Star Bright (33 page)

“
You are lucky
she’s alive and he’s dead.” Dave said candidly, then turned to
greet Miguel and the doctor. Johnson knew the true weight of those
words and he considered himself more than lucky.

“
She’s lucky
she got here when she did.” the doctor spoke, digging his hands in
his white coat.

“
We all know
just how much.” Miguel spoke, eyeing Johnson with a lethal glimmer
in his eye. Johnson stepped back, appreciating the threat in
Miguel’s voice. Dave wasn’t the only one he was to be scared of.
Dave saw the look, but he didn’t care to stand up for Johnson, he
needed a little scare to keep him on his toes.

“
Three of her
ribs were broken and unfortunately one of them punctured her lung.”
Dave shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably as he
listened to the doctor, “She has a dislocated shoulder and her back
and belly will be sore and swollen for a few weeks, but she’ll be
fine.” the doctor looked at the three men with caution, his next
question wouldn’t be taken lightly by any of the men, “May I ask
who’s the lady’s husband?”

“
She’s not...”
Miguel started before Dave cut him off.

“
I am and no I
did not beat up my wife to the point she needed surgery.” Dave
answered bluntly, his gaze as cool as his voice.

“
She was
mugged.” Johnson offered, “I found her a few streets from her
house.”

The doctor looked at
them, he wasn’t sure whether or not to believe them, for all he
knew they could be covering up for each other.

“
Now that
we’ve cleared up that little issue, where do I go to pay the bill?”
Miguel asked.

“
The bill is
taken care of, she’s under my health insurance.” Dave answered, “Is
there anything else you’d like to ask before you call the police?”
Dave asked with his lawyer voice on.

The doctor’s eyes
widened, “Ah, no.” he turned and shuffled away fast. Miguel and
Dave gave him an unconcerned look as he rushed away, Johnson just
chuckled. He knew how the doctor felt, Dave had an imposing nature
that scared most of the people he came across, especially those he
was trying to put behind bars.

“
Is he going
to call the police?” Miguel asked turning to face Dave.

“
No.” he spoke
tiredly. The lawyer face and voice had sagged back to the worn out
worried man he was a few minutes ago, “He’s too scared to get
involved.”

“
I thought you
two had to be married to get that kind of insurance
deal?”

“
It’s a
temporary arrangement.” Dave turned to look at Maria, her face was
now facing his direction, she didn’t look peaceful anymore, she
looked troubled.

“
How did you
pull that off?” he chuckled, shaking his head, “Why am I even
asking, you are Dave Greer, nothing’s impossible for you.” Johnson
said.

“
With my
career, yes, my personal life not so much.” He moved into the room
when Maria started to weep quietly as she tossed and turned,
“Miguel, I think she’s having a nightmare.”

Maria could hear Ricky’s
voice ring in her ears as he laughed at her poor attempts to get
away from him. Then she heard herself crying and begging, for
death, for life which ever would make the torment end. Then there
was the pain, the blinding pain in her side and the blood, she
could taste it, and she could see more streaming out of her
hand.

Then she saw two figures,
Ricky was kneeling beside them, a sadistic smile on his lips as he
held a knife with a bloody hand, her blood, she was sure of it. She
pulled her weight closer to get a good look at the figures, they
were scared and crying. She looked closely at them and felt her
heart stop when she saw the little faces, Michael and
Izzy.

“
No, please!”
Maria begged, pulling herself closer to her crying children. This
wasn’t supposed to be happening, how did they even get there? They
were supposed to be safe with Dave.

Ricky pulled Michael down
to Izzy’s level, immediately Michael wrapped his arms around her
and hid her face in his shoulder. Maria begged and cried even more,
but that only seemed to excite Ricky more. He held the knife to
Michael’s neck, “Say bye bye to mama.”

“
No!” Maria
jumped up, the pain from her side paralyzed her like an electric
volt had passed through her body, which only allowed her a tiny
weep in place of the scream, she wanted to let out.

“
Maria, Maria
you’re safe, you’re okay.” Dave spoke, stroking her face. He wiped
the tears away from her face with his fingers, careful not to touch
her bruises. Seeing her awake washed all the worry, fear and anger
he had when he was watching her lay unconscious and broken, but the
guilt of failing to protect her was still there, like a dark cloud
hanging over him and the pain on her face only drove the knife
deeper into his heart. He was never going to be able to forgive
himself, and he wouldn’t blame Maria if she hated him too after all
the promises he had made to her.

“
Maria, it’s
me Dave.” he quickly wiped a tear away before he went on, “Your
father is here too.”Taking the introduction as a cue, Miguel moved
and sat on the other side of her bed. He took her free hand and
pulled it gently to his lips, “
Mija
.” he cried, letting a few tears
flow more freely than Dave had allowed himself,
“
lo siento, lo siento mija!”

Maria opened her eyes
slowly, the wave of pain slowly fading away as the grogginess took
dominance again. She felt light headed, like she was floating,
especially now that the pain seemed like a distant memory, like it
wasn’t her body in pain.

She always thought she
would end up like this again, in a hospital bed, courtesy of Ricky,
but she never believed it would ever happen, not with Dave around
and as much as it may hurt her pride, she had to admit she felt
more secure with her scary criminal father around. But it was her
fault, she was the one who took off alone, without either of them,
so how were they going to protect her?

She looked at her father
who had her hand glued to his cheek then she shifted her eyes to
Dave who was hovering above her, stroking her hair away from her
face, his other hand laid on her other side, his fingers weaved
with hers in the sling. His eyes were hollow and pained, and his
lips were curved up in a quivering tightly pressed smile. She
struggled to keep her vision focused on his face, she couldn’t
understand his emotions. It wasn’t pity or repulsion or anger at
her stupidity, it was something completely different. Something she
had never seen before.

