The Good Neighbor

by Beverly Ligon

  He wanted so badly to see Nyla, but knew it was best to keep his distance for now. So, that’s what he did.

  Meanwhile, Dee called Nyla’s cell, but she didn’t answer. So, she called her home phone and Chance answered.

  “Hey Chance, how are you?”

  “I’m good, and you?”

  “I’m making it, I guess. Thanks for asking, though. Is Nyla available?” She asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.

  “Yeah, hold on a sec.” He handed Nyla the phone. “It’s Dee.”

  Nyla took the phone. “Hey Dee, what’s up?”

  Dee’s voice lowered. “Nyla, it’s very important that you don’t asked me any questions right now…just say okay.”

  “Okay.”

  “I need you to meet me at the hospital in the third floor waiting room in about an hour.”

  Nyla knew by the sound of Dee’s voice that something was wrong. “Okay. I’ll be over in about an hour.” She hung up.

  “Is everything alright?” Chance asked.

  “I don’t know. Something happened between her and her so called man. She tried to tell me, but I couldn’t quite understand what she was saying, so I told her I’d come over.” Nyla lied. “Are you okay here for a little while until I come back? I shouldn’t be long. She just wants to vent and probably needs a hug, then everything will be alright again.”

  “Yeah, I’m good. Be careful.”

  “I will.” She gave him a kiss and left.

  By this time, Nyla had grown bitter towards Chance. She had abandoned her dreams in order to keep him happy, but it still wasn’t enough. He pretended well in front of their sons and everyone else, like they were the perfect family, but behind closed doors, they were far from it. He had become somewhat mean and rude to Nyla and came home just in time for breakfast. That way, their boys wouldn’t know that their mom was sleeping alone. After a while, Nyla started pretending also. She let Chance think her feelings were hurt when he said or did mean things to her, but deep down inside, she couldn’t care less. Truth was, the slightest touch from him made her skin crawl and when he didn’t come home at night, she got some of the best sleep. None of it mattered to her anymore. Chance wanted to be the provider, so she let him without a simple complaint. It made things easier for her to deal with, at least for the moment.

  Nyla reached the hospital and found Dee anxiously waiting. “Dee, what’s going on? Did BJ hit you again?”

  “No, Nyla, this isn’t about me this time. It’s about you.” Dee answered. “Please, sit down.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you…now sit.” Dee sat down first, then Nyla. “The night when you were violated at the hospital, you thought it was Aaron who did it.”

  “No, he told me himself that it was him.”

  “Right...the first time.”

  “Yes, the first time and he was the last person to come see me here at the hospital. He had to have come back after I fell asleep.”

  “No, Nyla. It wasn’t him. He said when he left, he didn’t come back and I believe him.”

  Nyla looked confused, “What?”

  “I saw Aaron earlier today and I went to talk to him.”

  Nyla interrupted, “Dee, I thought we agreed to leave all of this alone! Why did you approach him with this?”

  “Because you made it too easy for him.”

  “It’s my choice whether to forgive him or not…not yours!”

  “I’m sorry, Nyla. I don’t want to argue with you because now is not the time for that.” Dee said with a calm, low voice. “Look down Nyla.”

  Nyla looked down at her rounded belly that was now very visible.

  “You are pregnant...and from who? You don’t know. Yes, it’s your choice, but I don’t think you are looking at the big picture here. You are married and was raped...twice by two different people, and now you’re pregnant. Aaron told me that he did not rape you the second time, which means that there aren’t two possible fathers. There are three. Even if there were only two…did it not cross your mind that this baby may come out mixed? Chance is black. He’ll snap! So, yes…it’s your choice, but I don’t think it’s smart to sit back and do nothing to help your situation.”

  Nyla placed both hands on her stomach and tears filled her eyes. “So, Aaron only raped me once?”

  “Yes…that’s what he told me today. He knew nothing about the second time here at the hospital, and I believe him.”

  “Then who could the other person have been? I mean…we’re at a hospital where hundreds of people go in and out of every day. How are we going to find out who came into my room all of those months ago?”

  “Cameras.” Dee answered.

  “Cameras?”

  “Yes, cameras. That’s why I asked you to come here. Maybe they kept some kind of record of who came into your room that night. If not your room, at least the floor.”

  Nyla looked worried. “I felt so much better when I knew who the fathers could be, even though there were two.” Nyla started to cry. “Now, I just don’t know!”

  Dee hugged her. “I’m so sorry this happened to you!”

  “It’s just too much to deal with!”

  “I know, but I’m right here with you! We’re going to deal with this together! Stay strong big sis. You have four little ones depending on you and we all love you. We’re going to figure out who did this to you and make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. No more being nice, Nyla. Okay?”

  Nyla nodded, “Okay.”

  “Okay, good! Now, first we’re going to ask them about the cameras. We need to know how far they go back because your diamond bracelet went missing and that’s the last place you remember having it.” Dee said. “That’s our story.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  They went to the information desk and were sent to the security department. Someone they knew worked there and told them that they didn’t keep security tape over ninety days. At that point, it had been over five months. They both felt a little weary, but Dee was not going to be defeated.

