TITLE: RUNNING Chapter 8
AUTHOR: Daaasl
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY:
DISCLAIMER: The characters of Dominic, Leon, Mia, Letty, etc.
are not mine. All other characters are mine all mine, though.
Any copyright infringement is unintended.
ARCHIVE: Yes. Please. Drop me a line and we can talk.
FEEDBACK: Yes! I want to know what you think. But please make
It constructive and friendly
When dinner was finished Brian and Mia insisted on the cleanup. I sat down on the couch and lit up a cigarette before Leon came and joined me on the couch.
" So what do you wanna do?"
My eyes lit up at the offer and, I turned to face him.
" I want to go for a drive up the coast. I want to smell the ocean air, and drink in the scenery. I want to go out.away. I want to soak up my surroundings" I said, rambling on about everything I wanted to see. The words came flying out of my mouth before I even realized how idiotic I sounded. I sank my head down but Leon lifted it and stared at me.
"You're starting to like it here aren't you?"
"Yeah, I am".
Without warning, Leon bolted off the couch and pulled me up with him. He led me to the foyer and grabbed his keys. I planted my feet and put my hands over his in protest. He stopped and looked at me.
"What?"
"No. Miss T needs to feel this too." I said, taking his keys out of his hands and grabbing mine.
"Feel what"
"The freedom."
He dropped his head and let out a small laugh before he took a few steps closer to me. I felt his hands encompass mine. For a brief moment we were the only two people in the room; the house; hell -- the whole world. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore and was ready to attack Leon's lips, Dom came into the room.
"Yo Leon. Tomorrow I need you to -- Oh!" he said, realizing he had interrupted something. But Leon didn't back away. He wasn't embarrassed to be so close to me, even though I was dying a thousand deaths.
"I'm taking Sarah for a ride, she wants to-what was it again?" he said, turning his head back to me. My hands were still sandwiched between his, pressing my body against him..
"Soak up my surroundings!" I said playfully to Dom, trying to casually allow some space between me and Leon. But Leon wouldn't have it, and held onto me firmly .
"Oh. All right. But don't let him scare you Sarah"
"He doesn't scare me." I heard myself call out to Dom as he was climbing up the steps. Was it true? Was I really that comfortable with Leon? I looked back at Leon trying to hide the shock of my statement, but I saw the joy in his eyes and decided I must be at ease around him. It had been 2 weeks since I left NJ. I was almost healed. The bruises were almost gone and the scars weren't as prominent. Ever since St Louis, Leon had been right by my side. Somehow he knew I needed someone to lean on, and he was more then willing to give me the support I needed. He wasn't pushy or demanding, and he let me go at my own pace. That was something I was definitely not used to. I felt a connection with Leon. I wasn't quite sure what it was just yet, but I knew that we worked well together. I even let him drive Miss T. Since I didn't really know my way around anyway, I allowed him control over something I wasn't willing to give up that easily.
Leon took me up the coastline while I rested my head and stared out the window, letting the salty breeze fill my face and hair.
"Beautiful." I managed to whisper as I watched the sunset over the cliffs of the Coast.
"Yeah, it sure is." he said. I looked over to him and found him staring at me instead of the sunset. I smiled and allowed him to take my hand. We rode in silence, listening to my Blackstreet tape that was still in the tape deck. The song "JOY" came on, and I started singing. By the time the song was over, we had arrived at our destination.
"You have a voice of an angel Sarah." Leon said very matter-of-factly.
I couldn't help but laugh. "No. I'm not that good"
"Yeah, ok," He replied sarcastically. "Will you sing for me?"
"Now?!"
"No. Not right now, but someday.soon"
"Fine. Whatever." I said. "Where are we?" I changed the subject when I realized we were off the road in a small parking lot with nothing around us.
"C'mon" he said getting out
"C'mon where?" I said looking around for any kind of civilaztion
"Just trust me, its right over here." Trust you? Can I really trust you Leon?
I sighed and dragged myself out of the car and followed him to a large rock pile. Within four leaps, Leon was at the top. I just stood at the bottom tapping my foot.
"You're kidding me right?"
"Nope. Gimme your hand, I'll help you"
I planted my foot on the ledge of the bottom rock and grabbed his hand. It took a little struggle, but he pulled me right up like I was a rag doll.
