“Yes ma’am.” Jack said without hesitation and walked away.
“Alright Nyla, as long as you say you’re okay.” Aaron reluctantly turned and walked away also.
Returning inside, Nyla’s heart ached as she thought about how she had just treated Aaron. She was always there for him whenever he needed her. Now, when he wanted to be there for her, she didn’t let him.
THE CONFESSION
Weeks passed and Nyla had become even more unstable. She tried to avoid social activities altogether, but whenever she couldn’t, she wore the perfect mask. She put on that same mask around Chance, who was barely home long enough to notice a difference. She also decided to withdraw from school. That way, she was less likely to have any confrontations with Chance concerning it. Besides that, her mind stayed on the rape so much that there was no way she would be able to concentrate on school work no matter how hard she tried.
Whenever Nyla was home alone, she sat on the floor in an area where she could keep an eye on the front and back portions of the house. It didn’t matter that she set the alarm while she was there; she was still paranoid. She kept one of the cordless house phones in her pocket just in case the rapist tried to break in. She felt like a landline would be better to use because if she ever had to call law enforcement from it, her address would show automatically without her having to say a word.
Although Nyla had a close relationship with her family, she didn’t go around them because they’d know immediately that something was wrong. To keep them from missing her, she made calls to them often enough to make it seem like everything was normal. With her troubled mind, she still managed to interact with the boys without them suspecting anything.
While sitting on the floor of her hallway one afternoon, the house phone rang. It was her sister, Dee.
“Hello?” Nyla answered.
“Hey, what are you up to?”
“Nothing much…just sitting around until time to pick up the boys.”
“Did you work out today?” Dee asked.
Nyla laughed. “No. Did you work out today?”
“I’m glad you asked! Yes, I did and while I was working out, I started thinking of how nice it would be if we worked out together. I need you to be my workout partner.”
“I can do that.” Nyla agreed. “When do I start?”
“Tomorrow.”
“What time?”
“I think noon would be the best time since the boys will be at camp and it’s slow during that time at the shop.”
“Okay, so I’ll meet you at the gym at twelve, starting tomorrow.”
“Okay, cool! Meanwhile, do you want to go get something to eat?”
“No, not really. We wouldn’t have time now anyway.” Nyla answered. “By the time I get dressed and you come over, it’ll be time to pick up the boys. Why didn’t you call earlier?”
“I did...I called your cell a few times, but you never answered. That’s why I’m calling your house phone, duh!” Dee said playfully. “Check your messages. Why didn’t you answer your cell anyway?”
“I turned the ringer off when I went to the college.” Nyla started searching for her cell. “I forgot to turn it back on, I guess.”
“So, you’re still planning on going back to school even though Chance doesn’t want you to?”
“No, I went to unenroll. I can’t deal with the attitude he’s been giving me.” Nyla answered. “So, I’ll meet you at the gym tomorrow at noon?”
“Sure, go ahead and rush me off.” Dee said jokingly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See ya!”
Nyla hung up. She looked all over for her cell phone, but couldn’t find it. Then, she remembered placing it on the passenger seat of her car earlier that day. Instead of going out to get it, she called it from the house phone to check her messages. She laughed at the messages Dee had left. Then, she heard another message…it was silent at first, and just before the end, she heard someone breathing, then said in a very low voice, “I’m sorry,” and hung up.
The calm feeling that Dee helped Nyla feel immediately vanished and paranoia returned. She thought about the fact that this man knew her phone number, and since only a few people did, she felt like he must be someone she knows. What spooked her more than anything was that he was bold enough to call her phone. She tried to think of anybody that could be evil enough to hurt her in such a way, but no one came to mind.
A couple of hours later, Nyla went to pick up the boys. All the while, her mind was stuck on trying to figure out whose voice she heard on the voicemail.
The boys got in and Ronald asked, “Mom, what time is Daddy coming home tonight? I want to talk to him about something.”
Still quite out of it, Nyla answered, “I’m not sure.” At that moment, she realized that she hadn’t heard from Chance all day, and not much at all for the past few days. “I hadn’t heard from him today. You know your daddy keeps busy.” She paused, then remembered her phone. “CJ, I think you’re sitting on my cell phone. Hand it to me please, so I can see if I missed his call.”
CJ handed her the phone and she saw that she had nine missed calls. When she pressed view, three of them were from Dee, one was from Chance, and the rest read PRIVATE. Shaken, Nyla dropped her cell, then tried to catch it before it went underneath her seat, but couldn’t. Taking her eyes off the road for a split second, she looked between the seat and middle console to see if it was reachable. She glanced back at the road and quickly tried to look down between the seats again. When she looked back up, she saw that the car in front of her had stopped for a red light. She hit the brakes and swerved to the right to avoid hitting the car, but was going too fast to stop completely before going into the intersection. She looked to her left and saw an SUV that tried to stop also, but couldn’t. The SUV hit Nyla’s car on her side and she was knocked unconscious.
“Nyla, wake up honey.” Nyla woke up to Chance, gently stroking her head. “How are you feeling?”
“I don’t know...what happened?”
“You were in an accident. You don’t remember?”