  “I’m not giving up.” Dee said.

  “Maybe you should. I’ll just tell Chance everything and accept whatever follows.”

  “No, Nyla! We need a little more time to see what we can find. I just have this gut feeling that we are going to figure this out. I know you want all of this to go away, but we have to know who the other person was before that can happen. So, don’t give up just yet.”

  Nyla looked up towards the ceiling. Tears chased each other down her cheeks as she silently cried. Dee hugged her and said, “Come on...let’s sit down for a while so you can gather yourself before you go back home. You can’t mention any of this to Chance.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  “And call me if you need me for anything.” Dee added.

  “I will. I love you, Dee.”

  “I love you too!” Dee replied, then changed the subject so Nyla could take her mind off the issue at hand. After a short while, Nyla’s tears dried up and the redness in her eyes disappeared. Soon after, she left to go home.

  Dee wasn’t quite ready to leave yet. She found a spot in a waiting room where she could sit alone and thoroughly analyze the whole dilemma. An hour later, she had made her way to one of the hospital cafés and was drinking a cappuccino when Tabby approached her. Tabby is the lady whose daughter Nyla saved many years ago. She was now a registered nurse at the hospital.

  “Hey Debra, how are you? Tabby said.

  Dee stood up and gave her a hug. “Hey, I’m fine! How are you?”

  “I’m well, thanks!”

  “And how’s your little girl?”

  “She’s not so little anymore. She’ll be graduating from high school in a couple of years and plan on going straight to nursing school, following in her mother’s footsteps.” Tabby was proud to say.

  “That’s great!”

  “Yes, I’m so proud of her!”

  “And yo
u should be!” Dee agreed. “Wow, it’s been years and you still look great!”

  “Thanks, and so do you!”

  “Thanks! I’m trying.” Dee giggled.

  “How’s Nyla?”

  “She’s doing okay.”

  “That’s good! I saw her here after her accident and was reminded of how my daughter’s near-death experience brought her and her husband together. If it hadn’t been for Nyla, I wouldn’t have had the chance to see my little girl grow up to be the smart, beautiful young lady she is today.”

  “That’s true and definitely something to be thankful for,” agreed Dee. “Did I hear you say that you saw her after the accident?”

  “Yes, I was her nurse for the first two nights.” Tabby answered. “She sure is lucky to have a husband like hers.”

  “I didn’t know you knew Chance like that.”

  “Well, I don’t know him personally. I saw him on the first night of her stay. He stayed overnight with her.” Tabby answered.

  “He did?” Dee asked.

  “Yes, I saw him in bed with her. It felt kind of weird to walk in on them like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “I’ve heard of people getting caught having sex while in the hospital, but I hadn’t ever seen it with my own eyes until that night.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I walked in on them having sex, but I don’t think they noticed me because I quickly walked back out. I even knocked before I went in, but I assumed they didn’t hear me.”

  “So, it was Chance.” Dee commented under her breath.

  “Is everything alright?”

  “Yes.” Dee answered. “Are you sure it was him?”

  “Yeah. I’m positive that it was him. I waited awhile before going back in to check on her and got a good look at his face. Then, I saw him again on the day that Nyla was released to go home. He picked her up.”

  “Okay, thank you so much!” Dee was excited to find out that it was Chance who raped Nyla. “I gotta go! Thanks again!”

  “Good seeing you!” Tabby said as Dee rushed down the hall.

  “Ditto!”

  THE CONFRONTATION

  Nyla had reached home and for the first time in a while, she saw lights on at Aaron’s house. She felt both nervous and happy at the same time. Preoccupied with the thought of him possibly being the father of her unborn child, she forgot all about her cell phone and left it charging in the car.

  Meanwhile, Dee called Aaron to tell him what she found out.

  Aaron answered, “Hello.”

  “Aaron, it’ s Dee. It was Chance!”

  “What?”

  “It was Chance who raped Nyla!”

  “Dee, that doesn’t make sense. That’s her husband.”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I ran into a friend that works at the hospital. She was Nyla’s nurse on the night that she was raped. She walked in on Chance having sex with Nyla.”

  “Right! He was having sex with Nyla, not raping her.”

  “She thought it was innocent too because he is her husband, but Nyla told me she was raped.”

  “What reason would he have for raping his own wife when he can have her whenever he wants?” Aaron said. “Maybe she was mistaken.”

  “Nyla said she was drowsy, but remembered being choked. Then, he stopped for some reason. I think he stopped because the nurse walked in on him.” Dee explained. “You may see a perfect picture when you look at them, but you have no idea. Nyla and I talk every day, so I know their relationship is far from perfect. Chance wants control and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it. He’s been mistreating Nyla for quite some time now, but you’ll never know it because she’s always hiding behind that beautiful smile of hers.”

  “All these years and I never would’ve suspected that.”

  “I wouldn’t know either if her and I weren’t so close. We tell each other everything.”

  “So, what’s the story? Why is he doing all of this to her?”

  “They’ve been together since Nyla was in high school. He accidentally hit her with his car back then, which is how they met.”

  “I remember her telling me that story.”

