The Raven Room

by Ana Medeiros

  Less than an hour later Meredith was in Julian’s living room. She texted him, asking for an update, but he didn’t reply. Unable to sit still, she approached the window. The sun was setting and the view was beautiful. Pressing her palms to the glass, she let her eyes take in the array of red, yellow, and purple tones across the sky. Meredith stood, losing herself in the purity of the moment. There was no murder, no club, no Alana, no Julian. Just her and the cold glass against her skin, the city beneath her, the blend of bright colors slowly changing around her. The sound of footsteps pulled her out of her trance and threw her back into everything she wanted to run away from.

  “Meredith? Are you here?”

  The urgency in Julian’s voice confirmed her fears.

  She met him in the hall. They hadn’t seen each other for a while and Meredith couldn’t stop herself from taking a moment to take in his appearance. He was wearing track pants, a grey hoodie and a pair of running shoes. His face was unshaven and his dark hair, longer than she had ever seen before, was starting to curl at the base of his neck. There was now a palpable grittiness to him that she hadn’t noticed before.

  “I couldn’t find her,” he replied, almost out of breath. “I drove through the whole area. No sign of her.”

  “Goddammit.” Meredith walked past Julian and sat on the bed. She stared at the floor for a while, trying to think. When she looked up, Julian was standing in front of her. She saw confusion and anger in his eyes. She prepared herself for what would come next.

  “Start talking,” he demanded.

  “Alana is using someone else’s identity. The real Alana died of leukemia five years ago and, let me tell you, she doesn’t look at all like the Alana you and I both know,” she paused, trying not to sound nervous, “the police are going to arrest her on identity theft charges.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “My stepmom.”

  “And how the fuck does your stepmom know about Alana? Why did she tell you?”

  “Because I told her about Alana.”

  For a brief moment neither of them spoke.

  “You told her about Alana?” Julian repeated.

  “I wanted to find out more about you and I told my stepmom you were a member of The Raven Room and you were going to take me.” Meredith was speaking calmly, her steady voice not more than a desperate attempt not to look pitiful. “I wanted to find out where Sofia and Tatia might be so I asked her to look into their whereabouts,” she added, not avoiding his seething gaze. “I told her I had seen Alana with Steven Thompson at the club, knowing she would look into her and come across an address. I wanted to pass that address on to you.”

  When Julian glared at her instead of speaking, Meredith took the opportunity to continue. “I never revealed to her your relationship with Alana. Or what happened when I made my way into the basement of the club or why you really go there.” She couldn’t tell what Julian was thinking, but his tight jaw and threatening stare made her believe he was ready to lash out at her. She would not dare mention the piece she was writing on him and The Raven Room.

  There was heavy silence again. “It was a mistake,” she added, sounding regretful. “I should have never told her anything. I’m sorry.”

  Julian’s eyes, fixed on hers, were deepening her uneasiness. Instead of filling the silence with a slew of apologies, Meredith remained quiet, staring at him from the bed.

  Julian walked toward her, only stopping when her knees were digging into his thighs. He touched her hair and then moved his hand along her neck, to caress her cheek. She didn’t take her eyes away from his but all of her attention was on his fingers, stroking her.

  “You lied to me. You betrayed my trust.”

  Meredith chose not to reply. Julian spoke in a smooth tone that sent a chill down her spine. She hadn’t flinched or backed away but her whole body was tense, waiting for a gesture or movement from him that would make her react.

  “You’re afraid of me.”

  She was barely breathing. “I’m not afraid of you, Julian. What could you possibly do to me? Hit me? Cut me?” Her voiced was now as smooth as his. “I would like to see you try.”

  “I won’t do any of those things to you, Meredith. But I’m going to break your heart. Like you just broke mine.”

  Her eyes never left his. She felt his warm breath on her hair, their faces unbearably close together. Now was not the time for her to cry. “We have to find Alana. The club…she might be there tonight.”

