by Linda Wright
Finally Takia said, “KeKe I am so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I was just talking to TaTa and CiCi and the next thing I know things were out of control.”
Keisha stood there looking at her. She felt the apology was weak. She wanted answers. She demanded, “What did you tell them?” Takia maintained her expression and went on, “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and I would never do anything to hurt you. It’s just, I wanted to fit in and be a part of the family. I talked about the only thing I knew we had in common; you.”
“What did you tell them?”
“KeKe, this week has been so amazing. I have had the time of my life. Please forgive me.”
“WHAT DID YOU TELL THEM!!!” Keisha had lost patience. She was tired of listening to Takia’s so called explanation. She wanted the truth. Takia kept on, “KeKe…”
“Stop calling me that! That’s what my friends and family calls me.”
“Okay, Keisha. Please…”
“If you’re not gonna tell me the truth then just get your stuff and get out!”
At first Takia maintained the same expression. She was clearly trying to convince Keisha of how sorry she was. Keisha did not relent. When Takia saw no change in Keisha’s stance or expression, hers began to change. Keisha watched as Takia’s face turned into something almost morbid. Her expression became something grotesque. Keisha felt a pang of fear burst through her anger. It was as if she was witnessing a transformation. Takia lost all pretense of sympathy and remorse. She had almost a snarl forming on her face. She took another step toward Keisha. Keisha forced herself to stay still.
Takia said, “You’ve always been like this. A self-righteous goody two shoes. Miss Perfect, pristine little KeKe. Miss Everything. Everybody loves you, you have it all. The family, the career, the man. I don’t have anything. Nothing. My parents never wanted me, my grandma only took me in for a check and I never had any friends. I had to struggle and scrape every step of the way to get to college and you just strolled in there like it was nothing. Nobody even paid me any attention. I was KeKe’s roommate. KeKe’s friend. Even after you left.”
Keisha stood there listening in utter shock. All of this time she had thought that Takia was her friend, but she had clearly been wrong. The pain of it was too much, not to mention how stupid she now felt. She could barely stand to hear anymore.
Takia was not done yet. She said, “I tried to be nice about this, I really did. I was going to let you at least stick around, but I see you’re not going to let that happen. You want to know what I told them? I told them whatever I could think of to smear their perfect image of you. And Natasha and Sicily were more than happy to hear it. They knew what it was like to have to compete with the perfect KeKe. As soon as I started talking, they were all ears, more than willing to believe whatever I told them. About the sleeping around in college, the abortions, and the drinking. About how badly you talked about them behind their backs and your plans to push them aside and take over. You’d think how nice you’ve always been would count for you, but actually it went against you. It seems fake and people have always been waiting for you to mess up. I gave it to them. That’s your flaw. You are too perfect. You make the people around you feel bad about themselves. You’re not right. You’re not right for Jason. You neglect him. I’ll be so much better for everybody. When I’m you, I’ll be much more relatable.”
“When you’re me?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m taking over. What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time? Getting in good with the family, the company, and your fiancée. I’m going to be better than just like you. I’m going to be you. After everything I told them and how you acted tonight, no one’s going to miss you. I’ll make sure of it.”
The hairs on the back of Keisha’s neck stood on end. She should have realized that the only reason Takia would have told her all of that was that she was planning to get rid of her. She had been so stunned by everything that she had not had time to think of that. She was officially more afraid than she was angry. Takia was not that far away. Keisha did not think that she could run out the door or into any room and lock the door behind her. She felt trapped. She could feel Takia watching her waiting to pounce. She felt like this was a moment of fight or flight. Since flight was not an option, it seemed she would have to fight.
Keisha did not want to be a sitting duck, so she decided to make the first move. She began walking towards Takia. Takia prepared to pounce. Keisha circled around the room trying to find an angle. When she got to the space closest to Takia, Takia sprang at her. She was a lot stronger than Keisha was expecting. For such a slim woman, she packed a lot of punch. She was able to wrestle Keisha down to the ground. She used her knees to force Keisha’s legs closed and put her hands around her neck. Keisha tried to fight her off, but she couldn’t breathe.
She was able to get her elbow lodged up into Takia’s ribs, knocking the wind out of her. When she loosened her grip, Keisha flipped her off of her and began to grab at her. Keisha had never been much of a fighter; she had never had to be. But now she was fighting for her life and she found strength she didn’t know she had. She pulled Takia back towards her end table. With her knees pushing down on her back, she reached for her lamp and brought it down on her head. Takia fell over with a thud and did not move. Keisha felt horrible watching the blood ooze from the wound on her head, but she had no choice. It was either her or Takia. It was not going to be Takia. She realized that at some point she had lost her phone. She began to look around for it so that she could call an ambulance. They had begun their struggle by the couches so she got down on her belly to look underneath. She spotted the phone on the far side by the wall.
As she began to reach for it, she heard movement behind her. Just as she was about to come back out she felt something wrapping around her neck. It felt like Takia was using a belt to choke her. She struck out, grabbing at it and trying to get it loose. She could hear her phone going off beneath the couch. Her mind began to focus on her lack of air. The strap was pulled so tightly that her eyes began to blur. She could feel herself starting to lose consciousness. She heard Takia sneer, “That’s right. This is perfect. It’ll make your suicide by hanging that much easier to sell.” Keisha tried to buck back into her, but she was locked up tight. It felt like her world was coming to an end.
