Big Yellow Taxi

Chapter 40

Rowan tugged at her dress. It was fitted through the bust and waist. And the fabric didn't have any stretch to it. Early pregnancy was making her breasts tender to the touch. They hurt where the dress was squeezing her. Below her waist the dress ballooned out, supported by layers and layers of sheer fluffy fabric underneath. She felt like a big white itchy cupcake. The dress wasn't something Rowan would have chosen for herself. But there were only a few dresses readily available in her size at the small boutique inside the casino. Derek liked this one. And he told the sales woman to go ahead and wrap it up without asking Rowan her opinion on the matter. She voiced a quiet objection at the time, telling him the dress was too tight. But Derek only laughed and told her she wouldn't have to wear it very long.

Rowan had to turn away from her reflection. She didn't recognize herself. And she felt the same way she had from the moment she hit the parking lot and saw Daryl's bike was gone. Like she was hovering outside her body, watching some other version of herself live her life. This wasn't how she expected to feel on her wedding day. Her mother wasn't even here. And Rowan knew that would break the woman's heart. Rowan wished she was at home, wearing her grandmother's magic shawl and giggling with her mother and her friends while they braided colorful ribbons into her hair. That was how she imagined her special day. Instead, she was sitting in an uncomfortable chair, in a dressing room in the casino chapel that had harsh fluorescent lighting. Feeling like a big ugly marshmallow and not looking forward to her wedding night.

Rowan's father managed to wrangle up a few of her childhood friends from the reservation. They were in the room with her. drinking cheap champagne and giggling together. Taking occasional breaks to tell Rowan how pretty she looked and how happy they were for her.

Rowan's overwhelming sense of foreboding finally overtook her body. She rose from her seat and began pacing back and forth across the room. Her big stupid dress kept caught on the leg of another chair and Rowan yanked it hard, not caring if the delicate fabric ripped.

"Hekaza, are you alright?," one of the girls asked her. "Be careful, you'll rip your dress."

Rowan didn't answer her. She just hurried from the room. Rowan knew where Derek was. There was another dressing room on the other side of the chapel area. Identical to the room she was in except for the more manly decor. Rowan just needed to see him. Talk to him. When she was with Derek, he was so certain about them being together that it was easy to let him convince her he was right. It was when she was alone that her doubts started creeping in.

The door to the other dressing room was cracked open. Rowan could hear the low timbre of Derek's laughter. She peeked in, expecting to see her father inside with him. But he must have gone for a drink at the bar. Because he wasn't there. Derek was laughing with one of his friends from the casino. Rowan's hand was on the door, ready to open it so she could rush herself into his arms and let him convince her that she was making the right decision. It was the other man's words that stopped her.

"She's pregnant with another man's bastard," the man said. Derek laughed. His laugh was different from when he laughed with Rowan. It sent a shiver up her spine.

"Not for long," Derek told the other man, "I picked up a little something from the medicine woman that I'm going to slip into her tea tonight. When she's done bleeding, I'll get her pregnant."

Rowan sucked in her breath. Her hand fluttered down, resting protectively over her stomach. She knew things didn't work out with the father. But her baby was made with love. She cared deeply for her child already. And Derek promised her he would love her little one too. He promised to raise this baby as his own. That was the main reason Rowan agreed to marry him. So her baby would have a mother and a father. She felt frozen in place. Rowan didn't want to hear any more. She knew she ought to run. But she couldn't move. She had to hear the rest.

"Once she's pregnant with my child, I can run for principal chief of the reservation. With Grey Wolf backing me, I'll run unopposed. Once I'm in, we can start selling off reservation land to that big development company," Derek told his friend.

"Are you sure you'll be able to get her pregnant that fast?," the other man asked. Derek laughed again.

"If there's one thing that little whore is good at," Derek joked, "...it's spreading her legs."

Rowan covered her mouth. She felt sick. How could someone so handsome be so ugly inside? How could she be so stupid? Rowan fought back the bile that was rising up inside her. She swallowed hard. Then she straightened her back up and opened the door. Derek and his friend were still laughing at each other. It took them a moment before they noticed she was standing in the doorway.

"Hi beautiful," Derek crooned with a handsome smile. He had his fake face back on. But Rowan could see the twinge of nervousness in his body posture. The flashes of nervous orange in his aura. He was worried about how long she had been standing there. Listening.

"Beautiful?," Rowan repeated. "I thought I was a whore that was only good for spreading my legs?" Derek's eyes widened. He straightened up to his full height. Then he gave his friend a pointed glance, sending the man practically running from the room. Rowan stepped back to keep the disgusting man from touching her as he fled down the hallway. She turned, intending to head in the same direction Derek's friend went. Then she would keep going. Out of this nasty neon place. And back home to her mom. She didn't care if she had to hitchhike the whole way in this ugly uncomfortable dress. She was leaving.

