Playing with Fire

by Amy O'Neill

  Two things happened to her in that moment. On the inside she was jumping up and down for joy. But on the outside her face was void of emotion; she widened her eyes and faked shock. “I don’t know what yur talkin’ about Lenny.”

  He smacked her across the face. “Don’t give me that shit you lying whore. I know you told him. Him and a bunch of state boys just showed up to my daddy’s house. They got him under arrest for kidnapping.”

  Noelle shook her head, and blew her hair out of her face. “I never told him exactly where we lived. But the fact that your daddy’s the sheriff shouldn’t make it too hard to track him down. Let alone you got arrested and they got your address that way.”

  Lenny grabbed her chin hard and she knew she’d have a bruise from it. “Are you sassing me woman? You think you can run off to the big city and come back all smart mouthed? You got another thing coming.”

  Lenny reached for his belt and nearly had it out of all the loops on his pants when someone pounded on the front door.

  “Arkansas State Police. Leonard Dunlap come out with your hands up.”

  Lenny pressed himself against the wall near the front door. “Screw you. I ain’t coming out.”

  The stern voice continued on the other side, “Mr. Dunlap, release your hostage now or we will be forced to kick in the door.”

  Lenny told them what he thought with a string of profanity. Noelle let out a scream. “Get me outta here!”

  Lenny rushed over and covered her mouth. “Shut the hell up. I swear I will kill you dead right here and now. Keep your mouth shut.”

  The voice outside called in to her. “Miss Dupre, are you alright?”

  Lenny pulled the gun out of his pants and pointed it at her. “I’d think really carefully before I speak.”

  She nodded. Her mouth felt dry and she had to lick her lips before she could talk. “Yeah. Yes I’m alright.”

  The sounds of footsteps outside the house could be heard as police shuffled through the tall grass. Noelle tried to reason with Lenny. “You know they are surrounding us right now. That’s them outside. Just open the door and stop this before it gets outta hand.”

  He grabbed her arm and placed the gun close to her chest. “Remember when I said shut up? Now would be a good time to do that. I don’t need you telling me what they’re doing, Sherlock.”

  Time ticked by for what seemed like hours. Noelle knew not to look at any of the clocks on the wall; their batteries had all died years ago. The lights flickered and then went dark.

  Lenny laughed. “Those assholes just cut the power. Don’t they know we can still survive in here with the kerosene heaters? Morons.”

  The only moron Noelle could see was Lenny, thinking he’d wait out the cops. The heater would only keep them warm for so long once the cold Arkansas night came.

  Her arms started to go numb so she wiggled her shoulders and tried to flex her fingers.

  Lenny headed down the hallway to the closet and took out one of the heaters. He brought it back into the living room, set it up in the middle of the room, and turned it on. The smell of the kerosene filled the small space and made Noelle feel lightheaded.

  “Lenny, can you please untie me for a minute? I can’t feel nothing but pins and needles on my arms.”

  Lenny glared at her. “You’re fine. You wouldn’t be tied up if you’d just kept yur ass here in the first place. Did you seriously think I wasn’t gonna find you?”

  Noelle turned her head and ignored him. Within three stomps be was back at her side, grabbing her sore chin again. “You answer me when I talk to you.”

  Noelle gave him an innocent look. “But you been telling me shut up all damn day.”

  Lenny struck her again. Her lip was swelling more and more with each hit, she wiped the corner of her mouth on her shoulder and wasn’t surprised to see the blood left in its trail.

  “You think you’re real smart don’t ya? You ain’t smart, you ain’t funny, and you ain’t cute. You are nothing but a worthless waste of space. I don’t know why the hell I tracked ya down except that I’m too lazy to want to train someone else to pick up after me.”

  Noelle just shook her head. At least he admitted he was lazy. “You never loved me did you? I mean ever?”

  Lenny shrugged and looked like he was pondering his answer. “I think at first you were alright. Your cooking is edible and you clean better than me, which ain’t saying much by the looks of the place.”

