Battle-Hardened, War Weary Ch. 03

"Kali sweetheart, it is okay."

She recognized the voice. It was her Uncle Jack. His tone of voice was soft and calm. Kali looked around and saw that she was in a strange bedroom. She became afraid. She turned around and was about to run out of the bedroom. She saw that Jack was behind her. She flinched from the shock. Jack grabbed a hold of her wrists. She would've ran out of the bedroom, if it wasn't for Jack. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"It's all right, Kali" Jack whispered to her. "You are in the bedroom of Doctor Tolley and his wife Mrs. Tolley. He is not going to hurt you. Look over at Mary Anne..." Kali turned her head to the right and she glanced at the woman who was a few feet away. She was surprised to see her friend inside of the room.

'How in the hell did she get in here?' Kali thought.

She watched the petite woman do errands. Mary Anne was following commands that her father was tossing out while her father was searching for something. The woman and her father was completely unaware that Kali was afflicted by one of PTSD triggers. Kali began to cry, when she realized what had just happened to her. Jack placed her in a hug. She sobbed in his shoulder part of his blazer. She felt one of his hands gently pat her on the back.

"I know honey, I know," he whispered into the ear. She noticed that his voice was creaking. He continued hold her until she calmed down, which was a few minutes later. It was when they parted ways that they spoke again. "Mary Anne is your friend, remember?" Kali nodded her head. "Mary Anne would never hurt you, okay. Her father won't hurt you, okay." Once again, Kali nodded her head. Jack gave Kali's shoulders a simple massage.

"Mary Anne, can you please show Kali to my bathroom please?" she heard Doctor Tolley tell his daughter.

"Sure, daddy" Mary Anne chirped.

Mary Anne walked over to Kali and took a hold of her left elbow. "Come on Kali!" The two women walked across the bedroom to a darkened room. Mary Anne entered the room first and soon the room was lit up. "Come on in" Mary Anne announced. Kali entered the bathroom. She glanced around the room. "Nice, isn't it?" Mary Anne said after a moment of silence. Kali nodded her head. "It had taken Mama a long time to convince Daddy to renovate the bathroom. According to Daddy, all we need is a toilet, a bathtub and a sink. He doesn't realize that us women need more than that..." Mary Anne placed the lid of the toilet seat down. "You can sit here, Kali." She sat down on the toilet. Mary Anne handed her a shirt. "You might want to put that on, over your dress, in case you'll bleed some more. You don't want to ruin the dress," suggested Mary Jane. Kali unfolded the shirt and stared at it. "Don't worry about ruining the shirt. My dad won't miss it."

Doctor Tolley entered the bathroom as Kali slipped the shirt on. "Have a seat, Mary Anne" she heard the doctor say. "I'll be back. I have to go and get my supplies." Kali adjusted the large shirt on her torso. Then, she placed the towel back onto her mouth. She glanced at her friend, who sat down on a chair that was positioned next to her.

"Oh my goodness Kali, how do you feel?" Mary Anne asked sounding a little frantic and concerned.

"I'm all right," she answered into the towel.

It was a lie. On the outside, she was portraying a woman that was calm, who felt a little embarrassed because she slipped and fell down some stairs. In truth, she was frazzled, an effect of enduring a plethora of emotions. She dealt with a strong sense of fear. She was fearful of Ryan's wrath. She was sure that he was not going to heed Jack's threat. She knew that he was going to lay low for a few weeks, to lick his wounds and then he was going to strike. She was afraid of what he was going to do.

She was dealing with the waves of embarrassment from being paraded through the party while in her current condition. She knew that it was indeed foolish to be embarrassed, but she couldn't help it.

Then, there was the guilt and the regret. She felt guilty for having sex with Daniel and in his in-laws' house, no less. She felt guilty for thinking of herself, when it came to her sexual needs. She also felt embarrassed about being selfish as well. She felt guilty for committing an act of adultery and his pregnant wife was residing under the same roof. She regretted everything.

Doctor Tolley re-emerged in the bathroom. He was carrying a rolling stool and there was a large, white box on the seat. He settled the stool in front of where Kali was sitting. He walked pass the two women and traveled to the sink, where he washed his hands with a bar of anti-bacterial soap.

"Mary Anne, sweetheart, can you please open the first aid box and retrieve those latex gloves for me?" he asked as he washed the lather off of his hands.

