Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 

            Christine woke up late Saturday. She didn’t want to get out of bed. There was no reason. Or was there…? Christine looked at her cell phone. She had missed six calls. All from David. Oops, I better call him. Dialing his number, Christine knew that David loved her. He apologized so many times, yet Christine wouldn’t forgive him. He had a right to be mad about that. Plus, he told me that he’s taking anger management classes. That will be a definite improvement. He’s right, though. He is the only person who will listen to me.

 

            “Hello?”

            “David? Sorry I slept---“

            “Christine!” His voice was sharp. “Why didn’t you answer your phone? Where are you?!?”

            “David, calm down.”

            “Calm down? Don’t tell me to calm down, “ he gritted through his teeth.

            Christine didn’t like the tone in his voice. It was scary. “I slept late.”

            “Are you sure? Or were you with another guy?”

            “No,” Christine argued.

            “Shut up,” he said quietly. Christine obeyed. “Christine, if you want this to work, I need to know where you are at all times. You want to go somewhere? You ask me. Otherwise, you don’t go anywhere. Got it?”

            “Yeah,” she said quietly.

            “Okay, good.” His tone softened. “I’ll forgive you, but from now on. I’m on my way to your house. See you in a little bit. Wear something… revealing.”

            “Okay.”

 

            She got off the phone. Searching for something to wear that David would like, she was barely aware that she was taking orders from him like a servant. But maybe that’s what it was supposed to be like. Love would come. At least, that’s what she convinced herself to believe. Now, I really need to find something to wear, before he gets here.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            David arrived shortly after. When Christine answered the door smiling, he looked at her with disdain. Her smile slowly disappeared as the look on his face did not change. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

            “What are you wearing?” he asked frowning.

            Christine looked down. She was wearing a tight black shirt that came to an end above her midriff, a black miniskirt, and red leggings. “What’s wrong with it?”

            “Nothing, I guess.”

            Christine was irritated. He’s never satisfied!  “What did you expect? Me to be in my bra and underwear?!?”

            He smiled. “Now that would have been more like it.”

            Christine shook her head disgustedly. “Is that all you ever think about?”

            David scoffed. “Uh…duh. I’m a guy. That’s all we care about. Speaking of, are your parents home? I mean, your mom and Jess home?” he quickly corrected himself, forgetting that her father was now dead.

            Christine noticed, but pretended not to care. “No, why?”

            He took her hand and led her up the stairs. Christine knew what he wanted. Maybe that’s the only reason he’s being nice to me. She was hesitant on following him, but his grip became tighter and he pulled harder. Not wanting him to hurt her, she let him drag her.

            David looked around at her room. “It’s a little different since I last saw it.”

            Christine tried to remember when the last time he had seen it was. Then she remembered. The night he forced himself on her. “You were so drunk last time, I’m surprised you noticed anything different,” she said aloud. Then she gasped, realizing what she had said and looking fearfully at him.

            David’s eyes narrowed.

            “Sorry,” she said quietly.

            He ignored her. “Anyway, what’s with the notebook?” He went to pick it up. It was her diary. Christine quickly snatched it out of his grasp.

            “No! Do not read this. It’s personal.”

            He raised his eyebrows and laughed. “Personal? Nothing’s personal for you. I know everything. That’s how this relationship works, Chrissie.”

            Christine’s expression changed. Usually when a guy has a pet name for you, it’s cute and cheesy. But David using a pet name was just the opposite. Last time he called her Chrissie, he was demanding sex from her.

            “Hand it over,” he ordered.

            She didn’t know what to do. If he read it, he might kill her. In the diary, Christine talked so much about how she wished David was dead, how pathetic he was, ways to torture him.  But how was she going to get him to forget about it?  She threw the notebook into a corner and grabbed him and kissed him. It was so gross, kissing him. But as long as it distracted him from the diary, the grossness was welcome. It worked, though. He started kissing her back. She started to pull back, but he wouldn’t let her. David pulled her back on the bed. As she was kissing him, she flashed back to that night. It had started just like this. Christine could see his face. She felt every emotion as she did back then. David was pushing her. Frightened, she pushed him off with a mangled cry.

            “What is your problem?” David asked angrily.

            “I’m sorry. I-I just can’t.”

            “What?” David asked dubiously. “Christine, I forgave your disobedience, even after you embarrassed me at the Newport Dance. And now, you can’t give me one thing? C’mon, it’s not like you're a virgin anymore.”

