Nobody Girl

by Leslie DuBois

  “Beach house?” Delia made a few quick steps to catch up to her sister. She grabbed Donna Lee’s arm and made her stop. Glaring at her, she waited for further explanation.

  “Marcus saw how stressed I’ve been so he took me to his beach house in South Carolina for a few days.”

  “Whoa, wait. You traipsed off to some random guy’s house in another state without telling me?” Maybe her sister hadn’t changed, Delia thought. She was still throwing herself into dangerous situations.

  “Marcus is not just some random guy. He’s different, he’s special.”

  “I don’t care how different and special he is,” Delia replied mockingly. “You have no right telling my private business to one of your — ”

  “Sexquests?” Donna Lee said, offering the term she’d invented several years ago.

  Delia was a bit taken aback by Donna Lee’s nonchalance. Due to recent events, she thought her sister would take offense to the use of the term, which was why she had censored herself.

  “I know what you’re thinking, Dee. And you have every right to feel that way. If Marcus was just another ‘sexquest’ I would agree with you. But I told you, he’s different. I haven’t had sex with him. We’re just friends.”

  “You stayed with him at a beach house, alone, and you didn’t have sex?”

  “Nope. Believe it or not, he’s a virgin.”

  “Um, excuse me?” Once again, Delia stopped cold.

  “Yep. I’ve stumbled upon possibly the world’s only gorgeous, twenty-eight-year old, superstar baseball player virgin.”

  “What?”

  “I know it seems hard to believe, but it’s true. His very religious grandmother raised him and that is one of the things that stuck. He believes true Christians should wait till marriage.”

  “So, are you a Christian now?”

  After sighing, Donna Lee said, “I don’t know what I am. But I do now know that God’s name is Jehovah. He showed it to me in my own Bible. It’s even in my Korean Bible. And I also know that I really like this guy. I really, really like him. And when I’m with him, I like myself.”

  Just when Delia was about to ask for further explanation, Donna Lee’s cell phone rang.

  “Hi, Marcus,” she answered with a goofy grin Delia had never seen before. “I was thinking about you, too... Really? ... Okay, I’ll see you in twenty minutes.” Donna Lee closed her phone and said, “He says he has a surprise for me. I’m meeting him at the ballpark.”

  Slipping off her four-inch heels, she ran toward her car like a giddy teenager. Suddenly, she stopped short, turned around and came back to Delia. “Love ya, Dee. I’ll talk to ya later,” she said, giving her sister a quick hug.

  Delia watched as her sister made a mad dash to her car that was parked over a block away. Hmph, she thought. Could Donna Lee be in love?

  Smiling to herself, she finished the short walk to her building. She couldn’t wait to hear more about this Marcus person. She had to remember to call Donna Lee before she went to sleep.

  Delia opened the main entrance door to her apartment building and leisurely climbed the stairs. As she reached the third flight, an ominous feeling befell her as a repeat of the incident in the school parking lot began.

  This time, the man pushed her down the stairs. She didn’t lose consciousness, but she banged her head hard enough so that she had a difficult time registering what happened to her. Once she was aware again, she tried to reach for her purse where she kept her stun gun, but it had flown out of her hand and down to the next level.

  She tried to scramble away, but the man in black had grabbed her hair and pulled her to her feet.

  Delia screamed.

  “Don’t you remember what I told you about screaming the last time?” He said with the electronic voice. “For a teacher, you’re not very smart. You don’t have much of a memory.”

  He punched her in the stomach then threw her against the wall. She bounced and fell down another flight of stairs. Delia didn’t know what had gone wrong in his plan last time. She didn’t know how she had ended up alive, but she was convinced that this time he would kill her. She didn’t want to die.

  As he came toward her, she looked around for where her purse had flown. She was going to use that stun gun if it was the last thing she did. When he was close enough, she kicked him in the groin as hard as she could then crawled to her purse.

  Apparently, her attacker was wearing protection because the kick to the groin didn’t faze him at all. Within seconds he was on top of her. She reached her hand into her purse and got a grip on the stun gun. He tried to slap it away, but she held on fast. She jabbed the gun into his flesh and pulled the trigger.

  As he vibrated, she heard the door to the stairwell creak open. His accomplice, she thought. She pushed the man off of her and ran up the fourth floor without looking back.

  ***

  “I’m so sorry this happened to you again,” Detective Nicholson said as she stood in Delia’s apartment. Delia had been right. The person entering the stairwell was the accomplice and he had helped the other assailant escape before the police arrived. “We are going to step up our investigation and we’re going to offer you police protection.”

  Delia nodded numbly. She couldn’t believe it happened again. Someone had tried to kill her again. Who could possibly be targeting her? She knew it had to do with Promise Stone. She was getting close and someone wanted to shut her up.

