A Phoenix Story: Living The Hand You're Dealt

The lump reached epic proportions as Darren could tell Hayden leaned in for what was obviously not only a kiss but a long one. Even though he couldn't see Becca, Hayden's body language left no doubts as to what was happening.

He felt as if the room were suddenly spinning, 'No! She was setting me up today, just leading me on so she could rip out my heart again.' Darren knew he had to get out of there before he collapsed; he pushed past the guy in front and then did a U-Turn out the back door.

His pulse was racing as he staggered to his car. Sitting in the gathering darkness, all he could hear was his pulse pounding loudly in his ears. His own private gloom threatened to overwhelm him as he tried to make sense of Becca's actions.

He leaned his head on the steering wheel and cried, it wasn't a manly thing, but he hurt so bad. It felt as if a knife had sliced his heart and soul open.

********

Inside the commons Becca kept looking at the clock and the front door. It was quarter till eight and there was no sign of Darren. A deep sense of rejection and loss began to gnaw at her heart while sharing space with the anger and resentment over what Hayden had just said and tried.

Her frustration with Hayden boiled quickly into anger as he had come over to her booth all smiles. His comment that she evidently knew he was going to be there and was waiting for him, was nothing compared to her anger at his attempt to lean in and kiss her.

She had turned her head and angrily demanded that he leave immediately. Hayden just leaned into her ear and whispered, "I will always be here with you, that you can count on."

Becca had reacted with a threat, "Get your...ass... out of my face and don't...ever... come near me again, or I will scream for security." Hayden had just laughed as he slowly turned and walked away.

Shoving her anger aside, Becca whispered to herself, "Please Darren, don't do this to me... to us. I'll crawl back if I have to, but it would be so much better if you ask me."

The first tear rolled down her beautiful face and on to the table. She felt it wouldn't be her last of the evening.

Hayden had watched with smug satisfaction as lover boy pushed past his two friends then reversed himself and ran out the door. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, Hayden discretely pointed to a coed who was standing alone by the front door.

She nodded then quickly exited the commons catching sight of her target staggering towards the parking lot. The coed moved after him and saw him get into his car.

Hayden had hoped lover boy would come through the back door so he could play with the idiot's head, but either way his plan would have worked.

Looking back towards the front door, Hayden watched his little blond conquest fidget in her seat until eight o'clock then slowly pick up her things to leave. He could tell Becca was crying.

'I told you when I claimed you no one else better come sniffing around 'my' property. Looks like a little lesson is going to be necessary,'he thought smiling to himself.

*******

Darren sat in his car for a long time hoping this was all just a nightmare and that he would soon wake up. His nerves were stretched so thin, his heart almost stopped from the shock of a soft knock on the driver's window. Realizing someone was standing next to the car, he composed himself and rolled his window down.

A soft female voice said, "Darren, hi, I'm so glad I caught you. Sure hope this isn't a bad time and you can help me.

"I'm in your Art class and have a big problem. I lost the instructions for the project we need to complete. Do you happen to have a copy I could borrow?"

Looking back at the commons he spoke with an almost robotic tone, "Yeah get in. I have a copy at my place I can give you."

She had a bright cheery smile but her attitude seemed strange as she almost purred, "That would be perfect, just great." Even though it was a nice spring evening the girl had on a light weight poncho and an over sized beret.

As she got in and buckled up Darren mumbled to himself, "I guess I'll never understand fashion."

It took Darren five minutes to drive across campus to his apartment. The young coed hopped out of his car and walked up to the door with him. Darren allowed her to enter first and then closed the door behind them.

The only light on in the apartment was a small table lamp he used as a night light. "Give me a minute, I need to use the bathroom then I'll get the notes. Have a seat and I'll be right back," he said as he disappeared into the bathroom.

When the door shut, the young girl glanced through some mail on the coffee table. While nervously keeping a watch on the bathroom door she quickly wrote down the address from one of the envelopes on a small notepad and pushed it into her pocket. She noticeable relaxed and picking up a catalog sat down on the couch.

