The Silencer: A Bad Boy MMA Romance

by Aubrey Michelle

  “I don’t know Ash. I don’t believe it’s a good idea to take the girls to him. What if he snaps again? You’re eight months pregnant and I refuse to let you be put in a situation like that. If he ever touches you or the girls again, I’d….”

  “I know, babe, but it’s for my mom. It’s not like I’m taking the girls over there to see that monster. She’s sick. What if she dies? I’d feel horrible knowing that she was on her death bed, begging to see us, and I denied her that opportunity. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Maybe you should call them and talk to them first. Maybe I could drive you and the girls over there when he’s not home. Because I’m telling you right now, if I see him, it’s not going to be a pretty sight.”

  Ashley thought about it for a moment as she looked down at her swollen belly. “I think you’re right. I’ll call them first and we’ll see how that goes and what they have to say.”

  After they had hung up, she called her parents to see what they might be able to arrange. The conversation quickly became heated when the discussion of Brooke was brought up. She began to wonder if her mom really was sick or if it was something he made up. Tim devolved into threatening her, swearing that he will find them, and when he does, he’s going to kill the man who took away his girls.

  “Your girls?” Ashley asked, caught off guard by his odd comment. “These are my kids!” she became defensive.

  “You bitches are all wicked, but you’re mine and I won’t lose all of you!”

  “What the hell are you talking about? You sound like a crazy person. Do you know that?” she asked in awe.

  “Keep fucking with me, bitch! I’ll make you lose everyone just like you did to me!”

  “What?” she angrily yelled into the phone.

  “That’s right. I’ll kill that old man of yours and then I’ll take what’s mine. You and them girls are mine. You’ll lose everyone and be all alone, just like you’re trying to make me! Alone! Do you hear me you fucking bitch?” he shouted into the phone.

  She hung up on him, but she was already terrified. It was no secret that he was able to get into their old house while they were gone when he broke into the garage, and now he was threatening them. She didn’t need this, especially while she was pregnant. She and the girls would be defenseless if he showed up while Keith was at work. He was entirely capable of inflicting pain—physically, emotionally and mentally. Trembling, she called the phone company and requested they change her phone number. She wanted no further communication with him.

  Not wanting to upset Keith while he was at work, she waited until he got home to tell him what transpired during her phone conversation with her dad. The couple immediately decided that they had to move again. This time, to a smaller town several hours away. They had to escape him. If they stayed in the area, all he would do is find a way to figure out where they lived. He could also still go into the bank where Keith worked. As they hunted online for a new place to live, they felt as though Tim was watching their every move. Ashley had nightmares of her dad standing outside their living room window, spying on them and breaking into the house after they were all asleep. She woke up in a cold sweat every time. It was a very tense couple of weeks until they moved.

  §

  Chase Marshall was born on September 30th, weighing in at ten pounds, three ounces. Keith was so proud to have a son. With three girls in the house, he felt as though he was outnumbered. Now the odds were beginning to even up a little bit. Chase was a fussy baby who let you know what he wanted the minute he wanted it but was otherwise content and happy. The family doted over their new addition the minute he was born. As a protective mother, Ashley kept him in her hospital room with her at all times unless the nurses took him for checkups and testing. The doctor told her that since she had a C-section, he’d like to keep her for four days. She insisted that she had to get back home to take care of the girls so her husband could return to work. They’d moved into a new apartment and had just paid a substantial amount of money for the deposit and first month’s rent. Renting an apartment large enough for them, the girls, and the new baby was quite expensive. Their rent was $900 per month alone. When they moved, it cost them almost three thousand dollars by the time they paid for the moving truck and deposits on all of their utilities.

  The doctor was determined to keep her in the hospital for the full duration of time. He seemed worried that her incision might become infected since it was a dark shade of red. They were finally able to conclude their hospital stay on and went home on the fourth day. A couple of days after they brought Chase home, they received a letter in the mail with no return address. The envelope was addressed to Ashley Marshall. Curious as to what it was, she opened it as Chase napped while the girls were at school. Inside was a newspaper clipping of her mother’s obituary; her heart sunk. She never did take the girls to go see her before she passed. At that moment, she hated her dad for being such a jerk. She felt as though she’d been cheated out of her last opportunity to see her mom and tell her how much she loved her. As she read the obituary, she was surprised at what she saw. It stated that her mother had passed away from organ failure and was preceded in death by her husband, Tim Denton.

  Sinking into the recliner, she began to cry over the loss of her mother. As she cried, she realized that she was sad and relieved at the same time. Sorry that she’d lost her mom, but relieved that her father was dead. She also felt peaceful that her dad could no longer hurt her mom, or them anymore. At last, they could breathe again with no worries, but then she began to wonder who could’ve sent it to her and how they would’ve known to send it to her new house.

