Chapter 7:
I stared out the window. Though I couldn’t see the sun, I knew it was setting. The sky had taken on shades of orange and reds, the mountains shadowy beneath it. It was breathtaking. I curled up to Andrew resting against his shoulder allowing my mind to drift. I thought back to when we were younger. I thought of the afternoons sitting at his dad’s house, listening to him play guitar. I remembered how much admiration I had felt, how lucky I had felt to have this wonderful and creative person in my life. I thought of how we would go on walks down the street to sneak cigarettes. I thought of how we would write each other notes in school. I couldn’t help but smile. We were so innocent then. It was before living together, before the fights, before we even knew who we were growing up to be. It was amazing how far we had come.
“Then sun is setting,” I whispered.
Andrew looked down at me, “Yes. The sky looks beautiful.”
“We just keep getting closer to morning. I know that we shouldn’t dwell on that now, but I am scared. She saw my every move Andrew. She knew I was coming. What can we do that she won’t anticipate? She could be watching us right now.”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do yet. I’ve been thinking, but haven’t come up with anything. I am going to keep thinking though. We will find a way. We will be together.” He squeezed me briefly.
I draped my arm across his chest a nestled my head against the curve of his shoulder. I was so tired. This journey had been physically and mentally the most extreme thing I could have ever imagined.
“Andrew, if I take a nap, will you wake me? I am just very tired. I don’t want to go to sleep for long. I just want to be better rested. I want to be fully alert if this is going to be the last…” I paused, not wanting to finish the sentence.
“Of course I will. You get some rest. I am going to try to form a plan. I will wake you up in a little while.” He kissed my forehead and within moments I was sleeping.
The sun came in cheerfully through the bedroom window. I stretched and looked over to my side. The bed was empty with the exception of me. I was on the brink of panicking when Andrew walked through the bedroom with two cups of coffee in his hand. I smiled and sat up. He smiled back at me and handed me the coffee mug. I sipped it slowly, the bold taste playing across my tongue and the aroma filling my nostrils.
“Thank you baby,” I said, staring at him adoringly.
“You’re welcome.” He flashed me a grin.
He turned on the TV on the wall adjacent to the foot of the bed and flipped it to cartoons. He came over and settled in next to me. I leaned against his shoulder and sighed.
“So what do you want to do today?” I asked; my mood exuberant.
“Well, there is supposed to be a nice sized swell coming in this morning. I was thinking that if you wanted you could come down to the beach and you could lay out while I surf. Either that or you could finally grow some balls and try getting back on the board.” He laughed lightly.
I thought of my first attempt at surfing. I had been flung off the board onto the shore, almost losing my bathing suit. “I don’t think I’ll be surfing, but the beach sounds nice. I wanted to finish Insomnia anyway.”
“Ok, but one of these days you need to get back out there. No one gets it on their first try.” He smiled at me and kissed my forehead.
After finishing our coffee, we got changed into our bathing suits. I got my book and towels for the both of us while he went out to situate his surfboard on top of the car. I smiled when I walked out the front door to see him struggling to strap the board in. He looked amazing in his black and white board shorts.
I laughed, “Having issues are we?”
“Nope, I’ve got it now,” he replied, returning my smile.
We jumped in his Mazda to head to the beach. People dotted the streets, taking advantage of the beautiful day. It was a gorgeous seventy eight outside according to the thermometer on the dash. There were rollerbladers and joggers on the sidewalks. People on beach cruisers biked enthusiastically in bathing suits, tank tops, and shorts. The fronds of the palm trees fluttered gently in the breeze.
We parked in the local lot next to the pier. He grabbed his surfboard off of the top of the car and I grabbed our towels and my book from the back seat. We walked on the boardwalk and down into the sand, the powdery whiteness covering my feet. He smiled at me and kissed me quickly.
“I will see you in a little bit,” he said as he began to run towards the water. I giggled and stared after him, watching the first wave crash into him as he entered the water. I laid out my towel. I lowered myself down and flipped to the page I had left off on. The sun beamed down on my skin. It was so warm, so inviting.
My eyelids popped open. Light came in through the window, warming my skin. I removed my arm from Andrew’s chest and looked up at his face. His eyes were shut and he was snoring lightly. Panic seized me. I began to shake him.
“Andrew! Wake up! It’s morning!” I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes. How could he have fallen asleep? It had been our last night together and I had slept through it.
He rubbed his eyes groggily and looked around him. All of the sudden it hit him. “Oh shit! Baby I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to fall asleep! I swear!”
