An old nemesis
It was a nightmare of that night all over again, it had to be. Except, that coldness in his eyes, the dread that seeped through my veins when he spoke, the way my body trembled at the sight of him—it was all too real. This was really happening again, and there was no one to save me.
"B-baron?" I squealed, wishing I had the powers I so desperately needed to disappear.
"Yes sweetie," he slurred, showing off his brown stained crooked teeth in an evil smile. "I'm back for you, I know you missed me."
Paralyzed with fear, I did the first thing I could think of, but a heavy hand closed over my mouth before I could let the first scream out. "No, you don't," Baron growled, blocking every airway with his large rough palm.
No. No. No. This could not be happening.
Instincts kicked in and I kicked, thrashing my hands and legs in every direction and struggling to free myself from his menacing grip. It was to no avail.
I could not think, breathing was an impossible job with my nose and mouth blocked.
"Let go of me...I can't fucking breathe..." Tears stung my eyes, even as I knew my muffled screams were falling on deaf ears.
"Relax sweetie," he hissed the words, sputtering spit all over my face. What was with his man and spit? His words did nothing but make me relax, if anything they opened a floodgate of rage and anger and dread in my stomach.
He was going to strangle me to death and the bastard did not even know that I could not breathe. Or maybe he did. Maybe that was the very reason he was here. To kill me.
Oh God!
Last time I had barely escaped, but this time, God this time he was going to kill me right here and no one would save me.
The thought sent a new wave of horror burning in my throat.
If I was going to die today, I could at least give a good fight.
I pulled at whatever my fingers could reach, ignoring the pain shooting through my body.
If I could just get the IV line around his neck, I might get a chance at survival.
Or even better, reach the call button. Anything to get me out of this crazy man's hold.
"Jesus, keep it down. I just want to talk sweetie," he growled, the anger in his voice was becoming more evident as he spoke. If he was getting more pissed, that meant his patience must be running thin too. And I did not want to imagine what Baron would do when whatever patience he had ran dry.
No!
As more muffled screams poured from my lungs, I felt the thick flesh of his palm on my tongue, salty and hard and filling my head with ideas. Without thinking, I bit down hard into his palm, locking my jaw like a croc would on its prey.
This time, it was his roar filling the room. Ignoring the way his other hand pried ad my neck trying to get me off, I sank my teeth, nearly bone-deep until the metallic taste of liquid-filled my mouth.
"Fuck!" he roared, snatching his bloodied hand back as I released it.
This was my chance. I threw my leg over the bed, racing for the door and screaming for help on my way. Strong hands wrapped around my neck before I could even take two steps, slamming me back against the bed with an animalistic force.
The shrilled cry from my lungs was enough to block out the screeching sound of the bed moving from the force with which he threw me at it.
"You stupid bitch!" he growled, walking back to me.
"I just wanted to talk." His arms, heavily tattooed and veined were locked in a tight fist, leaving droplets of blood trickling down in his wake as he approached me in heavy steps.
He would hit me with those arms only once and I would drop dead immediately.
While he did not hit me as he reached where I lay, sprawled on the ground, and nursing a probably broken elbow, the grip with which he caught my hair was murderous.
He fisted my hair, dragging me to the center of the room. "I did tell you I was going to see you again, didn't I?"
"Let go of me, you bastard!" I wheezed, my vision blurry from the heavy tears creeping down my cheeks, as I grabbed his hand desperate to have it out of my hair.
He crouched down, still holding my hair, and brought my face to his.
His breath reeked of cigarettes and mints as he spoke, "I told you before love, it's not that easy to get rid of me.
How's your friend. The hottie with the middle finger, good I hope because I'll be paying her a visit as soon as I'm done with you. "
"I paid you back everything I owe you, why won't you leave me alone."
A dar humorless laugh and the stink of his mouth filled my breath again, he tugged on my hair, holding me even closer to him.
His eyes narrowed, giving away nothing but the pure unforgiving evil I had seen in him before.
This man could take a life and not blink twice about it.
