Killa and the Thief

Chapter 2

Jessalyn could hear an irritating beeping noise, one that she was certain she had heard before. She soon drifted back into a restless state of consciousness with that bloody noise a distant memory.

She heard that godawful beeping once again and it suddenly dawned on her what it was, she was in the hospital. The second she had that thought pain radiated through her frozen frame causing a few stray tears to leak out of her eyes.

She wasn't aware she wasn't alone until that happened and she felt a familiar hand hold hers followed by the familiar voice she was starting to hate. "I'm so sorry baby, I love you, come back to me" she heard Randy begging her.

Jessalyn desperately wanted to keep her eyes clamped shut but the pain and his voice refused to allow that. Slowly she opened her eyes, squinting at the bright light of the hospital room. She met the gaze of Randy staring at her with worry in his eyes, she wanted to scoff at the falseness of the action but hurt too much to do much of anything.

She heard the door open and close a couple of times pleading with God that he didn't come back but once again her prayers went unanswered as he returned with a nurse armed with a syringe that she was hoping contained something to help with the pain.

The nurse whose name tag read Janelle spoke softly to her explaining that she was adding some pain relief to her IV and the police were waiting to speak to her about the burglary when she was feeling up to it. If Jessalyn was able she was sure her eyebrows would be raised cartoonishly at the blatant lie Randy had fed them.

Once the nurse had left Randy offered her a cup of water with a straw. She accepted this grateful of the cool liquid soothing her dry throat. As soon as she was able she questioned the story Randy had told. He said that he had been out at the market and he returned home to the front door wide open and the place torn apart and he had found her on the floor in the kitchen in a pool of blood. He began to cry crocodile tears saying that "I thought I had lost you, there was so much blood". He clearly thought she wouldn't remember what he had done.

When she didn't react the way Randy had expected her to, to cry and tell him she was fine, she would be OK and thanking him for saving her, he knew that she did remember. Quick as a flash his face changed, anger dominating his once soft features, as he leant down and whispered into her ear "You stick to the story bitch or next time you won't be so lucky"

Fear gripped Jessalyn like a vice and all she could do was nod and agree to his terms. The pain medication began to take effect and like a light switch Randy was back to the kind, caring man she had first met when he placed a soft kiss to her forehead and told her to get some rest. The last thing she saw as her eyes drifted closed was his face, a mocking smirk curling up the side of his mouth.

The next time Jessalyn woke she was beyond grateful to find she was alone. She pressed the call button and within minutes Janelle, the nurse she remembered from the day before had slipped into her room. Jessalyn made a move to sit up feeling pain lash through her shoulders, ribs and just about everywhere. Janelle noticed what she was trying to do and flew to her side to help her slide up the bed just a little, she then used the remote to raise Jessalyn's head up.

Jessalyn smiled in thanks and nodded when Janelle offered some pain relief. She popped out of the room to get what she needed and once she returned with a croaky voice Jessalyn asked what the damage was.

Thankfully Janelle wasn't one to shy away from brutal honesty when she reeled off the long list of injuries Jessalyn had sustained in the "burglary". She had several cracked ribs, shattered forearm that was fixed in surgery, broken collarbone on the opposite side, severe bruising to her spine and lastly a broken cheekbone. Hearing the damage Randy had caused made tears spring to her eyes and she made herself a promise. She was going to leave before he killed her.

Jessalyn ended up spending a couple of weeks in the hospital and during that time spoke to the police, feeding them the same bullshit story that Randy had forced on her. When she was finally released she had no choice but to return home with him. She had been given strict instructions on the pain medication they had sent home with her.

She hated that Randy had to help her into the house and into bed, she knew he had the pain meds and requested some to help her rest. As she expected he flew into a rage refusing to give her anything, blaming her for the financial issues they now had despite him being the true reason. She knew better than to respond and let him get it all out of his system so he would leave.

The same song and dance occurred for weeks on end, the only respite Jessalyn had was when she managed to get some fitful rest. If she had thought him controlling before that was nothing compared to now. He allowed her one meal a day, usually plain noodles or dry toast and consistently denied her the medication she needed to function. She eventually wound up back in the hospital with dehydration, again he blamed it all on her.

Once she was released Randy decided she was well enough to return to her work, she was, at least physically. He had her pickpocketing from the rich. Mardi Gras was round the corner and he wanted her skills in tip top shape. Jessalyn was slightly surprised at how quickly she got back into the swing of things.

She knew that he was going to go back to taking his ridiculous share of her spoils so she began hiding sums of cash before showing what she had taken. In the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras she had squirrelled away $1650.

Randy had gifted her a beat up Chevy so she could go further in their quest of stealing from the rich. She had planned to use the car to aid her getaway. Mardi Gras was d-day.

Jessalyn thought she had covered her tracks and Randy had no clue what she was planning. It was the middle of the Mardi Gras festival that it all fell apart.

She had gone to Bourbon street knowing that was the life and soul of the festival and there would be hundreds of people lining the streets. Made her job that bit easier. What she didn't expect was for Randy to follow her. He kept a decent space between them so she didn't spot him as he kept watch on how she was doing. He was impressed with the ease of taking from the unsuspecting that she had and he watched as she split each take and put it in 2 separate pockets. He then knew what she was doing. She was going to leave him, he couldn't allow that. He had told her before what would happen if she defied him again.

Randy made a decision, she wasn't going to get away that easy. He stepped into an alleyway where the noise from the carnival wasn't so loud and he dialled 911. He faked being distressed to the operator when he claimed he had his wallet stolen and gave a clear description of Jessalyn. A girl with long chestnut hair, about 5 feet five inches, green eyes and wearing black jeans, black tank and sneakers.

He knew she had history and was planning to use it to take her down.

Jessalyn returned back to the house ready to hand over the spoils to Randy, not knowing he knew the truth. She knew something was off when she walked in and he was polite, smiling at her and asking how it all went. He never did that. Her suspicions rose further when he held his hand out for the money and commented "all of it Jam" she tried to act innocent but knew she had been made, she had no idea how he had figured it out and at that moment she didn't care, she just knew it was now or never. Randy confirmed it for her when he informed her that he had called the police and reported his wallet stolen and given them an accurate description of the perpetrator, a perfect description of her.

He lunged at her as she ran for the car, she had already packed what little she owned and placed it in the boot. This was the one time she was faster, the one time she knew she had to be. He would kill her for sure if she stayed and even if by some miracle he didn't the police would use his information to identify her and the promise from years before was suddenly a real possibility.

Jessalyn made it to the car before him, slamming the door shut and deploying the auto lock before starting up the car and driving.

She had been driving for an hour before she finally felt relief, she hadn't been spotted by the police and Randy hadn't followed. She had no destination in mind, she was just going to drive until she couldn't any longer and wherever she landed she would call home.