  “We do think this is being perpetrated by someone you know. Otherwise there would be no need for the electronic voice distorter. We need you to think hard. Are you sure there is no one who has anything against you? No students angry about grades? No other teachers jealous of your abilities? What about your husband? How is your divorce coming?”

  “Actually, he’s trying to get back together with me. I doubt if he would be attacking me in stairwells.” Delia stared down at the ground as she rubbed the soreness out of her shoulder from where the mysterious man had slammed her into the wall. She had a lot of aches and pains due to the tumble down the stairs she endured.

  Detective Nicholson nodded in agreement. “I know this is a personal question, but do you have a boyfriend?”

  Delia’s eyes widened as she raised her head and stared at the detective. Did she have a boyfriend? Of course not. Chase wasn’t her boyfriend, was he?

  She began to think about Chase as a possible suspect. Could he really be responsible for the attacks? Well, maybe not Chase. Chase really seemed to sincerely love her, but C.J. was a different story. She really started to believe that he had some sort of personality disorder. Maybe he really didn’t know who he was. Was she in love with a psychopath?

  Delia went to Donna Lee’s house for the night. She didn’t feel safe in her apartment alone. Her sister relinquished her bed and slept on the couch instead. What felt like seconds after she drifted into sleep, Donna Lee entered the bedroom and said, “Chase is here.”

  Delia threw on her bathrobe and padded into the living room. Chase swept her up into his arms as soon as he saw her. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you,” he said. She didn’t return his hug with the same intensity. “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I’m just tired,” she lied. The truth was she just wasn’t sure about him anymore. All of his lies were accumulating. Not to mention the fact that once again he had shown up in the middle of the night to comfort her after an attack. An attack she didn’t tell him about. How did he find out? And how did he even know where her sister lived? It was too much for her to deal with.

  Chase lifted her chin and searched her emerald eyes. “You’re lying, Delia. What’s wrong?”

  “It’s just that … I don’t know … I mean, I’m kind of wondering how you found out what happened. I didn’t call you, Donna Lee didn’t, and I’m pretty sure the police didn’t. So how did you know?”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t know what I’m saying.” Delia released herself from his hold and s
at down on the couch that Donna Lee had vacated in order to give them some privacy. “Well, I do know what I’m saying. The police think I’m being attacked by someone I know since the people went through the trouble of using a voice disguise.”

  “So … you think it could be me? You think I could have attacked you?”

  “I don’t know what I think.”

  “Delia, look at me.” Chase lifted her off the couch and stared into her eyes. “I love you. I’ve told you that repeatedly. Do you really think I could push you down a flight of stairs?”

  Tears welled in her eyes and she felt herself start to tremble. “How did you know I was pushed down stairs?”

  Chapter 21

  Marcus’ surprise for Donna Lee was a romantic candlelit dinner right in the middle of centerfield of the National’s ballpark. Delia had to find out from a blurb in the newspaper two days later since her sister was less than forthcoming about the details.

  “It was no big deal,” Donna Lee said with a shrug, tossing her feet up on her coffee table and clicking on the television. Delia grabbed the remote and turned it off.

  “No big deal? The newspaper said he actually hired the staff of Michelino’s to cater it. Everyone says you’re a couple now. When my sister dates a world-famous athlete and gets written about in the paper, I think it’s a big deal.”

  Donna Lee stared at the blank television screen and didn’t respond.

  “Why don’t you want to tell me about it?”

  “Like I said, it was no big deal. It was just a meal. People eat every day,” she said with a shrug.

  Why would she not want to talk about this? Delia thought. Then it hit her. “Look, just because my life sucks right now doesn’t mean that I don’t want to hear about the good things in your life. When you’re happy, I’m happy.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked with an ecstatic smile.

  Delia nodded.

  “Great, cause I’ve been dying to tell you.” Donna Lee turned to her sister and crossed her legs Indian style. Still in their pajamas, they resembled two children at a sleepover. “Okay, so I get to the park and he meets me at the gate wearing a tuxedo. Dee, he looks so handsome I almost fall over and scuff my cheap leather pants. So, I’m feeling a bit underdressed and confused and out of place, obviously.

  “I mean, I don’t even know what we’re doing at the park or what the occasion is. After he kisses me, he tells me to go to the visitor locker room where he has a selection of dresses for me to choose from. I choose this beautiful sleek black Christian Dior dress that fit me perfectly. I get dressed as quickly as possible so I can see him and find out what’s going on.”

  Donna Lee paused to catch her breath then took a sip from her water bottle on the coffee table, which was really just a piece of plywood on top of empty milk crates. “So, after a couple of sips of champagne and a couple of bites of escargot, I ask him what we’re celebrating and do you know what he says?”

  Practically drooling with curiosity and anticipation, Delia shook her head.

  “He says that we’re celebrating the one month anniversary of our first kiss.”

  “Aww, that’s so sweet.” Delia got teary-eyed just thinking about it.

