Paradise Island: Complete Edition

by DD Cooper

  “All you girls are so dramatic. It is only but lust that drives me when I am with you. I save my love for the woman who deserves it: Mary. For she is the one and only one for me.”

  “You’re a cruel, evil man,” I basically spit the words out one by one. “You never cared for me like I did you? You told me otherwise.”

  “Listen, Josie, I didn’t mean to hurt you. That is why I broke things off between us. You had gotten the wrong idea. You wanted a real relationship, and all I wanted was to have some fun once in a while. Lily fulfills those needs for me now, and I don’t have to listen to her whine and moan and beg me to marry her. She’s smart enough to know that that will never happen. I thought you knew that as well, but apparently I was wrong. Now I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again: I do not want to see you anymore, Josie. Do not come to my sermons thinking I’ll come back into your arms like a lost puppy. You’re the only one who’s hurting here.”

  I stared in shock. Could this really be the man I had given not only my body to, but also my whole heart? I wanted to vomit right then and there, but I held myself together. For I came there for one reason and one reason only.

  “Thomas, I came here to tell you something.”

  His back was to me and his hand was on the doorknob.

  “I think you should go, Josie. Forget about me. Forget about us. Find yourself a man who can marry you and give you the life you want.”

  I came and stood behind him. “I wish I could forget, Thomas, but you’ve left a permanent reminder.”

  “What do you mean?” He turned around, suddenly willing to listen.

  I touched my belly and showed him how swollen it had gotten. “I am with child, Thomas, and the child is yours.”

  “You lie! You wretched whore, this is not my child you are carrying! It cannot be so!”

  He pushed me out of his way in a rage.

  “But, Thomas, it is. I do not lie nor have I reason to. This child is yours, and it needs its father.”

  Thomas paced the room, back and forth, taking in the sight of me at odd intervals. “It cannot be,” I heard him mutter a few times, and then he seemed to make up his mind.

  He took me by the shoulders, only much more gently this time. “You must get rid of it,” he said calmly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

  “And you call yourself a man of God,” I said sternly and slapped him in the face.

  He looked shocked.

  “Devil woman, you will listen to my counsel and get rid of this child at once! I do not care if you abort it, or have it and give it away, but this child will not be known to be mine! Do you understand me?” The feral, dark look in his eyes scared me so much I backed away.

  “Thomas, you’re scaring me.”

  “I’m scaring you! The tongue on this one! You will do as I say, and I will pay you whatever you want if I must, but I will not be this child’s father.”

  “I shall go Thomas, and I will let you really think about the terrible things you’re saying. This child is ours and it deserves our love and care,” I put my hands on my belly. “I will not let you or anyone else hurt it.”

  With those words I left Thomas and shut the door behind me. I passed the girl on my way out. “If you are smart, you will run as fast as you can while you are still able,” I said to her and hoped that would have been enough.

  And now here I am writing these words in you, my dear diary, my only true friend. Tears are falling down on the page, but I do not care, for my heart has been broken without repair. I no longer weep for myself but for the child growing within me. There is no worse fate for a child in this world than to be unwanted, and I definitely don’t want that to become my child’s fate. If you ever read these words my little one, you should know that you are wanted and loved, and that nothing in this world will ever change that. You are my world and I will do anything to protect you, even if it means forsaking the man I have loved for so long, for he has shown himself to be a monster in disguise. He calls me Devil woman, but I believe now he is the Devil himself, come to ruin me. I will not let him! I will not bow down to his evil words. I only pray that Thomas sees the light and does the right thing by you, if not by me.

  I pray that as the light of the sun shines on the world tomorrow, it would also light the darkness in the soul of a man I once called my lover.

  I closed the diary in exasperation. What a terrible circumstance poor Josie has found herself in. Yet another reason not to let a man, any man, get that close. All they do is destroy everything they touch. My childhood had taught me that. And now so has Henry. I hope Jack is the exception, but I’m not sure I’m willing to take that risk.

  Chapter Eight

  I woke up groggy in the morning, and slowly got out of bed. It was a new day, and I was glad all that business with Henry was behind me. My joints ached and my hands were sore, but at least I was alive to tell the tale. Speaking of tales, Josie’s story was getting more and more interesting, and the more I knew about her life, the more I worried about what had actually happened to her. I especially felt for her when she spoke to her unborn child. Such unconditional love from one’s parents must be every child’s dream. Sadly, the world is a cruel, cruel place, and few children are actually loved in such a manner. That’s one of the reasons I decided long ago that I would not have any children of my own. Not because I couldn’t love them, but because I’d love them too much, and I could not bear to bring them into a world such as this.

  I slowly made my way to the living room, my vision still a bit blurry. I wasn’t sure what was going on there, for my vision was not one of the problems I had. I’d always had perfect vision, probably thanks to the way I was raised: in the middle of nowhere with no television to speak of.

  The shutters were open and I could see the beautiful view of the ocean below us, blending in with the sky. It was hard to tell where the sea ended and the sky began. I stood there admiring the view for a bit, and then I instinctively reached with my hand to open the door to get some fresh air.

  The door was locked.

