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“Gerald owes me money too, so why would I lie to you?” Aubree tried to reason with the man as best she could, but this was the devil; there was no reasoning with him.
“If you want your money, then you need to find your boy because I am not paying for another one of his “business dealings” with you. How much does he owe you?”
The devil was shaking his head with a sly grin on his face. “You know your man loved the finer ways of life, so he keeps a high dollar tab, but I need to add a little interest, so he owes me $550,000.” Aubree just stared at him not saying a word. Mario looked at Aubree with lust in his eyes. He had always wanted Aubree and had joked about Gerald letting him have her for one night. But that was one thing Gerald didn’t play about, was any man touching Aubree. Mario touching Aubree was a solid Hell No!
“If I don’t get my money…” Leering at her, the devil moved closer, forcing her to move back until her back hit the car and pinned her in. He rubbed his hand up the inside of her thigh until he reached her center and cupped her between her legs. “This sweet, little fat pussy is going to make me my money back.” Aubree tried to push him off her, but he was too strong.
“Maybe we should sample the product before I put it on the market,” he laughed with Tone as he continued to rub Aubree between her legs. Aubree grabbed his wrist and dug her nails into his skin. He hollered out releasing his hold on her, but before she could move, he slapped Aubree across the face. The force of his blow knocked Aubree to the ground.
“Bitch, I don’t get my money, I’ma fuck you myself just to bust you wide open and let my boys have at you. We gon’ take that shit live for the world to see, bitch.”
Aubree laid motionless on the ground waiting for Mario and his spawn to leave. Aubree heard their footsteps as they walked to Mario’s car. Aubree waited until she saw his car leave the lot before grabbing her bags and jumping in her car. Backing out of the parking space so fast, Aubree barely missed hitting the light post as she burned rubber getting off the street. Aubree ran just about every traffic light to get to Davis’ house.
Pressing the gas pedal down as far as it could go, Aubree had to get away from Memphis, away from the life that was chasing her, wishing like hell her car could fly because it felt like the devil himself was after her and the man she thought loved her sent the devil directly to her. Aubree checked the rearview mirror to switch lanes to pass the slow-moving traffic.How could he do that to me?Aubree couldn’t image Gerald using her to cover himself from the people he owed more than his life. And he was constantly pulling Aubree down this dark path that was going to lead her to total darkness.
Aubree hit Interstate 40 heading east to get as far away before something else could go wrong.
Now Aubree was headed to the one place that she knew she could hide from the world. Night had fallen while Aubree drove, but night wasn’t going to keep her from getting to her destination. Not knowing if they were following her, Aubree planned to drive to ensure there was enough distance between her and Memphis. Only making a stop for gas and food, she knew she had to go home. This life with Gerald had been too much for her to continue to act like she was happy. She had given him more than she gave to herself and sacrificed all that she was because she thought it would make him do right by her. But then again, she never had the perfect example of what a healthy relationship should be. Aubree prayed that when she arrived that she would be welcomed with open arms because she was ready to go home. Moving along the dark highway gave Aubree plenty of time to think of how she got to this place in her life. Tears started rolling down her face when she saw the highway sign that read25 miles to Dawson Falls, she was almost home.
Forty minutes later, Aubree drove into her childhood neighborhood. All the small modest homes lined the street with neat shrubbery and beautiful flowers. Even though the community was on the southside of town, South Dawson Falls residents took pride in their neighborhood. Aubree pulled in the driveway of the modest red brick home that was her grandparents’ pride and joy. By the looks of things her grandmother Margrett had made some major improvement to the house. Black railings lined the front porch and there were bright red and yellow flowers in the front yard. An awning covered the entire front porch providing shade and two rocking chairs and potted plants added to the sitting area. Aubree sat in the car gathering her courage to knock on the door. She could see a few lights on in the house which meant that her grandmother was still awake.
Taking a deep breath, Aubree opened the car door and slowly made her way to the front porch. She didn’t dare use her key like she still lived in the house; she stared at the doorbell then pressed it. After a few minutes more the house was coming alive with lights and sounds of her grandmother shuffling her feet to get to the door.
“Who there?” Grandma Margrett shouted through the door.
Choked up, Aubree could barely talk over the knot in her throat. “It’s me, Grandma, Aubree.”
The clicking of the locks disengaging made a sick, nervous feeling wash over Aubree as she waited for the door to open. The door creaked open, and Grandma Margrett took one look at Aubree with tears running down her face. Opening the screen door, she sighed, “Come on in child. You home now.”
Aubree fell into her grandmama’s arms weeping, uncontrollably broken. Her grandmother was right—she was home now for good.
Chapter 4
Buzz…Buzz… Buzz!
