Be With Me (11 page)

I stood up, my face
flaming from embarrassment. “I’m really sorry, I…I didn’t know that
she would copy me.”

“Just watch what you say,
kids are like sponges dammit.” Jake commented.

“Dammit.” The child
blurted out.

The whole room was in an
uproar laughing, but not me. I was feeling so damn guilty for not
watching what I said and I stood to my feet and ran out of the
house. I felt the tears start coming down like a torrential down
pour.

“Maggie, it’s okay. I’m
sure with Jakes mouth she would have eventually learned to curse
anyway.” Tyler tried to soothe.

“It’s not okay Tyler, I’m
horrible around kids, my life is one big cluster fuck, and I just
really want to go home!” I cried.

“So you’re just going to
run away? That’s solves everything right?”

“Yes it does! Every
fucking problem I’ve ever had has been here, and I’m sick and tired
of feeling out of control. This is not me! I don’t meet a stranger
and fall for them…” As soon as the words escaped my mouth I
regretted them. I wished that I could take them back and not be in
the position I was currently in.

“Maybe you just need to
calm the fuck down! Life isn’t perfect no matter how much you
expect it to be, there’s always going to be road blocks. Dammit
Maggie.”

“Just take me home.” I
whimpered.

“Fine, if that’s what you
want then you’ve got it.” He stormed off toward his
truck.

The ride back to my
family’s home was too silent, Tyler was pissed and he had every
right to be. I ruined a perfectly great evening for him and his
family, and I felt horrible about it.

When we arrived at the
house I got out and slammed the vehicle door. I didn’t want to talk
to Tyler, and I knew that he wasn’t the kind of man that just let
things go.

“Look, I didn’t plan on a
lot of things in my life Maggie. I didn’t plan on getting shot and
lying in a hospital bed. I didn’t plan on coming back home and
finding everyone so damn happy while I was dealing with my own
shit. But things happen, and I’ve learned to deal with it as it
comes.”

What was I to say to that,
yes he was right, but my stupid pride choked me like a noose wound
around my neck. “Tyler just go.”

He didn’t argue, and
didn’t say goodbye, he did what I asked and left. It took every
ounce of will power for me to not run after him, I wanted to, but I
knew in my heart it wouldn’t turn out well. So I let him
go.

Twenty-Two

When I went inside the
house the tears came more violently. They streamed down my face and
the heat of them burned me from the inside out. I didn’t cry, I was
strong and in control of my emotions, so I thought. Tyler was
making my emotions do crazy somersaults, and I was getting whiplash
from them all. What I needed was a hot bath to clear my head, and
relax. I knew my flight was leaving in the morning and so I decided
to pack my things before slipping in the relaxing soak.

I piled everything in
except for the things I would need that night, and then went
downstairs to make a kettle of hot tea. When I reached the bottom
step something felt eerily out of place. Goosebumps trickled up and
down my spine, and I no longer felt as safe as I had been before.
My body was frozen in place like an ice sculpture, and my feet
refused to move on their own accord.

“Hello Maggie.” A gruff
voice called from beside me.

I forcefully twisted my
body around to see the person that I most feared, standing there
with an evil grin on his face. My father.

“What the fuck are you
doing here?” I whispered.

“Oh I heard my baby girl
was in town, and I thought she would want a visit from her dear old
dad…was I wrong?”

“Very wrong, now get the
hell out of here before I call the police!” I screamed.

“It’s going to be really
hard to do that without a phone Maggie.” He pointed to the
shattered pile of glass on the floor that once resembled my
phone.

I then remembered that I
smashed it in a fit of anger, and regretted my actions. I had
nowhere to run, and couldn’t hide from this terrifying man. I was
trapped like a rat on a sinking ship.

“Why don’t you come over
here and give daddy a hug?”

“Fuck you!”

“That’s no way to talk to
your father.” He stepped forward, and my stomach roiled. He smelled
of stale cigarette smoke, and cheap whiskey.

“Don’t touch me!” I felt
his hand brush my shoulder.

“You’re my daughter and I
have every right to touch you. You sure have turned out to be a
fine looking woman I must say.” He growled.

I couldn’t take the
feeling of him being so close in proximity to me. Every word that
man spoke was like knife to my heart. I had to escape somehow, and
I had to fight.

I pivoted around and swung
my hand, and luckily connected with his jaw. He stumbled backward,
and I could see the unrelenting rage boiling in his cold eyes. “You
little bitch!” He screamed.

He lunged forward, pushing
me to the ground with a loud thud. I tried to scurry away and not
let him have the upper hand, but even in his drunken state he still
overpowered me. I felt like I was that helpless little girl again,
trapped. He caught me by the ankle and pulled me underneath of his
sweaty body and I wanted to vomit.

“I think it’s been worth
it, standing back and keeping an eye on you. I knew you would be
back here eventually and I wanted to give you a warm welcome.” He
snickered.

My mind was racing with
all the possibilities that might happen. I knew what he wanted, but
dammit I wouldn’t let him have it anymore. I kicked up my knee,
lodged it in his groin, giving me time to throw his disgusting body
off of mine. When I got to my feet I ran up the stairs and locked
myself in the bathroom. I could hear him making his way up the
creaky steps and then stand in front of the door.

“You know I’ve missed you
baby girl, all the fun games we used to play at night…I know you
liked them too Maggie, didn’t you?”

“You are a sick
bastard!”

He let out a bone chilling
laugh. “Maybe I am, but one that loves his daughter. You know…it
wasn’t even hard to find you after you left home. I looked you up
shortly after, and have made sure you’ve been safe and sound ever
since. Chicago is such a nice city too, I have enjoyed living
there.”

