Star Bright

by Christina OW

  “If you are going to kill me, just do it!” Maria begged. She wasn’t up to going through hours of torture before he finally killed her.

  “I am going to kill you, but I want to have some fun first.” he grabbed her hair and pulled her face closer to his, “I’m just having a hard time deciding whether to make love to you before or after I beat you, cut you up and burn you.” he brushed his lips against hers, “Help me decide, hmm?”

  The door flew open with a bang, startling Ricky. He let go of Maria and she fell back on the floor with a thud. She didn’t know who was at the door, but all she wished for was the unexpected visitor was here to either kill her or Ricky.

  “Who the hell are you?” Ricky yelled, standing up. His answer came silent, hard and surprising. Maria saw Ricky sag to the floor, his face frozen in complete shock. Maria smiled as a black fog filled her eyes, she’d also gotten her answer, the stranger was here to kill him. She winced when she felt her body get dragged up, the stranger whispering urgently in her ear as he hurriedly walked away carrying her in his arms. The corridor light was the last thing she seen before the black fog completely consumed her, numbing all her senses and the pain in her body.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Dave paced around the room with a third glass of brandy in his hand. There was no way he could stay sober listening and picturing all the degradation Maria had been through in Ricky’s hands. It was amazing she was still sane and alive, most women he knew would have killed themselves.

  “This is my entire fault.” Miguel cried into his palms.

  Edna hugged his shoulders to her and rocked him gently, “No it’s not.” she swallowed a sob before she went on, “You couldn’t have seen something like this coming. I certainly didn’t.”

  “He might not have seen it coming, but he knew it was happening!” Dave yelled, “So yes, it is his fault!”

  “Dave stop, can’t you see he’s suffering?” Edna kissed Miguel’s shoulder and placed her head on it.

  “Why should I hold back? You didn’t blink once when you told her how she destroyed your life!” Dave spat out, turning his anger to Edna. She cringed back and hid her face in Miguel’s shoulder.

  “That’s enough.” Miguel whispered, pulling his head up. His eyes were blood shot and wet, he looked like he had aged twenty years in the last hour, “Where is she now?”

  Dave flushed down the brandy, “I’ll find out.” he poured himself some more then pulled out his phone and dialed.

  “Don’t you think you’ve had enough to drink?” Edna asked, “You need to be sober when she comes back.”

  “Sober? I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stay sober after what you’ve just told me.” He sipped at his glass, “It’s amazing she didn’t seek comfort in drugs or alcohol.” He raised his phone to his ear and waited for Johnson to pick up.

  “She had Michael to help her get through each day.”

  “Tell me this, when Michael was conceived...” he let the question hang as he lifted his glass to his lips. It was sad enough that Ricky was Michael’s father, it would only be sadder if he existed out of rape and not love.

  “At that time, the devil hadn’t shown his horns yet.” Edna smiled, “Maria was truly happy and in love, like I was when I found out I was pregnant with her.” she turned to Miguel and pulled his face closer for a kiss.

  “You just climbed five steps above Ricky in my scale of bastards.” Dave said with a chuckle, amused by the dagger stares his soon to be parents-in-law gave him, “Don’t worry, you are just a step below my dad.”

  “Where is my daughter Dave?” Miguel asked, biting down on his temper. He was doing a fine job beating himself up all on his own and he didn’t need Dave’s help.

  Dave lifted his finger up when he heard Johnson’s voice on the line, “Hey, where’s Maria?”

  “Dave.” Johnson stuttered. He turned around to look at Maria, if it wasn’t for her shallow struggled breathing he would have thought she was already dead, “We have a problem.”

  “What, did she make you again?” Dave took another sip. He’d have to look for a more competent shadow for Maria, her suspicious nature made her radar impossible for Johnson and his men to keep up with her.

  “No, it’s not that.” he pulled up in front of the emergency entrance. He got out of the car and ran inside, “I need some help!” he yelled in the busy room before he ran back out, two nurses running behind him.