"Be careful. There's not a lot of standing room around here." He stood behind me.
"Look." he said, pointing to the horizon.
I finally realized where we were. We were at the city limits overlooking LA. It was majestic, and peaceful. The dark purple hues of the fading sunset mixed with the lights of the city, and made it breathtaking.
"Oh God" was all I managed to get out as I gasped.
"How's that for freedom?" he asked pulling me in close, and wrapping his arms around me. We just stood there admiring the view. At least that's what I thought we were doing. I ran my hands down his arms.
"Thank you for showing me this Leon"
"You're welcome." I heard his voice reply. His face was buried in my hair. Suddenly he pulled my hair back and stopped. I was so into the moment that I didn't realize what he'd done, until it was too late.
"Sarah what the hell is that?" His tone was flat and serious. I felt his fingers down the length of the scar.
"An accident back home." I said firmly, hoping he would drop the subject. Thankfully he picked up on my hostility and instead of asking anymore questions, I felt him ever-so-softly kiss my ear; then my neck and shoulders. At first I tried to break away from his embrace but he held on tight.
"Don't be afraid of me Sarah." he whispered in my ear. I felt his hot breath travel down my neck, and my knees went loose. Before I knew it I was turned around face to face with him.
"Leon, I--" He cut me off mid-sentence with his lips -- soft and gentle -- not like I was used to. It was beautiful. He finally broke the kiss.
"Can't do this" I said finishing my words. Leon pulled back a little and laughed.
"We already did" he said coming in closer for another kiss. I felt the fear rise up in me and I started to panic.
"I want to go back to the house now, OK? " I blurted out, right as he was an inch away from my face. I felt myself begin to shake in his embrace. He let out a sigh and nodded, but didn't let me go.
"Sarah. I know we've only known each other for a week, but you can trust me. Whenever you're ready to tell me. whatever it is that is paralyzing you. I'll be here ok?"
At the thought of him being willing to patiently wait for me to open up, I got dizzy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest.
"Thank you. Thank you for not pushing." I said, choking back the tears. We stood there on that rock, holding each other for what felt like an eternity, until he finally broke the embrace.
"C'mon, lets get back"
I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I remember after getting back into the car, was pulling up to the house.
"Hey. You awake?" I heard Leon ask as he pulled a few stray hairs away from face.
"Mmmm, yeah. Where are we?"
"Home."
I sat straight up and looked around. Then my gaze fell on his eyes, and I smiled faintly.
"C'mon you look beat"
I started to follow him up the drive before I realized I was leaving my whole life in the car.
"Oh shit. Wait a sec." I said running back to the car. I grabbed my clothes bag, the money, and the .22, slipping it in my waistband before I returned to Leon on the porch.
We walked into the house and even though I heard voices from the kitchen, I was too tired to talk to anyone.
"Where am I sleeping?"
"You can have my room."
"No way Leon, I'm not taking your bed."
"I insist." he said smiling. Without a reason, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his cheek.
"Your are too good too me Leon."
"I'll get you something to sleep in." he said. "You coming?" He went up the stairs.
"I'll be right there." I said opening up the money case and slipping the gun into it. I shut it and locked it before carrying it and the other bag up the stairs. Leon emerged out of a room with an oversized tee shirt in his hands.
"Just your style." he said tossing it to me. I couldn't help but laugh. We said our goodnights and I crawled into his bed, leaving the door halfway open.
It was dark. I couldn't see anything, but I heard him calling for me. "Sarah!" I cowered in the corner praying he wouldn't find me, but there he was; eyes glazed over and arms reaching for me. I saw the knife in his hands.
"You'll never forget who you belong to." he said throwing me onto the floor. I kicked, punched, and tried to bite him. Anything I could do to fight back. But my efforts were futile. Two swift kicks to my abdomen, combined with him bashing the back of my head on the floor disabled me. The knife! The long silver blade coming closer and closer! I screamed
"Sarah, Sarah! Calm down!" I opened my eyes to see Anthony over me. I thrashed in the bed, trying to get him off of me.
"No Anthony, NO!"
Suddenly I was being shaken by the shoulders.
