Heart of Ice

by Jalissa Pastorius

  “Yes,”

  “I really am a genius. I’m only twenty-one.” Christina didn’t know what made her do it, but she just spilled one of her most guarded secrets to Charles and his wife Martha.

  “Are you really?”

  “Well yes, the first time you mentioned it, I figured I was working too fast, so I tried to slow down. I was associate professor at Vanderbilt University before coming here. Teaching was easier. You stick to a curriculum, and the students don’t demand a lot of your attention.

  “What made you come to New York?” Charles asked.

  “A change of scenery.”

  “The only thing that would get a woman to relocate would be a beau, or in better terms a man,” she giggled.

  “Martha!” she gasped as the older woman gave her a smile with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Is he nice?”

  “Sometimes.”

  “He should be nice to you all the time young lady. If you ever need us, you give Charles and I a call and well come running.” She said giving her a kiss on the forehead.

  Christina smiled, she wished her eyes would stop leaking.

  “What’s wrong?” Charles asked.

  “Nothing, I just finally feel like I have a family.” She said sniffing. Those words swelled inside of Charles heart as he looked at his wife and Christina. After all these years, they’ve finally gotten what they desired the most… a daughter.

  ***

  Entering the penthouse, Christina looked for Matt. She couldn’t find him. He could still be out with Collum. Those two were trouble when they got together. She ordered takeout and decided to give Sarah a call.

  “Hi stranger!”

  “Hi Chris.”

  “Are you okay?” Sarah sounded odd.

  “I’m fine, woman quit harassing me,” she giggled into the phone.

  “So how’s the love life?” Sarah asked Christina.

  “Everything is going great! You totally have to meet the sweetest couple ever. I love them to pieces. I know you would love them too.”

  “Cool, how about tomorrow after you get off.”

  “Deal.”

  Christina finished her conversation with Sarah, and ate her dinner. She soaked in the tub and was ready for bed. It was ten at night and Matt still hadn’t made it home. She didn’t know whether or not she should be worry. Then again, if he was out with Collum then they were probably drinking. Falling into a deep sleep, Christina hadn’t a clue about the trouble that would ensue.

  Chapter 20

  Christina’s night was fretful. It was almost as if her instincts were trying to tell her something, trying to warn her of impending doom. She jerked awake, stretching her hand across the mattress she hoped to encounter Matt’s warm and soft body. Sitting up, she realized that he hadn’t been home. What was he and Collum up to? She wondered if he decided to go to work from Collum’s place. She couldn’t worry about that. Today was the big day. She was finally going to the doctor’s office to have all of this mess put behind her.

  She sat in a waiting room, her patience was waning quickly. It was obvious by the way her leg jiggled nervously and the how her eyes darted around the room. There were various moms’ there in their different stages of pregnancy. Her eyes grew large looking at the swollen bellies.

  “Christina Moore,” a woman in bright pattern scrubs called. Christina stood up and follow the woman. She was directed towards a restroom. They wanted a urinary sample from her. Great. She looked in the mirror. She looked tired more than anything. She had no idea how she was going to break the news to Matt. Hearing her name called once again she came out of the restroom.

  Escorted to a room she laid on the bed as the nurse practitioner told her. They talked about her last day of her cycle.

  “I have your results. You are pregnant. Congratulations!” Christina felt like her vision tunneled. She was going to be a mother. She was twenty-one. What could she teach the child? Would her child be a genius like her? If so, she vowed that she would never use her child for monetary gain like her parents used her. It was the sole reason she was in hiding anyway. She barely managed to escape with her life.

  “Dear are you alright?”

  “Yes,” I’m excited. I’m going to be a mother,” she recited like a drone.

  “Okay, lay down, we are going to do the ultrasound and see what’s going on in there.” Christina did as she was told. She shivered as they rubbed the cool like gel substance onto her belly. This was something she was supposed to be doing with Matt. They created this child together; she was going to have to tell him everything about her past. He couldn’t go into this blind. A gasp from the nurse tore her from her thoughts.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked panic setting in. What was wrong with her baby? She hoped everything was okay.

  “Nothing,” the nurse said.

  “Then what is it?” Christina asked irritated.

  “It’s just, there’s two. You’re having twins.”

  Twins.

  Her blood rushed in her ears. The world tilted and her mind went blank. What was she supposed to do with two babies? She focused on breathing. She had to get out of this place. It was contagious. She went through the motions with the nurse grabbed her prescription for her prenatal pills and attempted to flee.

  “Wait a minute dear. We need to do a transvaginal ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy.”

  “Huh? What did you just do?”

  “The first ultrasound is usually done at six weeks to see if there’s anything in the uterus. Now here, I need you to insert this into your vagina.”

  Christina looked on in horror as the woman handed her a probe that looked like a dildo covered in a gel and condom. You have got to be fucking kidding.

