One Simple Memory (5 page)

She heard a phone ring somewhere. That meant there was a form of communication in the house. Until she could figure out a way to get to the phone, she supposed she should just lay back and let the pain medication kick in. Then she could try to figure things out.

She managed to relax enough to fall asleep. She was just starting to dream about those mysterious, but familiar, sexy gray eyes, when suddenly the door to the room was thrown open, and startled her awake. She shot up in the bed and looked over. A man stood there. He wasn’t the same man from earlier. This guy was bigger, taller and he didn’t have a mask on. He was built, broad and thick. He looked like a fighter. He reminded her of the sexy, famous UFC fighter, George St. Pierre, one good looking fighter.
He had on a pair of tight black jeans, and a white muscle shirt. His hair was dark brown, styled in a sort of a buzz cut. He had a set of deep gray eyes, and he was grinning at her. The grin was evil looking, like he had something on his mind, and she really did not like it. His nose was sharp and slightly crooked, as if it had been broken once or twice. He had a well chiselled jaw covered with a five o’clock shadow, and he was sporting a single diamond stud in his left ear.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Spoke the brute man, sending chills through her. “Looks like we have a sweet piece of ass, sitting all alone on the big ol’ bed here.” The man winked at her.

She shivered from the fear starting to rise from deep inside. “What do you want?” She whispered, gripping the blanket tight to her chest. A sudden sweat broke out on the back of her neck, and her pulse began to accelerate.

The man closed the door and sauntered over to the bed. “Don’t worry little thing, I won’t do anything you won’t like.” He smirked and sat on the edge of the bed.

Jenn pushed her body as far back on the bed as it would allow her. She did not want him to touch her. He was good looking, in a scary kind of way, but the way he was leering at her didn’t sit right with her. He stared at her like a ravenous lion, and she was a piece of raw meat. She was not prepared to be his meal. “Please, don’t touch me.” She pleaded innocently. Shivers ran through her. She wasn’t sure if she had the strength to fight, but she sure would do her best to try.

The man who was making her feel more scared by the minute smiled at her, and reached his hand forward towards her leg. “Come on now sugar, big daddy isn’t going to hurt you.” He smirked. “Unless you ask him to.” He leaned further into her and grabbed her ankle. “We’re just going to talk.” He winked.

She kicked her leg at him.

He laughed. He reached and grabbed again, strengthening his grip.

“Let go of me, you big ape!” She cried out, and tried to kick him away again.

Her struggle only seemed to urge him on, as he moved closer and reached with his other hand. He grabbed her other ankle and pulled her down the bed, removing the blankets covering her in the process.

She screamed and started to fight him.

Again her thoughts ran frantically, how was she going to get out of this? Was he going to hurt her? Was he going to rape her? Was he going to kill her? He was too big to fight compared to her much smaller body size, and screaming just urged him on. Fuck! The day couldn’t get any worse. She continued to struggle, kicking her legs. The man laughed as if he enjoyed the fight. She started to swing her arms, anything to get her out of the position she was in. Luck decided to be on her side, and she could hardly believe it. One of her swings actually made contact. She hit him in the side of his face and pretty hard. Hard enough that it hurt her hand.

“You stupid bitch!” He growled, and he released her ankles. His hand full out smacked her across her face.

Damn that hurt,
she thought.

He pinned her by her arms and used his body to hold the rest of her down. “You hit me, bitch.” He spit out.

The man did not look that sexy when he was mad she thought. She could feel the blood drain from her nose, and her lip was starting to throb. He had hit her good. She had never been hit before. She didn’t like the feeling at all. “I’m sorry.” She covered her face and turned it to the side with the hope he wouldn’t hit her again. Her body shook once again, her nerves in overdrive of the unknown. “You were scaring me. I wasn’t thinking.” She grabbed at straws, anything to get the man to back off. Her eyes filled with tears, but she tried to hold them back.

“You fucking better be, bitch.” He sat back on his heels with a grin. “So, where were we?” His hand grazed her upper arm and then down her abdomen to her thigh.

She cringed, and he laughed.

“Get off of me, you asshole.” She yelled, unaware of how it slipped out. It was like she had Tourette’s and super mood swings all at once, but she knew it felt good to say. Gaining some strength to fight back, angry and scared, it took everything in her not to spit at him. She really needed to get her shit together.

“A feisty one, eh?” The asshole of a man laughed out and continued on his excursion of touching her body. He cupped her breasts in his hands. “Oh, I like these.” His eyes had an evil glint.

She didn’t like his touch. She needed him to stop. “Fuck off!” She swore and in a flash she swung her fist again, and luck was still with her. Contact again.

“Fuck!” He yelled, and in quick response punched her back. He grabbed at her shirt, and he began to tear it off her.

Adrenaline surged and even with tears running down her face, Jenn fought with everything she had. She managed to get her leg in the position to her advantage and nailed him in the balls.

He screamed and grabbed his crotch. “Bitch!” He yelled at her and crawled off of her and the bed.

She tucked herself up in a defensive position, shaking slightly with tears on her face. She wasn’t letting him get to her again.

“Ah, fuck woman! Tears? You think that shit works on me?” He shook his head, adjusted his balls and began to walk away. “Fucking women! Nothing like busting the mood. Literally! You ain’t worth it, bitch.” He mumbled as he walked out the door, shut and locked it.