"Sarah, chill the fuck out!" I was shaken back into the conscious world. I wasn't in NYC. I was in LA. I was in Leon's bed; in his house. I looked up and I didn't see Anthony. It was Leon hovering over me. I felt my body, and realized I was drenched in sweat, and panting. As soon as I realized what happened, I began to cry. I couldn't have held it in even if had I tried. Leon scooted closer to me on the bed and held me, rocking me as I sobbed onto his chest.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry" I managed to say
"Shhh. Don't even talk. You're safe now," Leon said, still rocking me.
I looked up at him, tears still pouring down my face. I felt his thumbs run across my cheeks, wiping my tears away. For a split second he looked at me, and then I felt his lips on mine. I didn't push him away, but accepted his kiss. It instantly calmed me down. As soon as he broke the kiss I asked him,
"Would you stay here with me. I'm still not. I mean"
"Shhh. Yeah, I'll stay." he said, laying me back down on the bed. I felt him move up and lay his body against my back. His arm draped over me and I fell back to sleep with his hands in my hair.
Leon's Point of View:
I felt her body tuck into mine. When her breathing finally evened out, she pulled my arm over herself. It's OK baby, I know.
Mia had told me what she saw when I went to take a shower before dinner. She'd stopped me upstairs.
"I have to talk to you" Mia said. Her face was pale.
"Wassup?"
"It's Sarah." What was Mia talking about?
"What about her?"
"When we were shopping I saw her--"
"Mia?"
"Just listen. She -- she was covered in bruises and scars!"
"WHAT!"
"Shhh! Calm down! I only saw her back but. Leon it was horrible!" Tears had already welled up in Mia's eyes.
"Did Letty see?"
"No. Sarah made me promise not to say anything. Leon, there's more"
"What Mia? . Mia, WHAT!"
"She has a big scar on her back. She said something about a kidney, but it sure as hell looks like a knife wound to me."
I had to trust Mia's instincts. She was only a few semesters away from being a Registered Nurse.
"I can't fuckin' believe this!" I said. I could feel my blood pressure rising "Was it that bad Mia?" I wanted to believe she was exaggerating.
Mia just nodded her head and hugged me
" I just thought you should know." she said as she descended the stairs. I went and took a shower, not only to wash up, but to think. I let the hot water run down as my mind started to race. When Jesse ran her license plates, he pulled up everything on Sarah -- medical records, DMV files, and arrest records, even though she didn't have any of those. He never really opened the medical records, because I didn't see the need at the time. But now, first thing tomorrow, I was going to have Jesse take a look at them.
Now it's a little after 6am. I'm already awake, and eager to start on the Acura in the garage. Sarah was still sleeping, lying on her side. Her shirt had crawled up her back during the night, but the blanket was still protecting her. I slid the blanket down and lifted her shirt. Her white skin was covered in yellow and brown welts the size of baseballs. The bruises appeared to be in the last stages of healing. Cuts and scars -- some fresh; some faded. All were definite signs of prolonged abuse. There was one scar larger then the others, on her lower right side. I ran my finger down the length. About 2" long. It was deep too, I could tell from the way it healed. She shifted in the bed slightly when I touched her back. Before she could wake I pulled her shirt down, and pulled the blanket back over her. I was already dressed, but I climbed back into the bed, over the covers, and held her for a while. I buried my face in her golden hair. God she was beautiful. How could that asshole not have seen it? She was soft and smelled like honeysuckle. Her eyes were the brightest green I have ever seen, her lips were full and soft. Just my style. I was tearing myself up inside, tangled up in my emotions. I had such a feeling of love for her, and such a rage for whoever Anthony was. I decided to get out of the room and find out just what her story was. I made it into the kitchen in time to see Dom and Jess already enjoying their coffee.
"Jess, you hooked up?"
"Not yet." he said sipping his coffee.
"Bring it out.right here." I demanded.
"Relax, have some coffee fir-" Dom tried to say.
"No Dawg, NOW!"I confirmed
Jesse was already out of his seat and connecting his laptop. He plugged a line into the phone and another into the wall socket. With a few clicks he was ready.
"I'm up. What do you need"
"Pull up Sarah's medicals again."
"Hold on." Jesse said, typing away at the keyboard. "Here you go."