"Sure daddy" Mary Anne said, cheerfully. She fetched the rubber gloves. She helped her father put the gloves on his wet hands, as if she was his dutiful nurse.

Doctor Tolley sat on the stool. "Okay Kali, let me see your lip please." Kali stared at the doctor and realized that he had gone into his 'work mode'. There was no warmth in his eyes. He wasn't smiling or giving in-depth explanations, like his usual self.

Kali removed the towel off of her mouth and revealed her mouth to the both of them. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Mary Anne grimaced while she gawked.

"Is it that bad?" Kali asked the both of them. At that moment, she noticed her slurred speech and how heavy her lip felt.

"Um, yeah" Mary Anne said as she continued to grimace.

"Okay Kali, I need for you to keep your mouth closed while I stitched it up" instructed Doctor Tolley.

"Mmm-hmm" she hummed.

Kali watched the doctor searched through his first aid box until he found his supplies, which were a pair of scissors, a spool of dissolvable thread and a curved sewing needle. She watched the doctor thread the needle with a string of thread. His fingers' actions were nimble and fluid. She quickly shut her eyes.

'Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God...'

Kali began to panic. She felt hot. She could feel the sweat form on her neck and armpits. She started to turn light-headed. Her feet started to tap incessantly against the tiled floor. Her hands clasped onto the fabric of her dress as it lied on her thighs. Suddenly, she felt fingertips on her face. She yelped in fright and moved her head out of the way.

"Okay, Kali, I need for you to relax for me" she heard Doctor Tolley instruct.

Then she felt a hand grab onto her right hand. The hand felt soft textured. It had given her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Kali, breathe and relax" she heard Mary Anne suggest.

"Mmm-hmm" Kali hummed.

Kali inhaled a deep breath, held her breath for a few seconds and then exhaled. Then, she inhaled another deep breath, held it for five seconds before releasing it. A pattern soon formed. She was in the process of exhaling, when she felt a pin prick against her upper lip. Then there was a sensation of fire burning through the torn flesh.

"MMMMMMMMMMGGGRRRRRUUURRRGGGHH" Kali groaned loudly as the pain coursed through. Her hand tightened its hold on Mary Anne's smaller hand.

The hurting was consistent and formulaic. First, there was the slight pain of a pin prick which was followed by a stabbing pain that was intense. Then, there was the burning pain that seem to have burned the inside of her lip. It felt like a rope of fire.

"I'm almost done, Kali" she heard the doctor say.

She opened her eyes and gazed at the doctor. He had a string of thread going through her upper lip. She immediately closed her eyes. A minute later, she heard him say, "I'm done." Kali opened her eyes again. This time, she saw that the bathroom had two more visitors.

Jack and his nephew, Daniel, was now standing in the bathroom. Jack stood in the threshold of the bathroom. He reminded Kali of a bodyguard with his intimidating stance. His arms were folded across his chest. His feet were positioned hip-width apart. His eyes were focused on the doctor and on Kali. She gave Jack a small smile.

Then her eyes focused on Daniel, who was standing inside of the bathroom. He was standing a few feet behind the doctor, his father-in-law. Just like his uncle, Daniel was standing in an intimidating form. Unlike his uncle, who has the experience of looking intimidating, Daniel's emotions were showcased in his eyes. There was a medley of sentiments displayed in his dark brown irises. There was anger, sadness, concern, pity and something else in his eyes, but Kali couldn't describe the feeling. Her eyes left his face and drifted down his body. She was about to gaze at his pants, when a flash of red caught her attention.

Her eyes stared at the cuffs of his shirt and his hands. There were a few spots of burgundy on the cuffs and a few streaks of the color smeared on his knuckles. 'Oh' her mind gasped as she realized what the spots were.

She gazed at Danny. A smirk formed on his face as he nodded his head.

Kali let out a gasp as a sense of astonishment flashed.

'Oh my God, Danny, what did you do?'

****

'MOTHERFUCKER... FUCK THEM ALL! THEY DO NOT KNOW WHO THEY ARE FUCKING WITH! I WILL SHOW THEM!'

He was enraged. He was humiliated by two members of the Logan family and by a lowly, rented servant. First, he had to deal with the servant, a piss-ant of a waiter, who undermined his authority. Then, there was Jack Logan, the pig cop, putting his hands on him. The cop had the audacity to threaten him and throw orders around. Ryan felt his rage surge when he replayed the memory of Jack threatening him.