  Julian didn't reply. He continued to caress her cheek.

  “I’ll go with you,” Meredith added.

  He laughed, a bitter and hollow sound. “After everything you told me, do you think I would take you?” He shook his head. “I can’t.”

  Meredith pulled back, her intense blue eyes meeting his. “You don’t want to take me?” she asked, trying to take pleasure in her words. “Then don’t. It doesn’t matter how many times we hurt each other. Right now, I’m still the only one who can help you.”

  Chapter 24

  Julian scanned his key and entered his four-digit code on the keypad. Hearing the sound of the door unlocking, he made his way inside. He was now in the lowest underground level, the birthplace of the club, The Raven Room.

  It was busy, several people sitting in the main area, chatting and laughing. A man, dressed in a dark blue suit, was holding a glass of wine in one hand and a leash in the other. Julian glanced behind him and as soon as he looked at the floor he saw the woman. Fully naked, with her buzzed haircut. She was sitting on her heels, with her hands folded on her lap and downcast eyes. The thin chain was attached to a metal loop on the leather collar around her neck. With the collar against her striking pale skin, and several red welts on her breasts and thighs, the woman was impossible to miss. She probably hadn’t been outside for months. Julian had to turn away. She no longer looked human to him.

  Someone had decided to use the vintage vinyl record player in the corner and the music coming from it was both soft and somber. It was an old blues song and it made Julian think of the many rainy Sunday afternoons he had spent in his condo admiring Chicago’s skyline, wondering if, once it got dark, he would find the resolve to stay away from The Raven Room.

  Julian hadn’t seen Alana in the other areas of the club and although he had never seen her down there, it was the last place for him to search. Desperate to locate her, part of him wanted her to be there but a bigger part of him hoped that she wasn’t.

  Walking down the corridor awash in red light, he found the doors to many of the soundproof rooms locked shut. He wondered if Alana was behind one of them. But unless he waited to see who came out, there was no way to know. Reaching the end, he turned around and decided to return to the main area, figuring that anyone coming or going would have to come past him. He was about to exit the corridor when one of the first doors opened and a woman emerged. A few steps behind her, Julian was unable to see her face, but he didn’t have to. With the long, wild hair he was certain it was Alana. He reached for her arm, turning her around to face him. She had made Julian promise to never approach her at the club but he wouldn’t be able to honor that promise any longer.

  She stared up at him with a shocked look. Julian took in the tangled hair, the black mascara smudged around her eyes, the sheer lace dress she wore with nothing underneath. “You’re leaving with me. Right now,” he said, keeping his voice as low as possible. He didn’t let go of her arm.

  “Take your fucking hands off me,” she replied, in the same tone as him. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  She tried to move away from him but Julian tightened his grip. He knew he was bruising her. “Stop,” he warned, bringing his body closer to hers. “If you don’t, you’ll end up in jail.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t care what your real name is but the police know you stole someone’s identity. They know you come to the club. It’s not safe.” Julian was whispering, not wanting the others around
then to overhear.

  “Go to hell, Reeve.”

  Julian was about to drag her toward one the empty rooms, so he could talk to her and calm her down, when the door of the room she had walked out of opened and he suddenly found himself face–to-face with Steven Thompson.

  “Did you find …?” Thompson started to say, but stopped himself when he saw Julian and Alana. His eyes moved between the two.

  Alana took the opportunity to escape Julian’s grasp. “Let’s get back inside,” she said to Thompson as she rested both of her hands on his chest and gently pushed him.

  “She’s leaving with me.” Julian took a step forward and grabbed Alana’s arm again.

  “What the fuck is going on, huh? Did you lie to me?” Thompson asked, looking at Alana.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, giving him a nervous smile.

