It Started As a Deal

Chapter 25: You Got Some Explaining to Do

"Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!" ~ Ricky Ricardo, I Love Lucy.

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And then I woke up.  Well shot up is more like it.  My vision was still coming back to me, but I'm pretty sure I was laying in a bed which would explain why I shot up.  I didn't know where I was though and the darkness around me only made it worse like I was back there in my memories that I'd just escaped from.  Tears spilled forth from my eyes dripping down to my chin and sobs escaped from my chest making it painful to breath as my chest constricted.  Anxiety and panic seized my body and plagued the thoughts in my mind leaving me a sobbing, shaking mess.

"Imogen," I heard a voice call out softly, "you're up?"  The lights flickered on, and through my tears, I saw Vladimir standing in the doorway.  I only started to cry even more though when I realized that I was safe and no longer in danger.

"Oh my god what do I do?  I don't know what to do when a girl cries," he said jumping from foot to foot uneasy worried I guess that I wouldn't stop.  "Kye!  She's awake!  Guys she's up, and she's crying.  I don't know what to do when girls cry!"

I heard the sound of feet pound on the wooden stairs as everyone ran up the stairs to come see me and confirm that I'm actually up and okay.  Well maybe okay isn't the proper word to use here.  The truth is that I'm far from okay and have been since this accident happened to me.  No type of treatment whatsoever has actually succeeded in helping me for long periods of time.

"Imogen!  Thank goodness you're okay," Kye said coming over to me and engulfing me into a strong, warm hug.  He just stayed there holding onto me as I held onto him crying into his shoulder and starting to rock back and forth trying to console me as best as he could.

"What happened to you?" Rosalinda asked me placing a hand on my shoulder with a sad look in her eyes.

"You've been out for three days without moving.  We thought you were dead," Kye told me pulling me out of the hug but bringing my head to rest on his chest so that I could feel comforted.

"Evangeline's been worries sick about you; she thinks this whole thing is her fault," Astrid says standing by the door holding Evangeline's hand, "Even now she's worried to come see you."

"No Evangeline it's not your fault.  Come see, and I'll explain everything to you all," I say holding out my hand for her to grab it so that I could pull her in the bed with us.

"So to begin, Evangeline, do you know how you got your name?" I asked her looking at her hair out of her face.  She shook he head no and looked to Kye for an answer.

"All we know is that her papers at the adoption center said that her mother's only wish was that her name didn't change," Kye explained to us looking at me wondering what I was getting at.

"I named you," I said smiling at her, "I was there when you were born, but I didn't see it happen."  Everyone looked at me with wide eyes as if not believing what I had just said.

"I knew Emery," I say turning my face towards Kye, "Where do you think she was when she suddenly disappeared?"

"We thought that she had gone away with another guy, but no I'm not so sure," Rosalinda said with a puzzled look crossing her face.

"Well Emery and I along with forty other girls were kidnapped by a man named Jason Blackburn, Hunter's dad.  He paid out parents or people close to us money to take us to this place deep in the woods where I can't remember where it was.  You may know him as the Machete Killer, but we knew him as Jason.  We came in two groups though; I was in the first, Emery in the second.  I just want to say that this is where it gets dark, so I want to cover Evangeline's ears until I get to the part about her birth," I say beginning to explain focusing on stroking Evangeline's hair and nothing else.

"It's okay Momma," she says taking my hands and covering her ears but keeping eye contact with me so that I could stay calm.

"One by one, we were taken, but none of us really knew what was happening at first.  In our first year there, we were treated nicely, so none of us really thought much of it.  It was only after a good eighteen of us were left that a new group were brought in.  Emery was in that group, and we did our best to protect her as best as we could.

"When she was eight months into her pregnancy, there were only ten of us left, and we thought for sure we were all dead.  I volunteered myself to try and protect her, but I woke up to see Jason raping me and cutting lacerations into my body with a machete.

"I killed him.  I slit his throat so that he wouldn't kill me, but it still haunts me everyday with no fail.  My body is covered in slashes along with my face, but I cover it up with makeup.  None of you have ever seen me without makeup on," I said taking my hands off of Evangeline's ears so that she could hear the rest.

"I ran back to get everyone only to find Emery with blood and water around her with you in her arms Evangeline.  It had all happened so fast that nobody had a name, so I said the first one that came to mind:  Evangeline.  That's how you were named and came into this world.

"Now your mom did love you very much, but she just couldn't take care of you after what happened.  They evaluated all of us, and the doctor's said that there was no way she could raise a child until she recovered.  She did not want to give you up, but she had to; she would be over joyed to know that Kye was able to get you.  So if you think about it, I've known you since the moment you were born," I tell her letting a tear trickle down my cheek.  I could not let her go on in life thinking that her mother didn't love her when she in fact did so much.

"So what exactly happened three days ago?" Rosalinda asked me with her own tears falling down her face.

"I have PTSD as a result of what happened to me.  What you all saw was a panic attack that made me experience flashbacks.  It got worse only because Evangeline had crossed in front of my vision and got sucked into it which frightened me," I tell them settling back into Kye's chest feeling the energy leave my body and make me sleepy once again.

"You said that the person who did this to you all was Hunter's dad?" Vladimir asked me.  His face was contorted wit all the emotions he was feeling, but I could tell he was feeling guilty since he was the one who brought Hunter around.

"Yeah, but don't feel bad about bringing him around; you didn't know.  My memories were locked away too until three days ago.  I spent the days asleep viewing my time there."

"So now we have to make sure Hunter doesn't come around anymore?" Astrid asked me softly feeling weak at hearing my story.

"It won't help; he already knows where I am."

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