  “I know. Isn’t it? I mean if he went through that much trouble just to celebrate our first kiss, what is he going to do when he proposes?”

  “Proposes? You think he’s going to propose?”

  Donna Lee shrugged then looked away shyly. She took another sip of water and avoided eye contact with her sister, but Delia definitely noticed a cute little grin on her face.

  “So if he proposed to you tomorrow, you would say yes?”

  “I don’t know, maybe.” Donna Lee couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. “Anyway, after we ate, a violin player comes out and we literally dance till dawn. It was so perfect. He combined my three favorite things: fashion, food, and Fenway, where Fenway is a metaphor for sports.”

  Delia giggled.

  “It was the best night of my life until I came home and found out what happened to you.” The light cheery atmosphere melted away as they both thought about Delia having to fight for her life yet again. “I’m so sorry I left you that night.”

  “How could you have known?” Delia asked, waving her hand to dismiss the thought. “Besides, it all worked out for the best. I survived and you got to enjoy your special night. I really am happy for you, Donna Lee.”

  As they embraced, the front door suddenly flew open.

  “Sorry, ladies, we need the couch and the TV. Tom has a press conference,” Sharon said as Shannon started shooing them off the couch.

  “Okay, okay, we’re leaving, you freaks of nature,” Donna Lee said, grabbing her water bottle and heading toward her bedroom. Delia hopped up and followed.

  “Oh, Delia, before we forget. This was on the door with your name on it.” Shannon handed her a manila envelope.

  Delia’s hands shook as she grasped it. Was it another threatening letter? She didn’t know how much more she could take. Noticing Delia’s anxiety, Donna Lee led her into the bedroom.

  “What’s wrong, Dee?”

  Sitting on the bed, Delia fought back the urge to hyperventilate. Slowly, she opened the envelope and removed its contents. Seconds later, she dropped the envelope and covered her face with her hands.

  “Is it from them? The men who attacked you?”

  Shaking her head, Delia furiously wiped away tears before saying, “It’s from Chase. He found my mother.”

  Chapter 22

  She didn’t know how he did it. But he did. Somehow Chase had managed to find out about her biological parents. Maybe he was trying to make up for all the suspicion that surrounded him and all the lies he had told her. Maybe he was trying to show that he could be trusted. In any case, after tears of confusion, anger, and fear, she accepted the information he had uncovered with a painful curiosity. Now she was about to meet her mother for the first time.

  Delia sat in front of the halfway house in Baltimore where her mother resided. It looked like a normal two-story single family home painted tan with cream shutters and didn’t give any indication that it housed former felons. For some reason, this comforted Delia. She liked the idea that, though her mother had possibly made some bad decisions in life, now she enjoyed a bit of normalcy.

  She wondered what Wanda Renner would look like. Did she have the same green eyes as her? She wondered under what circumstances would she leave a four-month-old baby in the trash. Delia realized she should probably hate her mother. She should hate both her parents. A part of her did, but curiosity ate away at her. She wanted to know the truth. She wanted to know where she came from.

  She wasn’t completely ready to face reality. When she called to set up a visitation, she didn’t mention that she believed Wanda was her mother. Instead, she claimed she was a reporter doing an investigative report about life for women after prison. Apparently, her mother had just completed her eighth stint in prison for drug possession, armed assault, and a slew of other things.

  She sat down in the living room on a beat-up brown couch that completely clashed with the red and pink floral love seat. She chuckled to herself thinking how just months ago she sat on a ten thousand dollar couch waiting to break up with her husband and now she waited on what was probably a ten dollar couch waiting to meet the woman who had abandoned her 25 years ago. She was really beginning to hate the idea of couches.

  Moments later, a short, black Hispanic woman wearing too-tight jeans and a yellow tank top shuffled over the green shag carpeting into the living room. Delia knew immediately that it was her. Her mother. Her complexion was similar to Delia’s, only a shade or two darker. Delia’s eyes watered at how beautiful her mother’s skin looked in contrast to the yellow. It was the same reason why Delia often wore yellow. She sat down across from Delia on the loveseat and folded her arms waiting for Delia to make the first attempt at conversation.

  Delia studied every detail of her mother, from her frizzy hair s
tyled into a lush afro to the hot pink toe nail polish with white birds painted on each toe. She had a hard time guessing her age. Her beautiful features, wide brown eyes, high cheek bones, and perfectly sculpted lips put her around late thirties or early forties in Delia’s mind. But the extra weight in her thighs, the defensive nature of her body language and the pissed off attitude she exuded made her seem much older and life weary. But then again, Delia was not very good at judging ages.

  “You gonna talk?” Wanda said after giving Delia the once over.

  “Hi, I’m … um Delia. Delia Clark.” Her voice shook. She didn’t know if she would be able to go through with this farce of an interview. Now that she had laid eyes on her birth mother, she wondered if she could just call off the whole thing and run away.