Part 5: Me and a Gun

There was faint musky smell about my new apartment and it's smaller than the last one, but I like it. It's pretty with the exception of all the boxes everywhere.

knockknockknock

"Mommy, I get it. I get it Mommy," Caleb prattled as he ran to the door.

"NO CALEB!" I cried in fear as I went to him. "Honey, I don't want you answering the door by yourself. You don't know who would be on the other side."

"Yes, Mommy," he said as he looked at the floor.

"Sweetie, you aren't by yourself now. Go ahead and open the door." The door slowly opened and I was shocked to see who was on the other side.

"Hi Liz," she said as she looked at me then to Caleb and back to me.

My throat suddenly became dry and I couldn't utter anything. "Ava," I said and took a step backwards. "Oh my god! Ava!" I screamed. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. I saw you this morning on the subway and followed you here. I hope that's okay."

"Oh, you could have just stopped me there," I laughed.

"I knew you would have run if I did," she whispered.

She was right and all I could do was look away.

"So when did you get to New York? Better yet Manhattan? You look like you're doing well." She looked around the apartment approvingly.

I was just relieved that she changed the topic. "Yeah, I guess so. Come on in Ava."

"Mommy, I'm going to go play in my room." I nodded.

"Liz, what happened? Talk to me."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"If you want me to."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as I began to tell her everything.

Max was out of town for some medical class he was taking, and Isabel and Maria were helping me make the welcome home dinner for him. We ran out of eggs so I went to the store and I only thought I was going to be gone for fifteen minutes.

flashback

I took the change from the cashier, thanked her, and made my way to the door. I was really excited about Max coming that I was totally unaware of my surroundings including the people. Ah, I could practically feel the comfort of being in Max's arms and his scent making me dizzy. So my only focus was just to get home. I pushed open the store's door and began walking towards the house. We didn't live too far and I was thankful for that.

I was walking at a slow, steady pace and alone until a man came up beside me. I didn't recognize him at first but I told him to go away. That's when he stopped me and pressed his lips to mine. I tried pushing him away but he was so much stronger than me. I started to cry for help and then he bit my lips making them bleed. I tried to not let him into my mouth's entrance but his tongue won the battle. His hands were holding my wrists too tight that I was forced to drop the eggs.

I had no clue who this man was but I hated him being around me. I hated him for touching me. I hated the taste of the mixture of cigarettes and whisky on his breath and on his lips. I was feeling sick and I wanted him to stop. I tried to push him away harder but it only made him more forceful and overpowering.

The man broke the kiss as he pulled out a pistol and hissed in my ear, "Elizabeth Parker, I presume." I gasped and frantically thought, 'He knows me.' My heart was beating faster than ever before and I was more than terrified. "I know you're a smart young lady and I know that you know what the rules are if you cry for help," he paused and stared at my blank reaction. "But just in case you've become an airhead since the last time we've met, let me remind you. If you scream, shout or in any form cry for help, my little friend here will make sure you won't live to tell another story." He looked over me and his eyes were so evil they pierced my body just by looking at me. "I see you've grown out of that little child body you use to have. Now let me ask you something, are you still hairless down there?"

I now remember exactly who he is and the mark he left on my past. His name was Fidel Markku, the man who raped me oh so long ago. I was six years old then. He would enter my small body and I would try to scream from both the pain and the fear but his hands were always kept on my throat. Every time I began to scream or attempted to scream, he would suffocate me until I would stop or learn to know any better. I knew if I would scream, he would shoot me until he killed me because I knew he wasn't bluffing.

The icy cold gun kissed the skin of my abdomen as Fidel's free hand snaked its way up my shirt. "Oh yes, you've grown into such a beautiful young woman Liz."

My heart continued to race and my fear kept on growing and all the while I was losing my control, stability, and my strength. "Please don't," I begged him. My tears falling freely down the sides of my cheeks as I tugged my sweater tighter around me. All I could think about was Max. I tried so hard to connect with him but I couldn't because I was so weak that I couldn't do anything.

"Oh baby if only I can fuck you right here, right now but that wouldn't be very smart huh?" He dragged me into his car and drove me to the hotel he was staying at.

When we arrived at his room he pushed me to the bed. I hadn't stopped begging him to stop and I couldn't stop crying. Fidel's eyes grew furious making him yell, "No! I want you to take those fucking clothes off now." His voice was so commanding and I did as I was told unwillingly. He looked over me again but this time I was naked. He made his way towards me, the gun still in his right hand and all I could feel was terror and pain.

Fidel now aiming the gun at me was undressing himself. When he removed his penis from his briefs, my breathing became deep and fast in panic. As he made his way back to me, he said, "You little slut," and slapped me across my face.

As I cried and protested, I lost consciousness.

Tears were running down both of our faces. "Oh my god, Liz! I had no idea. I'm so sorry, but there's just one thing I don't get," Ava said.

"Hmm?"

"By marrying Max, you became the queen whether or not he denounced the thrown. You have the powers of Isabel, Michael, and even of Tess. Your powers are even stronger then theirs. I just don't understand. Why wouldn't your powers work? What made you so weak that you couldn't fight him off?"

"I don't know." There was an awkward silence for about an hour.

"So um…what about you? When did you come back to New York? Where are you staying?" I asked.

"I came back about six months ago and returned to the same. Home sweet home, I guess."

"The sewer?" Ava just nodded. "Would you like to come and live with us?" Her eyes looked up at me, shocked and surprised. She looked as if she was just grateful enough just for me offering.

"I couldn't."

"Please, we have an extra room. I know it's not a big place, but Ava you were always a friend of mine. It would mean so much to me to have a friend again."

"Thank you so much Liz!" Tears began to run down her face again. "But I couldn't afford to pay you rent."

"Ah, do you think I could? I've been surviving on one dollar bills turned into hundreds." We both laughed.

Author's note:

Me and a Gun – "Me and a Gun" is sung by Tori Amos

"Me and a Gun" lyrics

5am Friday morning
Thursday night far from sleep
I'm still up and driving
can't go home obviously
so i'll just change direction
cause they'll soon know where i live
and i wanna live
got a full tank and some chips

it was me and a gun
and a man on my back
and i sang "holy holy"
as he buttoned down his pants

you can laugh
its kind of funny
things you think
times like these
like i haven't seen BARBADOS
so i must get out of this

yes i wore a slinky red thing
does that mean i should spread
for you, your friends
your father, mr ed

it was me and a gun
and a man on my back
but i haven't seen BARBADOS
so i must get out of this

and i know what this means
me and jesus a few years back
used to hang
and he said "it's your choice babe
just remember
i don't think you'll be back
in 3 days time so you choose well"
tell me whats right
is it my right to be on my stomach
of fred's seville

it was me and a gun
and a man on my back
but i haven't seen BARBADOS
so i must get out of this

and do you know CAROLINA
where the biscuits
are soft and sweet
these things go through your head
when there's a man on your back
and you're pushed flat on your stomach
it's not a classic Cadillac

It was me and a gun
and a man on my back
but I haven't seen BARBADOS
so I must get out of this
I haven't seen BARBADOS
so I must get out of this