Abandoned Angel (16 page)

The group of them had not been sitting for very long when Angelina heard the roar of a motorcycle pulling into the park. Her pulse quickened. She was instantly on edge over the thought of the bikers returning. She hoped Blaze was with them but quickly realized it was a single bike that had returned, and not the group. She tried to determine if it was Blazes bike but was unable to differentiate the sound of his bike from anyone else’s.

“Angelina, I want to show you something,” stated Tiffany, suddenly anxious. She stood, and waited for Angelina to follow.

“Uh, ok,” responded Angelina, a bit confused by her sudden interest in leaving. “Where are we going?” She stood - willing to follow the young girl.

Tiffany locked her arm into Angelina's and hurried her towards the dark brush that surrounded the landing.

“I hate to see that girl get attached like that,” said Marge to Doc as they headed back towards her tent. “Angelina
ain't
one of us, and she
ain't
staying. Tiffany shouldn’t get attached to her.” She did not want to see Tiffany become close to a stranger who did not intend to stay with the group. She would only end up disappointed when Angelina left.

“No she isn't,” agreed Doc, his expression unruffled. “But Tiffany shouldn't have stayed either,” he reminded Marge, while leading her away from the fire.

Jules continued to visit with Cookie after the rest of them left the area.

“Where are you taking me?” questioned Angelina, the corner of her mouth turned up into a small grin. Tiffany pulled her forward. The action strained her sore body, though she ignored the ache it caused. She was enjoying the attention Tiffany gave her as much as Tiffany was enjoying acting like a teenager with a new best friend. Once out of ear range of the other bikers, the teenager’s playful persona changed.

“Come on, you have to get out of here,” she whispered, careful not to let anyone hear.

“What’s going on?” asked Angelina. The change in Tiffany’s attitude worried her. What had happened?

“That's Jose,” responded Tiffany. She was very aware of which bike had pulled up by the hoarse sound. Jose’s bike always had a bit of a twang mixed in with the roar.

“Yeah, so?”
Angelina was confused.

“Which means Spike will be behind him in a few minutes,” informed Tiffany, as they began to scurry through the bristly bushes and trees.

Angelina was still confused.

Tiffany explained, “Just the two of them - they, they do this sometimes. They come back before everyone else to have their pick for the day.” Tiffany hated the way the men acted after doing business. Most times, they wanted a constant party and it was hard to keep up.

Angelina stopped to make her explain. “Tiffany, you aren't making any sense.”

“Ok, they like to, you know, do us while the others are still gone. Then you have to party with them all day, whatever they want, unless they decide to change women. They get mad when you don't keep up. It is like a game to them, and they get mean.” Tiffany tugged at Angelina to follow, panic written all over her face. “YOU are their pick of the day, Angelina. You need to get out of here. I heard them talking about it last night.”

 Angelina heard the echoing sound of a second bike entering the park.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before, I just didn’t know if I should.”

The young girl was obviously scared. She had crossed an invisible line by choosing to help Angelina. Although she should have just let it go, allowing the day to play out, she couldn’t bring herself to do that to her new friend.

“SHIT!”

Angelina was beginning to panic. She followed Tiffany farther through the trees, down by the pond. The branches cut at her skin as they increased their pace.

“Where are we going?” asked Angelina.

She could feel her heart racing as unadulterated fear set in. Blaze wasn’t there to protect her, and Tiffany was putting herself in danger in order to try to keep her safe. This was bad, and she understood that.

“I know a spot where we can hide a while,” explained Tiffany. “Hopefully, when they don't see us, they will just pick someone else to party with. I hope it’s that fat bitch who wanted the vest.”

Tiffany tried to make lite of the situation, knowing things would not happen that way. Of all the men in the club, she least liked Spike. He was quick to anger, and had always been cold to Tiffany. The sight of his tattooed baldhead and the sound of his demeaning voice usually caused her to feel anxious. Angelina rushed behind Tiffany, ignoring the snarly bushes, until they came to a small opening. A breath-taking site opened up before them. The sunrays beat down through the surrounding trees, which caused beautiful shadows to cast on the grassy ground. Once again, the natural beauty of the place amazed Angelina. For an instant, she forgot what they were doing.

“Wow,” she said as she looked around, taking in the view.

“Yeah, pretty cool huh?” Tiffany exclaimed, her eyes lit with mischief like a school girl with a secrete hideaway. They moved forward.

“How did you find this place?” Angelina asked as she followed Tiffany to a large boulder almost centered in the open space.

“Last time we were here I needed a break from the guys for a while and wandered off. I came across this,” she shrugged. “So, I just hung out all afternoon, and no one ever came to find me. It was nice. I came here for a while yesterday too. I heard Jesse holler for me, but I didn't answer, and he never came down this way looking.”

Angelina didn’t know who Jesse was, but didn’t ask.

Tiffany continued, “I don't think anyone knows it is here. The camp is on the other side of the pond, and they don’t come this far over.”

Tiffany took a seat on the warm, sunbaked surface of the large stone. Angelina sat on the rock next to Tiffany, looking around, expecting Spike to walk through the brush at any moment. Her ribs began to ache again from moving so quickly through the bushes.

“Thanks Tiffany,” Angelina said with sincere gratitude as she began to relax. “I really appreciate you doing this for me. I know it can get you in trouble.”

“No problem, we bad-ass chicks got to stick together,” teased Tiffany, grinning ear to ear. She lowered herself back onto her elbows and leaned on the large stone. She had a clean pair of ripped blue jeans on, and a dark blue tee shirt sporting the word “Patriots” under her worn vest.

Angelina mimicked her move, and laid on her back as well.

“Are you a football fan?” she asked Tiffany.

“I was when I was a kid . . .” she responded. “My dad used to love the Patriots.”

