Chapter 7: Out of Harm’s Way… For Now – Ristical Story

Previously on Ristical…

Xavier openly sides with Zerona…

… And Mayra is not impressed.

Zerona shows up…

… She finally expresses her hatred towards Ristica in a cruel fashion…

… And leaves Jamey tied up. Will he escape and save Ristica in time?

 

Chapter 7: Out of Harm’s Way… For Now

Warehouse at night

Jamey kept throwing his weight against the rail to break it off the ground and slide the rope off his hands. The rail wouldn’t budge.

Frustrated, he gave the rail several hard pushes. It swung back dangerously low and he almost fell with it. Shuffling his feet, he regained his balance and sat upright but the rail continued to break.

It was only after the whole rail broke completely that he remembered that Ristica was right below where it was going to land. Frantically he tried to catch the pieces but was too slow. He looked down at Ristica and saw that a large piece of the rail landed just inches from her head.

Jamey scurried to his feet and sprinted to the nearest path to the stairs, pushing through crates and jumping over barrels and dumpsters. His hands got blistered but all he could think of was getting to Ristica.

As Jamey got downstairs, he realized how exhausted he was. He had been up since early in the morning when he went to the hospital to see Mayra.

Jamey looked through the clutter and spotted the place where the rail fell but he couldn’t see Ristica. It was far across the room and there was no clear path but he climbed over whatever he could reach and squeezed through narrow spaces lined with the sharp edges of dumpsters and lockers.

With great effort, Jamey eventually found Ristica sprawled across the floor like a tiny bird with a mangled wing. Blood seeped out of her nose and mouth and her left leg was twisted awkwardly under her right leg.

Jamey carefully scooped her up into his arms and immediately began to look for a way out.

Meanwhile, Ristica was falling in and out of consciousness. She kept trying to say something but didn’t have the strength left to form the words.

“Just hang in there, Ristica.” Jamey coaxed her.

Behind a dumpster he saw a back door with a broken lock, kicked it open and headed out into the street with Ristica in his arms. She was still fighting to stay awake.

With Ristica heavy in his arms, he summoned the last of his energy to get back to the car. The car was a great distance away (he instantly regretted parking it so far away and deciding to walk) and he was exhausted but he knew that he could not give up for the sake of Ristica.

Jamey found his car which was parked on an empty spot of land. All four tires had been slashed and the letter ‘Z’ was scratched on a door.

Jamey unlocked the car and laid Ristica down in the backseat. He thoroughly searched the car for their cellphones, intending to call for help, but painfully discovered that they were missing.

Although it was extremely difficult, Jamey tried to stop panicking and think of another way to get help.

Suddenly, as if a solution had jumped in front of his eyes, he ran down the street to yet another grim-looking warehouse.

Jamey went up to its narrow metal door and began banging his fists on it and shouting like a mad man.

“Hello? Is anyone in there? Open up! Please! I know you’re in there, Andy. Come on!” He demanded.

It seemed that his efforts were in vain as not a peep was heard from behind the door. Jamey sunk to the ground, tired and hopeless. A single tear ran down his cheek.

There was silence for a long time and then, as if by magic, the door made a click and swung wide open. Still, there was no one there.

Jamey nervously stood up and cautiously went into the warehouse. It was very dark with not a single window and he couldn’t see a thing.

All of a sudden the door shut and a dim light flickered on. A bunch of burly men with knives and guns appeared out of the darkness and were all aiming at him.

The man known to Jamey as Andy Pickners stepped out of the darkness as well, unarmed. Andy was a young man but his stern face and its deep scars added years to his appearance.

Andy instantly recognized Jamey but was in no way pleased to see him.

“Jamey the rock star,” Andy blandly announced, “So you’ve come back to the Nightfall, huh? Didn’t you say that you were done with crooks like us?”

The men snarled at Jamey.

“Relax, gentlemen. I was only kidding.” He said casually.

“Andy, please, we can talk about that some other time. I need your help. There’s a girl in my car down the road. She’s badly injured and all the tires of my car have been slashed and needs to get to a hospital now!” Jamey emotionally explained.

“A girl?” Andy said with disgust, “You spent months avoiding this gang and then one night you return because of a girl? She must really be someone important.”

Jamey got down on his knees and begged, “Please, Andy. Just help me and I’ll do anything you want.”

Andy crouched down and looked at Jamey suspiciously.

Andy stood up and addressed his men, “Two of you can go find the girl and leave her in front of the hospital. Go quickly.”

Two men bolted out the door and Jamey stood up to go with them.

Jamey sighed in relief, “Thank you Andy. I-“

“Not so fast.” Andy said with smirk, rubbing his hands together, “You’re going to stay right here. The night has just begun, old friend.”

Xavier’s beach house, morning

Xavier was sitting in the bedroom at the coffee table, staring into the sea through the large windows of the room. A cup of coffee was on the table but he wasn’t interested in it.

The house-helper, Emelda, came up the stairs that led to the room. She was a mature woman with a motherly quality to her. Emelda had been working for the Murphy family for years and Xavier practically grew up with her.

Emelda, with a cloth in her hand, approached Xavier and noticed that the mug she had come to fetch was still full of coffee and still in the exact spot that she served it.