  ***

  Somehow, she felt violated while leaving the nurses office. The nurse explained to her that the probe was used to project sound waves that reflected off the body structure. The computer used the sound waves to form an image. She just wanted the thing out of her. The only reprieve she got was that the whole thing didn’t have to be inserted into her. Thank god.

  Walking into work she felt like shit. Things could never be simple with her. She had to go out and get pregnant with twins. Gah. Matt was going to kill her. She smiled her fake smile and shuffled to her office. She couldn’t wait to be behind closed doors focused on her work.

  “Hello dear,” Charles said as she entered the room.

  “Hi Charlie,” she said giving him a hug. Charles petted her on the head. They went over the morning reporting and books. Everything was in order.

  “Dear are you alright,” Charles asked looking at her with concern in his eyes. She seemed a little withdrawn and exhausted. He had a good mind to send her home.

  “Why don’t you go home dear and get some rest. I’ll stop by to see you.”

  “Okay. Thanks Charlie.” Christina said giving him the address.

  “No problem kiddo.” He smiled.

  She was glad to go home. She needed some girl time with Sarah and wanted to sleep the day away.

  ***

  Matt sat in Collum’s study. They’d been at it all night trying to get access to her files but they were under lock and key.

  “I don’t know what else to do. If you can’t then no one can.” Collum said sighing. He would admit that he was in this for Matt’s sake, but at the same time his curiosity was killing him. What kind of case was it if Matt couldn’t get access to it? Hell, he thought money made the world go round. He stood corrected.

  “There is one other person who could help us,” Collum said.

  “No, we don’t want to involve any more people. I don’t want to deal with him right now.”

  “Yea, you just don’t want him to be disappointed that we’re using our connections to old friends again.” Collum said.

  Matt was right. He met Collum right after he finally escaped that hell hole. Joined a ruthless team of mercenaries. It was the man who was on the team and had become like a father
figure to them. Once the team disbanded, he took them in. Raised them right and Matt decided it was time to take responsibility and inherited the family fortune. He didn’t want to go down that path.

  “I’ll find out from the source.” Matt said with fury in his voice.

  “Wait a minute Matt. You shouldn’t go in there angry like that.”

  “She’s the murderer. A user. It’s a good thing you found out about her sordid past.” Collum tried to placate Matt, but he it didn’t do any good. He was pissed. He hoped he was wrong about it.

  ***

  Christina sat in the media room with her phone. She had a bucket of pecan flavored ice cream. Sniffing she realized that she was going to have to come clean about everything. She would have a talk with Matt when he gets home. The stress wasn’t good for the babies. Picking of up the phone she dialed Sarah.

  “Sarah,”

  “What’s wrong Chris?”

  “I’m scared, I have big news.”

  “Oh god, tell me! No wait, I’m on my way over. I will be there in twenty.” Sarah said disconnecting the call. She would straighten up. Matt wouldn’t be home for a few hours. He usually put in long hours at the office. She made mint water for herself and a tequila sunrise for Sarah. She smiled running up to the door when she heard it open. Sarah had arrived sooner than she anticipated. It was then that she noted Matt in the foyer.

  “Hi honey!” she shouted running towards him with her arms outstretched. She stopped just out of reach when she didn’t hear him welcome her. Her blood froze. The look in his eyes was back. It was like looking at the devil.

  “Matt what’s wrong,” she asked. She instinctively flinched away from him. He still hadn’t replied. Sarah was on her way and Christina didn’t really want her to see Matt like this.

  “I’m sick of the lies! Why don’t you just come clean about everything” he roared at her. She was so confused. Had he found out about the pregnancy? She hadn’t told anyone yet, not even Sarah. She backed away from.

  “I was going to tell you Matt, I just found out today,” she stuttered. She had no idea he would be so furious with her.

  “And you still lie!”

  Christina turned away from him; maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to keep trying to reason with him in the state that he was in. He was beyond listening at this point. She screamed when he reached out and grabbed her.

  “Let go!” she yelled out. She tried to push him off. He was going to hurt the babies.

  “Not until you tell me the truth!”

  “You already know! Why do you need me to say it!” she screamed at him. He relaxed his grip on her for just a second, in that moment she broke away from him.

  “I’m going to strangle you!” he yelled, chasing her. Christina raced through the house. She picked up random objects and tossed them behind her, anything would suffice if it deterred him. If he didn’t want the babies all he had to do was say so. He was going through extreme measures, he helped make them. It took two to tango. Tears flowed freely from her eyes. She needed to get to the front door.

  She ran faster dodging to get to the door. Where was her phone? She grabbed that off the kitchen counter.

  “Let me go or I’ll call the police!” she shouted.

  “Shouldn’t that be my fucking line?!” Matt was infuriated that she would even threaten him with law enforcement when she was in the wrong. She just admitted to using him for power and money. He was going to destroy her! All he saw was red; he snatched all of that black silky hair and pulled. She went tumbling to the ground. He smiled in deep satisfaction seeing her on the ground. He wanted to hurt her as much as she hurt him. He was surprised when she hit him in the ankle and rolled away. She grabbed her stomach. He was confused. Why was she grabbing her stomach?

