D-I-D Syndrome

All five men laughed heartily at Wade's foolhardy attempt to dissuade them. In an effort to catch them off guard Wade lit into them with all he was worth. He didn't stand a chance.

A few minutes later the door to the bar suddenly burst open explosively. A huge hulk of a man entered the bar and quickly assessed the situation. He saw Wade on the floor being held down by four men, one on each arm and leg while the fifth was straddling his chest, beating the living daylights out of him. A lone woman was cowered in the corner, on her knees, sobbing and pleading for Wade's life, offering to service them all if they'd leave Wade alone. Wade's face was a bloody mess as the five seemed to be on a mission to teach him a lesson he'd never forget. The big man sauntered over to the fracas and towered over the men on the floor.

"Yeah? What the hell do YOU want? If you want some of this you can just wait your turn," one of the five said.

"What do I want? I aim to stop you guys from what you're doing" replied the hulking form.

"You and whose army? In case you can't count nitwit, there are five of us and only one of you. We can easily take you out just like we've done him! You might be a big boy, but I'm sure you've heard the old saying, the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"Yes, I'm quite familiar with that expression. However, I don't need to take out all five of you. I only need to take out three of you and I assure you, I can take out any three of you at once without any problem" he added.

"Even if that was true, what about the other two of us?" Posited another of the five.

"Oh, I'm quite sure that my man Wade here can mop the floor with the other two quite easily. How do I know this? I saw him do it with my own eyes. When I was in the third grade, two much older sixth-grade bullies were molesting my sister. I tried to help her then but they beat me down. Wade here stepped in and took out two bigger bullies than him without even being asked. I admired him more than Superman that day. And I swore that no bullies would ever take me or my sister down ever again, so I built muscle. Wade is my friend, and I don't take kindly to people hurting my friends."

With that remark, the big man struck the one straddling Wade's chest so hard that he knocked him out with one blow. As he quickly engaged with three more, Wade popped up and fought back hard now that the odds had been evened. In less than two minutes, all five men were lying on the floor unresponsive. Wade thanked the man who had miraculously come to his rescue.

"I've been waiting my whole life to repay you somehow for your kindness. That's my sister, Connie, behind the bar there by the way. This is her place. She calls me if she ever runs into any problems. When she called me to say you were in trouble, I broke every speed limit on the books to get here. I still owe you, Wade. You showed me way back then what it was to be a man and how to do the right thing even though you didn't know us. You've been my inspiration since that day." He extended his hand, "I'm Bruce, by the way."

"Well, Bruce, I'm grateful for your help and honored that you speak so highly of me," Wade declared with humility.

Connie came over and kissed Wade on the cheek. "Thank you for what you did for me and my brother all those years ago. I may forget many things in life, but I never forget kindness," she bubbled.

"I thought you looked familiar somehow but I just couldn't place you until now. That was a long time ago," Wade said wistfully.

Connie urged them, "Now you guys better scoot while I call an ambulance. If the law gets involved, what I saw was these five guys fighting each other over the same girl until they knocked each other out. But what about her? What are you gonna do with her?" she questioned.

Wade angrily looked in Gloria's direction and barked at her. "What the hell were you thinking, coming alone to a place like this? Women don't come here unless they want to be fucked!"

"I was desperate to talk to you Wade. It never occurred to me that something like this would happen. I realize now it was stupid but love doesn't require an IQ test, does it? You put your life on the line and protected me. You MUST still have feelings for me. The good book says: 'Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friend.' I owe you my life," she softly said.

"I protected you only for the memory of what you once meant to me, NOT for any present feelings," he fumed.

Gloria tore off a piece of cloth from the hem of her skirt and moved to wipe some of the blood from his face.