Emelda frowned, “Xavier, your coffee is getting cold.”

Xavier sighed, “You can have it, Emelda. In fact, take the rest of the morning off. You can continue your work in the afternoon.”

Xavier got up and went to the window and Emelda followed him. She knew that he would only stare out the window when he had a problem he didn’t know how to solve. Ironically, Mayra had taken up the same habit as him.

“You’re worried about Madam Mayra, aren’t you?” Emelda asked with great concern.

“You know she would throw a fit if she heard you calling her that.” Xavier replied.

Emelda fidgeted with the cloth in her hand as she often did when she was thinking of what to say.

“Just be honest with her. Speak from the heart, not from your idea of what is right or wrong.” Emelda warmly told him.

Xavier thought of his argument with Mayra and felt really awful for being so unreasonable with her because of some generation-old family relation.

Emelda lifted up the coffee mug and walked away.

“Thanks for the advice.” Xavier said as he watched her go down the stairs.

Just after Emelda left, Mayra appeared, still wearing the clothes she left in. The sadness of the previous night had left her face and all that remained was subtle anger.

Xavier looked at her and she looked at him too before she darted past him and speed-walked to the bathroom. Xavier dashed from the window and stood in her way before she got there.

“Where were you all night?” Xavier questioned her, “I’ve been so worried about you.”

Mayra shrugged, “I just drove around and… It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter.” Xavier complained, “May, we need to talk.”

Mayra frowned, “Xavier can’t this wait? All I need right now is a hot bath and some coffee.”

“No. This can’t wait any longer.” He demanded.

Mayra, too tired to argue, gave in and listened to him.

“Two years ago my father handed over the club to me,” Xavier began, “I gave it my all but I was failing. I was so ready to give up on that club and on myself but you kept on working with me and encouraging me, even though you were just a bartender at the time.”

Xavier gently held her hands, “Mayra, you made me believe in myself. A huge part of who I am today is because of you, because you’ve always been the one to see the good in what I see as nothing. I can live without Zerona but I can’t live without you.”

Mayra shook her head, “Xavier, Zerona is important to you and your family. What are you saying?”

Xavier grinned, “I’m saying that I’m choosing you.”

Mayra pulled Xavier into a tight embrace. A tear ran down her cheek, because of both her exhaustion and Xavier’s words.”

“I love you. “Mayra whispered.

Xavier chuckled at her change in behavior towards him, “I love you too Mayra. Now go take a nice long bath while I make us some breakfast.”

Mayra quickly pulled away from him and began to explain a very detailed list of what she wanted for breakfast. She was back to her old self.

Golrifison Memorial Hospital, afternoon

Another long, dreamless sleep had ended and Ristica was finally waking up. The room felt like it was spinning and the light from the windows was too bright. Ristica wanted to get up and pull the curtains closed but her whole body ached.

Sleeping in a chair beside her bed was Ice. Her face was free of makeup, her hair was down and uncombed and she was wearing a long top over her pajamas.

Ice had gotten out of bed and gone straight to the hospital after Jamey phoned her from a public phone and told her what happened to Ristica.

“Where… am I? What happened?” Ristica spoke weakly. She tried to sit up but felt a sharp pain travel through her leg that made her wince in pain.

Ice woke up suddenly and saw that Ristica was awake. She got up from her chair and approached Ristica but as she came closer, Ristica started to see Zerona’s face on Ice and gradually saw vivid memories of Zerona dragging her through the warehouse.

Ristica began to shriek and her body was shaking uncontrollably.

“Relax, Risti. You’re safe now. Nothing is going to hurt you.” Ice tried her best to calm her down, “Look at me… It’s me, Ice. You’re in a hospital right now but I promise you’re going to be okay. Please, relax.”

Ristica gradually settled down while Ice slumped back into the chair with a little bit of relief.

Ristica looked anxiously at Ice, “Where is Jamey? Is he…”

“I don’t know where he is.” Ice replied, “I last spoke to him when he told me that you were in an accident and then I spent the rest of the phone call scolding him for driving like a moron.”

“Accident?” Ristica asked with immense confusion.

“Yes, the car accident.” Ice confirmed, “I can’t believe Jamey just left you at the door of the hospital. I bet he went to check if his car is okay… And were you driving because he isn’t in a hospital bed right now and…”

Ice kept rambling on but Ristica stopped listening to her.

She kept trying hard to piece together her memories because Ice’s story didn’t make sense to her.

Ristica began to remember the docks and the sound of the sea waters crashing against the rocks. She remembered the warehouse, awkwardly unlatching her necklace from Jamey’s shirt before he kissed her and the night she spent with him.

The memories were all peaceful and even brought a smile to her face until she remembered Zerona’s voice, a hard floor and then darkness.

“Are you okay, Ristica?” Ice interrupted her remembering.

“He lied. He lied, Ice!” Ristica repeated with mounting anger as she realized what Jamey had done, “He lied to you to protect Zerona after everything that happened and then he just left me in front of the hospital and disappeared like a coward.”

Ice stared at her speechlessly, unable to understand what Jamey had lied about.

Ristica thought furiously, “I’ll never forgive you for this, Jamey. Never.”