"I guess you were lost when I met you/ Still there were tears in your eyes / So out of trust and I knew / no more than mysteries and lies"
As he sang the words, his thoughts raced back to the day that the mysteries of his best friend were finally revealed to him.
*****
Courtney was huddled in the corner of their place crying when Alex found her. He knelt down beside her and took her in his arms. He stroked her hair and whispered softly.
"It’s going to be okay, Princess. I’m here now."
"Oh, Alex! I miss my aunt so much."
"What happened to her?"
The two settled down into a comfortable spot and Courtney began to explain.
"My mom died giving birth to me and so my aunt, her sister, took me in.
Daddy took off but when he was around, he didn’t have anything to do with
me."
"Why not?"
"Aunt Roo said it was ‘cuz I reminded him so much of my mother. She said he was really in love with her and when she died, he was destroyed. Anyway, I lived with Aunt Roo in Fernandina Beach until she died from cancer. Daddy had to come get me and that’s when he started beating me. We moved every time he was reported and that’s why I don’t want you to call the police. I’m tired of moving."
"But, Princess. He’s going to end up hurting you really bad one day."
"I’ll deal with it when it happens. Alex, every time we moved, I would make friends with one or two kids in the neighborhood. Then he’d start again, they’d tell their parents and one of two things would happen, most of the time both. They’d be forbidden to play with me or their parents would report him to the cops. I can’t stand the thought of losing you, Alex."
*****
He walked off the stage with his friends and met his mother. He saw that she’d been crying and suddenly became extremely scared.
"What’s wrong?"
"Her heart stopped."
His knees buckled under him and his friends caught him.
Green-eyes asked, "When?"
"About two hours ago. They managed to revive her and put her in ICU."
So faintly that he was barely audible, he said, "I’ve got to see her."
"We’ll take you," said the shorter blonde. "Let’s get changed first."
*****
"Alex, I’m scared," she whispered. "What if he finds us?"
"He’s too drunk to find us. When did he start this time?"
"I guess while we were at school. You know, it’s only when he’s drunk that he really hurts me."
Alex hugged her close as she began to tremble. They heard a thud downstairs causing them both to jump.
Alex whispered, "I’m going to see what he’s doing."
"NO! He might catch you."
"It’ll be okay, Courtney. I’m going out the way I came in. Stay put."
"No! I’m going with you. I don’t want to be here if he’s coming up here."
The two headed out the window and down the tree that they both used to get in and out of Courtney’s room. When they were on the ground, they moved around to the window to peek in. They saw her father passed out on the floor.
Courtney breathed a sigh of relief and Alex said, "Come on! Let’s go have some fun."
*****
As he and his four friends stepped off the elevator, his eyes fell on her father. Anger flew through him and he went after her father.
Grabbing the older man by the collar, the young man punched him, "You son of a bitch! You’re trying to kill her."
The father defended himself and a scuffle ensued. The other four young men pulled their friend off and ‘Green-eyes’ said, "This isn’t helping her any!"
The father straightened his shirt and eyed all five young men. "I should have known you’d be here."
"The question is, what are you doing here?" asked the young man angrily.
"I AM her father."
"Yeah, well, you may be her father but you’ve never loved her."
"You can leave now."
"When hell freezes over. I’m not about to leave her now that you’re here."
*****
Alex stepped between Courtney and her father. "Leave her alone. She didn’t clean the kitchen because she was with me."
"You little punk!" he said as he swung at Alex.
Courtney’s father was drunk so when he did swing, Alex was able to dodge him. Alex looked at him menacingly and said, "You may get away with hitting Courtney, but if you EVER try that again, I WILL call the cops."
"Stop, Alex!" begged Courtney softly as she took his hand.
"Get the hell out of my house and stay away from Courtney you little hoodlum."
"Never! I’m going to stand by her as long as SHE wants me around."
*****
The doctor told her father that he could go in with her and the young man watched him. As he stood with his friends, he asked, "Is she awake?"
A nurse responded, "Her eyes are open," as the monitors in her room went crazy.
"What’s going on?" asked the young man.
The doctor, several aides, and the nurses rushed to her room as the young man began to tremble. Something was terribly wrong.
The short, dark-haired one said, "It’s going to be okay. Have faith."
The father came out escorted by an aide and the doctor.
The doctor looked at the five young men waiting to see her and said, "I’m sorry but she won’t be having any more visitors. It upsets her too much."
"It’s HIM that upsets her," said the tall blonde one calmly.
Green-eyes said, "He’s the one who put her here in the first place."
The doctor asked, "Do you have proof?"
The young man said, "The monitors going crazy should be proof enough but I’ve known her ever since she was ten and he’s beat her every day that I can remember."
The short, dark haired one said, "If you’ll let him in, she’ll calm down."
"I can’t jeopardize her life."
The young man said, "I promise to leave if she shows any signs of being upset."
The doctor looked at the young man and said, "Fine. You’ve got ten minutes with her."
The young man walked in to her room and took her hand. Tears began to fall from her eyes and he wiped them away as he whispered, "It’s going to be okay, Princess."
He had seen that terrified look in her eyes before and knew what had happened.
*****
Alex found Courtney curled up on her bed in the fetal position. He could see that her clothes were torn and there was blood on the bed. He reached out to touch her but she jerked away at the slightest touch.
"Courtney, it’s me. Don’t be scared."
She looked up at him, terror in her eyes, but she didn’t seem to recognize him.
"Princess, you’re scaring me. Please!" he begged. "I’m not going to hurt you."
The simple name ‘Princess’ seemed to break through and she sat up for him to take her in his arms.
As Alex held her, he asked, "What has he done to you?"
She cried softly and through the sobs, she said, "He kept calling me Cindy."
"Your mother?"
"Yeah, and he....he...."
"Don’t go on," said Alex and he knew what had happened.
*****
As the young man stood beside her, he held her hand, stroked her hair, and whispered reassurances to her. The doctor watched the monitors closely and saw that she was calming down with the young man in here.
The doctor put his hand on the young man’s shoulder and said, "You were right. Take about ten minutes and then you’ll need to leave."
"Thanks, Doc."
The room cleared out except for the young man.
When they were all gone, he leaned over, kissed her tenderly on the forehead and whispered, "It’s going to be okay, Princess. He’s not going to ever hurt you again. I promise you!"