            Christine thought for a moment about slapping him. The nerve of him! It’s his fault that…

            “So, what. You know, maybe I’m just not ready.”

            He narrowed his eyes. “Not ready? Do you think I really care if you're not ready?”

            Christine could not believe him. Out of instinct, she slapped him so hard that instantaneously, a red hand mark appeared on his face. David slammed her into the world, deftly pulling out a pocket knife, holding it to her throat. She saw the look in his eyes and quickly started groveling.

            “I’m so sorry, David. I don’t know what came over me…”

            The blade was touching her neck now.

            “Please, don’t hurt me,” she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks.

            David remained silent, glaring at her. He let go and she slid to the ground crying. He walked out and the door shut with a bang.

            Christine sat on her floor. Will I ever get over this strong fear I have of David? Will things ever be right again?  She wiped the tears from her eyes. It seemed that she was crying every day now. I really want Cheetos, she thought suddenly. Wow, that’s an odd craving at a really weird time. I think I’m going to walk down to the grocery store and buy some.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            David didn’t call her that night. Or Sunday. Christine cried. Then she went downstairs. Helen was standing at the counter, pouring a drink. It was her fifth one that day. She could hold her liquor, but it still was a lot. Christine didn’t really notice because she had her own problems to do with.

 

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            Ugh. School, Christine thought. Everyone is going to be talking. Oh crap, that means that I have to go to my counselor still. That sucks so bad.

            She was right. Everyone was talking about her when she got to school. One again, the whispers followed her. Around and around they went. Since she had no friends, there was no one to comfort her. But there was David. Literally. There he was. Standing by the lockers. Talking with his friends. A girl wearing a tube top and a super-short miniskirt came up to him. Who is that?  OMG! That’s Kylie! The girl David cheated on me with! What does she want?

            Christine watched from afar as Kylie threw her arms around David. “Hey baby,” she heard him say as he kissed her. Tears filled Christine’s eyes. She ran out of the school without a glance back. Running, running. Always running. Her whole life was a run. An endless run. Well, not for long. She was going to end it. The only thing she could see in her head was that blade. Locked away in her drawer. It was the only thing that kept her going. She hated her life. She hated Helen, Jess, Evan, and especially David. I wish they were all dead! Then I could get on with my life!  

            She burst through the doors of her house and ran up to her room. Pushing open her door, she revealed Helen sitting on her bed. Christine’s room was torn up. Helen smelled of alcohol. There was a look that Christine had never seen in her eyes. In Helen’s left hand was the letter from Evan. In Helen’s right hand, was a bottle of wine. 

            “You knew?” Helen’s speech was slurred. She was definitely drunk. “This whole time, you knew he was having an affair?” she asked, her voice rising.

            “Mom, take it easy,” Christine coaxed her.

            “Take it easy? You little—“ she cut herself off and launched the bottle towards the doorway where Christine was standing.

            Christine quickly ducked as the bottle flew down the stairs. It shattered at the foot of the stairs. She backed up slowly.  Helen was coming towards her. No one spoke a word. Helen kept walking towards her; Christine kept backing up. She reached the top of the stairs. Helen moved towards her.

            Christine tried to back up some more. She stumbled and toppled backwards down the stairs. Her head hit the wall. Blood was everywhere. Smeared on the wall, spread on the stairs, and finally, she came to a stop at the bottom of the staircase, in the middle of the broken glass. Christine had never felt so much pain in her life, not even from David. She laid on the ground and put a hand to the back of her head. She groaned as she felt her damp hair. Then she moved her hand to the piece of glass jutting out of her scalp. It wasn’t big, but it let a lot of blood out. Christine staggered as she came to the doorway. She took one last look at her enraged mother, tore open the door and left.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            She sat at her refuge. Her park. The only thing that would listen to her. Christine had managed to get the glass out of her head and stop the bleeding. She was feeling dizzy, but that was normal for the amount of blood she had lost. She glanced up at the sunlight. Though the area was serene, Christine was not. She was anything but. There was no going back home. Helen had made it clear that she never wanted to see her again. I guess tonight, I’m sleeping on the park bench. It’s better than being at home. She tried to sleep on the bench, but it was no use. It was cold and she was hungry. For Cheetos. There’s no way I’m getting any sleep tonight. Then Christine started freaking out.  What’s my life going to be like? Will I be homeless forever? What’s gonna happen to me?

