Star Bright

by Christina OW

  Ricky following them, “Come back here!”

  Maria pushed her mother out the door, “Hide, I’ll hold him off,” she looked at her son’s limp body and the sobs and fear was replaced by an angry fire simmering inside her. She wiped the tears away with her fists then turned to face Ricky, a monstrous look on his face.

  Maria letting her angry tears flow freely, “You hit my son!”

  “He defied me!” Ricky took a staggering step forward.

  “He’s a baby!” Maria yelled, “I thank God everyday he’s not like you and I’m going to make sure he doesn’t grow up to be a drunken, useless bastard like his father!”

  Ricky took a step closer and swung his fist at her. Maria dodged it and ran into the kitchen, but he caught up to her and pushed her down. She fell, knocking the candles on the table over. It caught fire fast, fuelled by the alcohol Ricky had been carelessly pouring on the floor in his drunken stupors.

  Maria crawled away from the flames and sat pinned against the wall. She watched the blaze consume the table, the counters and the dish clothes. She wasn’t sure which way was worse to die, being burnt alive or being beat to death by a drunk.

  She would take the flames without a second thought.

  It was a more respectable death.

  Ricky didn’t seem deterred by the fire. He came after her, slowly like a cat on the prowl. He felt a surge of victory as he watched her, scared and cornered like a mouse. He took a few more steps, but tripped on his feet and fell close to her, knocking himself out on the floor.

  Relieved Maria got up and leaped over the flames for the door. She couldn’t go through the living room, as the fire had already spread there, facilitated by the wall to wall carpet. She stood at the door and looked at Ricky’s lifeless body. She wasn’t surprised at her coldness towards him. He dared to hit her son unconscious, whatever tiny emotion she had left for him, it was completely wiped away by that.

  She stood a few feet away from the house and watched it burn for a moment. She wanted to make sure he didn’t get out. She wasn’t committing murder, she didn’t knock him out, and neither did she light the fire. He did that all himself, and she was going to let it be. This was her chance of ridding herself of Ricky and she was taking it, grateful that he had done so all on his own.

  “Mama!”

  Michael’s cry woke her. He was alright! Relieved she ran around the house to the front. “Michael!” she cried in relief when he ran to her. She scooped him up in her hands and held him tight against her, happy that the nightmare was over.

  “Where is Ricky?” Edna moved closer to her. Maria just stared at her, not saying a single word. Edna nodded her expression, glad, empty of a flicker of neither pity nor concern, “It was for the best.”

  “I didn’t do anything. It was all by his own hand.” Maria defended herself.

  “It was a matter of time before he killed himself. Let’s just make sure he succeeded.” She smiled, and then turned back to the house.

  Edna watched the home she was raised in, where her daughter and grandchild were born, sizzle to the ground. It was once a place full of happy memories, her safe haven before Ricky polluted it.

  But at that moment, it rose to its former glory, taking all their nightmares away and rescuing them from future miseries. Edna had one more reason to love her home.

  Maria paced around in Jane’s living room. It had been a week since the fire, and that devil’s death. Maria had a reason to smile, seeing her son so happy and relaxed as if all the shackles of fear and sadness that had held him down had disappeared with Ricky’s death.

  There was no reason for him to sneak into Maria’s room, to make sure she was safe and alive or try to protect her if she was not, nor did he have to tip toe around the house so that Ricky wouldn’t hear him. He got full night’s sleep. Yes she was glad, seeing her mother smile and busy herself with the children and the household. Edna didn’t have to accompany her daughter to every room just in case Ricky cornered her alone and beat her. She sat in the sun and played with the children like a normal grandmother was supposed to.

  Yes, she had a number of reasons to smile, but she still worried. The Sheriff was back the third time that week, asking the same questions over and over again. Maria thought they were trying to link her to Ricky’s death. She had watched enough crime shows to know that suspect number one was always the spouse. They thought she killed him, the whole town thought she killed him and she didn’t blame them for suspecting her, everyone knew Ricky beat her black and blue as a hobby.

