by Darla Lark
He loosened his grip. Cheyenne stared at him. “What happened to you over the course of your life?” She tried to appeal to him by being empathetic. What else could she do? There were few options she could try in her situation. It wasn’t like she could run. “Tell me, what happened to you?” She gently placed her hand on his and smiled. For a moment, he seemed to relax, but just as suddenly, he grabbed her by the throat, his one hand strangling her.
“None of your business, bitch.” He squeezed.
“Eric, please don’t. Please. You don’t have to do this,” she pleaded. “Please.”
“Shhh.” He placed the index finger of his free hand over her lips. “It’ll be over soon.”
The doorknob jiggled, but nobody entered. Much to her horror, a chair blocked the door. He had locked them in. They really were alone. All hope was lost. She resigned to the fact she was going to die.
“Mrs. O’Neill! I’m going to get someone to open the door,” the nurse yelled.
Please hurry, Cheyenne thought.
“Good girl,” Eric whispered. “You’ve finally learned to keep your mouth shut. Better late than never.”
Using both her hands, Cheyenne pulled his hand off her throat. “It’s not like I could yell with your hand choking me. The nurse will get help and when she does, you’ll regret being here and not leaving me alone.”
He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her into the bed as he straddled her. He covered her mouth and nose with one hand. She could barely breathe. With the other hand, he beat her while she writhed in pain. She fought, but he had her arms pinned beneath his knees. He slapped her face. She fleetingly noticed the phone on the table, just a short reach. She wiggled her arm free and grabbed the receiver. She hit him aside the head, stunning him. Cheyenne yanked the IV out of her arm. She screamed in pain. She had to get away. She turned and fell to the floor. Cheyenne hit her head and felt blood running down the side of her face. Slightly woozy, she pushed herself up and crawled toward the door. It was difficult to breathe with the hole in her neck and her side wound opened and bleeding. It felt like an eternity as the pain raked her body. Her vision was slightly blurred. She made it to the door. Eric was standing there rubbing the side of his face. He was beyond angry.
He grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to her knees. “That will be the last time you will ever do that.” He threw her against the closet door so hard it cracked, making Cheyenne cry out in pain. He stood over her and laughed. “Look what you did. You broke the closet.” Eric grabbed her again and threw her toward the bed where she fell onto the floor.
“Please stop,” she pleaded. Still on the floor she lay in the fetal position. The pain was excruciating. She continued to plead, but to no avail. He yanked her up by the arm again and threw her up against the window. She knew if he threw her against the window hard enough it would break and she would fall to her death.
Incessant knocking on the door caught their attention. “Mrs. O’Neill, open this door immediately.”
Eric put one finger to his lips and pulled a gun from behind. “Don’t say a word.” He turned to face the door.
She trembled and disobeyed his command. “I can’t. Eric Sullivan is in here and won’t let me go.”
“I told you to shut up!” He twirled and back-slapped her causing her to fly back into the window, cracking it. He lifted the gun and pointed it at her. “Say your prayers, Cheyenne, because your time is up.” The door splintered. Eric whirled around and turned the gun on the detective. Before Eric could pull the trigger, Detective Lawrence shot Eric. Eric laughed. “You got me, Sparky. You got me.” He collapsed to the floor on his knees and flashed a cocky smile. He still had the gun in his hand. Despite being shot, he made another attempt to shoot Detective Lawrence. The detective fired again. Eric fell face down.
Cheyenne stood there shaking and bleeding profusely. Was it over? Was it really over? Was he dead? She was scared to move.
“Cheyenne? Are you all right?” Detective Lawrence asked.
She stared at Eric’s lifeless body. She didn’t move out of fear of another unwarranted attack.
“Cheyenne?” She didn’t respond and he moved toward Eric’s body. Checking his pulse, he said, “He’s dead. You needn’t worry any longer. You’re safe now.”
“Where’s Michael?”
“He’s on his way here with your sister.”
“Then he wasn’t hurt again?”
“No. Raina and Michael are safe and unharmed. While we wait, why don’t we get you back to bed? After what you’ve endured, you need some rest and immediate medical attention.” He stepped over Eric’s body and helped her up.
Knees still trembling, Cheyenne allowed him to help her to the bed as nurses stood outside her doorway, horrified. They were all whispering as her nurse attended her open wound, but she didn’t care. They had no idea what she had been through. It was over now and that was all that mattered.
~
Raina and Michael rushed into the room. Raina paused and stared at Eric’s body. Michael placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her forward toward Cheyenne’s bedside.
