I STILL LOOK FOR YOU - PART 9

I STILL LOOK FOR YOU – PART 9

On the drive to Bill’s, Lynn tried to develop some sort of strategy to get herself and the kids away from him safely without having to spend the night and before things turned as ugly as she knew they could. She had left herself open for this attack by not realizing her lack of rights without court orders in place. She vowed silently to call her attorney as soon as the office re-opened after the Thanksgiving Holiday. She would find the money in the budget and go straight away for the divorce to be pushed through as soon as possible.

As promised, there had been a raise in her pay and it was a fairly substantial one. She pushed away the thought of the call she had received, at home, from one of the Housing and Urban Development directors. She had met him at one of the many seminars she was required to attend and he had told her if she ever wanted a transfer to give him a call. But he had called her, wanting and expecting her cooperation in an investigation of Mr. and Mrs. Spear’s. The annual audit was not adding up and HUD suspected embezzlement. Very soon she would have to give a first accounting of what she had discovered.

They arrived at the address Bill had given her and she made a mental note to tell her attorney about the bad neighborhood he was living in hoping that would go against him in the custody battle she knew he would wage. They followed the cement stairs down as he had instructed and found number five. He greeted them both with hugs and acted like this was a beautiful family gathering instead of a planned kidnapping. Tim was in front of the large tv she had left when she took only a modest amount of belongings from the house when she fled from Bill so many months ago. He looked and seemed fine and her tight shoulders relaxed a bit in relief. She hadn’t smelled any liquor on Bill’s breath when he’d hugged her. Maybe she could pull this off.

“A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” is coming on now, Traci, sit by your brother and watch it. Your Mom and I will make popcorn”, Bill pointed to the other room, the kitchen, and nodded at her to follow him. “Sorry for the small place. It’s all I can afford right now and only temporary.” Lynn wondered at the “all he could afford” as she had not asked for a dime of child support and he worked for the City and made a generous salary. And, “temporary” – where was he going? Oh God, please let him tell me he was transferring to another city and that’s why he wanted to talk tonight and have the family time tomorrow. She managed a smile that quickly froze on her face as he went on. ‘Yeah, the bastards fired me! Said I was drinking on the job – you know I’d never do that,” he looked hard at her to gauge her reaction. “I took it before the council but you know they’re all asshole buddies and it was upheld. They fought my unemployment too and I have a hearing next week. Here - take this popcorn in and we’ll watch the movie with the kids.”

He instructed Traci to move to the chair so Mom and Dad could sit together on the sofa and told Tim to get his Mother a glass of soda – unless she would like some wine? No, well he’d thought maybe she had started drinking now since he saw her and her friend go into a bar a few weeks back. Bobby had asked her to stop at a neighborhood bar before picking up the kids from school on the day he got word he’d been hired by the department store. He had a glass of beer and she had a Coke. She hated alcohol, both the taste and the smell. They were there all of fifteen minutes, a celebration over the news of a better job. And Bill knew about it. Had he been following them? Her stomach tightened.

Her not reacting seemed to fuel something smoldering in him. “Come here, he commanded her, “I want to show you something.” He walked behind her to the bathroom, the only room with a door.

“So, uh I’ll bet you have a lot of good job prospects lined up?” He shut the door behind them and stood in front of it. She had fought the urge to bolt from this two room dungeon, knowing she couldn’t leave the children and knowing she couldn’t get them out in time.

“I’ve missed you,” his hand held her face in a tight grip as he forced her head upward giving him access to her mouth. His tongue, tasting of something vile, invaded her mouth and she tried to pull away. “What’s the matter, he pinned her arms with his other hand, “aren’t my kisses as sweet as your little lover’s?”

“Stop! We are leaving. Let go of me … I mean it – let go!” Lynn tried to kick him but her legs were pinned by his body. “For God’s sake Bill, the kids are going to hear us and …”

His mouth seemed to cover her face as she strained and twisted. He let go of her face and grabbed at the button of her pants ripping the zipper pull and breaking the zipper. As he stepped back, her eyes scanned the room and she lunged, arm extended and grabbed for the metal towel bar ripping it loose from the wall. She swung and swung finding her mark only twice but one blow hit him in the eye. Startled he paused just long enough for her to get the door open and run into the other room grabbing for both of the children.

“LOOK AT HER!” He was in the room as she was making her way toward the only door that would allow their escape. She could not let him get between them and this door. He was sweating and his breath was coming hard and fast, spit accenting his words. “LOOK AT WHAT THIS CRAZY WHORE DID TO ME!!!” Traci had found the door handle and was opening the door but he was advancing across the small room. Lynn shoved the children, causing Tim to trip and his face bumped into the half open door.

“RUN!” she shoved at them again this time out into the hallway. She started throwing things in his direction – anything, everything she could reach as she backed towards the door. He grabbed for her but was left holding only a chunk of her hair as she took the stairs two, three at a time and gathered Tim and Traci into her arms. “Run for the car – lock the doors – hurry!”

Bill had hesitated just long enough to wipe the sweat and blood from his face where she had ripped the skin with the edge of the towel bar. It was time enough for her to get into the car, feel under the seat and find the spare key she kept in case Bobby needed to use the car. She fired the engine and looked up to see him standing in front of the car. Lynn threw the car in reverse, backed over the curb and flattened the trash can of the neighboring house. Someone yelled out a window as she shifted into drive and mashed down on the accelerator, barely missing Bill as she sped away, leaving him screaming and cussing in the middle of the street.

Crying and sobbing her son screamed at her that she WAS crazy.  Traci didn’t have her jacket, none of them had jackets.  Lynn didn’t have her purse.  She didn’t have any money, she didn’t even have the master keys to the apartments.