Crossing Paths

"A broken heart does not mean a broken spirit, mind, or vision. So, don't let the cracks in your heart overshadow the wholeness of the remainder of you-" -William Shakespeare "Don’t you dare come anywhere near my family or me, or I swear to God I’ll burn your ashes and make a f*****g soup out of them,” I screamed my heart out as I ran from this growling man coming straight toward me with a knife in his hands. Well, it was a butter knife, but a woman must protect herself, right? “Stop exaggerating, Jessabelle! You know I would never deliberately hurt you. Do you really think I would ever stoop that low?” He tried raising his voice at me again. “If you can force me for a child and take me to a f*****g gynae just so you can inject your filth inside of me, you can surely try to murder me as well. How can you even think that I would trust an animal like you,” I replied with an even louder voice. He just stared at me like I had grown a pair of wings overnight. His eyes were about to shed tears, but I didn’t care. His lies and forcing had gotten the best of me, and I was no longer ready to be a part of his game. How could he even think of injecting his sperm into me without letting me know? He knew how much I hated kids. He knew I had never wanted to be a mother, yet he decided to force me into it. It's not like I didn’t tell him about this before marriage. He knew everything even before we got engaged. Still, he decided to make me fall in love with him and marry him, all the while keeping his stupid hopes alive. How could he do this to me? The thoughts were rushing vigorously in my mind when I felt something hot touch my hips. I couldn’t comprehend what it was. Was Alberto burning me with that knife? Did he put a fire in my clothes? Or is it a matchstick? All these thoughts were running inside my head when I heard him screaming, “JESSABELLE!! Are you even listening to me? Get the hell away from the stove. The pot is still very hot.” His words brought me back to life, away from my disheartening thoughts. “I am fine! Just get away from me, please. I cannot live with a man who deceives me, my emotions, my choices, and this f*****g marriage,” I screamed again. I couldn’t even recognize him anymore as he was not the same man I had fallen in love with. I was only eighteen when I met Alberto at my college fair. He was a senior, and we bonded instantly. After dating him for four years, I finally married him in the dreamiest ways possible but barely two years into marriage, he started showing me his true colors. Maybe that’s what you get when you fall for someone with good looks and good looks only. How can I be so dumb? I thought to myself. I had to make a decision right then and there. I couldn’t allow myself to suffer this torture and make my life a living hell. So, I rushed him into my room, leaving Alberto standing there dumbfounded, and called the only person who had always been there for me, my sweet mother. “I want a divorce, mother,” I cried on the phone. “Aww! Come home, honey. I have always told you that he is not the right man for you. He deserves an ugly housewife who would gladly become a baby machine for him. I didn’t raise my daughter to be like this. You have ambitions, goals, and a very bright future ahead. Just leave this punk and come to mother,” my mother said in her always too-sweet voice. This was what I needed. A little push, just a little push. I hung up the call, packed my bags, and left his home with kohl-filled, teary eyes and a shattered heart. Why didn’t Alberto stop me? Maybe, he was in the shower? Or maybe he didn’t care enough, I answered myself. This was too much for me. My head started spinning, and I felt myself slowly drowning in darkness. It was black inside my head, and the pain was slowly fading away. What a relief. I was finally dying. “Hey, sweetheart!” he said. “Dad? What are you doing here? Am I finally dead? Are we finally together? This is not a dream, is it,” I bombarded my father with my stupid questions. “No, darling. You are not dead and won’t be for a very long time. Listen to me, Pumpkin, you have got a great life ahead, and a man can’t ever decide your future. If he can’t respect your choices, it’s better to leave him rather than crying for the rest of your life. You are stronger than this, my love. Get a hold of yourself and decide something better for your own good. Either you let this pain kill you, or you kill the pain and start a new life for yourself,” Daddy said in this soothing voice. Maybe, he was right. Maybe, I should just get rid of this sinking marriage and start a new life for myself. It's been two years, and all I have seen in my marriage is pain and hurt. How could I allow Alberto to torture me like this? Was I really that weak? I was deep in my thoughts when I heard daddy’s voice again. “It's time for you to go back, Pumpkin. Remember that you are the strongest and the most eccentric woman this world would ever see. Get yourself up, Queen. You have a lot to conquer.” For some reason, his voice was fading away, and I couldn’t see him anymore. Where did he go? Was it really a dream? “Hello, ma’am?” “Miss, can you hear us” “Lady, are you alive? I don’t wanna be pressed with murder charges. Tell them that I have nothing