  Dave put his glass down and stepped closer to the couple, his chest already tightening, “Johnson what’s going on?” his voice was unsteady and full of fear.

  “Ricky.” he said, running behind Maria’s gurny, “He found her.”

  Dave grabbed at his neck. He felt like he was suffocating, like someone had put a bag over his head, “Johnson...”

  “She’s alive, but in bad shape. We are at the Memorial Hospital, you need to get here.” Johnson watched as they cut up her pink t-shirt and exposed her black and blue torso and abdomen. One of the doctor’s lingered on her side, he pressed down making Maria wake up with a deafening scream, blood seeping out of her mouth. He held her down and yelled something before they pushed her through another door.

  This was bad, far worse than he thought, and if he knew Dave well enough, Johnson was sure he was going to be in a room across from hers after Dave was through with him, “Dave, you have to get down here, now!”

  Dave dropped the phone and stared at Miguel and Edna. He couldn’t find his voice to speak, it was stuck under the millions of sobs in his throat. Edna stood up and moved to him. She blinked back her tears then placed her palms on Dave’s wet face and turned him to her.

  “You don’t have to say anything, just nod or blink, I’ll understand.” She spoke slowly to him like she was speaking to a child. She saw the dead look on his face and it could only mean one thing, her daughter was in trouble and her odds were set on Ricky being that trouble.

  Miguel stood up and moved behind her, “Edna what’s wrong?” his voice full of urgency.

  “Dave.” Edna started calmly, “Is she alive?”

  “What!” Miguel spat out.

  Edna ignored him and stayed focused on Dave, “Honey, nod if she’s alive.”

  Dave nodded, “She’s at the Memorial Hospital.” he struggled out.

  She let out a breath of relief then turned to Miguel, “You and Dave, go I’ll stay with the kids.”

  “I’m going to kill him!” Miguel said between clenched teeth as he rushed out the house, Dave followed him, slowly slipping out of his daze with each step, all he felt now was anger and hate. Ricky had crossed the line for the last time.

  Dave stood at the hospital room door, his arms crossed over his chest and his mind replaying Edna’s words like a record player stuck on a loop, as he stared at the sleeping Maria. With all the bruises on her face, she looked peaceful, like she hadn’t been through a traumatic experience just a few hours ago, of course thanks to the strong sedatives they gave her, which he wouldn’t mind taking himself.

  He rubbed his hand over his face, and then blinked a few times just to make sure he wasn’t in a drunken dream. She was in that bed, bruised and broken, but alive and safe and at that moment that’s all that mattered. He felt his throat tighten as his eyes stung with tears. He had promised she would be safe, that nothing like this would ever happen to her again, but it did, and worst of all, under his watch.

  “Johnson, how the hell did you let this happen to her?” Dave turned to glare at him, keeping his position at the door way.

  “I don’t know. She went in alone, no one followed her. I guess he was already inside just waiting for her.” Johnson rapped out.

  “He almost killed her!” He turned to look back at her, she had turned her head and was trying to set free her strapped arm, but soon stopped.

  “But he’s the dead one.” Johnson spoke confidently. That was the only good thing that had come out from that night.

  Dave turned and looked at him. He couldn’t deny he was
relieved that Ricky was dead, and their lives would now be like every other normal family’s. No more shadow body guards for Maria and the kids, no more secrets or investigations and no more suspense thriller movie their lives had turned out to be. He did like the thrill Maria’s life had been, but he wanted it over, it was time for him to stop playing the God Father, it wasn’t fun anymore, especially after seeing Maria like this.

  “You are lucky she’s alive and he’s dead.” Dave said candidly, then turned to greet Miguel and the doctor. Johnson knew the true weight of those words and he considered himself more than lucky.

  “She’s lucky she got here when she did.” the doctor spoke, digging his hands in his white coat.

  “We all know just how much.” Miguel spoke, eyeing Johnson with a lethal glimmer in his eye. Johnson stepped back, appreciating the threat in Miguel’s voice. Dave wasn’t the only one he was to be scared of. Dave saw the look, but he didn’t care to stand up for Johnson, he needed a little scare to keep him on his toes.

