Part 26
Savin' you December 7th, 2007 – Friday – 7:00 am
I wake up the next morning when a warm hand comes up over my hip to caress my belly. I smile against the pillow, 'cause I know that it's Michael. He squeezes his body against mine from behind and presses a kiss to my neck.
"Morning," he mumbles. The feel of his breath over my skin sends shivers through my body and the thought of his bare chest, which is pressing against my back, doesn't make it any better.
"Take off your shirt," he had told me last night when we went to bed. I had done it without a second thought. He wasn't in the mood for sex, I knew that. His body was aching and exhausted. But it felt good to just feel his skin against my own. He held me in his arms all night and made sure that I was warm.
"Michael?" I clear my throat.
"Uh-huh?"
"Are you my boyfriend?" I know, that's a really stupid and total ridiculous question to ask.
He lifts his head and supports it with his hand on one side. "You want me to be?"
Well, that wasn´t the answer I'd hoped for, but I decide to be honest. I turn over until I am laying on my back and look up to him. "Yeah."
"I am, then," he whispers with a smirk.
"You didn't just say that because I said I want you to, right? I mean, I really have to know if there is something... real between us."
He breathes out. "Look, Maria. I'm not good at conversations like this. Honestly, I suck at them. I don´t know what will happen with us in the next few weeks, months or years. But I promise you, I won´t be the next Billy for you. So for now: Yes, I am your boyfriend because I want to be, okay?"
I can´t hide the big smile on my face. "And you say you aren't good at this?" With a quick movement, I pull his face down to me and kiss him. Hopefully, I won't hurt him to much.
***
"I have to leave now. My shift at work starts in 20 minutes. I'm already gonna be late." He stands up from the kitchen chair, sets his cup in the sink and grabs his jacket, which is still lying on the couch.
I follow him to the front door. "Will I see you again today?"
"Depends. Do you have to work?"
"Nope. Only school for today and then I'm free for the rest of the weekend."
He rummages around for something in his jacket pocket. "Here!" He presses something cold into my palm. A key.
"What's that for?"
"My apartment; Max knows that we´re together now, so you can have it and come by whenever you want."
"But what if some of the others will see me?"
"They don´t hang around at my place very often. But I think I'll tell them anyway, so you don´t have to worry about them, too."
"You will tell them? Kyle, too?"
"He has to know, Maria. And once he knows and calms down about it, you won´t have to be afraid of him ever again. He would never touch my girl!"
"He did before….." I interject.
"I know and there is no excuse for that. I don´t want to downplay what he did. But when he did that, it was a different time, now you belong to me and he'll accept it."
"Okay, I trust you about this. When will you be home today?"
"I guess around four."
"Okay, I´ll come to your place then."
He bends down to kiss me carefully.
"You know, I hope that your lips heal soon, Michael. These soft, hardly noticable kisses don´t satisfy me."
"Do you realize what you just said?" he asks with a grin.
"I do."
"Okay, I have to go. And Maria, remember what you promised me."
The Billy thing. "I will."
***
School was really boring today. Two of my teachers were ill and the lessons fell out. The other students walked to some cafe near school, but I have to save my money and I don't have any real friends here, so I just stayed in the classroom and read a few chapters in my history book.
The time passed by so damn slowly and I couldn't wait for the school day to end, 'cause I want to see Michael again. But it's only 3 o'clock now. He won't be home until 4, he said. So I decide to go home first to take a quick shower.
"Maria? Hey, Maria!" I freeze in place when I hear Sean´s voice from behind. What does he want? I try to get my shocked and horrified expression under control before he reaches me and I turn around.
"Sean, hey. I didn't see you. What's up?" My heart's beating like crazy, so I'm surprised that my voice sounded so normal to my own ears.
"Come with me to Billy's. Something VERY big has happened?" He sounds kind of puzzled.
"What do you mean by that?"
My cousin looks around as if he wants to make sure that no one will hear his next words. "We have the Hurricane chick."
My eyes widen in horror. "Which one?"
"The girlfriend of the big boss!"
I clench my teeth so I don't let out a whimper when the realization that Liz is with Billy right now hits me. "Are you sure?" I press, trying not to sound as hysterical as I feel at this moment.
Sean just nods. "So are you coming?"
I remember the promise that I made to Michael; I told him that I wouldn't go to Billy´s place. But Liz is there with all the other Bandits and I know Billy won´t treat her as well as the Hurricans treated me when they kidnapped me. I have to get her out of there, I just don´t know how.
"Okay, I´m coming with you." Hopefully, I won´t regret this.
****
Nervously I fumble around in the pocket of my jacket until my hand makes contact with the cell phone. Good, it was still there – just in case...
Billy opens the door for us and looks at me in surprise. "DeLuca, what an unusual guest in my house lately." I can see the anger in his eyes, but he steps aside to let Sean and me in. Ryan and Brody are already sitting on the couch.
"Maria!" Ryan says in surprise.
"I know, I know," I say and lift my hand up to stop them from making any other comments. "Listen, I know, I haven't been around much lately, okay? But I have a job and school and my mom left me alone in our house, so there are a few things I have to do in my life right now." I pull my jacket off and throw it on the couch. "And," I turn around to face Billy, who is standing behind me, "I heard you were very unruly and kidnapped a Hurricane slut?" I force a smile onto my face and wait for him to answer. Hopefully, he doesn´t recognize my disgust for him, which I try to hide so badly.
