Red As Love

We had open mic and karaoke every Friday night. People sang, performed stand up, or played an instrument. The event started at 9:00 PM. and went until midnight.

Saturday nights we had live local bands and dance. Most of them were good, some of them sucked. A very few were surprisingly good.

A couple of months later, we had to hire another waitress to help Mary service the crowd without having to wait a long time. Tony got some more help in the kitchen too.

Once we broke even, I remodeled the upstairs bedrooms, left the farm and settled in the restaurant.

One night after closing, Tony approached me. "Red, I wanted to ask you something. I want you to be honest with me." He said in a serious tone of voice.

"Okay. I'm listening." I looked at him with a confused expression on my face. It wasn't like him not to get straight to the point.

"You know so far I've been living in the bed and breakfast..."

"I know. Go on."

"Well... I wanted to ask you if you would mind if I live here in one of the free bedrooms."

"Sure, why would I mind? Half of the place is yours. I thought you preferred your privacy."

"Well, it's not a secret in town that I'm gay."

"So?"

"Well, two guys, one of them gay, living under the same roof.... People might talk. I don't want to ruin your reputation." Tony said but only half-jokingly.

"This is Middletown, the idlers will always gossip no matter what you do."

He opened his mouth to keep talking, but I was faster.

"Tony, I hear what you're saying. It's really nice of you to care about my reputation, but I don't care about what people might eventually say. I never did. You know I'm straight. The fact we have different flavors is not a problem at all for me."

Tony had always been very discreet about his personal life, and he had kept his nose out of mine too.

He was visibly moved by my words. "Thank you, Red. I already considered you a great business partner, but now I'm proud to call you my friend."

"Don't get too emotional with me, because I'm not going to hug y..."

My sentence was interrupted by a distant high-pitched scream.

At first, I didn't think anything of it. This was a small town. Nothing serious ever happened here, especially not after midnight. Then I heard it again.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Tony.

"Hear what?"

"Can't you hear the screaming?"

Tony opened his mouth to insist that I explained, but paused.

Then we both heard clearly panicked shrieks coming from outside.

"I was concentrating so hard on what we were talking about that I must have blocked it out. I'm hearing it now," Tony said.

They were desperate, bloodcurdling screams that couldn't be ignored; nor could the cruel male laughter that nearly drowned it out.

"Call 911. I'll go out to see if I can place where the screams are coming from." I told Tony.

Once I was outside, I heard another cry, more desperate than the first.

A shiver of unease crept up my spine as I became aware that some girl was being assaulted or worse. I moved fast. Tony came behind me with his phone in his hand. As we approached, we heard something like a struggle going on in a nearby alley. That left no doubt.

"Get off me, you sick drunken bastard! I'm your daughter!" a girl was yelling.

Then it came, the cold-hearted bellow of an angry man, "Shut the fuck up, you're nothing but a slut!"

That left me no doubt that a girl was being assaulted and battered by a man. I strained to see into the dimly lit area, but to no avail. Again, the shrieking pleading came, but this time with a thudding sound which sounded like someone being hit.

No matter how severe the consequences of getting involved might be, I just could not bring myself to ignore a girl's plea for help.

"Fuckin' bitch," the man slurred. "Now that your mother is gone, you'll take her place. I have debts to pay."

I made my way towards the voices and movements. They were in the distant, dark part of the alley. I could make out a man bent over a girl. Even through the distance and dimness of the light, I could see that the girl was about my age. She was laying on a car's hood. An older, much bigger man was clumsily trying to hold her legs open while he laid on her. She was kicking and screaming.

I felt compelled to do something.

"Get off her, you son of a bitch!" I growled.

The man paused his rape attempt to look at me. His eyes widened larger and larger as I charged towards him, gaining more speed. My shoulder hit his side, pushing him away. Before he could recover, I grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed my knee into his groin. Once. Twice. Three times. His pants were down, so I hit him straight in the nuts.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tony helping the girl. She tried to get up on her own and almost fell back down, but Tony grabbed her arm and steadied her balance.

Reflexively, she jerked her arm from his grasp.

"You like raping girls, you sick pervert?" I hit the guy in the face as hard as I could.

I heard the sound of a police car siren coming closer.

I kept beating the bastard till the officers took me away from him.