"Open it." I said standing over him.
Two clicks later, Sarah's entire medical history, from the day she was born, filled the screen.
"Filter for ER visits within the last five years."
Jesse worked his magic as Dom watched silently.
"Ok..2 in 1997.. umm.1 in 1999..9 more in 2000. Jesus Christ, 26 in 2001"
"Holy shit!" Dom said, now getting up to look at her file.
"Last one was 18 days ago." Jesse said, staring at me in fear as if he was afraid to tell me. I fell into the chair next to Jesse and ran my hands through my hair, trying to fight off the rage.
"I could use that coffee now dawg." I said to Dom. Dom turned around and poured me a cup.
"What do you know that I don't?" he said passing the cup to me. I just took a sip and tried to push the rage further down
"Leon?" Jesse asked finally, snapping me back to attention.
"I don't know yet. Check her DMV's again Jesse?" I was trying to piece together the puzzle in my head.
Jesse's fingers flew over the keyboard again, and within 30 seconds, everything re-aligned. Motor Vehicles and Sarah Ippolito were on the screen.
"Here we go. She had a Trenton, NJ address for 19 years; then New Brunswick, NJ; and then Manhattan NY in June of last year. Hold on." Jesse said as he typed feverishly on the keyboard. "Tax assessor's records show the property in New York belonged to Anthony Perrello."
"ANTHONY!" I growled half under my breath. Dom caught onto my anger immediately.
"Talk to me Leon." he demanded.
"I heard her last night talking in her sleep, she started freaking out Dom. She was screaming and shit. I'm surprised you didn't hear her. She said the name Anthony, a few times."
Suddenly Mia and Brian appeared in the kitchen.
"Why all so serious this morning" Brian questioned. Before anyone could answer, Mia made her way behind Jesse and was staring at the comp screen.
"Jess what are you doing?" she asked
" I uh, well Leon told me to, uh-"
" It's Sarah's medical records Mia." Dom simply stated. The only one confused was Brian.
"And why are we looking at these again?!"
Mia just turned around and said. "I'll tell you later honey"
"Yeah, Brian, I need some of your PD connects too"
Brian just nodded and poured himself some coffee. I shut the laptop down.
"I'm going to the garage, Need to start on that Acura" I said getting up.
I left by myself and thought that maybe some time alone would allow me to cool off.
When dinner was finished Brian and Mia insisted on the cleanup. I sat down on the couch and lit up a cigarette before Leon came and joined me on the couch.
" So what do you wanna do?"
My eyes lit up at the offer and, I turned to face him.
" I want to go for a drive up the coast. I want to smell the ocean air, and drink in the scenery. I want to go out.away. I want to soak up my surroundings" I said, rambling on about everything I wanted to see. The words came flying out of my mouth before I even realized how idiotic I sounded. I sank my head down but Leon lifted it and stared at me.
"You're starting to like it here aren't you?"
"Yeah, I am".
Without warning, Leon bolted off the couch and pulled me up with him. He led me to the foyer and grabbed his keys. I planted my feet and put my hands over his in protest. He stopped and looked at me.
"What?"
"No. Miss T needs to feel this too." I said, taking his keys out of his hands and grabbing mine.
"Feel what"
"The freedom."
He dropped his head and let out a small laugh before he took a few steps closer to me. I felt his hands encompass mine. For a brief moment we were the only two people in the room; the house; hell -- the whole world. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore and was ready to attack Leon's lips, Dom came into the room.
"Yo Leon. Tomorrow I need you to -- Oh!" he said, realizing he had interrupted something. But Leon didn't back away. He wasn't embarrassed to be so close to me, even though I was dying a thousand deaths.
"I'm taking Sarah for a ride, she wants to-what was it again?" he said, turning his head back to me. My hands were still sandwiched between his, pressing my body against him..
"Soak up my surroundings!" I said playfully to Dom, trying to casually allow some space between me and Leon. But Leon wouldn't have it, and held onto me firmly .
