Finding Mikayla

by Samantha Christy

  “Oh, nothing, just thinking of other professions I can try when we leave here,” I say.

  “Oh, really? Giving up on the whole doctor thing?” He winks.

  “No, not really,” I say. “Of course I still want to practice medicine, but I don’t want to go to Jacksonville so I just wonder if I will even get to.” I frown.

  “Mikayla, doctors are needed everywhere, even lowly residents,” he teases me. “I’m actually relieved you don’t want to go to Jacksonville. It sounds like it’s going to become very large, very quickly and I kind of like being out in the sticks.”

  “You do?” I ask enthusiastically, happy that he might feel the same way.

  “Yes, I do. In fact, I want to participate in the sharecropping program. I think I’d make a damn good farmer, don’t you?” he asks, pounding his chest like an ape.

  “Yes, I do,” I say, giggling. “But what about your family? Don’t you want to find them?” I ask. “I know how important they are to you.”

  He nods. “Yes, of course I do.”

  “Okay then,” I say.

  “Okay then, what?” he asks.

  “Okay, we’ll go out west to find them,” I say.

  He looks shocked. “What? Uh . . .”

  “They do have small towns that have farms out west, don’t they?” I ask.

  “Well, yes, but . . .” He shakes his head and furrows his brow. “You’d do that for me?”

  “Of course I would. I don’t have any family here,” I say. “Well, there’s Claire and my friends, but no blood relatives. It’s important that you find them, so yes, we will go out west. Whenever you want to.”

  He stares at me in disbelief and then pulls me close. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” he asks. “I love you, Mikayla.”

  “Promise?” I ask.

  “Promise,” he vows.

  ~ ~ ~

  Mitch stays with me to finish out my shift, then he heads to the showers after being in the fields all morning. We make plans to meet at the community center for a game of pool later. He’s up by a few games in our ongoing tournament that we have every Wednesday night. We no longer play for material things. We play for, um . . . favors. So, even when we lose, we win. We chose Wednesdays because it’s the one weeknight when everyone tends to gather at The Oasis for a mid-week bonfire with music and dancing. It’s our time to be alone because the masses are otherwise engaged.

  I quickly eat a light dinner and go over early to get in some practice. I’m so winning tonight’s game.

  It’s getting dark inside the community center so I light my lamp. I hear the door open and smile because he’s come early, too. “Couldn’t stay away, huh?”

  “I tried. But, no, doctor. I can’t stay away from you,” says a familiar voice that is most definitely not Mitch’s. John comes out of the shadows and stands in front of me.

  “John, what are you doing here? Isn’t everyone at the bonfire?” I ask.

  “Yup. Everyone,” he says, inching closer.

  Alarm bells go off in my head and I quickly say, “Mitch will be here soon for our regular game. Did you want to play?” I back away from him and walk over to the other side of the pool table.

  He follows me and says, “Oh, I want to play. Just not billiards. And I just saw your little nurse friend heading to the mess hall, so he won’t be here anytime soon. Looks like it’s just you and me.”

  His breath washes over me as he comes closer. It smells putrid, like a mixture of alcohol and poor dental hygiene.

  I put down the pool cue, which in hindsight was probably a mistake, and I walk toward the door. “I’m just going to go find him then,” I say.

  “I don’t think so,” he says, quickly stepping over to grab my arm.

  “John, please let go of my arm,” I say, still trying to make my way to the door.

  “You think you can just tease me? String me along until someone better comes around that shows interest in you?”

  I look closely at him and something is off. He reeks of alcohol, but even in the dim light, I can see that his pupils are practically pin holes, a sure sign of drug use and I wonder where he has gotten hold of something like heroin. Or maybe even morphine. We have a small amount of it under lock and key at the clinic, and he is an officer so he probably has the means to get it. If he’s high, God only knows what he will do.

  I have to get out of here!

  “John, how about we head over to The Oasis and I’ll dance with you,” I say.

  “How about you dance with me right here, doctor,” he says, forcefully pulling me against his body.