  “Three of her ribs were broken and unfortunately one of them punctured her lung.” Dave shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably as he listened to the doctor, “She has a dislocated shoulder and her back and belly will be sore and swollen for a few weeks, but she’ll be fine.” the doctor looked at the three men with caution, his next question wouldn’t be taken lightly by any of the men, “May I ask who’s the lady’s husband?”

  “She’s not...” Miguel started before Dave cut him off.

  “I am and no I did not beat up my wife to the point she needed surgery.” Dave answered bluntly, his gaze as cool as his voice.

  “She was mugged.” Johnson offered, “I found her a few streets from her house.”

  The doctor looked at them, he wasn’t sure whether or not to believe them, for all he knew they could be covering up for each other.

  “Now that we’ve cleared up that little issue, where do I go to pay the bill?” Miguel asked.

  “The bill is taken care of, she’s under my health insurance.” Dave answered, “Is there anything else you’d like to ask before you call the police?” Dave asked with his lawyer voice on.

  The doctor’s eyes widened, “Ah, no.” he turned and shuffled away fast. Miguel and Dave gave him an unconcerned look as he rushed away, Johnson just chuckled. He knew how the doctor felt, Dave had an imposing nature that scared most of the people he came across, especially those he was trying to put behind bars.

  “Is he going to call the police?” Miguel asked turning to face Dave.

  “No.” he spoke tiredly. The lawyer face and voice had sagged back to the worn out worried man he was a few minutes ago, “He’s too scared to get involved.”

  “I thought you two had to be married to get that kind of insurance deal?”

  “It’s a temporary arrangement.” Dave turned to look at Maria, her face was now facing his direction, she didn’t look peaceful anymore, she looked troubled.

  “How did you pull that off?” he chuckled, shaking his head, “Why am I even asking, you are Dave Greer, nothing’s impossible for you.” Johnson said.

  “With my career, yes, my personal life not so much.” He moved into the room when Maria started to weep quietly as she tossed and turned, “Miguel, I think she’s having a nightmare.”

  Maria could hear Ricky’s voice ring in her ears as he laughed at her poor attempts to get away from him. Then she heard herself crying and begging, for death, for life which ever would make the torment end. Then there was the pain, the blinding pain in her side and the blood, she could taste it, and she could see more streaming out of her hand.

  Then she saw two figures, Ricky was kneeling beside them, a sadistic smile on his lips as he held a knife with a bloody hand, her blood, she was sure of it. She pulled her weight closer to get a good look at the figures, they were scared and crying. She looked closely at them and felt her heart stop when she saw the little faces, Michael and Izzy.

  “No, please!” Maria begged, pulling herself closer to her crying children. This wasn’t supposed to be happening, how did they even get there? They were supposed to be safe with Dave.

  Ricky pulled Michael down to Izzy’s level, immediately Michael wrapped his arms around her and hid her face in his shoulder. Maria begged and cried even more, but that only seemed to excite Ricky more. He held the knife to Michael’s neck, “Say bye bye to mama.”

  “No!” Maria jumped up, the pain from her side paralyzed her like an electric volt had passed through her body, which only allowed her a tiny weep in place of the scream, she wanted to let out.

  “Maria, Maria you’re safe, you’re okay.” Dave spoke, stroking her face. He wiped the tears away from her face with his fingers, careful not to touch her bruises. Seeing her awake washed all the worry, fear and anger he had when he was watching her lay unconscious and broken, but the guilt of failing to protect her was still there, like a dark cloud hanging over him and the pain on her face only drove the knife deeper into his heart. He was never going to be able to forgive himself, and he wouldn’t blame Maria if she hated him too after all the promises he had made to her.

  “Maria, it’s me Dave.” he quickly wiped a tear away before he went on, “Your father is here too.”Taking the introduction as a cue, Miguel moved and sat on the other side of her bed. He took her free hand and pulled it gently to his lips, “Mija.” he cried, letting a few tears flow more freely than Dave had allowed himself, “lo siento, lo siento mija!”

