Saturday, June 11, 2011

Gretel laughed as she left a dark expression on her face. The tension in her face said it all. She had a clenched jaw,  an intense eye contact with me, and her furrowed brows scared me a bit. It appeared as if she was ready to attack me at any second. What Gretel told me was hard to swallow, and it left a bad aftertaste in my mouth.

But I didn't have any choice.  I had to hear it, since I was still tied down in this stupid creaky, old chair.

***************

"Honey, you should really take a look at your facial expression and know you are only kidding yourself.  You know you want him, and he wants you," she announced with pleasure.

No! No!  This is so wrong!  I have to stop smirking at the mention of his name.  My cheek bones were causing my tender dimples to reappear.  Gretel was not going to let this go anytime soon, was she?  She's so infuriating!!!

Owen was the reason why my sister was dead.  Unfortunately, I also felt he was probably responsible for Robin's death since he was the designated driver that miraculously was saved! 

Doesn't Owen have any shame for what he did?  

He broke my heart and I can't forgive him!

It's been five years since that depressing catastrophe, but could I face him now?  Could I trust him again?  How can I love someone who is so ... so aggravating? 

 It's as if two halves of a heart can't make up their mind.

Gretel was trying to entice me here to admit my feelings for him, but why?  It's not any of her business.

But, she answered my question right away.

"It's because I am so jealous of you!  You and your siblings always got what you wanted, but my brother and I didn't have anybody to take care of us when we were young.  I might have been very popular in high school, but I worked for it.  Everyone knew your name.  Marlene this, Marlene that.  Ugh!!!  You ... you military brat!!!  Now that your parents and sister are gone, both my brother & I have planned this attack on you and your boy toy in exchange for ransom!"

It's as if she read my confused face.  I didn't have to mention a word to her and my questions were quickly answered.

But the mention of high school drew me back into my inner thoughts.  People only talked about me then since both of my older siblings were alums of that school.  I wasn't really anybody important.  Didn't play sports.  I wasn't even in the cheerleading squad like Gretel.  Didn't  even want to join a club.  I just had Paige and Robinaire as friends.  Oh, and of course pesky and clever, Owen, who wouldn't leave me alone.  And yes, I assume I was a tease back then, even though my zany heart did not want to reveal my true feelings.

I closed my eyes tightly, since these issues were hard for me to accept.

Breathe in, Breath out.  Breathe in, Breath out.

I opened my eyes once again and decided to interrogate her.

 "How does Chino fit into this?" I asked.

She laughed loudly like a provoking witch.

"We lured the bartender to be part of our plan.  We promised him fifty percent of the money we will be receiving.  Plus he is quite alluring and attractive, isn't he?"  She smiled and continued on with her lecture.

I have to disagree with that last statement, because there was only one good-looking dimwit for me that really caught my eye, and he was sitting right behind me.  His hands were still caressing mine and I admit I was enjoying it.

Now it's coming together now.  I was such a fool to even set foot in that bar.  I thought going there would take my problems away. 

But if that episode never happened, I would never have met my old lover again!

***************

Gretel continued on with her dialogue.

 "Therefore, you were an easy target to be bamboozled in the bar, I'm afraid he's not the bartender you intended him to be, Marlene.  I thought you might be able to trust him the first time; but you didn't fall for it, so we had to go ahead with plan B."

Hmm ... bamboozled?  That's a funny way of putting it - I was lured into a cunning conspiracy.

"And what was plan 'A' about anyway?"  I asked in curiosity as I raised my eyebrows.

"Chino was going to put a sleeping pill in your margarita, but he didn't have the nerve to do that.  We punished him for a while in the backroom while you were sleeping, and asked him to follow you discretely when you drove home.  We kept your lover boy in the back room and my brother knocked him out," she explained.

I smirked a bit because it just seemed that Chino was the wrong person they picked to be their decoy, since he seemed so innocent.

"And was that the reason why Owen called out my name before I left?"

But before she could respond to my question, the door opened.  A blonde man walked right in. 

I suppose this was Gretel's brother, since they almost looked alike.

This person came in with a bucket of ice and a towel.  He walked towards me and analyzed how bruised my face was.

Um... what's happening here?  Who does he think he is, some kind of doctor?

This man put his filthy hands upon me.  Ugh!!!

I had to spit at him in my disgust.

He got furious, wiped off the wet saliva and touched his face.

A hand was about to slap me on my face, until Gretel prevented it from happening.  I hate to admit it, but I had to thank her for that!

However, she gave me this vital warning.

"Careful Marlene, on what you do.  My brother was just trying to feel your bruises and how damaged they were.  You don't want to annoy 'the boss' do you?"

I nodded my head no.  So her brother, Bryan, was 'the boss'; the man who helped Chino carry me into their van. The man who ...

