He was running toward her, but the harder he ran, the farther the huge, iron monster would take her, crushing the life out of her with its huge metal hands.
"TOMMY! Tommy PLEASE COME FOR ME! PLEASE—SAVE ME…" she was screaming into the night air over and over, causing him to run even faster.
"I can't Angie! I'm coming, I'm trying, just hold on—oof." He grunted as he tripped and fell. Scanning the ground around him, he realized he had just tripped on a wounded girl. A beautiful, chocolate-skinned girl he recognized as Portia.
"TOMMY PLEASE! YOU CAN'T SAVE HER! PLEASE, TOMMY, PLEASE!"
He was so close to her when suddenly, someone well dressed with a dollar sign ring on his finger pointed a gun at him. He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. What the hell—D?"
"You're too late, Tommy."
Suddenly, Portia, who he could have sworn was mortally wounded, was behind him, her gun also trained. He turned and stared in horror. "Why? What are you doing?! Please—just let us go. Please stop."
Tommy was in tears as Darius tightened his grip on the trigger. "There is a lot of money in this for you, Tommy."
"But Angie--"
"Will no longer be a problem."
Portia motioned with her gun to the monster. "Take her away."
"NO! ANGIE NO!"
But it was too late. She was gone.
Tommy sat up, drenched in sweat and shaking like a leaf. He looked at his alarm clock. 1:37:56. He got up rather shakily and went into the kitchen for a glass of water. He could see the ripples in the water he was shaking so bad. Ever since Jude left, he started getting those nightmares again, a lot more frequently and heavily than before. He sighed, resisting the urge to refill his glass—with his not-so-new-found friend, Jack Daniels—and went back to bed. Curling into a ball, he let his mind wander away from his horrible dreams and on to more pleasant ones, like the ones about Jude.
##
She lay curled on the floor, not hearing his angry insults but feeling the brunt of them on her back, sides, and wherever else his foot could find her flesh. She just wanted it to be over, so she could go back to dreaming about the day Tommy would save her…
"Get up!" he yanked her by her hair and she whimpered as he shoved her against the wall. "YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE IN THIS!"
"The hell I don't--" she broke off in a whimper as he backhanded her so hard she instantly tasted the blood in her mouth.
"YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME! NOBODY EVER LEAVES ME!" then he pulled her into a bruising, horrible kiss, grinding himself against her. She tried desperately to pull away, but he held her firm
Terrified, Jude did the one thing she could think of: ramming her knee hard into his crotch, she bit his tongue and ran for her life.
##
Tommy jumped awake as his cell phone rang… until he noticed that the tune was 'I still love you'… Jude's tone. "'lo?"
"T-t-ommy… please come for me… please… save me…"
At the sound of her voice, he gulped. "Jude, where are you? Are you hurt?" he scrambled into his jeans and wifebeater, grabbing his hoodie from the foot of his bed and running for the door… until he noticed he was barefoot. He grabbed some adidas flip-flops and scrambled to the car. "Jude, honey talk to me, are you in London? Jude! Talk to me!"
"I'm sorry, Tommy," she whispered, tears evident in her voice.
"It's okay, baby, I'm coming for you okay? Just tell me where you are."
He could almost hear her frown. "I-I don't know-- please, Tommy, I'm scared."
"I'm coming, Jude. Hold on."
##
He had lucked out in that the next flight to London was wheels up in twenty minutes. He had super lucked out in that he only spent seven of them in security because six people graciously let him cut. He ran for the gate, huffing and puffing for air as they made the final boarding call. He looked at his phone. 5:4—"Jude?"
"I'm lost, Tommy," she pouted, sounding like a scared child.
"I know, Jude, I'm going to come find you, okay?"
"It's cold."
"Just hold on, sweetie. Have you called the police?"
"I can't call them," she said frantically, "he says he'll kill me. Tommy, please don't make me…"
"Who is he?"
"I hurt," she cried instead.
"Where do you hurt, baby?"
"Everywhere," she whispered, her pain filtering over the line.
"Jude, listen to me. You're going to call the police."
"No, Tommy!"
"Jude! Trust me, okay, girl?"
"Okay," she conceded in a tiny voice.
"Good. Call the police, do exactly as they tell you, then turn your phone off and don't turn it on unless you're in danger or until you're safe."
"But Tommy…"
"I'm on the plane now, Jude."
"You're really coming for me?"
"Of course," he said softly. "We're going to take off, honey, I've got to turn my phone off."
"But what if I need you?"
"Hold on, girl. Just hold on."
##
She was curled up on the side of the road, which was dark and overcast with the shadows of the trees that lined both sides of the dark road. The rain made it so that it was just cold enough to see her breath, white and frosty and seeming to shiver as she did. She pulled her skimpy sweater closer about herself, shivering and crying painfully at the effort it took to do so. It was getting darker now that nighttime was approaching. She'd been there all day, without food in the pouring rain, and now night was falling and she knew she would freeze to death if no one came down this lonely road.