  Noelle stared at him. “Then why the hell keep me here? If you know I don’t wanna be here and you think I’m only passably alright, why go through all this?”

  Lenny leered at her and the look made her skin crawl. “Because I can. Because you like the way I treat you, if you didn’t you woulda left a long time ago.”

  Noelle shook her head. “You are outta your ever loving mind. The only reason I left now was because I could finally afford it. If I’d saved my money before I woulda been done and gone years ago.”

  Lenny hit her upside the head. “Quit yapping already. I’m sick of listening to ya carrying on.”

  The fighter in Noelle finally broke loose and she kicked Lenny in the crotch. He fell to the ground, clutching his jewels and gasping for breath. But he managed to wheeze out, “You bitch.”

  “Oh, you don’t like that? Let me hit you again, like you do me.”

  Noelle kicked again, this time her foot connected with his face and his head snapped back. While he was down she tried wiggling out of the handcuffs and nearly succeeded until he lunged for her again.

  She lunged right back and was able to lift herself off the couch with enough force that when her shoulder rammed into his stomach, it knocked them both backward until he landed on his back with a thud and a curse.

  In the brief scuffle, Lenny had knocked over the heater. Noelle rolled off him just as the kerosene ignited. She let out a scream and stepped away from the fire. Unfortunately, it was between her and the only exit.

  She struggled for another minute with the handcuffs and finally got one hand out. She covered her face with her arm and coughed as the flames spread rapidly through the room.

  Noelle looked back toward the door, and now Lenny also blocked her path – Lenny and his gun. “Bitch, you ain’t getting outta here alive unless it’s over my dead body.”

  The flames rose again and the smoke thickened so that Noelle could no longer see Lenny six feet away. She turned toward the window and struggled to open it.

  Panic and chaos took over the next few moments until the sound of two gun shots broke through and Noelle dropped to the ground.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Rhythmic beeping broke through the fog that clouded Noelle’s mind. Slowly she opened her eyes, but the pain was too great. It hurt to breath and her lungs felt as if they were raw.

  She listened for other noises around her, but all she heard was the incessant beep and the occasional scuffling of shoes outside her door. A moment later, footsteps approached her bed on the left. Noelle dared to open one eye and saw LuAnn walking toward her bedside.

  The déjà vu stole Noelle’s breath for a moment. She wondered if somehow she’d dreamt about California and Trent and Delphine, but the whole time had been in a hospital bed in Batesville.

  She closed her eyes and felt the tears fall. To think it had all been in her head was heartbreaking.

  LuAnn patted her arm. “Now, now. It’s gonna be alright. You’re alive and we are so thankful for that.”

  “Oh LuAnn. I had the craziest dream. I swear, I thought you helped me get away and I had this great new life in California and then Lenny …”

  More footsteps approached the bed and a soothing hand wiped the tears from her face. “Mi amor, don’t cry. LuAnn is right, everything is gonna be fine.”

  Noelle’s eyes flew open and she nearly jumped out of the bed to hug Trent. “Oh my God. I thought I’d dreamt the whole thing.”

  Trent smiled that dimpled smile and shook his head. “I’m as real as they come. How a
re you feeling?”

  She shrugged. “My head is killing me and I feel like I’ve been smoking longer than Delphine. How did I get out of there?”

  It was then that Noelle noticed the bandage on Trent’s right arm. “What happened to you? Are you alright?”

  Trent and LuAnn calmed her down and LuAnn laughed. “That’s my girl. Always worrying about other people. As far as you getting out, once the cops heard the gun shots they broke through the door. Lenny fired one shot at you but missed through all the smoke, and then he killed himself before the cops could get to him.”

  Silence filled the room for a moment, and though Noelle would never understand why Lenny had treated her so badly for so long, she was still sad at the loss of a life, however misguided it was.

  Trent leaned over and kissed her forehead. “You passed out from the smoke inhalation. As soon as the state boys got in and they saw to Lenny, I charged in looking for you. I got burnt as I was helping another officer carry you out.”

