I Promise You (19 page)

“You bitch;
I’m going to kill you” but before he could react, I knocked his head back with my
fist, feeling now that I had broken something the noise of bone cracking, this
really woke me up.

 I quickly
grabbed the rope and turned him over, he screams, as the scissors go in deeper.
I then grabbed his feet and tie them both together; I then wrap the rope around
his hands so that he could not stand up and could only rock, my heart was now
going ten to the dozen, helped by the adrenalin.

I could not see him now, my vision had gone, but I could here him
cursing me and screaming at me just as his voice started to fade in my head
unsure if this was real, this is before I collapsed; the room spinning was the
last thing I remember, unsure of where I would end up.

Frank rushed
out of the hospital and headed back home; if she was there he remembered that
he still had the spare key to her apartment never thought of handing it into
the estate agents.

He tried to
get help from the police but they told him there was nothing that they could
do. He would die for this woman because she meant everything to him and without
her in his life, there would be no life.

Frank wasn’t a
fighter but knew that he would do whatever it took to make sure she was ok, and
with that he left in his own car and drove like a maniac.

How would he
find her? Would she be hurt? What if she wasn’t there?

He couldn’t
think of any other alternative but prayed that this hunch paid off and that indeed
the sick bastard had taken her back to her own apartment.

Diving out of
his car, he fumbled with the keys, nerves and anxiety kicking in. When he
reached the door he stopped, his breathing too loud and heavy for his liking,
his heart beating heavy against his chest, he leaned in towards the door and
listened.

He heard no
noise so quietly let himself in.

He could smell
her perfume and his heart sank, but he still couldn’t hear anything and that
disturbed him.

Looking into
the living room he saw nothing only her purse. He knew there was no one in the
kitchen as he could see it from where he was.

“The bedroom?”
This was one room Frank was dreading the most; he pictured the same scene that
greeted him before, but he could not hear no noise, no screaming no muffled
noises, nothing!

He pushed open
the door and first saw Jack lying on his stomach all tied up with blood on the
sheets. Jesus!

Then he saw
Autum, naked and lying lifeless on the floor. He rushed over to her and tried
to feel for a pulse, it was there but it felt weak. He pulled out his phone and
called for an ambulance and the police and waited until they turned up.

Frank covered
parts of her body with his jacket, sparing the scene that would greet the
emergency services when they arrived.

He could only
imagine what Autum had gone through and what she did to survive, and at this
moment in time he was mad as hell at her for not letting him leave the
function, but proud of what she had done all by herself, but at what price had
she paid for it.

The police and
ambulance had arrived together. Frank told them that he thought she may have
been drugged but was unsure, and that they both had a pulse so he also knew
he
was still alive.

Jack then
jumped out of what could only be described as delayed shock and started to
scream as the medics started to undue his ropes so that they could get a better
look at his injuries.

“That bitch
tried to kill me” he gasped.

Frank lunged
at him and hit him straight on the jaw before being pulled back.

The police
were now taking notice of what Frank had been trying to tell them earlier. They
now wanted him to make another statement, but he just ignored them and followed
Autum into the ambulance.

What
goes around comes around.

At the
hospital I was still undergoing some tests to make sure that I was ok and no
other symptoms were found.

Frank popped
in to see Rebecca but she had already discharged herself.

When I came
round my first words were “sorry”... Frank held my hand and kissed my forehead
before telling me that it was over.

“Is he dead?”

“No, just a
surface wound, he’ll live but the police will be talking to him later.”

“Is he here?”
He paused before he said “yes”

I was in too
much pain, my face and body hurt and my emotions as well as the drug wearing
off was taking its toll. Talking of the police, they came in not long
afterwards and as I was well enough to talk to them I told them everything from
the start.

 “Are you
going to arrest me?”

“No, but we
may need to talk to you again if that’s ok”

I said
“thanks” and they left.

I looked at
Frank and he joked “we should stop meeting like this” and I gave a dry laugh.

It took me a
while before I remembered Rebecca, “Oh god is Rebecca ok?”

“She’s fine,
discharged herself already”

“Please Frank,
will you ring her and tell her how sorry I am, please?”

“I will now
rest for a short while”

Frank left the
room as he took out his phone. I thought to myself, could this really be over, will
my dreams finally come to an end? I just wasn’t sure, I just wasn’t that lucky.

Thinking of
Frank finding me yet again in a state of nakedness, all I could do was laugh to
myself. How much more could he take? How much baggage can one person handle?
And that’s how I felt, Frank taking on baggage and did he think I was worth it.

I sat up in
bed waiting for his return and then heard someone crying, the noise coming in
and out of my eardrums sporadically. It was a voice I could not seem to get rid
of:

Whore Bitch?

I swung my
painful body out of the bed to follow the noise; why would she be crying? Did
that mean he was dead? Was Frank lying to me?

The noise got
louder as I approached a drawn curtain. What am I doing here? I hope he rots in
hell. But still I needed to see him and her to close this chapter for good.

I drew back
the curtain and she was sitting on the chair, her body hanging over the bed and
her hands holding him tight. She looked up at me with vengeance but did not say
a word at first.

“You tried to
kill him?” I looked at Jack with a dressing slung across his chest where I had
stabbed him,
obviously not deep enough.

He was awake
and staring back at me but not saying a word.

“He raped me,
twice Isabelle, your precious loving boyfriend?” The man I was engaged too...

“What do you
mean raped you?” she said confused.

She looked at
Jack then back at me and started to laugh.

