Heart of Ice (18 page)

“What?”

“Martha and I want to do some traveling.
This old man is tired.”

“Yeah right! You’re anything but old. You’re
in tip top condition.”

“Well I got to go. My wife is waiting for
me.” Charles was exiting the gym when he turned around to look at
Collum.

“Oh Collum, whatever is bothering you, it’ll
get better.”

Collum was worried. It’s been two weeks
since the fight between Christina and Matt. It perturbed him. He
preferred Matt’s cold calculated eyes compared to the defeated look
that took up residency since she left. He tried finding her, but it
was as if she’d disappeared. He hadn’t ran into that leggy blonde
either. Dammit! It wasn’t supposed to be like this. All he ever
wanted to do was protect Matt. He owed it to him. He sighed in
complete frustration. It was time to go back to the old days. He
needed to find her.

Christina tossed and turned on the bed. The
question Sarah asked her replayed itself over and over in her
mind.

Is there anything about your past that
someone of Matt caliber could have come across?

It was then the memories that she tried to
suppress for so long came bursting to the forefront of her mind.
No, it couldn’t be. He couldn’t have. Those files were sealed away.
How would he even get his hands on something like that?

The day Christina killed her father she
tried to escape from him. She was tired of doing dirty work for
criminals, all they wanted for her to do was develop a strategy
that they would use to remain on top, gamble, or tell them which
stocks in the stock market they should invest in. This had been
going on since she was eight. She longed for relationships with
other children. All she knew was the comfort of a cold concrete
floor. They kept her away to keep her from escaping.

The first thing she did was run when she saw
the sunlight. Lately, since turning fourteen the men had a look in
their eyes that she didn’t like. It scared her more, and with her
dad looking at her with a cold calculated eye, it made her
paranoid. Her mother was more subdued than usual. Her mother never
stood against anything her dad did. She stood idly by and let him
do whatever he wanted with her. She didn’t care as long as she had
her riches. She hated the woman with a passion. Christina thought
mothers were supposed to protect their children. Not exploit
them.

“Get that look at of your eyes girl,” her
mother said. Christina kept her eyes glued to the floor. She wasn’t
allowed to make contact with anyone. A slave, servant, freedom was
nothing but an illusion. Would they keep her here like this until
she reached adult hood or would they simply cast her aside like
trash. She was treated worse than trash; at least one man’s trash
was another man’s treasure. She was no one’s treasure. Perhaps she
did something terrible, something unforgivable in a past life to
deserve treatment like this. Her mind worked endlessly refusing to
let her sleep. She returned to the room in the basement. Lying on
the concrete floor, she wondered if it would ever get better. Her
heart hoped for freedom. Her mind told her it was futile. Why must
she rationalized everything?

Her parents made sure to give her the bare
essentials. They wanted to make sure she remained grateful for
anything additional they gave her. She was surprised that they
hadn’t chained her to the floor. Not that there was much room to
move around. They ate succulent shrimp and she ate a bologna, bread
and water. She reminded herself that she couldn’t let the hate
consume her. There were still good people in the world.

She was surprised when her father opened the
door. She looked at his imposing figure. She got her black raven
colored hair from him. She hated it.

“Come, you need to bathe. I got some clothes
for you.”

Christina looked at him in bewilderment. She
couldn’t believe she got new clothes, from the feel of them they
looked like quality clothing.

“Where’s mother?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about it. Now move your ass!”
he roared at her. Christina ducked and moved quickly to the
bathroom. She would admit that it felt good to finally get the
grime off her. She put on the new underwear and clothing. It felt
amazing on her skin. Maybe, god had heard her prayers. There was
hope, it felt like the heavens had opened up and light was finally
shining down on her poor withered soul. Her heart raced in her
chest. She left out of the bathroom with a huge smile on her
face.

“Christina come here.” Her father yelled.
When she entered the den area, she saw her father talking with a
man. Her father had that gleam in his eyes. A brief case was on his
desk.