  The image of Alana trying to dissipate Thompson’s anger made Julian clench his jaw. He tugged on Alana, pulling her away from Thompson. But the other man didn’t hesitate; lifting his right hand he slapped Alana so hard that, even in Julian’s grasp, she was thrown in the opposite direction. Her body made an ugly, hollow sound as it hit the wall. Seeing Alana crumpled to the ground, Julian’s anger took over.

  He launched himself at Thompson, punching him repeatedly. Thompson was older than Julian and, not expecting the attack, tried to protect himself from the onslaught. Lost in his rage and no longer aware of his surroundings, Julian continued to pummel Thompson until three security guards physically pulled him off the man. As the guards dragged Julian away from the corridor toward one of the emergency exits, Julian struggled against them.

  “I can’t leave her behind…No! He’s going to hurt her,” he screamed. “Alana!”

  The guards ignored his cries and it didn’t matter how hard Julian fought. He couldn’t overcome them. Before being dragged out of The Raven Room, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Alana trying to stand up, using the wall for support. There was a fourth security guard standing by her. Thompson had his eyes on Julian.

  “She’s mine,” Thompson yelled, wiping the blood off of his chin. “You hear me? She’s mine to do whatever the fuck I want.”

  Julian continued to shout, calling out for Alana but it was no use. Before he knew it he was outside, in one of Chinatown’s many dark back alleys. The security guards threw him against a brick wall and one of them had him by the throat.

  “You know this type of behavior is not accepted.”

  As soon as the guard said that his fist met Julian’s face multiple times. Before Julian could react, he felt a couple of punches to his side. The pain of his ribs cracking made him heave. When the two other men let him go, he slumped to the snow-covered ground. On his hands and knees Julian coughed, spitting out blood. He touched his cheek and winced, feeling the deep cut. The burning pain in his side made Julian take a series of shallow breaths.

  He could still hear the sound of Thompson’s hand coming in contact with Alana’s face and her body hitting the wall. The images of her on the floor, struggling to stand up, would be forever imprinted on his mind. Julian clenched his fists. No matter what, he was going to take Alana away from Thompson and make sure she never went to The Raven Room again.

  • • •

  Meredith had just opened a beer when she heard someone struggling to open the front door. After Julian had refused to take her with him to the club, they had agreed she should stay over at his place, in case Alana were to show up. She had chain-smoked for hours, pacing back and forth. Now, at almost three in the morning, she hoped it was Julian and Alana coming through the front door.

  She entered the foyer just as Julian managed to step inside the condo. She gasped. “What the fuck happened?” Meredith ran toward him, helping him into the living room and onto the couch. “Julian, speak to me. What happened?”

  “I’m fine. Just looks bad.”

  “Are you kidding me? You’re not fine. You have to tell me what happened.” Julian’s clothes were ruined, especially his shirt. It was covered in blood. “Now!” she added, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, across from him.

  “Alana was at The Raven Room with Thompson. She wouldn’t leave with me. He hit her and I fucking lost it on him. As security was taking me out they did this to my face. I went to the New Jackson again but she never showed up. I couldn’t stay because of the police.”

  Meredith ran both of her hands through her hair. “Fucker! I hope you bashed Thompson’s face in.”

  “Don’t worry, he looks worse than I do.”

  “We have to go look for her,” she said. “We’ll drive around the club and the New Jackson. Maybe we’ll spot her.”

  “I’ll go by myself.”

  “Don’t be stupid. One of your eyes is so swollen you can barely see and, by the way you’re sitting, it looks like you might have a couple of cracked ribs. I’m coming with you and that’s the end of it.”

  Julian didn’t try to argue with her and Meredith sprung to action, helping him change into a pair of jeans and a sweater. She gave him two extra-strength painkillers and tended to his face, cleaning the deep cut on his cheek. They both figured he had a couple of broken ribs but couldn’t come to a consensus on whether his nose was also broken.

  They were out the door and inside of his car in less than twenty minutes.

  “I’m sure she’s okay,” Meredith said, glancing at Julian, who was sitting very still in the passenger seat. “Alana is tougher than she looks.”

