Promise To Keep

by Rainwater, Priscilla Poole

  “I’m in a pretty good mood today, Slimmy, so if I were you, I would take advantage of it. Let the girl go, and I may just let you live.“ Raven said.

  The woman’s cockiness pissed him off. “Ain’t no bitch alive tells me what the fuck to do.” he hissed. “Your ass may look good now, you dyke bitch, but when I’m done slicing yo’ face up, won’t nobody want your ass.” he snarled as he pulled a switchblade from the pocket of his baggy jeans. Flicking it open, he shoved the girl away and advanced on the interloper. He was amazed the woman didn’t seem to be afraid, and it was an entirely new experience for him. Faltering for the slightest moment, he forged on ahead, rage fueling him.

  Raven waited until he was inches from her, then sprung into action herself. With lighting-like speed of her own, she grabbed the hand that held the knife in a vice-like grip, and the man’s eyes widened in shock at her strength.

  “What the…” was the only thing he could manage before what came next.

  Pitching her hip against him and using his weight and momentum to her advantage. she flipped him to the ground so hard it knocked the wind out of him.

  When he finally caught his breath, he screamed like a hysterical girl as she twisted his wrist at an unnatural angle, the snap of the bones sounding like a firecracker.

  “You should drink more milk, Mister Pillar of the Community asshole.” she said as she bent down and retrieved the knife. Snapping it closed, she stood and slid it into her back pocket. She looked down at him with a satisfied look on her face.

  “YOU FUCKING CUNT!!!! YOU BROKE MY WRIST!! SOMEBODY CALL THE COPS!!!!! he screamed as he writhed on the ground in agony.

  Giving him a look of complete disgust and contempt, she reached down and grabbed one of his feet. “Want something that’ll take your mind off that pain? Here ya’ go!” she mocked.

  “You psycho bitch, LET ME GO!” he screamed in desperation.

  Raising his foot a little higher, she delivered a swift, powerful kick directly to his kneecap, and his leg bent completely the wrong way as his knee dislocated.

  “AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! he screamed, then wet himself.

  “SEE? Told ya’ that would take your mind off that wrist!“ she smirked as she pantomimed dusting dirt off her hands. Looking around, she noticed that a large crowd had gathered. To a man, their mouths were hanging open in shocked silence. Extending her hand, she said, “Come on child, come with me. We need to leave, now.”

  Grabbing a nearby suitcase, the girl followed obediently to a large black Lincoln Navigator.

  Raven opened the back door, and the wide-eyed girl climbed in without hesitation. She closed it, then climbed into the front passenger seat herself.

  Climbing behind the wheel, Carlito chuckled as they sped away from the truck stop. “Mommy, do the words ‘low profile’ mean anything to you?”

  Raven found it amusing that he would fuss at her about how she had handled the pimp and his skanky friend, because normally, she herself was fairly easy-going compared to him, and that was on his best days. If he had dealt with the two dregs himself, he most likely would have made sure the two would never rise to their feet again. Forever.

  Sliding the knife from her pocket, she rolled the window down and casually tossed it out. Turning to her friend, she gifted him with a rare smile. “Figured churchie back there needed some help.” she said, nodding in the direction of the back seat. “You would have done the same thing if I hadn‘t taken the initiative myself, so don’t even try to convince me otherwise.”

  “Zamora.” a soft voice drifted to their ears from the back seat.

  When Raven turned and gave her a hard look, the girl shrank back into the seat, as if frightened.

  “My…my name is Zamora..not churchie.” she repeated in a childlike voice. Swallowing hard, she feared she had angered the woman. And that was the last thing she wanted to do, after seeing the way she had handled the belligerent man and woman at the truck stop. Although still frightened somewhat, she silently wished she could be like this woman who was staring at her.

  Raven had to fight to keep from laughing. She reminds me of my own pain in the ass sister… she thought, and felt a pang of anguish.

  “Who are you?” Zamora asked softly, beginning to worry again. After all, she had no way of knowing if she was in better hands now or not. Looking at the man, it dawned on her that he was easily three times the size of the man who had called himself Slim. Noticing the assortment of tattoos on his arms, she said, “You’re not going to violate me, are you?”

  Raven slapped Carlito on the leg, hard, when he busted out laughing,

  Looking at the girl in the rear view mirror, Carlito chuckled. “No, sweetie. We actually saved you from being…uhhhh…violated.” he said, and flashed her a wink. He found her absolutely adorable.

  “What are you doing traveling all by yourself, chur…I mean, Zamora? If you’re going to travel by yourself, a pretty young thing like you can’t be so passive! When an asshole like that one back at the truck stop approaches you and starts that rap, you scream, run, do whatever you have to do to get away from him. Do you even know what he was trying to do? Why he wanted to take you with him?” Raven scolded.

  The girl gave her a wide-eyed, innocent look, and shook her head.