 

            These frightening thoughts took hold of her. They also caused more tears to fall down her cheeks. Then of course, David came emerging from the shadows. But this time was different. Judging by the expression on his face, he was genuinely concerned for her. His hands were in his pockets. Then he reached out his hand and wiped away Christine’s tears. He didn’t say anything, but sat on the bench next to her.

            Gazing at Christine’s blood-streaked clothes, he asked quietly, “What happened?”

            “Mom found out that I knew about Dad’s affair. She was drunk and chucked a wine bottle at me. I dodged it and it flew down the stairs. I slipped and fell down the stairs. I smashed my head against the walls and landed in the midst of the glass. I had to pull a chunk of glass out of my head.”

            “So now, you're sleeping on a park bench tonight?” he asked.

            Christine nodded. “I have no where else to go.

            “You can stay at my place,” he suggested.

            She glared at him. “What about Kylie?”

            David was surprised. “Kylie? You saw me talking to her?”

            “I saw  you with your hands all over her,” she replied.

            “Hey, you're the one that rejected me,” he shot back.

            “Because I didn’t want to sleep with you.”

            “Christine, I don’t want to argue with you. It seems you’ve had enough for a day. Come back to my place, you can have your own room, with a lock,” he added.  “I can’t just leave you here.”

            She sighed. “All right, but I get the key to my room,” she said, getting up.

            “For sure,” he said, smiling. David put his jacket around Christine’s shoulders and led her to his car.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            Days passed by. Christine had not seen or heard from her mom in a week. Everything at David’s had been fine. He seemed to be legitimately concerned and sorry for everything he had put her through. He had behaved like the perfect gentlemen. And tonight, he was taking her to the most expensive and most romantic restaurant ever. David also had said that he had something special to give her.  He was at work and Christine was getting ready for their special night. He had given her money to  buy a dress. Instead of the usual black, Christine had bought  a sleek, navy blue dress. It went past her knees and flowed out a little bit.

 

            Christine was having fun getting all dressed up. David had never really taken her out, even when they were dating. At least, not anywhere super nice. She was really surprised at David’s turnaround. It’s like he became a whole new person. And she really liked him. Maybe she would actually fall in love with him. Plus, everyone deserved a second chance. Or third. Maybe even fourth. Well, with him it was different. Somehow. Christine’s phone rang. She answered it.

 

            “Hello?”

            “Christine, it’s Jess.”

            “What do you want?” she asked, rather rudely.

            “Mom’s scaring me. What happened with you guys?”

            “She didn’t tell you?” Christine was shocked that her sister was calling her.

            “No, she won’t say anything. All she’s been doing is downing bottles of wine and yelling at me. What was with all the glass everywhere? You know, the night you left?”

            “Listen Jess, I don’t have time to be discussing Mom’s issues with you. I have an important date,” Christine replied coldly.

            “Christine, please, I need you to come home,” she pleaded.

            “Where’s your boyfriend? Why can’t he pick you up?”

            “He’s out of town. Mom won’t let me call anyone or leave the house.”

            “Then how are you talking to me?” Christine asked.

            “She’s in the bathroom.”

            “Can’t you sneak out? It’s not like you haven’t done it before,” Christine said haughtily.

            “I would, but Mom’s got the house on lock-down.”

             Christine looked at the clock. David was picking her up any minute. She’s not gonna kill you .”

            “What does that supposed to mean?” Jess demanded.

            “I can’t show up around the house or Mom will murder me. That’s not an understatement either.”

            “What? She tried to kill you?” Jess was horrified.

            The door sounded. “Babe, it’s time to go,” Christine heard David call. She covered the receiver. “I’ll be down there in a second,” she called. “Jess, I have to go.”

            “Please Christine, she’s really scaring me. I don’t know what to do.”

            “Well, it’s not my problem. You never came to my rescue, so as far as I’m concerned, I’m not coming to yours. Deal with it.” Christine hung up the phone and left with David.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            Jess hung up the phone. “She hung up on me!” she said angrily.

            “Who hung up on you? Were you on the phone? Was it Christine?” Jess was bombarded with these questions from Helen. Apparently, she had come out of the bathroom.

            “I-I-I was calling my voicemail,” Jess stuttered.

            “Oh really?” Helen raised her eyebrows. She reached over and grabbed the phone. She pressed redial and got Christine’s voicemail. Helen hung up. “So, since when do you and Christine share voicemail boxes?”

            “Mom, I’m sorry,” but you're really scaring me,” Jess said fearfully.