“Is fifty grand enough. I’ll expect you to
remain discreet about this.”

“Of course,” he father said rubbing his
hands together. Christina looked him over. She got her black hair
from her father and her grey eyes from her mother. Her father had
brown eyes. She had read somewhere that brown eyes were so supposed
to be warm and inviting, but his—they remained dead. The only time
they became lively was when dealing with money.

“Christina, this nice man would like to
spend some time with you.” It was then that she realized what was
going on. No. Surely her father wouldn’t sink that low. She backed
away from him slowly.

“Where’s mother?”

“I said come here! You will do as you’re
told!”

“Let go!” she screamed. He pulled her close
so that she was leaning over the desk. Christina’s eyes darted
around the room. She saw the expensive ball point pen neatly in its
holder. Even a ball point pen had more value than she did. In a fit
of rage she snatched it up and stabbed him in the neck. She hit a
major artery. Blood squirted from his neck onto her when she
removed the pen. She turned her sights onto the man.

“Stay away from me!” she roared before
running out of the room.

“Ah, I always thought he had it too good. I
can keep you for myself.” He said as he tackled her to the
grounded. Christina cried and screamed. Her heart raced rapidly in
her chest, she thought it was going run away. It was physically
impossible to get him off. She could see her hope dying. Her light
dimmed becoming a speckle in the dark.

“Mother!” she screamed. It was all she had
left. She was surprised when a woman’s screeched joined her
own.

“Get away from her!”

Christina sobbed in relief as her mom pushed
the man aside. He wasn’t done yet. He began to beat her mother
repeatedly.

“I did not spend fifty grand for this shit!”
he roared furiously. After silencing her mother, he moved towards
her once more. Christina raced towards the kitchen. He was gaining
on her. She would never escape. She grabbed the closest thing to
her. She had read about it countless of times. This was life or
death; she knew where to hit him. She only had one shot, turning
around she screamed as she shoved the steak knife as hard she could
into his chest hitting him in the heart. Blood rushed from his
mouth. He fell forward onto her. Christina shook as the light left
his eyes. He was dead.

She was too weak to move the body. She cried
as she smelt the bowels release. She was exhausted now that the
adrenaline rush was over. She welcomed the darkness.

Christina jerked awake. She rushed past a
shock Sarah to the bathroom and vomited. He knew. Matt knew. She
couldn’t stop shaking. How did he find out? They assured her that
no one would ever know. She never wanted to remember that
night.

“Christina are you alright?” Sarah
asked.

“He knows, he knows.”

“Calm down honey. Breathe. It can’t be that
bad.”

“I killed my father.”

It was the first time in a long time that
she stunned Sarah into silence. Sarah didn’t know what to make of
it, but the fact that Christina hadn’t been convicted must’ve meant
that she was innocent. She couldn’t believe her friend had
experienced something like that.

“Well figure it out.”

***

Charlie was flipping through his phone.
Christina had sent him some pictures of her and Sarah in Cornwall.
He smiled at the pair. It was then that he realized Christina had
given him the address to the place she’d been staying. It looked
vaguely familiar. He decided to get his car and take a drive. It
was late; Martha had been busy packing things up. He debated about
selling the place. In the end, he decided to hold on to it. Just in
case Christina decided to returned to the city. Charles navigated
through the city, it was then he realized who the address belonged
to. No. It was impossible. He was going to kill that boy!

Chapter 23

Christina laid on the couch as Sarah rubbed
her belly.

“You’re getting so big!” Sarah giggled
massaging her stomach.

“Thanks, it’s what everyone woman wants to
hear. How fat she is.” Christina griped. She felt good about
finally telling Sarah about her past. It felt great to not have
anyone judge her or look at her in pity.

“How far along are you now?” Sarah
asked.

“About sixteen weeks.”

“That means you should be figuring out the
gender of the baby by now.”