  I gasp and my entire body stiffens when he holds me against the erection in his pants. “J-John,” I stutter, trying to calm my frantic words, “you’re not thinking clearly.” I look up and speak straight at him. “You do not want to do this, John.”

  He laughs in my face and his rancid breath, along with the thought of what he intends to do to me, makes me want to vomit.

  “Oh, I want to do this all right,” he says, half smiling down at me with a spaced-out look in his eyes. “I’ve wanted to do this since I first laid eyes on you. I was just waiting for the right time. I knew that you come here every week and that sometimes you come early and, lucky me, tonight was one of those times.” As I struggle to get away, he pulls me over to the nearby couch and pushes me down onto it. Hard. “Now, do what I tell you or I’ll beat the shit out of you. Then I’ll beat the shit out of Mitch just for kicks. Don’t think I can’t do it, Mikayla. Just because he took me down once doesn’t mean he’ll do it again. I’m an officer. I know people who will do things for me. You just remember that and keep your pretty little mouth shut while we have some fun here.”

  He begins unbuttoning his pants and I take the opportunity to get up quickly and run for the door. He chases after me, catching me and picking me up by the waist as he drags me, kicking and screaming, back to the couch. He throws me down hard enough that my head snaps back and hits the solid railing behind the cushions. Ouch! My hand goes up to rub the back of my head as he climbs onto me.

  Oh, my God, this is really going to happen.

  He is so much bigger than me, at least twice my size, and his weight is holding me down. There is nothing I can do but scream and punch at him as he tears at my shirt.

  Then I hear someone yell, “What the fuck is going on here?”

  I cry out to my savior, “Mitch, Help!” I scream, as he runs across the room to me.

  John stands up and takes a fighting stance as Mitch comes up on him. “She doesn’t belong to you, Mitch!” John screams, now struggling to keep his footing.

  “The hell she doesn’t!” Mitch yells back, right before he tackles him to the ground, hitting him over and over until blood spatters all around us.

  “Stop, Mitch!” I yell, before he kills John.

  “Mitch, easy man,” someone says to him. I look up to see Austin, pulling Mitch off John.

  Then I see multiple people running over to lend their assistance. I could have sworn Mitch came in alone and through the other door. I didn’t know we had an audience. But I’m grateful for anyone who can help out to make sure John is restrained.

  What I see next has my head spinning as if I’d taken drugs myself.

  There, walking side-by-side towards me, looking at the three of us and trying to figure out what they’ve come upon is Holly, Craig, Pam and some others along with Claire . . . and Claire’s son.

  Jeff.

  Jeff is standing next to his mom. Jeff is here at Camp Brady and is standing with my friends as they come over to help me. His hair has grown out. He has a beard and he looks rough around the edges, but it’s most definitely him.

  A few men carry John over to the couch and detain him.

  Jeff looks at me as if I’m not real, as if he can’t believe that after all this time, I’m still here. I’m not sure, but I may look at him the same way. Then I look over at Mitch, who is watching me. Then Mitch looks at Jeff, then Jeff at me. Jeff looks
back to Mitch and repeats his words back to him, “The hell she doesn’t?” And then he walks right over to him and punches Mitch in the gut.

  Mitch goes down without so much as a fight. Jeff climbs on top of Mitch and pulls his arm back, clearly getting ready to hit him again. I look down at Mitch. He lies lifeless on the ground. He’s not lost consciousness, but he doesn’t even lift a hand to defend himself, not even to protect his face when Jeff takes a swing at him. Mitch doesn’t bother moving his head out of the way. He takes the punch and blood trails out of his mouth.

  I run over, along with Austin, who picks up Jeff and removes him from on top of Mitch. Jeff paces around us, not bothering to look at me while he yells at Mitch. “What the fuck? Are you seriously screwing my girlfriend? When did you become such a traitor, you son of a bitch?” he asks.

  Seeing Mitch lying bloody on the ground; seeing Jeff rant and use obscenities like I’ve never seen him; and seeing my would-be assailant lie restrained over on the couch all have me on the brink of hysterics.