  Maria opened her eyes slowly, the wave of pain slowly fading away as the grogginess took dominance again. She felt light headed, like she was floating, especially now that the pain seemed like a distant memory, like it wasn’t her body in pain.

  She always thought she would end up like this again, in a hospital bed, courtesy of Ricky, but she never believed it would ever happen, not with Dave around and as much as it may hurt her pride, she had to admit she felt more secure with her scary criminal father around. But it was her fault, she was the one who took off alone, without either of them, so how were they going to protect her?

  She looked at her father who had her hand glued to his cheek then she shifted her eyes to Dave who was hovering above her, stroking her hair away from her face, his other hand laid on her other side, his fingers weaved with hers in the sling. His eyes were hollow and pained, and his lips were curved up in a quivering tightly pressed smile. She struggled to keep her vision focused on his face, she couldn’t understand his emotions. It wasn’t pity or repulsion or anger at her stupidity, it was something completely different. Something she had never seen before.

  She turned back to Miguel, he had the same look on his face, but she could also see anger in his eyes, and that she understood. She looked around the room for Edna and the kids, but there was only one more man who was standing at the door, she couldn’t see him properly, but the image of him standing at the door brought back the memory of the man who shot Ricky.

  Ricky!

  She looked at the two men seated at her bed. She wonder if they knew what happened to her, who had done this to her, she wondered if one of them shot Ricky.

  Was Ricky even dead?

  The stranger’s phone rang and Miguel and Dave turned to his direction. He quietly excused himself, returning all the attention to Maria.

  “Where’s mama?” Maria whispered. Her throat felt scratchy and dry, probably because of all the meds they had pumped inside her.

  “She’s home with the children.” Miguel answered, planting another kiss in her palm. Maria could feel her hands and head begin to itch. All the hands on her were beginning to make her uncomfortable. She struggled not to pull away, these were men who cared for her and would never hurt her, the way Ricky did at least.

  Maria turned to Dave, “How is Michael?”

  “He’s fine.”

  “Izzy?”

  “She’s fine too. You know her mood depends on Michael’s.” he answered with a smile then leaned down and kissed her forehead.

 
Maria inched back away from him, but she didn’t get far with the huge pillow under her head, “Yeah, Michael loves it when she tails after him.” unable to contain her discomfort anymore, she pulled away from both men and painfully pushed herself to a sitting position, “I just hope he doesn’t ask for a puppy.” She preferred lying down, but this was the only polite way to get their hands away from her.

  “Mija, it would be better if you lay down.” He rose to help her, but she raised her hand stopping him.

  “No, I’m fine. I’m already used to the pain.”

  “You shouldn’t be used to anything like what you went through.” Dave’s anger crept out, his voice was low and harsh, echoing the anger in his eyes.

  Maria turned away from him, she was back to square one, cowering away from the slightest hint of aggression, “I take it you know what happened?”

  “Yes.” Miguel answered before a sadistic smile crept over his harsh face, “But he’s dead now and you have nothing to worry about.” He said, combing her hair with his fingers.

  The look on Miguel’s face made Maria uncomfortable. He seemed psychotic, a sadist with a gentle touch and that frightened her because whenever Ricky had that look on his face it always meant he was going to hurt her.

  “So.” Maria swallowed the lump in her throat, “Am I right in assuming you shot him?”

  Miguel laughed and to Maria’s relief, he stood up and moved to stand at the foot of her bed, “I would have loved to have had that honor, but no it wasn’t me.”

  Maria looked at him, surprised by his excited yet disappointed attitude. How was it possible she and her mother attracted psychopaths? She shifted her gaze to Dave, his long face answered her question, besides cold blooded murder wasn’t his style. At least she had one sane man in her life. She raised her hand and stroked his cheek, “I know it wasn’t you.”

  Dave’s eyes rose to settle in hers. The harsh look in them made Maria pull away, “Why, because I’m too much of a coward to do what needs to be done?”