Groaning Aubree patted the nightstand several times before she found her phone to silence the alarming going off. The weekend seemed to end too early, and Monday mornings always seemed to come too quickly. The alarm sounded again letting Aubree know her extra minutes of sleep were up. Rolling over in bed and onto her back, Aubree stared at the ceiling of her childhood bedroom, remembering how she used to spend hours dreaming about how one day she would have the perfect family. The walls of her old room were still covered in soft lavender hues with silver accents. One wall was lined with pictures of various Disney princess and different storybook princesses that her mother had found for her.
Often, her friends would tease her saying that her bedroom was for a little kid, but they didn’t understand her bedroom was the only time her mother really showed how much she cared for her. The pink and purple“My Princess” sign was one of the last gifts her father gave her, so she cherished it. Grandmother Margrett just hoped she would grow out of all that dreaming because the reality of her world was not perfect nor filled with happily ever after. Aubree thought she was close to having the perfect family of her own with Gerald, but that dream went up in smoke when he showed his true colors. Hell, at this point she was willing to settle for decent, but men were not a priority anymore.
In the three months since Aubree had moved back to Dawson Falls, she was just starting to get back on her feet from the mountain of debt Gerald left her to pay-off. She was still working to clear everything out of her name so she would be able to get her own place and begin working toward what she really wanted. Slowly rising out of bed, Aubree dragged herself into the bathroom and took care of her needs. After flushing the toilet, Aubree stood at the sink examining her face. Turning on the water she began washing her hands. Shaking her head Aubree cleared her mind of Gerald and anything associated with him determined not to spend another minute thinking about him. Aubree went on with her morning routine of brushing her teeth, washing her face, putting on clothes, added a little makeup, and packed her dance bag. The sound of knocking jolted Aubree from packing her bags to leave for work.
“Aubree baby, come eat breakfast.” Aubree wasn’t really hungry, but when she was called for a meal, she had to go. Mealtime was when her grandmother said so, not based on Aubree’s stomach or how she felt. As Aubree made her way to the kitchen, she loved all the changes they had made to the house. A bright pastel yellow covered the walls of the front rooms and the halls leading to the bedrooms. They had even changed the sofas and chairs in the living room. Aubree was surprised when Grandma Margrett said she wanted to make changes to the house. She said, “Sometimes change is necessary, and this old house needs a change.” Aubree smiled as she continued walking to the kitchen. Aubree hesitated before moving to the table remembering what her grandma taught her. “Do you need help with anything?”
“No, just have a seat. I got it,” Grandma Margrett said as she brought the plates piled high with scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, hashbrowns, fresh fruit, and buttered biscuits. One thing her grandmother believed in was feeding people, and anybody with her would not starve. If Aubree hadn’t been involved in dance and sports in school, she would definitely have more meat on her bones than she needed. Aubree waited for Grandma to sit down before she picked up her fork, blessed the food, and they began eating.
After eating breakfast, Aubree kissed her grandma goodbye and walked out the door. Aubree jumped in her car, backed out of the driveway, and took off headed to work. Coming back to Dawson Falls had been the best decision she made to get her life off the dark path to nowhere. She was able to find a teaching position as a dance instructor at Freeman Academy Middle School and was coaching two of the local dance teams. As she drove listening to the local morning radio show, Aubree thought about how lucky she was to teach what she loved… dance. Aubree had been dancing since she could remember. Grandma Margrett said that Aubree came dancing out of the womb to the sound of her mother’s heartbeat. Any song that came on the radio Aubree would begin swaying, and before the end of the song had everyone dancing with her. Watching Aubree dance was like watching a story come alive with every movement of her arms, every spin on her toes, and the expressions she gave. If there was an activity that involved dance Aubree was in it with her grandmama’s support. Throughout her schooling, Aubree was a cheerleader, dance team member, theater dancer, and in every talent show. Aubree loved it all, but Margrett told her she could enjoy dance but had to get a real job.
Freeman Academy Middle School was one of few public schools that offered several performing arts classes in Dawson Falls. Aubree had searched for two months online when she found a dance instructor position the job posted online instead of taking a regular teaching position. She wanted to give students a creative outlet to their day instead of teaching major content areas. This was the opportunity of a lifetime to do what she really loved doing, not something she had to do. As Aubree turned in to the parking lot of the school, she mentally prepared herself for the new work week.
Aubree walked in the building greeting colleagues and students smiling and waving.
“Good morning, Ms. Rogers!” Principal Monroe smiled at Aubree. Aubree turned her head from checking her mailbox.
Smiling back, Aubree answered, “Good morning, Principal Monroe. Did you have a great weekend?”
“I did. What about you? Did you do anything special?”
“No, just working with the dance teams. That’s about it.” Aubree had no life outside of work.