Wade raised his hand, "Don't touch me you contaminated whore!" Then he glared at Gloria with a fierce rage for all the trouble she had caused in his life. "Gloria, get the fuck outta here now! And don't you EVER come back here. I won't be around to save your whoring ass next time!" She bawled as she ran out the door realizing that she'd made a terrible mistake. Wade's renewed anger was unnerving.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One Wednesday evening in early December, Wade's doorbell rang. When he looked through the peephole he saw Gloria standing there alone, with no baby. He had no interest in talking to her nor did he care what she wanted so he ignored her and turned his TV up louder as he watched the game. Wishing to make her presence known, she constantly rang the doorbell to garner his attention. It became so annoying, that Wade checked the electrical service panel and turned off the circuit breaker supplying power to the doorbell, and finished watching his game. She gave up and went home at 11 pm. She had to be at work the next day at 7 am.

He hoped that would be the end of it, but she persisted and drove from work the next day with a bag supper straight to his apartment. As he was returning home from work, Wade noticed her patiently sitting on his porch in her thin coat. He knew she had to be cold but she stayed right there. Wishing to avoid a confrontation, he didn't stop and stayed out at Henderson's until eleven. Mercifully she was gone by then.

Friday afternoon she was back again. As he walked past her to enter his apartment he asked her what she wanted. She said she only wanted to talk to him and explain about the past. He said he had no interest in talking to her about anything and urged her to leave. She didn't. She knocked on his door so much and so long that he called the Sheriff complaining of harassment. When a Deputy asked her to leave the premises, she complied but was right back on his porch at 7 am Saturday. She didn't knock until 9 am. Through the door, he told her to go away. She didn't knock anymore but neither did she leave. She stayed out there all day, evening, and night. He checked at 5 am when he had to pee in the night and she was still there. He chuckled knowing that the cold would eventually drive her away.

This went on for six weeks. Yes, Gloria spent all of Christmas Day and New Year's Day on his front porch. There was another female neighbor who lived in the same complex that she knew from high school who let her use the bathroom as needed. He was astonished at her persistence. She worked from 7 am to 3:30 pm Monday through Friday. She went home Monday through Thursday nights at 11 pm to sleep so she could work the next day. But aside from that, she was on his front porch, even all weekend, morning, noon, and night. Gloria's life was work, sleep, and Wade's porch, nothing else. He considered getting a restraining order to keep her away but he thought that letting her suffer her physical ordeal on his porch outside was a greater punishment.

Finally, toward the end of January on a Friday night, it happened. A winter storm brought freezing rain as temperatures hovered between 29 degrees F. and 31 degrees all night. He just knew she would be gone before morning. When he checked early the next day, she was huddled in a squat on his porch as her body shook violently from the cold. He knew she would die of exposure if she didn't get warm soon. She was thoroughly soaked from head to toe. Her coat was no longer waterproof and she was unable to afford a new one.

Frustrated at her persistence, he thrust the door open and yelled at her, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" She just looked at him but was unable to form a coherent sentence due to uncontrollable teeth chattering. Compassion overtook him and he invited her inside.

"Go to the bathroom and take a long hot shower. I'll toss in something dry for you to wear. If you don't warm up soon hyperthermia will take you out of this world you stupid idiot!"

Without trying to speak, she nodded her thanks and did as he suggested. He knew the water heater had to have been completely drained of heat by the length of time she had spent in the shower. He tossed a pair of his sweatpants with a drawstring and an oversized tee-shirt into the bathroom for her to don once she had dried off.

When she finally exited the bathroom in his unflattering but dry clothing, she could smell bacon and eggs from the kitchen being prepared.

"Well, at least you're still alive. Come have a seat and get some food in you." Wade offered.

"I brought an orange for breakfast," she timidly replied.

"I know. And I threw that orange block of ice in the trash. Now sit down and have a hot meal before I change my mind."

"Wade, I....."

"EAT! We'll talk after breakfast."

The two of them ate in silence, casting casual glances at one another, leaving the unsaid for later. Gloria consumed her bounty like a famished woman. She looked frail compared to the way he had remembered her, almost gaunt. It was clear that she had been neglecting her health. When they both had devoured their fill, Wade pushed back in his chair opposite hers. She started to get up to clean the table and he stopped her.