It took Darren longer than expected; as he emerged from the facilities he said, "Sorry."

The girl on the couch lazily replied, "No problem, take your time. All I have to look forward to is homework."

He flipped on his bedroom light, quickly glancing through the stack of papers piled on his mattress until he found the project outline. Turning on the light in the living room where his computer was set up, he ran her a copy on his printer.

A few minutes later he opened the front door, "Ok let me grab my keys and I'll drop you off by the dorms."

Putting her hand on his arm, she kissed him on the lips and said, "I'll be fine it's really a nice night for a walk. You saved my ass with this copy; I owe you big time. See ya in class!"

She hopped down the stairs and almost skipped down the block, disappearing into the darkness.

Darren watched her go. "Weird girl," he said to the night, shrugging as he closed the door. Feeling totally lost he sat down trying to figure out what he was going to do next.

*******

As the young lady in the beret moved quickly out of sight, she made a call on her cell. Fishing the note pad out of her pocket all she said to the person on the other end was, "His address is 1821 Hillside Drive...yes, he's there now... great, see you tomorrow."

"Count on it," the male voice on the other end replied before hanging up.

The girl put her phone away, singing to herself as she started walking merrily towards her dorm. She didn't even notice a car with it's lights off pull slowly out of the street she had just passed and turn the other way.

*********

Becca was crying as she walked to her car. It was almost five after eight, suddenly she was fuming. "Damn it," she almost screamed.

"You are not going to do this to us Darren Courtier. We are going to talk tonight one way or the other." Sitting in her car in the commons parking lot, she called his apartment twice with no answer.

Determined, she was soon parked across the street in front of Darren's apartment. His car was in the driveway and the only light on was the small lamp in the dinning room. Becca's heart soared; he must have fallen asleep, missing their meeting.

She was reaching for her door handle when a light came on in Darren's room. "Good he's up I'll surprise him when he comes out to the car."

Just as she was putting the finishing touches on her make-up, the door to the apartment opened and Becca watched Darren and a young girl step out. The light was too low to see her clearly and the poncho she was wearing hid her body features, but Becca swore she had seen her before.

Becca's world suddenly turned upside down with no way to make it better. Right before her eyes the girl was kissing Darren in what appeared to be a very familiar way.

As the girl took off skipping down the block in an obvious great mood, Becca's heart collapsed exploding into a million pieces. Her only thought was, 'Oh God, I've lost him because of my own foolishness.'

Her throat suddenly tightened up when her pain began to feel unbearable. She could barely see as her eyes filled with tears.

Becca was shaking so badly, she didn't know if she could even drive, but knew she needed to get away from there. The sobbing broke out before she could react. Becca knew she probably couldn't make it to Gwen's safely.

She started the car and slowly moved towards the road leading to Dorm parking; at least with the doors locked she would be safe there. As she made the left turn onto the main campus road Becca was still crying so hard she didn't even notice the car or its three occupants driving slowly in the other direction with their lights still off.

*********

Darren sat at his dinning room table staring at six sealed envelopes containing unsent letters he had written to Becca over the last two months. With just weeks to go before receiving his much cherished degree, he truly began to wonder what all the 'big deal' had been about.

Too late, he now understood getting the degree was important, but only in regards of being able to provide the best possible life for himself and the person he loved. With his heart in turmoil, he realized, in his zest for achievement, he had taken for granted and lost the most precious prize of all.

Becca had slipped right through his fingers. How was he supposed to go on, it felt as if his world had totally ended?

A soft knock on the door jerked him out of his reverie of self-indulging pity. For a moment he thought Becca then realized it was probably his classmate back looking for the ride he offered.

As he opened the door, a fist caught him flush on the bridge of his nose. He stumbled backwards, tripping over the couch, and falling to the floor. His eyes were watering and his face was smeared with blood, he could taste it in his mouth. There was noise everywhere as someone kicked him in the kidney. He heard a voice say something about, "His property," then more blows to his head and stomach. Then he felt a kick to his head, as a sudden extreme pain exploded in his left hip and leg. He screamed in agony. Then all was blackness.

