Running from a Vengeance

“Alright dad goodbye.” I murmured, clicking my cell phone closed.

He worried about me way too much. I was going to work every day like a grown woman should be, living in my own apartment, and I’d been working at Johnny’s Bar for four years now. He just never stopped worrying. I took my usual walk, down the street and then across it into Johnny’s bar. I figured as long as I had experience as a shot girl I may as well use it to my advantage.

The place was pretty small, and very dim. It was no surprise to me that there was only Heather working today. She and I was always the girls getting stuck with the morning shift. I hated the morning shift. We always got stuck with the alcoholics. Who else besides alcoholics came to a bar at nine in the morning?

“Hey Francis.” Heather said, letting go of her broom long enough to wave to me.

“Hey.” I waved back to her. “Hey boys.” I said, grinning at them all.

They were all the alcoholics, probably upwards of the age of forty. They like their rum and Coke at this time, except one who liked Jack and Coke.

“Oh, hey Francis.” They all smiled back at me.

I made them their favorite drinks and then proceeded to the bathroom to wash my hands. Out in the bar the television was on. The football from last night was replaying. This is what we did at Johnny’s. We watched the same football game all day long. Tomorrow there would be a different one on. The Patriots were winning against the Dolphins. I didn’t give a fuck, but it was better than sitting there doing nothing.

“Hey Fran, do you mind grabbing us some eats?” Bill asked.

Of them all, he was my favorite. He was the only one who didn’t get completely belligerent by noon.

“Sure thing hun, what do you boys want?” I pulled the pad and pen out of my apron and waited for them to answer.

“We all decided to have the scrambled eggs and toast please.” He said with a smile on his face.

“You got it.” I agreed, going into the kitchen.

Johnny was standing outside smoking a cigarette. I walked out to address him.

“Hey boss man, you got an order up.” I said, flashing it in his face.

“Scrambled eggs and toast huh. I got time to finish my smoke.” He shooed me away.

I put the slip up on the rack for him to read when he started to cook the food. Out in the bar more people had come in and sat down at the tables. Heather was a waitress so she took their order. It was the nice family from yesterday that were tourists.

The day flew by oddly enough. Usually I feel like it takes me forever to get through the day.

“Goodnight. You take it easy on your day off tomorrow.” Heather said to me nicely.

“I’ll probably end up back here anyway.” I chuckled rolling my eyes. “I’ll need a couple drinks to calm me down. That’s what I do on my days off. Drink. My life is full of exciting surprises.”

The truth was, that when I wasn’t working, I was thinking. I was thinking about Matt, and wondering how his life was. I was worrying about my life and my father’s life and what would happen if I got kidnapped again. In order to keep myself in check, and to stop freaking out all the time, I picked up drinking. I was always drinking when I wasn’t working. So tomorrow would be another great day at Johnny’s.

I was relieved when I got home. The feeling of getting to let my hair down out of the wig and take off my hideous thick-rimmed glasses. Sometimes I went outside. I know that I wasn’t allowed to, but I wanted to be able to just breathe the ocean air without having on a disguise. I wanted to be free. Even though I wasn’t a captive anymore, this wasn’t exactly any different.

When I got home I tossed my keys on the couch and went directly to the kitchen. Off came the wig and ugly thick-rimmed glasses, and out came the Jack. When my nightmares and thoughts first started, I would mix the Jack. I just took it straight now. By the end of the night I was throwing up in the bathroom, looking like a stupid alcoholic, but I would rather deal with this than with thinking about Matt. It was like this for me every night until I just passed out wherever.

Sometimes in my nightmares Zack would knock on my door. I would open it and he’d greet me by raping me, or slicing my throat. Sometimes he would even kill Matt. But my other nightmares would be of me and Matt having a life together. We had a perfect life with perfect children, but that’s what made it a nightmare. Knowing it would never happen hurt more than anything.

In the morning the sun shone through the sun window in the bathroom. It hit me directly in the eyes. Great way to wake up first thing in the morning. I was lying in the bathtub on top of the ripped down shower curtain. God only knows how I got there.

As I stood I felt the pain rush to my head causing me to fall back into the bathtub again. I guess there was only one way to take care of my headache...more alcohol. There was some noise coming from the living room. I must’ve left the television on. I went out to the living room and noticed that I’d had the news on. I screamed when I saw the faces appear on the news. It was their faces. All in mug shots.

“Oh no.” I breathed out.

I felt back for the couch as I struggled to stand. I felt the fake suede under my palm and proceeded to plop down like a drunken mess. I turned up the volume quickly as possible to hear what they were saying, and I knew it had to be the worst.

“Today, four murderers escaped from ADX Florence in Colorado. There whereabouts are not available at this time, so it is cautioned that everyone stay inside and off the streets.”

Four mug shots of the four guys showed up on the screen again. They had escaped from the toughest prison in the United States. This wasn’t good. They were going to come after me. My nightmares were coming true. This time if they kidnapped me, Matt wasn’t going to be there to save me. I was going to have to call my father and we were going to have to keep moving. No Belle, just calm down. I said to myself. You’re doing good right now. They don’t know where you or your father are. Just don’t call him it will only make him worry even more.

“I need a drink.” I whispered to myself.

I was going to go and be one of those silly alcoholics that went in to Johnny’s in the morning and spent the whole day watching a football recording that looked new every time they watched it because of their mental status. I pulled my wig on and threw on the glasses before I left the building. I knew they weren’t going to find me anywhere here in California. Not with this disguise, but I was still paranoid enough to jog to Johnny’s.

“Hey kiddo. What can I get you at ten this morning?” He smiled at me.

I sat down at the bar and sighed loudly. “Don’t make fun of me. I just found out some bad news. I’ll take some Captain Morgan’s on the rocks please.”

Instead of the replaying football tape, the news was on. Every time I saw their faces my body tensed. Johnny must’ve noticed this because he changed it.

“Is that better?” He chuckled at me.

“You just shut up. I know you think you’re being cute or funny or something, but those guys...” I paused to shutter as I thought about them. “Those guys are God awful.”

Johnny didn’t say another word. I knew I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone who I was, or that I knew these murderers personally, but I could trust Johnny. Plus I hadn’t exactly told him that I knew them, I merely implied.

“Here you go Fran.” He handed me my drink.

“Thanks Johnny.”