It was late when he had come stumbling in
again, smelling of the dark stout that he had said was as important as water
and air to him. I was snuggled down in the sheets and blankets, watching him in
the near-darkness as he shrugged off his shirt, his shoes, everything down to
his skivvies. He dropped down into the narrow bed beside me, bringing a
groaning noise from the old frame. I was suprised by the tone of his voice,
quiet and ... frightened?
Ryan: Angel?
I rolled onto my side facing him and
kissed him on the forehead. He was warm, perhaps from his walk.
Jade: I'm here, Ryan.
He drew me to him, his arms pulling me
close to his chest, and I closed my eyes, letting my senses be drowned in his
presence. I was listening to his heart beat, when he spoke again, low, as not
to wake Bill and Deb.
Ryan: Do you still want to go with me?
Jade: yeah, i do.
He was giving me a last chance to back
out. I wondered if i was a fool for not taking him up on it. STill, in all the
time I'd known him, he'd never lied to me, and had never deliberately put me in
harm's way. NOt that harms way wasnt 50 feet from him at all times...
But the way he held me, the tightness, he
was so quiet, I knew something was up. I spoke to him in a hushed voice.
Jade: what's wrong, baby?
He said nothing. His touch told me all
there was to know, as he rolled me underneath him, slid his hands underneath
the t-shirt i slept in, and kissed my belly, my chest... and as we went
farther, intensified, i could feel
him shaking, tense,
letting go. He'd never been this ... free? He'd always been the one in control,
the one who spoke to me as we made love, his hand guiding me, but here he was,
like a child, holding on to me, unable to make a sound other than a soft
moan...
He cried out and fell atop me, and i held
him. I was amazed to feel his hot tears on my face.
Ryan: to think... i'd almost missed this...
He was still shaking, speaking in a hoarse
voice, almost inaudible it was so low. I'd never seen him like this... all i
could think to do was let him talk and hope that he could draw some kind of
strength from my presence. But he spoke no more. I felt him drop off to sleep,
leaving me to my thoughts.
----
we left in the morning, saying farewell to
all my new friends. we were off to Ireland, his homeland, and he was in great
spirits for the trip. I was scared out of my mind, but I tried not to show it.
So far, I had not given myself away. It was approaching 7pm one evening when we
pulled into a hotel. we were both exhausted, neither one of us able to sleep
for long stretches in a moving vehicle. We both fell into the bed after
showering together, and slept.
It was early morning when I awoke. Ryan
was still asleep, the sheets tangled around his body, one arm still around my
waist. He'd spoken to me, awake and dreaming, all night. Normally, I slept
pretty deep into the morning when I could, but I just couldnt' shake the
feelings I had acquired over the last few days. We had been on the road, closer
to the port of call which would take us to his homeland, and I fought back the
quiet fear of the unknown, for I was also energized by it.
I slipped out of of the bed, out from
underneath him. Ryan rolled over in his sleep and brought hte pillow he'd been
hugging closer to him. I watched him for a short while, and then took up my
keys and wallet, slipped on a pair of jeans and my shirt and shoes. I figured
I'd go out and get something for breakfast for us both, take a walk, and above
all, think. I hadn't had a lot of time to do it. Better to do it now before I
left the mainland...
I scribbled a note to Ryan on the hotel
stationary so that if he woke up and saw me gone, he'd not turn the place
upside down looking for me, and slipped out the door into the early morning.
It was still dark, only the faintest hints
of light showing in the sky. Wher were we? Kentucky? I wasn't sure, and I
didn't really care. As i was in my thoughts, I didn't hear the footsteps behind
me until it was too late. I was grabbed by the upper arms by two sets of strong
hands and lifted off my feet before I could recognize a danger and take off. I
opened my mouth to scream but one of the hands clamped over it before I could
utter a sound. i was whirled around to face a woman.
She had a cruel face. It's all I can
really remember about her. The hard blue eyes. They studied me, took me apart
in a few seconds time. I must have looked absolutely terrified, because she
smiled.
Woman: So you are the one, eh?
She had an equally hard voice. The accent was...
English? There was something
else, though... The woman
stepped closer, a finger along my jaw. Her deep red nails were long. claws, I
thought grimly. I struggled against the hands, but they only gripped me
tighter. The smile faded from her face.
Woman: Tell him... that he cannot hide from
me. From us. Give him this warning. Take him this gift of pain. He will
understand.
She gestured to the ones which held me in
place with an open, careless motion of her hand, and turned away. I was dropped
to the ground, roughly. Landed on my knees and I felt the skin tear away a
little from one of them. I took a deep breath, started to rise, to call out,
but a sharp pain exploded in my side. My hair was grabbed, pulled, and I looked
into the eyes of one of my attackers. He wore a black mask.
I was kicked again, and I felt something
give way inside. The man's hand went to my jaw, pulled me up by it, threw me to
the ground. I barely registered
the sound of a watermelon
being dropped from a height as the back of my head hit the concrete, hard. I
heard the footsteps recede and could only lie there and try not to pass out.
A few minutes had passed, and I regained
some of my wits, pushed myself up into a sitting position. My head spun, and I
felt like I was going to throw up, but I struggled to my feet. All I could
think of was Ryan... had they found him, would he be in one piece...?
I lurched back to the room, got the key in
the lock, and stumbled inside. I wasnt nearly as quiet coming in as I had left,
and this woke Ryan.
Ryan: Angel? What's going on? Where've you
been?
