Taken

by Mia Ford

  Hanging up the phone and looking across the foyer I stared at the front door. It seemed miles away. Then, my hand instinctively went to my belly. It wasn’t just me. My heart sank into a pool of terror as I thought that I might not be able to protect this little angel.

  “Nat.” I couldn’t be sure if it was him or my imagination but it sounded sinister like something that was hissing and talking at the same time.

  From where I was standing I couldn’t tell if the sound of breaking glass came from the upstairs or the basement. I inched my way backwards and quietly slip a small knife from the wood block that stood on counter. It was either that or a meat fork with the two prongs. How many years had my parents kept that half empty wooden block in the same place? I had decided at that moment what I was buying them for Christmas this year. If I made it that far, I thought morbidly to myself.

  Holding the little knife down low and as concealed as possible I tip-toed down the hallway listening and stood between the basement door and the landing of the stairs. I couldn’t hear anything.

  “Nat!” It called louder this time making me jump and whirl around. Nothing was there. I had had enough. Before I could turn completely around and dash for the front door I went sprawling across the floor. Instantly, I grabbed my stomach with one hand and tightened my grip of the small paring knife with the other. Rolling over I saw him emerge from the shadow next to my father’s grandfather clock. He had beaten me there. He had to have gotten there before me.

  “Natasha! You need to be more careful.” He said pulling his leg in. Was he hoping I would have landed on the knife? Did he know I had it? Did he know I was pregnant? And if he did, did he hope it would hurt or worse, kill my baby?

  A feeling of rage swirled around in the pit of my stomach and I was ready to fight to protect this innocent baby inside me. I waited, getting my bearings, doing a slow but steady mental check of all my limbs and calming my heartbeat as best I could.

  “The police are on their way, Joshua. If you leave, I’ll say it was an intruder but didn’t see his face. No one will know you were here.”

  “What? You say that as if you didn’t invite me here.”

  It was so dark in the house that I could just make out Joshua’s silhouette but even in the shadow I could see the sadistic look of crazy on his face.

  “You weren’t invited here, Joshua.”

  “Of course I was. You invited me here. But when you found out your other lover, Marty, my big brother was no his way you decided to change your tune. You are just a whore who got caught in her own lie and tried to make me look like the bad guy.”

  “You’re crazy.” My voice trembled.

  “Oh, the name calling is really unnecessary. What I am is rich, richer than you can even dream. And so that makes me more believable than you. No one is going to take the word of a slut who’s banging a set of brothers.”

  My gut churned at his words. I couldn’t help but feel a part of me try and go to him as if to say yes, your right. Why bother.

  “I haven’t been with you for months, Joshua. Please, you’ve got to just let me go.” I said. “There are plenty of women who…”

  “Shut up, Natasha! Don’t you get it? I’m not going anywhere. I’m sure my handsome big brother will be speeding to your rescue. When he arrives, well, you’ll be waiting to tell him whatever you want. It won’t matter because within a few seconds he’ll be dead. Self-defense, you know.”

  “I’ll never let you hurt him.”

  “Oh, you won’t’ be able to do a thing about it. You’ll be dead too. Marty never could control his temper. I tried to save you but was too late. They’ll believe me. I’m rich, like I said.”

  Slowly I went to stand up but Joshua rushed me. Without thinking, as he brought up his leg to kick me I swung the small knife and felt it bury itself into the flesh of the front of his calf.

  He screamed in pain.

  All I could think was one swift kick to my gut and it would all be over. But Joshua wouldn’t be able to do that now. He couldn’t even walk, let alone put all of his weight on that leg in order to kick me. The handle stuck out like a deformed tree branch. I shuddered as I thought of the blade cutting through the skin and muscles from the force of my swing.

  “You bitch!” he growled.

  Just as he was about to pounce, a light popped on behind him from the kitchen. It had been on one of my dad’s many timers. Random rooms were illuminated and then darkened as timers went on and off making it look like someone was indeed home.