to do with you.” “Sir, will you please keep quiet? She is waking up, and she might have a concussion, so please stay quiet, or she might slip into a coma,” another voice said. I slowly tried to open my eyes but was surprised by the bright light around me. For a few seconds, everything surrounding me was shining white, and the light was literally penetrating into my head. My head started bursting again, and I tried to back into the darkness; however, the neuralgia in my head didn’t allow me to do so. My vision was gradually clearing up. I could see a blurred vision of around 5-6 people hovering over me. As my blurred vision got clearer, I noticed three nurses standing at my head. Another man was stomping around the room, biting his nails. Damn! His height was so hot! I thought to myself. ‘Shut up, Jessabelle, he is a f*****g stranger,’ I answered my own thoughts. “Miss, you, okay? Someone, please call the doctor. She is up,” one of the nurses said in a voice that was too loud for my weak heart and throbbing headache. “Hey, you! Please tell them that I didn’t have anything to do with your accident or whatever the little stunt that you pulled. I wanna go home, man! I have work to do, but these bastards just won’t let me go. Please, I beg you, tell them that I was not involved,” the tall man came rushing to me and shouted in my face. Panic was clear in his voice and on his face. With eyebrows pulled together and a mustache reaching his lips, he was too hot for my desperate self. I just kept staring at him. I didn’t know what was wrong with him or me, but I just couldn’t stop staring at him. “Sir, please get away from the patient. The doctor is on his way, and so are the police. If you had nothing to do with her, then soon you will be released, but please stop bombarding her. She literally just woke up,” one of the nurses said again “I don’t care about the doctor. Just let me f*****g go! I am done here. CAN YOU PLEASE TELL THEM THAT I HAD NO f*****g THING TO DO,” he screamed again. His screaming was hitting my head a bit too hard, and I literally wanted to smack the hell out of him just so he could shut up. “I... I... I am…” I tried to speak, but the words were just not mixing up, and I didn’t know if it was a temporary tongue paralysis or if my brain was not working right. Panic rushed through my veins, and I tried getting up. “Ma’am, please don’t move. You might hurt yourself. The doctor will be here any moment. Just please stay calm,” one of the nurses tried reassuring me. “So, I heard the patient is up. Well, how are you doing…” he looked into the files in his hands and continued, “Jessabelle?” Finally, the doctor was here. Now he would finally tell me what was wrong with my brain or tongue or whatever it was. I didn’t say anything to him and just stared with big green eyes. Maybe, he understood that I wanted answers and nothing else. “Lucky for you, your vitals are pretty good now. If you remember, you fainted four hours ago, and this man right here was the one who brought you here. How do you feel, Jessabelle?” the doctor asked. “I…I…I am f…fine, I gue...ess,” I stuttered. “That’s nice to hear. Do you want to maybe tell me what happened? Do you, anyhow, know this man right here,” the doctor inquired again. “N-no, I d-don’t kn-now him,” I stuttered again. I tried remembering what had happened. The last thing that I remembered was that I left Alberto’s house in pain and anguish and was surrounded by darkness. I told the doctor what had happened. “See, I told you guys that I saw her lying in front of that hideous porch. I was literally just driving by,” the tall man said in desperation again. So, he was the one who saved me, I thought to myself. “Mr. Yousseff, please be patient. Since the patient testified that you were not involved, you’ll be released soon. If it’s okay for you, can you drop her off? I think she is good to go now. Or do you want to stay for a bit longer, Jessabelle?” the doctor asked. He just stared at the doctor in disbelief. Obviously, they held him for no reason, and now they wanted him to drop off a helpless woman like me. Almost divorced and devastated. He deserved to be upset about this, but I didn’t mind it because I really needed someone to drop me at my mother’s. My car might still be outside Alberto’s house. “Yes, if you can, please drop me off,” I said with a weak, pleading smile. “Perfect,” he said with exhaustion. We were sitting silently in his Porsche when I brought my hand forward to turn the radio on and felt something cold and soft touch my fingers. He was also turning the radio on. Our hands merely touched for a few seconds when he flinched and pulled his hand back to the steering wheel. That minor touch sent sparks throughout my body, and I forgot where I was for a few seconds. All I could feel was the coldness of his hands. How can a man have such soft hands? He must be using some expensive cologne. These stupid thoughts were running inside my head when I felt the car stop to a halt. We had reached it, but my subconsciousness didn’t want the ride to end this soon. I picked up my stuff, thanked him generously, and left the car. I couldn’t sleep that night. I could still feel the coldness of his touch and the spark that hit my body like a tornado.