Star Bright

by Christina OW

  Dave moved closer to the desk and stood across from her, “Maria, I needed to know what you were running from so that I could protect you.”

  “You know about Ricky?” Not daring to lift her eyes to meet his.

  “Enough to dance on his grave, if he had one!”

  Maria looked at him, blinking back the tears that hadn’t already spilled over, he didn’t know Ricky was alive and it was going to stay that way. She wasn’t going to chance Michael finding out, “Well that part of my life is over and I would really appreciate it if you don’t bring it up again, especially around Michael.” She wiped her eyes and cheeks dry with the back of her hand as she walked away from him.

  “What did he do to you to make you so closed off?” He asked, following her.

  The question brought back the nightmare her life once was. The images of Ricky, her unconscious son, her blood, the sounds of her bones breaking with each blow, her cries, please and his angry voice rang in her ears. She could feel his hands on her and it made her shake in fear.

  Dave saw her eyes darken with fear and dread, she wrapped her hands around her shaking body tight. Dave didn’t need her to say anything, the sight of her was answer enough. He could see she was reliving the abuse she went through, and it broke Dave’s heart. He wanted to take all the pain away and shield her from the torment she was going through. Instinctively he rushed to her and held her tight against him.

  “Get off me!” Maria screamed, struggling to get out of his hold. She hadn’t seen Dave, all she could see was Ricky’s disfigured face twisted in a half sadistic smile, “Ricky, no please!” she punched and kicked him, struggling to get out of his tight grip on her.

  “Maria, it’s me Dave!” Dave shook her, ignoring the pain from her beating, “Maria!” he yelled louder.

  She stiffened, his voice bringing her out of her trance. She hugged him, crying in relief. She hadn’t felt that kind of fear in a long time, the new joy in her life had managed to keep most of them at bay, but his prying into her life opened the flood gates and they all came rushing back, suffocating her. Dave held her tight, he wanted to wrap himself around her and just keep her safe.

  Izzy’s shrilly laugh made her pull away. She picked her up and sat on the couch holding her tight, she wanted to soak up some of the joy Izzy always had in abundance. She wanted to forget the pain and the nightmares again, close the box Dave had opened.

  Dave took off his tie and opened the top buttons of his white shirt. He touched the sting on his neck where Maria had scratched him. The scratches weren’t so bad, but they drew out some blood. He sat down next to her to relieve the ache in his legs, his chest felt tight where she’d punched him. For a tiny girl she hit very hard.

  Maria looked at him wide eyed. He had long scratch marks along his neck and there was blood on his collar. He had a pained look on his face as he massaged his chest. Maria stood up with Izzy and walked across the room where the toys were and placed her down, “Play with your toys sweetie I’ll be right back.” she smiled down at her, then put a few legos in her tiny hands. Satisfied that Izzy was distracted enough, she rushed to the bathroom and came back out with a first aid box.

  “I didn’t know I had that.” Dave said amazed, unbuttoning his shirt down further.

  “You have a lot of things. I’ll give you a grand tour of your office later.” she joked dubbing the scratches. Dave cringed away and hissed in pain, “I’m so sorry.” Maria said guiltily.

  “Don’t worry about it. You hit like a boy.” Dave said with a laugh.

  “Just because I’m small doesn’t mean I’m weak.” she went to the mini fridge and got some ice. She looked around the room trying to find a cloth to wrap them in.

  Dave took off his stained shirt and offered it to her, “Use this.”

  Maria looked at him, appreciating his physic. He wasn’t very muscular or broad compared to Ricky, he was perfect, but Dave held his own and his wide chest was appealing to her.

  Dave saw how differently she looked at him, and he liked it. He grinned sheepishly at the attention, glad she found him attractive, “Maria,” he called out to her, breaking her daze.

  She took his shirt and wrapped the ice in it, then carefully placed it on the spot he was rubbing, which was beginning to change shades, “You bruise easily.” She felt her throat dry out being very close to him while he was half nude. She was attracted to him more than she thought.

  “No, you just hit harder than most men I know, you should teach Michael how to fight.”

  “Why? Do you think he’ll get bullied in school?” She asked anxiously.

  “No he won’t,” he pushed her hair behind her shoulder forcing her to look up at him, “Every boy should know how to use his fist.”

  “As long as he isn’t using it to hurt anyone.” she said softly.

  “Getting beat up is a rite of passage.” He put his hand on her neck and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

  “Excuse you?” Maria snapped at him pushing his hand away, “My son is never going to get beaten up, neither is he going to raise his hand against any one.” she added angrily.

  Dave noticed the mistake he made with his choice of words, “Maria, I didn’t mean it that way, I just meant boys fight, which is normal.”

  “I don’t care how you meant it.” she stood up and walked to his closet. She took out a blue shirt and threw it at him, “There is nothing normal about getting beat up.” she walked to the other side of the room and picked up Izzy, “I know how hard to hit because I’ve been used as a punching bag long enough to measure the amount of force needed for the worst hit, that isn’t normal.” She opened the door and walked out, leaving it wide open.

