She felt a rough pair of hands dragging her out of bed. She fought back but he was stronger and had her on the floor in a heartbeat. The show of strength terrified her. Then his hand clutched at her throat and the other tore away at her shirt. Before she could resist the shirt lay in shreds and the calloused hand squeezed and pawed at her bare breasts. She screamed, but no one heard and nobody came to help. Somebody help! Please, somebody help me!
He crawled on top of her and held her down with the weight of his body. He stank of cheap cologne and his breath reeked of beer and cigarettes. The foulness filled her head along with terror. She heard torrents of blood rushing in her ears. The bastard released his grip on her throat so he could take hold of her shoulders and hoist her onto the bed. She managed to strike at his face with a free hand. The blow barely connected, and he smiled down at her, a leering vicious smile. That's when he drew back a fist and hit her in the mouth.
“That’ll teach ya’. That’ll teach ya’ some respect.”
His hands ranged all over her body and he moved against her in a way that scared and disgusted her. Blood trickled from her lip and as she reached up to brush it away he hit her again, but not before ripping her panties off. The feel of his flesh writhing against her own naked body overwhelmed her. The vomit rose in her throat but from somewhere deep inside so did the rage.
He slapped her with the back of his hand and told her to stay put or he’d kill her. She believed him. The dizziness took her the brink of passing out. Then she’d have no chance to defend herself. The slimy creature raised himself up just enough to unzip his blue jeans and start to wriggle out of them. The sight of his naked body hit her like a whiff of ammonia and her head cleared. Then everything got quiet. As if in slow motion she rolled on her side and pulled a child’s aluminum baseball bat from under her bed. Joey extended her arm as far as she could, then swung the little bat down on the attacker in the widest arc possible. She aimed for his head, but he’d moved enough that his shoulders and upper back took the brunt of the strike. Still, the blow stunned him and the attacker rolled away from her. In that split second she sprang out of bed and headed toward the door but in her quiet, floating world the door seemed to be getting farther and farther away. She turned and saw the bastard holding onto the calf of her leg. He leered at her and started to get up. Before he had the chance she drew back the bat again and took a full swing. This time she connected and a spray of blood encircled his head. Gore spewed over the bed, the wall and on her. She vomited and fell to her knees. When she looked up she was staring into the face of the lunatic with the ruined head. His eyes burned wildly and his thick tongue slurred,
“Ya kilt me ya fukkin bitch! Ya no good fukkin bitch!”
Joey Beretta woke with a scream that echoed from every corner of the house and cut through the floor to pierce the heart of kindly old Billy Sawyer who always stayed in the guest room upstairs when Frank was away. Drenched in sweat she tried to stand, but immediately vomited on the polished wood floor of the bedroom.
“Frank! Frank!” Joey got no response so she sat on the floor and cried. Sweet Jesus not again. Not now. This isn’t supposed to happen.
She hadn’t lost her senses and knew that Billy would be at her door any minute. She stumbled into her bathroom and washed her face. Joey got a glass of water and some mouthwash and wrapped herself in a soft bathrobe. Back in the bedroom she threw a towel on the vomit beside her bed and sat on the bed cross-legged like a little girl. Billy Sawyer knocked on her door.
“Joey, it’s Billfish. Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
Apparently she didn’t sound convincing.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Billy. I had the dream again.”
“I’m sorry, Joey. What can I do for you?”
“I’ll be OK. I want to clean up then I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen if you decide you need anything.”
“Thank you, Billy.”
God bless Billy Sawyer. He’d lived through these nightmares with her for a long time and agreed to never tell Frank. The dreams themselves were worse in the beginning and they only happened when Frank was away. She hadn’t had an episode in nearly four years and hoped they were over and done with. Apparently they were not. She also knew that Billy would be in the kitchen brewing a pot of hot water for tea so she cleaned up the floor then stood in a cold shower for a few minutes before pulling on a pair of shorts and an old ragged sweat shirt.
She dragged a comb through her hair and walked out to the kitchen just as Billy was putting the teapot, some cups and a couple of oatmeal cookies on a tray.
“Let’s sit outside, Billy.” The man nodded and followed her outside to a large round table that overlooked the lap pool. Joey turned the underwater lights on. The blue shimmer had a calming effect.
She looked into Billy Sawyer’s kind and gentle eyes as he poured a cup of tea and, without asking, laced it with a little brandy. Two big tears welled up then ran down her cheeks.
“Damn, Billy, I thought this was over.” She wiped her tears on the sleeve of the sweatshirt.
“Maybe it’ll be twice as long till the next one. Might not even be another one.” Billy smiled and held his tea cup up.
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Remember what I said the last time. Like my Momma would have told me. Something bad happens it’s always followed by something good. A bad thing happened to you and it put you on a path that took you to Frank. Just like me. One night three men tried to kill me. Almost did except Frank jumped in and saved me. We been together ever since.”
“I know, Billy, and I believe what you’re saying. I just get so scared. It makes me feel out of control, and that scares the hell out of me.” And the fact that I could kill someone.
“Everybody gets scared, but you're one of the bravest people I ever met. You fought back. You were all alone, but you fought and you won."
Somehow Billy always made her feel better, but he looked away when he spoke again.
“Something I never have told you was this. Two of the men that tried to kill me were my cousins and the other one was my uncle. They lived down the road from me on Bimini. They were supposed to be my family. Supposed to be, anyway. They tried to steal from Momma and I caught ‘em. That and too much whiskey is what started the fight. Since Momma died you and Frank are the only family I have.”
“Billy, I’m so sorry.” She knew that Frank had killed one of the men outright and severely injured another. The third, probably a cousin, was killed during a robbery a few years later.
“Me, too, but like I said, something good came of it.”
“Amen to that, Billy, amen.”
For awhile that sipped hot tea and ate some of Joey’s favorite cookies. Billy always remembered that she loved oatmeal chocolate chip. Eventually a smile formed on her face as she put her hand affectionately on Billy's arm.