"Leave it," he brusquely commanded. "I'll get it later. Let's get this over with. I've made it clear that I want nothing to do with you. I don't want to see you, don't want to talk to you, don't want to be around you but for some reason, you feel as though you're entitled to inflict as much pain on me as humanly possible and then come back and rub it in my face. I don't know who's been watching your baby all this time but you've camped out on my doorstep far too long and it's gotta stop. You've embarrassed me to all my neighbors. Apparently, you won't stop until you've had your say, so go ahead and get it over with and then leave me alone. Okay?"

"You're right Wade. I don't deserve to be in your presence, but I have some things that MUST be said and I can't let you go until I've said them."

"Well, you've already proven that you don't NEED me and that you can live without me." Wade quickly asserted.

She fired back, "You're right, I CAN live without you, I just don't want to."

"Nonetheless, whatever it is you've just GOT to say, spit it out and then go, once and for all for Pete's sake."

She looked at the frustrated man before her with love and admiration but she knew that it would take more than admiration to win him back. It was now or never. This was the moment, the one hard-won opportunity afforded her to finally speak her piece. She took a deep breath and began.

"For the first time, I'm going to give you the complete unadulterated truth. I wanted to give you the truth since day one but hopefully, you'll understand the reason it was withheld by the time I'm finished. If you'll please listen to everything I have to say and let me bring the entire ugly truth to light, I'll not grace your door again afterward unless you want me to."

"FINALLY! A way out. The floor's yours, Gloria. Knock yourself out. Say everything you've got to say and then get the hell out of my life," the exasperated man pleaded.

"Every word I'm about to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Though you don't believe it, I LOVE you, Wade. Every beat of my heart, every cell in my body exists to love you and only you. Let me explain. Going all the way back to prom, I already told you the complete truth about why I went with that asshole to the prom, so I won't repeat what you've already heard. But there's a lot more that you don't know about that night." She paused and her eyes welled with tears as she continued.

"That night was hell on earth for me in more ways than one. I had hoped that you would understand that my parents forced me to go with him and we'd be back on track afterward. But when you called me a backstabbing slut to the entire crowd at the prom and left with Sonya, I was broken. I insisted that Tad take me home right then. I couldn't face anyone after being outed like that. He took my hand and I thought he was being a gentleman about the whole affair but I was wrong. Halfway home, I realized that we weren't headed to my place. He took me to the same office building where you saw me. I was confused as to why we were there. He said he had to pick up some papers for work and urged me to accompany him inside for a minute. He attacked me, Wade. Tad Cone raped me and the coward wasn't alone. His brother Alden was there too. Alden held me down while Tad took his sweet time raping me. Alden took lots of video of my rape and even masturbated watching Tad rape me. Afterward, they both said they'd edit the video and give it to you making it look like I WANTED to have sex with Tad and freely gave him my virginity."

More tears escaped as she continued. "He told me also that he wanted me to come to him and willingly have sex with him any time he wanted me from then on, and if I ever refused, he would see to it that both of my parents were immediately fired from their jobs and me as well. He said we'd be homeless and out on the street in no time. I was weak. I didn't know what else to do. If they showed you even the very few seconds of that video when I wasn't screaming or crying, you'd believe that I had been willing and it would be over between us. He also said that if I told you he raped me, we'd all still be fired and he'd pay some thugs to beat you half to death. Like I said I was in a living hell. Every time I was with him, I just zoned out and tried to separate my mind from my body. I hated him and he knew it. But he got some perverted pleasure from having me while I was still your girl."

"You might wonder why I never told you about being raped when we finally got back together. I held that back for only one reason. I know you, Wade. You would have gone after Tad and done something bad which would land you in prison perhaps for the rest of your life. I couldn't bear the thought of you having to pay the price for something horrible that was happening to me. I'd never forgive myself if that happened."