Nyla looked confused. “The boys!” She started to panic as it all came back to her.
“The boys are fine.”
“Where are they?”
“They’re with your parents now. They were all checked out and not a scratch on neither of them. So, they were cleared to go home.”
“My parents are here?”
“They were, until a few hours after the doctors told them that you’d be okay. Then, they asked if the boys could go home with them. I could tell that they all were tired and that the boys really wanted to go. So, I told them yes and I’d pick them up on my way home.”
Nyla smiled a little, then asked, “The other driver…are they okay?”
“Yes, there was more damage to their vehicle than them.”
“Thank God!” Nyla was relieved. “So, when did they say I could go home?”
“Well, you hit your head somehow. So, you can’t go home yet.” He answered. “They want to watch you overnight.”
Nyla lifted one of her hands to feel her bandaged head. “Well, I feel okay.”
“Yeah, the pain medication has you feeling that way, but the doctors know best. You need to stay.”
Nyla looked at Chance and wished he could remain this nice after she is released to go home.
“Are you hungry?” He asked.
“No, not really.”
“Okay, can you think of anything you may need or want?”
“No, I’m okay.”
“Good!” He replied. “Well...now that I’ve seen you awake, talked with you a bit and know that you’re going to be okay, I need to head out. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”
“Okay, but I wish you could stay.” Nyla said as she started dozing off again.
“I wish I could too, but I think I should pick up the boys from your parents before it gets too late. Plus, they want me to let them know when you woke up. Now, I can tell all of them at
the same time, that I talked to you and you’re doing well.”
“Good idea. I know they’re worried sick.”
“Yes, they are.” Chance agreed. “Do you know that Anthony was the most worried?”
Nyla smiled and nodded. “Of course! He’s the baby and definitely the momma’s boy!”
Chance laughed. “I’ll call you when I get there so you can talk to them, okay?”
“Okay. I love you babe.” She mumbled as her eyes grew heavier by the second.
“I love you too.” He kissed one of her hands and left.
Nyla fell into a deep sleep. She had a dream about her and her boys playing together in an unfamiliar park. Nyla’s neighbors, Aaron and Jack, her parents, and siblings were all there and played along with them. Chance was nowhere to be seen, but his absence didn’t seem to be an issue since everyone was having a good time without him.
They started playing a game of softball. When it was CJ’s turn to bat, he hit the ball in Nyla’s direction. Nyla yelled, “I got it...I got it!” She tried, but still didn’t catch it. The ball landed inside a wooded area of the park. Without hesitation, Nyla went into the woods to get it. At first, she couldn’t find it, so she went a little deeper. After a few seconds of looking, she spotted it and went to get it. She reached down and picked it up. As she stood back up, someone grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth so she couldn’t scream.
“Shh!” A man whispered in her ear as he pressed his midsection against her backside. “I’m watching you!”
Nyla squirmed so he wouldn’t get any pleasure out of touching her. Then, she saw her boys’ faces in her mind. “Fight!” She heard CJ say. “Fight, Mommy!” She heard Ronald’s voice, followed by Anthony’s.
Nyla jerked forward and head butted the guy. He loosened his hold, which gave her room to elbow him. Then, with the softball clutched firmly in her hand, she turned to punch him and saw that it was Chance. Shocked, she turned to run back towards the field with the others, but was grabbed by her hair and pulled back. Just as Chance was about to strike her, she woke up and realized that it was only a nightmare.
Breathing heavily, Nyla wondered why she had a dream like that about Chance. She thought to herself, I’m losing it! Whoever did this to me is going to pay! She started crying until she fell asleep again.
About an hour later, Nyla was awakened by the phone ringing. “Hello?” She answered.
“Hey, Nyla…it’s Aaron. How’s my favorite girl doing?”
“I’m okay, I guess. I wasn’t paying much attention to the road earlier, and I assume you’ve heard the rest.”
“Yeah, I saw Chance and he told me what happened.”
“I knew he would, but I’ll be fine.”
“Good!” He paused. “Nyla?”
“Yes, Aaron.”
“I apologize if you felt like I was invading your privacy the other day. It’s just that I’ve grown to care a lot about you. So, when I saw you the other day and you weren’t wearing that beautiful smile that I’m used to, I just got worried and wanted to help.”
“No need to apologize, Aaron. You are a wonderful friend to me and I already knew that you were only concerned. I just couldn’t talk about it at that time.”
“Well, do you want to talk about it now?”
“I can.”
“Okay, I’ll be there in a few.”
“No, wait! I thought you meant when I get home. You don’t have to come all this way.”
“I can’t wait. I’ve been worried sick about you ever since I heard.” He replied. “Only with your permission, I’d like to come now?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks! I’ll see you soon.”
About thirty minutes later, Aaron arrived to find Nyla sleeping. For a few minutes, he simply stared at her, not sure if he should wake her up or not. He decided to sit and wait and eventually, fell asleep himself. When he woke up, he found Nyla staring and smiling at him.
“Hey sleepyhead.” She said.
“Hi.” He smiled. “How long have I been out?”
