“Bailey girl… Bailey girl…I’ve missed you, baby. I’ve missed that sweet little pussy o’ yers… Mmm, you smell so niiice…” Joe went in for another kiss, but this time his lips puckered out as he fell onto her.
She ducked, just barely missing him landing into her. He fell forward, tripping on the bloody chair. Bailey looked around while he recovered. The gun had fallen off of the table, making her escape much harder than she had planned.
“Why’d you do that, darlin’? Come on, let’s go to the bedroom. I got a li’l itch you could scratch fer me.” He grabbed her again, this time pulling her chest and hips into him. He had her pinned, her arms trapped to the side. “I know you want this…”
She could practically taste the booze. He dragged her towards the back bedroom, her feet dangling off of the floor. “Can’t we just talk about this? Let’s make a plan before we celebrate, honey.” She was desperate. Her plan had succeeded, but it had also worked too well. The thought of giving her body to him physically repulsed her.
“No time for talking, darling. Let’s make amends right here, right now.” Joe reached over her body, grabbing hold of her dress strap. The fabric tore immediately at the seams as Bailey struggled to cover her chest. He laughed, “What’s wrong, Bailey? It’s not like I haven’t seen those before. I’ve had better, that’s for sure. But yours were always real nice.”
Bailey shook, anger filling her body. Every kiss of her neck, ever touch of her cleavage with his greasy, dirty fingers enraged her even more. All she could think about what Leo had taught her about standing her ground, about using her own power. She remembered the time he first put her in the ring, teaching her how to properly strike a man or when he insisted she learn each and every single combo from his old training regiment.
As Joe became grabbier, more aggressive, Bailey knew the time was now or never. She had to make her move. Bailey turned inwards towards him, baiting him for a kiss. As he lowered his head, her hand curled into a quick fist and then struck him in the side of his head. It jerked unnaturally to the side, forcing him to drop his arms and release her from his grip.
She knew she could run and take her chances that her first blow was enough, but it was not what Leo taught her. Bailey needed to finish the job or at least stun him ‘til he was knocked out. She laid out a vicious jab-cross as he continued to fall backwards. This time, she had connected with his nose, sending blood rippling out like a fountain down his face.
Joe managed to move far enough back from her. The alcohol had made him slow, but each one of her fists had awakened him. He wiped the blood with the back of his hand and looked at her as she stood with her fists in an attack stance. Her feet danced back and forth just as Leo had taught her to do. She knew she would need to be on the defense next.
She watched him as he revved up like a wind up car ready to charge. The fire in his eyes burned as the wheels began to turn. He had been betrayed. What she had said, what she had done was all a façade. There was no escape, no Lily, no relationship. And furthermore, she had challenged him physically. He wanted nothing more than to finish the job he started earlier in the day. But by the time he had ran to her, his head pointed downwards, ready to pummel her -- she had prepared, sending him another cross to his neck and then beating his stomach with an uppercut.
His body curled under her tiny fist. Bailey loved the feeling of her hands creating the kind of pain he had inflicted on her for so many years. He was getting weak and she was getting bold. Her knee shot up, attempting to nail his manhood. It missed, as he managed to grab hold of it. The motion threw her to the ground, her already injured head landing on the tiled floor.
Joe tumbled downwards with her, managing to hold her in place as he straddled her. He screamed, “You little bitch! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He grabbed her by the hair, bringing her back to standing. “Did you really think you were stronger than me?” He smacked her with the back of his hand. Her body wanted to fly, but his hands wrapped around her matted hair kept her from moving. “Did you really think your plan was gonna work!?” Another hit, this time to the opposite side.
Her good eye went dark, joining the other one in blackness. Her entire face and head burned as his shouts became muffled. Almost all of her sense had failed her as she begun to recognize that she was now alone in her fight. All she could do was wildly punch and scream as he fell upon her once more, this time with his hands around her neck.
Bailey’s body twisted, her back arched. The breath escaped her as she attempted to gulp in whatever she could through the closing throat. Leo’s words rang through her head, “What I need you to do is fight. Fight to survive. I know you can do this, but I need you to hang on.” She took in another gulp as Joe managed to push harder down onto her neck. Every bit of her slipped away with each and every bit of air that left her.
The noises around her became clear as she listened to the screaming and shouting. There was a crash, a breaking of glass. Then a bang as something heavy near her fell to the ground. She heard new voices, each shouting louder than the next. “Get back! Get back! I’ll kill her if you come close to me.” She could make out Joe’s slurred threats through the haze that surrounded her.