  With their move in Joplin being so far away from St. Louis, Keith had taken a job as a bank loan officer at another bank, JoMo Bank. He was very successful at the new location, which was great because they needed the money. When he arrived home late that evening, she shared the news she’d received in the mail and addressed her concerns to her husband as to how anyone would’ve found them.

  “Oh, I meant to tell you. When I went to work on Tuesday, Tammy congratulated me the minute I walked in the door. Apparently, the hospital runs every newborn’s birth announcement in the newspaper, and it’s featured online as well.”

  “But who would’ve sent this? How would anyone around here know that my mom died and know how to send me the obituary?” Ashley asked, puzzled.

  “If they run it online and in the paper, it’s possible that one of your friends from the Safe House saw it and sent it to you. The birth announcement said that we live in Joplin. They probably looked you up online or something and got the address,” he shrugged.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said, thinking it over. “That was sweet of them. I haven’t talked to any of the girls in the last few months. It’s nice to know that we still watch out for each other,” she smiled as she picked Chase up out of his bassinet.

  §

  Right before Christmas break, Brooke’s kindergarten class started a pen pal project. She was excited to have a pen pal that she could write to since the kids had learned how to write and spell quite a few words. She drove her parents crazy with spelling everything to them. Keith and Ashley hated the fact that she was able to spell; they could no longer spell words when they talked in code. The days of spelling p-a-r-k, and other words, were over because Brooke knew what words those letters spelled. Her teacher had an aid help her with the children, and every day they each picked two students that they would sit down with to help them compose their pen pal letters. The kindergartener was also fascinated with collecting the mail. She’d taken to collecting the mail from the apartment boxes on her own, and opening everything. Ashley thought it was so cute how much opening an envelope excited her daughter. Sometimes she’d stuff junk mail into an envelope before the girls came home from school and leave it lying around the apartment so Brooke could find it when she came home and open it.

  Brooke’s new obsession with collecting the mail and opening everything was cute
until Ashley’s renewal driver’s license went missing from the envelope that it was mailed in. She desperately searched the apartment trying to find it. Her old one expired in less than a week, and she didn’t want to drive without a license. Unable to find the new license, she waited for the girls to get out of school so she could ask Brooke where it was. As soon as the girls got into the van, they knew something was up. Ashley pulled the rearview mirror down so she could look directly at them.

  “I want to ask you girls something—mainly Brooke—where is my new driver’s license?”

  “What are you talking about?” Brooke asked.

  “My new license that came in the mail. I found the envelope that it was in, but my renewal license was gone. What did you do with it?”

  “I don’t know, mom. I didn’t see it,” she insisted.

  “Brooke Marie! You better tell me where that license is or your little butt’s going to be in big trouble young lady,” she asserted.

  “Mom, I didn’t see anything like that,” she said.

  “You didn’t see a little plastic card with my picture on it?” she tried jogging her daughter’s memory.

  “No, I didn’t see anything like that.”

  “What about you, Chloe? Did you happen to see it lying around anywhere?”

  “Huh-uh, I didn’t see it either,” she shook her head.

  “You’re not covering for your sister, are you?” her tone was firm.

  “No, mom. I promise!”

  On their way home, it angered her that Brooke had carelessly tossed her license to the side and lost it. The more she thought about how she’d have to drag Chase back out in the cold and down to the DMV with her, she grew angrier. Pulling onto their street, she pursed her lips as she glanced at Brooke in the mirror. When they pulled up in front of the apartments, she began unbuckling Chase from his car seat as she looked at Brooke, who didn’t seem to have a care in the world.

  “Brooke, you’re going to have to stop opening the mail. That was a crucial thing that you lost,” she expounded trying to contain her temper.

  “I don’t open the mail,” she said.

  “Yes, you do, Brooke. And that has to stop. Now mommy has to drag your baby brother back down to the license office and pay more money for a new one,” she tried explaining.

  “Mommy, I promise! I don’t open the mail. It’s always like that already when I get it out of the box.”

  “What?” Ashley did a double-take at her daughter. Her mind raced back to when her dad and ex, Billy, used to open her mail before she got it. A chill ran down her back, giving her goose bumps as she tried to shake them off.

  “I’ve never opened the mail, it’s always like that. I thought that was how it came.”

  Assuming Brooke was just lying to avoid getting into trouble, she brushed it off. “Well, you’re not allowed to get the mail anymore. I forbid it,” she emphasized.

