I am walking down a long corridor. My steps echo off the cinder block walls. I am looking for something, but what?
"Edward." I turn to the left. Someone is behind the door. I try to turn the knob, but it's locked.
"Edward, help!" I hear the voice again. This time, it is loud enough to know it is female and is coming from down the hall.
"I hear you!" I try to call, but my voice is weak. My throat feels so dry. I swallow hard and try to call again, but my voice comes out a whisper.
"Ed-ward!" The voice calls. I stop cold. It's Bella. She is in trouble. I have to find her.
"Bella, Where are you?"
"I am right here. Just open the door. Hurry!"
I try to run down the hall, but my feet feel like lead. I try every door, but none of them are unlocked. With every step I take, her voice becomes more and more faint. I am going to lose her forever.
I look down the hall, and there are hundreds of doors. I force myself to keep trying to find her, to save her. When I can no longer walk, I start to crawl, reaching up to test each knob. Locked. Locked. Locked.
I hear her scream. I crawl faster and faster, sweat dripping off my forehead. I can't breathe. I begin to pant. I'm not going to find her. I look up and see the hallway goes on forever. Thousands of doors appear. I lay down defeated.
"Edward, please." Her voice is faint.
I push forward one more door. I reach up with a trembling hand and turn the knob. The door gives way. I slump to the floor, trying to catch my breath. My chest is so heavy. Somewhere in the dark room, I hear her beg, "Help me."
"I'm here, Bella. I am here to help you." I get up on my knees and search the wall until I find the light switch.
I am in my mother's bedroom, but instead of my mother slumped in the corner, it's Bella. She is bloody and bruised. I crawl toward her as blood begins to run across the floor and soak into the carpet.
I move toward her. "Bella, I'm here."
I reach for her, but she screams, "You are too late. You couldn't protect me."
"No, Bella, I'm here. I reach for her again, and just like my mother, she disappears into a haze.
Edward woke up early Sunday morning, thrashing and screaming. He had to talk to Bella. He would go to Thelma's tonight and speak to her, telling her he was sorry for scaring her or not taking care of John when he had the chance. Whatever he needed to do to win her back.
When Beverly woke up on Sunday, it was afternoon. She came down the hall to find Bella on the couch, still holding the baseball bat.
"How did you sleep, Bev?"
"Good, actually, you?"
"Eh," Bella replied. "I told Jimmy I would be in this afternoon, so why don't we head to your house to get you some clothes and things? I have decided I am going to talk to John tonight."
"Bella, I don't think it's a good idea."
"I know you don't, but Edward will go with me. Maybe they can talk man to man." Bella hoped Beverly couldn't see through the lies.
"Um, ok, that might be a good idea." Beverly was nervous to get Edward involved in her drama but felt better that Bella would not have to deal with John alone. "Bells, I need to clean up at my house before the boys come home. It's a mess."
"I'll help you, no problem."
The girls changed their clothes, and Bella drove them across town to Beverly's house. When they arrived, Bella noticed Beverly seemed nervous. Her hands were shaking as she opened the door. "Do you want me to go in first?" Beverly nodded, and Bella pushed the front door open with Beverly standing behind her.
"Oh, Bev." Bella breathed. The house was a wreck. Bella was expecting dirty laundry and toys in the living room, but this took her breath away. Bella turned to face Beverly. Tears were streaming down her face.
"I can't, Bella. I can't go in there. I cannot go in there, Bella. I can't, I can't," Beverly began to pant.
Bella took her by the shoulders, "you do not have to. I will handle this. I will keep the door open, and you stay on the porch." Bella helped her sit down on the top step. "I will come out every few minutes to check on you. Do you want me to make you some coffee? Something to eat?"
"Coffee."
"I will be right back. If you see anyone, Bev, I want you to come inside and lock the door." Beverly nodded.
