Layers Peeled (17 page)

I held onto
her arm and slowly removed her long coat from her grip.

She let it
go.

I dared to put
my arm around her and with caution guided her back into the
kitchen, saying, “I could have saved her but chose to hide.”

“You were just
a kid.”

“I know, but
the act confirmed to me that good things didn’t happen to people
like me. I didn’t think I deserved a normal life. I honestly
believed that, but my mother helped me heal. She found a way to
save me from running away and helped me become who I am.”

“My mother
tried, she really did,” she said through a sniffle.

I know,
I thought as we sat by the kitchen counter again. I added more food
to her plate, the noodles she’d been keen on the most, and passed
her the fork.

She
smiled.

Was I breaking
through her barrier?

“I don’t doubt
that, Marissa. Sometimes circumstances lead us down paths we cannot
control. But I’m here, offering you a chance to change your future.
You can have a good, safe life. You control your destiny – you and
no one else.”

I could tell
she was thinking about what I’d said. And as much as I knew it
would be a hard sell, I held onto hope. I always had hope.

“I tried to
run away from him, but he always found me,” she sniffled.

Bastard!

“Has he hurt
you?” I asked, feeling the lump in my throat harden, hoping I
wouldn’t choke at her answer.

“No,” she
shook her head. “He’s been good to me. He said I reminded him of
his ex-wife.”

And a
psycho!

“How has he
found you, then?” I asked.

“I don’t know.
He has connections and always knew when I’d get busted because he’d
bail me out before I called.” She paused lifting her gaze. There
was more. I could tell she wanted to say something else.

Wait it
out, Allie,
I pep-talked myself in my mind.

And then she
said it. “He makes me do things I don’t want.”

My jaw just
clenched and I hung onto the seat under the counter so I wouldn’t
lose it! He was pimping her out!

“You really do
look like me.” Marissa’s choice of words struck me. The way she’d
said it was as if she was expecting me to resemble her. Or perhaps
it was just the way she spoke?

“I noticed
that too. You’re a beautiful lady,” I winked at her.

And she
actually giggled. When the sound of that pure happiness blessed my
ears my hope ignited into a full blaze in my heart.

“This is a
beautiful house.”

Good! Change
the topic. Make her feel at ease.

“Thank you.
Sometimes it feels like too much for just two people. Well, soon
enough we’ll fill it with a third.” I patted my tummy.

She gasped.
Why would she gasp? Then something struck me. Marissa was holding
onto her belly the way I had been, and my face must had drained of
all my blood.

“You’re
pregnant, too!” I said.

“How do you
know?”

“You just told
me.” The oldest trick I’d learned to get the information I needed.
You didn’t ask a question, but simply made a statement. The natural
reaction of the responder will be shock of how their secret leaked
out – even if it didn’t.

“Oh, yeah, I
am.”

“Are you
getting medical care?”

“He got me
some pre-natal pills. I haven’t seen a doctor yet. Should I?”

Ah, crap! Of
course you should!

“I can get you
and your baby the care you need, no worries.”

She let out a
long held breath, and I wondered how far I could push her for
information about the bastard who’d been pimping his pregnant
girlfriend (if I could even call her that) to other men!

“Who is
he
? What’s his name?”

But her eyes
welled up again. “I can’t do this, Allie. It was a mistake to come
here. I shouldn’t have agreed to this.” She then lowered her voice.
“He’ll kill me and my baby. I know he will. Once he has what he
needs, he’ll be done with us.”

“Nothing will
happen to you if you stay with me. I promise. He won’t make another
dime off you.”

Chills ran
down my spine. Marissa’s fear consumed every muscle on her face.
Her lip trembled and her entire body shook, but at least this time
she didn’t run for the door. I flipped the switch on the kettle and
rubbed my tummy. The kitchen clock showed almost midnight, and we’d
have a full day to talk about this tomorrow.

“How about I
make you a tea and you get some rest? Don’t think about him or
anyone else. You can tell me when you’re ready. If you want to. No
pressure, Marissa, but I am here for you.” I smiled.

