Save Me

by Alexander, AJ

  I try to run, but he yanks me back by my owie arm, and I scream from the pain.

  “Shut the hell up! You’ll let them know I’m here before I’m fucking ready! I need that pathetic doctor to leave before I make my move. Then it’ll be time for some fun.”

  Just as I try to run away, I see something shiny in his belt. It looks just like the shiny thing a police officer’s carry. Mommy told me never to touch those because bad things can happen if you are not careful.

  “W-w-what are you going to do with that?” I point at the shiny thing and ask him.

  “I’m going to teach that whore and her little doctor that you don’t touch what’s mine and get away with it. If you’re a good little girl, I may even let you watch.”

  Please, Daddy! Please come and save me!

  Chapter Thirty

  ISABEL

  After cleaning up the kitchen, I head upstairs to wake Sophie.

  “Okay, sleepyhead, it’s time to wake up,” I chirp as I open the door.

  “Mommy!” Sophie screams as someone grabs me and forces me the rest of the way into the room.

  The door slams shut, and I’m met with a pair of eyes I never wanted to see again.

  “What are you doing here?” I yell.

  “Oh, the little mouse has decided to get a backbone,” Jason mocks.

  “I’m not scared of you anymore!” I stand between him and Sophie. Something can happen to me, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let him hurt Sophie again.

  “Get out of here before I call the police! As a matter of fact, how the hell did you even get out of jail?”

  “You can thank your mommy dearest for that. Posted my bail and everything, even let me stay at her place until I figured out how to get you back. You know they never understood your issue with me. You need a firm hand and discipline to keep you in line.”

  My own mother, I should have known. They saw the bruises and cuts but never did anything to help me. I remember the first time he ever hit me, I went home to my father hoping he would help. He wouldn’t even let me in the door. He told me to go back to my husband and learn how to do better.

  “Doesn’t matter. People know the truth now and are willing to help Sophie and I get away from you. We’re no longer alone—”

  He grabs my throat in his large hands and begins to squeeze. I try desperately to get him to let go, but it’s no use. He has always been stronger than me, but I refuse to give up.

  “Oh yes, your little Doctor Patterson, is it? Yes, well I have plans for him,” he sneers as he pulls a gun from his belt.

  “Don’t hurt my daddy, please!” Sophie cries as she cowers in the corner of the room.

  Daddy! When did she start thinking of him as her daddy?

  “You bitch! You have her calling him daddy now too?” Jason yells, and I cringe preparing for the smack, but it never comes.

  “I’ll deal with you later, but first you need to make a phone call.”

  My hand is shaking so badly, I miss dial the the number twice. Jason is getting more and more agitated.

  “Stop stalling you stupid bitch,” he yells.

  I finally get the number right and listen as it rings.

  “Put it on speaker phone. If you try to signal him, I’ll make sure Sophie suffers.”

  “Naval Hospital Bremerton Family Practice. This is Donna, how can I help you?”

  “D-d-doc-doctor Patterson, please.”

  “I can transfer you to his office phone where you can leave a message, he’s a busy man but he’ll call you back when he has a few minutes.” Donna says.

  “NO! Pl-please, tell him Isabel is calling.”

  “Oh, this is Isabel? Just a moment.” She puts me on hold and I look up at Jason standing over me. Sophie is shaking like a leaf, curled around my waist. She’s crying but not making a sound, she’s been taught over the years that sound means pain.

  “Hello, love. How are you? Is Sophie okay?”

  “Umm, I-I’m fine. I-I was wondering, if it wasn’t too much trouble if you could bring shrimp home for dinner? I-I- forgot to pick it up when I went to the store.” He knows from being my doctor that I’m allergic to shellfish, I would never cook it for dinner.

  “Sure thing, hon. I will be home as quickly as I can to help. Give Sophie a big hug for me and tell her I love her. I love you too.”

  “I know,” I whisper, staring at the rage boiling in Jason’s eyes.

