by Kylie Walker
“Bye Rob thanks.”
He took off like someone was chasing him and when Kelly turned back to Jesse she could see why. The look he had on his face at that moment was actually frightening.
“What’s wrong, baby?” she said. In a voice she hardly recognized and language she didn’t understand Jesse said, “Get the fuck in the apartment, bitch.”
She looked around, not processing that he could be talking to her that way. “What?”
“Are you fucking deaf…or just stupid?” he said through gritted teeth. “I said; get your skanky ass into the apartment, now!”
“Why are you talking to me like this?”
Jesse looked around and once he saw that no one was in the parking lot he struck his first blow. With his open palm he slapped her hard across the back of her head. The blow propelled her forward and almost threw her into the brick wall. The smack had hurt, a lot…but she was more hurt, and confused by the fact that he’d actually hit her. She’d been through similar with her father enough times though to know she would probably be better off if she just did as she was told. She rubbed the back of her head and started up the stairs. Jesse was behind her and she could smell the alcohol on him. He hadn’t been at work all this time, obviously. She was about halfway up when she felt him push her. She stumbled and reached out to catch herself with her hands, striking her chin on one of the steps.
“Hurry the fuck up!” he told her.
She scrambled to her feet and hurried to the apartment. She didn’t have her keys so she had to wait for him to unlock the door. When he did, she felt him put his hand on the back of her neck and shove her inside. She flew into the coffee table and fell to the floor.
“Jesse…What?”
“Shut up, cunt! How fucking dare you make a fool out of me by having your piece of shit lover drop you off at my home.”
“My lover? No, oh no, Jesse! He’s just a guy from my class. I barely know him…”
“Lying cunt!” he said as his foot landed flush in the center of the soft part of her belly.
She was shocked and in pain and she wasn’t sure what to do. She never fought back with her father. She took her beatings because if she didn’t it would only get worse. But this was Jesse…her savior… “Jesse please let me explain,” she said. He reached down and grabbed her by her hair. He used it to drag her into the bedroom. When they got there, he picked her up by it and held her face at an unnatural and painful angle in front of the mirror.
“You see that face?” she didn’t answer so he tapped her head into the mirror and said, “Do you see it, bitch?” She nodded. It felt like her hair was being ripped out along with chunks of her scalp. She was having a hard time getting her breath. “I own it. I own everything that’s attached to it. It’s average at best, but it’s mine, bought and paid for. If I ever catch you with another man again, I will fucking kill you and him both. Do you understand me?” She nodded again and he slammed her face back into the mirror, this time shattering it. “Answer me!”
“Yes, I understand you, Jesse. I’m sorry.” Before she knew what was happening, he turned and tossed her like a ragdoll onto the bed.
“Take off your clothes,” he said.
She was stunned for a second. Did he really expect her to have sex with him now? He was stripping off his clothes and realized she was still lying there, wide-eyed, looking at him. He had his belt in his hand and he walked over to her and raised it. She tried to roll away and he caught her across the tops of her thighs. It felt like the leather had cut into her flesh. It was another feeling she was all too familiar with. In little more than a whisper he said, “Take off your fucking clothes you worthless whore.” Kelly took off her clothes.
It was three hours later before Jesse was finished with her and finally fell asleep. She somehow made her way to the bathroom, practically crawling. She stood under the shower and scrubbed herself for close to an hour. What the hell had she gotten herself into?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Derek was staring at her in disbelief when Chloe came out of her waking nightmare and looked at him.
“Are you okay?” she asked him.
He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Am I okay? You’re worried about me?” He stood up from the table and walked over to the balcony. He sucked in a big gulp of the fresh air and then breathed it out slowly. When he turned back to her he said, “No baby, I’m not okay. I want to kill someone and I can’t decide who I want to get my hands on first.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“You’re sorry? What the hell could you possibly have to be sorry for? I’m sick, literally sick that you had to go through any of this…and even more so to know that I’ve sat down and ate meals with this freak. He swam in our pool, he rode our horses…I want to snap his fucking neck!”
Chloe stood up and put her hands on his shoulders.
“Me too,” she said. “I try really hard not to dwell on the past and just move forward…but I also never want to forget, because if I do, it could happen all over again.”
“No,” Derek said. His blue eyes were so dark that they were almost black with the rage he was feeling. “No, it will never happen to you again. I’m going to make damn sure of that.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I’ve worked hard over the past few years to make sure of it myself.”
“How long did you live with this maniac?”
“For two years,” she said.
“And it was like that all the time?”
“Not constantly. I’m sure you’ve read enough books and seen enough movies to know how abuse works. He would be profusely apologetic the next day when he sobered up. He would send me flowers or buy me a new necklace or ring. None of it made me feel any better…but I didn’t have anywhere else to go and I didn’t have anyone to talk to. I had a friend from high school, Chantelle. She was the only real friend I ever had and I never even told her about my father. I was so ingrained to believe it was my fault and I was so ashamed. I didn’t tell her about Jesse either, for a long time. It got harder and harder to tell anyone anything. Jesse started monitoring everything I did and if I came home from school one minute later than he thought I should, he would accuse me of screwing around and nine times out of ten, I’d get punched or beaten. I missed a lot of school because he wouldn’t allow me to leave the house with visible bruises. As time went on, he got better at it and he started leaving them low…unless he was really drunk and really pissed.”