##
He turned on his phone as he ran from the plane, rusing through customs and pushing past baggage claim and stopping dead in his tracks. He had not planned this far into his little rescue attempt and now he was utterly confused, and panicking because of his confusion. His phone rang. "Jude! What's wrong? Have they found you? Are you okay?"
"T-t-tom-m-my I'm c-c-cold."
"Oh Jude, he sighed. He spied a taxi and jumped into it, ignoring the gentleman cursing him for stealing his taxi. "I'm coming, alright? Take me to the nearest police station. Jude, honey, can you tell me how you got lost?"
"I-I was-s runnin' way f-from him… h-h w-was hurt-tin me. I hurt, Tommy. An' n-now I'm l-lost-t-t." Thunder crashed and she whimpered. "I'm s-sc-cared-d. It's c-cold."
"Just hang on a little bit longer, okay, girl? Jude? Jude!"
"I'm here."
"Is your battery okay? Is the phone too wet?"
"'ts ok-kay."
"Good."
"Tommy?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry, Tommy."
"Bout what, girl? Thanks. Bye."
""Leav-vin you. Sh-should-dna left-t you. Wanna g-go home."
"I'll take you home, Jude just please--"
"I wanna g-go b-b-back to Cana—oh," he broke off in a whimper as thunder crashed again. "Tommy," she cried, sobbing openly and painfully as her ribs cried their own protest.
Tommy listened, heartbroken, as she cried. "Jude, please, just stay calm, okay? Keep talking to me. How is the battery on your phone?"
She sniffed. "Half."
"Hang on the line, okay? I've got to talk to the police officer." He muted the phone and turned to the desk sergeant. "look, my girlfriend has been lost since yesterday…"
"Oh yes, Jude Harrison. But… you aren't the man he is engaged to."
"Was. He beat her to a pulp so she ran away from him and now she's lost."
"Sir, we're doing all we can."
"What?! She's freezing to death out there! This is an island, maybe not the size of all Ontario, and those cops have found people in less time."
"Well, you find her yourself."
Tommy sighed in exasperation, running a hand though his uncombed hair. "I'm sorry, look. I just got off a 14 hour plane ride and I come to find out—whatever, look. I have her on the line."
"Do you? Give me that." The officer snatched the phone out of his hand and went into the squadroom, Tommy hot on his heels. Within an hour, he was in one of the many squad cars heading out to look for her.
##
She was starting to forget the cold. She was instead getting very hungry and sleepy… and comfortable on the new patch of mud and grass she was currently laying on, after having walked a while to see if she could reach something…anything… but to no avail. Her eyes slipped closed for a moment and she bolted upright, immediately regretting it as her body screamed in pain. She bit her lip and tried to focus. She couldn't sleep until Tommy came, or else she'd freeze to death. So she tried to occupy her mind with something else… anything else.
She wound up singing rather mindlessly, but when she realized what she was singing, it surprised her. At the same time, it didn't because it fit exactly the mood and the situation. Seems like I've been here before; I know the way. Oh, seem like I've been on my own so long, so long…
White lines, and headlight in my eyes. White lines that I'm ready to drive all night. White lines: how many 'till I'm in your arms? White lines will bring me… home, home… home, home…
"JUDE!"
Home…
##
Tommy had seen something like keys flash in the distance, and made the cops stop… for the umpteenth time. He knew they were getting irritated, but he had to be sure they didn't leave her behind since her phone had long since died. So he jumped out of the car even before it came to a complete stop. His eyes widened. He knew that song. He knew that voice. Oh, seems like I've been on my own so long, so long…
He broke into a full sprint, pushing himself harder and harder until he saw her and could hear her angel voice clear as a bell: white lines will bring me… home… "JUDE!" he practically screamed, scooping her cold, soaked body into his arms as she finished the song he buried his face in her hair, which now smelt like rain. He sighed his relief as she snuggled into his embrace. This was home. He was home.
"'mmy? I'm cold."
"I'll bet. Here." He helped her out of the soggy sweater and pajamas and into his own oversized hoodie. He pulled her back into his arms then and carried her back to the squad car to wait for an ambulance.
"'ommy?" she whispered up to him as they went.
"Jude?"
"You saved me."
"Jude, I--"
"I don't love him, 'ommy."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "No?"
She shook her head and nestled it closer into his chest, mumbling into his shirt.
"What was that?"
But she was sound asleep. She was home.
Fin
A/N: don't own, don't sue. This is probably the longest oneshot I've written, and is one of my favorite plots. As for the actual writing… I don't feel it's my best work. But if you beg to differ, review make me happy inside! The more the merrier. Literally.
If you're wondering what the dream has to do with the story, I put it in there because the line angie uses in the dream is the same one Jude says when she call for help the first time. I just thought I'd explain that. But y'all are smart people, you can figure out the rest. If not, reviews also help me clear up any questions you may have.
In other words, review, review, REVIEW!!!!!!!! Lol. Thanks for reading.
Toodles!
~sazon latino.