Star Bright (24 page)

The brunette boy sitting
close to her leaned forward, looked up at her with a wide grin,
“What are your specials?”

Maria looked down at him
with a raised eyebrow. She picked up the menu from the table and
handed it to him, “Go through this, and once you make up your mind
holler.” She turned to leave, but a tight hand clasped around her
wrist and pulled her back.

“
What he wants
isn’t on the menu.” the blond boy hissed out, as he stood up and
pulled her against him.

Maria could feel her
anxiety rise as the familiar fear took hold of her, “Let go of me.”
she struggled the words out. She was going to fight the fear, and
shut off that part of her mind and pray that her growing strength
would back her up now.

“
Only if you
promise to give me what I want.” the brunette spoke, looking up at
them with the same grin on his face.

“
What do you
want?” Maria asked, controlling her voice. She looked down at the
brunette, she couldn’t look at her captive, if she was going to
keep it together and concentrated on slowing down her heart
beat.

“
Your phone
number first.” he said, trailing down her arm with his finger tips.
Maria fought the urge to pull away and tried to stay strong, but it
was difficult to ignore how irate his touch made her skin
feel.

The blond pushed the
wrist he held behind her back and freeing his other hand, he griped
her chin with it, “Then maybe a little of what you give Greer.” he
hissed out in her ear. That was it, the last straw that broke her
courage.

Maria could feel his hot
breath in her ear, it made her even more scared thinking of all the
ways she knew he could hurt her. She shut her eyes tight and tried
not to break into a hysterical cry and waited for her weak,
agonizing moment to pass, they were bound to stop tormenting her
sometime. She could already feel her whole body itch with disgust
at how their bodies touched and she hated his voice and breathe in
her ear.

“
She does look
appetizing.” her captive spoke in her ear. He touched his cheek
against hers, then put his tongue in her ear. Maria made a muffled
scream, she bit her lips shut to keep from crying out, but there
was nothing she could do about the hot tears running down her
cheeks.

“
You are in
the wrong place, what you’re looking for is the strip club down
town.” Carol’s voice echoed in the cafe. Maria almost cried out in
relief when the boy let go of her chin and put a gap in between
them. She turned and looked at Carol, very close to tears. Carol
gave her a reassuring smile before she looked past them, “Brian,
Amy has told you a lot about her ex-husband. What do you think he
would do to you if he found out what you are doing to his
girlfriend?” she asked, with a menacing voice.

Maria turned her head to
the boy she was addressing, the fearful look on his face spoke
volumes. In a second he was off his chair and out the door. His
companions looked at each other before they followed him. Maria
sank into the chair, biting back the sobs that were threatening to
burst out. She thought she’d grown strong enough to stand up for
herself, but she was very wrong.

Carol sat next to her and
placed a hand on Maria’s shoulder, which she immediately brushed
off, “It’s okay, you’re fine.” Carol spoke softly.

“
No I’m not,
I’m never going to be fine.” she said, with a quivering voice. She
stood up and disappeared into the kitchen then came back with Izzy
in her arms. “Dave’s lunch is at the counter, please take Izzy to
him.” She pulled off her apron and ran out the door.

Carol stared after her,
confused. She walked to the counter and picked up Dave’s lunch,
imagining how loud the explosion was going to be, “Amy, you’ve
really done it this time.”

Dave stretched out, glad
it was time for lunch, he needed a break and he wanted to see
Maria. The stunned look on her face had kept him amused the whole
morning. He was sure she would insist that he answer the questions
he had avoided that morning. She had asked him to take their
relationship slow, but he found it difficult not to plan for their
future. He had no intentions of letting them go, he wanted to make
a family with them, he was glad he had an ally in
Michael.

When the door opened and
Izzy ran in, he expected to see Maria behind her, but instead it
was Carol. Dave picked up his daughter and stared at Carol with a
questioning look, “Where’s Maria?”

Carol placed the food on
the table and turned to Dave. She moved to him and took Izzy out of
his hands, “How about we keep all possible casualties away from
you.” She placed her in the corner where her toys were before she
walked back to Dave, “There was an incident at the
cafe.”

“
What kind of
incident?” Dave asked, in a panic.

“
Promise to
let me finish before you blow up.” Carol asked, a little
frightened. She knew his temper and she didn’t want it directed to
her.

“
Carol.” his
voice high and tempered.

“
Brian and a
couple of his friends...”

“
Who’s Brian?”
Dave asked, interrupting her.

“
The boy toy
Amy brought here.” both Dave’s eyebrows shot up, “they bothered
Maria.”

“
What do you
mean by bothered?” his stunned expression quickly changed to a
livid one.

“
They harassed
her and one had her pinned against him. The look she had on her
face Dave, she looked scared and abhorrent, and she didn’t even
want me to touch her. What that man must have done to her...” Carol
stopped, she was close to crying as she remembered the desperate
look on Maria’s face.

“
Arrgh!” Dave
cried out angrily, pushing all his desk content on the floor. He
was mad, murderously furious with Amy and her little gang. She did
that to annoy him, and she’d gotten what she wanted, but he was
going to give her exactly what she was asking for, “I have that
punk’s address in my divorce file, find him!”

“
Are you
filing a law suit?”

“
Against his
stupid girlfriend yes, but him and his friends, I’m going to deal
with them personally.”

“
Dave, it
would be nice if you don’t get arrested for assault.”

“
Just do it
Carol!”

“
Da.” Izzy
called out softly. Dave turned to her and saw the frightened look
on her face. He had completely forgotten she was there. He went and
picked her up, “Have them picked up at school by the police, and
make sure to send one to Amy’s door step.” He spoke through
clenched teeth.