  Raven could feel her anger building. Another innocent, thrown to the wolves… she thought. She wanted to make her aware of the dangers she was facing. Maybe if she put a little fear in her, she wouldn’t be so passive the next time. “That slug was going to take you, against your will, so he and some of his homies could take turns raping you.” Seeing the girl‘s eyes widen in fear, she continued. “After him and his friends were done with you, he would have kept you locked up for awhile in some flop house, where rats and roaches run the place. And you wouldn’t have dreamed of telling him ‘no’, because then he would just beat you and rape you into submission, no matter how long that would have taken. Maybe even killed you, if you resisted too much! He wouldn’t give you much to eat or drink, because he would want you to be dependant on him, thankful for every damn crumb he gave you. Then, just for shits and giggles, he probably would have got you hooked on drugs, for further insurance to make you dependant on him. He would whore you out to perverted old men who like innocent, young, frightened girls. When he finally believed had had broken your spirit, completely, he would have put you out on the street, selling your body to any dirt-bag with twenty bucks. And he wouldn’t care if a guy had any STD’s, he wouldn’t care about lunatic assholes that enjoy beating women and humiliating them. All he would have cared about is the money you’re making him. And THEN, if he thought you weren’t making him ENOUGH money, he would have beat your ass himself, and sent you right back out.”

  The girl looked at her in silence, her lips trembling.

  Raven’s heart ached at the words she had had to say, but pressed on. It was for the girl’s own good. “On top of that, you would be facing unwanted pregnancies, and forced abortions. You would have ended up dead before you’re thirty-five, and you would have looked seventy.”

  Hearing the horrific things that could have happened to her, Zamora clamped her hands over her mouth and began to dry heave, tears running down her cheeks. Oh my God, I’m not prepared for this world…. she thought. As her stomach lurched more painfully, she croaked, “I feel sick.”

  Carlito quickly pulled the vehicle over.

  Opening the door frantically, she leaped out and ran to the rear of the vehicle. Bending over, she emptied her stomach. She remained bent, and didn’t rise as she heard gravel crunching. She tensed as she felt a warm, steady hand on her back.

  “Take deep breaths. Breath in and out, slowly.” Raven said in a low, soothing voice as she gently caressed her back.

  Straightening back up slowly, she saw Carlito standing beside the woman. “Here sweetie, rinse your mouth out.” he said as he handed her a bottle of water.

  She did as he asked.

  With a scowl, he looked at Raven and said, “
You really need to work on your freaking people skills, you know that? You can’t just tell the girl stuff like that! Keep in mind, not everyone has seen the things we have.”

  Rolling her eyes at the reprimand, she shot back,” Yeah, well, better she hear it than to experience it.” Taking the girl’s arm firmly, yet gently, she led her back to the rear door. “Come on, sweetie, I’ll sit beside you. And I’m sorry, but all those terrible things I said were for your own good. You really did come dangerously close back there.”

  The girl climbed in, and she took a seat beside her and closed the door.

  Hesitantly, Zamora asked weakly, “Did someone do those things to you?” She noticed the woman’s body tense, and her hands that were resting on her lap balled into tight fists.

  “Zamora, hon, let’s just drop it for now.“ Carlito said as he pulled back onto the highway.

  Looking down at her own hands, she felt so alone and lost. And frightened. As hopelessness washed over her, she said the only thing she could think of. “Thank you, ma‘am, for helping me. And for caring.”

  “Raven.”

  Zamora looked at her, clearly confused.

  “Just call me Raven. And the big, dumb, he-man jock driving is named Carlito,” she said, and finally smiled warmly.

  Zamora gave a timid, uncertain smile in return. As naïve’ as she was, she suspected the woman who called herself Raven didn’t smile very often. Or as warmly. Her smile made her look almost as beautiful as her own sister, Aisha. Thinking of her, she released a sad sigh. “I….I was just trying to get to my sister’s house, but I only had enough money to make it to that truck stop. The bus driver said one of the truckers might give me a ride if I asked nicely.”

  His short fuse lit, Carlito slapped the steering wheel. “Bastardo sin valor!!!! (worthless bastard) Can you believe he told her that! I’ll find him, and when I’m done with him he won’t ever be able to walk again, let alone drive a bus!” he raged.

  Seeing him glaring at her in the rear view mirror, Raven cleared her throat and nodded silently towards the mortified girl. Turning her attention back to her, she asked, “And just where does this sister of yours live?”

  Unbuckling the battered suitcase that sat near her, Zamora took out a wrinkled envelope and handed it to her.

  Glancing at the address briefly, she leaned forward and handed it to Carlito. “See how far that would take us off our course, and how long it would take us to get there.”

  In fascination, Zamora watched as he glanced at the address, and began pushing buttons on the dashboard. To her amazement, a map popped up on a suddenly bright screen.

  “It would only take a few hours if we drive through, but it’s getting late. Myself, I’m tired. And seeing how I don’t trust you to drive my baby here, we’ll just find a decent motel for the night. We’ll get some rest, some breakfast in the morning, then we can be there by no later than noon tomorrow.”

  Seeing the excitement on the girl’s face, Raven smiled again, then patted her hand. Wrapping an arm around her, she hugged her briefly. “Don’t you worry, sweetie, everything’s gonna’ be alright, you’re in good hands now. We’ll get you there tomorrow, like he said. This sister of yours, are you sure she’ll take you in and treat you right?” She watched as the girl bit her lip, and uncertainty crossed her lovely face.