"HE FUCKING DOESN'T KNOW WHO I AM!" Ryan screamed as he drove his car.

After enduring that event, which left him feeling like a coward, he suffered another blow to his ego. Once he was able to regain the feeling in his legs, as well as in his balls, Ryan had left the Tolley residence. He didn't bother to say farewell to his friends. On his way to his parked 2001 Maserati 3200GT, he heard someone shout out his name. He turned to see that the person was Daniel. He had come to a halt and allowed his best friend to catch up to where he was standing.

Ryan was about to give his friend an excuse as to why he had left the party, when suddenly he was cocked in the face by a fist. He had collapsed onto the wet sidewalk. He was too surprise by the strike that he didn't protect his body. Daniel's foot had rain down kicks and stomps onto Ryan's uncovered torso and legs. Daniel's screamed insults down onto Ryan's cowering frame as he kicked the shit out of his former friend. Daniel forced Ryan to his knees and proceeded to re-introduce his fist to Ryan's face. At the end of assault, Daniel told Ryan to stay far away from Kali or he will kill his former friend himself.

Daniel left Ryan lying on the dirty pavement, being surrounded by the harsh winter elements. His body ached, including his face. He felt like he was just thrown off of a roof of a building and he landed on bed of nails. Twice in one night, he was assaulted and was made into a victim. Before he was able to get back to his feet, a statement ran through his head.

'Now you know how she feels.'

Ryan Whittler entered into his multi-room mansion, with the sound of his front door slamming signifying his arrival. He entered the foyer of his home to discover that the foyer and the upstairs' corridor was lit up, which let him know that the help has gone home.

Ryan took three steps at a time as he traveled up the staircase that leads up to the second level of the house. His ribcage ached in protest to the aggressive movement. Briskly, he walked down the corridor to the second staircase. He climbed up the stairs to the large, black door. He produced a key from his jacket's inner breast pocket. He unlocked his bedroom's door. Before he entered his quarters, he viewed the finished product that was added to his wall's mural.

On the night before, Ryan suffered a case of insomnia and he needed to do something to pass the time. Ryan gawked at the piece of art while his hand over the art, appreciatively. His eyes roamed over the woman's full lips, dainty nose, broad forehead, plump cheeks and then settled on the pair of lilac-colored eyes. His fingertips traced the outline of her eyes. He smiled wistfully.

'We...' Ryan didn't bother to finish his thought. He knew that his mind was about to travel into an undesirable part of his history that he didn't want to explore.

Ryan entered the master suite and immediately traveled to the attached bathroom. He entered the majestic, grand room and strolled over to the large, copper soaking tub. He opened the valves for the hot and cold water. As the tub filled with water, Ryan stood next to the appliance and stripped off his clothes. He was eager for this bath. Since his encounter with Jack Logan, he wanted to clean himself off.

While naked, he left the bathroom with his bundled clothes being carried in his arms and he entered his bedroom. It was at this point, he noticed that his bedroom was toasty and the fireplace held a hearty fire in the fireplace. He guessed that Ignatius must've set the fire before he retired for the evening. Ryan placed the clothes and his shoes on his bed. He noticed the small pile of mail that was on the bed.

'Ignatius was here,' Ryan figured. He picked up the stack of mail and perused. 'Catalog... Catalog... The Times... Catalog... Utility Bill... Catalog... Junk Mail... The Daily News... Catalog... Suzette's catalog... A porn magazine... Catalog... Utility Bill... Junk Mail...' He tossed the mail onto the mattress after he scanned the front of the item. '... Junk Mail... Catalog... What's this?' He stared at the envelope. It was a letter and it was addressed to him. On the face of the envelope, there was no sender's name or address.

'Should I open this? It could be junk mail.' His curiosity was lit and he couldn't ignore it. Ryan tore open the envelope. He peered inside of the casing and found a folded up sheet of paper. 'It's a letter.' He pulled the letter out, unfolded the sheet of paper and read the note.

"Son of a bitch" Ryan growled as he read down the page. He crumbled up the paper and flung it on his bed after he finished reading the contents. "I wish that he would fucking give up."

He glanced down the bed and saw the magazine that was covered with a black, plastic casing. He picked it up and ripped the cover off. He flipped the magazine around to see the cover. He read the magazine's title and then scanned the rest of the cover. There was a barely clothed model posing on the cover. She was a black, voluptuous woman, who was wearing a tiny two-piece bikini and she wore a pair of platform high heels on her feet. Her skin was the color of honey. Her hair was waist-length, curly and dark-colored. Ryan thought she had a cute face. She was positioned in a provocative squat. The tiny bottoms to her swimsuit barely covered her pussy.