Just as she thought she could take no more, she heard a commotion from somewhere in the room. The belt loosened a bit around her neck as Takia jolted up in surprise. In the next moments she could feel Takia getting off of her and the belt sprang loose. She fell forward on her stomach, coughing and gasping for air. She vomited on the floor in front of her. She could still hear struggling behind her. Takia was screaming at the top of her lungs. She turned around to see what was going on and she saw Jason holding Takia down trying to get control of her. She wanted to help, but she could barely move, still trying to refill her lungs with air. Just as she thought she was regaining herself she began to fade.
The next thing she knew she was being shaken. She blinked her eyes open and looked up to see Jason over her. It took a few moments for her to understand what he was saying. As the buzzing went out of her ears she could hear him saying her name. She tried to answer him, but the words wouldn’t come. It took her a few tries, but finally she felt his name leaving her lips. He pulled her into his chest and rocked her. Her body ached all over. Even his embrace hurt. She kept blinking and trying to figure out what was going on. The lights were on all over her house and there were other people moving around the room. She tried to see who it was, but Jason was still holding on to her.
Then she saw a hand pulling him back and reaching for her. It was her mother. Her face was streaming with tears as she pulled Keisha out of Jason’s arms and into her own. Keisha muttered a weak, “Mama?”
“Yes baby. I’m here. I’m so sorry, baby. I am so sorry. Your father is on his way.”
Keisha sat up a bit to see who else was in the room. She realized that
there were a few police officers and most of her family. They all began to gather around the couch where she had been laid. Her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents all loomed around her, offering soothing touches. She could see towards the back, the devastated faces of Natasha and Sicily. They were both sobbing and didn’t seem to want to come any closer. Keisha drew a few deep breaths and said, “TaTa and CiCi, come here.”
They looked at each other and slowly moved forward until they were standing at the front of the group. Keisha reached a hand out for her sister. Still shaking with tears, she stepped forward and took it. She leaned in and said, “KeKe, I’m so sorry. I should have never believed her. I feel like this is all my fault. I love you so much.”
“It’s okay. I understand. I love you too. And you CiCi.”
Cici fell forward and put her head against Keisha’s. Keisha turned her head and planted a kiss on her forehead. Then she turned to Jason and said, “Where is she?” No one had to ask who she was referring to. Jason took her hand and said, “The police took her. Don’t worry, you won’t be seeing her again. There are outstanding warrants on her.”
Keisha shook her hand in understanding. She still couldn’t believe it. Someone who she had held as a dear friend, almost family, had tried to kill her and take over her life. She would later learn about Takia’s history of psychological problems and the slew of crimes she had left behind her. The real reason she could not go back to her home town was that she had been tied to three assaults and at least two murders, the murders of her grandmother and her older sister. Keisha felt blessed just to have made it out alive.
Jason moved up the wedding to the first available date. He said he had almost lost her and he was going to keep her close to make sure that it didn’t happen again. She moved into his house. She had always loved it anyway, but it was decidedly better than her condo now with everything that had happened there. In most ways things went back to normal.
The one thing that did change was that Keisha decided not to be so naïve. She realized that everyone trying to be in your life is not your friend. Some people are not there to add to your life, but to take away from it. She would try not to be bitter or paranoid, but she would be cautious. From now on she would be careful with anyone coming around trying to flatter her by saying they wanted to be just like her. They may just mean it…
*****
THE END
The Scandalous Marriage
A Regency Romance Tale
By: Mary Chase
Chapter 1
Sept 9th 1814
Choking warmth poured in through the orangery’s large windows, scorching the lonely inhabitant tucked away behind a large fern in the corner. Miss Elizabeth Morgan hated both extreme heat and oranges, but she was desperate to stay hidden from her family and their horrifying house guest, the Earl of Devonshire. She swore under her breath as her embroidery needle slipped in her wet fingers and rushed into the wrong part of the picture. Gingerly pulling out the sliver of light, with pent up rage she stabbed the needle back into the correct place and squealed in pain as her hand under the silk found the needle. The design drafted onto the white piece of silk, held firmly in the standing frame, glistened as she bowed her head to hide her tears; no woman ever born had ever been so unlucky. She’d fallen in love at eighteen, and at nineteen the man of her dreams had asked her to marry him. Two weeks before the marriage, her sweetheart had tumbled overboard during a battle and sank at sea. Three months later she’d gone to Bath, supervised by her older sister, to recover her spirits. Five days after arriving, they’d received word that their parents and half their parent’s servants had died after consumption of wild mushroom soup. Bath abandoned, Elizabeth had gone to live with her sister and brother in law. All looked well, until her ogling brother-in-law demanded she pay her room and board by permitting him certain affections in her bed after dark. After stabbing the man in the neck with her embroidery needle, Elizabeth was blamed for aggravating the man’s lust, and sent packing by her sister to their aunt and uncle who’d never adored her. She’d inherited money from her parents, but it was all tied up in a grant that wouldn’t commence until she married. As the years passed, her hope of discovering love or a decent man to marry was equally cursed with ill-luck. Her nastiest suitor turned out to be already married. One desperate man needed a wife, but didn’t want any more children; he already had thirteen under fifteen. She rejected to give up the right to have children so she could slave over some other woman’s brats.