“Don’t worry, Rain. The coroner will be here soon to take that monster out of here. Looking at him sends chills down my spine, but at least it’s over now.”
“I’m so glad you’re all right.” Raina hugged Cheyenne.
“Rain, I’m fine.”
“I’m so happy it’s over and that you’re finally safe. Maybe we can finally start our life together.” Michael gave her a peck on the cheek. “No one will ever hurt you again.”
“I know,” Cheyenne said, reaching up to touch his face. “We’re going to be all right now.” Though she wasn’t happy Eric was killed, she was relieved he would be out of the picture. No more looking over her shoulder. She was disappointed Eric would never pay for his crimes, but at least she would be free.
Epilogue-Two Years Later
Michael and Cheyenne settled in their life together and welcomed a baby girl to their family. They had named her Shayla Rae after Cheyenne’s Mother. It was the first time in her life that Cheyenne was truly happy. She had a perfect husband and a perfect daughter.
Cheyenne stood over Shayla’s crib and watched her daughter sleep.
“Hey. What are you doing up?” Michael asked as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “It’s one- thirty-five in the morning. You should be sleeping.”
“I know, but I can’t stop looking at her. This little, tiny being is our creation. Look at her. She’s so beautiful.”
“Just like her mother.”
“She does have her daddy’s good looks too, you know.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, well, I guess she’s a result of two very sexy people. We just can’t help ourselves.”
“You are such a goofball.”
“Well, you, Mrs. O’Neill, need to get some sleep.”
“I know.” She sighed contentedly and leaned over the crib to kiss her daughter. “I love you so much,” she whispered.
~
Cheyenne and Michael met Raina for lunch. Cheyenne couldn’t stop fussing over Shayla.
“She’s getting so big. I can’t believe that she’s six months old already,” Raina said.
Shayla cooed and smiled, Cheyenne played with her. “I know. She’s getting too big too fast, but I’m so glad she’s here. My little miracle.”
“Our little miracle.”
“Of course. Our child.”
“The outfit is absolutely adorable.”
Cheyenne had put a little pink and white plaid skirt with leggings and pink top with lace sleeves with a pair of soft pink Mary Jane style shoes. Shayla was kicking and giggling in her baby carrier.
“Thanks. I thought so too. Having a daughter makes itsomuch fun to shop.”
“Yes, it is more fun to shop for girls.”
Cheyenne pointed at Michael. “This one here knows all about that. He won’t stop buying stuff for her. Every time we go into a sto
re, Michael sees something for her and buys it.”
Michael shrugged sheepishly and grinned proudly. “She is her daddy’s girl. What else can I say?”
“You’re a proud papa for the first time. Who can blame you?” Raina laughed. “Aiden did the same thing after Alaina was born. She was her father’s daughter all the way and I can see Shayla doing the same thing.” A shadow of sadness flashed over her face.
“Then mom becomes chopped liver.” Cheyenne chuckled.
“Pretty much.”
Looking at his daughter, Michael asked, “Did you tell her?”
Raina looked over at Cheyenne. “Tell me what?”
Cheyenne reached over and squeezed Michael’s hand. “I think we’ll wait until Mrs. Warner comes.”
~
Mrs. Warner arrived twenty minutes later although Raina kept pushing for what their secret was in the interim. After hugging Michael and Cheyenne, Mrs. Warner turned her attention to Shayla.
“How is my beautiful granddaughter?” Mrs. Warner asked.
“Sleeping.” Cheyenne couldn’t help beaming over her baby. “She just fell asleep.”
“Can I hold her?”
“Of course you can, Grandma.”
Lifting her granddaughter out of the carrier, Shayla woke up and started whining. “Hey there, little darling. What a pretty little princess.”
“Where’s Mr. Warner? I thought he was coming.” Cheyenne stretched to see if he was anywhere near.
“He was, but got a call for an interview. It’s one that he’s been looking forward to hearing from.”
“Dad’s got an interview? When did that happen?” Michael asked.
“Yep. He’s got an interview for a management position at a construction company. He applied for this position a couple of weeks ago.”
“What company?” Raina asked.
“D and K Construction, Inc. Something like that.”
“That’s where Aiden worked,” Raina said. “He used to be the vice president there.” Raina turned to Cheyenne and cleared her throat. “Mrs. Warner is here. You can spill your guts now. I hate being kept in the dark. What’s going on?”