“No.” I
whispered.

“Yes Maggie, I’ve been
there the entire time, there was nothing left for me here. Your
mother was a nut case, and she knew I didn’t love her anymore. She
was jealous that you and I were so close though…”

“Please just let me go.” I
cried.

“No can do sweetheart, you
belong to me. And that man you have been with while you’re here,
I’ll make sure he’s out of the picture too so you and I can have a
happy life together.”

“You are delusional! Leave
Tyler alone!”

I saw the knob on the door
start to turn and then it stopped. The room fell silent, and then a
horrible crashing noise permeated the space. I jumped back just as
the door came off its hinges and flailed across the room. I was
trapped again.

He grabbed my hair and
threw me onto the hallway floor. I was running out of mental and
physical strength to battle him and I couldn’t move. I knew no one
could hear me but I started screaming.

Twenty-Three

When Tyler left Maggie, he
felt like his heart had been ripped to shreds, and scattered in the
sea. He was numb. Ever since Maggie had stumbled into his life, he
felt like maybe things were looking up, but he was wrong. He
thought back to the conversation they had when she stormed out of
his brother’s house earlier.

I don’t meet a stranger
and fall for them…

He had to know, so he did
a spontaneous U-turn and started in the direction of her house once
again. Dammit this woman was complicated, but she was also the one
person in the world that held his heart in the palm of her soft
hand.

As Tyler hopped down from
the cab of his truck, he thought heard screaming coming from the
interior of the house.
Maggie.

He barged up the wooden
steps of the porch and put his ear to the front door. For a brief
moment there was silence, and then a shrill scream cut through the
air like a machete on a corn stalk
. She
was in
trouble.
Tyler went into battle mode and threw his leg up and kicked
in the door with ultimate force. The wood splinted into a million
pieces and landed in the foyer. He did a quick sweep of the room on
the lower level of the house, and couldn’t find anyone so he went
upstairs. He heard another scream coming from the bedroom at the
end of the hallway. When he peeked in he was sickened by what he
saw. Maggie was being held down by an older looking man, and she
was struggling to get free.

Tyler jumped into action
and took a few strides into the room. He grabbed the man by the
shirt collar, jerked back and slammed him up against the
wall.

“Tyler!” Maggie
shouted.

Tyler toned out her
terrified voice and commenced to punching the man until he slumped
to the floor. Once he determined that the man was unconscious, he
went to make sure Maggie was okay.

“Are you hurt?” He looked
her over.

“No Tyler I’m okay, oh my
God I was so scared.” She started shaking.

“It’s alright I’ve got
you.” He soothed.

They stood there for a few
moments, and Maggie seemed to calm down in the comfort of his arms.
Tyler wanted to keep her there and safe for as long as he
could.

“You son of a bitch!” The
man yelled from across the room.

Tyler spun around readying
himself to clock the guy once more, but found himself staring down
the barrel of a pistol.

“You think you can come in
here and ruin everything don’t you. Well she’s my little girl and I
won’t let you have her!” The man screamed.

Tyler knew he had to get
the gun away from the deranged lunatic and soon. He took one swift
motion and knocked the firearm to the floor, it landing at Maggie’s
feet. When he turned to look at her, the look in her eyes was
almost terrifying even to him. She picked up the gun and walked
forward, looking like a cheetah stalking its prey on the plains of
the Serengeti. She raised the pistol toward the man.

“I won’t let you have
control over my life again! You have hurt me for the last
time…Dad.” She said.

The next thing Tyler heard
was the loud bang of the gun firing. He watched as a bullet hit the
man right in between the eyes and blood splatter on the wall behind
him. The man’s body fell to the floor with a thump. Tyler couldn’t
believe what he had just witnessed.

When he turned to see
Maggie again, she looked different. It wasn’t the same person he
had come to know in the past weeks. She looked fearless, and
strong.

“Maggie, put the gun
down.” He cajoled.

She lowered the pistol to
her side and let it slip from her hand to the wooden floor. Tyler
immediately pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 911. He
gave them their location, and then hung up.

“Police will be here in a
few minutes.” He told Maggie.

“Am I going to jail?” She
started crying.

“No Maggie, it was
self-defense, at least that’s what we are going to say
alright?”

“I just killed him Tyler,
he’s…dead.”

“I know, but everything
will be okay I promise.”

Twenty-Four

What did I just do?
I thought to myself. I saw the bleeding corpse of
my father lying lifeless on the floor, and it took me a moment to
realize that I did this. I literally shot a human being in cold
blood. This wasn’t the kind of person I was, yes I was heartless to
some extent I’d been told, but to take another human life was way
beyond the person I was. But something in me had changed, he drove
me over the edge long ago, and I couldn't stop my actions. When he
threatened Tyler, it was the last straw, it was in my power to
protect the man I loved, and I would have taken out an entire
battalion of men to make sure he was safe. Was that what love
really was? Making sure that the person who held the key to your
heart was safe from all harm and wrong doing?

The scene laid out before
me was of my own creation, and I had to admit that I wasn’t as sad
as I should have been. I wanted that man out of my life for good,
and what I did would make sure that he could no longer hurt
me.

I heard the police sirens
coming from the distance, and Tyler ushered me outside. I numbly
sat on the rickety porch swing and wrapped my arms around myself
for comfort. The officers pulled up and proceeded to enter the
house. I registered someone talking to me but the sounds were
muffled and sounded like they were speaking to me from the inside
of a garbage can.

“Maggie, hey…they need a
statement from you.” Tyler patted my shoulder.