OMG HEEEEEEY EVERYBODY! I've been gone for a while but now I'm back and I can't wait to get updating again! Check out my profile for OC pics from my other fanfics, music and more. Enjoy this next chapter! Luv, XxBlackDawnxX 3

Chapter 5

Eleana's POV

Bre and I took a bus deep into the heart of downtown New York, into the part of the city where the apartments weren't slums, but they sure weren't penthouses. That's where Dirk and I had lived; barely getting by with a decent place to live. But that was all over now. I was never going back to Dirk. Not after what he'd done to me. The memories started to come back, digging their way to the front of my mind, but I shrugged them away, along with the tears. Bre noticed and squeezed my hand, sending me a warm, reassuring smile.

After the long ride was over, I took the slow, dreaded steps off the bus, standing on the pavement in front the the apartment building that towered over us.

The 12th floor…3rd window over from the right…

The light wasn't on.

Gracias Dios…

Bre grabbed my arm. "Are you sure you wanta do this? We can turn around now. It's ok." I shook my head.

"No, I need Mama's necklace." I shot Bre a sly smile. "And I know the combination to that pendejo's safe. I'll take back everything he owes me."

Be nodded supportively. "Ok, I'm with you one hundred percent, chica." We headed into the building. As usual, my favorite desk manager sat behind the front desk. He was a sweet young African American man named Jack who had a strong African accent and always referred to the building residents as Ms./Mrs./Mr. and their first name. Jack watched us walk in, staring at me with a shocked look on her face. The last time her had seen me was storming out of the building with my duffel bag just hours before, leaving Dirk.

"Ms. Eleana!" he cried out sounding breathless. "Is everythin' alright? What happened earlier today? You and Mr. Dirk were fighting mighty bad!"

I leaned up against the front desk, speaking quietly. "No Jack, I had to leave Dirk. A lot has happened, but I don't have time to get into it now. Has Dirk come back at all since the two of us left? When you saw us fighting? Is he here?"

Jack shook his head quickly. "No, Ms. Eleana. He ain't come back since the two of you left." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Listen to me Jack, if Dirk comes back, and me and my friend Bre—" I turned and motioned to Bre. "That's Bre—are still inside the apartment and we haven't left yet, STALL HIM. Do you understand?"

Jack nodded. "Yes, Ms. Eleana."

"If we leave and he comes back later, do NOT tell him we were here, ok?"

Jack nodded again. "Yes, Ms. Eleana." I smiled, reached across the counter and hugged Jack tightly.

"Gracias Jack."

Bre and I hurried out of the lobby and up twelve flights of stairs to Dirk and I's OLD apartment. We came to a halt before the door and I slowly pulled the keys out of my purse. Bre grabbed my shoulder.

"You ready?" I took a deep, fearful breath.

"Si." And I slid the apartment key into the lock on the door, turned it, and slowly pushed the door open.

The lights were off and the apartment was empty…

And the window was STILL open.

"Pendejo," I muttered as I flicked the lights on and walked in, Bre at my side. I motioned at the open window and chuckled. "He would never close that goddamn window."

The two of us walked into the bedroom. It was still a mess. Just the way I had left it when I was packing my things and Dirk was trying to stop me. The bed sheets were bunched and scattered around, the pillows thrown about from the fight. The nightstand still lay on the floor on its side, the lamp broken to pieces. The mirror behind the dresser had been smashed and shattered; the hardcover book that had been thrown at it lay open on the floor. I stepped over the broken shards of glass and painted ceramic from the lamp, holding tears back. The same bed Dirk and I had repeatedly made love in had been the same place where he'd beat me, and the last place I'd touched his skin against mine before I left.

Feeling Bre's gaze moving from the disastrous room to my back, I hurried to the closet and pulled out two duffel bags—Dirk's Christmas presents from me for trips to the gym—and tossed one to Bre. "Bre would you mind going into the bathroom and getting anything that looks like it'd belong to a girl?"

Bre smiled and squeezed my shoulder as she passed me on her way to the bathroom. "No problem, hun, I'm here for you." As she headed into the bathroom, I started at the dresser, clearing out clothes I had left behind in the drawers. I cleaned out my scarves, camis, socks, lacy undies and bras, along with random things that had fallen into the dressers drawers over the years. I cleaned off the top of the dresser of Dirk's numerous books (also gifts from me and his brothers) which I sent flying into the trash can—except for one; one of my favorite books. It was a romance novel he'd given to me. There was no way I could part with it, so I slipped it into my bag.

Remembering Mama's necklace, I quickly flipped open the little wooden jewelry box that sat alone on the corner of the dresser to search for it. It lay right where I had left it; a choker made of elegantly twisted black wire. From it hung a black metal cross, also made of the woven wire, with little sparkling rubies set beautifully into the metal.

I let out a sigh of relief and fastened the choker around my neck, admiring it in the mirror.

"Cleaned out the bathroom," Bre announced as she approached me, dumping the now full duffel bag on the bed. "I can't believe you were gonna leave all the makeup behind!"

I playfully punched her shoulder. "I found it." I smiled and showed her the necklace.

