All it Took Was You

by Ali Vali

  "I’m sure they would have picked you up for aiding and abetting by now honey, so I’m sure that’s not it. Whatever kept him away must be important since he cares so much about Diana."

  "True, well baby there is someone here that needs to talk to me so I’ll see you and Jack in a little while. Love you."

  "Love you too honey, be careful."

  Harry hung the phone and turned to the waiting nurse, "Dr. Basantes, I just wanted to tell you that Dianna is coming around."

  "Thanks I’ll be right there. Could you call Dr. Nova and tell him to come and get these files for me. They are the ones they will need for tomorrow’s rounds so tell him not to dawdle." The nurse nodded her head along with a chuckle as Harry got up and left the room.

  "Dianna how are you feeling?" Harry’s low voice made the brown eyes flutter open as Dianna tried to focus on her.

  "Tyrell?" Her voice sounded like her mouth was stuffed with cotton and it felt like her tongue was glued to the roof of her mouth.

  "I’ll try him again later and maybe I can sneak him in tomorrow to see you. You rest now and let the nurse know if you need anything. I’m only a phone call away so if you get scared or don’t understand something have one of them call me, ok?" Dianna listened to what Harry was saying, but was more focused on the heat of Harry’s hand on hers. It was as if the doctor’s hands were infused with a life all their own. She never noticed the absence of the hand since Dianna slipped back into a peaceful sleep before Harry got up to leave.

  She dreamed of when she and Tyrell were children and they would play in the empty field near the apartment they grew up in. The two of them would crawl around and climb on all the deserted cars on the lot making up stories of faraway adventures they would go on when they grew up. Dianna watched Tyrell climb up first to check to see if it was safe before he extended his hand down to her. "Come on Di, our ship is waiting to sail." She grabbed his hand and moved her right foot to find a hold to make her climb easier.

  The nurses at the station missed the movement under the blanket of the patient in bed eleven. In a deep sleep Dianna acted out her dream as much as she could as she saw Tyrell’s face from his perch above her. He was smiling and waiting.

  Comments to: terrali20@yahoo.com

  * * *

  All It Took Was You

  by

  Ali Vali

  Part 8

  Tyrell had watched the man leaning against the oak tree from the top of the fence all day, waiting for him to make a move, only to have his vigil come to an end as soon as the workmen packed up for the day and the sun set. With darkness as his cover, Byron took his chance and started up the ladder that the workmen had left leaning against the house. What the big man couldn’t figure out was where the younger Simoneaux was. The old man was dead but he hadn’t heard of anything happening to Mike.

  The reason Tyrell was sitting on the Basantes property fence was a call he had received as he was leaving the hospital after visiting his sister. Tyrell’s friends had succeeded where the police had failed after they had taken turns watching the house for unwanted visitors. Early that morning one of Tyrell’s old posse had watched as one man scaled the fence, followed by another a short time later. As soon as they were on the Basantes property he picked up the phone and called Tyrell. Being an escaped convict himself, Tyrell had wanted to wait until dark to see if he could to do anything about Byron and his brother. With so much activity going on around the house, no one had noticed him sitting atop the fence obscured by a tree, and for that Tyrell was grateful. He wanted help Harry but was determined to stay out of jail as long as he could.

  When Byron reached the second floor and slid open a window, Tyrell jumped down from his lookout post and started walking leisurely toward the house. He stopped when he spotted someone moving ahead of him toward the same ladder that Byron had used, and it solved the mystery of where Mike was. Mike had not noticed the large man that had led them out of the swamp since he was dressed in black almost from head to toe.

  "What’s that little asshole up to?" Tyrell verbalized the question out loud, but soft enough so that Mike didn’t hear him. Mike just stood close to the top rungs of the ladder not moving. Tyrell stood in the yard watching him, wondering why Mike wasn’t following his brother inside. What are you waiting for Mikey? Mike in a way answered Tyrell’s question when he finished the trip up. The convicted killer broke out into a quick run when Mike disappeared through the same window his brother had used several minutes before. Tyrell quickened his pace when he saw the three women in the house head out of the kitchen to the middle of the house like they were going upstairs. He couldn’t let them go up if the two lunatics were waiting for them.