She turned back to
Miguel, he had the same look on his face, but she could also see
anger in his eyes, and that she understood. She looked around the
room for Edna and the kids, but there was only one more man who was
standing at the door, she couldn’t see him properly, but the image
of him standing at the door brought back the memory of the man who
shot Ricky.

Ricky!

She looked at the two men
seated at her bed. She wonder if they knew what happened to her,
who had done this to her, she wondered if one of them shot
Ricky.

Was Ricky even
dead?

The stranger’s phone rang
and Miguel and Dave turned to his direction. He quietly excused
himself, returning all the attention to Maria.

“
Where’s
mama?” Maria whispered. Her throat felt scratchy and dry, probably
because of all the meds they had pumped inside her.

“
She’s home
with the children.” Miguel answered, planting another kiss in her
palm. Maria could feel her hands and head begin to itch. All the
hands on her were beginning to make her uncomfortable. She
struggled not to pull away, these were men who cared for her and
would never hurt her, the way Ricky did at least.

Maria turned to Dave,
“How is Michael?”

“
He’s
fine.”

“
Izzy?”

“
She’s fine
too. You know her mood depends on Michael’s.” he answered with a
smile then leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Maria inched back away
from him, but she didn’t get far with the huge pillow under her
head, “Yeah, Michael loves it when she tails after him.” unable to
contain her discomfort anymore, she pulled away from both men and
painfully pushed herself to a sitting position, “I just hope he
doesn’t ask for a puppy.” She preferred lying down, but this was
the only polite way to get their hands away from her.

“
Mija,
it would be better if you lay down.” He rose to
help her, but she raised her hand stopping him.

“
No, I’m fine.
I’m already used to the pain.”

“
You shouldn’t
be used to anything like what you went through.” Dave’s anger crept
out, his voice was low and harsh, echoing the anger in his
eyes.

Maria turned away from
him, she was back to square one, cowering away from the slightest
hint of aggression, “I take it you know what happened?”

“
Yes.” Miguel
answered before a sadistic smile crept over his harsh face, “But
he’s dead now and you have nothing to worry about.” He said,
combing her hair with his fingers.

The look on Miguel’s face
made Maria uncomfortable. He seemed psychotic, a sadist with a
gentle touch and that frightened her because whenever Ricky had
that look on his face it always meant he was going to hurt
her.

“
So.” Maria
swallowed the lump in her throat, “Am I right in assuming you shot
him?”

Miguel laughed and to
Maria’s relief, he stood up and moved to stand at the foot of her
bed, “I would have loved to have had that honor, but no it wasn’t
me.”

Maria looked at him,
surprised by his excited yet disappointed attitude. How was it
possible she and her mother attracted psychopaths? She shifted her
gaze to Dave, his long face answered her question, besides cold
blooded murder wasn’t his style. At least she had one sane man in
her life. She raised her hand and stroked his cheek, “I know it
wasn’t you.”

Dave’s eyes rose to
settle in hers. The harsh look in them made Maria pull away, “Why,
because I’m too much of a coward to do what needs to be
done?”

Maria couldn’t handle the
callous air hanging around her. Yes their anger wasn’t towards her,
and yes she was glad Ricky was dead, but after the nightmare she
just went through she just wanted peace and quiet.

“
When do I get
to go home?”

“
Maybe after a
week or two, the bastard punctured your lung!” Dave fisted her
covers in his hand. It was going to take him a very long time to
get over the resentment and anger he had for himself and
Ricky.

Maria wasn’t up for this,
she wanted peace and quiet and had no intention of giving Ricky any
more attention now that the animal was dead. He was finally dead
and rotting in a sewer like the waste he truly was.

But who saved
her?

“
If you ever
find the dark knight, thank him for me.” she sank into her bed,
“because of him, I can finally live my life without fear.” She
laughed and it felt wonderful and relieving. She was finally free
and she intended on enjoying her freedom completely.

No more hiding or looking
over her shoulder. She didn’t need to look around a room or a store
just to see if she could spot him before she went in. She could
finally lock the doors to her home and feel secure, without
worrying Ricky would break into the house and steal her son. She
could relax when she went to the park or the zoo with the kids. Her
children were safe, and Ricky’s threats against them were as cold
and dead as he was.

And when she looked at
her scars, she wouldn’t think of the many more to come and the man
who would bring them, instead they would mark the end of a struggle
and that she was the one who lived.

Dave saw the tears swell
and spill out of Maria’s eyes and worriedly leaned forward and
placed a hand on her wet cheek, “Maria what’s wrong? Why are you
crying? Are you in pain?”

“
No, I’m just
happy that it’s finally over.” she pulled the covers around her
shoulders with her free hand, “And now I can finally have a full
night’s sleep.” she giggled tearfully, “I can’t remember the last
time I closed my eyes and just slept soundly. From today on, I
don’t have to wake up five times a night to check the locks or to
make sure Michael was still in his bed and alive.” she chuckled
louder, “I might still wake up to check on the kids, but only twice
a night.”

Dave smiled down at her,
sharing the same relief she had. Her bright happy face made the
bruises barely noticeable. She and Michael were finally safe, no
thanks to him, but they were safe and they could finally live in
peace. He admired how selfless she was putting Michael first before
herself. This was exactly how a mother was supposed to be, “Michael
isn’t the only one who’s safe, you are too.”

“
I know that,
but Michael is my life.” she smiled, “Let me rephrase that. Michael
and Izzy are my life, and as long as they are alright, I’m fine
too.”

“
You are the
mother I want for my daughter. You can teach her to be just like
you, selfless and wonderful.”