Hell, he would take my life and not blink once.
He brought his free hands, still dripping with blood to my face, wiping away the tears and pushing moist locs away from my eyes.
For a brief second, I want to believe the flash in his eyes is a warmth of emotion, but it goes away so fast I re-register in my mind how much of an emotionless monster he is.
"Apart from the fact that I have been unable to get you out of my head for months.
.." I managed to keep a straight face and not squirm away in disgust, "a very beautiful, very sexy, very rich, very desperate redhead gave me an offer to make sure that thing growing inside there.
.." he paused to point at my stomach, "never sees the light of day. "
My eyes widened at the realization that he was not here for me, or on his own accord. Sarah had sent him. The botch had sent him to kill my baby. A strange sense of protection filled me and my hand flew to my stomach instinctively. "No."
"Yes sweetie," he continued, "you know anything about this certain woman?"
My nervous silence gave away more than I wanted and I knew Baron had his answer. The slow nod of his head confirmed it, "Well she left a message. Leave what's hers and she won't make your life a living hell,"
He's not her's! I wanted to scream but knew better than to.
I swallowed hard, already seeing how this would end if I did not find a way around this situation.
"Please Baron, don't let her use you like this.
Look if it's money you want, I promise I'll make sure you have three times the amount she offered, please just don't hurt us, please don't hurt my baby. "
This time his bark of laughter was more sarcastic.
"You really think money is everything don't you?
" says the man that almost had me killed for owing him.
But I did not dare voice that thought, seeing as he had shown very well what he was capable of.
"No wonder you turned down my offer to be with me for a richer fucker. "
"W-what?" I voiced my shock.
"Admit it, you gold-digging, lying whore." he screamed, tugging my hair and swinging my head in every direction. "That's why you did not want to be with me."
Maybe it was the pain vibrating through my brain from where held me, or the fear that this might be the day I eventually died, or the fact that this heartless bastard who knew absolutely nothing about me just called me a golddigger, but the words spilled from my lips freely.
"I left you because you were nothing but a greedy, violent pig!
Your whole life is based on robbing people who are helpless and needy and you're nothing but a greedy monster. That's why I left you!"
A quick swoosh in the air was the only warning I received before his large palm struck my face. Stars closed over my sight, followed by a constant ringing in my ears and for a moment I thought I was finally gone. Then the pain set in, drawing out a blood-chilling scream.
Someone had to have heard that scream. Anyone? God, where was the security? I had never needed them more yet no one was in sight. Mia. She was supposed to come up to be with me, where was she? And Lucas could not leave without his keys. Why was he not here? A nurse, another patient. Somebody.
"I said to keep quiet," he growled harshly, throwing me like a rag doll back on the ground.
Without waiting for another second, I reached for his leg, grabbing it and sinking my teeth into his flesh through his pants. This was my best defense and I planned to use it well enough before going down.
"Ah Fuck," his hoarse cry was followed by an arm around my neck, cutting out any words or cries or air from going out or in.
"Fuck I'm going to kill you!" saliva filled my face as I felt his weight settling over me, his hand firmly squeezing my neck.
My breathing was cut off, my movement too, and I realized this was really it for me.
This was how I was going to die. Even worse than the near-death feeling was the pain that I could not do anything to save my baby, to at least let it see what the light of day looked like.
He had not even been born yet and I had failed as his mother.
I pulled at his fingers, desperately scratching any surface I hit.
His arms, his hands, his face, anything to get him off me.
Each effort though proved to be not only futile but also helped to wear me out even faster.
And soon enough, I could feel the life slipping from me with every second going by.
So this was what a slow death felt like? Helpless, and defenseless to your attacker. Wanting so bad to live but not having the strength to fight back.
"Lucas!" my cry was merely a mouthed whisper and I took a moment to look into Baron's eyes. Cold, vengeful, dangerous. No, this man was not human. He was a monster. A monster that had now succeeded in draining the life from me.
Vaguely I recognized the creak of the door but was too weak to register it.
