Maybe This Life (16 page)

The months went by in a flash. By October, Lena had settled comfortably into her new position as Camera Operations Technician. Her twenty-sixth birthday passed with a spaghetti and meatball dinner and pumpkin pie, compliments of Jules. Lena had successfully repressed any thoughts of Richard and Angelina, but in order to do that, she sadly avoided Rick, ignoring his phone calls and knocks on the door. He knew better than to call the police again, but it made her melancholy, nonetheless, to hurt him. Lena had to look out for herself, though, and so she continued to shun the one man she knew who really loved her.

Instead of concentrating on missing Rick, Lena threw her whole heart into her new job. Her boss Pete had been so impressed with Lena's work, that he'd promoted her from third camera person to first camera person within three months. Now he'd been talking about having her direct a cable program or two. Finally, Lena felt a sense of accomplishment. With one aspect of her life falling into place, she had hope for other facets to tumble peacefully into position.

Today had been a quiet day, not much different than other Saturdays, but today Lena was racked with guilt. It was October twentieth, the day she would have married Vince Battaglia. The day she would have made the biggest mistake of her life. Never mind she'd already misconstrued her feelings toward Vince, thinking all he needed was love and acceptance to be a nicer person. In the end, her own empathy and compassion had taken her down the wrong path. Fortunately, by realizing her own self-worth, she'd found a new path, a brighter path. And though she'd secretly wished Rick were walking along with her, she knew it best to leave that relationship alone. Yes, having the courage to walk away from an abusive man helped her self-esteem, but Lena still felt too unstable to begin something new. Especially with a new baby coming in a few months, Lena needed to give all she had to the new love in her life. Her baby.

As the fetus inside of her grew, so did the love for her child, grow within her heart. Gone was the nagging reminder of her baby's conception. Present was the unconditional adoration for the miracle who would soon become a living and breathing human being. A child, who she would offer her never-ending love and protection. Amazed at her heart's transformation toward her little one, she was extremely grateful for it, as well.

A sudden crash tore Lena from her musing. Seconds later, what sounded like the shattering of glass and the tumbling of wood came from the other room. Her instincts were to run and see what was happening, but by the time she left her bedroom, she heard a thundering wrap on the door, before it crashed down in front of her…Vince, on the other side.

Now, Lena knew she needed to run, but she couldn't get by him to get down the stairs, so she bounded for the window in her bedroom. Jammed shut. Instead, heading for the corner, she cowered, fearful of Vince in this drunken state. She needed to calm him. "Vince, it's okay." Trembling and lightheaded, she continued anyway, "I'm here...for you," she said, teeth chattering.

"You whore." Vince vaulted over the bed, not bothering to walk around it, but rather heading right toward Lena.

With her eyes closed, Lena could still feel him in front of her. His hands, cold and clammy on her wrist, she smelled the foul stench of alcohol on his breath. "Vince, no."

He grabbed the back of her collar, the waist of her pants, and lifting her above the floor, he threw her across the room. Landing on the floor aside her bed, she hit the nightstand, its corner meeting the edge of her eye. Lena pushed herself off the floor with her hands, came to her feet, and bolted toward the door. Vince caught her in the doorway and tossed her again into the living room coffee table. Lena's forehead whacked it hard, causing a blackened room.

"You're a friggin' bitch," he exclaimed, while Lena lay, near unconscious, on the floor. "Get up, witch." He kicked her in her side.

"Vince, stop," she squeaked, trying to gather the strength to get off the floor. "The baby, please."

"The baby? You mean that bastard? He ain't mine and you know it." Vince pushed her back down onto the coffee table.

This time Lena got to her feet quickly, jockeying herself around Vince and making it to the door leading to the stairwell.

"Who the hell were you sleeping with while..."

But Lena couldn't hear the rest of his drunken rant while running for the stairs. When she took the first step down, at once, the sole of his boot on her lower back registered in her mind, before time stood still and she was suspended in mid-air. Toppling like a ragdoll down the stairs, the bottom floor seemed so far away. In an instant, everything was gone.

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

Rick sat up straight in his chair. Something was wrong. He knew it. He felt it.

Lena
.

Leaving no time to stop and think, he grabbed his keys and his cell and jumped on his bike. The motorcycle would be faster. Before turning on the ignition, Rick phoned Lena, realizing he probably wouldn't get an answer. Correct in his assumption, he started the bike and flew. Understanding that he needed to alert someone, he pulled to the side of the road and called Frank. If he wasn't at the liquor store, certainly someone would answer. After calling information, he got Frank on the phone. "Frank, I'm a friend of Lena's. My name is Rick. I think your daughter's in trouble." The words tumbled out in a rush.

"Who is this, and what kind of joke are you playing?"

"It's not a joke, sir. It's just a hunch. Could you humor me and please just check on her? Please," Rick pleaded.

Silence met him on the other end.

"Mr. Giordano, I'm going by instinct here, but I'm a close friend of Lena's, and I really think she's in trouble. I wouldn't kid you about this."

Still silence, then a dial-tone.
Damn.