A wide grin appears on Billy´s face. Good, he´s playing along with me. That makes me more confident for my next move. "Show me!"
Billy nods and leads me into the kitchen. Liz' head snaps up when she hears the door open and our eyes meet. I bite the inside of my cheek to prevent me from showing any reaction. She looks so scared and lost, it breaks my heart. She has a blue bruise on her right cheek; her clothes are dirty so I know Billy must have thrown her to the ground when he attacked her. Billy had chained her to a chair and a wide piece of tape covers her mouth.
"So, what do you say?" Billy says from behind me."
"Poor girl!" I answer in a cold voice. "She looks like a timid fawn! Do you have something special in mind for what we're gonna do with her?"
"That's revenge for kidnapping you. But we won´t let her just go in a few days. This will be worse. They messed with me, now they will feel the consequences."
Fear creeps over my whole body. What will he do to her? I have to get Liz out of here very quickly. "So," I pull myself together and turn around to meet his gaze, "you did that to take vengeance for my kidnapping? This is very brave of you!" I point my finger to his chest and give him a cheeky grin.
"Yeah," he grabs me by my ass and pulls me to his body, "I think I deserve a reward for it, huh?" His hands stroke over my body roughly.
"I guess you do," I whisper. "Later!"
"Hey bitch, you're lucky Maria's here now; she can take you to the bathroom," Billy tells Liz and reaches her in several long strides. He releases her from the chair in a harsh way and throws her in the direction of the bathroom. "She's had to pee for a while now. Go with her, but don´t take the tape off her mouth. And if she gives you any trouble, just kick her or beat her; she's so weak, even you should be able to handle her." I want to slap him right across his face, but that won´t be very helpful. Right now, I have to play along with him and wait for a good opportunity to get her out.
Liz and I enter the bathroom together and the moment I close the door, she slumps down against the wall next to me and starts to cry heavily. I kneel down in front of her. As I touch her shoulder she winces and looks at me in horror. I think she is unsure if she really can trust me, now that I showed up at Billy´s place and acted like I´m still a friend of the Hurricanes.
"It´s okay, Liz," I whisper, afraid that Billy could hear us, "I´m here to help you. I´ll find a way to get you out of here."
She looks at me intensely for several seconds before she hugs me desperately and starts to cry again. We stay in this position for a short while until she calms down a little bit. "You want something to drink?"
She nods and I stand up to get some water in a toothbrush mug. "Okay, pull the tape away from your mouth but be careful and don´t destroy it, we have to put it back afterwards."
She takes some sips of the water. "Thank you. And now you have to get out of here," she hisses.
I look at her in surprise. "What? NO, I won´t leave you alone with that bastard."
She takes my shoulders in her small hands. "You can't do anything right now. Go and tell the others."
I shook my head. "No, no, Liz. I can send a text message to Michael; I have the cell out there in the living room."
"You. Get. Out." Liz tells me again in a firm voice. "Right now, all the others are here, Maria. There is no need to put you in danger as well, 'cause there is nothing you can do right now. And I don´t want you to get hurt by Billy. I heard what he said to you about some reward and I´m not stupid, Maria. We both know what he wants and it would kill Michael if you did that just to stay here with me. You go to Max and Michael now and you tell them everything. But promise me that you won´t let them come over here right now. Billy has a gun in the kitchen and he would kill every Bandit who tried to get in here."
"Oh my God", I cover my mouth with my hand. "I don´t want to leave you alone!" It's my turn to cry now.
"I know. I don't want to be alone either. But that's the only possibility that we have. Stop crying or Billy will start to wonder what´s going on. I heard them talking about going to some skater event tomorrow afternoon in Manhatten, so maybe they'll leave me here then. That could be a possibility to get me out of here."
I take some deep breaths and nod. "Okay, I´ll try to find out more about that."
Billy chains Liz up again when we leave the bathroom. "Did the bitch make any trouble?"
"Nope. She was no problem. You're right, she´s too weak to defend herself." We leave together to go into the living room and I glance back at Liz for a second before the door swings shut.
I grab my jacket from the sofa. "Okay, I have to work this evening. What are your plans for tomorrow? I don´t have to work then."
"We're going to this skater event in Manhatten."
"Boring!" I say to show my disinterest for skating people. "When will you be back?"
"Around 6 pm, I guess."
"And what will you do with her?" I point to the closed kitchen door.
"We haven´t decide yet," Billy answers. "Maybe we'll toss her in the trunk of my car or something. There is no way I´ll leave her here alone, not even if she´s tied up."
"Okay, I have to go now. I think I´ll come around to this event."
Billy leads me to the front door and presses me against the wall. "I was hoping you'd join me later tonight and give me that reward we talked about."
"I don´t know how long I have to work."
"I don't care. The others will stay for a while I guess, so feel free to come by later, or else I might have to do the Bandit bitch – 'cause I can´t go out tonight with her in my kitchen and I definitely want to get laid today. So it's you or her."
"Make sure the others are gone tonight," I say with a soft grin, although I could throw up right now.
"No problem!" he replies and finally lets go of me, so that I could slip out of the door quickly.
I run down the stairs to get out of his building. The cold wind is blowing in my face when I reach the street and all I can think is: I got out, but Liz is still with them.
TBC