The Rescue
1433 Words
DANTE
(10:00 PM)
“You're going to spend the night with me right?”
I was tempted to say yes, but as much as I felt it was the right thing to do, my heart still lingered back at Sophia. Her face, her lips, the tenderness of her body. “Sorry Jane, I should go.”
“What?”
“Sorry. We can talk some other time, but it's getting late. And I didn't tell Sophia I'd sleep out.” I threw my jacket on and started to walk out of the hotel room.
She rolled her eyes. “Sophia again? You mentioned her like a thousand times this evening. Who is she?”
“It doesn't concern you.”
“But isn't she married? That's what that obnoxious man said, right?”
“It doesn't matter. It's my responsibility to look after her.” I said without looking back at her.
“It seems like you were doing a lot more than looking after her when I saw you, what if he husband finds out?”
I paused, thinking about it for a second before walking out.
(11:40 PM)
I paced around my bedroom, constantly glancing at the time. Sophia still wasn't back yet, which was very unusual. She was never the type to stay out late, especially not by herself.
Looking out the window, I noticed the silhouette of a small figure stepping into the rain.
Grabbing my jacket from the bed, I quickly made my way downstairs. “What are you doing out here?”
He froze at the sound of my voice but made no attempt to leave the rain.
“Caleb,”
“I'm still upset with you. You made mom sad.” He turned to face me. “You made me sad.”
“Come here. Let's talk.” At first I thought he was going to ignore me but he slowly headed in my direction.
Once he was in the safety of the porch, I covered him with my jacket and led him back inside. “I know you're probably upset right now, and we're going to talk it out like buddies. We are buddies right?”
He thought about it for a second before nodding once.
“Good. But first, I have to bring mommy back home okay?”
His response was more energetic this time. “I'll wait in my room.”
“Good. If you go out into the rain again, you'll catch a cold and make mommy sad. You don't want that, do you?”
“No.” He shook his head.
“Good. Now go and wait for me.” Once he was out of sight, I marched straight to Leo's room, barging the door open. “How the hell can you sleep right now?”
“Huh? What're you talking about?”
The calmness of his voice coupled with his relaxed posture pissed me off. I grabbed him by the collar from the room, all the way to the living room. Ignoring his struggling and protests, I dragged him out into the rain.
“Can you see this?!
It is almost midnight, the heaviness of the rain is almost alarming and your wife isn't back home. Rather than trying to reach out to her, you're sleeping. Just what kind of man are you?!”
“What? She's not home? I had no idea.” He got on his knees, looking around like he was confused. “The last time we spoke, she told me everything was okay. When I got home and met Caleb, I assumed she was in his room too, since she spends a lot of time with her son.”
‘Her son’, that term annoyed me more than it should have.
“When?”
“What?”
“The last time you spoke with her. When was it?”
“A couple of minutes ago, I think. She said she—”
“Where is Sophia?” I couldn't stand listening to his pathetic lies anymore. “You think I don't know about how you abuse her?
Someone as angelic as her was unfortunate enough to end up with a loser like you. You have neglected her at every given opportunity, and now you expect me to believe you care about her?”
He paused for a few seconds, then his expression went blank. He got up to his feet, dusting mud off him. He stared at me with a mixture of hatred and fear. “Why the hell should I be worried about that b***h?
If anything, I'd love for her to just disappear so I never have to see her stupid face ever—”
He never got the chance to finish his sentence as I drove my fist into his gut. I didn't have the time to waste on him so I swiftly knocked him out with a quick jab to the side of the neck and left his unconscious body in the rain.
“Sophia, please be okay.”
I rushed to my car, taking off with a speed that was probably risky due to the heavy downpour. But it didn't matter. Nothing else did at that moment. Except for finding Sophia.
I traced the road back to the location of the party, silently praying that she was okay, and promising myself over and over again that I would kill Leo if anything had happened to her.
About thirty minutes later, I noticed something at the side of the road. A shoe. The same black heels Caleb had picked for his mother during our shopping date.
For the first time in four years, my heart was seized in panic as I dashed out of the car.
My eyes frantically searched around for where she could be and my heart sank when I spotted a dark alley nearby.
Just as I got to the entrance of the alley, I heard Sophia's trembling voice… along with someone else's.
From the sound of it, it seemed they were two. “Please, just let me go.” Sophia was begging with a shaky voice, but her fear only added to her captor’s excitement.
“Aw but you're such a pretty lady. You sure you don't want to spend some time with us?” One of them said.
“Yeah, and you were out in the rain, you poor thing. Definitely you need something to keep you warm for the night.” The other added and both men laughed in a disgusting manner.
Once again, I cursed myself for not taking my gun with me, but either way, taking care of such idiots was easy.
Fetching a metal rod by the wall, I headed towards the voices.
“Get your filthy hands off her.” My voice had grown incredibly low, the way it always did whenever I was angry, but somehow she heard me.
Tears filled her eyes as she saw me, her expression, a mixture of relief and something else.
I took the first swing at the man to her right, going straight for the back of his head and instantly knocking him unconscious.
The second man looked up at me, recognition beaming in his scared eyes. “Wait, Do—”
My foot came in contact with his face, cutting his words short and sending him rolling. I walked up to him and without holding back, I struck him again and again until his shirt was covered in blood.
When I turned back to Sophia, there was only one emotion on her face. Fear.
She was scared of me.
Ignoring it, I walked up to her and tried to help her up but she flinched, instinctively backing away from my reach.
“Can you stand?” I tucked my hands in my pocket and took a step back.
She tried and failed to get up, wincing in pain everytime she put her weight on her foot.
“Something might be broken.” I closed the distance between us and picked her up, bridal style, half expecting her to protest. But instead she wrapped her hands around my neck and rested her head on my chest.
Her body was trembling from the cold but her face looked calm.
She would have gotten away with hiding her emotions from anyone else, but not me. I could tell she was scared. I hadn't planned on letting my emotions get the best of me, but I just couldn't stand seeing her hurt.
I felt disappointed for losing my cool, but along with it there was something else. Guilt.
- Writer