  Byron stood in the darkened bedroom he had entered listening for any activity or alarm around him. There were voices filtering through the door and they seemed to be getting louder making him wish he were invisible. To his relief they were all women and whoever they were, they were laughing at something one of them had said. With a soft click, he opened the large knife he had taken from the house they had slept in the night before and held it tightly in his hand. He held his breath not wanting anything to alert them that he was in the house, but the voices passed his door and continued on their way. Before he let out the long stream of air he had been holding, he could hear his heartbeat thumping in his ears. Byron wondered if it was just from excitement or from fear. It didn’t matter now, he was too close to getting back what was his.

  Behind him, Mike also held his breath so that his brother wouldn’t see or hear him. Mike had been ready to leave the city and turn himself back into authorities, but changed his mind when he saw Byron climb over the fence wall. He knew that it wouldn’t help his cause but he wouldn’t let what happened to his mother; happen to Desi or to Rachel, who he knew was in the house. Mike was treading into the unknown now since he had figured the only way to survive this whole ordeal was to walk back through the gates he had escaped from, not into Harry and Desi’s home.

  In an attempt to keep the element of surprise Byron sat on the bed and took his shoes off and placed them neatly at the foot of the bed beside him. Before he got up, he picked up the knife and ran the tip of his index finger along the blade to check its sharpness again. He hissed softly as the line of blood quickly appeared where the knife had touched, the pain only resolving him to what had to happen. What he had dreamed about since they had put him in that cell and told him he would never get out. The people that had put him there were just down the hall waiting for his retribution.

  With a smile on his face, Byron opened the door softly and looked both ways down the hall before stepping out of the room he had been hiding in. Mike took that opportunity to finish climbing into the room his brother had just occupied, trying to stay quiet. Keeping his shoes on, Mike looked out the door to see which way his brother had headed. He could see Byron just standing outside the door at the end of the hall, swaying as if trying to make a decision. There were voices coming out of the room, two Mike recognized. With Tyrell now at the base of the ladder it was like a chess game played with only three pieces, each waiting for the other to make a move before they countered the play.

  "When did Harry say she was heading home?" asked Rachel. The three of them had come up to help Desi put a new diaper on Jack and put him to bed. Rachel had decided to stay and have dinner with them since Serena was staying at work late and Butch was spending the night with her lover’s parents. She missed days spent like this with her sister. They had talked, given Desi a new haircut and held Jack watching him find new things in the world around him.

  "In about thirty minutes. If she’s not here by then, I say Mona’s pot roast is fair game. She was waiting for her patient to wake…" Desi’s voice just died away and Mona watched as the color drained out of the young woman’s face. Rachel was pulling the soft blanket onto Jack’s little feet and missed the sight that was making her sister weak kneed with fear. Desi swayed when she saw him but found the strength to stay on her
feet.

  "She’s waiting to do what?" Rachel waited for her sister to finish, turning around to look at her when she wouldn’t answer. "Desi?" It was like time stood still as Rachel focused only on Desi’s face and Desi focused on the figure standing in the hall.

  Mona turned to look at what had scared the talk right out of Desi and was confronted by the sight of a man with a large knife in his hand. He looked different than the last time she had seen him, but Mona recognized him right off. Byron Simoneaux had returned for round two, but Harry wasn’t home to fight it, and the man standing there didn’t look like he was willing to wait for her to get home to begin whatever he had in mind.