Bella went into the house to start coffee and make a game plan. There was overturned furniture and broken glass everywhere. While the coffee maker gurgled, Bella surveyed the rest of the house. Bev's room was also destroyed. The boys' room seemed to be untouched. Thank God they were not home.
Once the coffee was finished, she poured Beverly a cup and took it out to her. "We're gonna get through this," Bella reassured her. "What do you need me to pack?" Beverly gave her a short list of clothes and toiletries, and Bella returned to the house.
Starting in the bedroom, she stripped the bed, tossing sheets and bedding into the washing machine and putting on fresh linens. She picked up the furniture and tried to get all of Beverly's knick-knacks where they belonged. Anything broken she put in an empty shoe box she found to be glued back together later. She vacuumed twice, trying to remove any glass shards from the carpet.
Moving to the kitchen, it looked like John had thrown and broken most of her plates and cups. Stepping over a layer of broken ceramics on the floor, she grabbed a pen and notepad from the small table beneath the phone that was dangling from the wall. Clearly, John did not want her to call for help. "What an asshole." She said out loud. "What a miserable excuse for a man." She slammed the phone back on the wall and checked for a dial tone. Once she was sure everything was working, she started on a list of things that would need to be replaced.
Bella wiped down all the counters and pushed all the glass to the floor. She tossed any food that had been on the counters just in case. She added the trashed items to her list. She swept until the small dustpan was full. She found paper bags in Bev's pantry and dumped the dustpan. It took several loads, but the kitchen was cleared of glass. She then mopped twice and took the paper bag to the trash bin outside.
Beverly jumped when she heard Bella step behind her. "Just me," Bella reassured. "I think most of your dishes are broken. I also threw away some food, so we will go to the grocery store before the boys come back." Beverly gave her a weak smile. "I put clean sheets on your bed and am washing all the linens. Beverly, I am so sorry for what he did to you." Bella bit her lip.
"I know you are," Beverly whispered, staring at the street.
Bella went back into the house to tackle the living room. The coffee table was in splinters. It looked like someone had fallen through it and shattered the glass top. The more Bella cleaned, the madder she got. She had to remind herself to breathe, and in just a few hours, with any luck, John would be dead.
She gave the living room the same treatment as the bedroom, vacuuming several times and putting all the glass in a paper bag.
"Bella?" Beverly called.
"Yes, Bev?" Bella ran to the open front door.
"Can you take a look at the bathroom? I tried to clean myself up a bit before I came to the bar, but I don't want the boys to see that."
Bella walked the short hall to the bathroom. When she flipped on the light, her stomach clenched. There was blood everywhere. She grabbed the bleach and doused everything to cover the metallic smell. She scrubbed until any trace of blood was gone. She switched out the laundry and gathered all the trash.
"All done. It looks like nothing ever happened when the boys come home."
"Thank you so much," Beverly said, standing to hug Bella. Bella took one step back so Beverly could only put her hands lightly on her hips.
"We need to talk, Bev. Let's get in the car and head to Thelma's."
"Bella, what is going on?"
"I need you to stay at Thelma's tonight. People need to see you there."
"Why?" Beverly sounded alarmed.
"You just have to trust me. It should be slow, but there will be people coming in. They need to see you, Bev, not just Jimmy, but other people. I need you to promise me."
"I promise."
Bella dropped Beverly off at Thelma's a little after four. "Remember what I said, Bev. You need to be seen."
"I wish you would tell me what you are really up to, Bella."
"I told you I am going to go talk to John. I know his wife will be at the church social, and I think he and I can work some things out. I need to know, Bev, are you done with him?"
"Yes," Beverly replied fiercely.
"I am going to convince him to leave town. Florida is a lovely state to start over in." Bella smirked, trying to lighten the mood.
"If something happens to you, I will never forgive myself."
"Bev, you just have to trust me. I can handle John." Bella smiled at Beverly as she got out of the car. Bella watched from her rearview mirror as Beverly walked into the Thelma's. Then she peeled out of the parking lot. It was a long drive out to John's mansion on the outskirts of town. It would get dark when she arrived, but she only had an hour, maybe two, before John's wife would be home. She had to move fast.