  After the license ordeal, Brooke satisfied herself with only writing to her pen pal, going through stamps like it’s no one’s business. It was fun, and she treated the whole thing more like a secret interactive diary than anything else. She was happy writing to her pen pal, almost on a daily basis. Sometimes she would even draw pictures of herself and the family to send with the letter. Ashley assumed that it was Brooke’s new form of entertainment since she was no longer allowed to get the mail from the boxes any longer. Strangely, Ashley noticed, Brooke never received any letters in return.

  “Brooke, baby, how come you never get any mail back from your pen pal?” she asked as Brooke sat at the kitchen table. She was fervently writing a letter to her pen pal and drawing another elaborate picture to go with it.

  “I get the letters at school now,” she explained.

  “Oh, does your teacher give them to you?” Ashley questioned.

  “Yeah, Mrs. S puts them in my desk and when I get to school, I get them out and read them before class starts. She doesn’t like it when we’re not paying attention to her lessons.”

  “That’s sweet of her. Brooke, can you finish up your drawing and get your sister? It’s almost time for dinner.”

  Around Valentine’s Day, Ashley was checking the girls’ book bags. She was hoping the teachers had sent home a classroom list of all the student’s names so the girls could make their school mates Valentine’s cards. When she got into Brooke’s backpack, she found a small pink envelope addressed to Brooke. She opened it up, thinking it was an early Valentine from one of her close friends. It was a rather cute little “Local Girl Saves the Day” fantasy story about Brooke, printed out to look like it was on newspaper. She wondered, at first, if it was from Brooke’s teacher or her pen pal. Either way, it was a neat thing for her to have. She saved it for her and put it in the same box where she kept all of her important kindergarten papers. It was the only letter she’d ever seen, but she soon forgot all about it, thinking of it as a childhood phase. The only time it ever got brought up was when she needed more stamps so she could write more letters. Though, their family had a surprise in store that they weren’t expecting.

  Chapter 5

  Shortly after Valentine’s Day, Ashley learned that they were expecting baby number four. In dire need of more space with another little one on the way, she and Keith decided that it was time to buy a house. Something they could call their own and offer them more room than their cramped three-bedroom apartment. With her swollen belly growing larger by the day, their space became more crowded. They found a real estate agent, Joy, who showed them house after house in the city of Joplin. Nothing appealed to them as the real estate agent began running out of houses. One day, Joy called them to ask what their thoughts were about moving to the country.

  “I don’t know. Keith still plans on working at the bank, and they’ve had a lot of business lately. I’m not sure that he’d be willing to make the commute. We’ll have to talk about it and get back to you.”

  Joy emailed the Marshall’s with the listing which featured a five-bedroom farmhouse that had been completely restored. It was a large, charming country home that sat on 40 acres. The immediate five acres surrounding the house had been cleared, and the remaining 35 acres were completely wooded. It would offer them privacy and seclusion. The nearest house was almost two miles away, which was separated by timber and farmland. It was the perfect setting to allow the kids to run and play, without having to worry about traffic or weirdos. Ashley was excited when she saw the house and couldn’t wait for Keith to come home later that night.

  When Keith came home from work, she bombarded him with information about the house and asked if he would be willing to move to the country.

  “I don’t know, Ash. That would be a much longer commute than I’m used to. Right now, I have a 10-minute drive. If we moved, I’d have almost a 35-minute drive—and it is all highway.”

  “Oh, but Keith, you have to see this house! It’s spectacular! It has a huge wraparound porch, two out buildings, plus a shed, and it is five beds with three baths,” she boasted. “And it even has a basement and an attic.”

  “Show me the listing,” he said pulling off his work shoes. “I’ll take a look at it and we can talk some more about it,” he sighed.

  “Okay!” she eagerly grabbed her laptop and pulled up the house. “See! And it’s also in our price range. Below it, actually,” she commented as her husband read the listing and viewed the pictures.

  “It is nice,” he agreed, “but I don’t know if I want to move that far out.”

  “Can we at least go look at it and see it in person? Keith, I really like this house.”

  He grinned at her and nodded his head. She emailed Joy and asked her when they could do a viewing of the house before she went to bed for the night. The next morning, after she got the kids off to school, she checked her email. Joy had responded and said the house was empty so they could see it anytime they were ready. She called Keith at work to ask if it was all right to set up an appointment for that weekend. After a long sigh, he reluctantly agre
ed. The meeting was scheduled, and she could hardly wait. This was a dream house that she wasn’t about to let slip away.

  Saturday afternoon, they had lunch and packed the kids up in the van as they headed for the country. Ashley went on and on about how beautiful the house was as Keith drove, offering no feedback.

  “Aren’t you even the least bit excited?” she asked as they turned onto the road.

  “Oh, I’m excited all right,” he lied. “Ash, what if this house has major problems? I know it’s ancient and it’s been restored, but what if there’s a crack in the foundation or an issue with the roof? New kitchen cabinets don't make it a great house.”