"She went on, "When he finally took me home, I told my parents everything that had happened, hoping that they would take care of me and protect me from ever being hurt again. They looked stricken with fear when I relayed everything and told me that perhaps I was exaggerating or overstating what happened and that I shouldn't resist Tad so much from now on so that we could all keep our jobs. Can you believe that? My own parents, instead of protecting me, threw me to the wolves. They said that if I pleased Tad well enough, he may take a liking to me and marry me which would greatly enhance all of our lives. My love for them died that night. I still live in the mobile home with them because I can't afford anything else but the only interaction I have with them concerns little Doyle. That's what I named my son. It's an Irish name that means dark stranger because he was born of darkness. My parents have been looking after him all the weeks I've been here trying to talk to you."

Gloria paused and took another sip of orange juice. "I made Tad swear that he'd never tell you about blackmailing me into sex with him. When you asked me to marry you, I was the happiest woman in the world. I could finally see a bright future for you and me. I wanted nothing more than to be your wife. My parents wanted me to have the trappings of wealth. They don't understand how I feel about you. I would gladly choose to live in abject poverty with you and struggle for every scrap of food for the rest of my life and still be the happiest woman alive, as long as we were together. The only thing that matters to me is you. I threatened Tad and told him that his blackmail scheme would end when you and I married. He could fire anyone he wanted. I no longer cared about my parents' financial security after that. I believe that's why he led you to discover his den of iniquity that night. He finally got his revenge on you which is why he chose Sonya and me to be there, the two women you had dated up to that point."

"I knew the instant you saw me there with him that night that our relationship would never survive. I don't blame you for anything you've said or done. I deserve your disgust. That's the only reason I followed his directions in front of you. Without you, I had nothing else to live for, nothing. I contemplated suicide around that time but, with my parents' encouragement, continued with Tad until I became pregnant. I thought then that maybe he'd step up and take care of the mother of his child and his son. I was wrong. He wanted nothing to do with me after finding out. He tried to force an abortion but my faith wouldn't allow it. He vowed to make it his mission in life to destroy me and my parents if I ever tried to associate my baby with him in any way. I haven't heard from him since. I think he wanted to avoid a scandal. The birth certificate doesn't name the father."

"I swear on my life that every word I've just told you is 100% true. I know the truth doesn't change anything but I felt compelled to set the record straight. Wade, I will never love any other man nor ever be with anyone else intimately except you, ever again even if you no longer want me. I'll never betray you again as long as I live, no matter the consequences to me. You showed me what true courage was when you walked out of that office with a gun at your back. I will ALWAYS have your back, even unto death. There's NOTHING I won't do for you to get us back together, Wade, nothing."

"If I'm gonna be a whore in your eyes anyway, then I want to be YOUR whore exclusively. Fuck me, take me, and use me anyway you wish. Let me pleasure your body every time the urge strikes you. I am for you and only you. You are my ONLY reason to live. I know I've hurt and betrayed you, Wade. But now you know my reasons for saying and doing everything that I have done right up to this very minute. I'm not justifying what I've done but I wanted you to know that you're not the only victim here. Tad is pure evil and with his force of will, he has destroyed us both. I don't know if you can ever find it in your heart to forgive me but I want to leave you with this question. Has Tad proven that he can destroy both of us with the snap of his fingers? Have we given him the power over us to take away our future happiness? Is Tad really in control of our lives like he thinks he is?" More of her tears dripped onto the table.

Wade was moved by her soliloquy feeling both compassion and rage. Rage because she had been raped while she was his girl, on his watch and he had let her down; rage also because Tad had seemingly escaped unscathed; and rage because she had not told him of this until this moment. He wanted to explode and hurt somebody. But she'd already been hurt enough. He didn't want to add to her pain today but he needed some answers before he could make any decisions about the newfound information. He reined in his emotions and quelled his anger with the certain knowledge that Tad's debauchery would not go unpunished. But that was not the matter at hand. There was an enormous obstacle keeping them apart.

He took a deep breath and shook his head at her sudden revelations. They almost made his head spin. "Gloria, before I make any decisions, I need to know what your plans are concerning the baby. Are you going to keep him?"