  Startled Joshua turned on his heel and clumsily tumbled to the left trying to hide from view. It was just enough time for me to get to my feet and make a dash for the kitchen.

  The back door had a dead bolt, a small button lock on the knob and a chain. All of them were engaged. All I needed were a couple of seconds and I’d have them undone and the door open. If nothing else I could scream quickly. Fire! They always say to yell fire instead of help. It gets people worried about themselves and so they are more likely to make that phone call to 9-1-1.

  Running past him and into the kitchen I reached for the door and snapped the deadbolt to the right. I slid the chain along slot. It stuck for a split second before yanked it out of the chamber. I felt my hand on the knob turning it to the left to pop the lock when suddenly I felt my head yanked backwards by my hair.

  “I don’t think so!” Joshua yelled. “No, you won’t be going anywhere. Not for a while.” He pulled me up against him and wrapped his arm around my middle. I squirmed and writhed trying to get his arm up or down, anywhere that wasn’t where the baby might be. “We’re going to have some fun, tonight, Natasha. Fun like we used to have. But first, there are a few things I want to know.”

  Joshua’s breath was hot and stale against my face. His body radiated heat like from a fever and I could smelt he sour scent of body odor indicating it had been a few days since he showered. That scared me.

  I had read somewhere that a sign of a severe mental problem was discontinuing a hygienic routine. If you suddenly don’t feel like bathing because, oh I don’t know, you feel there is no point, you don’t care what happens to yourself or maybe, just maybe you are too busy stalking your current obsession to take the time to brush your teeth or wipe after going to the bathroom then it was a pretty safe bet you were losing your marbles. And this dirty smell was a far cry from the spicy cologne that had seemed so intoxicating when we had first met.

  Dragging me over to the kitchen table, Joshua slammed me down into one of the chairs so hard my teeth rattled in my head. Again, I grabbed my stomach.

  “If you’re going to kill me then just do it and get it over with.” I said, surprised my voice wasn’t shaking more.

  “I think I’ve got a good bit of time yet for you to tell me.”

  “Tell you what?”

  “To tell me what my brother was like in bed.”

  My jaw had to hit the ground. I sat there dumbfounded. What kind of a sick mind would want to know this about his brother?

  “You’re disgusting.” I said, unaware that my body was instinctively pulling back from Joshua.

  “I’m disgusting? You were the one serving up the sloppy seconds, sweetheart. You are the only woman on the planet who knows what it is like to be with both of us. And I want to know the details. I want to know how he managed to satisfy someone like you.”

  I couldn’t think of a thing to say. My whole mind had gone blank.

  “I’ll tell you what, Natasha. Why not just start from the beginning. Tell me about the first time you let my brother take you. You were still sleeping with me, I presume. Tell me what it was that he said that got your panties off.”

  The humiliation of Joshua’s line of questioning swept completely over me. My eyes began to fill with tears no matter how hard I bit my tongue, trying to stop them. What should I do? Was there anything that would buy me some time? Was there anything that would buy me a chance to get away, for my baby and me to get away?

  “You’re
sick, Joshua. Don’t you know that?” I said quietly. “You don’t have to be like this. Marty can help you. You aren’t all alone. Hell, I’ll help you but you’ve got to let me go. You’ve got to…”

  “Ha! That is hilarious, Natasha! You’re a riot!” His eyes had gone black with rage. Behind them was a wild beast, a devil that fed off the fear and the desperation that I was emitting. This was the kind of evil that lurked in the jungle with a machete in its hand. This was the kind of evil that drifted from state to state. This was the kind of evil that slipped into open windows of middle class homes. Except this evil wore $1500 dollar suits and drove fancy sports cars. This kind of evil would never suffer for what he did to me or anyone else. Only someone from that same environment could do battle with this kind of demon. And just then I thought I heard sirens in the distance. How I prayed they were for me.