“Yep, I’ve already made an appointment. I
see the doctor tomorrow.”

“Good. I hate to bring it up, but shouldn’t
you call him?”

“No.” Why would Sarah bring that up? What if
he tried to take the babies from her or something?

“Christina, this thing has got to stop. You
need to tell him. It was secrets that got you in trouble the first
time.” Sarah said exasperatedly.

“No, he’s dangerous, especially if he
couldn’t control his temper. I wouldn’t have that around my
babies.”

“They’re not only yours Christina, they are
his children too. Listen to me, Matt has a look in his eyes. He’s
been hurt before.”

“I know he’s broken. I was trying to fix
him,” she said, she didn’t know what happened to make him that way,
but she had vowed to fix it. Right now, she could care less.

“God you’re so naïve!” Sarah shouted at her
friend. Matt was completely wrong, but if he’d been hurt by a woman
in the past he probably thought Christina was doing the same. She
saw the loving look on his face, whenever he looked at her friend.
Sarah could tell this was Christina’s chance at true love.

“Now you’re on his side,” Christina said
tears welling in her eyes. Sarah couldn’t take it, not the
crocodile tears.

“It’s so obvious, for you to be so smart you
can be obtuse! He was hurt by a woman Christina! Don’t you see?
He’s terrified of you leaving him!” Sarah screeched at her. She
hated making her pregnant friend cry.

“I’m sorry. I just want you to be happy, and
you must admit. He makes you happy.”

“Okay, after the doctor’s appointment. I’ll
call him.” She sniffed.

“Good.” Sarah said feeling better.

“What would I do without you?” Christina
asked hugging her friend.

***

Christina left the doctor’s office. She
couldn’t believe it. She was having a boy and a girl. She wondered
how they would look. Would they have her eyes or Matt’s? Her heart
stuttered in her chest at the thought of a little boy running
around. She couldn’t wait to tell Charlie and Martha. Christina was
bigger than the average pregnant woman because of the twins. She
was well into her second trimester. The doctor had warned her that
premature birth was normal for women carrying multiple babies. He
kept a close eye on her. She sat on a patio sipping tea. She made
sure that it was caffeine free. The people in the café was so sweet
to her. Christina glowed. She just had to work up the nerve to call
Matt and tell him the news.

It was then she spotted a familiar face in
the crowd. No! He couldn’t be here. How did he find her? The same
way Matt found out about her past. She wasn’t ready. She got up and
tried to avoid him.

“Christina!” he shouted moving towards her.
She walked faster away from him. If he was here that meant Matt was
here too.

“Wait a minute,” Collum said as he grabbed
her by the shoulder. It took him two months to find her. When he
turned her around to face him, words escaped him. He stared down in
shock at her round belly.

“I don’t know a Christina.” She huffed
out.

“Excuse me, Tina Washington.”

“Why are you here?”

“Does he know?” he asked looking pointedly
at her stomach. Christina didn’t trust Collum.

“Why do you think he kicked me out?
Assaulted me and almost killed my babies.” Collum went pale. This
was his fault. Did she really think that was the reason Matt kicked
her out? Wait a minute, did she just say babies.

“Babies?”

“Not your concern.”

“Christina I think there was a
misunderstanding,” he started off. Rubbing his hand through his
hair.

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. He didn’t
want me or his babies.” She said getting up from the table.

“Christina wait! He hasn’t been himself.
He’s sick with grief. Please, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t
serious.”

“I don’t need a guilt trip Collum; you
didn’t see him that day. I won’t subject myself or the babies to
it.” She started to walk away from Collum.

“It was a woman. Natalia.” He shouted out.
Collum may not have known what happened in her past, but he was
beyond grief right now. It hurt Matt more to have Christina away
from him. Collum would do anything to get her to return to New
York. So he did the only thing he could, blab about Matt’s past. He
swore after this, he was going to stay out of his friend’s affairs.
He shouldn’t have went digging anyway.