"Oh. All right. But don't let him scare you Sarah"
"He doesn't scare me." I heard myself call out to Dom as he was climbing up the steps. Was it true? Was I really that comfortable with Leon? I looked back at Leon trying to hide the shock of my statement, but I saw the joy in his eyes and decided I must be at ease around him. It had been 2 weeks since I left NJ. I was almost healed. The bruises were almost gone and the scars weren't as prominent. Ever since St Louis, Leon had been right by my side. Somehow he knew I needed someone to lean on, and he was more then willing to give me the support I needed. He wasn't pushy or demanding, and he let me go at my own pace. That was something I was definitely not used to. I felt a connection with Leon. I wasn't quite sure what it was just yet, but I knew that we worked well together. I even let him drive Miss T. Since I didn't really know my way around anyway, I allowed him control over something I wasn't willing to give up that easily.
Leon took me up the coastline while I rested my head and stared out the window, letting the salty breeze fill my face and hair.
"Beautiful." I managed to whisper as I watched the sunset over the cliffs of the Coast.
"Yeah, it sure is." he said. I looked over to him and found him staring at me instead of the sunset. I smiled and allowed him to take my hand. We rode in silence, listening to my Blackstreet tape that was still in the tape deck. The song "JOY" came on, and I started singing. By the time the song was over, we had arrived at our destination.
"You have a voice of an angel Sarah." Leon said very matter-of-factly.
I couldn't help but laugh. "No. I'm not that good"
"Yeah, ok," He replied sarcastically. "Will you sing for me?"
"Now?!"
"No. Not right now, but someday.soon"
"Fine. Whatever." I said. "Where are we?" I changed the subject when I realized we were off the road in a small parking lot with nothing around us.
"C'mon" he said getting out
"C'mon where?" I said looking around for any kind of civilaztion
"Just trust me, its right over here." Trust you? Can I really trust you Leon?
I sighed and dragged myself out of the car and followed him to a large rock pile. Within four leaps, Leon was at the top. I just stood at the bottom tapping my foot.
"You're kidding me right?"
"Nope. Gimme your hand, I'll help you"
I planted my foot on the ledge of the bottom rock and grabbed his hand. It took a little struggle, but he pulled me right up like I was a rag doll.
"Be careful. There's not a lot of standing room around here." He stood behind me.
"Look." he said, pointing to the horizon.
I finally realized where we were. We were at the city limits overlooking LA. It was majestic, and peaceful. The dark purple hues of the fading sunset mixed with the lights of the city, and made it breathtaking.
"Oh God" was all I managed to get out as I gasped.
"How's that for freedom?" he asked pulling me in close, and wrapping his arms around me. We just stood there admiring the view. At least that's what I thought we were doing. I ran my hands down his arms.
"Thank you for showing me this Leon"
"You're welcome." I heard his voice reply. His face was buried in my hair. Suddenly he pulled my hair back and stopped. I was so into the moment that I didn't realize what he'd done, until it was too late.
"Sarah what the hell is that?" His tone was flat and serious. I felt his fingers down the length of the scar.
"An accident back home." I said firmly, hoping he would drop the subject. Thankfully he picked up on my hostility and instead of asking anymore questions, I felt him ever-so-softly kiss my ear; then my neck and shoulders. At first I tried to break away from his embrace but he held on tight.
"Don't be afraid of me Sarah." he whispered in my ear. I felt his hot breath travel down my neck, and my knees went loose. Before I knew it I was turned around face to face with him.
"Leon, I--" He cut me off mid-sentence with his lips -- soft and gentle -- not like I was used to. It was beautiful. He finally broke the kiss.
"Can't do this" I said finishing my words. Leon pulled back a little and laughed.
"We already did" he said coming in closer for another kiss. I felt the fear rise up in me and I started to panic.
"I want to go back to the house now, OK? " I blurted out, right as he was an inch away from my face. I felt myself begin to shake in his embrace. He let out a sigh and nodded, but didn't let me go.
"Sarah. I know we've only known each other for a week, but you can trust me. Whenever you're ready to tell me. whatever it is that is paralyzing you. I'll be here ok?"
At the thought of him being willing to patiently wait for me to open up, I got dizzy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest.
"Thank you. Thank you for not pushing." I said, choking back the tears. We stood there on that rock, holding each other for what felt like an eternity, until he finally broke the embrace.
"C'mon, lets get back"
I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I remember after getting back into the car, was pulling up to the house.