“You bastard son of a bitch. I will fucking kill you if you don’t let her go. You hear me? I will fucking end you. I promise that.”
“You’re a has-been. You don’t have it in you.”
Joe’s grip only got stronger. His hands tore into her soft flesh. She could feel each bit of his fingernails drawing blood. Bailey sank further downwards towards the tile as one limb after the other grew more limp. Her body felt as if in a never-ending free fall, but she knew the ground was near. Her end was fast coming. This was it.
And then, there was a light. The pain was gone. The hits, the fists, the body on top of her was gone. She was free. Bailey could breathe again.
Moments passed, seconds, minutes. She attempted to flex her hands, then her feet, her head turned a bit to the side. Air circulated in her lungs, filling her with life. She turned her head in that direction, as she willed her swollen eyes to open.
She could make out the distorted images -- Leo’s strong, muscular body standing over Joe’s lifeless figure as his fists unleashed into him. They were both covered in blood and lying on a pile of glass near where the windows once were. With every hit, Joe’s limp body bounced, but Leo didn’t care. He wanted to rip him to shreds, to make an example out of him, to destroy him as he had Bailey.
“Leo…” Bailey attempted to speak, but the words were not there. Her throat burned viscously. “Le-oo” She could only squeak. Her fighter continued to punch as a red river began to form around her ex-husband.
Bailey flexed and reached her leg out, hitting the leg of a table. She knew it was her only way to get him to stop. She used every bit of her strength to hit it once, twice, three times before it tumbled onto the ground, the gun slipping off its side.
Leo turned his attention towards Bailey’s direction. As he saw her arm raise weakly, he ran to her side. His hands shook as he tried to assess her. She was as fragile as glass, as broken as she ever could be. But she was alive. Minutes ago, as he saw Joe’s hands around her neck tighten and her eyes lips turn blue, he had thought he had lost her forever. Now, he had her second chance.
He knelt down to her face, whispering softly into her ear, “Don’t move. Don’t move.” His hand lowered her arm back to the ground. I called the police. They’re coming. I just need you to stay still.”
“I did what you asked me to. I fought back.” A small smile transformed her disfigured face.
“I know you did, Bailey. You don’t have to fight anymore now.”
“Is he dead?” She wasn’t sure what she wanted him to answer.
“No, but if you wouldn’t have kicked that table, I would have made sure he was buried.”
Her mind drifted in and out as she tried to think of how to thank him. Instead, she said, “You found me, Leo.”
“I found you, Bailey. And I’m never letting go of you again.” His kissed her forehead gently as he added, “I love you.”
***
“Mommy!” Lily raced towards Bailey’s hospital bed, managing to jump up in one quick movement. “I’ve missed you!”
“Oh, Lily, I’ve missed you, too.” Bailey’s voice was still frail, the vocal cords still coarse and dry. But she had looked forward to this moment ever since the ambulance had wheeled her into the Rocking Hill Memorial Hospital a week ago. “Have you been good for Jonathan and Ms. Penny?”
Lily nodded eagerly. “Jonathan taught me how to make cool calls to prospective cats!”
Jonathan smiled as he entered the room. “I think you mean ‘cold calls’ and ‘clients,’ not cats.” He set down a large vase of pink and purple flowers near Bailey’s head, “Lily picked these out from my girlfriend’s garden yesterday.”
“Girlfriend?” Leo looked at him shocked. Jonathan wasn’t a guy normally interested in things so petty as a relationship. “When did this happen?”
“Well, I had been getting to know Rachel a lot since I’ve been watching over the home. She’s a really great woman.”
“Wait, Rachel?” Bailey looked over at Leo with wide eyes, “Do you mean Rachel Penny? Our housemaid?”
Jonathan’s cheeks turned a bright pink and Leo nudged him playfully with his arm.
A bit later, Lily lay in bed beside her mother, Leo still holding on to Bailey’s hand as he had when he found her unmoving on the floor, as they ordered food from the hospital room service and watched Lily’s favorite television show. She soon fell asleep curled up against her body her hands being careful to not hold on too tight or to press down on the spots that were covered in large bandages. Bailey gently wiped her hair from her face as she planted a kiss on her forehead. “I love you, baby,” she whispered. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
Leo wrapped his arm around both of them. He breathed in deeply and kissed the back of Bailey’s neck. As the girls drifted off, he closed his eyes. For the first time in his life, he felt something he’d never felt before: content. His fight was over.