I just looked at him in disbelief. “This is no time for apologies. Get dressed. We need to form a plan.”
He nodded and threw back on his scrubs. I threw on the silver gown from the night before, not bothering with the corset. My mind was spinning. I was at a complete loss for words. Who knew when she would bust in on us, separating us for life? I put my hands against my temples. I kept trying to calm myself to no avail. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I was waiting for a complete and total collapse.
Andrew rushed over to me and grabbed my arms. “Torey, look at me. You need to breathe. You need to just calm down and breathe.”
I looked at him, but I couldn’t find enough air quick enough. I hyperventilated faster and faster. It was over. It was over. Dear god, this was it. This was the end of my life. This was the end of my happiness. This was the end of everything. I wanted someone to knock me out, to keep me from thinking. I wouldn’t be able to deal with what was coming. My head would explode or I would have a heart attack.
“Torey, you need to stop. We have to work together. We need to think. Torey, can you hear me? Torey!” The panic was in his voice and written across his face. All of the sudden his hand came down across my cheek. My hyperventilation stopped. “I am sorry. I didn’t want to do that, but I didn’t want you to pass out.”
I nodded. “I am sorry. I just can’t deal with this. I can’t lose you.” I cried softly.
He put his arms around me and held me tightly. Footsteps echoed outside of the door and we both froze. Andrew grabbed both sides of my face.
“When they walk in through that door, you grab onto me and hold me as tightly as you can. I am going to do the same. If you hear me yell ‘now’, make a run for the door. I will have your hand. Don’t worry. I am not letting go.” His face was the definition of serious, utter determination hung in his eyes. All I could do was nod. We wrapped our arms around each other and waited.
The doors swung open. The queen walked in with two gangleus. This time she was dressed in a knee length red dress that fluttered in ruffles at the bottom. It was low cut in the front. Gold bangles hung on her wrist. Her high black heels, accentuated her leg muscles. He bright red painted lips were fixed in a Cheshire grin.
“Have you said your goodbyes?” she taunted cheerfully.
Neither Andrew nor I spoke. She stood looking us over, her grin never wavering.
“Oh what, no words this morning? There are no threats you want to spit at me? Have you finally accepted defeat? The way you’re clinging to each other makes me not so sure.” Her mocking tone infuriated me, but I stood silent, clutching to Andrew for dear life. “That dress is very becoming of you Torey. I meant to tell you that yesterday, but it slipped my mind. You
can have it. Consider it a parting gift,” she provoked.
Silence filled the air. Andrew and I just kept on holding each other. She had begun to walk circles around us, eyeing us head to toe. Her circle became tighter and tighter, edging nearer and nearer to us, almost daring us to do something. Finally she stood in front of us. She was within breathing distance.
“Are you ready to go home Torey?” Her eyes bore down into mine. I saw nothing but pure evil. “What the two of you shared last night is nothing compared to what he and I will share tonight. When I am through with him, he won’t even remember your name.” In that moment anger surged through every cell of body. After holding up sanity in the face of opposition for so long, I finally snapped.
I let go of Andrew and reached out my hands to wrap them around her throat. I squeezed with all of my might. Her face was turning scarlet as I lowered her to the floor, my grip never loosening. My fists came down on her over and over again. Hatred pulsed through me as I started to pummel her. Bones smashed, blood ran over my fingers. I was a woman possessed. Tears of absolute disgust and release ran down my face as I started to sob. I was on top of her on the floor, my fists connecting to her temples and her eyes and her lips. I sought to smash anything pretty about her. I wanted her to be as ugly outside as she was inside. The skin swelled and darkened. Her breathing sounded wet with blood and I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. All control had left me.
All of the sudden, I found myself flying backwards. I slammed into the chamber wall. She stood up, her face perfect once again. It was as if I had never touched her. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I rubbed them and looked again, praying that my eyes had deceived me. There she stood, young, perfect in her evil. She smiled at me maniacally.
“Temper, temper,” she said waving her finger at me as a mother would to a small child who had just landed themselves in some form of trouble. “Now it’s my turn.”
I was being slammed into the wall over and over by an invisible force. I felt a couple of ribs crack as I screamed in agony. I heard Andrew yelling in the background, begging her to stop. The breath was knocked out of me. Pain took over me and my vision started to blur. I prayed that I would pass out. Her bell-like giggles were the background to my torture. My head smacked against the wall and there was a bright flash.