We had
chamomile tea, and I switched our conversation to baby stuff. She
was excited about having hers as much as I was to have mine. Once
done, I showed her to the guest bedroom and folded her clean
clothes on the chair in the corner.

In my bed,
listening to whether the alarm on the front door went off, I hardly
slept that night. The last thing I wanted was for Marissa to leave.
I needed her safe, and I had to find the bastard who was torturing
her soul.

* * *

With the need
to use the bathroom, I woke up at eight in the morning. Surprised
it was that late, I pulled on my robe and went downstairs. The door
to the guest room was still closed. I checked my phone and when I
saw a message from Tristan my heart fluttered.

T.
Cross:
Let me know when you’re awake. I have a surprise for
you.

A.
Green:
Good morning. I’m awake.

I waited for
the phone to vibrate again but instead the doorbell rang. When I
opened it, Olivier stood there with a bag of groceries and his
briefcase full of knives. He looked like he was ready to cook for
an army.

“Good morning
Allie.”

“Good morning,
Olivier.”

The phone
buzzed.

T.
Cross:
Surprise! I need to make sure you and Puss are well fed.
Off to a meeting.

“Come on in,”
I laughed, assuming Olivier understood Tristan had set this up. “I
hope he didn’t make you wait in your car for long.”

“Of course
not.”

Right, that’s
what Olivier would have said even if he’d been here since last
night, which I knew he hadn’t because I got in with Marissa after
ten. I wondered whether at least she had a good night of sleep.

“Allie, one of
your windows is open upstairs. The sheers are fluttering
outside.”

“What?” I
quickly thought about our floor plan. My bedroom looked out to the
back, but the guest bedroom had a front view. The moment of
confusion passed in a second as reality dawned on me. It was
honestly as if someone poured a bucket of ice water over my
head.

No, no, no!

“You know
where everything is, Olivier. I’ll be right back.”

I ran
upstairs, skipping every second step and knocked on the guest
bedroom door quietly, and then louder and louder again.

“Marissa,
Marissa?”

But of course
no one answered. After another bang I turned the handle, and as I
suspected, Marissa was gone.

Finding a
rhythm in a life that seemed so unfair was difficult. Not my life,
though; that part for once was in check. If Tristan suspected
anything from my gloomy mood he didn’t ask, and I didn’t feel like
telling him about my recent failure. Every morning I’d open
Marissa’s case and re-read it, and for the next two weeks I took
the elevator downstairs more often than before. Each time I stood
in front of the building, paying attention to every single person
who resembled Marissa even slightly, but she didn’t show up again.
In the garage I rushed to my car ahead of Tristan hoping to find
her there, but without success. I wondered whether she was all
right, whether there was a chance she’d packed up her belongings
and left the state, alone. That’s what I would have done; after
all, that’s what my mother did, and it saved our lives.

If she’d
remained in New York, I hoped the reason I hadn’t seen her was
because she’d found a safe place, or that by some miracle her pimp
and father-to-be smartened up. I really doubted that. And I really
had a bad feeling there was another reason why Marissa was nowhere
in sight.

Laura’s phone
rang. After saying “Hello,” she hang up and left. A minute later
Tristan came inside and closed the door behind him. He didn’t want
a booty call, did he? Not in the middle of the day and without a
proper lock on the door! Could he do that? Well, technically, he
could do anything he wanted.

“What’s going
on?” I asked, smiling, but when I saw the veil of sadness cross his
face I knew his intention was not what I’d thought.

Tristan didn’t
reply.

A gentle knock
sounded on the door, and James followed in without saying a word.
He simply sat on the extra chaise by the window.

Tristan pulled
Laura’s chair from behind her desk and rolled it to mine,
positioning it right in front of me. He sat down and took my hands
into his. I’d just realized they were shaking.
Oh, my God!
Something has happened to Mom!

“Somebody
please say something,” I whispered.

“James just
got some news you won’t like.”

Okay, it
doesn’t sound like a family problem, then.

