Page 62 of Fight for Me

I shake my head and refrain from rolling my eyes at him. “You are not my man, and you’re not supposed to be around Henry until the court approves. I don’t know what you two are trying to achieve here, but the judge will be hearing about this. And we’re leaving. Where’s Henry?”

“I have him right here,” I hear a raspy voice behind, and I whirl around only to take a wobbly step back.

“No,” I whisper brokenly and look at the man who still features in my nightmares. The man that almost ruined me. The man who killed my mother.

“It’s you.” I feel the blood drain from my face, as I eye the monster that is so different from the respectable sheriff he used to be. Yet, the coldness in his eyes couldn’t be mistaken for someone else’s. His greasy hair is almost to his shoulders, half of his face is obscured by a badly trimmed beard, and his skin looks ashy and unhealthy. Other than that, he’s in desperate need of new clothes. The shirt he’s wearing looks like it used to be white but now is brownish with ugly-looking stains, and the jeans he’s wearing have more holes in them than Swiss cheese.

My eyes zero in on the toddler he’s holding, and I think I’m moments from my heart jumping out of my chest at the horrifying sight. I blink slowly, hoping for the image to change, but after I reopen my eyes, there’s no such luck. This is my worst nightmare playing out live right in front of me.

“No. Henry,” I say and try to reach out to take him but stop when my father lifts the bottom of his shirt to show me the gun he has tucked into his pants.

“No-uh, Jennifer. Behave. We wouldn’t want anything awful happening to this cute little baby of yours.” My father smiles, revealing his yellowed teeth.

“Wh-why are you here? What do you w-want?” I ask, hardly getting the words out because of the fear literally choking me.

He laughs, but there’s nothing humorous about the sound. I feel the goosebumps arising on my skin. “To meet my grandson, of course! I’ve been hearing so much about the little squirt, I just couldn’t wait to see him in person.”

I glance at Henry, who seems to get a little agitated by the fact that I haven’t made a move to greet him yet, as I always do. He kicks his little legs out, indicating that he wants to be let down on the floor.

If David feels that, he doesn’t show it, as he continues to look at me with a predatory smile, holding Henry in a tight grip.

“How did you find me? Find us?” I ask to buy myself some time to think of a way to get my child out of here.

I glance at Rita, hoping for any help, but find her looking away as she sits in her armchair stiffly. The only indicator that she knows something is very wrong is the way her bony hands bite into the armrests. When I glance at Ricky, he’s lighting up a cigarette watching the scene in front of him like he would be watching a very dull soap opera and not his own son being in danger.

I search around for anything I could use as a weapon as David starts to talk, seemingly enjoying the situation. “You know, I didn’t think I would find you. Thought you’ll be smarter, and get far from here. But I always knew you’re dumber than a box of rocks. Anyway, I was keeping an eye on that motherfucker who ruined everything, and imagine my surprise when suddenly you came into the picture. How delightful, that the wonder couple reunited,” he finishes sarcastically, and I hear Ricky snort indignantly.

“So, what’s the big plan here? You’re going to kill me in daylight, like you killed Mom, and then what?” I ask.

“Your mom.” He frowns and shakes his head as if he’s trying to sweep away his intrusive thoughts. “Your mom was a whore, and she was disobedient. I had no choice, no choice,” he says quietly as if he’s trying to convince himself.

Jesus Christ, he’s completely fucking nuts.

“As for the plan, just wait and see, Jennifer. Just wait and see, it’s going to be epic,” he states proudly and takes the gun out. I take a step back and gasp. “Boy, take the kid,” he commands Ricky and then points the gun at me. “We’re going for a ride.”

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AS SOON AS THE BAG gets pulled from my head, I take a deep breath and immediately find out what a bad idea that was when the dusty air fills my lungs and I start coughing uncontrollably.

I look up from the wooden floor I’ve been dumped on, with bleary eyes when I feel a hand rubbing me on the back. “There, there, little Jenny. You’re fine.”

“Where’s Henry?” I croak and look around the devastated room in a desperate search for my boy. “Ricky, where is he?”

“Calm down. Damn it, you really think I would put my own kid in harm’s way?” he asks angrily.

“You already did! You motherfucker!” I hiss and try to move, but remember my hands are tied behind my back. “I swear to fucking God, Ricky, if there’s so much as one hair out of place on Henry’s head, I will scalp you myself, and then chop your useless body into tiny pieces before I feed it to wild animals.”

“You were always cute when you’re angry.” He laughs and stands up before me. “But stop being so dramatic. Nothing will happen to you two. The kid fell asleep on the way here, so I left him in the car.”

When he sees my horrified expression, he lifts his hand. “I left the window open. Jesus Christ, you make me look like an idiot.”

“Maybe because you are one,” I say angrily and survey the open space, surprised to realize they have brought me back to Bell Ridge, and to the fucking Mill of all places. The interior looks even worse now, but I’ve been here enough times in my teenage years to recognize it right off the bat.

I don’t see a sign of my father being close, so I hiss at Ricky, “Untie me, you fucking dick, before David comes back.”

“You know what, your father was right. You do have a big mouth and no respect for the men in your life. I can see that now myself. We do need to teach you a fucking lesson. Same with that asshole you’ve been playing house with while I was rotting away in prison.”

“You’re so full of shit. Let me go. I don’t know what that psycho told you or promised you to get on board with this crazy idea, but you need to stop it right now. I mean it, Ricky, you have no idea how dangerous he is,” I try to reason with him, but the stubborn set of his jaw already tells me I’m getting nowhere.

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