  “Well, I hope she wants me, I have nowhere else to go.”

  Not quite convinced, Raven said nothing until she heard the girl’s stomach growl. “Driver, it’s time to start looking for a McDonald’s or something, I think our lost friend here is running on fumes.“ she said to Carlito.

  “But I don’t have enough money left. I had just enough to buy a candy bar back there at the truck stop..” Zamora stammered.

  “Don’t worry, our treat, hon.” Carlito called from the front seat.

  Zamora was shocked by the two hardened people’s kindness. “I can’t thank you two enough.”

  Glancing in the rear view mirror again, Carlito said, “Don’t worry about it, sweetie. Even fallen angels like us do good deeds from time to time, just don’t tell anyone, Ok? Raven likes for everyone to think she’s the cold, Wicked Witch of the West, but she’s not. Well, she’s not on her good days, I mean.” He laughed heartily as he saw Raven glare at him, as if wanting to do her own version of Pimp Bashing on his forehead.

  Damn him! Of all the people, only he knows that I really do still care… Raven thought.

  Finally relaxed, Zamora giggled, really looking forward to a hot meal. She hadn’t had one in two days.

  ***********************************************

  “Mrs. Riley, the doctor will see you now.”

  Connell stood to help Aisha to her feet.

  Walking with as much grace as she could, she slowly followed the nurse to the brightly colored examination room.

  Doctor Monk greeted them both warmly. He was an old-fashioned baby doctor, and had delivered most of the children in the county. Motioning for her to have a seat on the table, he said, “Today you’ll both get to see the baby. I realize we did a sonagram earlier, but fourteen weeks along in a pregnancy I think is the perfect time to get a good look at the fetus.

  Stepping forward, a nurse helped her prepare for the examination.

  Connell stood by nervously as the nurse started to run a device over her belly, covered with a cold, jellylike substance.

  Taking over, Dr, Monk studied the screen intently as he rubbed his gray beard. “Uh huh, just as I thought.”

  The smile fell from Aisha’s face and she rose up on her elbows and asked in a panic, “What is it? What’s wrong with my baby?” Blindly, she reached for Connell’s hands as she tried to stay calm.

  Doctor Monk shook his head and patted her shoulder. “Now now, calm down, your babies are just fine dear.” He gave them both a big smile as he watched the news sink in.

  Finally, it sank in. “She…you mean…. she’s going to have twins?” Connell said, stunned. Suddenly, he smiled. Twice blessed.. he thought.

  Looking at her husband with sparkling eyes, Aisha said, “Can you believe it? We’re having two babies?” She turned back around, looking back at the screen. She laughed in a delighted tone as she saw the two fetus’s move.

  “Reckon you two want to know the obvious: Boys, or girls?” the doctor asked.

  “Well, yes.” Connell replied.

  Doctor Monk shook his head sadly. “Why is it everyone wants to know before the child is born?” he said, then sighed. So many young parents today seemed so impatient, no longer caring about the mystery of childbirth.

  Looking up at her grinning husband, Aisha said, “Connell, honey, I want to wait! Let’s let it be a surprise!”

  Although a bit disappointed, he nodded “Alright, Doc, guess we’ll wait. I can hardly refuse her, after all, she’ll be the one doing all the work.”

  “Good, good!“ the doctor replied heartily. “Now, Mrs. Riley, I’m going to change your pre-natal vitamins to a formula that’s for mothers who’s caring more than one child. I want you to eat more, your weight is a bit on the low side, but at the same time, keep in mind the morning and evening walks I told you I want you to take. Exercise will make the birthing process a little easier on you. And I‘m sure I don‘t need to tell you that you‘ll need every break you can get!” he advised. Turning around, he removed the DVD from the sonogram machine and placed it inside a colorful protective sleeve, then handed it to her, “I know you’ll want this for everyone to see, and we’ll give you a few pictures also.”

  ********************************************

  On the drive home, Aisha couldn‘t seem to take her eyes off the photos the doctor had given her. “Well, looks like we’ll have to get one more of everything, huh? You know, I just thought of something, we can pay Eric and Kane to make another crib!” she said as she finally looked up at her husband. “And what do you think Abby will think? I mean, she was excited before, now she’s going to have two more sisters.”

&
nbsp; Glancing quickly at her, her happy face warmed his heart. I fall in love with her all over again each and every day. How is that possible..? he thought. Winking at her, he looked back at the road and said, “Oh, I think Abby will be very happy. But don’t you think you’re jumping the gun a bit here? I mean, how do you know they’ll both be girls? It could be two boys, or even a boy and girl.”

  Putting her hand on her stomach and caressing her bulging stomach, she looked back at him, shrugged, and said matter-of-factly, “I just know, sweetheart. Somehow I just know. Anyway, I think that bit of surprising news calls for a celebration. Lets go grab a banana shake!“ she finished, and rubbed her hands together excitedly.