LJ Idol Chapter 17 (home game): The Caged Bird
It is a beautiful morning in San Francisco. I open the blinds with a yawn.
Jack is still asleep in his bed. Our bed. I leave him to his dreams and hope they are pleasant. I'll come back and wake him when breakfast is ready.
It seems like a lifetime ago that we met in the horrible house in Omaha. Most of it is still a drug filled haze. I remember him waking me from a faint and helping me walk out the front door. A couple of women, Carol and Nina, were leading us at gun point.
"When I say run," he whispered to me, "Run." I felt his words on my cheek. He gave my hand an assuring squeeze. We got to the car and he opened the door for me. I looked him in the eyes before getting in, and knew that I would be safe.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked Carol.
Carol pressed the barrel of her .38 against his forehead and answered, "I have had enough of your lip. You will be quiet and do as I say. And, if Nina and I make it to the airport without trouble, we will let you go."
I didn't think that they were going to let us go. I mean, why would they do that? They murdered Barbara. Once you have crossed that line, a couple of more bodies won't add that much to the sentence. Would it?
I heard the sirens first. The ambulance and two police cars approached at high speed. Barbara's 911 emergency call had its desired effects. I couldn't see what was going on, but I assume that Carol and Nina's attentions were diverted because Jack yelled out, "Run!"
I opened the opposing car door and ran as I had never run before. Behind me, I heard a gunshot and I yelled and ran into the street. I was hoping that putting parked cars between me and the gun would help protect me.
The police saw me, a half-naked woman screaming and running down the street, and intervened. The car screeched to a stop and two officers stood behind their car doors, guns pointed at Carol, authoritative voices ordered her to put her weapon down.
I had run less than a city block. My heart was racing. My shins felt like a small child had kicked me repeatedly. My feet were hot and cold at the same time.
Carol and Nina went to jail. Louis was taken away by the ambulance and I never saw him again. Jack helped me find a lawyer who would arrange a divorce. He also helped me get clean.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Jack rescued me. In truth, it has been months but not yet a year. I had no where else to go and he was kind enough to let me live here. I help keep the apartment clean and if anyone calls I take a message. Just my way of helping out. My way of saying thank you for freeing me.
Jack doesn't bring many friends home with him. He says that it is too soon for me to associate with people from society's underbelly again. And, I agree with him. He says that when I feel better, he will talk to Jimmy and get me a job at the bar.
But, for now, I like being able to take the time to focus on me. I'm enjoying the opportunity to decide what I want to do with my life now that I am free of Louis and Barbara. And, until I know, it is nice not having to worry about things like rent money, or utility bills, or work schedules.
It is nice being taken care of.
This is my entry for Week 17 of LiveJournal Idol, Season 6. To read the other entries in the contest, click here.
Jack is still asleep in his bed. Our bed. I leave him to his dreams and hope they are pleasant. I'll come back and wake him when breakfast is ready.
It seems like a lifetime ago that we met in the horrible house in Omaha. Most of it is still a drug filled haze. I remember him waking me from a faint and helping me walk out the front door. A couple of women, Carol and Nina, were leading us at gun point.
"When I say run," he whispered to me, "Run." I felt his words on my cheek. He gave my hand an assuring squeeze. We got to the car and he opened the door for me. I looked him in the eyes before getting in, and knew that I would be safe.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked Carol.
Carol pressed the barrel of her .38 against his forehead and answered, "I have had enough of your lip. You will be quiet and do as I say. And, if Nina and I make it to the airport without trouble, we will let you go."
I didn't think that they were going to let us go. I mean, why would they do that? They murdered Barbara. Once you have crossed that line, a couple of more bodies won't add that much to the sentence. Would it?
I heard the sirens first. The ambulance and two police cars approached at high speed. Barbara's 911 emergency call had its desired effects. I couldn't see what was going on, but I assume that Carol and Nina's attentions were diverted because Jack yelled out, "Run!"
I opened the opposing car door and ran as I had never run before. Behind me, I heard a gunshot and I yelled and ran into the street. I was hoping that putting parked cars between me and the gun would help protect me.
The police saw me, a half-naked woman screaming and running down the street, and intervened. The car screeched to a stop and two officers stood behind their car doors, guns pointed at Carol, authoritative voices ordered her to put her weapon down.
I had run less than a city block. My heart was racing. My shins felt like a small child had kicked me repeatedly. My feet were hot and cold at the same time.
Carol and Nina went to jail. Louis was taken away by the ambulance and I never saw him again. Jack helped me find a lawyer who would arrange a divorce. He also helped me get clean.
It seems like a lifetime ago that Jack rescued me. In truth, it has been months but not yet a year. I had no where else to go and he was kind enough to let me live here. I help keep the apartment clean and if anyone calls I take a message. Just my way of helping out. My way of saying thank you for freeing me.
Jack doesn't bring many friends home with him. He says that it is too soon for me to associate with people from society's underbelly again. And, I agree with him. He says that when I feel better, he will talk to Jimmy and get me a job at the bar.
But, for now, I like being able to take the time to focus on me. I'm enjoying the opportunity to decide what I want to do with my life now that I am free of Louis and Barbara. And, until I know, it is nice not having to worry about things like rent money, or utility bills, or work schedules.
It is nice being taken care of.
This is my entry for Week 17 of LiveJournal Idol, Season 6. To read the other entries in the contest, click here.