"I thought I'd pick up some
breakfast, but the morning crowd in this city is a little grouchy" came
out somewhat differently.
Jade: Ryan... please... hurts...
He instantly came awake and launched
himself off the bed and to my side. His hands were gentle, guiding me to the
bed. He was talking the entire way, asking me questions faster than I could
answer them.
Ryan: What happened? Who did this? What
hurts? What did they do to you?
I gritted my teeth against the pain and
found myself on the bed. He was over me, leaning into my face, imploring me to
speak. I could barely make out his face in the semi-darkness, but I could see
his eyes gleaming. It seemed as if the sentences in my head were not making it
to my mouth, for everything I wanted to say came out broken into pieces, and
not even in the right order.
Jade: I was walking... out of nowhere...
kicked me...
His jaw tensed.
Ryan: Who? What did they look like? Tell me.
The woman. I described her to him, what
she had said to me as best I could. He turned away slightly, rubbed his face
with one large paw, muttered something under his breath. Sounded like Gaelic.
Ryan: What about the others, you said there
were more.
Jade: Two, I think. One wore a black mask.
He sighed and silenced me, the tips of his
fingers against my lips. when he spoke again, his voice was soft.
Ryan: What did they do... did they...?
I shook my head.
Jade: They never touched me, only beat the
hell out of me.
He nodded.
Ryan: Do you need to go to casualty?
The concern in his eyes nearly killed me.
I held my side with one hand.
Jade: NO, I think it would be best to get the
hell out of here. I"ll be fine.
Ryan: You sure?
I remembered the face again, staring at
me. Hard eyes. Cold. The fear outweighed the pain.
Jade: Yeah, I'm sure.
Before I could protest, he had scooped me
up in his arms and carried me back to the truck, deposited me in the passenger
side. He tossed our two bags in the back and slid in behind the wheel. When he
turned onto the highway, the opposite way we had come, I pointed this out.
Ryan: Angel, this is serious. We can't leave
right now.
Jade: But where...?
Ryan: How much money do we have left?
Jade: enough to get us to where we were
going, not much more. Where are we going?
Ryan: Back to Lubbock. It's safe there, as
safe as it can get, anyway. I need to deal with this before we leave, before it
gets out of hand.
He saw me holding my side and frowned.
Ryan: Are you sure you'll be okay?
Jade: Yeah, just give it some time, I'll be
fine.
He put a hand to my head, stroked my hair.
Ryan: Sleep.
Blessedly, I did.
----
When next I awoke, the pain in my side had
graduated to fire. I ignored it and took a few tylenol, then turned to Ryan.
We were parked at a rest stop, secluded by
a few trees. We weren't visible from the road. He slept lightly in the driver's
side, his head had fallen off a little to the right. I could see the top of his
head, his hair mussed.
I looked around a bit for any signs of
people who might be less than friendly, and then got out of the truck, holding
my side and limping a little. My whole body ached from the stiffness of being
in one place for too long, but I made it to the public restroom and back in
three minutes. He was waiting for me when I returned, and less than happy.
Ryan: Why did you not wake me, lass? Don't
you understand the grave danger...
Jade: I had to go.
He leaned over, black eyes hard, his jaw
set.
Ryan: Don't make it the death of you.
I pulled myself into the truck, wincing
slightly, and his anger turned instantly to concern. He leaned over the
gearshift and outstretched his arms to me. Amazing how the boy could bend so
far. I waved his hands away, but before I could protest further he had me up under
my arms and was pulling me into the vehicle. He studied me as I shifted, trying
to find a comfortable position without being too obvious.
Ryan: You are in pain, love.
Jade: Just stiff. It'll pass.
He shook his head. Even trying my damndest
i could not mask how i felt. I never could. Instead of asking me more
questions, he got out of the truck, walked to my side, and opened the door.
Again, as I looked around, i realized how secluded the spot was that he had
chosen. very close to the road, yet, hidden behind a large bank of bushes and
trees. I could hear people talking farther off, a child's laugh and the running
of bare feet on concrete, but they were only phantoms on the wind. the only
person right here, now, was Ryan.
He had pulled my shirt out of my jeans.
before i could protest, he had touched his fingers to my side, gently. he ran
his hand up and down my side, looking, i suspected, for any broken ribs or
bruises. There was a nasty one right at the lower portion of my rib cage, just
beginning to turn colors. It smarted to the touch, and i winced. Yet his touch
was gentle, and it soothed me even as my side throbbed from his ministrations.
His eyes flicked up to mine. His voice was
quiet.
Ryan: This may hurt, only for a breath or
two.
I nodded and he felt along the lowest rib
with his thumb. I bit my lip, hard.
Ryan muttered,
Ryan: this may be fractured
His face tensed, his eyes narrowed, and he
went on, feeling for a possible break. He stopped when he heard me take a sharp
breath. I opened my eyes, (when had I closed them?) and saw him staring off to
the side, deep in thought. When he looked back i saw the conflict in his eyes.
He placed his large hand on my belly. It was warm, made me shiver, just as the
serious tone of his next question did.
Ryan: does it pain you to breathe?
Jade: no
He knew i was lying. His eyes pleaded with
me, his voice hushed. the words, "why do you not trust?" nearly fell
from his lips, i saw them hanging there in the near silence, but they did not.
He pulled his hand from my skin and took a step backwards, his hand on the
door, making to shut it. his next sentence was an order.
Ryan: Get out your map, find me the nearest
clinic. and dont. argue. with. me.
I shivered and took up the map. It was to
be a long night.
To be continued…