Mrs. Warner looked at Michael as she held and kissed her granddaughter. “What is she talking about?” She glanced over at Raina, who shrugged.
“We’re having another baby,” Michael blurted. It was obvious he couldn’t contain his excitement any longer.
“Michael, honey, we discussed this. We weren’t going to blurt it out like that.”
“Sorry, babe, but I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about the baby. I just couldn’t help myself.”
Cheyenne rolled her eyes and grinned. She ran her fingers through his hair. He made her the happiest she’d ever been.
“Oh Chey! I’m so happy for you.”
Mrs. Warner smiled. “Congratulations.” She began to baby talk Shayla. “Did you hear that Shay Shay? You’re going to be a big sister. Isn’t that exciting?” Shayla giggled and cooed. “She’s an excited little girl.”
“Yes she is. So are we.” Cheyenne looked at her daughter and thought how lovely she was.
Michael squeezed her hand and smiled. “You know, I’ve been truly blessed. I got the girl, the kids, and the life I’ve always wanted. There’s nothing I could ever want more than what I have now. I love you, Cheyenne.”
“I love you, too.” She leaned in to kiss him. Her cell phone rang. “Who could that be?” She glanced at the name and number coming on her caller ID. It was Tyler. She was shocked. He hadn’t called her in over a year. Why was he calling now? “Hello, Tyler.” Raina looked at her questioningly, Cheyenne shrugged and mouthed, ‘I don’t know.’
“H-h-hello, Chey.”
“What’s wrong? Are you crying?”
“She left me for another man and took Jackson with her.” He sniffled and tried to control his shaky voice. “Why would she do that? How could she leave me for another man? What am I going to do, Chey? What am I going to do?”
Cheyenne wondered why he was calling her. After all, hadn’t he left her for Elizabeth? Now it was happening to him. It was poetic justice. She could potentially rub it in, but Cheyenne decided against it. She wanted to be the bigger person. Besides, she was happily remarried with one child and another on the way. Things were great for her, which made her grateful for not being with him any longer. “I’m sorry to hear that, but things will be okay. Fight to get your son back. He’s going to need to his father. Just have a little faith. Okay?” She shook her head and shrugged at Raina and Michael. “I know what you’re going through and it’s tough.”
“Thanks, Chey. I needed to hear that from you. You could always make me feel better about things.”
“That used to be my job. It’s not any longer, Ty. I’m married with a child now. It’s not fair to Michael for you to keep calling me whenever you have a serious problem. I don’t like it. He doesn’t like it. I don’t want to be mean or anything, Tyler, but you shouldn’t call me any longer. You should be calling your friends. Please start doing so from now on.”
Tyler wailed. “But I don’t have anyone else! You’re all I’ve got!”
“Tyler. Stop this. You don’t have me anymore. If you don’t have any friends, well, it’s not my problem. You’ve done it to yourself. I’m sorry, but don’t ever call me again.” She could hear Tyler pleading with her. Not wanting to hear anything else from him, she hung up.
“What did he want?” Michael asked with a sullen face.
“To let me know that Elizabeth left him for another man and took their son with her. He called me because he said he didn’t have anyone else to talk to. I really didn’t expect to hear from him.”
“I never did like that boy. He never treated you very well,” Mrs. Warner piped up.
“He’s got a lot of nerve calling.” Raina shook her head disgustedly.
“To be honest, as strange as it may seem, I actually feel sorry for him.”
“Why?” Raina asked.
Cheyenne shrugged. “Because he sounded so sad. I know everything you do in your life comes back on you, but Tyler doesn’t deserve it no matter what he’s done to me. The only reason I say this is because when he left me for Elizabeth, he did me a favor. I didn’t realize it at the time. If he hadn’t cheated, Michael and I might not be together and Shayla wouldn’t be here. Nor would I be expecting another child with Michael, the man I am truly in love with.”
Everyone relaxed and quietly sat there while Shayla kept giggling. After a few minutes they began talking and laughing while taking turns passing and playing with Shayla. Cheyenne sat quietly as she listened to the bantering. She was thankful for a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, her sister, and a wonderful mother-in-law. The one thing that made her sad was not being able to share everything with Gaby since her life had been cut short by a psycho. However, she knew Gaby was looking down, watching over her and her family. Though she missed her, the thought of Gaby being her own personal guardian angel comforted her, which gave her the courage to go on with her life. Other than Gaby not being there with her, life was on track and she was very happy and content. Her life, she knew, was now better than it had ever been.