Rick pulled back onto the road, satisfied. Assured by the amount of love Frank had for his daughter that he wouldn't ignore Rick's pleading request.

Rick's heart pounded to the beat of the flashing of the blue and red neon lights set atop the cop car that sat in front of Lena's apartment complex. Barely putting his bike in park, he jumped off, not bothering with the kickstand, and ran for Lena. On the porch, Lena lay prostrate, encumbered in a brace on a stretcher.

"Lena," Rick called out in vain. She wouldn't respond to his call.

She couldn't. She lay there still, unable to move.

"Frank?" The short, stocky man turned to the man calling his name. "I'm Rick. The one who phoned..."

"What the hell do you know about this?" Frank, though half a foot shorter, grabbed Rick by the collar.

Hands up in defense, Rick assured, "Not a thing. It was intuition, I get it a lot."

Frank's furrowed brow alerted Rick to the man's suspicions, but Rick's collar was released, and Frank went back to his daughter.

"Sir," the paramedic informed Frank. "We'll be bringing her to Saint Joe's in Paterson. There's a trauma center there. Would you like to come with us in the ambulance, or meet us there?"

For some reason, Frank looked at Rick.

"You go with her," Rick directed. "I'll follow. I can call her mother." Calling his wife was an obvious oversight during the commotion, Rick gathered. "I know the house, if she's home, I'll go over and get her. I can bring her to the ER," Rick offered.

"No. Lena's never mentioned you," Frank answered. "I'll call her now. Um..."

An officer approached. "Frank, I'll give Jules a visit. If one of your sons isn't there to give her a ride, I'll do it."

"Thanks, Scott. Okay, good." Frank left with the ambulance.

Scott the officer sauntered over to Rick. "Rick, is it?"

"Yes." Rick held out his hand in greeting, but Scott disregarded it. "Rick Murphy."

"You're the one who called Mr. Giordano?"

"Yes." Knowing where this was going, Rick volunteered his services. "Would you like me to give you a statement?"

Officer Scott appeared a bit taken back, clearly surprised by Rick's offer. "Yes, I would. However, I'd like to inform Mrs. Giordano, right now. Would you mind meeting me at the station?"

Yes, I'd mind, I need to see Lena.
"No, not at all." Rick comprehended his predicament; he needed to cooperate fully, so as not to give anyone the wrong impression.

Inside the small Haledon police department, Officer Nagel instructed Rick to jot down his statement while waiting for Officer Scott.

"Mr. Murphy, Officer Brannigan asked that you sit tight; he's on his way back now." Officer Nagel walked out of the room, but not before leaving Rick with a look of repugnance. Rick knew why.
Guilty until proven innocent.
But it mattered little to Rick. If the paramedics got there in time to save Lena's life, then let them think Rick guilty. He just wished he knew what actually happened.

Scott barreled in a few moments later with the same expression of disgust that his comrade had shown earlier. Pulling out the chair and spinning it around, Scott straddled the chair. "Tell me, Mr.," he looked down at the paper Rick wrote on, "Murphy, how'd you just happen to know that our victim was lying at the bottom of a stairwell?"

Rick flinched; he hadn't known that's where they'd found Lena. "I didn't know where she was or how hurt she was, I only had a feeling that she was in troub..."

"You had a feeling?" The officer mocked.

"Yes. I have...a strong bond with Lena and...it was intuition, at best."

"It was intuition," Scott parroted.

Rick could not help but feel deflated. "Yes, sir, intuition." Rick sighed in defeat.

"Then you called her father, who has never heard of you, though you say you have a strong bond with his daughter."

"Yes, I do." Trying to contain himself, Rick took a few deep breaths, hoping to avoid an outburst.

"Mr. Murphy, this sounds like hogwash to me. What do you know? Did you beat Miss Giordano and push her down the stairs?"

"No. I did not."

"You're lying."

"No, I am not."

"You are," Scott exclaimed, while at the same time, slamming his fist on the table.

"No, Sir." Keeping his composure was becoming a challenge. "I assure you, I am not lying. I had a hunch that Lena was in danger, and I needed to alert someone, just in case. I live too far away to have checked on her myself."

"Yet…here you are."

This officer will be the death of Rick yet.
Maintaining the dignity he so diligently tried to uphold, Rick responded slowly. "I got on my bike as soon as I realized, but it took me forty-five minutes to get here. It could have been too late."

"Sir, you're either crazy or guilty. My guess is, you're both."

"Really?" Rick was floored. How was he going to get through, to this ignorant officer, his innocence? "I don't know what else you want me to say, sir. I don't even know what happened. Until you just mentioned it, I had no idea she was even found at the bottom," sudden nausea caused Rick to pause at the words, "of the stairwell."

"You live in Sparta, it says here."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't go leaving the state. Now get outta here."

Rick left and headed for the hospital, realizing that he probably wouldn't be welcomed there either. Instead, he phoned Betty, filled her in on what had transpired, and asked if she could help him find out how Lena was doing.

Betty met Rick at the hospital and escorted him in.