  The tears really fell then. It was one thing for Trent to tell her he loved her, and for her to feel his love, but it was a whole new ballgame for her to know he’d meant what he said about risking his life to save her.

  “I don’t know whether to kiss you for saving me or smack you for putting yourself in danger.”

  Trent gently cupped her face, my vote is the first option. He kissed her softly, slowly, as if he were afraid of hurting her. LuAnn’s coughs broke them apart.

  “Sorry to break up the little love fest ya’ll got going on, but Miss Noelle here really does need some rest.”

  Noelle clasped LuAnn’s hand. “I’ve missed you. I hope Lenny and his dad didn’t cause you too much trouble.”

  LuAnn waved her off. “Nothing this ol’ bird can’t handle. Now, I’m gonna go grab an extra blanket for lover boy here as long as he promises to sleep in the chair and not try to get in bed with you.”

  Trent actually blushed. “Yes, ma’am.”

  LuAnn nodded curtly and walked out. Noelle laughed and shook her head. “I never realized how much Delphine is like her. I wonder if they are long lost relatives.”

  Trent laughed. “Lord I hope not. One Delphine is more than enough!”

  LuAnn returned a moment later and waited as Trent settled into the reclining chair in the corner. “Now when I come back in the morning, you better be right where I left you.”

  Trent nodded and flashed her a smile. “Yes ma’am.”

  LuAnn blushed and turned to Noelle with a wink. “Honey, if things don’t work out, you just pass him right on along to me.”

  Noelle shook her head. “Oh no ma’am. I’m keepin’ this one.”

  LuAnn bent down and whispered to Noelle, “Honey, I am so happy for you, and your momma is smiling like crazy up there in Heaven.”

  Noelle nodded. “Yeah, I know. She’d really like Trent too, I think.”

  LuAnn nodded. “Yeah she would. Just knowing he puts that smile on your face would be enough for her. You make sure you keep that smile no matter what.”

  “Yes ma’am. And you make sure you come out and visit me. We’ll always have a place for you.”

  LuAnn kissed Noelle’s forehead and said goodnight. Trent waited for another five minutes before he got up and motioned for Noelle to slide over.

  “LuAnn can yell at me in the morning if she wants, but right now all I want is to hold you in my arms. It’s been a long few days.”

  Noelle smiled and sighed when he wrapped his arm around her. “Yes it has. I’m just glad it’s really over. No more looking over my shoulder, no more waiting for the other shoe to drop. I can finally get on with life.”

  Trent kissed her. “For now, let’s just get some sleep. I think tomorrow may be a long day, too.”

  Noelle’s brow arched. “Really? How so?”

  Trent winked. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  Truth be told, Noelle didn’t care what tomorrow brought because she knew Trent would be right by her side through it all.

  Safe and back in his arms, she slept like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  Trent hugged LuAnn goodbye and promised, for the umpteenth time, to keep Noelle happy. It was a promise he’d gladly keep.

  He got in the car and let Noelle and LuAnn say their goodbyes in private. He knew how much Noelle would miss her, and now that there were no worries about Lenny or his father, Trent knew he’d be bringing Noelle back to visit again soon.

  Noelle got into the car and wiped a tear from her eye. Trent picked up her hand and kissed it. “We’ll be back. And she’s already said she’d love to come out over Christmas.”

  Noelle nodded and swallowed visibly. “I know. It’s just bittersweet to leave her this time. I’m just overly emotional lately.”

  Trent chuckled and put the car in drive. “Mi amor, you’ve been through a lot lately. You have every right to be emotional.”

  Noelle shrugged and rested her head against his shoulder. “I’ll just be glad to get things back to normal. Poor Delphine is probably having fits without me.”

  Trent kissed the top of her head and cleared his throat. “About that … the ‘back to normal’ thing. What if when we go back we have a new normal?”

  Noelle sat up straighter and gave him a questioning look. “What do you mean? You don’t want me to quit on Delphine do you? ‘Cause I won’t do that.”

  Trent shook his head. “Calm down, mi amor. I wouldn’t ever suggest it. I will never tell you what you can and can’t do. You are your own person and I want you to do what makes you happy.”