"Don't you touch me!," Rowan hissed. But Derek didn't listen. He clamped his hand around her arm and dragged her inside the room with him, shutting the door behind them. She yanked away but he grabbed her other arm as well, his fingers digging in like vice grips.

"Don't be stupid," Derek told her, "this real estate deal is worth billions Rowan. BILLIONS. We can live like royalty for the rest of our lives."

"Does my dad know about this?," Rowan asked. It was one thing if Derek was lying to her. But if her dad was involved in this deception, she was really going to be upset.

Derek laughed. The legendary Grey Wolf selling tribal land for profit? Mr. high and mighty? There's no way that would ever happen. Rowan was even stupider than she looked.

"Of course he doesn't know," Derek spit, "...he's been fighting with that development company for years."

"Well he's about to find out," Rowan hissed. She shoved at Derek, trying to break his grip on her arms so she could run for the door. When that didn't work she started screaming for him to let go. Derek pushed her backwards until her back was pressed against the wall. He kept a grip on her arm with one hand, his other hand closing around her throat to keep her from alerting the whole casino.

"Stop screaming," he warned her, tightening his grip for a moment. Just long enough to cut off her air supply and scare her. Then he released his grip on her throat. "You're not going to embarrass me like this," he whispered into her ear. "We're getting married today. And you better behave or you're going to regret it."

Rowan could feel his hot breath on her neck. He kissed the sensitive spot behind her ear, sucking at the skin there. "Later tonight I'll make it up to you." He moved his mouth down the line of her jaw, leaving a trail of hot kisses. Then he captured her mouth, his hand still around her neck, holding her in place. When he pulled back, Rowan narrowed her eyes at him.

"You might as well kill me now," she said, "Because the only way I'd lay down with you again is if I was dead." With that she brought her knee up. She was aiming for his balls. But her big poofy dress hindered her movements. Rowan's knee glanced off his thigh instead. Derek froze for a moment, shocked that she was fighting back. Rowan seemed meek and like she would be easy to control. That was part of her appeal.

"You little bitch," Derek spit. He let go of her throat and cocked his hand back, bringing it down and slapping her across the face. Not hard enough to make her bleed or leave a mark. Not yet. Just hard enough to hurt and scare her. He didn't want to mark her up if he could help it. They hadn't taken their wedding pictures yet. But there was still too much resistance in her. Derek looked her over, weighing his options. There was something he knew he could do to teach her a lesson that wouldn't show in the pictures. Derek grabbed at Rowan's dress and started yanking the fabric up. Rowan struggled, pushing at his hand and trying to keep it from between her legs. Her one hand was on his wrist, shoving it away from her. But he was too strong. She reached up with her other hand, raking her nails down his face.

Derek yanked his hand out from under her dress, bringing it up to feel his face. His palm came away bloody from where she scratched him. Fucking BITCH! Rowan cringed when she saw him cock his hand back. She knew he was going to hit her a lot harder this time. And then he was going to rape her. There was nothing she could do to stop him. She braced herself for the impact. But it didn't come. The weight of Derek's body on hers was suddenly gone. Rowan pressed herself against the wall, her eyes wide.

There was another man in the room with them now. He was wearing a leather jacket. But Rowan couldn't see his face. His back was to her. His fist smashed into Derek's face, knocking him backwards onto the floor. Rowan thought that would be the end of it. But the man wasn't done. He kicked Derek with his big black boot. Then he kicked him again. The man leaned forward and yanked Derek up off the floor by his fancy button down shirt. Then he smashed his fist into Derek's handsome face again, splattering blood all over the carpet. One Derek had been beaten unconscious, the man finally stood up, his back still facing Rowan. He turned around slowly, until their eyes met.

"Merle?," Rowan said, blinking her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was real. "How did you get here?"

"Yer ma sent me," he said, his lips turning up into a smile. There was blood on his shirt and more of it smeared across his knuckles. But he didn't seem bothered by it.

"My mom?," Rowan asked in disbelief. "You talked to my mom?"

"There's 'bout to be a whole lotta angry indians 'round here," Merle drawled, "...maybe we could talk 'bout yer ma later?" Rowan nodded her agreement. But when Merle took a step in Rowan's direction, she cringed back against the wall. He stopped and held his hand out.

"How'd you like to get the fuck outta here?," he asked. Rowan thought about his question for a moment.

"I think I'd like that a lot," she announced. Then Rowan crossed the small space between them and placed her hand in his.