"I can
make things better for you. Take away your pain, ease your suffering. You
hardly sleep, listening at your bedroom door for any sign of trouble. I can
help with that." He was confident. He had to be, walking around Baltimore
at night dressed in a three-piece suit, diamond cufflinks gleaming even with
only the dim blue light from the police CCTV cameras to highlight them.
"I don't
know what you think you know about me
or what you've heard but I don't do drugs. So you can go peddle that shit
somewhere else. I'm not buying." Despite having more reasons than I could
count, I'd managed to avoid getting hooked on heroin - an impressive feat given
the amount flooding the city.
"Mmm. I
almost wish you were. It makes things so much easier when drugs are involved.
Let me ask you a question. Do I look like some street thug drug peddler to
you?"
I took in the
meticulous tailoring, the expensive shoes. "You're definitely not from
around here." I gestured to the boarded up row homes across the street.
Weeds overran
the small front yards, brushing the bottoms of the windowsills. Plywood
replaced glass in almost every window. Trash littered the street, the city cans
overflowing onto the sidewalk to the delight of the ever growing rat
population. Sirens echoed in the distance, the dealers on the corner unfazed.
Welcome to
Harm City.
Still, it was
safer on the street than at home most nights.
"Home
for me is a lot farther south of the Mason-Dixon line than Maryland, dear
child. What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be home? With your
mother?"
"You
don't know me, you don't know my mom. Get the fuck out of here before I call
the cops." I held up my phone and pointed at the BPD security camera.
He clucked
his tongue, wagging a finger at me. "Such a foul mouth for such a pretty
face. I know a lot about your mom. The lie she told about going to a basket
bingo with her friend Janice. Mom never made it out of the house by the way.
She's very pretty, your mother, I see where you get your looks. Maybe if she
hadn't fussed with her hair and makeup so much or if she'd chosen a different
blouse..."
I'd heard
those excuses from my mother so many times. If she hadn't done this or that, he
wouldn't have beat her. Breathing seemed to be what set him off where I was
concerned. I avoided going home as often as possible. For my mother's sake as
much as mine. He seemed better when I wasn't around.
"It
looks bad this time. The neighbors are out for the night. No one to call for
help. And he's upset, very upset."
"The
neighbors are out? If by ‘out’ you mean abandoned and boarded up, then yeah,
they're out. He's always upset. I've begged her to leave, so many times. She
won't. She said if she ever did, he'd kill her. Trust me, if I go back now, it
will only make things worse.."
"It's
different this time, Jacqui girl." The same thing my mother said every
time my stepfather came home with flowers and a box of wine to apologize.
"He came home early, found the suitcase she packed to take with her to the
shelter by the door. She's hurt. All alone in that house. With him."
I started to
run, only making it a couple of steps before he grabbed me.
"You'll
never make it in time. I can help you, Jacqui girl. I can put an end to all
this. Don't you want to help her? Don't you want to save your mother? Save
yourself? This isn't the life you deserve. No one should live like this.
Forgotten by everyone, left to the drunken rages and violent fits of that
monster you live with. Why is this happening? Why did He forget about you? He's
supposed to love you. Doesn't He care what happens to you?" He pointed
toward the sky.
"What's
in it for you? Why do you care what happens to us? If you know all that, you
know I don't have any money and neither does my mom." I should have
screamed for help.
His breath
whispered across my ear. "Money isn't the only form of payment.”
For a moment,
I considered it, considered giving over my body in exchange for him following
me home and killing my stepfather. In all the years of darkness and misery, I’d
managed to stay straight, stay on the path. Faced with the brutal murder of my
mother, was I willing to throw it all away?
I nodded.
"I know
a place we can go, but not until you hold up your end of the bargain." My
stomach heaved when I thought about what I'd agreed to do.
"Oh, you
sweet, simple girl. You are so delicious. The soft unmarked skin of youth
pulled tight over toned muscle." He licked his lips. "Yes, I am quite
sure I would enjoy every moment. However, I don’t recall stating the terms."
"Do we
have a deal or not? You said I was out of time." Panic gripped my heart. Was she dead already?
"You're
right, Jacqui girl, I did Have you put it together yet? Who I am? He didn't
answer you. He never helped you. But I can."
Everything
clicked. I should have ran. I should have said no. There were a million things
I should have done.
"Can you
save her? Can you put an end to this?"
The Devil smiled. "I believe we can come to an
agreement."