The sharp roar that followed though, I would know even in death.
Through the tears leaking from my eyes, I could see a form tackle Baron off me, and just like that the hands squeezing my throat bulged, releasing me as he was knocked to the ground.
I gulped in the sweet precious air, coughing and wheezing as I tried to breathe.
Heavy footsteps filled my ears and Mia came into view, holding me up with a tenderness I never thought I would ever feel again.
Concern and worry colored her features and I felt her arm on my back, making small circles as she urged me to take in slow breaths.
"You're okay, breath easy..." she said, pulling me closer. I held on to her, pouring my eyes out on her shoulder.
I really was going to die.
The thought sent a new wave of fear down my spine like an electric shock and it took a second to realize I was now hyperventilating. "It's okay Chris," Mia said softly, rubbing my back, "we're here now."
We're?
The sound of glass shattering snapped my attention to the brawl happening just a few feet away from me.
I gasped at the sight. Lucas was on Baron in the same position he just had me in.
His fist, red and hot and rage-filled coming down on Baron's face that was already gushing out blood from every hole.
The Baron before my eyes right now was not the same I saw five minutes ago. This one had his face bleeding heavily, nose crooked to the side in an unnatural way, one eye bulging and red, and the other dripping blood from the side.
I tasted the bile in my throat as I realized Lucas did this to him in just the few minutes I took to catch my breath and with the way he kept going, I knew he was not stopping anytime soon.
He was going to kill him. Oh My God, Lucas might not even know it but he would kill Baron if he kept hitting him like that.
"Stop!" I cried, pushing myself away from Mia, her grip on me though was unrelenting. "Lucas will kill him, stop them."
Mia ignores my pleas and with every blow that lands on Baron's face a sickening sound of bone cracking made my gut wrench. "Lucas please stop!"
There is a small pause as I call his name, and his fist halts mid-air, chest heaving and eyes regarding me as if for the first time since he walked into the room.
"Muffin," he whispered, crawling off the half-dead man.
He was by my side in a second, wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug.
His eyes roamed my body when he released me, "Fuck, baby are you okay? Did that bastard hurt you? Tell me!"
I opened my mouth to tell him I was fine and that it was better to call the cops, but was stopped short as Baron slammed into Lucas out of nowhere.
I screamed, horrified as the two men fell on each other, wrestling like animals in a ring. The rage returned to Lucas' eyes in the flash of a second as Baron took blind swings at him, eyes looking like they would be damaged for a pretty long time.
"Where's Robin." I cried, holding on to Mia who looked just as petrified. "Get Robin, they'll kill each other."
"Let's get you out of here. Lucas will handle him."
"No!" I yanked my hand away from hers as she attempted to make me stand.
I loathed Baron with every fiber of my being and wanted him to pay for all he had done to me.
Despite the fact though, I was not about to watch the man I loved getting his hands dirty with another man's blood. It would kill me. It would kill us.
I knew better than to get in between two men seeking each other's blood, but with no other choice, I stumbled forward, trying to get between them.
And that was when I felt it.
One blind swing from Baron jabbed right into my abdomen, leaving a sharp twinge of pain. I gasped, clutching my stomach, my legs faltering back a step. It happened like a dream, one minute I'm trying to separate two men, the next minute a tiny surge of heat flared between my legs.
I swallowed hard, shaking my head and refusing to accept what I knew was coming. My lower abdomen felt full and weirdly uncomfortable, like the feeling you get when you know your period is on its way. Only I'm not supposed to be having my period today, not for the next nine months.
A warm liquid trickled down my legs and my eyes snapped close as if it could prevent what was happening. I did not need to look, I already knew. I knew what was happening, it was the one thing I had dreaded since I walked out of the store, holding the positive pregnancy test.
My limbs felt weak and a wave of lightheadedness swept through me.
I realize in the flash of a second that I am going to faint.
Even as I fall I know my consciousness is not the only the I will be losing today.
When I do slip out of consciousness, strong hands catch me just before I reach the ground.