  “How many times do I have to say this, he tripped me, the candles fell, then the house caught fire, then he fell and I ran.” She stopped by the low table in the middle of the living room and faced the sheriff on the couch. She felt like she would shrink under his suspicious gaze.

  “You didn’t stop to make sure he was alright?” The sheriff asked with a serious tone. Maria paced again, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. His grey hair and numerous worry lines on his head, caused by the stress of being on the job for over twenty years made him look even scarier to Maria. She felt like he could see right through her lie.....

  No, she wasn’t lying she was omitting, and what he didn’t know couldn’t possibly warrant further suspicion.....

  Yes it could, and by the way he starred at her, it did.

  “The man was trying to kill her, why would she stop running?” Edna defended Maria. She stopped Maria’s pacing and stood next to her, “look at her face, what makes you think she would stop? Maria turn around lets show him your back.” Edna forcefully turned Maria around and lifted her shirt.

  Maria pulled down her shirt and stared back at the sheriff after she gave her mother a scolding look. But the exhibit seemed to have worked. The sheriff’s stern look was replaced by pity, then disgust and finally anger. Maria stared at him keenly, not sure what to make of the sudden change. She hadn’t shown him her bruises before, he’d only seen those on her face- a busted lip, a black eye and a bruised chin, which weren’t as bad as those on her back and belly.

  “So you ran out the back door to the front of the house where your son and mother were and the three of you ran away together without looking back?” The sheriff repeated Maria’s story, his voice gentler.

  Maria sat down in the seat next to him. The images of that night flashed in her head, “Yes, that’s right.” She lied. She wasn’t stupid enough to tell him the truth, she wasn’t going to spend time in jail, away from her son for that animal.

  He gave Maria a gentle smile before he stood up, “Thank you for your cooperation. And off the record, I’m glad you tried to get away from him, there is no doubt in my mind he would have come after you, fate was on your side that night.”

  Maria stood up and dug her hands in her back pockets. She smiled and didn’t say a word. She knew fate had nothing to do with Ricky roasting that day. She wondered if the sheriff would share the same sentiments if he knew she let him roast, and watched just to make sure he did. As cold and heartless as it may sound, she wished he was wide awake and not passed out drunk when it happened.

  Jane stepping away from the kitchen door way, “Sheriff, did you find the body yet?”

  “No. We think he was toasted completely. The booze all over the house facilitated the fire, and I don’t doubt he was soaked in vodka.”

  “Good riddance to bad rubbish.” Edna muttered. Maria looked at her stunned, wondering if her mother was provoking to fill the second spot on the suspects list, which Maria knew only contained her name currently. “Is this the last we are seeing of you sheriff?” Edna asked.

  “Yes. The case is closed, we are ruling it as an accident.” He tipped his hat and walked out the door.

  Maria collapsed on the seat, relieved. The nightmare was finally over, she could go on with her life, without fear or looking over her shoulder. Jane went and sat next to her. She watched her friend’s relieved face, an expression she had never seen in years, she was sad it was about to disappear in the next
minute.

  “Now that the sheriff is gone how about you tell me the truth? We found you watching the house burn down.”

  Jane knew Maria was lying from the beginning. She and Tom had gone to get them all out of the house, forcefully if need be. Tom was psyched up to beat Ricky again. When they got there, the house was ablaze and everyone was out except one. Edna and Maria had insisted on watching the house completely burn and only left when the sheriffs arrived. She had hoped Maria would confide in her about that night, she had waited, but she couldn’t wait any longer.

  Edna waved goodbye to the sheriff before she closed the door and turned to Jane and Maria, “We had to make sure that SOB died.” she said casually.

  “Mama.” Maria looked at her surprised by how candid she was. She was telling the truth, but it was something Maria hadn’t worked up the courage to say out loud.

  “Maria did you...” Jane left her question hanging.