  She smiled and kissed him. “You make me happy.”

  He grinned. “Well then I hope to make you even happier. What do you think about when we get back that you move in with me permanently?”

  Noelle’s smile widened. “I think I can live with that.”

  Trent’s brow arched. “Oh really? Then what if I added … as my wife?”

  Noelle’s mouth fell open.

  Trent pulled off to the side of the expressway and turned to fully face her. He waited a moment, but all she did was stare at him in disbelief. “So, is that a no?”

  Noelle shook her head. “No. It’s a yes. I mean yes I wanna be your wife!”

  She threw her arms around his neck and he was glad he remembered to put the car in park. She laughed and kissed him repeatedly.

  “Delphine is gonna love this. She can help me plan the wedding and lord knows what she’ll come up with!”

  Trent kissed her again and waited for her to stop bouncing in her seat. “What if we don’t do a big wedding? I mean what if we get married on our own and then have a big party. I know she’d love to help you plan that.”

  Noelle eyed him a moment. “You mean like you and I get hitched somewhere like Vegas or something?”

  Trent shrugged then nodded. “Well yeah. That sounds good to me. I just don’t want to go any longer than I have to without being your husband.”

  Noelle shook her head. “Delphine was right. She told me to be careful getting you anywhere near Vegas or else you were gonna stop and marry me.”

  Trent caressed her face. “Noelle, I love you more than anything.”

  Noelle kissed him. “I love you too. And I don’t wanna wait either. So you better get this car to a chapel as fast as possible.”

  Trent put the car in drive again and merged back into traffic. He got onto I-40 and headed toward Vegas. “If we stop tonight and rest, we should be there sometime tomorrow night. Is that soon enough for you?”

  Noelle looked like she was thinking about it. “I suppose that’ll work. As long as we get to practice the wedding night tonight.”

  Trent shook his head and laughed. “That’s my girl.”

  Late the following evening, Noelle looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror of their motel room. She smoothed her hand over the white silk corset and admired the glint the overhead light made off her simple gold wedding band.

  She was Mrs. Trent Torres. The mom
ent the preacher had pronounced them man and wife, she couldn’t stop repeating her new name to herself. Even now she role-played in the mirror.

  “Hi, I’m Noelle Torres. Nice to meet you, I’m Mrs. Torres. Oh, so good to see you, I’m Trent’s wife.” With every different line she thought of, her smile grew.

  Trent knocked on the door. “Mi amor. What are you doing in there? I wanna see what you bought for tonight.”

  Earlier in the evening, they had stopped at a mall and spent an hour shopping separately for the ceremony and the wedding night. Noelle had bought a simple white silk, spaghetti-strap dress for the ceremony. It had clung to her curves nicely.

  For Trent, she’d bought a white lace corset that pushed her boobs up so much that they nearly spilled over the edge. She tucked the matching thong panties into her overnight bag and reached for the racy crotchless panties that had a veil and the words ‘Here comes the bride …”

  The moment she saw them she knew Trent would love them, for multiple, obvious reasons. She did one last turn in the mirror and double checked to make sure her hairclip was still snug enough. Several renegade curls hung around her face and teased the sensitive skin of her shoulders. She slid her feet into a pair of red stiletto pumps to finish off her look.

  For another moment she studied herself. Gone was the self-conscious girl she’d been months ago. This woman staring back at her knew who she was, and that the love she had to offer was not only accepted but reciprocated. This woman was truly loved.

  She opened the bathroom door a crack. “Are you ready?”

  “More than ready. Hurry up and get out here!”

  She laughed and grabbed one more item from her bag. “Alright, you asked for it.”

  Noelle turned the corner and struck a seductive pose. The look Trent gave her didn’t disappoint. He looked ready to devour her.

  “Oh wow. When did you get that?”

  She gave him a coy shrug. “This old thing?”

  Trent was reclining against the headboard; he stretched out his hands and wiggled his fingers. “Come to papa, mi amor.”