  “Yeah…to make a long story short, we were walking around the block and saw a little girl playing in the street. Chance was driving in her direction, but didn’t see her and Nyla had a gut feeling that he didn’t. So, just in time, Nyla pushed the little girl out of harm’s way and she was hit instead. It was pretty bad. It took a while before she could use her leg like normal again. Either way, he felt so guilty about it all that he promised he’d take care of her. They ended up dating, married, and now they’re here.”

  “Okay, but…”

  “She had no idea that he meant that he wanted to take total care of her. He wants her to depend on him for everything. I told her he was crazy, but Nyla never listened. She thought I was saying that because I don’t like him, but that’s not the case. I say that because certain things that he does and the way he acts, just don’t sit right with me. It’s not normal.”

  “I understand all of that, but still…”

  “See…Nyla has always been adamant about going back to college. Chance, on the other hand, always hated that idea, although it was part of their agreement when they got married. Chance was supposed to finish law school first. Then, she would go and get her degree. That never happened because she’s been having his kids over the years. She was supposed to be done having kids and tried to convince him that it was a good time for her to go back. He still didn’t want her to, but she went and re-enrolled anyway. Ever since then, he’s been mean and evil towards her. She ended up withdrawing because it became too much to deal with.”

  “So, do you think he’s capable of going to the extreme of raping her?”

  “I didn’t think you were capable and you did it!” She reminded him.

  Aaron fell silent.

  Dee continued, “I’m not going to apologize for what I just said, but I won’t take it any further right now. Nyla told me that Chance was being aggressive with her one morning until CJ walked in. So, he played it off like he was showing her some type of rough love and started kissing her. To answer your question…yes, I believe he raped her and even tried to kill her, since she said that she was choked.”

  “Then, we should probably get her out of there.” His doorbell rings. “Hold on, someone’s at the door.” To his surprise, it was Chance. “Hey Chance, what’s up?”

  “Hey, Aaron. I was wondering if I could use your garden snips? I know it’s late, but I saw that your lights were still on and figured I’d try to catch you now because you may be out of here in the morning.” He grinned.

  Dee was listening to their conversation and decided to take that time to call Nyla. Aaron still had the phone to his ear and heard Dee hang up, but pretended someone was still there and ended the call like normal.

  “Yeah, it’s no problem.” Aaron answered. “Follow me, it’s in the garage.”

  Chance followed Aaron to the garage as they engaged in small talk, until they heard a phone ring. Chance didn’t realize that he had placed their cordless home phone in his pocket. He took it out and saw that it was Dee and commented to Aaron, “I don’t think these sisters ever get enough of each other. Hold on a minute.” He pressed talk to answer and before he could say hello, he overheard Dee talking to Nyla.

  “Nyla, it was Chance who raped you in the hospital!”

  Nyla had answered one of their other house phones. “What?”

  “Aaron raped you the first time and it was Chance who raped you at the hospital.”

  “Dee, what are you talking about?”

  “Remember Tabby, the girl whose baby you saved years ago?”

  “Yes, she was my nurse while I was in the hospital.”

  “Right! Well, I ran into her tonight after you left. We were having a conversation when your name came up. She told me that you probably won’t remember because you were kinda out of it, but she wal
ked in on Chance having sex with you. She didn’t want to interrupt y’all, so she walked right back out. She thought it was innocent because he’s your husband.”

  Meanwhile, Aaron noticed by the sudden silence and change in Chance’s facial expression that he was overhearing everything Dee was telling Nyla. Aaron began to speak louder to Chance, hoping Dee would hear him and end the conversation before too much could be said. Dee did hear Aaron and hung up, but realized that Chance might have already heard too much. She quickly made it to her car and was on her way to help her sister just in case things got out of hand.

  Nyla was confused by Dee’s call. She heard what she was told, but couldn’t quite accept it as the truth. Never did she think Chance would do something so cruel to her after all their years together. She remembered more happy times than sad. “It couldn’t have been Chance. He’d left the hospital to go pick up the boys. Dee and Tabby have to be mistaken.” To confirm her feelings, she called her parents to ask them about that night.

  “Hey Momma.”

  “Hey, Nyla. Are you okay?”

  “Yes ma’am. How are you?”

  “I’m doing alright.”

  “The boys aren’t giving y’all any trouble, are they?”

  “These boys never give anybody trouble. They’re good boys.”

  Nyla smiled. “Okay, good! I was just checking on them.”

  “Okay.”

  “Oh, Momma?”

  “Yes?”

  “Remember when I went in the hospital after the accident?”

  “Yes.”

  “On that first night, did Chance pick up the boys or did y’all drop them off?”

  “No, neither. It was getting late and you know how your daddy falls asleep early. The boys didn’t have him to entertain them, so they fell asleep too. I called Chance and told him that the boys were already sleeping and could stay over. Chance picked them up early the next morning.”

  Nyla’s eyes stretched. “Okay Momma, thanks!”

  “Is everything alright?”

  “Yes ma’am...everything is fine.” Nyla tried to remain calm. “I didn’t know they didn’t come home that night, but it’s no problem.”