The Family Reunion Part 2

Dangerous Man

The drive back into town seemed to take longer than the drive to Mark's house. We sat in his truck quiet as mice, one of us staring out over the road while the other looked out of the window. The world passed by us as we drove closer and closer into town each of us with a lot on our mind.

I didn't know how I was going to tell Bill that I was already moving out of his house after living there for a day. He didn't trust Mark and Mark didn't trust him. I felt like I was being tugged in two different directions although my heart had already made a decision for me.

"You need help getting your stuff?" Mark asked me as we parked in front of the karaoke bar. "I can follow you if you want me to."

I shook my head, "No I'll be ok. Besides I wasn't planning on going to your house until tomorrow."

He nodded and then turned his truck off. "You know…I don't want there to be any hard feelings between us Carmen…I love you so much and after today I'd say I've never stopped loving you."

I looked down at my legs, "I understand how you feel, but it'll take me some time to fully get over this. You hurt me Mark….and that's something that won't heal overnight."

He leaned his head back against the headrest and then looked at me, "Ok."

I leaned my body across the seat and kissed his lips tenderly before whispering, "See ya."

"Bye." He told me as I got out of his truck and headed towards my car. Upon getting inside I took a deep breath and laid my head on the wheel thinking about the intimate time I had with Mark. I had missed his touch, his kisses, and most of all his love making. Part of me still couldn't believe he was able to turn on me so fast. Did he deserve to have me back?

I shook my head and started the car, ready to head back to Bill and my daughter. When I arrived there, Bill was sitting on the porch drinking a beer and holding a picture of his sister. I parked the car in it's normal space and got out to greet him.

"Hey,"

"Hey." He responded. "Where have you been?"

I shrugged, "Just out and about. I wanted to get some fresh air after everything that's happened."

He nodded and took a swig of the beer. "You should be resting Carmen. You remember what the doctor said."

"Yes I know, I'm about to go do that now." I said as I stepped onto the porch. I looked at his face closely and noticed that he had a blank stare on his face. "Bill are you alright?"

He sighed, "I miss Holly…you look like her you know?"

I looked away from him wondering what was on his mind. "She has blue eyes…"

"Yeah, but you still look like her…" he said.

"Where is Aaliyah?" I asked.

"In the house sleeping, like you should be." He said.

I nodded and turned to head into the house, but he reached out and grabbed my arm. I looked over my shoulder at him feeling my heart begin to pound.

"You know, if you're going to sneak out to see Mark…the least you can do is tell me the truth." He nearly snapped.

I shook my head, "I don't know-"

"-Don't you dare lie to me…." He said sharply. "I get that he's your unborn baby's father, but he is a dangerous man and I refuse to let what happened to Holly, happen to you."

I pulled my arm away from him. "Mark had nothing to do with what happened to Holly…he's a wonderful man, Bill."

He chuckled. "Yeah if you call wonderful throwing you and your baby out on the street because of some lie you heard….then I'm Santa Claus."

I shook my head, "Look, I understand that Holly was real important to you but there is no way Mark did what you said he did to her. Besides you have no proof that he's the reason she's missing."

He looked at me as if he couldn't believe his ears, "You little witch…I've been nothing but nice to you and you have the nerve to take that murder's side over me!"

"Bill you don't even know if she's dead!" I screamed as I tore my arm away from him.

He stood up from the chair, dropping his beer and the picture onto the hardwood below. They both shattered as he stepped up to me and grabbed my shoulders roughly.

"You even talk back like she use to…." He said in a tone that made me want to scream for my life.

I was about to break away from him, when he shoved me off of the porch. My body cleared the steps, and hit the dirt with a hard thud. My purse and car keys few above my head and landed clear over by the car. Before I could react, he hopped down on top of me and pinned my arms into the dirt.

"Bill get off of me!" I screamed.

He glared down at me with rage in his eyes. "You smell like him…like that murderer! How dare you let him defile you like this Holly!"

"My name isn't Holly its Carmen!" I yelled as I struggled underneath him. It was then that I started to see why his sister ran away from him.

He grabbed my throat with both hands and began to squeeze them hard. My mouth fell open as I gasped for air. I reached up and clawed his face, hoping to God that he would let me go but I knew I was trapped.

I started to feel the ground around me until my hand landed on a large rock. I picked it up and with my last bit of energy I hit him over the head with it. He rolled off of me with a shout of pain calling me names as I ran into the house and up the stairs to my daughter's room. I closed the door and locked it before turning to my baby's crib. I picked her up without hesitation and carried her to the window.

"Oh shit." I whispered when I realized the roof was too high for me to try to climb out. What was I going to do? The closest phone was in my bedroom and that was down the hall. I had to think fast, especially if I wanted to save myself and Aaliyah.