'Oh yeah,' Ryan growled in his mind, as he stared at her barely covered pussy. He saw how her hairless labia peeked out of the sides. His cock started to thicken with arousal. The fingers of his right hand lightly caressed at the stalk of his prick. Pleasure tingled at his member which grew thicker. 'It can wait' he surmised.

He dropped the magazine onto the mattress and then walked away. Ryan traveled back to the bathroom. The tub was almost filled with water. He picked up a jar of bath salts and a bottle of bubble bath. He tossed a scoop of sweet-smelling bath salts into the water and then a hefty portion of bubble liquid. The bathroom filled up with the scent of apples and cinnamon. The water was now coated with bubbles and lather.

'Perfect,' he said to himself.

Ryan walked over to the vanity table and bench that were seven feet away from the soaking tub. He stood in front of the table to stare at his reflection in the mirror. He was slightly surprise to see his face wasn't as battered as he thought. His face was appeared to have a blushing tint, but there wasn't a bruise or a cut on his face. His face, however, did feel like it was use a punching bag.

"Fucking asshole," he muttered as he thought about Daniel.

His bath was almost ready, so he knew that he had to make this last errand quick. He was inside of his dressing chambers. He needed to find some sleepwear as well as pick up another item, before he goes back to the bathroom. He found a pair of baggy sweatpants suitable enough to sleep in. Now, he was in Suzette's share of the closet. He stood in front of the armoire that was assigned to her. He pulled the last drawer out of its chamber and flipped the item over. With the drawer facing down to the bare wooden floor, the bottom was revealed. There was a plastic, compact disc case taped to the bottom. Ryan ripped the case off of the drawer and then made an exit out of his dressing chambers.

Ryan placed the CD case on his mattress and then he traveled to the bathroom. Once inside of the bathtub, he shut off the water valves and then slipped in the tub. The feeling of the hot water provided instant relief. "Aaaahhh" was loudly exposed to the bathroom's humid atmosphere. Ryan slipped his long, muscular body further into the soaking tub and reclined against the sloping back of the tub.

"What a fucking night," he growled as he stared up at the vaulted ceiling.

His mind replayed the events of the night. With each passing replay, his anger grew. "Fuck all of them" he muttered. "I should show that tape to everyone that they know..." He let out a grumble, which really was a laugh. "...That'll show them."

His anger wasn't the only thing that grew. Due to lying in a tub of soothing, hot-tempered water and his previous consumption of alcohol, Ryan began to become sleepy. Soon, his eyelids grew heavy with pressure.

****

"Oh shut up Junior, I don't believe you! There's no way Michael Jackson taught you how to Moonwalk!" Keith commented.

"He did too!" Junior claimed, getting defensive for being called a liar by his younger brother.

"You're lying, you Jheri-curled-countrified-bama!"

Ryan and his best friend Kali were walking a few feet ahead of her cousins. Even though they were walking ahead, the two kids could hear the older kids' conversation. The four children were walking back to Pop-Pop and Mama Richardson's house. They have spent the last four hours playing at the neighborhood park. Keith and Junior played basketball on one of the half-courts while Ryan played with Kali on the jungle gym. Now, it was seven in the evening and the kids had to go home before their curfew was arrived.

For Ryan Whittler, his new life was awesome. It has been four days since the day that he had ran away from his original home. He was now living with Kali and her grandparents. Mama and Pop-Pop were planning on taking care of him for the rest of his life. Mama promised him that he was going to stay with them and they were his parents now. Each grandparent told him that they loved him, which was a declaration that he has never heard. Plus, there was Kali. He was now living with Kali too. He loved her. She understood the pain that he felt because she has felt them too and how horrible his mother and step-father was to him. Now, ever since he was living with Mama and Pop-Pop, he was going to experience the same love that she was experiencing.

"Mama said that she was going to make some fried chicken and some mashed potatoes tonight and for dessert, she is making peach cobbler and vanilla ice cream" Kali reported to Ryan.

Ryan knew the reason why Kali was telling this news; because he loves Mama's cooking. He was enthusiastic at knowing that he was going to have some delicious food soon. "Mmm, I love Mama's cooking!"