by Amber Burns
“You can’t hurt me Cade. Pain is fleeting. Have you ever been strapped to a chair, leather manacles holding you in place as a fat nurse pushed an eighteen-gauge needle full of thick liquid into your veins, not sure if it was day or night? What about clawing at the walls of your cell, hoping the voices in your head would stop screaming that everyone was out to get you? I have, the voices are the worst. Whispers that come and go, dark and twisting. Then, exploding into screams and fits of terror. I never know when the voices will erupt. They told me to kill you. I tried to… but you didn’t die!”
Spencer lunged at Cade, but Cade quickly stepped to the side and Spencer crashed into a trash can, the rattle echoing throughout the building. Cindy squealed at the loud sound, and the skinny grungy girl from earler was watching from above, laughing maniacally. Cade wondered what they could possibly be on, to be this delirious. Spencer growled as he came back to his feet and charged Cade again. This time, Cade waited until Spencer was on him and he swung the bat, hitting him in the ribs. Spencer went down, and Cade brought a knee to his head. He didn’t want to severely hurt the kid, but he wanted Spencer to be incapacitated for a moment. To his surprise, the kid hit the floor and laughed as he coughed and held his side in pain. Normally that would have surely knocked someone out, but Cade assumed the drugs had something to do with it.
“Stay down, Spencer,” Cade demanded.
Wobbling to his feet, Spencer stood up and pointed his fingers in a gun motion towards Cade, pretending to pull an imaginary trigger. Cade approached Spencer and punched him in his nose, an audible crunch could be heard and the kid fell back on the floor. His eyes rolled back and he was finally out. The grunge girl was in a fit on the floor upstairs, the hilarity of scene sending her in uncontrollable stitches. Cade signaled for Cindy to follow him and they rushed out of the warehouse. She was sobbing still, clearly traumatized by the whole thing.
Cade called 911 and explained the situation to an operator. Not even five minutes later, sirens sounded and he saw the ambulance and cop cars speed around the corner. When the emergency personnel jumped down from the ambulance, they pulled a stretcher and rushed into the building where Cade had directed them to the still passed out form of Spencer.
“He is clearly messed up on some kind of drugs, and evidently mentally unstable,” Cade stated to the EMTs.
“Is she ok?” They pointed up the stairs at the new sleeping form of the grunge girl.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Cade said, shaking his head. “She was laughing hysterically the entire time.”
“Ok, and the girl that is with you?”
“She should also be seen I think,” Cade said, glancing towards Cindy. “She was just kidnapped and I haven’t had a chance to ask if he did anything to her.”
A sickness formed in the pit of his stomach, twisting and turning until he felt like he would vomit. If Spencer had touched her inappropriately, he would find the little bastard and kill him. It was bad enough to know she had been scared to death from the whole ordeal, tied to a chair so tight she had rope burns on her wrists, and gagged. He couldn’t allow himself to imagine anything else.
“You are going to have to come with us,” a young deputy said as he stepped forward.
They questioned Cade again off to the side of the EMTs who were just pulling Spencer’s unconscious body from the warehouse. He explained what he knew and had seen. They took down his information and Cade made his way back to Cindy’s side. She stood beside the ambulance, as they loaded Spencer in to the back of the ambulance. They had also decided to take in the scrawny grunge girl, and Cade heard “overdose” a few times. Those words brought Cade back to his parent’s death. Not allowing himself to think about such things at the moment, he turned to Cindy.
“Cindy, do you want me to call your parents?” He reached for her shaking hands, but she pulled back. He let his own hands fall to his sides feeling useless. “Cindy, I can call them for you,” he reiterated.
She nodded slowly, and he took her phone, looking for her parent’s number. Her parents were upset but relieved that she had been found. They demanded to know where she was, and he explained, but warned that they may be taking her to the hospital for evaluation. Cade followed behind the emergency vehicles. He wasn’t going to leave her side if he could help it.
Since he wasn’t family, the hospital staff wouldn’t let him back with Cindy. When her parents came in they ran straight to administration, ignoring him and were quickly taken back. He waited in the lobby for what felt like hours. When they did come back through, Cindy wore her father’s coat and he stood to go to her. Cindy’s mother gave a curt shake of her head, making Cade stop and watch as they walked out together. Cindy’s crystal blue eyes locked with his and his heart skipped a beat. Pain threatening to overtake him as he wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight.
10
As the days passed by, Cade grew restless. His beard was unruly and his staff were frustrated.
“Have you seen this week’s schedule?” Cadence slammed the calendar on the counter, shaking Cade from his thoughts.
Cade glanced at the booked week. “Oh,” was his only reply.
“Oh? Oh? You need to hire two more artists Cade. We cannot keep up this momentum. Our work will start getting sloppy at this rate.”
Cadence placed her hands on her hips, her bright green hair drawing his attention from the full schedule.
“Your hair looks great,” he deflected.
“What? Oh, thank you.” She tapped her foot and waited for him to address the problem.