"Easy, Red. We got this." Bert Thomas said. He was an old cop who knew everyone in town. He had been a policeman since I was a kid. He dropped by 'The Jammed' for a piece of cheesecake every day.

The young deputy cuffed the bastard.

"Remember, arrest, charge, rights. Okay?" Bert told his deputy.

"I know, chief. I'm not a rookie." He cuffed the bastard and put him inside the squad car.

"This son of a bitch was trying to rape her!" I told him a bit too loud.

"Easy, son. Calm down," Bert told me. "You already did your part, now let me do mine."

"I'm okay, Bert. I'm okay," I said, raising my bloody hands and breathing fast. My knuckles hurt.

"Are you alright, Miss? Can you tell me your name?" Bert asked looking at the girl. She looked as if she was in shock. Her eyes were tightly shut in agony. Her clothes were almost torn off. She had a broken lip, swollen cheek and bruises over her body. Even so

I recognized her.

"Kat?"

The sound of her name made her pause her sobs. She brought her teary eyes into focus on me.

"Red? Oh my God, Red. It's you!" She said with surprise, relief coursing through her.

I opened my arms and hugged her softly. She hid her face in my chest and cried her heart out.

In the meantime, Tony explained to Bert what had happened.

"We heard screaming and ran here to see what was happening. This man was beating and trying to rape this girl." The young officer was taking notes and nodding.

Then, the ambulance arrived, all flashing lights and wailing sirens.

"Are you the Davies girl?" Bert asked.

The petrified look in Kat's eyes slowly relaxed.

"Yes, I am. Katherine Davies," she answered in a hoarse voice.

The tears just kept coming until she began to hyperventilate.

"Just breathe slowly," the paramedic suggested. "There's no rush, just take it easy."

Kat started to take deep breaths which seemed to help calm her down.

"I came back to check on my mother because I haven't had news from her in weeks. The trailer door wasn't locked so I went inside. Unfortunately my father came back while I was doing my search. He hit me and I ran away. He ran after me and caught me here. I thought I was going to die." She started sobbing again.

I was holding her hand and comforting her.

"We're taking you to the health center." The paramedic said. Then, looking at me he added, "You can follow us there, Red."

"I'll go to pick up my truck. Are you alright, Kat?" I asked softly.

"I'm all right, I'm all right," she repeated exhausted, trying desperately to collect her thoughts.

"I'll ride with her in the ambulance," Tony said to me.

"Good idea. See you at the health center."

CHAPTER 9

When I arrived, the doctor was treating Kat for her injuries. Bert had asked him to perform a rape-kit on her too.

Tony was talking with Bert in the waiting area. He assured us that Kat's father was going to spend a long time recovering and that he surely would go to prison.

"This is Middletown's first major crime in years." The old sheriff shook his head in disbelief. "You can all come tomorrow morning to the station to sign the written statements."

"We will, Bert." I assured him.

"Give my regards to your father when you see him, boy." He said before leaving.

"I'll tell my father you said hi, Bert. Thank you."

When they finally released Kat, she looked like a beaten dog begging for scraps from the table.

"Thank you. Thank you both of you," she muttered, embarrassed when her voice came out raspy.

"How do you feel?" I asked her, passing an arm around her waist to help her to walk out of the center.

"I think every inch of me is bruised, but at least he didn't rape me, thanks to you."

"It was a terrible experience, Kat, but it's over." We walked out of the health center and helped her into my truck.

"I think we were not properly introduced. I am Tony, Red's partner," he said, introducing himself.

"Partner?" Kat looked at me with a confused look on her face.

I rolled my eyes.

"He meant business partner. We run a restaurant together." I explained.

"Oh, okay. Nice to meet you, Tony." Kat shook Tony's hand gently. "Thanks for coming to the rescue."

"The real hero is your friend. I just called 911. You two know each other?" Tony asked, looking at Kat and then at me.

"Yes, we do. We have known each other since we were kids." I explained. I started the truck and we moved very slowly down the road. "Then I left for college and lost track of her. Or better said, she lost track of me..." I looked at Kat and asked, "What happened to you? Why did you stop answering my emails and change your phone number?"

She gently bit her lower lip as she stared at me. "It had nothing to do with you, Red, but my monstrous father. While I was in high-school I had been putting whatever money I could to the side. As soon as I was eighteen, I ran out of the house. Well, the trailer. Dad's abuse was getting worse. Mom had started drinking heavily too." A shiver went through her body.