  “No. Of course not!” Maria yelled anxiously. She stood up agitated, “He caused the fire, he knocked himself out, I just didn’t bother to help him!” she tugged at her hair, the frustration of how serious the situation was, taking a toll on her.

  Jane stood up and went to hug her, “Calm down. I’m not accusing you of anything I just wanted to know.” She pulled away and looked at Maria, “He killed himself, that’s nothing you should feel guilty about.” Maria looked at her, Jane seemed to understand her actions. Edna did, so her conscience shouldn’t be weighing heavily on her. “Relax, and get Ricky out of your mind, if you don’t you’ll never feel at ease. Enjoy your life and your son, you are free.”

  Maria nodded. Jane was right, she was finally free and she wasn’t going to give Ricky another thought. He had taken enough time away from her. She walked to the window and looked out at her son. He was walking around the field with Denise, Jane’s daughter, pointing out things on the ground. She should be worried about what he would say since it was his father she didn’t rescue from the fire. But he hadn’t asked about Ricky once since Edna told him he was dead. Seeing him with Denise was the first time she saw real joy on his face since he was old enough to understand what Ricky was doing. He looked happy not a care in the world, so why should she be worried?

  Chapter Six

  “Da.” Elizabeth shrieked happily as Dave walked into the house carrying his cheerful daughter in his arms. Unlike her, he was exhausted. He stayed at the office until seven, before he thought of coming home. He wasn’t as agitated or worried as he usually was and had no need to rush home, since he had his daughter with him. He fed her dinner over three hours ago and he thought she would fall right back to sleep, but she was very energetic and hyper, practically bouncing off the walls of his office. She had managed to get out of his office and crawl under several desks playing hide and seek without letting Dave in on it.

  He had searched the whole office floor and was about to widen the search grid to the entire building when one of the paralegal’s screamed and jumped off her chair. A happy, shrilly laugh followed as she got on her feet and ran to Dave. He picked her up relieved. He didn’t bother to scold her, her sweet smile washed all his worries away. She placed a wet kiss on his cheek and waved at his co-workers, yelling bye with her tiny voice as he walked back into his office. He got a long ribbon and tied one end around her belly and the other end to his desk. He also had Carol watch the door just in case she broke out again.

  “Dave is that you?” Amy walked into the foyer with a glass of brandy in her hand. Her white robe was open, revealing a short, cleavage satin night gown. He hadn’t bought that, and she definitely hadn’t bought it for him. Dave stood by the door, contemplating going back out of it. She leaned against the wall and smiled at him, “What, you want to leave already?”

  Dave exhaled and headed for the kitchen without saying a word to her. He took out a TV dinner from the freezer and popped it in the microwave. He had given up on expecting Amy to cook or order take-out for him.

  He pulled at Elizabeth’s curly hair and watched it snap back. She bounced in his arm excitedly and pulled at her front curls. Dave watched her play with her hair, smiling exhaustedly at her. Out of the mistake of a marriage he had with Amy, Izzy was the best and the only great entity that came out of it. She pulled her pink head band off and pulled more curls to her face.

  Dave took out his dinner and sat at the counter placing Elizabeth on top of it too. He held her leg with one hand while he ate quietly with the other. It didn’t take long before she tried to climb on his shoulders, the distraction with her hair already exhausted. He laughed and placed her on his shoulders and went back to eating. She went quiet after a while and Dave could feel her weight on his head. She had finally fallen asleep.

  “She’s not asleep yet, but she’s dozing off.” Amy’s flat voice came from the door way. Dave stood up slowly and gently lifted Elizabeth off his shoulders. She woke up when he settled her in his arms. He sat back down and went back to his dinner. Amy came closer and put her glass down on the counter, “I’ll take her to bed.” She extended her hands out for Elizabeth.

  Dave looked at her, out of habit, suspiciously. He wasn’t sure what her end game was today. Normally when Elizabeth fell asleep on the floor she would walk right past her, or Dave would have to beg or force her to put her in bed.

  “I’m not going to eat her, I’m just taking her to bed.”