  "What’s the matter sweetheart, not happy to see me? And after all the trouble I had to go through to come and see you." Byron lifted his arms out to his sides so Desi could get a better look at him. The one thing her eyes stayed focused on was not him though, but the blade that was now reflecting the overhead lights from the hall. "You disappoint me Desiree, but that’s no surprise since you were always good at doing that. I mean you don’t come to see me, you don’t write, hell you wont’ even call." Bryon started talking and couldn’t seem to stop. With each comment that came flying out of his mouth he took a step closer into the room and to the woman he had thought about for all those long months in Angola. Sometimes during the nights filled with screams and moans within the prison walls, if Byron concentrated he could still remember what her skin smelled like.

  "If you know what’s good for you, you will turn around and walk out of here and leave us alone. Haven’t you caused this young woman enough pain for one lifetime?" Mona walked to stand in front of the catatonic Desi before the man got any closer to her.

  Rachel stood in front of Jack’s bassinet trying desperately to think of something she could do to protect her sister and her nephew before Byron started slashing something with the knife he was holding. Leave it to Mona to step in and confront the bastard like he didn’t frighten her in the least.

  Mona’s commanding voice made him stop walking, take his eyes off Desi and focus on the woman talking to him. "Did you hear me ask for you to open your mouth and say anything?"

  "I don’t care what you want or who you want to talk, I just want you to turn around and get out. It would be the smart thing for you to do before Harry gets home. I’m just trying to keep you alive, not that it’s worth it, but it would be for the best." Mona didn’t move and thought she was getting to him. Maybe he would remember the beating he had gotten the last time he had stepped foot in the house.

  Byron cocked his head first to one side and then to the other and Rachel felt herself shiver from the bones cracking in his neck. It was one of the first things he did before he would start hitting Desi; pop the vertebrae in his neck into place as if it somehow improved his swing. Only this time Byron varied from his normal routine. He started moving before he started talking and in a vicious arch swung the knife upward and buried it into Mona’s abdomen. The one thing that surprised him was she didn’t give him the satisfaction of screaming. The old woman just fell to the ground holding her midsection as blood poured out through her fingers. "If I need your opinion on what I should be doing, I’ll ask. Try and remember that next time, will you?"

  He started laughing at how easy that had been and he couldn’t stop. The more Mona bled, the more Byron laughed until Desi just screamed as loud as she could.

  "NO! Get away from her, it’s me you want Byron not her." He watched, tapping the end of the bloody knife against his chin, as the tears ran down from the green eyes. Desi’s scream had pulled his attention from Mona, but it had also woken Jack up and the crying made Bryon turn his focus further into the room. In the bed was the baby that rightfully should have been his. The one thing his marriage to Desi had not given him, a son.

  "Been busy I see." Desi wanted to find a hole and crawl into it, Byron looked and sounded insane. This had been her worst nightmare since Serena had come to their house and told them that Bryon and his family had escaped. Desi had been confident that the police would have found them long before Jack was born. Whenever Desi had that dream it had always ended with Harry holding her closer and telling her that she would be all right. Harry I need you right now to tell me that Jack will ok, please get home soon honey before it’s too late.

  "Byron please, take me and do whatever you want. You’re right, I’ve been a lousy wife to you but please leave the baby out of this. I promise to do everything you want, but I’m begging you to leave him out of this." Desi looked into Byron’s eyes trying to get through to him. Truthfully she had never cared for him. She had just tried to survive him, but now she wasn’t so sure she would come out of this with just bruises and broken bones to show for it. She had never seen him look so demented, so charged up to do harm. And there were so many targets in the room for him to focus that on.

  "That’s rich Desiree. I’ve waited years to hear you beg me for anything, and all it took was you having that dyke’s baby to do the trick. It is hers, isn’t it?" Bryon was now running the bloody knife along his cheek in a soft line so as not to break the skin. The coppery smell just below his nose was making him want to cut someone else just to renew the pungency of it. Cutting the old woman open had felt like sticking a hot knife into a stick of butter it had been so easy. Now that he considered it, it was what he should have used on Desi instead of the baseball bat.

  Please forgive me Harry for denying what is yours, but I am sure you will understand. "The baby is mine Byron, and he hasn’t done anything to hurt you so please just let Rachel take him downstairs so you and I can talk."

