Contract With the Devil

Chapter 34

Chapter  34                          Pauline

            I was aware of my surroundings. My room was hospital quiet. The sound of movement, telephones and other hospital related activities.  I knew it had been three days since I had been beaten and raped. I could still hear his parting message. “I own your ass,” he had hissed in my ear as he had stood up, pulled up his pants and left my office. I had lain on the floor blinded by the pain and humiliation. Ugly, angry men were not new in my life but no one had ever beaten me like this. Raising my hand, I carefully examined my face. I knew one eye was swollen shut due to my fuzzy vision. Now I knew my lips were swollen. I felt butterfly tape on my right cheek so the skin had been opened.

          Dis-may tries to settle in because I make my living with my face. Who wants a real estate agent with a swollen, busted up face? Damn! Okay. It is what it is. Big sunglasses would cover my eyes and careful make-up may cover the facial injuries. Something had to give and soon.

          I sensed someone in the room before I heard steps. Closing my eyes I prepared to be unresponsive. It was probably the detectives returning trying to question me. They were quietly pushing me to say David had beaten and raped me. When Joyce, one of my agents, found me I was foggy. I was thinking about calling David again to ask for help to get my neck out of a noose. I kept trying to say to call David. She misunderstood and told the police I had said David had attacked me.

          My visitor’s perfume caressed my nose as I heard her take a seat. She quickly uttered a soft sob which told me how bad my face looks. I felt her stroke my fingers on my hand in the half cast. There was a click and I knew something had been sat on my nightstand close to my head.

          “Pauline, I have a silk arrangement for you. I did not want you to worry about caring for flowers until you were better.” Her voice was like silk as she spoke softly. Without peeping I knew it was Quiana Lawrence. There was no satisfaction in her voice from seeing me so badly beaten. She did not know the extent of my defeat. I was beaten physically, emotionally and financially. My face may be the better of the three.

          “I came to visit briefly and to have a discussion with my real estate agent.” What the hell. What was this craziness? I still refuse to open my good eye or acknowledge her presence. I did not have long to wait as Quiana continued her crazy one-sided conversation.

 “Pauline, my grandmother has a beautiful old house in the city on a private street in a gated community. She is ill and wants to put her business in order. I want you to sell it for us. There have been a few inquiries and I will give you the names and numbers. Finally, there is a commercial property in Naperville I would like to purchase. I need more office space closer to home. The property is over a million. I have twenty percent down with loan preapproval.”

          She takes a deep sigh. “I have to defend David. The travesty would be to spend money we both can use to defend him against something he did not do. We both know David. The man who did this is angry and dangerous. We both know this is not David. We also know you hold his future in your hands. Please help him. Please don’t keep him away from his children any longer. Justice is not being served and his children need him home. I do too.”

          I feel something small being stuck in my hand. “This is a picture of my … our children. I wanted you to have it.” I heard her standing. She knows she has won because she can see the tears rolling down my cheeks. I feel her lips against my forehead followed by a couple of teardrops. “I have to go and visit your mother now. While I am there I am going to bring her bill current and pay three months in advance. By that time you should be stable. Honey, David wasn’t being mean. He has been in a serious financial situation. Take care and my number is attached to your plant if you need me.”                                                                                                               The door closed and I cried for the first time since my hospitalization. I had been too full of despair to hope or see any light at the end of the tunnel. I have hope again. Anger rose up and I knew I would not let fear control me. Spider had attacked me because I had not been able to repay his loan. Months after the loan and interest were due I had not closed on pending properties. Now I could pay him. Now I could claim by life again. Maybe I can build a real friendship with a woman I can trust.            

          The day of the attack, I had said David’s name. Not meaning to imply he had attacked me. Later I understood he was being charged but in my anger and stress I did not care. A part of me had always wanted to hurt him. Repay him for his indifference. For my broken heart and embarrassment. I had made ugly comments about his marriage including he had married Quiana because she was pregnant. His marriage had hurt so badly because I had not only wanted to be his wife, I had also fallen deeply in love with him. How could he look at her one night and make her his wife. I had seen the look in his eyes on several other occasions. He loved her. Now I understood. Quiana Lawrence is very loveable.

          Opening my one eye, I tried to focus it on the picture in my hand. I touched each child’s face with a finger. I could see David in each child. The boy was a little duplicate of his father. The baby had her father’s eyes and his black curly hair but her mother’s beautiful face. The oldest girl had the golden eyes and lighter curly hair. They were beautiful children who appeared healthy and happy. I recalled the phone call to David and how happy they had sounded. Surely these children were missing their father. I had the power to return him to them and his wife.

I closed my eyes again waiting for the nurse to come in so I could get pain medication. It always made me sleepy. After a nap I would talk to the detectives when they came today. It was time to move on. There really were rainbows after storms.