"It's beautiful." Bre gasped, running her fingertips over the cross. "I'm glad you have it now."

I hugged her tightly. "Gracias, Bre." She grinned and squeezed me tightly.

"Anytime, chica, but no time for the espanol now; we should get moving."

Bre and I quickly finished clearing out the bedroom and moved on to the living room. While Bre began clearing out things that obviously belonged to me, I went to the only picture that had been hung on the walls of the apartment. It was a photo of Dirk proposing to me at the Rockefeller Center ice rink downtown. With both of us dressed in winter coats, hats, and scarves, he held me in his arms in a passionate kiss in the middle of the ice rink in front of the golden statue, a diamond ring sparkling like fire on my fourth finger. The photo had been taken by one of Dirk's brothers, Chris, who was a professional photographer and agreed to snap the photo the moment Dirk proposed. I forced tears back and took the picture down, leaning it against the wall, revealing a small safe door. After spinning in the combination, I opened the safe and went through its contents.

Stacks of banded currency were the first to be deposited into my duffel bag. Dirk had bound the five stacks for our "savings," each containing $100 in random bills. The second was a small envelope of photographs. Among them were a few old and yellowing images, including one of my parents holding me as an infant, Dirk and his brothers as toddlers, and another of Dirk's parents at their wedding. With the newer photos were Dirk and I at numerous parties and outings with his brothers, along with a wallet sized photo of the one that had been hanging on the wall: the proposal picture. After quickly glancing over my shoulder to make sure Bre wasn't watching, I slipped the envelope into my bag and continued emptying the safe.

The last of the items was a black case the size of a large textbook. I'd never seen this case before, and out of curiosity I flipped it open. Its contents shocked me.

Inside the black case, on the velvet lining, sat a small black handgun. I'd never known about the gun's existence, or that Dirk had even bought the gun. It made me wonder how long it'd been in the safe, and when he got it without telling me. I pushed away more feeling of betrayal, closed the case, and surprisingly, placed the case into my duffel bag.

I shut the safe and replaced the picture back into its original spot on the wall. I zipped up my bag and met Bre by the entrance to the kitchen.

"Done?"

"Done,"

"Bueno, let's get going, this place brings back too many bad memories…" I said and adjusted the shoulder strap of the back uncomfortably. Bre squeezed my shoulder.

"Hey you'll never have to come back here, girl. So, what was in that safe anyway—"

Bre was cut off by a sharp sound, like static from a wrong channel on a TV. Both of us jumped.

"What's that?!" Bre gasped, looking around vigorously. My heart stopped.

"That's the doorbell."

Bre's eyes widened in fear; "The doorbell?" she repeated.

"It's the speaker from the front desk meaning someone's coming up to our room. Our's was busted and never worked. It's Jack, he's warning us that Dirk's coming!"

"Shit! What are we gonna do? We can't just walk out the front door!"

At that moment, there were heavy footsteps coming from the hallways, getting louder as they approached the apartment.

"Hide!" I hissed and the two of us dove behind the counter of the kitchen as I switched off the lights on the panel next to the fridge. Just as the lights went down, the door swung open and in staggered a drunken Dirk, a presumably empty beer bottle in his hand. Bre and I peered from around the counter, watching as he mumbled and made his way into the living room, swinging the bottle around as he spoke with a heavily slurred voice.

"Shouldn't have left…shouldn't have left…Love you Lanie—Come home! Home…home…Lanie…"

It brought tears to my eyes to see Dirk that way. Even after what he'd done, I wanted only to go to him and hug him tightly, to run my fingers through his hair and tell him it'd be ok like I always had. But those days were over. He was different—and so was I. Dirk continued to pace in drunken circles as he mumbled and moaned when Bre got my attention.

What are we going to do? She mouthed nervously. I shrugged.

Got any ideas?

Bre's eyes searched the kitchen when they came to the empty window and penny in the corner of the counter and fridge. She mouthed Follow me, and silently stood and threw the penny into the bedroom, then ducked back behind the counter. From our hiding spot, we could hear the penny hit the wooden floor and bounce onto the tile of the bathroom. Dirk heard this and immediately stumbled toward the bedroom.

"Lanie? Baby? That you?" As he left the living room, Bre and I grabbed out bags and ran for the open window, stepping out onto the fire escape in the cool night air. We scrambled down the series of stairs and landings before sliding down the ladder and running down two blocks without stopping or looking back.

When it was safe, we dropped the bags onto the sidewalk and leaned against the corner building to catch our breath. After good long silence, we looked at each other and smiled before bursting out laughing and hugging.

"I can't thank you enough for saving our asses," I cried and laughed, holding Bre tight.

"I think we've both passed sister initiation," Bre chuckled before letting me go.

"That's enough adventure for one night,"

"Enough said my Mexican friend," Bre elbowed me in the side. "Let's go home home and get some sleep."

"Nothing sounds better," I sighed. "Vamos,"

And the two of us walked into the night and lights of the heart of the city.

WOO! *flips table* DONE! I'm going to bed now so I HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED IT! Peace homies!

With Luv, BD 3

BTW…Hey IceCreamPopStar…TAGGGGG! *runs off* TEEHEEHEEHEE!