It was getting dark outside by the time Jenn was able to stop crying. Almost an entire day had gone by, and she had not eaten a single morsel of food. The only water she had was with the pills. Why would he starve her when he was nice enough to give her medication for her migraine? Where was he, and who was that other man? Why was he so much scarier than the man in the mask? She felt weak from the lack of food and was sore from the abuse she took from that man. She wasn’t sure how much more she could handle before she completely unraveled. She was going to have to dig deep within herself and break down those walls that protected her and fight for her life. She was not ready to die, not today, not tomorrow, not any time soon.

Sean arrived at her moderate sized, two bedroom house, and entered the front door with the key he had on his key chain. The key he took from her key chain. He wasn’t going to break in this time when there was no need. He took his time to look around. Taking in every smell in each room. Natural or flower scented, he accepted it all.

With the sunlight shining in her sheer draped windows, he was able to take it all in. He noticed the black leather furniture set organized just so in the living room. The oak coffee table and end tables with doilies on top, which made him smile. Always the girlie girl she was, he thought. A not so small flat screen TV hung on the wall, and shelves full of pictures and knick knacks were scattered about.

Just left of the very large open living room was a door leading to a bedroom and off to the right was a door to a fairly spacious modern bathroom. Her kitchen was big with an island separating it from the living room. The color scheme of the home was of bold dark colors, and the floors were all hard wood. As he searched her place, he found photos of family, and it made him think of the days of their childhood together. The good and the bad. It also made him remember the day he told her he just wasn’t good enough for her. He could see the love in her eyes that day.

It was a typical Saturday for them. They had made plans to hang out and go to the movies that night. It was actually pre-planned. Routine for them, but one of his father’s jobs that he did that day set him on an emotional roller coaster. It had him changing his mindset, and he knew he had to push Jenn away. He didn’t want her in the crossfire, didn’t want her getting hurt. That day, Sean had made his first kill.

With what was still blood on his hands, he met up with Jenn at a coffee shop to break the news. She was her chipper self. Full of smiles and love in her eyes. They ordered their coffee and sat in silence for a few moments.

Jenn couldn’t contain herself in the silence. “So what was so important that we are here now Sean?” She smiled big at him. It hurt him to see that smile, knowing what he was about to do.

He reached across the table and grasped her hand. “Babe, there are things happening, feelings are changing.” He squeezed her hand and took a deep breath. “You know I love you babe, but I’m no good for you.” He looked deep into her eyes and waited with baited breath.

Her eyes watered. “What do you mean Sean?” She pulled her hand free from his and wiped her eye. “I thought things….” She began to mumble. “I mean I thought…” She couldn’t finish, she was so confused and upset.

“Babe.”

“Don’t babe, me, you jerk.”

He sighed. “Jenn, you don’t understand.” He slumped back in his seat. “Shit is happening and you just, you just… I don’t want you to get hurt.” He crossed his arms across his chest. He was getting frustrated. He hated having to do this. He truly did love her, but he needed to get away from her, for her safety. He didn’t want her to know what he was doing, what he had done. She would hate him, just like he hated himself.

“Hurt? The only person hurting me is you Sean.” She reached for her purse and pulled out a Kleenex. “I don’t understand. I love….”

Sean couldn’t hear her say it, he knew he would buckle. He had to get out of there so when she started to say those words, he up and ran out.

There were photos of her and her father, old and new. Some with her and her mother when she was a child. No recent ones with her mother since she passed away when Jenn was just thirteen. A robbery gone wrong, they said.  Sean knew that was just a cover story. Her father didn’t want Jenn knowing what kind of side business he was running. The kind of business that had gotten him in deep shit and ended up causing the death of his wife.

Sean’s father and Jenn’s father had become rivals while the pair of them were in school together. He learned all about it as he got older. The fight for territory for buying and selling their merchandise was a blind spot to Jenn, but it was not so much for Sean. Having older brothers that partook in the business, brought Sean into the loop. Once Sean got involved, he did everything he could to prevent Jenn from knowing about it. And to do so, as time went, he withdrew himself from her life, little by little with hopes that she would not notice what was happening right in her own neighborhood. With the exception of hanging with her on their pre-planned nights, Sean began to distance himself.

He found a black knap sack in her closet, looked like the one she may have used for yoga, and started to load the bag with the listed items as he found them. The list consisted of personal items like clothing, undergarments, running shoes, personal hygiene products, and lastly a locket. It was described to be a thin silver chain with a heart shaped silver decal pendant on the end which framed a blazing blue diamond. He went over to her dresser and on top sat a black marble jewelry box. He opened the box and sitting right inside sat the locket. He grabbed it and left the room. Once he packed everything in the bag, an idea occurred to him. He thought that if he wasn’t allowed to mention anything to her, maybe a visual hint maybe suffice to get her mind moving. When Sean was looking over the photos on her mantle beside the TV, he noticed an old photo that shocked him. It was a picture of him, Jenn and her mother about a week before her mother passed. He remembered that day well. That day was an unforgettable day for him. It was the first day of spring, and they had their first barbecue of the season. They had flown kites and rode bikes together while Jenn’s parents watched over them. It was also the day he finally realized he was in love Jenn. He never told her, she was still too young, as was he. He was not ready to ruin the friendship they had at a young age. He grabbed the photo and jammed it into the bag. He let himself out of the house and locked it up tight.