Suddenly, he firmly spoke up.

"Yes, it is me, Marlene.  I'm "the boss" around here besides my sister.  So what I say goes!  You understand me???"

 I nodded immediately.

"Yes, boss! "

I was afraid of his rage more than when Joshua gets annoyed with me.  The boss's bushy eyebrows and lanky physique hovered over me.  It looked so weird as if he hadn't groomed himself lately.

He continued on by saying, "I brought you a bucket of ice and a towel.  If you don't want me to touch you, just say so Missy!  Don't you EVER ... EVER spit at me again.  YOU GOT THAT?"  

I nodded yes so many times, that I obtained a neck sore.

"I'll now cut the plastic tie around your hands, Marlene."

I just kept quiet, praying that he would release the tie fold holding my hands together.

"Very well ... Marlene."

Huh? He remembered my name?

"Yes, I know your name.  Remember when we met when we were young?  And your Uncle Felix pretended that he loved his step-children, which is a bunch of baloney!  He wasn't any better than my real father who used to beat us up.  Felix left my mom for another woman and I believe Gretel has told you the rest of the story... your sister also told me so much about you and your brother."

Like his sister, Bryan could read my mind like the words were written upon my forehead. 

Wait!  He knew a lot about my sister?  How can that be?

"You must be wondering why I knew Moira very well.  We met when she was in college and I was attending the nearby community adult school.  She fell for me, but when Moira learned we were distant cousins, she stirred away for ... for that scoundrel."  His hands pointed to beaten up Owen.

What???  Moira didn't even bother to let me know about this.  Goes to show how she trusted me.  So, that was why she was so eager to go to college on the first day of class.

I bet he was the one who beat poor Owen up as well.

***************

The Blanchet siblings left me alone once Bryan slashed the plastic ties with a knife, which once bounded my hands together. 

But once again the darkness set in, so I had to feel for where the certain items were situated.

I wish I had Moira's pocket knife with me as well, to cut the tightrope hindering my legs from bulging; but unfortunately, it sank to the bottom of the ocean floor when the coast guard picked me up. Apparently my pocket had a hole in it and I figure the knife fell through it.

I took the bucket of ice which was placed next to my side, and wrapped some ice on the towel.  As I touched it, my hands felt the freezing ice cubes and melted water. It was ice-cold, but just the right temperature.  I think "The Boss" and his sister had sexual plans for me on how to use this thingamabob, but I'm not going to fall for it. 

It's not me!  I'm not that indecent!

I placed the towel on my face and arms.  As the ice touched my face, I felt the cool liquid drip along my body that got bruised.  It felt so icy, but refreshing and I did feel aroused when I remembered the guy behind my back. 

Why didn't they free him too?   What was this sick plan they were making me do?

But, I knew I couldn't wait for Owen to answer me, he was probably aching for someone to help him as well. 

I also wondered if Owen could even talk now, since his bruises and scars should have healed after our ordeal a few days ago. 

So, I spoke to him since 'curiosity killed the cat'.

"Owen, can you hear me?"

I heard a faint murmur come about.

Hmm...

"Owen, this is Marlene.  Please talk to me."

This time I heard a loud sigh.

Sigh!

"Owen, do...do you want some of the ice they gave me?"

Finally, I heard his answer.

"Yes, Mae."

So, now I knew his lips weren't covered by masking tape. He could've fooled me all day, if I didn't talk to him. But how was that possible? Did the culprits somehow take it off before I even knew about it?

Even though I couldn't actually turn around, I put the towel of ice on his back to the best of my ability.  I cooled his body with the cold reliever wherever my arm could reach. 

As I felt his warm abdomen, it made me smile. 

I couldn't help, but laugh. 

And I'm sure he heard it too.

It reminded me of how he would chase me down in our younger years.  Owen and I would exchange letters during class, and he even took me bowling one day to cheer me up. 

My sister who had everything was just in the way.  Why couldn't she find her own man?  She ruined it – whatever my broken heart desired.  But she was family, I couldn't compete with that!  I wanted Moira to be happy too, no matter how it affected me.  

But he was once my sunshine, and I was his rosebud.

I need to pay more attention to what I was doing, so continuing on with my 'dirty' thoughts about him just had to wait.

"Does that feel good Owen?"

He murmured the word yes.

I couldn't believe that he was talking to me again.  Since we parted ways after so many years, I thought he wouldn't ever forgive me for what I said. 

Joshua told me it was best for me to forget about him; but in truth, I'm glad that Owen came back to me.  Perhaps we were always meant to be together, despite how my heart rejects him. 

Love and hate has always had a magical transforming power between us. It's like Owen left a beautiful scar embedded in between my sister and me. And it's possible that we are stuck like glue.