            Helen rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Jess, you're being melodramatic,” she said as she pulled a new bottle of wine from the cabinet.

            “Mom, don’t you think you have had enough today?” Jess asked.

            “No, I’m fine. Last time I checked, I was your mother, not the other way around!” she snapped.

            Jess looked at the clock. “Mom, I should go to the grocery store. We’re out of food.”

            “I’ll go get it. Actually, wait a minute.” She grabbed the phone and pressed redial again.

            “Christine, this is your mother. I don’t know where you are and I don’t care. All I want is for you to get your crap out of the house. You have an hour from now to get it all out or I’m throwing it in the yard!” Then Helen hung up. “Come on, Jess. Let’s get those groceries.” She grabbed the keys and headed out the door.

            “Don’t you think I should drive?” Jess called out, following her.

            Helen was already sticking the keys in the car door. “Jess, you're acting like I’m drunk,” she said laughing.

            Jess had her doubts, but there was no arguing with Helen.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            David led Christine to a table at Imperial Dining restaurant.  The most expensive restaurant in Newport. Christine had never been in a place so extravagant. Glittering chandeliers hung from the ceiling, waiters were courteous and pulled out chairs for them. David pulled out his fake I.D. and ordered champagne for the both of them. He put his hand upon hers and looked into her eyes tenderly. There was something in his eyes that Christine had never seen before. A good kind of something.

            “What?” she asked shyly.

            “You look so beautiful,” he answered back, not taking his eyes off her.

            Her cheeks reddened. “Thanks,” she said as the waiter approached their table.

            “Here is your champagne,” the waiter said. He took their orders and returned shortly with their food.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            While Christine was enjoying her champagne and meal, Jess was not faring too well.  She was frightened out of her mind. Helen was barely driving in one lane and kept veering toward the edge of the street.

            “Mom, please let me drive,” Jess begged.

            “Jess, shut up!” Helen shouted. “You're acting like I don’t know how to drive! Remember, I’ve been doing it a lot longer than you have.”

            Jess didn’t want to get back-handed, so she became silent, cringing as Helen drove faster.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            “So, how’s the food Christine?” David asked.

            She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “It’s really good. Thank you for taking me out. It’s been really great.”

            He smiled warmly. “Only the best for the love of my life. Which reminds me…” He pulled out a small black box.  She took it from his hands and gave him a questioning look.

            “What’s this?” she asked curiously.

            “Well, open it and see,” he urged.

            Christine opened it cautiously and saw that a ring was inside. It was a promise ring. “Oh my God, David.”

            His smile broadened. “Do you like it?”

            She stared at him. “Are you kidding? I love it!” she exclaimed.

            “Well, since I don’t exactly have enough to buy you an engagement ring, much less am able to marry you, I’m giving you a promise ring. I want you to know that I will always be here for you and I want to marry you someday.”

            Tears brimmed her eyes. “David, that’s so sweet. She leaned over the table and kissed him.  “Now I have to go to the bathroom and check my makeup,” Christine said, getting up from the table. She walked to the restroom.

            Inside, she looked in the mirror. Christine barely recognized herself in the dress. She slipped the ring onto her ring finger. Then she noticed that the cuts on her left arm were a lot more visible than normal. She thought about what drove her to cut herself. It was that guy who gave her this ring. He is so different now. But, can I ever forgive him for what he did to me or led me to do? Sure, I can pretend and convince him that I forgive him, but will I ever be able to, for real? Christine did not know. She turned on her phone and noticed that she had a voicemail. It was from Helen. She listened intently and then realized that she had to get her stuff right at that moment, before Helen got home.

            “David, I have to go,” she said quickly, when she got back to the table.

            “What do you mean?” he asked slowly.

            “My mom is going to throw my stuff out if I don’t get there right now!”

            “But,” he protested, “tonight was our special night. Can’t I have someone pick it up?”

            Truthfully, Christine was looking for an excuse to leave. She realized, at that moment, she could never forgive David and act like nothing happened. She took his keys and left out the door.

            He followed her out. “Christine, what’s wrong? I thought everything was going great.”

            “Yeah, but for how long?” Christine demanded.

            “What’s that supposed to mean?”

            Christine rolled her eyes. “Oh please, we both know you were going to try to get me in bed with you. That’s all you ever want.”

            She tried to unlock the car, but David stopped her. “You leave now, and I swear this will be the biggest mistake of your life,” he whispered in her ear.