  “You shouldn’t do that, Sophie, it’s not safe for you out there.”

  I turned around and saw Jack sitting on the sofa, playing with the gun in his hand. Suddenly, an irrational fear overtook my whole body. Was he keeping me prisoner here? I decided to test the boundaries.

  “I just want to get some fresh air, Jack. You can come and join me if you like. Besides, I doubt Henry would be dumb enough to come here in broad daylight.” I tried to act as casual as possible, but the look on Jack’s face did not change: there was no usual smile to greet me there, only a hard look that said that he was not going to change his mind about anything.

  “I’m afraid I can’t let you out of this house, just yet, Sophie. Believe me, you’re much safer in here than you’d be out there.” He got up from the couch and came to my side, he put one hand on my shoulder and pointed the butt of his gun, basically telling me to take a seat on the sofa.

  I shook my arm out of his grip and backed away a few steps. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

  “You can’t keep me here, Jack. This is crazy! Just let me go.” If he wasn’t standing between me and the doorway, I would have tried to open the damn door again.

  “I can’t do that, Sophie. Not until he comes.”

  A shadow fell over the whole scene and I looked in horror as Henry stood on the other side of the glass door, looking in with his spectacles, his eyes dark and filled with anger and hatred.

  “Here he is, Sophie, get ready to have some fun!” Jack approached the door and with one sweep opened it for Henry.

  I stood frozen in shock, my mind screamed “RUN!” but my body did not receive the message.

  “Thank you, Jack, for keeping her safe for me,” Henry said and smiled a crazy smile.

  “No problem, Henry, what are friends for, right?” Jack hit him on the shoulder like they were old buddies and handed the gun to Henry.

  Henry took the gun and admired
it in his hand, then he pointed it in my direction.

  “You’ll be a good girl, Sophie, right? You won’t make me use this?” Henry made his way towards me.

  I did the only thing I could at that moment: I screamed.

  I screamed and I screamed, frozen in place...

  ...until I was in bed again, screaming as loud as I could, terror drenched sweat soaking my whole body.

  Jack immediately ran into the room and was by my side, but I did not know he did not mean harm, and I immediately recoiled from his touch, getting as far from him as possible.

  “It was just a dream, Sophie, you don’t have to be afraid anymore,” he kept his distance until I calmed down a bit.

  “Oh my God, Jack, that was horrible.”

  He came closer and sat by my side. “You’re safe now. Nothing here can hurt you.”

  He rubbed my back with one hand. “You’re gonna be okay. I’m going to make you a cup of tea and some food, okay?”

  I nodded. When he left to go to the kitchen I presumed, I took in my surroundings, making sure I wasn’t still dreaming. The terrible fear I felt in the dream was still as strong as ever, centered in the pit of my stomach. I slowly made my way to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that I looked like quite a mess. The thought of Jack working with Henry made me sick to my stomach, even as I knew how irrational that very thought was. I splashed some ice cold water on my face and I immediately felt a bit better, a lot more awake. Jack was a wonderful man and he would never hurt me. Henry, on the other hand, was a monster, and I did not know why my mind would put the two together. Then I remembered Josie’s lament, how terribly she was treated by the man she thought loved her, and it all made a bit more sense. I promised myself not to read her diary right before sleep ever again. I was so close to the end in the last diary that Jack had, that it was almost unbearable. I dared not skip to the end early, as if I was reading a novel, which I knew wasn’t the case. What difference would it make if I did skip to the end?

  I put the thought out of my mind and went back to my room to get dressed. I joined Jack in the little kitchenette not soon after. He had made scrambled eggs with toast. I took a sip of the hot tea and immediately felt a bit better. Jack sat across from me and we started our meal.

  “I’m so sorry about that,” I said. “I hadn’t had dreams like that in quite awhile.” I used to have nightly terrors when I first moved to the island, mostly about him finding me and punishing me for running away. Just when I thought all of that was behind me, now I had to worry about Henry coming after me as well. It was too much. What was it about me that attracted such creeps? I looked over at Jack and at least he seemed like a nice fellow. Maybe a little too nice, if you ask me. He let me stay at his place, he cooks my meals, and now he’s even protecting me from a maniac that could kill us both if we weren’t careful. It was all just too much.

  “Don’t worry, Sophie, you’re not the only one who’s familiar with nightmares. I’ve had my share over the years as well.”

  “Really? You’re not just saying that?” It was hard to imagine Jack waking up screaming in the middle of the night (or morning, as it was the case with me). Even with his melancholy eyes, he still seemed too strong for that. I wondered what kind of things a man like him would have nightmares of.

  “Yeah, I’ve had them for years. I know they aren’t fun, but at least it’s over now, right? None of it was real and none of it can hurt you here, in the waking world.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” I said. “My nightmare had Henry in it.”

  “Oh,” Jack said, putting down his food before he had a chance to eat it. “I was thinking about that last night. I think we should report him, just to be on the safe side. Maybe if the cops are looking for him, they’ll catch him and you won’t have to worry about him anymore. I know I’d feel a lot better with that freak behind bars.”