"I appreciate your coming so quickly, Betty. I know how this must look to her family, but truly, it was just a hunch...that I happened to be right about."

Betty patted Rick's shoulder. "So they found her at the bottom of her stairwell, beaten and unconscious?"

"Yup. It had to be that no-good ex-fiancé of hers."

"
Ex
-fiancé? I hadn't realized they'd broken up."

"Really?" Rick was surprised Betty hadn't heard about it.

"Well, remember, I haven't seen her much since she'd gotten that studio job. She keeps in touch with Lindsey still, I think, but, well, I hadn't heard," Betty confessed.

"Oh," responded a sullen Rick.

"Hi there." Betty approached the receptionist in the emergency room. "We're friends of Lena Giordano."

"Okay." The woman took a minute to refer to her computer. "Actually, they're admitting her into Intensive Care right now. It'll be a while, but you'll have to go to the main entrance to see her."

"Great, thank you," Betty responded and turning to leave, they saw Frank Giordano hurrying out the door.

"Mr. Giordano?" It was crucial that Rick confront him, though he knew he'd be met with a stone expression and that familiar look of repulsion. "Is she all right?"

Facing Rick square in the face, Frank opened his mouth. "I'd like to know one thing. If you weren't the one who did this, how did you know to call me?" Frank put his hand up, halting Rick's response. "And I don't believe that you just had a hunch."

"But I did, sir. Your daughter may never have mentioned me, but we are good friends and there is a bond between us...I...just..." Rick trailed off, his explanation falling on deaf ears.

Frank turned to Betty, maybe for affirmation, maybe not, but Betty replied, "Mr. Giordano, I'm also a friend of Lena's and a co-worker. We both are. Rick would not lie...and they are very good friends."

A guttural sigh came from Frank, an apparent sign of exasperation of the whole ordeal. "She's in a coma. They're admitting her into ICU now, you might as well follow me over. We're just waiting."

In the waiting room, a middle-aged woman, a young woman about twenty-something, and four young men, ranging in age from mid-teens to mid-twenties, were quietly conversing. Dried tears evident in their eyes and on their cheeks. Frank broke the silent chatter. "This is my family. Family, these are Lena's friends."

The polite, sullen family all stood to greet the newcomers.

"Mrs. Giordano," Rick started. "I'm so sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I'm Rick Murphy." He held out his hand in greeting. "A co-worker and friend of Lena's."

"Hello," the somber woman replied, shaking Rick's hand.

"I'm Betty, also a co-worker and friend of your daughter." The two women also greeted each other with a handshake.

"Hello, I'm sorry." Jules ran off, tissue to her eyes, toward the rest room.

Francis, Katrina, Antonio, Nicholas and Christopher all greeted Betty and Rick, then dispersed back to their seats, with the exception of Katrina, who remained standing near Rick. Betty seemed to have read something on Katrina's face, because she suddenly left to get herself a cup of coffee.

"Lena's mentioned you to me."

Rick must have appeared as shocked as he felt, because Katrina chuckled a little.

"She has?"

"Yes. Just once. And only in passing, but...the way her eyes lit up when she said she was going to see a co-worker," Katrina made air quotes around the word co-worker, "perform at The Tavern, I just knew she'd call off her engagement."

Gratitude filled every ounce of him. He was so happy and relieved to hear that. "You did, huh?"

"Yup. I know my sister...better than I think she knows herself."

"Hmmm. How do you know she was talking about me?" He had to be sure.

Katrina found this amusing as well. "I asked who her co-worker was. She said, 'some guy named Rick Murphy.'

"Yeah, that'd be me."

"Mm-hmm." Katrina smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Rick Murphy, and whatever you did to get her away from Vince, thank you."

"Mmm, I didn't get her away fast enough."

"You mean before she got pregnant? Wait a minute...It's not yours is it?"

"No, no, no, not at all, your sister and I haven't...no, never. But, yes, I mean I wish she got away before the pregnancy and, um, before...tonight."

"Wait. You think Vince did this?"

"Well, what do you all think?"

"My dad thought you did it, but we just assumed someone broke in. Why would you think Vince would do something like this?"

Rick did not want to betray Lena's trust, but her family needed to know. "Katrina, aside from this being the day they were supposed to get married, he is brutal to her. Maybe he's good at hiding it, but..." He wasn't sure he wanted to divulge this information, but he knew he should. "He rapes her, he beats her, he torments her."

Katrina was clearly shocked. Speechless.

"I'm sorry to tell you that."

Katrina interrupted. "We already knew about his forcing himself on her, but...I don't think anyone knew he was beating her." Katrina looked crestfallen. "We only thought the forcing was, well, just a boyfriend/girlfriend thing, I don't think we realized he had been raping her repeatedly. I mean, my dad was furious as hell, but we really thought it had just been that one time. Oh my god."

The darkness that fell across his heart, hearing it all out loud, was too much to bear. "I'm sorry, Katrina, I need to leave for a minute." Rick ran out of the room, down the hall, down the elevator, and out of the hospital. He had never said those things out loud, nor did he ever hear them said. He ran to the nearest bush and vomited.