False Security (7 page)

Rachel plopped
down on her bed. She hiked one leg up on the mattress, tugged at her shoelaces,
and pulled the shoe off. The shoe flew across the room, and hit the wall with a
bang.

As she battled a knot in the
shoelace of her other tennis shoe, Danielle appeared in the doorway holding a
half empty roll of cookie dough, her waitress apron tied around her waist. She
glanced at the shoe on the floor and frowned. “Bad day?”

Rachel gave up on the shoelace
and yanked the shoe off with a grunt. “You don’t know the half of it. All I
want to do is soak in a hot bath and forget I ever woke up this morning.”

Danielle walked over to the bed
and offered her the cookie dough. “What happened?”

Rachel scooped some dough onto
her finger. “We got a new one today. Sixteen years old,” she said. She placed
the dough in her mouth.

“Oh, no.”

Rachel chewed the chocolate
chips, and the dough melted on her tongue. “This is good. Exactly what I
needed,” she said. She swallowed the dough before she continued. “The girl
lives in Salina, but she was dating some guy who lives in a fraternity house
here. Her mom and dad hate the new boyfriend and the whole world is against
her.”

“Older guys sure are tantalizing
for teenagers,” Danielle said. “Some girls don’t realize their parents are
trying to protect them.”

“This girl’s parents knew
something was wrong with her boyfriend, but she couldn’t see it. She ran away
from home and came here to be closer to him. Two nights ago, she wound up in
the hospital. Seems frat boy gets a little mean when he’s been drinking. She
had a broken nose and cigarette burns on her abdomen.”

“Is she pressing charges?”

“She won’t even admit he did
it.”

“Let me guess,” Danielle said.
“She fell down the stairs and into an ashtray.”

“Subtract the ashtray and you
have her official story.”

“Why is it always the stairs?”

“She was patched up at the
hospital, but the doctor didn’t know who to release her to since she’s a minor.
Every time a cop came near her she screamed and fought back. She refused to
tell anyone her parents’ names or where she lived, so one of the doctors called
the shelter. Whoever went to see her convinced her to stay at least one night
at the shelter. After she got there, one of the counselors managed to get the
information out of her and her parents are coming down tomorrow to take her
home.”

“I’m not working at the shelter
again until Monday, so I guess I won’t get to meet her.” At the shelter,
Danielle provided support to incoming women as they adapted to their
surroundings. “I don’t understand how you handle being there day after day,
seeing the things you do. I have a hard enough time working there part-time. I
couldn’t stand being around the shelter as much as you. It would tear me up.”

“I wish I could say I’m used to
it,” Rachel said, “but I don’t ever want to get used to that. At least by the
time I’ve heard their stories, they’re already out of the situation. That’s
about the only thing that gets me through.”

“Yeah, but overall, you should
feel good about what you do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it. At least you
know if they go back or end up in another abusive relationship, they’re able to
defend themselves against an attack.”

“But I never want any of the
women to have to use what I teach them.”

Danielle sat down on the bed and
faced Rachel. “It’s not only the self-defense, Rach. You teach them so much
more than how to protect themselves. You teach courage, strength, confidence.
That’s everything you taught me, and it helped me get past what that bastard
did to me. You showed me how to look forward and not be a victim to my past.”

“I didn’t teach you those
things. I showed you where to find them in yourself. There’s a difference.” She
stood up and grabbed an elastic band off her bedside table. Pulling her hair up
in a ponytail, she said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload my day on you. I’m
going to do the bubble bath thing and then go over to the bookstore. Mark and I
are going to see a movie tonight and—”

Danielle gasped. “I almost
forgot!”

“What is it?”

“Come here.”

“Why?” Rachel asked.

“Do you have to question
everything? Just come here.”

Rachel followed her into the
kitchen. On the table, red roses surrounded by baby’s breath flowed from a
glass vase. “What are these?”

“They’re roses.”

“I know what they are, but where
did you get them?”

“They were delivered today.
They’re for you.”

Rachel stared at the flowers,
and rested her hands on the edge of the table. “Who delivered them?”

“Mark. He said he wanted you to
come home to something beautiful.”

Rachel flinched. “Why would he
bring me roses?”

“Well,” Danielle said, her tone
as if she was speaking to a child, “sometimes when a boy likes a girl, he’ll
send flowers. It’s what some people call ‘courting’ and it’s a well-recognized
and accepted practice.” Danielle sighed. “I’m so jealous.”

Rachel glanced at her, stunned
by the statement. Danielle jealous? Rachel thought she was the only one who
battled with envy in their friendship. Laughing, she asked, “Why are you
jealous?”

“Mark’s one of the good ones.”

The simple statement summed up
Danielle’s entire view of relationships. Good ones, bad ones. “Yes, he is,”
Rachel said. She looked back at the roses, taking in their exquisite beauty and
wondering what she had done to deserve them and him.