  Claire comes over and gets between all of us. “Now, let’s all calm down. This is a lot to take in,” she says, looking at me with incredibly sad eyes even though I know she is rejoicing at the return of her only child.

  She waves Austin over and says, “Austin, you take Mitch to the clinic and get him cleaned up.” Then she says over her shoulder to Holly, “Dear, would you please go with Kay back to your apartment for a while and make sure she is alright?”

  She walks over to her son. “Jeff, let’s take a few minutes. I know a lot has happened here, but you can’t blame Mitch, son. Let’s go walk around and get re-acquainted.” She leads him out of the room; all the while he is shaking his head and muttering something about shitty best friends. “Let’s all meet at my place in an hour to talk this through like real adults, shall we?” Claire says.

  Meet at her place in an hour? All of us . . . as in Mitch, Jeff and I? I almost collapse at the thought of us being in the same room. What if Jeff tries to hurt Mitch again? What if they kill each other?

  I hope Claire intends to have Austin come along as well.

  I watch Jeff and his mom leave the community center. I can’t help but stare after them until they are out of sight. Then I look over at Mitch and see the devastation on his face as he obviously saw me watching Jeff.

  Holly grabs my elbow. “Come on, Kay. Let’s go cool off for a bit. Nobody is going anywhere.” She pulls me and I follow her reluctantly out of the building as I turn to see Mitch being tended to by Austin. His head is shaking repeatedly from side to side and his eyes are squeezed shut.

  I wonder what he must be thinking. Is he thinking that I was almost raped and he saved me? Is he thinking that Jeff coming back means I’ll leave him? Is he thinking that our happy world just came to an end? Is he thinking that he can no longer love me?

  Before Holly pulls me out of Mitch’s sight, I can almost hear his vow from earlier in my head . . .

  Promise.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  On our way back to the apartment, it dawns on me that Jeff and I didn’t so much as say a word to each other. I look around and see many unfamiliar faces. I realize he must have come in with a group.

  I see Amanda sprinting across the courtyard. I follow her with my eyes and watch as she jumps into the arms of a waiting man, causing them to tumble to the grass. They kiss and laugh and cry, and I can’t help my own tears from falling. She always said he would return. She was sure of it.

  I turn to Holly. “How many came with him?” I ask.

  “Forty or so,” she says.

  I hold my breath and ask about her husband. “Carter?”

  She shakes her head.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, reaching down to take her hand. “Maybe he will come soon.”

  “Maybe,” she says.

  Amanda catches up to us and introduces us to her husband, Denny. They are both smiling from ear-to-ear and, understandably, can’t keep their eyes and hands off each other. We only exchange pleasantries as they quickly head over to the daycare center so that Denny can meet his daughter, Rachel, for the very first time. I’m so happy for them.

  Why can’t I be happy for me? I’m glad that Jeff is back, aren’t I?

  Of course I am. Claire must be over the moon. He is alive!

  “Holy crap, Kay,” Holly says as we enter our apartment. “What are you going to do?”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “What do I mean? You’ve got two of the hottest guys left on the planet vying for you.”

  I shake my head at her. “Hol, I’m glad Jeff is back and that he seems to be okay. But, I love Mitch now. Jeff coming back doesn’t change that.”

  “Poor Jeff,” she says. “Did you see the way he went after Mitch? The guy still has it bad for you.” She brings me a bottle of water. “So, hey . . . if you don’t want him anymore, does that mean he’s up for grabs?” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

  I roll my eyes at her and laugh.

  Then I realize I might be the tiniest bit jealous over what she just said. I didn’t anticipate this. I love Mitch so why would I care if someone else wants Jeff? I try to shake it off, but I ignore Holly’s question all the same.

  “Oh, God, Kay!” She looks guiltily at me. “With all the excitement of Jeff showing up, I didn’t even ask you. Are you okay?” she asks, patting my leg. “I mean, was that asshole John really going to do what I think he was going to do?”

  Events from not quite an hour ago flood through my head making me cringe and feel sick all over again. “Yes, he was. It was terrible, Hol,” I say, choking on my words. “He was drunk and probably high. He said he had been following me just waiting to get me alone.”