  “She’s five-foot-one and less than a hundred pounds. That’s how tough she is.”

  Meredith wrapped her hands tightly around the steering wheel. “We’ll find her, Julian.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Why did she refuse to leave the club with you?”

  “I had promised her I would never approach her there. I broke my promise.”

  “You had a good reason to.”

  “That’s not how she saw it.”

  They were driving west, toward the hotel. “She’s going to tell us everything,” Meredith paused, her attention on the sidewalk, “holy shit! I think that’s her…yes! That’s her.”

  “What?” Julian asked, shifting on his seat. “Where?”

  “Right there.” Meredith pointed toward the lone figure walking on the sidewalk.

  “What the fuck…?” he started to say. “Pull over!”

  Meredith quickly pulled the car to the curb. Without turning off the engine, they both got out and made their way toward Alana. Julian was the first to get close to her and as soon as she saw him she started to back away.

  “It’s me,” Julian said, his hands outstretched in front of him.

  It was dark and Meredith only saw Alana’s face when Alana stepped back and the light from a storefront made it visible. The image caused Meredith to cover her mouth with her hand. She heard Julian curse violently.

  Alana’s face was bloodied and swollen. She was struggling to hold herself up and the closer Julian got to her, the more scared she became.

  Meredith touched his shoulder. “Let me try,” she whispered.

  He nodded, glancing away.

  “It’s me, sweetheart, Meredith.” She kept her voice low, trying to sound non-threatening. “Please let us help you. We just want to help you. No one is going to hurt you. I promise.”

  Alana was now almost on the ground, with one arm against the wall and the other folded over her stomach. She wanted to stay upright but her body was not cooperating.

  “We’re going to help you, okay?” Tentatively, Meredith got close enough to her that she was able to touch Alana’s hair. “Can you hear me? We just want to help you.”

  “No hospital,” Alana said, almost choking on the words. “Don’t take me to the hospital.”

  “We won’t. But we need you to come with us so you’re no longer on the street, alright? We’ll get you out of those clothes, clean you up and give you something to ease the pain. No hospital, thou
gh. We promise.”

  Meredith extended her hand to Alana and she took it. She turned to Julian and, with a small gesture of her head, summoned him closer. She watched as he put one arm around Alana’s shoulders and the other one under her legs, scooping her up against his chest. As he lifted her, Meredith heard Julian grunt with pain from his broken ribs.

  “She’s out,” he said as Meredith opened the car door so Julian could lay Alana down on the backseat. “She needs to been seen by a doctor.”

  “We can’t take her to the hospital,” Meredith replied, walking around the car. “If we do they’ll call the cops and she’ll be arrested.”

  “We don’t know how badly she’s hurt.” Julian had joined Alana on the back seat, her head resting on his lap.

  “Your friend,” Meredith said, merging into the road and then turning right onto the next street. “Isn’t he a doctor? Call him and tell him to meet us at your place.”

  “I can’t involve Pete in this.”

  “Julian,” Meredith paused, banging her hand on the steering wheel and looking at him through the rear-view mirror, “we can’t take Alana to the hospital and we don’t know how to help her ourselves. There’s no option. Pick up the fucking phone and call him. Right now.”

  She saw Julian consider what she had just said.

  “My phone is at the club. I need yours,” he finally said.

  “It’s in here.” She passed him her large tote.

  Meredith heard Julian digging frantically inside her bag and spilling half of the contents onto the floor.

  “Fucking hell. Why can’t you carry a normal sized bag?”

  “Are you for real?” She was close to screaming. “If I wasn’t driving right now, I’d kick your ass.” She switched on the car’s overhead light. “Here!”

  With the help of the added brightness, Julian found the phone and he dialed Peter. Meredith tried to calm down, hoping Julian’s friend would pick up. After a heated back and forth, ridden with curses, promises and threats from both sides, Peter agreed to come over to Julian’s place.