Scrutinizing Rachel’s
expression, Danielle asked, “Haven’t you gotten flowers before?”

“No,” Rachel said. She reached
out and stroked a petal on one of the roses, then withdrew her hand as if the
rose bit her. Her cheeks flushed and she fought a smile.

“You’re blushing!”

Rachel tried to hide her face
behind her hands. “I am not.”

“Your face is red and you tell
me you’re not blushing. We need to work on this chronic lying problem you have.
Repeat after me. You’re right, Danielle. I am blushing.”

Rachel lifted her eyes toward
the ceiling. “You’re right, Danielle. I am blushing. Are you satisfied?”

“A little. Now, I have to go to
work and you have a date. I’m going out after work, so don’t get worried like
you do. I want you to write, ‘I will not lie to Danielle ever again’ one
hundred times on the chalkboard before I get home and I’ll forgive you.”

“We don’t own a chalkboard,”
Rachel said.

Danielle took one last look at
the roses before heading toward the front door. “Definitely one of the good
ones,” she murmured.

“Name one real
girl that can take on a guy,” James said. “And those fake professional
wrestlers don’t count.”

Rachel bit her bottom lip in
frustration. She sat on the back of Mark’s truck bed behind the bookstore,
waiting for Mark to finish closing up for the night. She had arrived early,
hoping to get a few peaceful moments to herself.

Instead, James found her sitting
outside and lured her into a one-sided conversation. Rachel had welcomed the
opportunity to get to know James better, as he was Mark’s closest friend.
James, however, seemed to enjoy the chance to grill her on her ability to
defend herself. From his excited questions, she got the impression he had been
waiting a long time to bring up the topic.

James stood in front of her, his
eyes challenging her. “You can’t name any, can you?” he said, continuing the
debate he started when she arrived ten minutes earlier. “See, those
self-defense classes don’t work in real life. In the movies, maybe, but not in
real life.”

Mark came through the backdoor
of the bookstore, saving her from having to choose a patient response. “You
guys should have come in,” he said.

“That’s okay,” Rachel said,
hopping off the truck bed. “We kept ourselves entertained.”

James grunted in agreement.

“Weren’t you going home?” Mark
asked James.

“I was, but then Rachel walked
up as I was leaving. We were having a discussion.”

Rachel glared at him. “More like
a disagreement.”

Mark laughed. “I’m not sure I
want to know, but tell me anyway.”

“I don’t get how a little girl
like Rachel is supposed to defend herself against an attacker,” James said.

“Little girl?” Rachel said. “I
thought you said you didn’t want to offend me.”

“Well, you’re what? Five feet
tall and 90 pounds?”

“You’re way off in your guessing
skills,” Rachel said.

James ignored her remarks. “So
what if a guy was three times as big as you?” he asked, turning to face her.
“How could you defend yourself?”

“If a man was triple my size,
I’m inclined to think he couldn’t run faster than me.”

“I don’t think those
self-defense classes are any good. They teach a girl to fight back when there’s
no way she can win. She’ll get herself hurt even more.”

“Oh, really?” Rachel smirked and
pointed to the grass between the parking lot and the street. “Why don’t we go
over there and I’ll show you how it works.”

“Oh no. There’s no way I’m going
to fight you.”

“Why not?”

“I’m like a hundred and eighty
pounds heavier and twelve inches taller than you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Again, a massive exaggeration.
But don’t worry, you won’t hurt me. If you accidentally do, I won’t hold it
against you.”

“I’ll hold it against him,” Mark
said.

“Mark won’t hold it against you,
either,” Rachel said.

“It doesn’t seem right,” James
said. “I’d feel bad if I hurt you.”

“Then let’s make it
interesting,” Rachel said, grinning. “Say, a hundred dollars.”

His eyes widened. “A bet?”

“Sure.”

“A hundred dollars is a lot of
money.”

“That’s what you get if you
win.”

“And what do you get?”

“An apology.” She smiled before
adding, “And the knowledge of your utter humiliation because you were taken
down by a ‘little girl.’”

James extended his hand and they
shook on it. “I sure could use a hundred dollars,” he said. He strolled onto
the grass.

“Rachel,” Mark said, “this is
crazy.”

“No, he’s crazy, and he needs to
learn,” she said. She moved onto the grass until she stood about five feet in
front of James. She spread her feet into a comfortable stance and bent her
knees to center herself in preparation for his attack.

“Okay,” James said. “What should
I do?”

“Attack me.”

“Man, I wish more women would
say that to me.”

“James,” Mark warned.

James looked at Mark. “Sorry,
but she’s the one who said it.” He turned back to Rachel. “How do I attack
you?”

“Do you think if a man is going
to attack a woman in an alley at night, he’s going to ask her how to do it
first?”

He laughed. “I guess it does
sound a little stupid.”