"Hey. You awake?" I heard Leon ask as he pulled a few stray hairs away from face.
"Mmmm, yeah. Where are we?"
"Home."
I sat straight up and looked around. Then my gaze fell on his eyes, and I smiled faintly.
"C'mon you look beat"
I started to follow him up the drive before I realized I was leaving my whole life in the car.
"Oh shit. Wait a sec." I said running back to the car. I grabbed my clothes bag, the money, and the .22, slipping it in my waistband before I returned to Leon on the porch.
We walked into the house and even though I heard voices from the kitchen, I was too tired to talk to anyone.
"Where am I sleeping?"
"You can have my room."
"No way Leon, I'm not taking your bed."
"I insist." he said smiling. Without a reason, I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his cheek.
"Your are too good too me Leon."
"I'll get you something to sleep in." he said. "You coming?" He went up the stairs.
"I'll be right there." I said opening up the money case and slipping the gun into it. I shut it and locked it before carrying it and the other bag up the stairs. Leon emerged out of a room with an oversized tee shirt in his hands.
"Just your style." he said tossing it to me. I couldn't help but laugh. We said our goodnights and I crawled into his bed, leaving the door halfway open.
It was dark. I couldn't see anything, but I heard him calling for me. "Sarah!" I cowered in the corner praying he wouldn't find me, but there he was; eyes glazed over and arms reaching for me. I saw the knife in his hands.
"You'll never forget who you belong to." he said throwing me onto the floor. I kicked, punched, and tried to bite him. Anything I could do to fight back. But my efforts were futile. Two swift kicks to my abdomen, combined with him bashing the back of my head on the floor disabled me. The knife! The long silver blade coming closer and closer! I screamed
"Sarah, Sarah! Calm down!" I opened my eyes to see Anthony over me. I thrashed in the bed, trying to get him off of me.
"No Anthony, NO!"
Suddenly I was being shaken by the shoulders.
"Sarah, chill the fuck out!" I was shaken back into the conscious world. I wasn't in NYC. I was in LA. I was in Leon's bed; in his house. I looked up and I didn't see Anthony. It was Leon hovering over me. I felt my body, and realized I was drenched in sweat, and panting. As soon as I realized what happened, I began to cry. I couldn't have held it in even if had I tried. Leon scooted closer to me on the bed and held me, rocking me as I sobbed onto his chest.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry" I managed to say
"Shhh. Don't even talk. You're safe now," Leon said, still rocking me.
I looked up at him, tears still pouring down my face. I felt his thumbs run across my cheeks, wiping my tears away. For a split second he looked at me, and then I felt his lips on mine. I didn't push him away, but accepted his kiss. It instantly calmed me down. As soon as he broke the kiss I asked him,
"Would you stay here with me. I'm still not. I mean"
"Shhh. Yeah, I'll stay." he said, laying me back down on the bed. I felt him move up and lay his body against my back. His arm draped over me and I fell back to sleep with his hands in my hair.
Leon's Point of View:
I felt her body tuck into mine. When her breathing finally evened out, she pulled my arm over herself. It's OK baby, I know.
Mia had told me what she saw when I went to take a shower before dinner. She'd stopped me upstairs.
"I have to talk to you" Mia said. Her face was pale.
"Wassup?"
"It's Sarah." What was Mia talking about?
"What about her?"
"When we were shopping I saw her--"
"Mia?"
"Just listen. She -- she was covered in bruises and scars!"
"WHAT!"
"Shhh! Calm down! I only saw her back but. Leon it was horrible!" Tears had already welled up in Mia's eyes.
"Did Letty see?"
"No. Sarah made me promise not to say anything. Leon, there's more"
"What Mia? . Mia, WHAT!"
"She has a big scar on her back. She said something about a kidney, but it sure as hell looks like a knife wound to me."
I had to trust Mia's instincts. She was only a few semesters away from being a Registered Nurse.
"I can't fuckin' believe this!" I said. I could feel my blood pressure rising "Was it that bad Mia?" I wanted to believe she was exaggerating.
Mia just nodded her head and hugged me
" I just thought you should know." she said as she descended the stairs. I went and took a shower, not only to wash up, but to think. I let the hot water run down as my mind started to race. When Jesse ran her license plates, he pulled up everything on Sarah -- medical records, DMV files, and arrest records, even though she didn't have any of those. He never really opened the medical records, because I didn't see the need at the time. But now, first thing tomorrow, I was going to have Jesse take a look at them.