I took a deep
breath in and asked on the exhale, “What is it?”

“I didn’t want
you to find it in the papers, but Marissa’s body was found in Hunts
Point.”

And now I knew
how ghosts felt, because I assumed I was as white as one, nearly
transparent, and the world around me was not my own. The room spun,
slowly at first, then faster and faster. I thought I’d started
hovering at a moment. Bright spots appeared in front of my eyes and
colors shifted into grays, as I felt myself distance from this
world, away from the trials and tribulations of a human life. The
next thing I knew I was down on the floor, Tristan over me, Laura
holding my feet up, and James tucking a straw into my mouth.

“Allie, are
you with me? I’m going to call an ambulance,” Tristan wiped my
forehead with a tissue, and then placed a cool wet towel there.

“No, I’m fine,
really.” But my body was spent.

“Drink the
juice, Allie,” Tristan insisted.

I sucked on
the straw. The crispness of the citrus did help, and I slowly
regained strength and a sense of where I was. Its coolness traveled
down my chest, settling neatly in the pit of my stomach. Then the
burst of the sugar revived my senses, and I recalled getting the
news about Marissa.

“Do you
remember what happened?” Tristan asked.

“Yes,” I
replied.

“Can you sit
up?”

I nodded,
rubbing the side of my arm.

“You hit the
desk when you fainted,” Laura explained. “But Tristan caught you
before you hit the floor.”

Of course he
did.

Tristan helped
me up and sat me on the comfortable lounger. “Allie, there’s
nothing you could have done. I know you’ve been looking for
her...”

“...apparently
not hard enough,” I replied, and then bit my tongue. Being a bitch
to anyone was the last thing I wanted. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.
Some souls are not meant to be saved.”

“I felt a
connection with her.”

“Because of
the auction and her past?”

“Yes. Help me
up, please.”

Tristan held
me by my arms and sat me down in my chair, never letting go. He
kept looking at me with concern, probably for signs of another
fainting spell. I could tell my condition weighed heavily on
him.

I didn’t
notice when Laura and James left us, but I was grateful for the
moment I had to compose myself. I had to get past this. It wouldn’t
be today or tomorrow. Something told me I’d grieve for her as badly
as if she had been my closest friend.

“Can I take
you home?” he asked.

“No, it’s
better if I lose myself in work. There are other cases needing my
attention.” I fumbled with the papers on my desk, unsure of what I
was looking for. Perhaps now that I could put a big red stamp on
Marissa’s file – “CASE CLOSED” – I could get some decent work done.
But deep inside, my heart ached, wishing the reason for closure was
not her death. Perhaps I should have stayed with her in her room
that night? Would it have changed things? Would she still have run
away with me nearby? Addiction was a beast to fight, and unless you
had the right support, falling off the wagon was more common than
sneezing. Marissa had been addicted to the man who owned her; and
now she was gone.

“I’m going to
stay with you, then.”

“You have a
business to run. I’ll be fine. We can talk about it on our way
home.” I insisted.

“Allie, if you
need anything, I’m on the other side of the wall.”

I could tell
Tristan felt guilty for needing to return to work. “I know.” I
squeezed his hand.

“OK,” he said,
looking at his watch. “Conference call for the next hour, but get
me if you need me.”

“I will.” I
kissed him on those luscious lips. The scar lifted higher, making
me forget about the news for at least a moment.

“We’ll get
through this.”

Tristan had
Laura come into the office before he left, and he whispered
something into her ear. She listened carefully, but as soon as he
was gone she stood near the doorway with her arms across her chest
and foot tapping. There it was! Laura’s
Wake up and smell the
coffee
look meant a lecture.

“Whatever you
have to say, I really can’t handle it now.”

“You, Allie
Green, will listen to your friend.” She wiggled her finger at me as
if I were a grade school student.

“Okay, let it
out.”

“Don’t let
this drain you. There’s nothing more you could have done.
This
is your job. Just like arriving at a scene of a fatal
car accident. These things happen, Allie. And
you
know that
better than anyone else.”