The Rescue: Chapter One

Florence

Perhaps it wasn't a great idea to tell Ash that I wanted to end things when he was already put in a bad mood by his friends. I was waiting at his car shop, and when he came in, he was ranting about how some dudes didn't go through with a deal they had made. Stupid me, I said, "I don't want to be with you anymore.”

He clenched his fists and looked about ready to punch something. A wall was punched, causing him pain. "Please repeat that. I don't think I heard correctly."

I enunciated every word slowly. "I don't want to do this anymore, Asher."

"You're very funny, Florence." He laughed it off, thinking I was joking.

"I'm not joking, Asher." His smile disappeared, replaced by a frown. His eyebrows upwardly slanted and he clenched his fists.

“What the f**k do you think you’re doing?” He said, running his hand through his super long hair.

“I’m tired of this relationship, Asher. Our relationship is so toxic. We fight all the time. We swear. This is doing no good to neither of us. Let’s just end this before it gets worse.” I spoke, strongly and confidently.

He curled his hands and began to bang the table with his tools. “Honey, you don’t decide when this is over. I decided. I’m not done with you yet.”

“Sorry but I’m not going to keep doing this.”

Before I can find the perfect moment to escape, his fist touched my face. He kicked my lower body. “Keep saying what you’re saying and it only will get worse for you.”

Despite the intense pain I felt, I stood back up and made a run for it. “Help! Somebody help!”

Asher argued,”Baby girl, it’s almost nine o’clock at night. I’m pretty sure no one will come to your rescue.”

I held my fingers straight and tightly together, with my thumb tucked and slightly bent at the knuckle and aimed at his neck. He groaned of pain, letting go of me. I wasted no time: I ran. I was never really a good runner, but with all the adrenaline I had, I ran as fast as humanly possible. Often, I checked behind for any sign of Asher. It was very dark, but I continued to run straight ahead through streets filled with a neighborhood.

Idiot. Why didn’t I dial nine-one-one as soon as I left? Turning my phone on, I noticed I only had a bar of service (stupid Sprint) and twenty percent of battery. Worth giving it a shot, I clicked on emergency and dialed nine-one-one.

“Hello. Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”a masculine voice spoke.

“Help! My boyfriend hit me.”

“Ma’am, where are you?”

“I hit my boyfriend and ran away from him. His address is 4913 Eleanor Street.”

“Okay, Ma’am. Find a safe place. Help is on the way.”

Where exactly was a safe place? I can’t exactly trust strangers. I took a right turn and there was a shopping center and restaurants. There was a runner coming my way. He noticed me looking at making sure Asher wasn’t following me. He noticed I wasn’t okay because he stopped and took out his earphones. “Miss, are you okay?”

“No. My psycho boyf - ex-boyfriend is chasing after me.” This was so unlikely of me - asking for help to people on the street. Like I said, I don’t trust easily. I’ve been constantly hurt by people I thought were my friends, but it turned out they were backstabbing friends. I had to learn the hard way. If I had to talk some stranger, I would not even get a word out before my anxiety or panic attack would begin. I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t. My parents have tried to convince to see someone to help me be more social, but I’ve refused, simply because I won’t open up to a doctor.

I could feel my body began to shake, so I did what I know best: run.

“Wait!” He called out for me.

I continued running, but strong hands stopped me from going any further. For the first time, I noticed his beautiful, bright green eyes, that happened to be staring into my boring brown eyes. Not gonna lie, he was handsome. Stop it, Florence. It’s not the time to be thinking about these things, I thought.  His blond hair was sticking up from the windy night. It seemed rain was on its way.

“Let me help you, Miss.”He said, clearly. I just met him, but those words, somehow, meant a lot to me. It wasn’t everyday where a total stranger would offer to help me. “Let me take you to the police station.” Him taking me to the station would require me going in this guy’s car, and that was just too much for me. It was bad enough I was still talking to him.

“I’m s-sorry, I can't. I d-don’t know you.”

“I won’t hurt you, I promise.” That’s what people always said. Nothing guarantees me he won’t hurt me when I get into his car. He might not even take me to the police station. We might end up in a different part of the city, where he’ll taking advantage of me and then kill me when he’s had enough of me.

“Get away from her!” Asher called out, his hand still on his neck. That must have really hurt him. I did my research on self-defense moves, and that was one of them. Where was the police? As he came closer, some sort of weapon was visible. When I noticed the “L” shape, I knew he had a gun.

“Put down the gun.” The mystery man calmly stated. He walked closer to me so he could guard me.

“Leave my girlfriend, and nothing will happen to you.”

“You won’t be arrested if you just leave us alone.” He remained calm.

How? If I was defending someone, I’d be scared for my life. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of someone’s death.

I spoke, “Leave him alone, and I’ll go with you.”

“No!” The mystery man interfered.

“F--- off, white boy. I’m not leaving without her. She’s mine. Only mine.”

“She’s not your property,” The nameless stranger intently made eye contact with Asher, “If she doesn’t want to be with you, that’s her choice. If you were a real man, you’d respect her decision.”

Asher continued to hold the nameless man at gunpoint.“ I don't need any white boy telling me what to do with my girl. You’re getting on my nerves. If you don’t watch yourself, someone will end up in a hospital and possibly in a grave.”

“Kill me instead, Asher.” I stepped in front of a nameless stranger and pushed him further away. “I rather be dead than be with you. Do it.”

Asher dropped his gun to the concrete. “I’m not capable of shooting you, baby girl. You’re the love of my life. I love you. I need you.”