“I don’t know. You were already sleeping when I woke up about an hour and a half ago.”
“Wow!” He looked at his watch. “I can’t believe I fell asleep like that and I can’t believe they didn’t run me out of here. I know visiting hours are over by now.”
“Well, they did try, but I told them that I’d tell you when you woke up.”
“I’m sorry! I’ll go so you can get your rest.”
“No, it’s okay. You don’t have to leave yet.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. It seems like all I’ve been doing is sleeping. I’m wide awake for now and would love to hold a conversation with someone other than the hospital staff.”
“Okay…but only for a little while.”
Nyla smiled, but it was clear to Aaron that something was still off about her. “Aaron, have you ever paid attention to an hourglass...how it works?”
“Yes, of course.” He smiled.
“Right now, my life is like that grain of sand that once sat at the very top. When the hourglass is turned over, the grain of sand is first to hit the bottom and is completely covered and smothered by the rest. That’s how I feel...smothered.”
“Why are you feeling this way?”
“My world has been turned upside down, Aaron!”
“But...you have your family that absolutely adores you.”
“I guess that’s how it appears when you’re looking in from the outside. Truth is, I’m at my lowest, and the more I try to improve things, the more they go wrong. I’ve been through something, Aaron, that has really messed me up, mentally and physically!” She started crying. “I don’t know which way to turn or what to do! Sometimes, I’m too scared to do anything at all!”
“Until the hourglass is turned back over.” Aaron said.
Nyla looked at him. “What?”
“An hourglass can’t turn itself over. That takes an outside source...a person. That grain of sand...you, will remain smothered until that happens and when it does, you’ll be back on top. Nyla, we all have our ups and downs in life. So, you’re not alone. When you need help, don’t be afraid to let someone help you.”
“Who’s gonna help me…Chance?” She asked. “He doesn’t care about nobody, but himself. I’m alone in this.”
“I’ll help you…if you let me.” He walked over as she continued to cry and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry!” He dropped his head.
Hearing him apologize like this made her feel somewhat disturbed. “Sorry for what?” She asked as she wiped away her tears. “What could you possibly feel sorry for?”
Aaron hesitated, then said, “I’m sorry for giving up so easily the other day. I knew something was wrong with you and I didn’t try hard enough to find out what it was.”
“We already discussed that.” She said, “It’s okay. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone at that time. So, you did exactly what I needed you to do. I was just afraid that…”
“That what?” He asked.
“I was just afraid that I’d make my problems yours…and I can’t do that to you.”
Aaron shook his head and said, “I can’t…I can’t do this to you! I can’t pretend anymore!”
“Pretend about what, Aaron?”
He looked at her and shook his head, his face filled with regret.
Now puzzled, Nyla asked, “Aaron, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, Nyla!”
He reached out to her, but feeling confused about what was happening, she leaned away from him so he couldn’t touch her.
“Please don’t be afraid of me!” He begged. “That night, I had been drinking after a fight with one of my girlfriends. I wasn’t aware of what I was doing. It wasn’t until the next morning that bits and pieces of that night started coming back to me. I was still in denial and thought maybe it was a bad dream or something until I saw you crying in that parking lot.” He touched her hand.
Visibly
shaken, she said, “Don’t touch me!”
He then grabbed both of her arms and pleaded, “Nyla, please forgive me! I’ll do whatever you tell me to do! Just tell me and I’ll do it…anything!”
“Please, don’t hurt me!” She cried as she shook in fear. “I promise I won’t tell anybody! Just don’t hurt me again!”
Heartbroken by the way Nyla responded, tears ran down Aaron’s face as he realized that touching her made her even more terrified than she was before. He let go of her arms and said, “Please don’t say that! I will never hurt you again!”
“This shouldn’t have ever happened to me, especially not by you! Aaron, I trusted you! How could you do this to me, someone you claim to care so much about? You hurt me...caused me to almost lose my mind! I’m in this hospital now because of the calls you made to my phone! I could have died in that accident! Drunk or not, some things just should never happen!”
“You’re right! I was wrong and whatever you decide to do, I deserve it! You know where I live and work. You also know my schedule. I’m not running, so you know where to send the police.”
“Just go…and don’t ever…EVER speak to me again! Don’t even look my way!”
“I’m sorry!” Aaron left.
Shocked about what she’d just learned, Nyla began to pray because she didn’t know what else to do. She wanted to call the police more than anything, but that meant she’d have to tell Chance what had happened to her. She figured he’d already been distant from her, so telling him would only make things worse, especially after so much time had already passed. So, she decided to continue keeping her secret and hoped that eventually, she could forget that anything had ever happened.
The next morning, Nyla woke up with a sore neck. She figured it was related to the accident and immediately brushed it off. She went to use the bathroom and when she wiped, she felt soreness. She wiped again to be sure she wasn’t imagining things and she wasn’t. She’d been sexually assaulted again, and since Aaron had just confessed to raping her the first time, she figured he did it again. She grew even more angry at him as she cried and thought he had to be crazy. How could he confess to raping me, then do it again? Still, Nyla didn’t say anything to anybody and two days later, she returned home.
The Good Neighbor Page 4