  “Tell me, Nat, did he whisper sweet words in your ear as he slipped his hand under your shirt? Or did my brother talk dirty to get your engine purring? Was he quick or slow? Come on, Natasha. I need to know this.” He was beginning to sound desperate. He leaned down in my face. “You better start talking.” The slap upside my head made me fall forward. Then he grabbed my hair again and shook it hard.

  “Talk, Natasha!” he screamed in my face. Nothing would come. Even if I wanted to tell him everything I couldn’t form a word. As if he didn’t believe the terror in my eyes Joshua stood up, pulled his hand back and punched me in the face.

  It is true that stars circle your head when you get hit hard enough. I saw them. They were bright white stars and I was sure that my cheek and eye had swollen up to the size of a football within seconds.

  The sirens were getting closer. Were they for me? I watched in the front room to see if the lights shined through and I don’t know for certain I saw anything but I wanted to make sure Joshua didn’t have a chance to get away.

  “You’re crazy. You’re so crazy with jealousy over your brother it is laughable!” I said both hands circling my belly as I pushed myself back from him. He growled with fury.

  In one sudden move I bolted for the other side of the kitchen only to have Joshua grab my arm and fling me back, slamming me into the door I had almost gotten out of.

  “Who do you think you are talking to? You bitch! I’ll get you! I’ll get you good!” he yelled and paced back and forth. “Natasha! You’re going to pay for this!” he said it over and over again but I knew. The front door had opened up and Marty had walked in. It would be okay. Marty was there.

  I looked at Diamond who was yawning.

  “Are you kidding? It’s only about 10:00 in the morning and you’re yawning already?” I said, a yawn escaping me, too.

  “You better get back to your own room. They’re going want to check on little junior there to make sure everything is going okay.”

  “He’s okay. I can feel it.” I said smiling. “He already takes after his Auntie Diamond. Toughest thing on Earth.”

  “You got that right.” I said, wrapping my hand around the pole of my moveable IV and began to head back to my room. Marty had arranged for us to have rooms next door to one another. We were both in for observation for another few days and to be quite honest it was like a spa more than a hospital. Except for the memory of what brought us there it really was a nice place to recuperate.

  “Is Ray going to stop by tonight, again?” I asked, giving Diamond my best come hither look. She smiled and blushed a little.

  “He’s old enough to be my father.”

  “Since when has that become an issue?” I teased.

  “Yeah, he did say he’d be by. We actually have a lot in common. Books. Movies.”

  “Oh, sure. And the humping of the flesh?”

  “I never heard that term so please never say it again.”

  “A little boogety-giggety.”

  “You’re scaring me.

  “Never say never.”

  “I don’t think it will go that way. I think we are just good buddies.”

  “If you say so. I’m just trying to make sure that if Marty and I get married you won’t be all single and free-wheeling for long, that’s all. Who am I going to complain to about my husband if you aren’t there to tell me what is wrong with your husband?”

  “In the weird world in your head I know that makes sense.” Diamond said, crossing her eyes for a second.

  “I guess…that is just my way of saying I don’t ever want to be without you.” I said, again feeling tears in my eyes. Diamond burst into tears, too.

  “I don’t ever want to be without you, either!” she cried.

  “Okay!” I sobbed and laughed. “I’m glad we got that cleared up.”

  “Me, too.” Diamond wiped her eyes and blew her nose in a tissue. “See you at lunch time?”

  I nodded my head, waved and walked out of Diamond’s hospital room and into mine that was directly next door. Climbing into bed, listening to the monitor that tracked my baby’s heartbeat, I smiled and fell asleep.

  MARTY

  “So, you’re sure she’s going to say yes?” Ray asked me as I was getting ready to go to the hospital to visit Natasha and Diamond. I had been going there since Natasha was admitted just forty-eight short hours ago. It felt like weeks.

  She was expected to stay there for another two maybe three days just to make sure the baby and she was all right. I thought of the baby and felt my eyes burn with tears again for the hundredth time since I learned about the pregnancy.