  Dave stood up and turned to her. He paused for a while, thinking the action through, and then he bent down to place Elizabeth in her arms. Elizabeth fisted her hands in Dave’s shirt and shrieked in objection. Dave straightened up and stared at his daughter shocked.

  Did she know exactly how her mother felt towards her? Because as far as he knew babies never repel their mothers, it was so... unnatural.

  “Lizzy what’s wrong?” Dave stroked his thumb over her pink cheek.

  “Lizzy?” Amy said distastefully, “Give Elizabeth to me.” she said stressing her full name. “Come here honey.” She looked at her with a wide smile on her face, probably facilitated by the alcohol she was consuming.

  Dave looked at her, and then at his daughter, what about her mother did she not like? His list was as long as his arm.

  Elizabeth gave Amy a blank stare, then turned back to Dave and put her tiny arms around his neck. Dave chuckled softly. Whoever said babies could sense evil was right.

  “I guess that’s a no.” He walked past Amy and went upstairs. He gave his daughter a quick bath before he put her down. She was out like a light once her head touched her pillow. Dave stood there for a while watching her, something he was accustomed to doing. It gave him peace that he often craved in the hell hole of a marriage he had or after a tiresome long day at work.

  “So you brain washed my daughter into hating me?” Amy spoke loudly from the baby’s bedroom door. Dave’s jaw tightened, pissed that his peace had been disrupted. “I asked you a question!” Amy yelled.

  Dave turned and marched to the door. He shoved Amy out and closed the door gently behind him. He turned and found her on the floor staring up at him angrily, her glass next to her, all the content soaked up in the carpet. She was about to yell at him again, but he picked her up and dragged her into her room at the end of the hall way and closed the door behind him.

  “Who the hell gave you the right to push me around?” Amy stood close to him, looking up at him. She was close to two inches shorter.

  “When will you learn to grow up Amy? Couldn’t you see she is asleep?” Dave kept his voice low. He didn’t have the strength to fight and he also didn’t want to wake his daughter up just because Amy had decided she wanted to go a few rounds.

  “Who cares about that brat, the only thing she’s done is drive a wedge between us!” Amy yelled emotionally.

  “No Amy, you did that all on your own with no one’s help.” Dave turned to leave, but she stopped him. She reached up and pulled him down in a kiss. Dave pulled her away and looked at her shocked. First the baby now this, what the hell was wron
g with her?

  “I love you Dave. Why can’t we just go back to what we had?” her voice was lower and she sounded desperate. He stared at her stunned. He wasn’t sure if this was a game meant to anger him further or it was a sincere confession. But she did look sincere.

  “Amy I don’t know.” He said unsure, all the anger gone from his voice.

  She held herself tight against him in a hug, “We can, I know we can.” Dave stared at her, shocked more by her actions than her words, “All we have to do is give that brat away and I don’t have to compete for your attention anymore.”

  Dave’s anger rushed back. He pulled her hands off him and pushed her away, “The only person I’ll be giving away is you!” he said acidly. He couldn’t believe he’d thought she was sincere. There was a catch, there was always a catch to her nice attitude.

  She dropped in her lounge chair laughing, “You actually believed me? Well, we would have worked with that brat out of the way, but since you don’t want to make an effort.” She swung her legs up on to the chair. She rubbed her legs against each other seductively, and her night gown dropped, showing her thigh.

  “Who were you wearing that for?” Dave asked angrily. It wasn’t out of jealousy, but disgust. He wiped his lips roughly with the back of his hand, imaging where her lips had been that day.

  “Do you think I’m also having an affair?” She laughed wickedly, “All you need to know is I’ve had a lot of pleasure in this little thing.” She petted herself with her hands, running her fingers from her breast to her inner thigh.

  Dave fought the urge to pick her up and throw her out the window, instead he turned around and stormed out of her room, banging the door behind him to silence her laugh. He stood still for a minute, realizing the mistake he had made by banging the door. When he didn’t hear Elizabeth cry, he walked to his room.