  Christina didn’t know what was going on. She was running on pure adrenaline. Her babies were at stake. She had to get away from him. She watched as he took one cautious step towards her.

  “Stay back you bastard! I’ll fucking kill you!” she snarled. She felt like a wild animal backing away from him. He moved towards her and she dove for the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife. She brandish it around wildly. He’d gone too far. Fuck this. She didn’t need him. Sarah would be here in the moment and things would get worse. Sweat poured down her brow and she panted heavily. She had to calm down. He could keep her shit. She got her phone and all she needed was her wallet which was in the glass bowl near the door. She eased away from the kitchen and towards the door. The penthouse was a mess. There were shattered objects everywhere, but that was okay. Matt was nothing but a destroyer. She grabbed her wallet and threw the butcher knife at him. She sent Sarah a quick text message to cancel. She had to get to a safe place. He was dangerous. Who would she call? Where would she go? Christina looked down at her feet and realized that she didn’t even have shoes on and her hand was bleeding. She dialed the only person she could think off.

  “Charlie?” she sobbed into the phone.

  “What’s wrong dear?”

  “Come get me,” she cried into the phone. In that moment Christina received lots of looks odd from people, she looked wild and there were no shoes on her feet. She didn’t care she had to get as far as she could away from that man. She walked aimlessly; her day couldn’t get any worse. She looked up and cried when the skies became cloudy and a heavy downpour enveloped her.

  ***

  Now that the fury had settled, Matt fell to his knees. The one thing that he always feared happened. She left him. He didn’t know why he cried. He should be happy; she was planning on marrying him and killing him. She admitted to it. He was done with women! It didn’t stop him from sinking onto the floor. How could she betray him like that? He still wanted her. He was so pathetic. Was it so hard to love someone and expect love in return? It was in that spot, Collum found him. His heart dropped. He hadn’t looked this bad, not even when Natalia left. It was okay. That was what he was here for, to pick up the pieces and to protect him.

  ***

  Christina was soaked by the time Charles found her. He pulled up on the side of the road and rushed out of the car with an umbrella. He enveloped her in his arms. When he realized she couldn’t walk he closed the umbrella and picked her up. She was drenched and her clothes were torn. She looked so displaced as if there was no one there to love and take care of her. What happened? Placing her in the car on the passenger side, he turned the heat on high and drove home. He vowed no one would hurt her anymore. He would let her rest for now.

  It was his worst nightmare come true, Christina calling him like that on the phone. He was so worried about her. He had to calm his worried wife down before rushing to get Christina. Damn! She was bleeding. He phoned home.

  “Martha, put on some tea for her. She’s completely soak and wet.”

  “Honey calm down,” his wife pleaded with him. Charles had to remind himself that she was safe. His poor wife could hear the tremble of rage in his voice. Once he got his hands on the sorry bastard he was going to kill him.

  “Love?”

  “I’m fine dear. We’ll be pulling up shortly. Have the first aid kit ready too.” He disconnected the call before his poor wife could do any more worrying and bombard him with any more questions. Pulling up, he grabbed Christina and rushed her into the house.

  Chapter 21

  Martha waited anxiously as Charles brought little Christina in. She gasped as she saw the condition she was in. He placed her in the guest room. Martha rushed into the room and shooed Charles away. She began removing the wet clothes off the girl before placing a nice warm thick gown on her. There wasn’t too much she could do about her hair right now. She called Charles in so he could take a look at her hand. She sat holding Christina other hand while Charles worked.

  “It looks like a shallow wound. Not too bad,” he said. If he didn’t filled the silence he was liable of going insane trying to figure out who the bastard was that did this to her. He cleaned additional scrapes that were along her arm. From
the looks of it, she must’ve fell on to some glass. He was relieved that she was able to get away. He kissed her bandage hand before leaving the room.

  “Come along Martha, she’ll be fine. She’s in good hands.”

  “But,”

  “You can spoil her when she wakes.”

  They shuffled out of the room leaving Christina to rest.

  ***

  Her heart pounded in her chest. Her preteen body moved at an alarming rate. They were adults; she was smart enough to know that she couldn’t out run them. Her body wasn’t capable of it. They had more muscle mass, a longer stride and was just physically stronger at restraining her. Her eyes flitted along the path. There was no possible escape route. Her brain told her this but the fear propelled her forward. Was the only escape death? She smiled again; perhaps these people weren’t as dumb as they appeared. They herded her into a corner like livestock. Trapped she watched as the hand reached for her. She closed her eyes and screamed. When she opened her eyes, she looked into a pair of icy cold green eyes. Her throat began to close up and her body was paralyzed with fear. Suddenly her world began to shake. She watched as the man with the icy eyes fall into the nothingness and she soon found herself falling. She reached up a hand hoping someone would come for her. Nothing. Was this the end? She closed her eyes for her eternal sleep, but voices called out to her. She swam towards those voices.