“Hurry up,” Mark said. “I don’t
want a cop to drive by. The last thing we need is to get arrested because of a
bet.”

James stared at Rachel for a
moment. “I don’t know. There’s a lot of pressure with you and Mark staring at me.
I don’t think I can do it.”

Rachel shrugged. “Your call,”
she said. She turned around and started walking toward Mark, knowing James was
bluffing.

His footsteps closed in behind
her, as she expected. As soon as he grabbed her shoulder, she reached around
and locked his arm up with hers. She tightened her grip and turned sideways
toward him. Her knee jerked up and landed in his stomach, but she restrained
the impact so as not to hurt him too much.

Rachel loosened her grip on his
arm, and he doubled over. She twisted his arm up and behind his back, forcing
him to stand up straight. She swept her foot in front of his legs and pushed
him facedown to the ground. James landed hard and groaned.

She crouched beside him and put
her knee into the small of his back, using her weight to hold him down. “And
just like that, you’re on the ground and I’m not even out of breath.”

James gasped for air between his
words. “Let me up.”

Rachel ignored him. “The element
of surprise was pretty good,” she said, “but do you want to know what your
biggest mistake was?”

“What?”

She smiled. “You called me a
little girl. Now apologize.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Can I get
up now?”

She got to her feet and joined a
wide-eyed Mark at his truck. James stood up, dusted himself off, and walked toward
them. When he passed by, he pointed at Mark. “Don’t you even think about
telling anyone about this,” he said.

Mark laughed as soon as James
left. “That was great.”

“He had to learn somehow he
shouldn’t underestimate all of us little girls.”

Mark looked at her in amazement.
“I guess I always knew you could do that, but it’s still strange seeing it.” He
paused and his stare became inquisitive. “You could beat me up, couldn’t you?”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t even
try.”

“What if we got in an argument?
You could do some damage.”

“Don’t worry. I only use my
powers for good.”

“What a relief.”

“Besides, it’s not like I’m
stronger than you, or even James, for that matter. I just know how to use what
strength I have to defeat my opponent.”

“That salvages some of my ego.
When did you learn to do what you did to James?”

“I started going to a gym after
my parents died. It was good for me to take my frustrations out on a punching
bag or by lifting weights and sparring with others.” She grabbed Mark’s hand.
“The strangest thing happened to me today. Some misguided flower delivery man
delivered roses to our house by mistake. We have some girl’s flowers in our
kitchen.”

Mark smiled. “That poor girl. I
bet she would have liked getting them.”

“Probably. They’re beautiful.”

“I suppose you’ll have to take
good care of them for her.”

“I will. No one has ever given
me flowers before.” Rachel didn’t know why she spoke the words, but couldn’t
stop them from leaving her mouth.

“Ever?” Mark asked.

“Never.”

“If I had known that, I would
have made sure you had them every night since the day we met. It’s shameful you
had to wait so long to get flowers.”

Rachel shrugged. “But it makes
getting them for the first time that much better.” She let go of his hand, took
a few steps forward, and gazed up at the sky. “It’s an incredible night. I
think I can see every star.”

Mark stepped up behind her and
wrapped his arms around her waist. “Why don’t we skip the movie tonight?”

She twisted her head and
frowned. “I was looking forward to seeing this one.”

“We can see it another time.”

“Every time we make plans, we
never end up doing what we say we’re going to do,” Rachel said with a laugh.
“What do you propose we do instead of seeing a movie?”

“Come here.” He led her back
onto the lush grass behind the small parking lot and pulled her down with him.
She sat in between his legs and relaxed against him. He waved his hand at the
sky. “I say we sit here and watch this movie,” he said.

“What kind of movie is that?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s a chick
flick.”

“Then this must be the part of
the movie where you identify all the constellations,” she said.

He paused. “I think that happens
in the sequel.”

She laughed. “What if I don’t
like the movie?”

“Oh, but ma’am, satisfaction is
guaranteed in this theater.”

“And what if I’m not satisfied?”
she asked.

“Well, then I’d have to find a
way to make it up to you. Like maybe a candlelight dinner or a midnight stroll
through the park.” He brushed her hair back and kissed her face, lingering at
the top of her neck. “Or maybe I’ll pick you up some Saturday morning and we
can take a little road trip, find a hideaway for the weekend.”

She bit her bottom lip and tried
to ignore the sensations he created with both his mouth and his words. “Hmm,
those all sound great, but there’s one problem. I like this movie.”

“That’s okay. We can still do
all those other things.”

“Promise?” Rachel asked.

“I promise,” Mark whispered.

Rachel smiled. Everything he
said sounded so perfect that tonight, just for tonight, she would pretend all
of it could happen for them. Later, when she sat alone with her paranoia and
her gun on her back porch, she could return to the reality that they would not
be together for much longer. Rachel closed her eyes and tuned out her thoughts,
imagining a world where she could stay with him forever.