"I got some minor jobs in the city, but nothing steady. Money was tight and my phone plan was cancelled. There were days when I didn't have enough to eat." She gulped hard.

I suspected that there were things that Kat wasn't saying. Was she embarrassed about her circumstances? Did she think I would come to her rescue if she told me what was going on with her life? One thing was sure: this wasn't the moment to have this conversation.

I looked at Tony, and he looked back at me. There was no need for words. He gave me a barely perceptive nod.

Kat continued explaining, "I had people checking on mom. I was worried for her. So when a neighbor told me she hadn't seen her or heard from her in weeks, I decided to come back to Middletown and check on her. I came after work. No one answered my knocks, so I entered the trailer looking for clues about my mother's fate. I supposed my father would be drinking or gambling, but he must have had a bad night because he surprised me snooping around. He hit me on the cheek and I pushed him away and ran... He ran after me and... well, you know the rest of the story."

"I hope they lock him up and forget where they put the key!" Tony exclaimed with vehemence.

"I hope it too. My father is a gambler. There was never enough money to pay his debts and feed mom and me. He would often give my mother sexually to those he owed money to in order to meet their demands for payment of his debts. I'm pretty sure he had the same sick plans for me." Kat said with a shiver.

"Did you find what happened to your mother?" I asked.

Kat shook her head. "I'm afraid she might be dead. He kept saying she was gone. I doubt she left him."

"Did you tell the police?" Tony asked.

"Yes, they are going to question him about that and check around, looking for her."

Kat remained silent, and I honestly didn't know what to say. Tony took Kat's hands in his and patted them.

Fifteen minutes later, we were back at 'The Jammed'. Tony went to the kitchen and came back minutes later with a bowl and set it out in front of Kat. The bowl held a beef soup, hearty and thick, with potatoes, carrots, turnip, and homemade noodles. The most delicious aroma was coming from it.

I had settled in the chair across from her, a cup of tea in hand.

Tony said cheerfully. "Eat it while the soup is hot."

She scooped up a spoonful of the fragrant meal and raised it to her lips for a tentative taste.

"This is delicious!" she dug in with enthusiasm.

"I'm pleased you're enjoying my cooking, but you look like you haven't eaten in a while. Your stomach may not be able to handle too much too fast." Tony suggested.

Kat grimaced, but set her spoon down for a moment to allow her food to settle.

"Kat?"

"Hmmm?" she glanced at me in question.

"What are your plans?" I asked, sipping my tea.

She sighed, fighting the tears. "I have no idea. My life is a mess as usual. The happiest time of my life was when we were together."

Tony raised an eyebrow and looked at me, waiting for an explanation.

I mouthed him, 'later'.

"I have no steady job. I never graduated from high-school. I have ten dollars in my pocket, and I'm sleeping in a women's shelter. I hitchhiked my way here to save money. If my father had killed me tonight, no one would have missed me."

She started crying again.

"You are welcome to stay with us while you recover." I offered. "Then you can go back to your life, or you can work here with us. Mary has been complaining that we need to hire another waitress."

"Who's Mary?" She asked, looking at me.

"Our head waitress," I told her. "She has a daughter and she's dating a welder named Paul."

Once Kat finished eating her soup, I helped her climb upstairs and showed her one of the empty rooms. "You can live with us for as long as you want."

She looked at me, her cheeks blushed. "I'm sore, weak, and I need a shower badly."

"The doctor said only time is going to help with the bruises and the swollen parts," I said. "But we can do something about the shower. Can you walk on your own, or shall I help you?"

"I'm not very steady on my feet, and I don't want to slip in the shower and add to the bruises and bumps I already have."

"You need help?"

She nodded. "I don't think I can manage to shower on my own." When she saw my hesitation she added, "You've seen me naked before."

"Come on," I said, guiding her to my own bathroom. I turned on the water allowing it to heat up. Within moments, I took off all my clothes except my boxers.

Then I helped Kat strip out of her clothes carefully. Some movements caused her pain. She exhibited marks of considerable violence. Her body was covered with bruises, her back, stomach, legs, and arms. There were also bruises on the groin area. Her left temple was swollen, and she had a cut on the right cheek.