She found one hopeful suitor kissing the chamber maid; another she found kissing the footman. Her favourite suitor, Lord Alwen, had given every appearance of being in love with her. After being dogged by so many men worn off the bottom of the matrimonial barrel, Alwen’s good-looking cheerful persona was difficult to resist. She’d accepted his proposal, and allowed him numerous rights, before learning that he’d also asked her younger cousin Sophia to be his wife. He secretly objected to Elizabeth that he was only marrying the plain young woman for her greater dowry, as if that vindicated his actions. Elizabeth could only be thankful she hadn’t yielded to the cad’s husky pleadings to be allowed a premarital sample of her charms.
Five years later and still unmarried, Elizabeth was an undesirable emotional burden on her relatives. There’d been pressure on her cousin Reggie to offer for her, but as the younger man couldn’t bear to even look at her, it was silly to think he’d offer for her. To clarify his feelings, Reggie had sent along the awful Earl of Devonshire with his blessing, as if Elizabeth were some sort of unsolicited gift to pass along to the next fool in need of her grant. Her tears pooled, dropping onto her embroidery and clearing her vision. Looking up, the sight of her Aunt Angela eyeing her with disdain through the greenery sent a chill down her spine.
“Hiding in the orangery will not save you from marrying Lord Devonshire if he proposes. You will go at once to the garden, and if his Lordship is not capable to find you I will personally safeguard you regret it. You have been warned. Come do your duty, and reassure that nice young man or else.”
“But Aunt Angela, he smells like a tomcat in high temperature, and I don’t think he’s changed his smalls in weeks. If I see him prize his nose and eat it one more time I’m going to be nauseating. Please don’t make me…”
“You will marry him if he asks you, otherwise.”
“I can’t marry him; I have a nose!”
“Then I suggest you put some of that embroidery floss to decent use, and thrust it up your nostrils. If he asks, you will say yes. Your uncle and I have had sufficient of your morose sulking for that dead sailor. We’ve had nothing but evil luck since you landed on our doorstep, and I’ve had enough.”
“Benjamin loved me, and he was a lieutenant in the Navy, not some constrained man.”
“Mr. perfect Benjamin…if I hear that sailor’s name one more time I’ll burn all your half-finished embroidery littering up my house, and send you back to your sister. His Lordship is waiting for you near the wishing well. He requests to walk with you in the garden. I don’t care if he hasn’t bathed in a year, or picks his teeth after scraping his hindmost regions. You’re thirty-one, not thirteen. This is a prospect not to be missed. The de Devonshire family has been bred with the crown since John Paul the conqueror. Leave your mindless embroidery and go be lovely to the man at once.” Elizabeth gave her embroidery one final stab with her needle as her make-believe it to be the heart of the rank gentleman waiting for her. With gritted teeth she stood up. “And take off that ugly old maid’s cap.” Elizabeth grasped the lace edged flaps hanging down onto her high necked dress and winked in horror. How could she hide her feelings without her dreadful cap? “Men like seeing a woman’s hair. Remove it.”
Elizabeth unwillingly took off the cap, and dropped it on her embroidery. “I feel stripped without it.”
“Not as stripped as you’ll be in the man’s bed. Go be nice to the creature.” Elizabeth made a compliant curtsey, as she mentally cursed her aunt to a hot pl
ace, and then cursed the despicable smelling man to the same place for making her life hell. Holding her head high, she silently run by again herself that as a Morgan her family influences were no less inspiring, not that blood meant anything in the end. Her Aunt Angela’s threats would undoubtedly be followed through. Elizabeth headed for the garden with hope that she’d arrive to find the dreadful smelling man had strolled off. If she was lucky for once, she might not have to smell him till luncheon. The thought made her smile until she reached the black Iron Gate.
Looking through sophisticated loops of painted iron, the Earl of Devonshire could be seen inclined over the wishing well, looking into its pits. Elizabeth shook herself as she was absorbed by a murderous instinct; if she snuck up behind him she could shove him in. She was losing her mind. Killing the man wouldn’t solve her problem; frantic fortune hunters would linger to appear on her uncle’s doorstep. She gripped the iron curls, and eyed the good-looking figure in disgust. He’d be gorgeous if he bathed several times with a bar of soap, washed and combed his hair, and changed into unsoiled clothes. He appeared to own only two suits, one shirt, and one pair of smalls. The thought of standing near the man endangered to bring up her breakfast. From a distance there wasn’t anything clearly wrong with him. If she’d been born without a nose, he’d have been a pleasant agreeable soul whose nurture had somehow neglected manners of any kind. Pushing open the screeching gate, the Earl of Devonshire’s eyes lit with pleasure as he turned his head towards her. Praying she was up wind, she slowly crossed towards the well.