Carol laughed, “I would
pay big money to see her get dragged into a squad car, and even
more to a cell.” She turned and left, closing the door behind
her.

Dave picked up his cell
phone from his desk, “How about we call your mommy and see if she’s
alright.” he spoke, dialing Maria’s number.

Maria walked into Nate’s
apartment and was shocked to find it in such a mess. She’d made
sure to clean up and leave it as she’d found it, but now it looked
like a tornado had gone through. The floor was cluttered with
broken glass and broken pieces of furniture. The leather couch had
several rips in it, the TV was on the floor with a huge hole in the
screen. Whoever was in here made sure the breakables were broken
and what could be ripped was shredded.

She felt all her strength
drain out of her, this was all she needed to add to her disastrous
day. She sank to the floor against the wall, balls of tears
silently making their way down her cheeks. She was too exhausted
and disillusioned to cry. She wanted to just disappear for the day,
to just take a break from the bad luck her life was. The only thing
that hasn’t gone wrong yet, was her life with Dave, but it would
only be a matter of time, otherwise it wouldn’t be the life of
Maria Diana Martinez.

The studio apartment
mirrored her life, a broken, shattered, ripped to pieces life, and
the worst of it was, Michael was stuck in it and she was about to
drag Dave and Izzy in too. If it was possible to be someone else,
she would jump at the opportunity. The scared, battered weak Maria,
needed to disappear so that she could start fresh. No ghosts,
nightmares, fears as her shadows, be better and more worthy to her
new family. If only it was that simple.

Her vibrating phone
pulled her out of her daze. She looked at Dave’s name on the screen
for a minute before she lifted the phone to her ear,
“Hello?”

Dave felt his chest
tighten at her lifeless voice, “Maria, where are you?” he asked
firmly. There was no need to ask her if she was okay, he could hear
it in her voice how much she needed him.

“
Someone broke
in and tore the place apart.” she answered quietly, looking around
the space.

Dave panicked at the
thought of her hurt physically or worse, “Are you home? Are you
okay? I’ll call the police!” he rapped out.

“
No, not home,
the apartment I lived in before.”

“
I’m on my
way.” Dave hung up and rushed out of his office, Izzy still in his
arm. He grabbed Carol’s arm and dragged her behind him, “You are
coming with me.”

Carol stumbled after him
and was close to falling a few times, “Ouch, where are we going?”
she pulled her arm out of his hold.

“
To get
Maria.” Dave answered, pushing the elevator buttons
impatiently.

Carol got worried. Dave’s
pensive manner could only mean there was trouble, “I’ll go get my
purse,” she turned and ran back to her desk.

Stepping into the
elevator, “Hurry up,”

Dave drove fast down
town, he had Carol call the police from the car just in case the
crooks were still around. He was worried and scared that something
bad had happened to her, she wasn’t yet strong enough to suffer a
brutality and all the progress she was making of leaving her shell
would be flushed down the toilet. Everything he was trying to build
with her would be put on hold and she might run again, something he
was never going to allow.

He got to the apartment
building the same time the police did. He didn’t wait to offer them
any explanations, he rushed to her apartment, they followed close
behind. When he got there he found the door a jar, and the
apartment had no sense of movement or noise. His body weakened as
the thought of his worst nightmare coming true filled his mind. All
the dreams of his future may have been shredded along with the
woman he loves.

Two uniformed officers
rushed past him with their guns drawn. Dave waited outside with his
eyes closed, crossed his fingers and prayed the robbers had left
her without a scratch on her. He was more worried about her mental
state, but he needed her well and alive for their children and
himself, the rest he would fix over time.

One of the officer’s came
out, “You can come in, but watch your step.”

Dave analysed the man’s
expression and tone of voice. It was steady and clear, with no
particular emotion in it, which must mean there wasn’t a body on
the floor, nor any blood in the apartment, but then where was
Maria?

“
Is there
anyone in there?” he asked, cautiously following him
inside.

“
Yes.” he
stopped a few feet in and turned. His gaze dropped to the floor, a
lot softer and full of concern than it was a few seconds ago, “She
says she found the place like this.”

Dave followed the
officer’s gaze, Maria was sitting on the floor with her legs
crossed, her shoulders drooped and her hands laying lifeless next
to her. Dave could feel the relief rush through him, as he crouched
down next to her, “Maria.” he uttered excitedly. That excitement
however, was replaced by concern when he saw the blank look on her
tear stained face. She looked dazed, like her body was present, but
her mind wasn’t, “Maria.” he said softly, placing his palm on her
cheek.

Maria leaned into it and
closed her eyes as a fresh stream of tears running down her cheeks.
She held his hand in place, hoping the sense of safety and normalcy
he always gave her would wrap around her, “How am I going to
explain this to Nate?” she asked quietly.

“
Let me handle
that.” Dave responded. He put his arm behind her back and pulled
her up. She felt like jelly in his arms, like she had no strength
left in her, if he was to let her go she would crumble to the
floor.

Maria leaned her head
against his chest and smiled to herself, “You always fix
everything.” she wrapped her arms around his waist and held herself
against him, “I’m Humpty Dumpty and you keep putting me back
together.”

Dave kissed the top of
her head in response before he turned to the officer, “Please find
out who broke in here as soon as possible.” he said, turning on his
professional voice.

“
We’ll do our
best. I’ll need a list of everything that was stolen.”

“
Nothing was
stolen, they are just on the floor in pieces.” Maria answered,
sounding inert.

Dave hated his mind
sometimes, this particular moment mostly. He had already done the
math in his head and come up with the reason a crime like this
would happen and all he could hope for, against his better
judgement, was that whoever did this was after Nate and not
Maria.