“So, you told me that he was in prison for trying to kill you. Who called the police?”
“Chantelle did,” Chloe said. “On my twentyfirst birthday, I asked Jesse if I could go out to lunch with her. He was in a good mood. He gave me a few hundred dollars and told me to make a day of it. Chantelle picked me up and we went to the mall and we had lunch and did some shopping. I was usually so careful by then, not to be later than he expected me getting home…but I got carried away that day, and I think I also believe that there was no way he’d hit me on my birthday.
Anyways, she dropped me off a couple of hours later than I’d told him I would be. When I got upstairs and opened the door, I saw that he’d ordered Chinese food. He had the table set and a bottle of Champagne chilling…he did, anyways. The bottle was empty and he was sitting at the table with that look on his face he always got before I got beat. It reminded me of someone who was possessed. Something inside of me snapped and I tried to run. I heard him running after me and I’d almost made it to the bottom of the stairs when I ran into Chantelle. I’d forgotten a bag in her car and she was bringing it up to me. She could see how upset I was and one look on Jesse’s face and she knew what was going on. I think she’d always suspected it.
“Kelly, go get in my car,” she said.
“Don’t even think about it,” Jesse whispered up against the side of Kelly’s face. She could feel his hot, heavy breaths against her neck.
“It’s okay, Chantelle, go on. I’ll be fine,” Kelly said trying to sound like maybe her and Jesse we
re just having some fun. She didn’t want Chantelle involved in her mess.
“I’m not leaving you here,” Chantelle said.
Jesse kissed Kelly on the side of her face and let his hands slide around her waist and come to rest on her abdomen. He looked at Chantelle then and said, “She said she’s fine. Now get your skanky, lesbian ass out of here. Kelly and I have a birthday to celebrate.”
Chantelle turned her eyes back on Kelly’s face. Kelly tried to smile. “Thank you for today, Chantelle. I’ll call you.” Chantelle gave Jesse another dirty look and she turned and went to her car. Jesse took Kelly by the arm and drug her up the stairs and back into the apartment. As soon as he closed the door, he slapped her across the face. Then he picked her back up and pushed her over towards the table.
“Do you see what I did for you, you fucking nasty cunt?”
“I’m sorry, Jesse. I didn’t mean to be late.”
“Fuck you and your sorry bitch! I don’t know why I put up with you in the first place. I have to fucking tell you how to dress and what to eat and when your ass is getting too fat. You’re a terrible cook and an even worse fuck…shit, I’d get more response from a fucking blow-up doll. Yet for some reason, out of the goodness of my heart I pay all of your fucking bills and do things like this for you while you’re out with that lesbian cunt probably licking pussy all afternoon.”
“Jesse…”
“Shut up!” He started to raise his arm when there was a knock on the door.
“NYPD, open up!” Jessie leaned down close to Kelly’s ear and said, “This is where you decide to live or die, bitch.” He straightened his clothes, ran his hand through his hair and went over and pulled open the door. Two uniformed officers stood there.
“Hello officers, how can I help you?”
“We had a report of a disturbance. Can we come in?”
“Sure,” Jesse said with a smile. “My girlfriend and I were celebrating her birthday. We may have gotten carried away. Sorry about that.”
“What’s your name sir?” The officer asked Jesse. Jesse smiled even brighter and said,”Jesse Donovan. I’m Vince Donovan’s son. The district attorney.”
The officers looked at each other and one of them went over where Kelly was now sitting at the table. He looked around at the Chinese food and candles and the unwrapped gift and bouquet of roses and said, “It’s your birthday?”
“Yes,” she said. She tried to smile, but she wasn’t sure if it was working or not.
“Happy birthday,” he said. “Is everything okay here?”
“It’s great,” she said. “My boyfriend did all of this for me.”
The officers asked a few more questions, but it was pretty obvious once Vince Donovan’s name was mentioned they were leaving this alone. When they were gone, Jesse walked over and stood next to Kelly. She could feel the trickle of sweat down the side of her face.
He leaned down close again and said, “Good bitch. Now eat.” He grabbed her by the back of her head and shoved her face into the plate. “Eat it!” He used her hair to move her from container to container, making her take a bite of each one. It was smeared on her face and in her hair and she was choking on it by the time he was done.
He picked up the champagne bottle then and turned it upside down. “I’m sorry; I started the party without you. I tell you what, if you’re a good girl in the bedroom, I’ll let you have your present and a drink of water.”
He grabbed her head and pulled her up against him and kissed her lips. Kelly felt like she wanted to gag, but she’d learned at the tender age of ten that wasn’t a good idea. Then he took the magnum champagne bottle and rubbed it against her pants between her legs and said, “Come on, birthday girl…let’s go have some fun.”
Kelly had to miss two days of school after that night and to this day, she wasn’t sure how much damage he actually did with that champagne bottle. Whether or not she could have children was anyone’s guess.