When I met him, he wasn’t like this. Like all abusive relationships, the men (or possibly women) acted very innocently for the first few dates before making it official. Once time passed, slowly but surely, they started to show their true colors. They’d be extremely possessive. Every little thing ticked them off. For me, the first thing that ticked him off was my revealing clothes. I would wear a tank top and he would make me go back and change. My parents would ask why I returned, and, of course, I had to lie to them. The first time he laid his hands on me was because I disobeyed his orders. Of course the first time they would always say they were so sorry and it would never happen again. A lie. It would happen again. And again. And again. I’d have to cover the bruises with makeup so I wouldn’t be forced to lie to my parents. The truth came out when they received a call from the hospital, informing them that their daughter was in critical condition. Asher apologized and apologized, claiming he had learned his lesson and would never do it again. Being the stupid person I am, I forgave him and got back together with him.

The red and blue police lights startled me.

“S**t.” Asher murmured, bending down to pick up his gun.

“I’m not even going to force you to come with me right now,” Asher said, smiling, “I know you won’t be able to resist. In a few days, you’ll be begging me to take you back.”

The police car pulled over abruptly. “Asher Samuels, put your hands up where I can see them.” The officer kept looking at the mystery man. “You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to lawyer. If you can’t afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you.”

“Nathan, how are you involved in this situation?”

And the mystery man had a name.

“I noticed her running away from someone and tried to take her down to the station, but she thought I was a murderer.” Nathan grinned.

“Ms. Garcia, Nathan Alcott is no murderer; he’s a police officer.”

I apologized,“I’m sorry, Mr. Alcott, that I thought you were a murderer.”

“Ms. Garcia, we’ll need you to come down to the stations so you can tell us everything that happened.”

*****

I had no choice but to drive with Nathan Alcott. I had to walk with him to his house so he could get his car.

During the ride, I was expecting to get anxious or panicky because that was just who I am, but I didn’t, surprisingly.

“Do you need to call your parents?” He commented, breaking the

silence.

I was going to receive a big “I told you so.” The first few weeks after getting back together with Asher, my parents were unaware. They found out when they decided to check my alibi. Abigail was one of my oldest friends. I wouldn’t she’s my best friend, but she’s one of few people I trusted. Not thinking my parents were going to verify whether I was there or not, I lied saying I was spending the night at Abbie’s.

“No.”

Arriving at the police station, I was taken to a private room where an officer asked me questions on my whole relationship with Asher. Obviously, the whole truth came out. At the end, I was asked to consider a restraining order. To begin the process, I’d need to go to a local courthouse and they’d review the evidence I had and I might receive a temporary one until the fourteen-day hearing.

Asher could no longer be present in my life. He was dangerous and toxic. We weren’t meant to be with each to her, and that was okay. A whole chapter of my life was closed today. To be honest, it felt fascinating to cut ties with him. With him, it felt like being a slave, My freedom was granted today.

Nathan waited for me outside the office. “Everything all right?”

“Thank you for helping me, Mr. Alcott.”

“Please call me, Nathan.”

“Thank you, Nathan.”

“I never got your name.”

“My name is...Florence.”

“What a beautiful name.”

We stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like an eternity. I was mesmerized by his green eyes that stared intently into mine. We were in our own world where no one else was surrounding us.

Stop. A guy like him we’ll never fall for a girl like you.  He’s way out of your league.

“Goodbye, Mr - sorry, Nathan.”

“Do you need a ride?”

“No, but thanks. My brother’s picking me up.”

I left the police station, thinking I’d never see him again.

****

My parents were in bed by the time I got home, which was past ten. My brother, Frankie, was still awake in his room, playing his video games.

“Hi, sis. Where have you been?” His eyes were glued to the video game.

“I’ve been all over the place. How was your day?”

“Uneventful. Yours?”

“Pretty eventful.”

Should I tell him? After all, he was my best friend, my fraternal twin brother. He would tell me about his problems. If I didn’t tell him, later on, I would feel guilty for not lying but keeping important things from him. I sat down next to him on his bed and said, “I need to tell you something. He paused his game and turned to face me. I told him everything from beginning to end.

Although he was angry that I didn’t tell him about getting back together with Asher, he was still supportive. I lied next to him while he played with my hair, relaxing me. “Do you think I was stupid for believing he’d change?”

“No. You were in love. Sometimes love can make you blind.”

The truth was: I wasn’t in love with him. At least, I didn’t think so. I haven’t been in love, I don’t know what being in love felt like. He was like a drug: once I started, I was addicted and couldn’t stop. Thinking he was the best out there for me, I stayed with him. People say there’s someone out there for everyone. That’s necessarily not true because there are men and women who die unmarried. Will that be my destiny? Dying without finding my prince charming ( I know prince charmings don’t exist, but I still like to think they exist). His gentle and soft hands made my eyes slowly shut down, my last thought being on Nathan Alcott.

Author's Note

ignore grammar. it's the first draft.

Reviews

[matrixmark]

Opening lines were great, loved the idea of being in a car chowroom and having an argument - funny thing is, is that i have been in that situation myself - we never had a fight though just a little argument.

Gripping writing I have to say, expecially when a gun enters into the story. Quite a white knuckle ride ths piece was - not knowing where it was going to go next but alls well that ends well.

Your paragraphs are just righ and the dialogue is really well done.

A different story but intriguing all the same.

Kudos to you on such a good piece.

Mark.

[Isa]

I appreciate the feedback, and I apologize if it was confusing at first.