Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Murder ❯ Agony ( Chapter 2 )

2

 

The next day, on her way to work, Dre thought about Jayden. Of course she was almost always thinking about her, but recently Dre had been worried about her. Who was she kidding? Recently included the past six months during which Jayden had been with Dante. More often than, Dre blamed herself for what was happening. Putting the car in cruise control, she let her mind wander back to that fateful day almost six months ago.

 

Dre leaned against the wall, looking anywhere but at her. She would have given anything not to be in the room, not see her face or hear the pain in her voice. In short she didn't want to be there seeing just how much she was breaking her lover's heart. “But why?” Jayden had asked, her beautiful brown eyes filling with tears. “It's not good for us, you deserve better. Besides, Dante likes you. He can give you everything I can't.” “But I love you!” Jayden protested. Dre closed her eyes and shook her head as if trying to shake away the feelings behind the words. Damn but if this wasn't harder than she thought. “I- I think you should get to know him. Maybe your feelings will change. He cares a lot for you.” Dre had said. “But I…” Jayden started. Dre cut her off. “Look, plain and simple. It's over. I need some space. So go.” The words were probably the coldest words she had ever spoken to Jayden. Never had she ever been that harsh, even when they argued. The tears flooding Jayden's eyes spilled over as she sobbed. Dre let her cry. Finally Jayden dried her tears. Walking over to Dre, she took her face in her hands so they were looking each other in the eye. “I'll go, because that's what you want. I'll even talk to Dante, but trust and believe I will always love you.” That said, she pressed her lips to Dre's in that soft but demanding way of hers. Dre yielded to her slightly but the moment she did, Jayden pulled back. Her eyes shining with unshed tears, she turned and walked out the door. Dre touched her lips gently. She understood immediately. It wasn't a good bye kiss; no Jayden hated goodbyes. It was a promise kiss, one that promised that no matter what, Dre would always have Jayden's love.

 

Dre slowly cane back to her senses as she pulled in front of the building where she worked. Yes, she had been the one to push Jayden to Dante. It was if Fate was playing a cruel trick when it turned out that Dante wasn't as nice and easy-going as he had first seemed. No, he was just the opposite. Short tempered and dominating. The irony of the whole thing was that Jayden had developed feelings for him, and even after Dre had tried to point out his faults, she refused to leave him. Abuse in all forms and Jayden couldn't bring herself to walk away. Not that Dante would have ever given her the opportunity. Inside the building, Dre greeted the receptionist at the front desk. “Hey Kim, how's my kids?” The Italian beauty smiled warmly at her. “Morning D.T. They're great. Can't wait to see you. Taveon is here again though.” Jayden had always joked that amazingly despite Dre's slightly short temper (Dante's was shorter), she made a great mentor at the center for abused kids. Some of the kids came for games but most came to talk. They had problems at home that they couldn't tell anyone about, except Dre. Jayden once said that Dre brought out the best in the worst. Dre thought that statement should be applied to Jayden herself, but even she had to admit that she loved her job. At the name Taveon, Dre frowned. He was a 12- year old boy that was being abused by his mother. He showed up each week with a new bruise and a new excuse. Although he was obviously terrified of his mother, he constantly protected her. “Don't tell me he `ran into the wall' again.” She said dryly. Kim shook her head but buzzed Dre inside. The second she entered, she was surrounded by all different aged kids calling her name. “D.T., look at the picture I drew!” “D.T., I learned how to blow a bubble!” “D.T., can we go skating today?” Dre laughed. “D.T.” was her nickname since her full name was `Drea Thomas. Actually, it was AnDrea Thomas, but anyone who was smart enough to figure that out and stupid enough to call her that would have learned quickly from her sharp tongue that she went by “D.T.”.

 

Smiling at all the kids, she looked over the sea of heads until she found the one she was looking for. A boy with curly black hair sat in a corner reading. Moving closer to him, she saw Kim was right. He was sporting a new bruise on his face that showed up an angry red on his pale skin. “Tave, what happened?” she asked, stroking his cheek lightly. He jerked away. “I feel down the steps on my skateboard.” He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Dre didn't believe it for a minute. She sighed. At least it was a better excuse than the one he came up with last week. He had shown up with a black eye and a claim that he had run into a wall. To Dre it had looked more like a wall ran into him. It was only after a bit of gentle coaxing and a promise not to tell, did Taveon reveal that his mother had punched him in the face for burning dinner. “You fell down the stairs on your skateboard? Really Tave?” The boy nodded vigorously without looking up from his book. Dre sighed again. She knew from experience not to press the kids until they gave some hint of being ready to talk. She ruffled his hair lightly. “Ok Tave, maybe later you can tell me why you thought it would be a good idea to skateboard down the stairs.” Tave looked up at her and nodded.

 

Dre smiled and gently ran her hands over his curls. He was so sweet and it was terrible that he was being used as someone else's punching bag. He reminded her so much of Jayden. Perhaps that was why she had been instinctively drawn to him. Dre turned away to go help Rakaia, an 8-year old girl who had been sexually molested by her uncle, with her homework. 1:37 p.m. had rolled around when Kim hurried in. D.T.! D.T.! Quick! You've got a phone call from the hospital! They said it's about your sister!” Dre was on her feet and out the door before Kim was done speaking. Grabbing the phone frantically, she said, “Dre Thomas speaking.” “Yes, Mr. Thomas. We're calling in regards to your sister, Jayden Williams. We can't seem to calm her down. She keeps screaming for you Her husband is here but that seems to be making matters worse. She won't…” “I'll be there in 5 minutes!” Dre exclaimed, slamming down the phone. “Is your sister ok?!” Kim asked as Dre flew outside. “She'd better be!” she called back as she jumped in her car. “For his sake, she'd really better be!”

 

Five minutes later, after cutting everyone off on the highway and breaking every possible speed limit, Dre skidded into the hospital parking lot. Pausing at the front desk, she interrogated the receptionist. It probably didn't help that she looked and sounded like a guy, but she was too gone to care. “What the hell's been going on?!” The woman looked frightened. “We- We're not sure! She's quite upset. Her husband's in there, but it seems to be making matters worse and…” A shrill scream echoed thru the lobby. “Shit!” Dre shot off down the hall. Kicking open the door to her room, she saw Dante standing over a screaming Jayden. “GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY WOMAN!!!!!!!!” She shouted. Dante turned and stared at her. Jayden was still screaming. Dante glared at her. “Shut the fuck up!” Dre was quite sure she was going to kill him with her bare hands. “Leave her the hell alone! If she wants to scream, she can damn well scream! She has good enough reason to!” Dante looked demented. It probably had something to do with the fact that a strange man had just burst in and called Jayden his woman. “Who the hell are you?!