“Liar” she
shouted, “you went round for one last fling, when he refused you, you tied him
up and then stabbed him, cut up your clothes and cried rape”

I took in the
scene in front of me and thought only one thing.
Fool.

I looked at
Jack, who by then had turned his head to the side, too ashamed to face me the
spineless bastard.

“You claim you
love me Jack, so for once in your life, tell the fucking truth” and with that I
walked off.

Frank had of
course returned and was frantic when he did not see me.

“You can’t
just get up and walk away, you should be resting, where did you go?”

“I went to see
him”

“Jesus Christ
Autum, what the bloody hell for?”

“Just wanted
him to do the right thing for once, that’s all, I didn’t stay, just said my
piece and left them to it”

“Them?”

“Yes, the
bitch is here too”

He gave me a
hug and then tucked me back into bed.

“I want to go
home” I said.

“But you may
be suffering from shock?”

“Please Frank,
do whatever it takes, just take me home, now”

“Ok, I’ll see
what I can do, but stay in that bloody bed” and with that he left.

Frank came
back with a consultant who looked at my charts, as they do and was happy that I
had responded well, to what, I wasn’t sure, but he said that I could leave and
that I needed, well you guessed it, plenty of rest.

I was in a
hospital gown with my ass was sticking out at the back, no matter how you hold them;
the string seems to always be missing where you need it most.

“Did you get
hold of Rebecca?”

“Yes, she is
still shaken by her ordeal and will be staying with her family for a while, I
told her to take as much time off as she needed I will clear it with work”

“Has she said
anything about me?”

“Only that
she’s glad that you’re ok and that you are very lucky to have someone who loves
you like I do”.

I looked at
Frank, tying to see if he added that last bit in himself, he was gauging my
reaction, I could tell.

“I do love you
Frank, I really do”

We kissed for
a while, the pain in my face a hurtful reminder; he put his jacket over me as
we headed out of the room.

We had gotten
less than fifty yards when I was greeted by the bitch with a hot drink in her
hand. My main concern at first was that she would throw it at me and Frank
thought the same and stood in front of me as protection.

“He’s told me
everything” she said sobbing as she spoke. I peeped over Franks shoulder.

“Everything?”
I said.

“Yes,
everything”

I now side
stepped Frank and walked towards her.

“And you still
want him?” I said shocked at what she had told me.

“I love him; I
wanted him from the beginning before you took him away from me”

“He didn’t
want you, and I did not take him away from you,” I paused for a moment but then
said, “can I ask you something” I added.

“What?” she
replied?

“Was this your
plan all along to take Jack away from me?” There was no reply and with that I
slapped her, well for that split second I did only intend to slap her but then
my fist formed so I used that instead. It may have been the release I needed
and it felt good, she fell back and her tea spilled over her hand and on the
floor, as she clutched her face crying I said to her that I was glad it
happened, if not for any other reason that
you
bought me and Frank
together, you both deserve each other and what goes around, comes around. “Come
on Frank,” and with that we walked away.

On arriving
home Frank treated me as if I had just given birth. I was fine except for the
odd tingle in my face and the odd headache, but Frank was having none of it as
he tucked me in.

“Frank?”

“The doctor
said rest and if I have to pin you down myself” he stopped, realising what he
had said and apologised.

I just burst
out laughing. “Don’t feel you have to watch what you say, I’m fine really”

He must have
thought I was still recovering from shock. “You scared me today”

“And I’m
sorry. I tried to do the right thing by both of you and I messed up”

“I would have
dropped everything for you, you know that?”

“I do know”
and with that he tucked me even tighter into bed.

Frank took the
next two days off but I had to force him to go back into work after that. I
reminded him that Rosetta was here so I would want for nothing, so he went in.

The phone
calls kept coming on the hour from Frank so I texted him and told him to work!

He had placed
an order of flowers to be delivered to where Rebecca was staying along with
flowers to be delivered here.

I also had the
chance to ring Rebecca myself on most days. I found I could not apologise
enough for what I had put her through but she said “what’s done is done” and
that she had moved on and was looking forward to going back to work as she was
bored,  and that her family were feeding her to much “get well food” I laughed.

I talked about
what I wanted to do as a “Thank You” to Frank for everything he had done for me
and that with some of the money from the sale of the house I wanted to surprise
him with a trip to see his parents in the Bahamas.

“Bahamas?” she
screeched down the phone.

“Yes, he has
not been over to see them and I thought what better way to get to meet them,
plus get a tan at the same time, we both laugh. Do you think that may be too
much?”

“He will love
it”

I hung up the phone and thought more about the present I wanted to give
him and made some initial enquires.

Frank needed
to phone Autum as he would be working late, but he also wanted and make some
plans to take a trip to the Bahamas to see his parents,
finally.

He started to
ring Autum often until she sent him the text that he was being over protective
and that he needed to work, but he couldn’t help himself. Frank picked up the
phone and phoned his parents.

“Hi mom”

“Hi Frank, how
are you?”

“Well thanks
and dad?”

“He’s ok,
missing his son as always”

“That’s why I
was ringing you?”

“I’m confused?
What do you mean?”

“I was
planning to visit you in a couple of weeks and wanted to know if you could take
some time off”

There was a
pause on the phone.

“Mom, are you
still there?”

“Yes dear”,
another pause. “Is everything ok? You’re not ill are you?”

He laughs; “no
mom, just wanted you both to meet someone”

The line went
quiet again.

“A woman?”

This time he
really laughs. “Of course mom”

She called Frank’s
dad and I could hear her saying quietly “Frank is coming over and wants us to
meet someone”