  Holly covers her mouth to stifle her cry. “Oh, my God!” She hits the pillow on the couch next to her. “That rat bastard better get put in jail. Oh, wait . . . do we even have a jail here?”

  “I think there are some holding cells over in the officers’ admin building. But, who knows, Hol. It comes down to his word against mine and he’s an officer.”

  “An officer who everyone knows is a slime ball,” she says. “You also have like ten witnesses who saw him holding you down on the couch before Mitch pummeled him. I’m sure the colonel will lock him up, I mean you’re kind of like a daughter to him since he’s with Claire and all.”

  “I hope so. Maybe Claire will be able to tell us something when we get to her apartment.” Then I stiffen as I remember we will be going over there in a short while to meet with Jeff and Mitch. “God Holly, what am I going to do? I’m about to be in the same room with both of them. What if they kill each other? I’m scared to death.”

  She puts her arm around me. “I’ll be there with you, Kay. Don’t worry, it will all work out. You’ll see.”

  I’m glad to see that she is so confident. I attempt to busy myself with meaningless tasks until it’s time to go. I can’t let myself think about what will happen in just a few minutes when my past and my future collide.

  ~ ~ ~

  As soon as the door to her apartment swings open, Claire pulls me into a tight hug. “Sweetie, are you okay? It must have been awful for you, John forcing himself on you like that. James will be by in a little while to talk to you and Mitch about what happened. Then we are going to make sure he doesn’t bother you again.”

  “Thanks, Claire. I’m okay,” I whisper to her. “I’m more afraid of what is going to happen right here. Terrified is more like it.”

  She squeezes me and says, “Kay, it’s going to be fine. Have a little faith.”

  “Are they both here?” I can barely ask her over the pounding of my heart.

  “No, Mitch hasn’t shown up yet. I’m sure he will be along shortly,” she says. “Now, come on in.” She has to pull on my hand to get me to follow her. Am I ready for this? Can I face the man who I let go so that I could love another?

  I walk around the corner and see him. He looks good. Really good. It looks like he got a s
hower. His damp blonde hair curls up slightly at the nape of his neck and is longer than I’ve ever seen it. He trimmed his beard and now boasts a nice scruffy hint of one in its place. He was always in decent shape, but now he’s downright fit, his new muscles complimenting his almost six-foot frame.

  I can see him taking me in the same way. I try to remember what I looked like before he left. My hair was shorter and I was definitely more rounded. I’m down about twenty pounds now . . . along with most other people. He looks at me longingly and then stands up and walks over to me.

  He hugs me and my heart skips a beat, not yet knowing if this is right or wrong.

  I bring my arms up to return the hug and I feel this body, this unfamiliar body that belongs to a man I once knew every inch of so intimately.

  “Kay,” he says in my ear. It’s the first word he’s spoken directly to me in almost eighteen months. “God, I’ve missed you.” He holds onto me, prolonging the hug and I feel oddly uncomfortable considering we had been together for over five years.

  The door shuts behind me, startling me. When I glance over, I see Mitch staring at us appraisingly. I’m hugging Jeff and he is holding me to him. I wonder if this upsets Mitch. I smile over at him, hoping he understands that the hug is just a friendly gesture on my part.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay, Jeff,” I say, pulling myself back from him.

  “Come in, Mitch. Austin,” Claire says. “Everyone come sit in the living room please.”

  We all follow her into the room that has two couches and a chair. Jeff sits on one couch. Mitch sits on the other couch. I realize the predicament this puts me in and I walk over and sit down in the chair. I hear Holly giggle behind me as she and Austin join Mitch and Jeff on their respective couches. Claire pulls a kitchen chair next to me, plopping it down in the middle of the room, like she is the mediator. Maybe that’s exactly what she is.

  I stare at Mitch, but he won’t look at me. He keeps his gaze fixed on the window even though it’s dark outside and there is nothing to see. He has a cut on his jaw along with a bright red bruise that is starting to turn purple. He has a couple of steri-strips holding his skin together and I feel guilty that I wasn’t the one tending to his injuries.