Michael yelled at Ricky angrily, “What do you want Ricky?”

  “Don’t speak to your father that way!” Ricky slurred out his words, rocking unsteadily on his feet.

  “You are not my father!”

  The sound of Ricky’s hand against Michael’s head made Maria scream. She watched her son collapse on the bed unconscious after hitting his head on the frame. Edna picked up the chair and broke it over Ricky’s back. He fell on the floor and the bottle crushed under him. She then pulled Michael into her arms and jetted out of the room, Maria followed, her hand over her son’s bleeding head, sobbing hysterically, “Michael, baby please wake up!”