  “Maria wait!” Dave chased after her, but stopped at the corridor when he realized he was half naked, “Damn it!” He turned to find Carol holding the blue shirt up for him, “The firm has rules about nudity.” She joked, “Your office is like a tiny apartment. Clothes in the closet, first aid kits, and a mini fridge full of leftovers, the only thing missing is a bed.”

  “The couch is a sofa bed. All Maria’s doing.” she personally furnished the room because she wanted to make sure he was comfortable when he ended up sleeping in the office. Dave snatched the shirt from her and walked back to his office. His annoyance and temper rose when he found Todd standing in his office with a shy look on his face, “Let me guess, you screwed up the little work I gave you?”

  “I was hoping to get you in a better mood.” Todd spoke, a little frightened.

  “Better luck next time.” he walked to his desk buttoning his shirt, “Did you bring the files with you?”

  “Yes.” he said, taking a seat, “You were in less of a bad mood when Paula or Maria, whatever her name is wasn’t around, in fact...” he stopped dead in the middle of his sentence when he noticed the lethal, cold, angry glare Dave was giving him, “How about we just go back to work?”

  “That’s the most intelligent thing you’ve said all day.”

  Maria cleared the tables at the cafe in a surly mood, she had been like that the whole afternoon. She felt silly for over reacting, but irate that Dave went digging in her past, which he had no right to. She thought after spending so much time together he trusted her, but she was sure he did it more out of curiosity than the need to feel secure. Dave liked mysteries, and her jumpy, scared, private self must have spiked his interest.

  She was relieved that the truth was out, but she would have preferred to be the one to open that door on her own terms, but Dave just had to do things his way. His private investigator must have stood out like a sore thumb, there was no way he could have gone unnoticed.

  Maria froze as the reality of what Dave had done dawned on her. She felt her chest tighten and her air waves close off as the fear wrapped around her tight. The PI stood out like a sore thumb, everyone in the town would have known he was there, asked questions and found out what he was looking for.

  Maria felt like curling up on the floor and crying hysterically.
Her whole world was crushing in on her again, and as much as she knew she wasn’t caged in like before, she couldn’t help but feel despair, knowing what would come if she didn’t run now. Michael would be devastated, he just started school and he wouldn’t be able to let go of the little family he had created. She would rather have him disappointed than dead.

  She rushed into the kitchen and picked up the phone. She dialed Edna’s number and waited anxiously for her to pick up, when she didn’t, she called Jane, and felt a few knots in her body loosen when she heard her best friend’s voice.

  “Hi Jane.” She faked joy so as not to alarm her friend, “How’s everyone doing?”

  “Hi Maria, everyone’s good.” she responded happily.

  “That’s nice.” she bit her lip impatiently, “How’s work?” adding more pleasantries before she got to what she really wanted to ask.

  “You know how work is at JJ’s.” she sounded down before her voice picked up, “but I’m getting a new job soon.”

  “That’s great.” Maria said, faking excitement. She felt like she was going to burst, “So anything new in Jacksonville?”

  “No, not much.” and then her voice lowered, “Maria, Ricky hasn’t been around here since the day you left.”

  “That’s great.” she felt nervous, suddenly wishing he had been in Jacksonville where people could see him and be sure he was there and not anywhere close to her, “But I really just wanted to know if there was anything different, keep up with the news at home.”

  “There is a journalist here from some big newspaper. He’s writing some story about the town or something.”

  Maria breathed a sigh of relief, grateful Dave’s man had the sensibility to have a cover story, but she was curious how her mother came to find out about him, “Jane, how’s my mom doing, she didn’t answer her phone when I called?”

  Jane paused for a moment before she answered. Edna didn’t want her knowing that her father was back, she wanted to break that news to her daughter herself, “She’s fine. She took Denise out.”

  She leaned against the wall and forced herself to relax, “Okay, it was nice talking to you, I really needed to hear a friendly voice.”

  “Don’t worry, Ricky will never be able to find you.”

  “I hope you are right.” Maria said with a nervous laugh. She knew what would happen, just imagining it scared her to death.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maria stood by the car and waited for Michael to come out of the school building. She was so excited to see him after his first day she came twenty minutes early. She looked into the car to make sure Izzy was alright before she turned back to the huge metal gates. She had managed to talk herself calm, but she needed to see Michael to be completely calm. She pulled out the phone Dave had gotten her to check the time again, there were five minutes left and several text and voice messages from Dave.

  She hadn’t bothered to call him back, she was sure once he heard her voice he would know she wasn’t okay, the man picked up emotions like a canine police unit picked up scents. She was going to call him back, right after she felt calm enough to, right after Michael was safe in her arms.

  The building’s wooden doors opened and kids began to rush out. Maria felt giddy and happy when she spotted Michael laughing and talking with three other boys. He was so unlike her, capable of making friends so fast. She was a little surprised when she saw a man in a grey suit walk out behind them. He stopped at the gate and waved at her when he spotted her, Maria laughed realizing that Dave had gone overboard with keeping Michael safe, but she appreciated it, making her like him even more.

  “Mama!” Michael yelled, running to her open waiting arms. She hugged him tight, all the fear and anxiety slipping away.

  “So how was your first day?” She opened the door and put him in next to Izzy. She shrieked happily when she saw him.