“Ok, I will run an ad and hang up a sign on the door,” Cade relented.
Cadence looked like she was about to say more, but turned to go instead.
“Cadence, thank you,” he called after her.
She stopped and without looking back at him, shrugged and disappeared to the back of the shop. Cade felt like he was separated from reality. All he wanted wanted to know how Cindy was, but he had to get his head together for his business. That night, he decided to do something he hadn’t done since he was a teenager. He shaved his beard. He loved his beard, but he needed a change.
Touching the smooth skin that had been covered for years, he stared at his image for a moment. His hair was also getting long. Tomorrow he would visit Hank, who had been cutting his hair for years. When Alex and Cadence walked into the shop the next morning, their conversation stopped at the sight of Cade’s bare naked chin.
“Wow,” Cadence said, taken back.
“You look…young.” Alex’s mouth hung open at the sight.
“Go on, get to work,” Cade mock ordered. “I have already received inquiries to the job. I haven’t even ran an ad, may not have to.”
He turned back to the computer, reviewing the emails with portfolios from the interested candidates. Two of the five were talented and he wondered what their pay requirements would be. Sending emails to each, he set up interviews for the next couple of days and left for Hank’s Clippers.
An old blue and red barber pole hung by the front door, and a little bell clanged when he opened it. Hank stood behind a customer, clippers in his hand as he gave the young man a military style buzz cut. They had a base nearby and Cade wondered if the kid was serving. There was a time he had considered joining, but that was years ago. Just before he started living on the streets at seventeen, he had collected information at a school fair from each branch. A man in uniform had visited his foster home. He was with the Navy and had reviewed Cade’s test scores for military entrance. They were all required to take the test their senior year. His score was impressive and the recruiter knew it.
Cade’s foster father went on a binge that night, Complaining that if Cade up and left before he was eighteen that he wouldn’t collect a check on his “sorry ass” anymore. With that, he took his rage out on Cade for the very last time, and Cade fled, preferring the streets to dealing with a drunk every day. His foster mom had been kind, but years of abuse had turned her quie
t.
“Hey Cade, it’s been a while.” Hank’s warm smile greeted Cade as he took a seat to wait his turn.
“Hey Hank, how are the grandkids?”
Hank pulled the cape from around the customer he had been working on and brushed off any excess hair. He rung the customer up and wished him well in basic training. Finally, he turned to Cade.
“They are great, Dani is graduating from medical school and Allen is finishing up his doctorate. I would say, they are doing just fine.”
He patted the chair, signaling Cade to come have a seat. A picture of Hanks deceased wife sat on the mantle among products, clippers, and combs. She had died several years ago, an aggressive cancer that slowly sapped the life from her. Cade had only asked once about the beautiful woman in the picture and never brought her up to Hank again, unless Hank talked about her, which he usually didn’t.
When Cade had been on the streets for almost a year, his hair was filthy and long. He still remembers Hank walking by and stopping in front of him. That day, Hank had motivated Cade to get his act together, or he would die alone and homeless. Hank took Cade into the barber shop and cleaned and cut his hair.
“Now go get a job youngin’ and come see me when you need another cut!” Cade could not pay him, but the kind old man just laughed and told him it was on the house. Hank also told him he would have plenty of money with a haircut like that if he would just go apply himself.
Cade still remembers how surprised Tommy was to see him, clean cut and clean shaven. They celebrated after one of Tommy’s treatments, and not even two weeks later, Cade had a job at the corner store. He had sent Tommy a text the day before to check in, but they were off on some adventure honeymoon for a few weeks and he never heard back. Tommy’s social media sites were full of pictures of them having fun, so he knew he was ok at least.
“I saw you on the news kid,” Hank said as he placed the cape around Cade’s neck.
“It is a long story Hank.”
Cade’s heart felt heavy at the mention of the news special. A crazed kidnapper, abducting a young woman and hauling her off to his warehouse of insanity. Many media outlets had covered the story and some were very false in their retelling of what had happened. He had even read an interview between Cindy’s parent’s and the local news.
“All I got is time. How much are we taking off today?” Hank placed a hand on Cade’s shoulder.
“I need a change. I want to be able to brush some back on top, but let’s trim the back and maybe take the clippers to the bottom?”
He wasn’t sure if that made sense, but he figured Hank would understand. Also, it was just hair, it would grow back. Hank got to work with Cade’s hair, but he asked questions about that horrible day and Cade had to relive the whole experience again. When they were finished, Hank removed the cape and brushed off Cade’s shoulders.
“Son, it sounds like you are in love with this girl. If you are in love with her, go get her.”
He made it sound so easy. Cindy had been traumatized and not to mention her parents hated him. He wasn’t sure that it would be so easy. Happy endings in movies never seemed to apply to Cade’s life, but he found that he agreed with Hank. Suddenly feeling like he was coming up from his pit of despair, he clasped hands with Hank.
“Thank you Hank. I think you saved me a second time in this life.”