Derek’s fists were clutched tightly at his sides when she paused and looked at him. He had sweat forming across his brow and his chest was rising and falling heavily. Finally, he said, “So your friend called the police?”
“Yes. That time…and then the last time. The time he really did try and kill me.”
“But that first time, between his threat to kill you and his mention of his daddy, it was pretty much pointless to say anything I take it.”
“Yes,” she said.
Derek dropped down into one of the chairs and covered his face with his hands. He sat there like that for a few seconds and when he looked back up he was pale. “God, I’m so fucking sick over this. I’m so sorry, Chloe. God, I’m so sorry!”
Chloe went over to him and sitting in the chair next to him, she took his hands in hers. “Look at me,” she said. He did and she said, “I spent three years doing everything I could to overcome this. I don’t intend to turn back now. I don’t want you to be sorry for me…I just need you to understand two things: The first one is that although I’m here with you and I feel safe at this moment, I still don’t fully trust you. I couldn’t honestly tell you that I will ever be able to. The second reason is: If Jesse finds me I intend to protect myself this time. I intend to do whatever it takes to keep him from ever hurting me again.”
Derek’s blue eyes were almost black again as he said, “He won’t ever lay a finger on you again.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jesse and his dad drove up in front of the luxury high rise where his father rented him an apartment.
“I had them stock the pantry for you, son. There’s a debit card in the office on the desk. I transferred funds into it until you’re able to get back on your feet. I have a meeting I have to get to, but I think you should have everything you need for now.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Your mother would like to see you for dinner tomorrow night at seven. Your car is in the garage.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Jesse?”
“Yeah?”
“Please leave things alone with Kelly.”
“I can’t just stop loving her,” he said, as sincerely as he could.
He couldn’t flat out lie and say that he’d leave her alone. His parents would be keeping a close eye on him now and he’d have to have an explanation for why he was out of town.
“I just want to talk to her, Dad. You know that I wouldn’t hurt her, right? I was drunk. I’m sober now. I didn’t even drink the Pruno in prison. You know that I’m not some homicidal maniac, right?”
That part, Jesse firmly believed. He wouldn’t kill just anyone. He didn’t have that in him. But Kelly asked for it…no, she begged for it. She was worthless and killing her would actually be doing society a favor.
“Of course,” Vince said. Jesse didn’t think his father sounded too sincere and it pissed him off a little bit. Then he said, “I’m worried about you, not her.”
“Don’t,” Jesse told him. “I won’t do anything that lands me back in jail, okay? It’s not like I have any immediate plans anyways.” That was a lie. Jesse had been planning this reunion for two years. He couldn’t wait.
Vince nodded again. Jesse smiled at his father and Vince smiled back and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, son.”
“It’s good to be back,” he said. He got out of the car with his things and watched his father drive away.
He took his pathetic box of belongings and made his way up the fourteenth floor where his apartment was. He dropped his things inside the door and glanced around. It was huge with floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto the city. He glanced over at the granite counters and saw his keys sitting there and smiled. He made his way down the hall and found the office his father mentioned. The debit card was there on the desk. He picked it up and put it in his wallet. Then he pulled a picture out of it before putting it back in his pocket. It was a photo of him and Kelly that had been taken on a trip when they went to Martha’s Vineyard.
> He traced his thumb across the lines of her smiling face. He wondered if she knew he was out, or was the stupid little bitch still smiling, thinking that she’s safe? He marveled at how she thought she was smarter than him. Moving to a different state and changing her name did absolutely nothing for her because she was stupid enough to turn up at a place where his father was. She had to know that Vince would tell him. The thought of her living in terror sent a surge of adrenaline through his veins. His life was ruined because of her. For that, she was going to sacrifice hers. First, he had some business here in New York to deal with.
He sat down at the desk. He turned on the computer and once it loaded he typed in “People Search.” That offered him millions of hits. He clicked on one that said, “Find anyone, anywhere.” He typed in Chantelle Taylor, proud of himself for his memory. He’d only been privy to her last name the day the cunt had come into his lawyer’s office for her deposition.
It was burned into his memory now. The search engine returned three of them. It was easy to narrow down because two of them were over fifty. Then he had to pay the $9.99 fee in order to get the full address. He put in the information off of the debit card and less than two minutes later he had all of her information. She still lived in New York, in a walk-up apartment in Washington Heights. It was convenient since the site also told him that she was employed by the State of New York at the satellite D.A.’s office in Washington Heights. Imagine that.
He wondered how much information the nosy little bitch had been feeding to Kelly about him over the past two years. He would have to ask her when they met. He looked that office up since he wasn’t aware of it. It seemed that it was a new branch his father had created and it dealt with immigrant affairs, domestic violence and witness support. He was shaking his head, wondering how many other lives Chantelle had ruined by not minding her own business. He wrote down her home address and left the apartment.
It felt good to be behind the wheel of his luxury sports car again. He drove with the top down, breathing in the “free” air. There were so many things that Kelly took away from him, driving and breathing fresh air were two of them. There were so many reasons that she needed to pay for what she’d done. He had a list as a matter of fact. While he sat behind bars and his future all but disappeared because of her, he’d made a list. He’d even alphabetized it. Pay, she would…in good time.