  Jason grabs the phone from my hand and throws it across the room, the phone shattering on impact. “He thinks he can come in and take my family from me. I’m going to make sure he never wants to look at you again.”

  “Please let Sophie go, she’s innocent in all this. Take it out on me, it’s my fault, but please let her go.” Tears are streaming down my cheeks, clutching my baby girl to me.

  “Why should I do anything you ask? I’m going to do whatever I want and there’s nothing you can do about it.” He’s lost his mind, he actually enjoys tormenting me.

  “Please, she’s just a little girl,” I whisper, desperate to keep her safe.

  “Get lost you little brat.”

  Picking up Sophie under the arms, I give her a tight hug. “You have to go hide baby. I need you to stay safe okay? Go into our room and hide in the closet. I’ll find you when it’s safe.” I whisper my words into her ear so Jason doesn’t know where she’s gone. I don’t want her out of my sight but I know it’s the safest place for her to be.

  “I don’t wanna leave you,” she cries into my neck. My heart is in a million pieces.

  “I know baby, but it’s okay. It’ll be okay.” I kiss her forehead and force her to unhook her arms from around my neck. “I love you. I love you so much.”

  Tears drenching her face, her skin red and blotchy. “I love you too.”

  “GET OUT!” Jason bellows. Sophie and I both jump at the unexpected sound and she takes off toward the stairs.

  Grabbing a fist full of hair, he swings my head into his knee then throws me to the floor. My head is throbbing, my nose bleeding, and the world around me is spinning. I think Jason walks off but I honestly don’t know what is going on around me.

  Jason’s face appears above me, smirking. Gripping my arms so hard, I cry out, he lifts me and drops me onto a kitchen chair and ties me to it with rope. My head is still spinning when he finishes. My stomach rolls and threatens to revolt.

  “You were supposed to be my reward for working so hard. You were supposed to make my life easier. Be a trophy to be shown off and run the house when I was away. Turns out, you are nothing but a disappointment. Not only to me, but to your parents too. How does that feel? Knowing you’re useless to everyone around you? And that little girl? When we get out of here, your parents are going to raise her, get a chance to redeem themselves.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you. You’ll have to kill me to get Sophie away from me. You’re nothing but a bully!” I scream at him. It feels so good to scream back.

  “We’ll see.” Jason rears back and swings at me, cracking my cheek with his fist, knocking me unconscious.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  ADAM

  I pull into my driveway as quickly, but also as carefully, as possible, so as not to cause alarm. Nothing looks tampered with or out of order, but I cautiously enter the front door. Right in the foyer is Isabel, beaten and tied to a chair.

  I rush forward and quickly untie her.

  “Isabel, what happened? Where’s Sophie?”

  Isabel flings herself into my arms and collapses onto me, weeping. I hold her tightly, whispering comforting words to her as I try to calm the increasing wave of panic in my mind.

  Where in the hell is Sophie?

  “Well, isn’t that sweet, the whore and her lover together at last. I found this little bitch hiding in a closet. She never was very bright or good at hiding.”

  I whip around and meet the cold eyes of Jason Alexander as he holds a Sig P225 to Sophie’s head. I grip Isabel tighter to my che
st so she can’t see what is happening, but I’m sure she’s already aware.

  “What the fuck do you want?” I growl.

  “I want what’s mine. You see, you took something that belongs to me, and I want it back. Messing with the brat’s just a bonus, you can keep her if you want, I don’t mind. She already calls you daddy anyway.”

  My eyes immediately drift down to Sophie, and she begins to cry harder and reaches her hands out to me.

  “So that’s what you want, a trade? You honestly think that I’m dumb enough to think you’re going to let any of us walk out of here alive?”

  He begins to chuckle. “You really aren’t as dumb as you look. Well, let’s go, you’re first. I want to make them watch as I put you down.”