*********

Becca woke up sometime in the early morning hours, her hair a mess, her eyes puffy, and her nose stuffy. She wanted to just roll over and die. The pain in her gut was that bad.

She needed to talk to Darren, find out why he had been so cruel. All he had to say was, "I can't, I have a girlfriend or a date." It would have hurt but she would have understood.

Becca looked at her watch. It was three-thirty a.m. Her mouth felt so dry and raw, she felt in dire need of some water and throat lozenges.

Sitting up in the seat to get her bearings she found herself in the freshman parking lot. Becca used some tissues she dug out of the glove box to straighten herself up, then drove to an all night convenience store.

After leaving there, she drove to a hill top in the center of the campus. Feeling better from sucking on a cough drop, Becca tried to find some comfort as she sat staring into the night. How was she supposed to face a world without Darren, without her goofball?

By sunup she felt calm enough to talk, but as she drove to Gwen's, Becca became angry. The more she drove, the more hostile she became.

Slamming her fists into the steering she screamed, "Damn you, damn you, damn you... you aren't going to treat me this way. You aren't going to treat us this way." She began 'cursing and cussing' as her grandpa used to say. Her mind was aflame with how cruel his actions were, yet she knew in her heart, he could never be cruel to her.

Suddenly changing direction, a few minutes later she pulled into Darren's driveway, parking behind his car. When she turned off the engine she looked at her old apartment and lost all her bravado.

Instead of anger, she began to feel very small and frail.

She didn't know why, but she realized she was still willing to work things out if Darren wanted to. No, that was a lie, she knew why, she loved him, that was reason enough to work this out. It was time to get everything out in the open and on the table. She loved him with all her heart and that wasn't going to change any time soon.

It wasn't until she stepped out of her car and started walking towards the door that she realized something was wrong. First she noticed his car had been keyed, not just a single line, but multiple lines and curves. As she walked around the car, she discovered both sides, the trunk, and the hood had been keyed repeatedly.

Concerned, she started up the steps to the apartment when she noticed the front door was open a few inches and there was a partial footprint on the top step. It looked like it was made with brown red ink... or... dried blood. Suddenly all her problems with Darren seemed trivial as fear knotted in her stomach, making her feel faint.

Regaining enough composure in spite of her now uncontrollable trembling, she moved slowly towards the open door. In the early morning light she could just make out a shape lying on the floor, but it wasn't moving.

She was shaking so badly she could hardly move forward. Tears filled her eyes again as she slowly pushed open the door until it hit something and stopped.

A low 'gasp' escaped her lips followed by a blood chilling scream. Becca's hands went to her head as terror gripped her heart.

There on the floor laying on his right side facing away from her in a pool of blood was Darren. Spinning around, she sailed down the steps and falling to her knees she emptied her stomach onto the lawn.

Becca didn't remember screaming the second time, or pulling her cell phone from her pocket. The next thing she remembered was sitting numbly on the ground desperately trying to get the 911 operator to understand her rambling dialog.

"He's here... he's dead... please God don't let him be dead... oh God where is the ambulance..."

Seconds later some joggers, two guys and a girl, who heard her screams, came running up to see what the problem was. They immediately pitched in, trying to help in anyway they could.

The girl went to Becca and held her. Becca was soon clinging to the girl, who instantly became her life ring in a churning sea.

One guy went inside to look over the scene while the second guy talked with the operator. The guy inside the house yelled out, "He's alive but in pretty bad shape, tell them to get an ambulance here right away."

Hearing he was alive, Becca leaped from the girl's arms and she ran inside before anyone could stop her. She slid to the floor near Darren's head and whispered to him, "I'm so sorry, please don't die... I love you."

Her churning stomach was at odds with a desperate mind trying to grasp the reality that the pitiful sight before her was the man she loved. His face was a mangled, bloody mess, swollen, discolored, and missing some teeth. One was on the floor just below his lips in a small pool of dried blood connected by a coagulated stringer to the corner of his mouth. His left hip was badly swollen and obviously severely damaged.