“You are still a kid Tiffany.”

A sweet kid
, Angelina thought. Tiffany sat quietly for a few minutes without responding to the comment.

“How did you get so bruised up?” she finally asked. The young girl had wanted to ask Angelina about the bruising earlier, but thought better of it. Things had changed though, and she felt comfortable with the woman now.

Angelina looked at the brilliant blue sky, intrigued by the shapes the puffy white clouds created. “My husband did this to me,” she finally stated, sadness echoed in her voice. “He has our son, that's why I needed a ride. I'm trying to find my baby.” She had to fight to hold back the tears.

“Wow that sucks.”

“Yeah, it does suck,” repeated Angelina, amused by Tiffany’s choice of words.

“Where do you think your husband is?”

“His mom’s house in Iowa,” answered Angelina without hesitation. “I don’t think Rusty thinks I remember where she lives, but I’ve kept in touch with his mother over the years. I never told him that.” She had allowed Rusty to believe that she thought his mother was dead, as he had implied.

“I hope you save him,” responded Tiffany, her soft voice dampened by melancholy. “Your boy I mean.”

“Yeah, me too,” she said, startled by the sound of Tiffany's name being called in the distance. It was faint, but both girls quickly sat up and listened. Someone yelled for Tiffany again. When Tiffany didn’t answer Jose hollered a third time, his Hispanic accent getting stronger as he got louder.

“Tiffany, where the hell are you?”
The frustration trickling from his voice was obvious. Everything was quiet again for a while. The girls listened, straining to hear any sound of movement. When they did not hear anyone approach, both girls relaxed.

“Where is your family?” asked Angelina, wanting to continue their conversation. She was curious as to how Tiffany managed to become a part of the group at such a young age.

“Dead.”
Her expression turned hard.

“I’m sorry Tiffany, how did it happen?”

“I killed them,” she stated, with no emotional attachment in her voice.

Angelina could not imagine that this young, vibrant girl had killed her own parents.

“You killed them?” she asked, startled by the comment. “What do you mean?”

Tiffany turned away from Angelina, not wanting to talk about it. She didn’t want Angelina to know how she had caused their death, accident or not.

“Tiffany, look at me. Tell me what happened?” Angelina softly stated, turning Tiffany’s slender face back towards her.

Tiffany sat quietly for a moment before she continued.

“I was driving home after a party,” she said. “I wasn’t supposed to drive yet, but my sister and her friends were drinking and the police showed up at the party. They told everyone to stay in the house, but we snuck out the back door after they got done talking to
Charlet
- that’s my sister,” she explained. “I just didn’t want her to get in trouble again. I had my permit, and thought it would be ok to drive her home. I didn’t know that the police had already called my mom.” Tiffany paused, not wanting to continue. Her heart ached terribly. She did not want to remember the dreadful night that she lost everyone she loved.

Angelina sat patiently and waited for her to continue, hoping that Jose had quit looking for them.

“It was raining out, and the party was on a dead end street, at the top of a hill. I didn’t see them coming, I really didn’t.” Tiffany began to cry softly into her hands. It had been a while since she had allowed herself to think about that night. She wondered if she would ever be able to forget it.

“I killed them Angelina, all of them,” she cried. “I hit their car and killed them. It was my fault.”

Angelina’s heart dropped. “I’m so sorry sweetie,” she really didn’t know what to say. She could not imagine having to live with that kind of hurt and guilt - no wonder Tiffany did not care what happen to her. “But it was an accident Tiffany.” Angelina reached over and held the young girl for a moment. Tiffany let her, but only for a second.

“
Charlet
, she hit her head and” Tiffany stopped suddenly as she heard the sound of Jose’s voice bellowing through the trees again, startling both women. This time the sound was much closer to them. The women sat still, practically holding their breath, intent on not making a sound.

Jose hollered for Tiffany yet again, sounding much more frustrated now. Story telling was over. Although Tiffany began to get antsy, she managed to sit still a moment longer, waiting to see if they would give up. She hoped that they would move on to someone else, but that didn’t happen.

“TIFFANY, ANSWER ME BITCH, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?”

 After hearing her name again, closer yet, she scooted herself off the rock.

“Where are you going?” whispered Angelina, not wanting her to leave.

“I have to answer them.”

“Why, why do you have to answer? They don’t know where we are,” Angelina asked, trying to control her panic. She grabbed Tiffany’s arm, wanting to keep the girl there with her.

“Because they know I am here, I have nowhere else that I would be. I don’t have any choice,” said Tiffany nervously. “You just stay here. I won't let them find this place.”

“No Tiffany, don't go,” pleaded Angelina. “You don't have to go.”

------

“Tiffany, Angelina, where are you?” This time, Spike called after them. The tension in his tone was obvious anger. He was furious that they did not come running when he called.

------

“Yes, I do. If I don’t, he will take it out on me later. It would just get worse. I have to go Angelina.” Tiffany, outwardly nervous and agitated, tried to make Angelina understand. “He must know that we are together.” She was afraid.

For a moment, Angelina held on tight to Tiffany's arm, but her fear of the men was stronger than her instinct to protect the young girl. She let go as Tiffany pulled away and headed back into the dense trees, set on protecting her new friend.

“Just stay here, they won't find you. I promise,” Tiffany ordered.

Angelina nodded her agreement as Tiffany disappeared into the brush. She felt guilty for letting the young girl go. She sat there, quietly listening to the distant sounds, wondering if she should hide farther into the trees. She hated herself for not making Tiffany stay.

Off in the distance Spikes rough voice rang out. “Where the fuck have you been?”

Angelina was sickened over the idea of what was in store for the misguided teenager and blamed herself for allowing Tiffany to put herself in the middle of things.