  “Do you think she’ll say no?” I asked Ray as he handed me a tie from a small waterfall of them hanging from the tie rack in my closet.

  “Well, I don’t know. What I do know is that the brother of the man who loves her nearly killed her. That might give a girl pause.” He shrugged.

  I knew that Ray was just being that voice of reason. He was making sure I was braced for the worst even though he, like me, was hoping for the best. Still, I didn’t pursue the topic. I wanted to enjoy the preparation, the thought of Natasha maybe saying yes to marriage to me and raising this baby together in a house full of love. The feelings swirling around inside me were all new, scary, but exhilarating.

  “Diamond seems to be recuperating pretty well. When I stopped in to see her yesterday she had already fallen asleep for the night.” I said, changing the subject.

  “Yeah, she’s tough. I like that in a girl.”

  I snapped my head around from the mirror I was staring in while fussing with my tie and gave Ray a sideways glance.

  “Really?”

  Pursing his eyebrows together I saw a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

  “I know what you’re thinking. That I’m too old for her.”

  “Not at all.” I said shaking my head. Sure Ray was older than Diamond but she wasn’t just some damsel in distress who needed to be saved. She was a street smart, independent woman who got blindsided by a bad guy. Ray was probably the only guy who could match wits with a woman like her. Both of them were down to earth, call-it-as-they-see-it kind of people. And although Diamond was a beautiful brunette with manicured nails and stylish clothes, I could see her rolling up her sleeves to gut a fish if she had to. It was that grit that kept her alive long enough for Ray to get to her.

  “Natasha said she isn’t answering her phone. Can you get to her place and see if anything is going on? I’ve got to get to Natasha.”

  “Yes. Tell me where.” That was all Ray said. He didn’t waste any time. He didn’t ask a lot of questions. He just said yes. There weren’t too many men left whom you could rely on with one hundred percent certainty that they’d come through. I knew as soon as I hung up the phone that he was already running to his car to get to that address I had given him.

  He called me from the hospital.

  “I didn’t know what else to do, Marty.” He said nervously. “I was afraid she was going to die before I could get her to the emergency room.”

  Speeding in his beat up pick-up truck Ray had gotten to Diamond’s apartment and tried rin
ging the buzzer. There was no answer. He could have just left, figuring she wasn’t home, had maybe stepped out and just didn’t bother to answer her phone or maybe forgot it, lost it, who knew? But Ray wasn’t like that. Without visual confirmation that she was not in her apartment he wasn’t leaving. He tried ringing all the buzzers for the other residents of the building. He knocked on the heavy glass door. Finally, a person came up to the door, producing a key.

  It was a young fellow, Ray had said.

  “He looked red-blooded enough that I figured the chances of him having noticed a single female in the building was pretty good.

  “I’m sorry to bother you. Do you know Diamond Everett? She lives in this building and she’s not answering her phone.”

  At first the guy looked at Ray as if he were some kind of pervert with a weird fetish of cornering men in vestibules and asking them about women who lived there.

  “I don’t know her.” The guy said, turning the key in the lock. He tried to squeeze in quickly but Ray wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  “I tell you what, Marty. If I wasn’t on such a time sensitive mission I would have punched that punk in the face.” Ray said when he was telling me what happened after we all met at the hospital. “But when I pushed my way inside and began scouring the mailboxes for her address I obviously scared him to death.

  “I’m calling the police!” the guy shouted as he bound up the stairwell.

  “Good! I’ll need them! I shouted back, finally finding Diamond’s apartment number and heading up the stairs myself.”

  I’ll never forget the look on Ray’s face when he told me what happened next.

  “Marty, have you ever gotten to a place and everything looked fine, everything looked in place but an invisible something reached in your chest and squeezed? That was how I felt when I got to her door. It was like the whole hallway was constructed like a soundproof booth. All I could hear was my own breathing. And when knocked on the door it reverberated through my body and echoed down the hallway.”