  “I don’t know, Jack. I hit him pretty hard with that rock. If he ended up dying I’d hate to be the one having to explain how that happened. Maybe I’ve read too many books, but I think going to the cops will do more harm than good.”

  “Well, whatever you need me to do I’ll do it. Just tell me how you want to deal with this, Sophie. This guy’s still out there, and as long as he’s walking around, he’s a danger to you.”

  I thought about Jack’s words as I helped him clean up. Then I went to the living room, cup of tea still in hand and looked at the view outside. I had flashes of Henry standing outside looking in, the hate in his eyes almost blinding. I had to sit down before falling over. I took another sip of the tea and thought about the whole situation. I knew I had to warn Lucy, for he might come after her if he can’t get to me. She definitely needed to lock her door for the time being. I thought about calling her right then and there, but then Jack joined me on the sofa.

  “Well,” he said. “Have you made up your mind about what we’re going to do about this guy?”

  “Not yet,” I said. “I think I need to get some fresh air first.”

  “I’ll join you,” he said and got up from the sofa. He was just wearing a t-shirt and shorts, for it was pretty warm inside the house. I admired his body as he walked away. He was the perfect man inside and out. “I’ll put some clothes on and we can go,” he yelled from his bedroom.

  I shook the thoughts of him naked from my mind. I definitely didn’t need that image in my head. I took another sip of the tea to calm my nerves as well as my libido.

  Jack came back, ready to go at a moment’s notice. His leather jacket and jeans were back, and so was the gun, which he held in his hand. I was startled, but reminded myself that he was on my side.

  “You really don’t have to come with me,” I said, trying to convince even myself of the words that came out of my mouth.

  “I’m not letting you out of my sight until I know this Henry guy is not a threat, you got that?”

  “Yeah, Jack, I do. You’ve been far too good to me.”

  “Nonsense,” he said. “Anyway, I’m ready when you are.” He put the gun in the back of his jeans, and put the leather jacket over it.

  “Is that something you learned in one of your movies?”

  “Oh, yeah, I never thought it’d be useful in real life, but I guess I was wrong.”

  I went back to my room and put on a warm jacket and my favorite scarf. I still didn’t know what I wanted Jack to do about the Henry situation, so hopefully a walk on the beach would present some options.

  Jack opened the door first, surveying the scene around us. “We should be good, I don’t see anyone for miles,” he said and held out his hand for me. I took it, not really knowing why, except that I felt much safer with him by my side.

  We walked down to the beach, hand in hand. I feared he would let me go eventually, but he never did. We walked closer together when we got to the beach. Not only was it very cold, but it was also more practical. We did not speak, though, each of us lost in our own thoughts. My thoughts were filled with the attack from yesterday. I cannot say what Jack thought about, but when I looked up into his face, he seemed to be somewhere else entirely. When he noticed me looking, he smiled at me and I immediately felt better. He looked around and made sure we were alone again and I went back to my thoughts, not letting go of his strong hand.

  Since we were walking in that direction anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to check on Lucy, just to make sure she was okay. “I talked to her yesterday when I went over to get my stuff and I’m starting to see I overreacted before.”

  Jack looked down, obviously feeling ashamed of what he’d done. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, Sophie. If I could go back and change it, I would in a heartbeat.”

  “No, it’s okay. It’s not like we’re dating or anything. You shouldn’t stop living your life just because I’m staying at your house for a couple of days. Well, except for the cocaine thing. It’s dangerous, so I don’t want you doing that, mister!” I laughed but it was an
empty one. When I thought of Jack on top of Lucy, doing whatever they were doing, an empty feeling pervaded my insides. I did not like that feeling, but I knew intellectually that there was no reason for me to feel this way.

  Jack stopped walking and stood in front of me, which made me stop in my tracks as well. Both his big hands were on either of my shoulders and he looked straight into my eyes. I smiled weakly and looked away, hoping this moment would be over sooner rather than later.

  “Look at me, Sophie.” He said and I met his eyes again.

  “Good,” he continued. “I just want you to know that all that other stuff, the sex and the drugs, is over. And the reason is you. When I’m with you...I feel different. I feel like I can be a better man. I’m not expecting anything right this second, just your friendship will do. I just want you to know that I’ll always be there for you, no matter what. Sophie, when I first saw you I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d seen. Now that I know you, I know you’re the most beautiful person I’ve met.”

  “Jack, don’t...”

  “No, Sophie, I’m being one hundred percent honest here. You being with me means to me more than anything in the world right now. Do I hope that we’ll become something more later on? Hell yeah. But I can wait. I’ll give you all the time you need, and then some.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was all just too much, too soon. I was at a loss for words, so I did something that surprised even me. I leaned in and gave him a hug. His warmth, his strength making me feel like I had finally found that someone who really understood me.

  “Jack, just promise me you won’t ever hurt me,” I said as tears started to fall, making his shirt wet but I couldn’t let go of him. His smell, his warmth, it all came together to form one concept, one word, in my mind: safety.

  “I’d never hurt you, Sophie. I promise.”

  We stood there, hugging for what seemed to be an eternity. The chilly wind surrounding us was trying to get to us, but our embrace drove the cold away.