  Fuck! I should have listened to police dispatcher and waited outside. Living so close to base has its perks, but I arrived before them. He’s a sick motherfucker, I knew that before coming in here, but there was no way I was leaving my girls in the hands of a mad man one minute longer. I place Isabel’s feet on the floor and try to unwrap her arms from my neck, but she just clings tighter to me.

  “Please, don’t leave me. I just found you,” she cries into my neck.

  “Love, you have to let me go. I have to protect Sophie. If something happens to me, know that I love you both very much.”

  “Alright, alright, enough of the theatrics! Get over here! I’m feeling generous, so I’ll even let you say goodbye to this waste of space.”

  He pushes Sophie toward me, and I grab her in a tight bear hug.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy! I’m sorry! I tried to scream, but he kept my mouth closed! I tried,” she sobs into my shoulder.

  “I know, Sweet Pea. I need you to go over there with Mommy and listen to what she says, okay? No matter what, I love you.” I kiss her on the forehead before placing her on the ground, and then walk toward Jason.

  I have no idea what I’m going to do, but I have to do something. I can’t let it end like this! I just found them. As I get closer to Jason, I realize that I’m slightly taller than him, so if I can catch him off guard, I might be able to at least get the gun away from him.

  Hopefully, the police will arrive soon. I can’t let anything happen to them. I don’t care what happens to me, but I must keep them safe.

  I quickly lunge for Jason’s gun hand, pushing it up toward the ceiling. I hear it go off with a bang, and both girls scream, but I don’t have time to check to see if either of them are okay before I’m met with a powerful left hook to the chin. I stumble but remain upright, and hit him with a football tackle around the waist, causing him to drop the gun and skidding it across the floor.

  “Fuck you! You piece of shit! I don’t need a gun to kill you. I’ll use my bare hands,” Jason roars as he covers my face in spit.

  This time I’m unable to avoid his punch and I’m knocked off balance. Next thing I know, his hands are around my neck, slowly choking the life out of me. I kick and claw at him, hoping to get him to release his grip, but it just makes him tighten his hold.

  “How’s it feel whore? This is your fault. If you had just kept your trap shut, he could have lived his happy little life, none the wiser,” he snarls to Isabel.

  I continue to fight, trying to get him to release me. I manage to turn my head slightly and see Isabel shaking in the corner as she watches him choke me.

  She must have told Sophie to hide. Good, she doesn’t need to see this.

  Suddenly, I see Isabel stand up straight as a rod and look Jason dead in the eye.

  “What? Does the little mouse have something to say?” he jeers before he begins to laugh.

  All I can hear is her mumbling something as I begin to feel myself fading. Then suddenly, the pressure on my neck is released, and I find myself cradled in Isabel’s arms.

  I try miserably to comfort her while trying to catch my breath, and then we hear the sirens. I don’t know what happened to Jason, but I don’t care.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  ISABEL

  It’s finally over.

  My hands are still shaking when I hear the sirens get closer to the house. Adam’s skin is starting to turn purple from where Jason had his hands around his neck. I squeeze my eyes tightly shut to stop my mind from replaying the scene in my mind.

  All I can see is Adam struggling to get free. I’m watching him kick and claw at Jason, but I know he won’t be able to get loose. I’ve been in that position a time or two, and he will not be able to get away unless Jason wants him to. I begin to tremble with fear as I wonder what’s going to happen to Sophie and me after Adam’s gone.

  I can’t let him hurt Sophie.

  “Sophie, I need you to listen to Mommy.” I bend down and unhook her arms from my legs so I can look her in the eye. “I need you to go hide in our bedroom. You need to lock the door behind you and not come out until someone comes to get you. Understand?”

  She begins to cry harder. “Mommy, I don’t want to go.”

  She tries to turn her head to look at Adam, but I stop her. I won’t let her see any more of this.

  “Sophie, remember how Daddy asked you to listen to everything I said? Please do what I asked. Mommy needs to go and help Daddy.”

  “Okay, Mommy. I love you.” Sophie gives me one last hug before running upstairs.