            “Let go of me!” she screamed, punching him in the stomach. He doubled over and she opened the car door and drove off, leaving David there in the parking lot.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            Christine hurried back to her house. Her stuff was still inside the house. Unfortunately, Helen had the locks changed, so there was no way to get inside. It was cold outside and Christine had no sweater. There wasn’t anywhere for her to stay. She sat on the porch and called Jess.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            Jess noticed her phone vibrating. She looked out the window. Helen was putting gas in the car. Jess was terrified that Helen had been driving so fast. She answered her phone very discreetly. “Hello?” she whispered.

           

            “Jess?”

            “Oh my God, Christine! I’m so scared.”

            “Where’s Mom? I need a key to the house.”

            “She’s outside getting gas. I really need your help. Call the police.’

            “Jess, you're being dramatic. Things can’t be that bad.”

            “I’m not over-exaggerating,” Jess said quietly.

            Just then, Helen opened the car door. “Jess, give me the phone.”

            Jess had fear in her eyes and handed it over as Helen got into the car.

            “Christine.”

            “Mother,” Christine replied coldly.

            “Why are you talking to Jess?” Helen asked as she drove faster. Jess began to cry. “Jess, shut up!” she yelled.

            Christine realized that Helen was drunk. There was no way she would yell at Jess if she were sober. “Mom, I think you should pull over and let Jess drive,” she suggested.

            “Shut up Christine! We’re fine,” Helen snapped back. Her speeding increased as her voice raised.

            “Mom, you're going to kill us!” Jess screamed through her tears.

            “If we die, it’ll be your sister’s fault. She did this to us, Jess!”

            Tears were filling Christine’s eyes. “Mom, please,” she pleaded, fearing for Jess’ life.

            “Mom! Watch out!” Jess screamed.

            Christine heard the squeal of tires, the crashing of cars, and the wails of Jess. Then the line went dead.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

            Christine had let the phone fall from her hands. There she sat, on the porch, eyes closed. She didn’t need to hear the phone call that came fifteen minutes later. She knew what had happened. The police officer on the phone didn’t need to tell her that Helen and Jess were dead. The semi they hit had caused an explosion. There was no way they could be found alive.

            It was dark outside. Christine stared at a flowerpot blankly. Then she saw the spare key. Stumbling to the door, Christine unlocked it. She couldn’t think straight. She wandered up the stairs and into Helen’s room. Walking into the bathroom, she gazed at her reflection. Once again, that tear-streaked face stared back at her. Her eyes were full of sadness, full of hurt. She closed them and remembered Jess’ screams before the line went dead. Christine remembered the pleading. The call that she ignored. Jess was scared and Christine had not done anything to help her.

            “I killed my sister,” Christine said aloud. Her words echoed all throughout the house. “This is it,” she decided. “I’m done.” She opened the cabinet and dumped out all the pills she could find. Taking them three by three, she began to feel dizzy and couldn’t breathe. She fell to the ground. Her vision was distorted. She had never felt like this before.  So this is what dying feels like. Christine remembered everyone. David. Evan. Helen. Jess. Her family, dead. Then the room started getting darker. Only then did she realize it wasn’t the room. She heard the echoes, the sound of people downstairs. It was too late.

 

 

Reviews

[Calypso]

I hate David! I hate Jess and her Mom! I'm just sad for her that her family is gone...
This book has me emotional.

[closed]

God! That damn David the nerve of that guy! He got what he deserved being left, he'll never change! I can't belive Jess and Helen died...well serves helen right, but Jess. I kinda feel bad for her. Oh well very good onto the next chapter!

[These Haunted Hallways]

Oh, man?!!? U see, i knew it. It was that son of a bitchin' David again. I knew it, I knew it, ugh! But twas good that she left him there right in the parking lot. That was so funny lol. All of this crap, and now her mom and sister are gone. I mean, what next? i swear. To tell u the truth, if all of this were happening to me, I would love to be in a better place right now, not this hell hold. But, still my heart goes out to her 100%. I hope she doesnt die, man :( Well, onto the next >>

B.A.

[Ice Queen of the Vampir..]

......wow, this chapter is sad but amazingly done. It's written so well I can feel every emotion. I've been on the edge of my seat reading and now I'm dying to know what happens next. Great work!!!

Heather

[oranges_melt]

Awwww, that is so sad. OMG, at least she made the right decision to leave David!! OMG, that makes me want to cry, you're a really good writer!