Now it's a little after 6am. I'm already awake, and eager to start on the Acura in the garage. Sarah was still sleeping, lying on her side. Her shirt had crawled up her back during the night, but the blanket was still protecting her. I slid the blanket down and lifted her shirt. Her white skin was covered in yellow and brown welts the size of baseballs. The bruises appeared to be in the last stages of healing. Cuts and scars -- some fresh; some faded. All were definite signs of prolonged abuse. There was one scar larger then the others, on her lower right side. I ran my finger down the length. About 2" long. It was deep too, I could tell from the way it healed. She shifted in the bed slightly when I touched her back. Before she could wake I pulled her shirt down, and pulled the blanket back over her. I was already dressed, but I climbed back into the bed, over the covers, and held her for a while. I buried my face in her golden hair. God she was beautiful. How could that asshole not have seen it? She was soft and smelled like honeysuckle. Her eyes were the brightest green I have ever seen, her lips were full and soft. Just my style. I was tearing myself up inside, tangled up in my emotions. I had such a feeling of love for her, and such a rage for whoever Anthony was. I decided to get out of the room and find out just what her story was. I made it into the kitchen in time to see Dom and Jess already enjoying their coffee.
"Jess, you hooked up?"
"Not yet." he said sipping his coffee.
"Bring it out.right here." I demanded.
"Relax, have some coffee fir-" Dom tried to say.
"No Dawg, NOW!"I confirmed
Jesse was already out of his seat and connecting his laptop. He plugged a line into the phone and another into the wall socket. With a few clicks he was ready.
"I'm up. What do you need"
"Pull up Sarah's medicals again."
"Hold on." Jesse said, typing away at the keyboard. "Here you go."
"Open it." I said standing over him.
Two clicks later, Sarah's entire medical history, from the day she was born, filled the screen.
"Filter for ER visits within the last five years."
Jesse worked his magic as Dom watched silently.
"Ok..2 in 1997.. umm.1 in 1999..9 more in 2000. Jesus Christ, 26 in 2001"
"Holy shit!" Dom said, now getting up to look at her file.
"Last one was 18 days ago." Jesse said, staring at me in fear as if he was afraid to tell me. I fell into the chair next to Jesse and ran my hands through my hair, trying to fight off the rage.
"I could use that coffee now dawg." I said to Dom. Dom turned around and poured me a cup.
"What do you know that I don't?" he said passing the cup to me. I just took a sip and tried to push the rage further down
"Leon?" Jesse asked finally, snapping me back to attention.
"I don't know yet. Check her DMV's again Jesse?" I was trying to piece together the puzzle in my head.
Jesse's fingers flew over the keyboard again, and within 30 seconds, everything re-aligned. Motor Vehicles and Sarah Ippolito were on the screen.
"Here we go. She had a Trenton, NJ address for 19 years; then New Brunswick, NJ; and then Manhattan NY in June of last year. Hold on." Jesse said as he typed feverishly on the keyboard. "Tax assessor's records show the property in New York belonged to Anthony Perrello."
"ANTHONY!" I growled half under my breath. Dom caught onto my anger immediately.
"Talk to me Leon." he demanded.
"I heard her last night talking in her sleep, she started freaking out Dom. She was screaming and shit. I'm surprised you didn't hear her. She said the name Anthony, a few times."
Suddenly Mia and Brian appeared in the kitchen.
"Why all so serious this morning" Brian questioned. Before anyone could answer, Mia made her way behind Jesse and was staring at the comp screen.
"Jess what are you doing?" she asked
" I uh, well Leon told me to, uh-"
" It's Sarah's medical records Mia." Dom simply stated. The only one confused was Brian.
"And why are we looking at these again?!"
Mia just turned around and said. "I'll tell you later honey"
"Yeah, Brian, I need some of your PD connects too"
Brian just nodded and poured himself some coffee. I shut the laptop down.
"I'm going to the garage, Need to start on that Acura" I said getting up.
I left by myself and thought that maybe some time alone would allow me to cool off.