  I slide down the wall to the floor in relief — at least Sophie is safe. I’m brought back to the present when I hear Adam gasp for air.

  He’s teasing him, that sick bastard.

  I have to do something, but what? Adam’s right. I can’t let Jason Alexander, or anyone else, control my life any longer.

  “I’ll not be afraid any longer,” I mumble to myself.

  “What? Does the little mouse have something to say?” Jason jeers before he begins to laugh.

  I stand up straight, he only has control over me because I let him.

  “I’ll not be afraid any longer,” I repeat louder.

  “You whore! You better be afraid, when I’m finished with you, your parents won’t even be able to identify the body. Better yet, maybe I can just make sure they don’t find a body. Your little brat is young, so I’m sure I can train her better than you.”

  “No!” I yell.

  I cannot let him hurt Sophie. I frantically search for something, anything, to get us out of this situation, when I notice the pistol a few feet in front of me. I have never shot anyone before, but I know the mechanics from being around guns my whole life.

  I slowly inch toward the pistol, bend down, and pick it up. Jason’s so engrossed in what he’s doing to Adam that he doesn’t even notice me.

  “Jason, I’m not afraid of you anymore!” I scream, before I pull the trigger.

  I hit him right in the chest, don’t know if I hit anything important, and I honestly don’t care. I watched his hold on Adam release, so I dropped the pistol and scurried across the floor to make sure that he’s okay.

  “Police! Nobody move!” I hear a yell come from the front of the house.

  “We’re in here! He’s hurt. Please bring help!” I shout.

  I’m beginning to panic, I shot Jason. Are they going to believe that it was self-defense and that my own mother helped him find us? Police, EMT, damn near everyone, begins to file into the house and I’m lost in the frenzy of shouted questions. My grip on Adam’s body is loosened as an EMT pulls him from me to check him out. A police officer comes over and starts to ask me questions about what happened, as another goes to check Jason.

  “He’s dead. Can you tell me what happened here, ma’am?” the officer asks.

  “I’ll answer your questions, but first I need to get my daughter. We told her to hide. She must be scared.”

  Without waiting for an answer, I rush up the stairs to mine and Sophie’s room, and gently knock on the door.

  “Sophie, it’s Mommy. Open the door baby.”

  Suddenly the door flies open, and I’m tackled by my beautiful baby girl. Her face is covered with tears, but she has a
bright smile on her face. Even under all the bruises, she is still the most beautiful girl in the world.

  “Is it all over Mommy?”

  “Yes, baby girl. It is all over.” For the first time, I know I’m not lying to her.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  ADAM

  It takes about five hours for the police to take all our statements and process the crime scene. Apparently, Isabel’s mother had posted bail for Jason and let him stay with her, even helped him plan how to get his “property” back. It disgusts me to know that Isabel came from a family like that. The police believe that his original plan was to kidnap Sophie and convince Isabel to trade herself for her daughter, but once he got to the house and saw the two of us together, he changed his mind.

  We have all tried to clean up the mess in the house as much as we can, but its been a quite night. No singing around the house as Isabel made dinner. There has been a lot of touching and hugging, Sophie has needed to keep at least one of us in her sight at all times tonight. It’s going to be a slow process trying to get things back to normal for us, but we will get through this as long as we stick together.

  Once Isabel and Sophie are settled into bed, I give them both a kiss before heading into my own room. Too tired to do anything but change, I climb into bed and finally have the courage to call my mother. I’m sure my nosey neighbors have already called her about the police tape around my house, she must be worried sick. I pick up the phone to call her. The phone doesn’t even ring before she picks up,

  “Adam, baby are you alright? How are the girls? Do you need me to come down?”

  I chuckle at my mother, she loves with her whole heart. Even though she has never met Isabel or Sophie, she cares about them because they mean everything to me. “No, Mom. We’re all fine. We’ve some bumps and bruises on the outside, but we will be fine.”