A knowing twinkle shown in the old blurry brown eyes that peered at him, and he smiled. Cindy was his girl, and she would always be. He was going to make damn sure of it. Cade placed his helmet on his head, feeling refreshed from the cut and the perspective. Engine purring, he made his way to a fancy condo uptown.
***
Cindy had stayed with her parents for the first few days after her abduction. At first, she didn’t mind her mother fretting over her, but then the complaints began and she returned to her condo. She even told her if she had just stayed in medical school, this would never have happened and that she should really call Todd. He had apparently asked about her. Cade had not messaged her, and she was glad for it. That crazy Spencer kid was obsessing over Cade the entire time he had her. His ramblings never made sense, but she was angry at him and Cade for some reason. He had not physically harmed her, but the whole thing had been emotionally distressing. Cindy would never let anyone make her feel so weak again. Lying in bed, she stared at the television.
A shiny bald-headed man flashed a huge smile from the screen, his hands busy slicing fruits and vegetables that he sent through a juicer. After his elaborate demonstration, the shipping and easy payments screen flashed before her. Flipping the channel, Cindy stopped on a locally ran ad. A woman pinned a man to the floor and bent his arm back in a painfully unnatural direction. The same woman from the demonstration gave her testimonial and Cindy jotted down the number to call for her free introductory course.
“Hello, yes I was wanting to come in for the introductory self-defense course. Yes. One hour? Okay, yes. Thank you.”
She recognized the warm voice from the petite woman on the screen just moments before. They had an opening in an hour and she considered backing out but decided this was as good a time as any. Looking at her reflection, she was a mess. Her hair was standing out on the sides and her eyes were hollow from sleepless nights. She ran a brush through her hair and dug out her yoga pants and a tank, quickly slipping on her sneakers and running down the stairs.
It was only a few blocks to the gym that they were holding the free course in. She wanted to breathe in the fresh air and stop at the corner shop for a bottle of water. Her mind was busy with thoughts of Cade. She missed him, but she was angry too. She knew she shouldn’t blame him for what the maniac had done, but she needed to direct her rage somewhere. Her heart still ached to be with him though. He was the first man to make her feel so confident and safe. That was robbed when Spencer grabbed her outside of her condo and threw her in the back of a van.
Memories of that night flashed through her mind and she stuffed them back down. Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, she took a deep breath and willed herself to think of something else, anything else. Cade drifted back into her mind. Two passionate nights with him and the handful of dates they had, and yet she felt like she would never be able to love another. Each day without him had been torturous despite the anger that welled deep inside. While she thought it was good that he had given her space, she wondered why he had not attempted to reach out to her, which fueled her anger even further. She picked up her pace and strode into the convenient store.
She had avoided going out in public after her face aired on multiple news outlets for days. Hoping the rest of the world would forget, she was disappointed to find that the clerk behind the counter did recognize her. Bottle of water in hand she stepped up to the counter. An audible inhale from the clerk was the first sign that she was about to be put under the spotlight again.
“You are that girl. The girl from the crazy kidnapping a few weeks back, oh my goodness.” Her elderly face was scrunched up in concern and pity.
Cindy just nodded and started to pull out her card when the woman touched her hand.
“Sweetie, this is on me today.”
“Thank you.”
Surprised that the woman didn’t berate her with questions and thankful for her kindness she gave her a genuine smile. She realized it was the first time she had smiled since she had last seen Cade. Her heart beat a little faster at the thought of him and she almost pulled out her phone to text him. Collecting her water bottle and her wits, she left the convenient store and finished her walk to the little gym.
If the instructor recognized her from the news, she didn’t act like it. While Maggie was small in stature, her warm voice carried across the room and her demeanor screamed “I am in charge”. After they grappled and Maggie showed Cindy a few easy beginners’ moves, Cindy knew she was going to sign up for the monthly package. Maggie was also a personal fitness trainer, and Cindy was quickly added to her list of clients. Leaving the gym, muscle aching a
nd a small sweat circling down her back, Cindy felt great for the first time in weeks.
Cindy walked back home and showered. A familiar rumble from the street drew her to the window. Hair dripping and towel wrapped around her midriff, she peered down at Cade’s motorcycle and felt her heart jump at the sight of him. She nervously ran her fingers through her hair and ran to her bedroom for something to wear. An old college hoodie and shorts were crumpled up in the corner of her closet that was in complete disarray. She sighed and slipped into the clothes, hoping they were clean. Her doorbell chimed and she made her way down the stairs slowly to her front door.
Blinking at the clean-shaven face and deep green eyes that peered at her, she sucked in a breath at the sight of him. He was handsome with the beard, but without, he was incredible. His hair was brushed back and trimmed in the back with a slight fade at the bottom. Fighting the urge to reach up and run her fingers through his shaggy, clean mane, she folded her hands into fist. They stood in her doorway for what felt like eternity before she collapsed against his chest, breathing him in. His cologne was warm and refreshing.