  “It was great. I missed you too.” hugging her.

  Maria rushed to the driver’s side and got in. She handed Michael the phone before she pulled the car out of the parking lot, “Call Dave and tell him we are on our way home.”

  “Hello Maria.” Dave jumped from his seat, unable to contain his relief, he had thought something bad had happened to her and Izzy.

  “Hi, mama says to tell you we are on our way home.” Michael sang out.

  Dave smiled, he was glad to hear his voice, but he would have preferred to hear Maria’s. He needed to know if she was still mad at him, and the fact it was Michael who called only meant she was, “Tell her she doesn’t have to cook. I’m bringing pizza to celebrate your great day at school.”

  “How did you know I had fun?”

  “I’m psychic. See you soon.” He hung up, then picked up his briefcase and walked out of the office. He still had a lot of work to do, but he needed to get home, Michael would definitely want to talk about his first day and he needed to fix things with Maria. Besides, he had spent too much time in his office and very little at home, he needed to make time for his family.

  Todd rushed behind him with a paper in his hand, “Where are you going, we aren’t done yet?”

  “I’m going home. If I keep spending my time here, I’m going to forget my home and what my family looks like.” He stepped into the elevator determined to leave.

  “They are always here and besides they aren’t your family.”

  “Yes they are, and if you want your mess fixed you better keep that in mind.” He said harshly, before the elevator doors closed.

  Todd stood there looking at the doors, helpless. He knew he couldn’t do anything else without Dave’s approval and he surely wasn’t going home early for his father to scold him for dodging work, the only thing left to do was drink the bottle of whiskey he had in his desk. He turned around and skipped to his office.

  Dave parked his car at the side walk. He liked having two cars parked in front of his house, it gave him a feel of a family, he had longed for a family when he was with Amy and now he had it, with Maria. He walked to his door with two pizzas in one hand and a bouquet of red and white roses in another. He wasn’t sure which flowers she liked, but a man could never go wrong with roses.

  Michael opened the door before he could, “Hi buddy,” Dave said, stepping in.

  “Hi dad, mama doesn’t like flowers.” Michael said before he took the pizzas and jetted off to the living room. Dave stood there for a while, shocked, but yet pleased Michael had called him dad again. He understood he had to put up a show at school, but at home it was different and very genuine. Michael saw him as a dad and it made Dave very glad.

  “You need to stop him from calling you that.” Maria emerged from the living room, she walked to him and took the roses from him, “Thanks.”

  Dave saw how carelessly she held them and knew he would have to find something that appealed to this woman, most women would be cooing and smelling them, but she held them like she would a dead branch, “Why should I? He wants to and I like it.” he took off his coat and placed it in the closet, “besides, now you don’t have any other choice but to marry me.”

  “How about you and Michael stop being delusional.” she walked ahead of him to the kitchen, “This is going to end bad Dave and he’s going to get hurt.” She placed the roses on the counter, reached into the cupboard and took out several plates.

  “It doesn’t have to.” He stood at the door and watched her move around the kitchen. She looked like she lived there for years, like it was her home.

  “Izzy already had her dinner and I thought you would want to tuck her in. You haven’t done that in weeks.” Maria said, changing the subject. It always made her uncomfortable when he talked about their future, which she wasn’t too sure they would have one.

  “Thanks.” he blocked her way and kept her in the kitchen, “Why do you keep doing that?” he took the plates out of her hands, walked to the counter, pulling her with him, “We can eat out of the box. Why do you change the subject when you get uncomfortable?”

  “You’ve
already answered yourself, it would be silly if I repeated it.” keeping her head down.

  “Maria.” he said gently, lifting her head with his fingers.

  “Michael is going to finish the pizza.”

  “I’ll call for another one, just answer me.”

  She stared at him, her lips bitten shut. She had a number of reasons why she wasn’t comfortable with speaking of a future with him, she just didn’t think he would be too pleased to hear them.

  “If you are afraid I’ll turn out to be like Ricky, you couldn’t be more wrong.”

  “I can’t take that risk.” she said, stepping away from him.

  “I spent seven years of my life married to Amy, not once did I lay a hand on her, as much as I wanted to kill her a few times. I think that’s proof enough.”

  “You are right, Amy is enough proof but... what if it doesn’t work out?” she shook her head.

  Dave moved closer to her, “There is no guarantee in life.” he pushed her hair back out of her face, “We just have to risk it.”

  “I will be the one risking it, you already have my entire life in a little black folder. A journalist, that was clever, but not clever enough.”

  Dave sighed, his eye brow rose in amusement. He had called the PI and asked him how he got made, his answer of course wasn’t shocking. Miguel was in town and a criminal of his caliber could spot a cop a mile away. He did his homework on Miguel Martinez and found out he was a wanted man. He was taking a huge risk coming back to this country which only meant there was a piece of the puzzle missing, “I’m sorry about that. You just looked so scared at times and I just wanted to protect you.”

  “If I wanted a hero, I’d call 911. I wasn’t even looking for a friend, but you somehow became a constant in my life.”

  “I used the kids, guys always do that when they want a hot chick to like them.” Dave joked.