She had become so thin I could see her ribs and shrunken muscles.

"You don't have to tell me I look ugly. I know it very well."

"It's not that bad. Tony's food will make you stronger and put some meat on your bones. He's convinced a bowl of pasta can solve all your problems."

Kat smiled at me. "Thank you for doing this for me, Red."

I carefully washed her, avoiding touching the most painful spots. "That's what friends are for."

After showering, I lent her one of my shirts to use as a nightgown.

"We'll find some clothes for you to wear in the morning," I told her.

She looked at me, biting her lower lip. "I'm scared, can I sleep with you tonight? I need to be held."

"Yes, of course you can." I replied kissing the top of her head.

We lay together in bed. I stroked Kat's hair, thanking God that I had found her. My arms tightened around her, accidentally eliciting a groan from her lips, having inadvertently touched some painful spot on her body. I cursed, angry at myself for causing her pain.

She rested her head on my chest. It felt like old times. Kat must have felt the same way because she said, "Remember when we were like this at the willow tree? We used to talk about everything and nothing, all at the same time."

"Of course, I do." I kissed her temple.

"Thank you for letting me stay here with you. I don't want to be alone tonight. I feel safe with you."

"Please, Kat, there is no need to thank me. It's the least I can do for an old friend in need." I said quietly. "We should get some rest now."

She brushed her lips against mine. "Thank you, Red. You're the best friend I could wish for."

She took a painkiller, and before long, she was sound asleep.

CHAPTER 10

I don't know how Kat managed to get some sleep that night, but she did. The painkiller helped her for sure. Also the fact that she was physically and emotionally exhausted.

I woke up early as usual. Old habits die hard. I was used to waking up with the sunrise.

I got out of bed slowly, to avoid waking her up. I decided not to go out for my usual run.

Tony was already making breakfast. He was an early bird too.

"How is she?" He asked, looking at me.

"She's as good as she can be, considering."

"She slept in your room last night?"

"Yes, she did. She didn't want to be alone."

Tony nodded, placing a cup of coffee in front of me.

"You and Kat were more than friends." It wasn't a question.

"When did my love life become your business?" I asked, smiling while taking a sip.

"I couldn't care less about your love life. I'm thinking about that poor girl's wellbeing."

"What do you mean?" I frowned at him.

"She grew up with an abusive father. Trust doesn't come easy for her."

"We were good friends. I think I was the only person she opened up to."

"Be careful not to jump into a relationship with her before she works out her issues. You'll probably be tested continuously. She might expect you to let her down, so she'll put barriers in the way and put you in situations where loyalty is more like a duty than a choice."

I scratched the back of my head. "Do you really think so? We were really close back then. She even said she loved me before I went to college."

"Wait and see, young padawan."

I groaned.

"Kat is going to need clothes. I thought about calling Mary and ask her to lend her some outfits." I said, changing the subject.

"Good idea. I'm making her breakfast." He went back to the kitchen.

I called Mary and gave her a brief account of the situation. As usual, she was happy to help. Paul, Mary's boyfriend, brought a bag with clothes to the restaurant before dropping Sabrina off at school.

"I thought about bringing her breakfast to bed." Tony said to me once Paul left.

"Sounds good to me," I said and followed him upstairs.

I gently knocked on my bedroom door.

"Kat? Are you awake? Are you presentable? Tony is here with me."

"I am. Come on in," she invited us inside.

"Good morning, Kat. We thought about bringing you breakfast." Tony's cheerful voice greeted her.

"Thank you, guys. You're sweet. There was no need."

"Well, it's a welcome gesture to our 'ohana'," Tony said setting the tray down on the night table. "We like having you here with us."

Kat let out a cry of pain as she pulled herself up. She took a toast from the tray and gave it a small bite.

I rolled my eyes. "You really need to stop quoting Disney movies, Tony. Kat probably doesn't know what 'ohana' means."

"It means family. It's from Lilo and Stitch," Kat said with her mouth full.

Tony clapped. "Bravo. Our family is little and broken but still good." He said, probably quoting a movie again. "And you are welcome to join us.

"Awwwww, 'mahalo', Tony. That's so sweet of you."

"I know. I'm a sweet guy," he replied with a smile.

Kat laughed, but suddenly stopped and grabbed her side.