Edward walked into Thelmas's expecting to see Bella, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Edward?" Beverly questioned as he settled into his stool.
They both said simultaneously, "What are you doing here?" "Where's Bella?"
"Uh- she told me she was taking you with her to talk to John?"
"No, I came here to talk to her." It took Edward a moment, and then he asked, "Bev, did John do that?"
Beverly nodded yes.
"Where does he live, Bev?" His voice filled with rage.
"Way out on Farm Road 90. She told me you were going with her."
Edward jumped up, knocking the bar stool over in the process. He stormed towards the front door. He would never make it that far. It would take him hours to get to her. "Fuck!" He yelled as he slammed the door back and stomped out into the night.
Bella parked her car on a farm road within walking distance of John's house. As she walked up the road, she finalized her plans. The first part would all depend on where he was in the house. There was the clean-up to think about.
Luck was on her side, though, and as she approached the back gate, he was outside on the patio smoking a cigar. How thoughtful, she thought. He respects his wife enough not to smoke in the house but has no problem running around on her all over town.
She pushed the gate open. It made a loud screeching, causing John to look up.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
"Well, John, you beat the shit out of my best friend, so…" She shrugged.
"You can't prove anything, and even if you tried, no one would believe you or her. Everyone knows Bev is a whore."
"Fuck you, John." Bella spat angrily as she walked up on the porch and got up in his face. "How do you sleep at night? I really want to know. You string Bev along like you care, but when anyone asks, she is beneath you. You have cheated on your wife for years, and she only stays for the money. You have to know that. Why else would she put up with you."
John stood up. "Get off my property before I call the police!" He yelled.
"No one is calling the cops, John. You won't be alive long enough." Bella growled.
He looked at her, stunned, and then his eyes scanned her for a weapon. She watched terror fill his eyes, and she leaped at him, pulling him off the porch and onto the ground. She straddled him, holding him down by the shoulders.
"John, I have watched for years as you have tormented and abused my best friend. I was going to give you a chance, let you make amends to Bev and your wife. Let you change your ways, but what you did last night was despicable. You put on a good act to the boards you sit on, the Rotary Club, and the folks at church, but what would all those people think if they knew the truth? I have half a mind to write a few letters, John. Tell people who you really are."
"Now come on, Bella, let's not get out of hand here. You have no idea what happened last night. Beverly got a few good swings in, too."
"Are you telling me she deserved what she got?" Bella picked him up by his shoulders and slammed John's head into the ground.
"No- it was all a misunderstanding. I'm a good guy, Bella. Yes, I have done some things I am not proud of, but I'm a gentleman."
Bella could not believe the bullshit coming out of his mouth. " 'A good guy' does not hit women, John." She felt bones crack as she punched him in the face. " 'A good guy' does not cheat on his wife." Bella hit him again, this time connecting with his jaw. " 'A good guy' does not threaten to take away money from the woman he supports when he doesn't get his way. 'A good guy' does not rape women!" Bella was screaming now her punches were out of control. John's head lulled to the side. She reached down and grabbed him by the chin. He was going to look at her when she killed him. "This ends tonight, John. You will never hurt another woman." With those words, Bella lunged and bit his neck, letting the hot blood soothe her burning throat.
She drank until she no longer felt his pulse beneath her lips. She sat up and wiped her mouth. Then she stood up and looked down at her blood-covered hands. She ran her fingers through her hair. It felt warm and sticky. "Fuck" she swore out loud, looking down her jeans and sweatshirt. she was covered in blood splatter. She had not planned on getting bloody. She had planned to take him by surprise. No mess, but when he tried to justify his actions, it was more than she could handle.
She always felt guilty when she took human life. She understood the value and the cost. Tonight, there was no guilt, no shame. She had saved her best friend's life. Now, to get rid of the body.