  "No, I want to see him." Bryon put the knife down to his side again and walked to the bassinet. When Rachel wouldn’t move he closed his fist and slammed it into her face knocking her back onto the bed. Desi stood completely still, not wanting to alarm her ex-husband in any way as he reached into the bassinet and picked up Jack. Every fiber of her being wanted to hurt him for touching Jack, but Desi knew she could never overpower him.

  Desi could only look on as Bryon held Jack in the air to look at him. The baby, who was red from crying had his eyes closed shut, and his little body was shivering from the screams he was letting out. The knife in Bryon’s hand was pressed up against Jack’s back and the tip was so close to the back of his head, it was making Desi crazy. She tried again to get Byron to put Jack down because if something happened to their defenseless child, Desi would never be able to face Harry again. "Please give him to me Byron, he’s very upset."

  "I guess so you bitch, being born into an unnatural house like this, no wonder the little guy is crying. Look at him Desi, the little bastard looks just like that bitch you live with. And that’s what he is, isn’t he? A little bastard born to a woman that’s nothing but some sick fuck. I see being away from me for so long has made you go back to your lying, whoring ways, but that’s going to change. I won’t bring up my son with a woman like you, isn’t that right my boy?" Bryon talked to the baby like they were ready to attend some father and son events together.

  "Please Byron just give him to me so he will stop crying. He doesn’t belong to you, put him down if you don’t want to hand him to me." Desi held her arms out ready to do anything the man wanted as long as he would put the little boy down. Jack’s screams were getting louder and Desi wondered if the knife at his back was cutting into him somehow. She had never heard him cry like this, not even when he was hungry or wet. It almost seemed like he had inherited Harry’s complete hate for Byron and was expressing it in the only way he knew how.

  "And I said no, now make yourself useful and pack my boy a bag. The two of us are going on a little trip as soon as I deal with you." Byron put Jack down and turned to Desi to say something else to her. He didn’t get the chance as Mike ran into the room and tackled his brother to the ground breaking a small table in the room on the way down. The knife Byron had been holding went flying out of his hand toward the balcony doors. The open blade was followed by the two brothers who we
nt flying through the doors leading out to the balcony as they continued their struggle. The cold air from outside rushed into the room but Desi could only watch the bizarre turn of events, her feet feeling like they were glued to the floor.

  "Run Desi run." Both she and Rachel heard Mike’s voice before it was cut off by what seemed to be a blow to his chest. As much as they wanted to leave, they couldn’t just go and leave Mona behind, so Desi tried to take control of the situation.

  "Rachel take Jackson and get the hell out of here. I won’t lose my son. Get out of the house and call the police and tell them to bring an ambulance. Go on, get out of here!" Desi screamed the last part to get her sister to move. The one thing she was grateful for besides the opportunity Mike had surprisingly given her to save her child, was the feeling that no matter what, this would all end tonight. And no matter the outcome, Jack would be safely away from Byron and his rage.

  "Desi, I can’t just leave you here please don’t ask that of me." Rachel was crying now as much as her sister, blood from her split lip poured down her face and mixed with her tears. Mona had stopped moving and neither of them wanted to even look at her chest to see if she was still alive.

  "Please Rach, just go. I won’t put Jack in the middle of all this, please don’t ask that of me. Take him so that I’ll know he’ll be safe." She tried to act brave and smiled for her sister. Rachel just nodded and picked the crying baby up as the fighting outside intensified. "Thank you Rach, I love you. Tell Harry…" Rachel started shaking her head and Desi stopped not wanting her to change her mind about taking Jack out of the house. If something happened, Desi knew Harry would know what she felt without having to be reminded by someone else.

  "You stay safe and I’ll get help. Promise me." Rachel kissed her sister and waited the moment it would take for her to promise to live. It was one of their old customs when they shared a house with Byron. Desi would take the beatings, and as much as she craved the peace lasting darkness would bring her, she always promised Rachel she would fight back by living.