Moments later the quiet little campus housing area was a beehive of sirens, police and ambulance attendants. The police had Becca sit at the table as the EMTs started emergency treatment on Darren, prepping him for the trip to the hospital.

While she sat watching the paramedics working on Darren, she felt utterly helpless. The thought kept running through her mind, 'Who would want to hurt Darren?'

One of the police officers asked her, "Miss, do you have a driver's license or student ID?"

Becca looked up in total confusion. The officer had to repeat the question three times before any comprehension was able to penetrate her shock. She nodded her head slowly reaching into her pocket and pulled out her Student ID.

The policeman looked at the ID then at Becca three or four times and remarked. "I'm sorry but this picture doesn't look like you. Could I see your Driver's license please?"

Becca seemed even more confused, then grabbed her hair, as she mumbled, "Oh yeah, Blond not red."

Looking at the officer she listlessly replied, "It's... it's in my car parked in the driveway."

The officer pointed towards the door. As soon as Becca was out of the house the paramedics and the two officers lifted Darren onto the gurney. He moaned out loud then fell silent.

One of the EMTs whispered to the other, "I'd be screaming if you moved me with a busted femur and hip." The other man grimaced at the thought while nodding his understanding.

By the time Becca got back, Darren was being rolled out to the ambulance. She handed her license to the policeman then turned and followed the gurney to the ambulance.

The driver tried to quickly explain to Becca as she begged to go with them that he couldn't allow her to ride in the ambulance because of insurance regulations. He finally gave up as he realized she wasn't hearing a word he was saying.

The driver looked pleadingly at the police as they nodded and held on to Becca while she watched the back doors close and the ambulance pull away with it's sirens blaring. In her whole life Becca had never felt so broken, she was overwhelmed with terror for the man she loved.

The police officer asked her to come back in and sit down. "Miss Anderton?"

"Yes," Becca answered... without answering.

"I can tell you are very upset and distraught, but I need you to tell us what happened, or at least what you know," the officer said in a firm but compassionate voice.

After a tremendous effort, Becca was able to overcome her distress enough to tell him everything she knew from the previous day outside Darren's class till she called for help. It took all the effort she could muster to overcome her overwhelming desire to rush to the hospital to be at Darren's side.

When she was finished the officer asked, "Are you sure you didn't get a good look at the girl's face as she was leaving the apartment."

Becca was frustrated and began to cry as she shook her head.

The Policeman asked, "Do you have anyone who could come and pick you up?"

Becca frowned, "Why do I need someone to come and get me? I have my own car," she responded tersely, not understanding the reason for the question.

A soft feminine voice from behind her said, "Because baby, you are in no condition to drive."

Turning, Becca saw Tonya and her fiancé standing in the doorway. She jumped up, almost tripping over her chair as she rushed sobbing into her friend's embrace. Becca seemed to deflate as Darren's former girlfriend held her, running her hand over her hair, hushing and soothing her.

The tall black woman looked around the apartment; the condition of the room, trash from the paramedics and obvious pools of blood told the horrific story. Tonya gripped Becca tighter as her own tears fell.

She felt Becca trembling in her arms and said, "One of the runners who responded to your screams lives near me. I was outside talking to him when I realized it was Darren he was talking about. So we rushed right over."

Looking at the Officer's she asked, "Has anyone contacted his parents?"

The policeman replied "We haven't got that far yet. Do you know how to get in touch with his family?"

A few moments later with Becca's help, Tonya had Darren's personal phone book and called his parents.

After she hung up, Tonya looked at Becca and said, "We were lucky his dad was home too. They will call us as soon as they confirm their reservations. Lateef and I will pick them up at the airport."

Tonya handed the policeman a piece of paper with all the pertinent data to get in touch with Darren's parents as well as her own information in case they needed to talk to her.

The police told them, "We need to close the house for now. Don't mean to be insensitive but we must ask you to leave."

Tonya nodded. Noticing the envelopes on the table addressed to Becca, she picked them up when the officer wasn't looking and stuffed them into her purse.